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

[varg]

Removed my fog lights today.



The black doesn't match the "black" of my beat up valance, I don't really care though. Next step is to block off the brake duct holes. I'm probably going to order some sheets of black kydex and try making some blanks out of it. My car is looking seriously rough from the front, needs a new bumper.

This is a quick photoshop of what I have in mind with the brake duct blanks and repainting the valence so the blanks don't look so conspicuous.

Congrats on getting the m20 in there, your setup looks like fun. I'm diggin that oil cap!

You wanna come tune mine?? haha

You know how people usually say "wrong coast?"
For this it's "wrong corner!" :D

[varg]

I've had some rough luck with this car over the past few years, last year my trailing arm bushings, which aren't supposed to need lubrication, started squeaking intermittently. Now it is constant and loud, and has been driving me nuts. I am really dreading having to pull them, what a huge pain in the ass that will be.

But I finally caught a lucky break this week. I checked the inventory at one of the local junkyards and saw that a 1996 Z3 arrived on the 4th, I had some time so I headed out right away hoping to grab the steering rack. When I showed up, as luck would have it, the car was a 4 cylinder and the rack was still there. It came out with hardly any fight aside from the left tie rod and I was in and out in an hour and a half or so.





A quick turn test at the junkyard and a look at the number plate confirmed it is the good one. 2.7 turns lock to lock, for $50! Can't beat that. It doesn't appear to be leaky or worn out either. I installed it yesterday and the difference is monumental. Stock E30 steering racks belong on an old American car, they don't fit the spirit of the E30 at all and are one of the places where BMW dropped the ball on these cars. Now my car steers like it should, like the sharp and quick sport coupe I've turned it into. My handling package is complete. The biggest difference is on initial turn in, the response is sharp and accurate, and no more turning the steering wheel 45 degrees for a slight bend in the road. Now I need to take some days off and do a few autocrosses to familiarize myself with my radically changed (since last autocross) car and try to git gud.

[2mAn]

A steering rack is definitely on my list of upgrades. Please get that front bumper fixed, it really detracts from the front of the car :hitler:

[badwella]

Awesome upgrade. I did the exact same. Found a 1997 Z3 and snagged it even though I already had a z3 rack I purchased off Ebay (eventually sold it on here). You won't be disappointed with that upgrade at all. Well, it may feel a little bit more 'nervous', but that's it.

If it's still there, you may go back and get the cross brace off the z3 too (came on both M3's and Z3's). You can install rivnuts on your framerails to install it on the e30 chassis. The front part bolts right up to your subframe. It does hang lower than the aftermarket cross braces, but since your car isn't lowered, this shouldn't be an issue.




I have about 4" clearance to the ground (hard to tell due to glare though).

It absolutely adds extra ridigity to my front end.

[varg]

After taking a couple of photos of my car today I finally got sick enough of the valence to provoke me to do I what I initially didn't want to. I hacked up my brake ducts so they fit around the intercooler pipes. It does look a lot better. I might spray paint them black where they are exposed. They're ziptied at the bottom until I find a better way to make sure they don't get lost, they're only held in by one clip each because the other one just won't fit with the interference from the pipes.

A steering rack is definitely on my list of upgrades. Please get that front bumper fixed, it really detracts from the front of the car :hitler:

I don't like it either, but bumpers are pricey and cosmetics are last on the list of priorities for my car. I still have to get new power steering and AC lines to get my car ready for the upcoming oppressive humidity, and I'm going to need new tires by the end of the year. I also need to either remove and wirewheel then paint my sunroof panel or find a new one because it has rusted quite badly, and I don't want any holes forming.

Awesome upgrade. I did the exact same. Found a 1997 Z3 and snagged it even though I already had a z3 rack I purchased off Ebay (eventually sold it on here). You won't be disappointed with that upgrade at all. Well, it may feel a little bit more 'nervous', but that's it.

If it's still there, you may go back and get the cross brace off the z3 too (came on both M3's and Z3's). You can install rivnuts on your framerails to install it on the e30 chassis. The front part bolts right up to your subframe. It does hang lower than the aftermarket cross braces, but since your car isn't lowered, this shouldn't be an issue.
...
It absolutely adds extra ridigity to my front end.

Too late :(, I'm sure it's gone by now and I'm not planning on going back any time soon, very busy. I don't think I'd find the time to do that installation any time soon. I still have to do a diff swap, replace the lines to get my AC working and get an alignment because the car wanders and follows ruts more than it did before. I'm wondering if the Z3 rack was of slightly different width and caused my car to have more toe out.

[Pat-325]

I'm always wondering why you put inlet pipes like that?
Especially this left one - it's very low. And you got quite long route from turbo to throttle body. Short one will get some spool improvements and quicker throttle response.

[varg]

I'm always wondering why you put inlet pipes like that?
Especially this left one - it's very low. And you got quite long route from turbo to throttle body. Short one will get some spool improvements and quicker throttle response.

There's no other way to mount my intercooler. Some people mount them upright and run the pipes under the headlights; I can't do this because it is too large and the end tanks interfere with the AC lines. The one on the driver's side is like that because it's what I could do with the off-the-shelf couplers and pipes I had. I'm not equipped to weld aluminum so I can't really fab up a custom pipe which doesn't hang down like that, getting one welded up by someone else? Money I don't want to spend yet, maybe when it bothers me more... You'd have to see under the front end to see why it wound up like that. As for it affecting response, it's unlikely that it has a significant effect. The pipes are not oversized, and long runs are common in OEM setups, ever seen the piping on a Z32 300ZX? something like 12' of piping between the turbos and the throttle body, and not known to be an excessively laggy car.

[varg]

[ForcedFirebird]

Couple squirts of flat black on the exposed pipes and those pipes will blend right in. Looking good tho.

[sam_]

lookin gooood

[ThatM20Guy]

Black intercooler for super stealth :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[varg]

BIG
Update.
I've been very busy. I moved, and now have a garage! A dream come true.




I ripped an engine mount apart launching the car.




Temporarily "repaired" it with a ratchet strap.




And replaced my old junk with what are essentially 95a skateboard wheels with a bolt through them. (not really but that's what I thought of them when I received them)



But what I've really been looking forward to doing in my garage was reinstalling the air conditioning system in my car. Because of my intercooler placement, this required removing the front end to get at the AC lines, which were seized on the condenser quite badly.






Here's my homemade "flush gun" which I used to blast a proprietary flush fluid I sprayed into the lines through the system.




Having air conditioning in your turbo E30 requires some tight squeezes. But I'm not playing make believe race car driver here, this is a street car.




Busted out my old friend the free kludge vacuum pump for this, it did a great job as always.



No thorough testing of the AC system has been done yet, it has been cool here for the past couple of days so I have been enjoying the last good riding days of spring on my motorcycle. We'll see how things shape up when the temperature hits the 90s later this week.

Also,

working on your car on a rainy day and not getting wet and angry is such a nice feeling, and I'm lucky to now know it after paying my dues doing this car guy stuff for a decade in the brutal sun and pouring rain.

[Good & Tight]

A/C is must down here. I just did a 134 retrofit on my 84, new condenser, expansion valve, O-rings and rebuild compressor. Blows nice and cold.
Congrats on the garage.!

[Bearmw]

I ile your progress.. Have you considered R152 refrigerant? My friend swears by it as a cheap alternative. He has a tool to extract it from those air duster cans.

[CorvallisBMW]

Having air conditioning in your turbo E30 requires some tight squeezes. But I'm not playing make believe race car driver here, this is a street car.

Tell me about it

Nice work! Having a garage is a godsend.