Panici's '87 325is E30 - Boosted In Bronze

[Panici]

They are really easy cars to swap engines on aren't they

I have no frame of reference, as I've never swapped a motor before.
Hasn't been too difficult so far!

[econti]

They are really easy cars to swap engines on aren't they

[Panici]

M52 Mounted, Wiring Complete, Test Fired!

• Installed Racehead (RHD) 7.5lb Chrome-molly steel flywheel.
• Reused M20 pressure plate & clutch, as they look almost brand new.
• Installed G260, degreased motor and trans.
• Installed M52 into E30 with my sister's help. Went smoother once I realized the passenger side engine arm was mounted upside down!
• Mounted DIYautotune Quadspark modules under battery tray. Will relocate these to passenger compartment when I turbo.
• Rebuilt harness to include original relays (that I am relocating). Added additional fusing which fits nicely under the plastic cover.
• Finished motor harness, pulled extra wiring into glovebox. Will need to trim this shorter in the future.
• Reassembled intake manifold for test fire.
• Found that triggering O2 and Main relays from the Fuel pump output of ECU would not work, as I'm using +12v from one of them as a pullup for the crank sensor. Wired an additional output from the ECU to control these relays separately.
• Successfully test fired the motor!

Now I have everything electrical sorted, save for the Oil Level sensor. Going to attempt to make the E34 pan sensor play nice with the Check panel today.

Have new powersteering lines, brake master reservoir, M42 radiator on order.

[Panici]

Firewall Heat Shield, X3 Brake Booster


As the original firewall blanket was crumbling to bits, I covered the firewall, transmission tunnel, and exhaust route in DEI Reflect-A-Cool.
I scrubbed the oil & grease from the transmission tunnel, and laid the Reflect-A-Cool further back then the original heat protection. Hopefully this will keep the cabin cooler in the summertime.
I plan to add some dynamat-type sound deadening inside the cabin.

To fix the 24v brake booster clearance issue, I went with an E83 X3 Brake booster & master cylinder.
From what I found online, this is supposed to be identical to the E90 booster & master, but with the hardline outputs on the correct side.

I thought this would be an almost plug-and-play solution, with just the clevis modification needed.
However I ended up having to slot the firewall (BCD of X3 booster is smaller), and remove the entire pedalbox to modify for hardware clearance.
(2022 EDIT: See Post 352, you don't have to slot the firewall.)

On the plus side, I did install the new throttle cable while I was contorted under the dash!


I'm also working on a (still growing) list of misc items. Here is what I've done so far:

• Installed battery terminal block, hood strut assembly, passenger side cowl cover.
• Chopped off the ABS connectors from the chassis harness.
• Removed the (factory installed but non-functional) siren.
• Car off the jackstands, eyeball alignment.
• Second coat of paint on the rust repair.
• Removed the corroded aux fuse box.
• Modified my VDO gauge wiring to support the addition of an oil temperature gauge.
• Added an ashtray delete panel & wideband gauge (I dislike how the gauge isn't period correct).
• Removed the G260 from the M20.

[Panici]

Right on, love seeing your update. SO thorough. Whens the motor going back in?

Hey Simon!

Thanks, I always try to be thorough when it comes to the E30. Do it once, do it right!

Aiming to have the motor physically back in this week, but still have a list of things to take care of before the car will be back on the road.

[2mAn]

Right on, love seeing your update. SO thorough. Whens the motor going back in?

[Panici]

Rust Fixing, Engine Bay Clearcoated


Tackled the rusty corner of the passenger side floor. Knew about this since I bought the car in 2014, and have kept the carpet out since then to minimize further damage.
Glad I took care of it now, as it had started into the rocker. Ended up using seven individual patch pieces to fix this area.

Everything is butt welded, and checked for pinholes with a bright light.
Ground smooth underneath the car, Shot self-etching primer, followed by brushed on black rustoleum. Will topcoat with something else to match the rest of the area. Will also seam seal and paint inside the car for good measure.

Also finished up the engine bay paint by laying down three coats of high-heat engine enamel clear. Pretty happy with how it turned out, considering I didn't go the whole shaved/bondo'd approach.

[Panici]

Front Calipers, Oil/Water Gauges


Finally installed the re-manufactured front brake calipers & new soft lines. I've had these since I first bought the '86 325e.
They were painted along with the rears when I did the rear end refresh in 2016.
I never installed them as the front brake hardlines and softlines were rusted together solid. Brake line wrenches were also of no help. To get them off, I cut the hardlines and used a socket.
No big deal cutting the hardlines now, as I have a Chase Bays ABS delete kit waiting to go in the car which includes new lines.


