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

[Panici]

Moving Houses
March-April 2020

Over a month of MANY trips, I hauled everything out of my house and garage using my Jeep and small trailer. Moved about two hours away.
It was a big undertaking moving everything myself, but at least I got a great workout!
Had some friends help me with the big items (couches, bed, etc) and move all the cars in one trip.

I spent the next two weeks organizing and storing everything I moved (garage was FULL), and eventually cleared enough space to squeeze the E30 inside.
A few more days and I had the garage emptied of all moving items and set up for wrenching!

I gave the E30 its first bath of the year, before tearing it down (see next post).

[Panici]

Motor Swap, Round 2!


I didn't trust the engine I pulled from that E39 way back on Page 1(?!) of this thread. It sat outside under a tarp for 6 months, and has moved houses multiple times.
So now it's a spare/parts engine!

I picked up a cheap E36 328ic, had a few friends over for a weekend, and pulled that sucker out!












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Then I got to work prepping the engine for swapping into the E30.

• Welded the oil pump nut
• Installed the front sump pickup & pan.
• Installed EGR blockoff plates
• Mounted the motor to some wood blocks.
• Went through and sliced up the original harness, labelled everything appropriately.
• Modified the new dipstick for the front-sump pan.
• New rear main seal, new accessory belt.
• Made brackets to mount starter in place with transmission removed.
• AC Deleted

Now onto the wiring. Made my own harness to run a Megasquirt MS3X Standalone ECU. Running full sequential ignition and injection, knock sensor module. Standalone ECU is a big step towards my eventual Turbo plans!

It took some testing to find that I needed an M50 camshaft sensor using a 1K pullup resistor to +5v.
Also needed the DIYAutotune Hall Effect crankshaft sensor with pullup resistor to +12v. Key point here was that this needed to be mounted to the front (OBD1) crank sensor location. I could not get it to read correctly with the rear sensor location in the block.













Hooked up the E36 exhaust (sans muffler), and cooling system. Made a timing light adapter for the COP system, and set the timing.
Ran it up to full temperature with great success! (see video below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQQ1nzPi4NI

Unfortunately as these things go, just found out my landlord is selling the house I'm renting. Thankfully he is giving me three months to move, takes the stress away from moving a shop full of tools, a basement full of car parts, and my mini-fleet of vehicles.

As I know I'll be doing a lot of things "while I'm in there" the motor swap into the car will have to wait for now. But at least it's running and ready to go! :D

[Panici]

Sucks what happened, but as you said you have a roof over your head and you still have your E30. Could be worse. Stay positive, you'll get through it

Thanks Simon. Could always be worse, thankful for what I still have in my life.

Wow was not expecting that, sorry to hear. Scary to think that things that were once so sure can change so drastically, here's to hoping 2020 brings some better times. As Simon said, stay positive and count your blessings, things could always be worse.

I wasn't expecting it either, blindsided me not more then six months after my father passed away. Scary indeed, one minute you go from having your future children's names picked out, and the next you're by yourself again.

Sucks to read about your situation, I feel your pain as am undergoing the same process right now.
The vehicles look great though, especially parked together. Thanks for sharing the LED conversion

Sorry to hear that, it's certainly challenging. Personally I'm glad my 2019 is over, as it was easily the worst year of my life.
Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad I have cars to be passionate about, it gives me a reason to keep slugging away!

[gnmzl]

Sucks to read about your situation, I feel your pain as am undergoing the same process right now.
The vehicles look great though, especially parked together. Thanks for sharing the LED conversion

[Albie325]

Had an interesting end to my 2019.

Wow was not expecting that, sorry to hear. Scary to think that things that were once so sure can change so drastically, here's to hoping 2020 brings some better times. As Simon said, stay positive and count your blessings, things could always be worse.

[2mAn]

Sucks what happened, but as you said you have a roof over your head and you still have your E30. Could be worse. Stay positive, you'll get through it

[Panici]

Life Happens - Finishing up 2019



Had an interesting end to my 2019.
Summer finished up pretty well, took the bike to the track (Grand Bend) twice.
Also got the Miata to an autocross event!

Then on a negative note, I separated from my wife at the beginning of November.
The circumstances are out of my control. All I can do is try to make the best of it.
I'm thankful that I still have a roof over my head, and (at least for this winter) am able to store the E30 in my heated garage, away from the elements.

[Panici]

Hidden Headunit, Power & Ground Upgrade, New Project Car
August 2019


The custom hidden amplifier setup I had as a "temporary" measure finally stopped working, so I replaced it with a used Alpine CDE-141, mounted in my glovebox.
I'd like to clean up and finalize the glovebox mounting, this was done quickly to have music for our trip up north!
Unfortunately the shared/common speaker ground setup didn't work with the headunit. My first attempted fix was to run four grounds to the OEM amplifier wiring splice in the trunk.
Technically this worked, however it picked up a LOT of alternator/engine noise.
My second fix (which is working so far, still need to wire the front speakers) was to run aftermarket speaker wiring from the headunit to the rear amp connector in the trunk for the rear speakers. This sounds great (eliminated noise), but I have to look at aftermarket speaker wiring in the interior until I make the cabin waterproof and install the original carpet.

Speaking of water, my central locking stopped working. Upon investigation, I found my central locking module *full* of water. Obviously I'm still having water ingress issues in that front fender area.

