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

[Panici]

Simplified EVAP System

It's time to explain how I've modified the Expansion tank / EVAP / fuel vapor / fuel overflow system.
The usual route that most folks take is to remove the overflow tank and charcoal canister, and vent any lines to atmosphere.

The main goal of this fuel system refresh was to eliminate the smell of raw fuel from my garage. Obviously venting the gas tank directly wouldn't do the trick.

It's also not possible to cap off the vents for three reasons: Air needs a route to escape when filling the gas tank to prevent "burping", air needs to enter/exit the tank as the system heats and cools, air needs to enter the tank as fuel is consumed to prevent pulling a vacuum on the tank.

I decided to eliminate the overflow/evap tank above the rear passenger wheel, connect the main tank vent directly to the fuel filler neck, and connect the secondary vent directly to the charcoal canister.

This setup allows the tank to breathe as necessary, without the smell of raw fuel from the vehicle. It also means I only need to run a single hose through the rear wheel well to the filler neck.

The main disadvantage of this approach is that the gas tank can no longer be brimmed (filled to the top), as the liquid fuel will travel up the vent to the charcoal canister. In other words, it's no longer possible to fill the tank until the pump clicks off, and then "top it off" a few times. You loose a few liters of fuel capacity.

The OBC has a hidden function to show a digital display of how much fuel is left.

Here are a couple of helpful diagrams. The original venting system (euro model) VS my modified approach:







Here is the single vent hose running through the cabin. This is top quality Gates fuel hose, which is actually intended for liquid fuel in a carburated system and thus is more robust then a typical evap hose. The entry/exit points into the car were waterproofed with seam sealer around the hose.



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EDIT: Seam sealed at both ends. Drove through some rain and it's waterproof on both sides!
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Freshly painted replacement fuel tank with pump installed (new gaskets) and hoses attached, ready for transplant into the car.



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Fuel tank installed with the help of my fiancée!

Looped vent hose as shown in the diagrams. Gates liquid fuel hose was also used here, which necessitated a larger bend radius (compared to thinner EVAP hose) to avoid pinching.



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Fuel filter installed, fuel soft lines installed. (Ran out of larger hose clamps)



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I didn't transfer the rear heatshield hanger mounts from the old gas tank (they were rusty & mangled), so I wrapped the offending section of exhaust to prevent heating the fuel tank.
You can also see the fuel tank joining hose I sourced from http://www.specialclassicparts.de/. After exchange and shipping, it was half the price of the OEM piece.





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Finally the car is on it's own four wheels for the first time since January! After swapping the supply/return fuel hoses in the engine bay, the car fired up and runs without issue.



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Went for a half tank of Shell 91 (no ethanol) which went perfectly. No fuel smell or leaks to be seen.


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When I got back home, I re-aimed the new headlights. What an amazing improvement over the sealed beams!

[Panici]

Further progress today on my fuel system.

I started by test mounting my (cleaned & degreased) fuel pump and filter on the new mounting bracket I bought from a r3v member.

With regular fuel line the bend radius of the pump to filter line is on the limit. I will see how this fits on the car, I can buy the BMW spec'd hose if needed.

I then mounted my new bracket and installed the fuel pump.

Next, I mounted my three new fuel hardlines, replacing clips where necessary. This task ended up being a lot harder then expected considering they are pre-bent lines.
As they had likely been sitting in storage for years in Germany, they were all slightly out of shape. Combine this with confusion over which pipe is the "top" near the engine bay, and which is the "outside" while traveling down the chassis, and I spent what felt like a few hours bending and test mounting.

Finally, I strung up my new gas tank and brushed on a coat of black paint. As a new tank was well over $1000 from BMW, I opted for an aftermarket unit. The paint on it was silver in colour and paper thin.

I also put a second coat of paint on my rust repair from yesterday.
To finish up the paint can, I coated the metal cover for the wheel well gas tank vent hose. I don't expect this to last, as it is quite heavily rusted.

