SNAFU; high performance 318is build that lives up to the name, Turbo M42 ➞ Turbo M20

[varg]

Car looks great.

Thanks!

I'm still deciding if I should boost my 200k m42 or if I should get my hands on a m20

Well, on one hand I want to encourage you to do it because my M42 has around 200k on it so I've proven it can take the abuse, on the other hand, if you have the means to do an M20 instead; do it. The M20 is stronger, smoother and is less troublesome. I am planning on an M20 swap myself.

What wheels are those on the red e30?

fifteen52 Formula TR. They're a nice departure from weaves, imo.

[george graves]

What wheels are those on the red e30?

[Reub_e30]

I'm still deciding if I should boost my 200k m42 or if I should get my hands on a m20

[efficient]

Car looks great.

[varg]

My car has been running and driving great, I'm very happy with it. I tracked down a couple of boost leaks, one of them is my blowoff valve so I'll need to find a new one of higher quality than the ebay crap I've been using, but still cheap enough that I can afford it, preferably one with a 2 bolt flange. Any suggestions would be appreciated.





And here are some photos from a recent meet with my local E30 group.







The white car in this photo is beautifully clean S50 swapped car owned by George from the palm beach county E30 group, I don't know if he's on r3v. A real beauty and the beast view. We haven't raced yet but his car dynoed at around 250whp and has a weight disadvantage so I think the result is predictable :devil:

This view really shows how low his car is, mine is at about stock height right now, just how I like it, my big 3" exhaust doesn't scrape on any speed bumps and I still get all of the sharp handling of stiff coilovers. Next handling mod will be a better steering rack, I'm getting kind of tired of the stock rack, it doesn't fit the other driving characteristics of my car at all.

[varg]

Back to that turbo upgrade. That was a real ordeal, it took twice as long as it should have because I had to grind a relief in the valve cover for the turbo to fit, among other things that required trips to the hardware store. It was a really tight fit.








I've been battling clutch issues for the past several months, I was having trouble getting into first gear from a stop, so much that I had to push the transmission into third, then go to first. I replaced everything in the hydraulic system, starting with the clutch line and ending with the master cylinder, no result. Then I drilled a hole in the bottom of the transmission bellhousing and watched the clutch action with the car up on stands. When the clutch pedal was depressed, the clutch disc was staying stuck firmly to the flywheel, and it would jump off when the transmission was put in gear. Here's the view through that hole




I ordered a new throwout bearing after noticing a little strangeness with the existing one while peering through the hole, and sure enough when I took the transmission off to replace the bearing, it was broken in half. I replaced it, figuring this was for sure the issue, causing uneven disengagement of the clutch and making it get stuck on the input shaft or something.






So after that I took a test drive, and noticed no issues. A couple days later on trip across the state for a vacation The problems came back. Along the way I noticed no issues, but after arriving at the hotel and driving out to get dinner, I couldn't get the transmission into any forward gear without lots of struggle. It was pretty much fine when the clutch was cool, but after driving around town using it, the clutch would get hot and stick as badly as ever. This was unneeded stress during my vacation but I managed, just driving like the clutch was on/off to reduce heating and making going into third before first a habit. I was more mad at the wasted transmission removal job, which is a real pain. After the trip I just continued to drive the car around the clutch issue and eventually ordered a UUC 9 puck clutch. A couple of months after the throwout bearing job, the transmission was off again, and I found a cooked clutch. Now I didn't know this at the time, but apparently Kevlar clutches cook very easily, and even though I hadn't done anything I though to be particularly abusive to this clutch, the drag racing launches were enough to cook it up and make it stick to the flywheel. This time, there won't be any issues. The UUC 9 puck clutch I ordered is good for 500hp (which will come in handy when I eventually get an M20 for this car) and being a ceramic/metallic clutch it won't cook. The transmission input shaft seal also failed some time in the couple of months between the throwout bearing job and the clutch job, so I swapped it out for a transmission from a buddy's parts car.








Since then I've had another exhaust leak, which turned out to be a crack in the header. I've also taken my front suspension apart to install some dust covers to protect my shocks and replaced the front brake discs and pads.

[varg]

Update:






More to come.

[varg]

Nice 1/4 mile run, car sounds smooth.

I see your enjoying all the rain also.

Thanks, "nice 1/4mi run" means more coming from someone who has a car that could smoke mine if it coasted from the 1/8th mile mark :D

looks good. The 318is badge you have is for an e36!

Yep, and I really like it better than the E30 style badge, it just seems to fit the styling of this late car better.

Great build and information. You do great work. Keep it up. Can't wait to see more, Don't suppose you have gotten anywhere on the MS write up? :popcorn:

Nah, lack of interest from others and being busy on my part means it has been collecting electronic dust in my hardrive.

What did you use to paint your trim?

Rustoleum satin black spray paint. I scuffed the trim with a brillo pad, cleaned it with simple green, and painted it. So far it's holding up nicely, no sign of peeling or cracks.

[mistacarder]

I painted my door trim, making the car the trim surrounds look worse in comparison.







What did you use to paint your trim?

[Razor1981]

Awesome

Great build and information. You do great work. Keep it up. Can't wait to see more, Don't suppose you have gotten anywhere on the MS write up? :popcorn:

[gart]

Wow, just read whole thread. Good work! Glad you're getting to enjoy it finally.

[Dj Buttchug]

looks good. The 318is badge you have is for an e36!

[Good & Tight]

Nice 1/4 mile run, car sounds smooth.

I see your enjoying all the rain also.

[Ether-D]

Welp, I just read the whole thing. Idk how I've missed this for so long. I love it. The car looks like it's hiding things (in a good way). Great car man.

[varg]

Why thank you, and as a matter of fact, yes. Quite a bit.


I re-fitted my exhaust and changed the muffler hangers, increasing ground clearance and eliminating an annoying rattle.


Sorry, no "after" just this before pic. The angled, staggered hangers are gone and I cut the big muffler off and re-welded it.






I painted my door trim, making the car the trim surrounds look worse in comparison.






I took some more pictures.









I took my garbage to the drag strip and put some numbers to my work for the first time.



Unfortunately I couldn't get it to hook and my best ET was 13.846. My best trap speed of 103.06mph pretty much confirms my estimate of around 250whp. Next time I'll grab a cheap portable air compressor before I hit the strip so I can air down and get some better traction instead of drag racing with 30psi in my tires like an idiot :fishslap:, oh, and I'm planning on installing launch control in my Megasquirt.

I also did a couple of things I don't have pics of. I installed a subwoofer in the trunk, not for big thump, but because I was sick of having no lows at all, replaced my clutch line with a fancy braided stainless one and did a turbo re-build. And yesterday my sunroof decided being leak free was so 2015 and dumped water on my laptop as I took a turn.

On my list of things to do soon is an E46 steering rack swap to complete the package of handling mods, sanding and painting the rusty sunroof panel, and maybe a bigger turbo.