The next job was to sort out the VDO Oil & Water gauges. See the diagram for details.
I also installed the original E30 dash temperature sender (brown plug) into the M52 radiator.

I started removing the ABS pump & sensor wiring from the driver's side loom.

To finish up the day, I took 800 grit to the few spots poorly painted/splattered due to the damaged paint cans. I managed to get one spray tip working and shot another coat of colour. Paint should be cured and ready for clear early next week.

[Panici]

What are you doing in regards to the engine loom? Which bits are you re-using from factory

The current plan is to use the following from the M20 ECU/engine harness: three relays (fuel pump, Main, O2 Heater [already fused]), the EVAP valve, +12v switched to ECU, Tach output, Aternator Excite, Oil Pressure Switch, Dash temperature gauge, aux fan trigger, and check engine light.

I've already built the majority of the Engine loom, by cutting up the old E36 M52 harness for the connectors. I have to integrate this harness with the M20 ECU/engine harness, add the wideband, and a few other cleanup items.
I think I am also going to include wiring for the VDO gauges (oil pressure, oil temperature, and water temperature) in this loom.


When I have the harness finished and everything is tested, I'll post up my wiring notes.

[econti]

What are you doing in regards to the engine loom? Which bits are you re-using from factory

[Panici]

Z3 Steering Rack, Blower Motor, Paint


Assembled the steering linkage with a Garagistic kit and brand new OEM Giubo.
Installed the old E30 inner tie rods on the new rack, chased the threads with a tap, and installed new E30 outer balljoints.

Looking forward to the difference between the stock 4 turns lock-to-lock and the Z3 2.7 turns!

Replaced the blower motor with one from my old '86 parts car, and installed a new blower motor resistor.
There was noticeable shaft play on the old motor, which probably accounted for the terrible sound and vibration!


Shot some colourmatched paint over the rust paint. Unfortunately the paint cans are a few years old, and went bad/had nozzle sealing issues. This caused splattering in the paintjob.
I'll need to wetsand this back down and shoot some fresh paint in the future.

Also spent some time degreasing various small parts by hand, but I didn't take a picture of those.

[Panici]

Harnesses, Cleaning, & Painting

Spent a day going through the original wiring diagrams for my car and the M20 motor.
Figured out how to use the existing fusing and relays as much as possible with the standalone ECU.
The following day I removed everything I won't need from the original engine harness. What's left will be integrated with my custom engine harness when the time is right.

The next day, I pulled the car into the driveway and set to work removing all of the grime and grease. Ended up tackling the remaining Cosmolene as well. Found some rust to address while I'm in here.

Today I removed the brake booster, firewall insulation blanket, blower motor cover, and power steering rack. Spent some more elbow grease scrubbing the glue off the firewall from behind the insulation.

I painted all the rust spots with Eastwood rust encapsulator, and the subframe with a Tremclad rust enamel. Going to follow up with a top coat of either (brush-on) black Rustoleum or (sprayed) colourmatched Lachssilber as appropriate.

Also painted the blower motor cover & cowl plastic trim pieces.

I ordered some DEI Reflect-A-Cool heat shield for the engine-side of the firewall, and I plan to use a butyl-based sound deadening on the interior in the future.

[Panici]

Nice. I love an early 'is' with the good ol mr plow valence.

Thanks Varg!
I'm doing my best to treat the car right!

[varg]

Nice. I love an early 'is' with the good ol mr plow valence.

[Panici]

M20B25 Engine Removal


Work is slow due to Coronavirus; I'm making some great progress this week on the E30!



April 25th - Removed the hood, grilles, headlights, bumper, air dam.
April 26th - Removed the electric SPAL fan, radiator, front fenders. Made the lower cuts & brackets for the removable core support.
April 27th - Drilled out the upper core support spot welds, removed the core support, and finished welding & painting the modified areas.
April 28th - Removed coolant overflow, coil, AFM, oil cooler, throttle cables, all motor wiring. Disconnected driveshaft, shifter linkage, heater hoses, etc. Removed M20b25 !
April 29th - Removed ABS unit, all engine bay hardlines, ordered Chase Bays brake kit, removed all old M20 bracketry from engine bay.