[Panici]

Continuing from the last post, here is today's progress in fixing the fuel vent rust.

This was my first time working with thin sheet metal, and I learned a few things in the process:

• Don't use a reciprocating saw for fine work.
  • If I had brought my jigsaw along, I could have removed less good metal on the body and made a smaller patch panel.
• Butt welding here was unnecessary, and made things more difficult.
  • Lap joints would have been preferable.
• Don't try to fill in air gaps between your patch panel and the body. It'll just blow through (or you'll have to stack some welds very carefully).
• If butt welding, your patch panel must be the exact shape of the missing metal.
• Shop rags are flammable.

In summary, the situation is almost remedied. Another coat of paint tomorrow evening, and a quick cut of the rusted tube inside the car should see it resolved.

I'll update this post with some better finished/painted pictures tomorrow.

[Panici]

Great thread! Love your dedication to the build!


How'd you handle this rust? I have a very similiar situation and I want to keep it from spreading much further. Did you just cut it out?
I've been thinking about doing that then replacing this pipe with another and running the fuel evap lines back through the new pipe.

Thank you!

It's actually a freaky coincidence you should ask about that specific issue. I literally just got in from the garage, after tearing that tube apart with a pair of pliers.

I'll likely have to fab up a new piece and weld it in. I also want to make the pass-through to the wheel well waterproof.



Here is what I am left with:

[ATL_E30]

Great thread! Love your dedication to the build!

And of course some pictures:

Rust found after taking the entire rear seat out. This was likely the first time the rear seat had been removed, as the underpadding was still glued in place under the rear interior panels (rear door cards?).

How'd you handle this rust? I have a very similiar situation and I want to keep it from spreading much further. Did you just cut it out?
I've been thinking about doing that then replacing this pipe with another and running the fuel evap lines back through the new pipe.

[Panici]

March 2018 - Central Locking Fixed
+Power mirrors
+Interior lights.


After owning the car since June of 2014, I finally got around to fixing my central power locking system!
This was basically an exersize in electrical troubleshooting, something I am comfortable with.

• Found the existing Central Locking Control Module to be damaged and corroded.
  • Replaced with the module from my bin of parts car bits.
• Removed the Red/Black "door loop", which had corroded badly at both pins. Solder+Liquid Electrical tape to finish the job.
• Cleaned both door connectors (C405) as best I could using elec contact cleaner and some light sanding.
• Replaced the (missing) driver's door actuator.
  • Brought home the entire spare driver's door from my parent's house!
• Repaired the driver's door card (glued the seperated vynal, replaced missing clips)

This got my power locks working, but my power mirrors still did not work. (I remember they worked when I first got the car, but I don't think I have used them since.)
Looking through more wiring diagrams from the ETM, I found the likely candidate (Grn/Blk bodyside to Grn/Wht doorside) and verified my hypothesis with some testing.

The problem was the pins in the door connector. I decided to just hardwire the connection, using the properly coloured wire from my spare door.
This got both the power mirrors working.
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Interestingly enough, this circuit is shared with the interior lights, which lead me to the following:

• Replaced the Interior light relay (parts car)
• Replaced/Cleaned passenger side (single terminal) door switch.

Now my interior lights come on when either door is opened!


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Copy/Paste from my R3V facebook post:


Had an amusing find while working through fixing my central locking.

First I replaced the control module with one from my parts car, and then I eliminated the driver's door wire loop.
This got my passenger side and trunk locks working!

Next I took apart the driver's door connector, cleaned up all the pins, and tested resistance as good on the rough looking pins.
I was dismayed to find my driver's door CL still did not function.

When I put my ohmmeter across the two door lock motor wires (Blue and White), I expected it to ring out through the windings. Instead I was met with silence!
Now I knew something else was up, so I pulled off the door card, found the vapor barrier duct taped in place, and an unplugged wiring harness where the actuator should have been!

Looks like the previous owner just removed the actuator instead of replacing when it failed.