In a further attempt to reduce stereo noise, I installed a Bavarian Restoration Performance Power and Ground Cable Kit, as I previously had no ground straps on the hood & valve cover.

Also took the car up north again to visit my Uncle's cottage. Car ran great, and had just enough ground clearance to get into the cottage (only scraped the exhaust a few times on high rocks). We had a tough time over the washboard gravel roads, I'd like to go over the suspension and make sure everything is still tight.


As a final point, I bought a new car! Picked up a 1990 Mazda Miata as a fun/casual project. This is a bucket list car for me, and I bought it for only $1800.
Here is a before/after comparison of my progress so far, more details in the build thread in my signature. (http://miata.panici.ca)

[Panici]

LED Bulb Conversion
July 2019

Looking for more visibility to other drivers, I've changed the following bulbs to LEDs:

• Front running lamps / turn signals.
• Rear turn signals
• Rear running lamps
• Rear brake lights

I used some random Amazon LED lamps. If these fail prematurely I will upgrade to name-brand units.

Note that I painted the visible rear LED bulbs using glass paint (see earlier DIY Startec post in this thread) so that they show up coloured in my rear lenses.

I've added resistors to my turn signal circuit to prevent fast flashing due to reduced LED load.
I opted to add these under the dash by tapping into the wiring to the flasher stalk. (Blu/Red through 2x 6ohm resistors to ground, and Blu/Blk through 2x 6ohm resistors to ground).
This keeps the resistors out of the elements and in a centralized location. I can also replace the flasher stalk unit & wiring to convert back to stock in the future.

I attempted to mount these resistors by zip tying them to the ABS module, but found that they got quite hot (+100c) after a short amount of time with the hazard flashers running.
This makes sense as they are 6ohm resistors dumping about 30w of energy each!

I ended up mounting them flat to the bottom of the ABS module, which acts as a giant heatsink.

A better solution would be to use an LED rated flasher without resistors. However I wanted to keep my original flasher, as I like the old-school sound and feel.

The LED conversion makes a dramatic difference both during the day and at night. I can actually pull into my garage at night with only my running lights (headlights off) and see clearly.

Here are some pictures attempting to show the brightness, and a video showing a comparison between incandescent and LED bulbs. Note that I had not yet added the resistors when I recorded the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX8YW27_2Ws

[efficient]

sweet tail lights

[Panici]

More pictures from June & July 2019.

We bought an R53 Mini Cooper S for my wife, and took it up north the next day to a rented cottage!

-

[Stanley Rockafella]

unbelievable work on those lights

+1
Before this thread, I didn't know you could purchase lenses separately from the housings.
I thought it was always one piece.

[2mAn]

Unbelievable work on those lights

[Panici]

DIY Startec Replicas
June 2019



I wasn't willing to pay the $800+ for a used set of Startec lights, so I set about making my own replicas!
I've detailed the process below, so you can attempt your own set.


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Parts used:

Lenses ($110usd + shipping):

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/133053221310

Sealant ($57cad):
RetroRubber OEM Grade Butyl

https://www.amazon.ca/RetroRubber-Grade-Butyl-Headlight-Sealant/dp/B01N5PM29J

Bulb paint ($10cad):
Pebeo Vitrail Crimson

http://en.pebeo.com/Creative-leisure/PAINTING-ON-GLASS-VITREA-160-AND-VITRAIL/Vitrail

Two taillight housings (preferably cracked/damaged lenses).

VHT Niteshades ($22cad)


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Directions:

1. Paint inside of new lenses with VHT Niteshades.
   • This was my first time using Niteshades. Be aware it goes on quickly.
   • I achieved the pictured darkness on my first coat while only seeking to apply an even layer.
   
   
2. Heat taillight assemblies in oven @ 230f for 10 minutes.
   • I removed all of the metal studs, and placed lights on a block of wood on the bottom rack.
   
   
3. Smash out existing lenses with a hammer. Wear eye protection.
   
4. Remove bits of leftover lens from edges while lights are still warm.
   
5. Heat RetroRubber sealant in oven for a few minutes to soften.
   
6. Stretch sealant thin and apply to all edges on taillight housing. You only need a little bit to make a seal.
   • I used too much on my driver's side (first attempt) and the finished product doesn't look as good up close.
   
   
7. Place lens on top of sealant & housing.
   
8. Place in oven on top of wood. I used additional wood on top of lens to weigh down.
   • I followed Morimoto directions and went for 7min @ 270f. This melted/distored my lenses in a few spots.
   • I'd recommend starting at 230f and adding heat/time to melt the sealant if needed.
   
   
9. Paint bulbs red as needed to achieve startec colour reflective effect.
   
10. I used wiring from a spare bulb tray to wire my rear fogs in parallel with the brake lights.

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Additional notes and areas for improvement:

My taillight housings only had a reflective (chrome coated) surface on some of the internals.
Adding a reflective surface to the rear fog areas would help to improve the lens colour effect.
I'm not sure the best way to achieve this, as I've used chrome spraypaint before and it sprays out more like silver paint.

I am also converting my lamps to LED for added brightness. So far I've used the same glass/bulb paint on the LEDs with success.




















(no bulbs)

[Panici]

Congrats on the wedding!
and...
I love houndstooth seats.
Keep up the good work.

Thank you!
Hard to believe I'm coming up on my one-year anniversary already!