[Panici]

March 2018 - Ellipsoid / Projector Install


Way back in Post 103 (link to post), I bought a used set of ellipsoids and tore them down.
Then in Post 127 (link to post), I rebuilt the lights using new ellipsoid adjusters.

I've finally gotten around to installing the lights, although I still need to install the beauty rings and mount the ballasts.

I developed my own method to keep the lowbeams on with the highbeams, namely grabbing lowbeam power from the (currently unused foglight) relay socket.
I modified the low beam relay, which can be easily replaced to reverse the modification.

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[Panici]

February 2018 - EVAP system removal

• Removed the EVAP canister above the passenger's side wheel and all associated lines.
• Removed the fuel filter and external pump, the rubber bushings put up a fight and were cut off.
• Found a used fuel pump/filter bracket through R3V facebook, as mine is in terrible shape!
• Removed the in-tank fuel pump and level sender.
• Test fit my euro rear plate filler, just for fun.
• Continued setting up a work area in the garage. Now I've got two tables and some wall mounted tools.

[Panici]

January 2018 - New Garage & Gas Tank Removal

Now that we are more-or-less caught up, lets jump forward to January of this year.

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First the E30 and my Jeep TJ both received a much-needed wash. I defrosted the hose (which I borrowed from my dad) in the laundry room sink. Then I had an interesting time washing both vehicles in the ice-and-snow covered driveway. I wonder what the new neighbors think?

Next, I wired 240v to the garage for an electric heater. On really cold days I don't need a jacket, on mild winter days I can get away with a t-shirt and toque (that's a beanie for my American friends.)

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As my E30 is now parked indoors, I needed to find and fix my evap leak to prevent the garage smelling like gasoline.

Removed the rear exhaust section, driveshaft, and finally the fuel tank. During that process, I found my main evap/fuel vapor leak, the rusted-through hardline to the charcoal canister.

In true "while I'm in there fashion", I decided to refresh/restore the entire fuel system.
More to come!

[Panici]

That looks great! Houndstooth Sport seats are so hard to find nowadays. Nice work

Absolutely true! It took me 2+ years to find any houndstooth at all. When it rains, it pours; I lucked out by finding an entire houndstooth interior.

That is so much better.
I would love a complete houndstooth in my next interior. So pretty.

Love the car! And interior 8-)

Love the houndstooth. Very nice build so far!

Thank you! I agree the Houndstooth really sets it off nicely.
You don't really find heavily patterned cloth in new vehicles today.


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May 2017 - Life happens, E30 stored early

• Enjoyed my E30 without issue for all of May 2017.
• Proposed to my lovely girlfriend Emily.
• Moved the M52B28 into my parents driveway and covered with a tarp.
  • The plan is still to eventually build and turbo this motor!
• Helped my (soon to be) sister-in-law pick out and purchase a first gen (NA) Miata.
  • Also taught her to drive a manual transmission, as the Miata is a 5-speed.
  • Discovered a massive water leak on the way back from viewing the Miata. Driving in the rain filled the (uncarpeted) passenger side rear footwell with water. Still have not determined the source.
• Parked the E30 on May 31st. Spent 6-months down in the USA training for my new job.

[TFJR]

Love the houndstooth. Very nice build so far!

[JRYE30]

Love the car! And interior 8-)

[MR E30 325is]

That is so much better.

I would love a complete houndstooth in my next interior. So pretty.

[2mAn]

That looks great! Houndstooth Sport seats are so hard to find nowadays. Nice work

[Panici]

May 2017 - Houndstooth Sport Seat Repair

I used a few guides found online to take apart my spare passenger seat, and my damaged driver's seat.

The idea is to use the (typically less worn) inside bolsters from the passenger seat as the outside bolsters on the driver's seat. The only modification needed was a few extra holes punched in the leather.

The seat still isn't perfect; there is a slight water stain on the bottom cushion. Although this is barely noticeable in person.