E30 #2: 1990 Delphin: RHD ITB M20

[ThatM20Guy]

How's the shifter after the upgrade? I still have the AKG shifter w/ stock shift linkage, brass bushings, but it's still sloppy.

I have the same setup as him but with a poly rear carrier and garagistic dssr. Mine is very tight and notchy (at least to me). It could be your shift knuckle is super worn. Mine was so worn it wouldn't engage in 3rd sometimes

[pandaboo911]

How's the shifter after the upgrade? I still have the AKG shifter w/ stock shift linkage, brass bushings, but it's still sloppy.

[c0rbin9]

That instrument cluster is out of control!

Got tired of the Monte Carlo? What with it blocking the gauges and whatnot...

[318aye]

Some stuff arrived, more on the horizon. Working on acquiring and restoring a set of leather sport seats and and MT1 steering wheel. Cluster is going back to stock. AKG shifter is out and replaced with all delrin shift bushings and a Z3 1.9 lever.

To Do:
New backing plate/trumpets from Rama to add airbox clearance
Reassemble the whole interior
Acquire seats
Leather restoration
Reassemble cluster

Spent a whole night on the shift assembly. LOTS of fitup issues with the garagistic "delrin" stuff, seems incredibly hard for delrin. Front carrier bushings accepted a bitch clip fine when not pressed in, but tightened up considerably once installed. I had to take the OD of the bitch clip down with a file quite a bit to get any sort of reasonable fit. Rear carrier bushing required burning out the old rubber and filing down the retaining notches on the carrier itself. Also had to install the rear bushing onto the carrier, wiggle it up over the driveshaft, bolt in the rear bushing mount, and then go for the front mount/bitch clip. Stock gives you enough room to leave the rear bushing mount bolted up and then bring the carrier in, but no dice with the garagistic items. Overall feel on the completed system is good, still retains some of the notch and feel of the AKG shifter but all stock appearing.

Read this before you burn out a bushing! Was educational for me.

http://www.suspension.com/blog/how-to-burn-out-suspension-bushings-the-right-way/

DSSR was quite an adventure. As the internet will tell you, the Z3 lever requires either a bent selector or removal of the driveshaft harmonic balancer. I opted for the former....with my AKG DSSR :devil:. I took 1/8" off the bottom side to see if that would clear and it wasn't quite enough. Ended up using a press to add a bend that's probably ~25* off flat. End result is an intact driveline and a machined part that still looks good.

Wheel arrived as well, leather is intact and stitching is in good shape. However, it's still too worn for my liking and will be getting sanded/redyed along with the front seats (still lining those up).

Cluster is up next. Pics.

[318aye]

Let me know, and point him to Facebook. Tagged him, but no response

He gave me a reasonable price for a single set and said he had plenty of stock. I think you'd have to come to him with customers in hand for a GB setup.

Incredible build- I just went through the whole thing again.

I am interested to hear your thoughts on something:

If you had to, would you go back and do this over again, as opposed to swapping in an M52 or a budget 24V of the like?

I am at the point where I have my M20 torn down and am debating on putting a cam and IE headers on (building an exhaust obviously) which would mean ITBs too in a bit of time. But I'm torn, because my heart tells me to keep the M20 stock-ish and wait to do a budget M52 swap, and then do headers, exhuast, ITBs, cam, etc on that.

What are your thoughts? Are you happy with your setup in terms of power and cost?

Something I've considered a lot recently with the rising prices of E30's...

That sort of fundamental route question is super personal. Personally, I'm sticking to OEM+, bolt ons. Nothing irreversible, just clean. I felt like I was doing too much with the car recently, which is why the interior is going back to upgraded stock items.

I think the M20 really has character, and it's cool to see these cars with their original drivetrains. You'll still be in an ITB/Exhaust/Cam setup more than a budget M52, but you'll be pretty similar in terms of final power numbers and have something you really put work into and would be proud to show off. Not to mention the soundtrack difference :P. Obviously biased, but if you're not going S52/Nice Exhaust, the 24V route doesn't hold much appeal for me. To each their own.

With the airbox on (actually noticeable torque difference in the midrange) I'm happy with the power. There are days when I get itchy for a turbo car or something modern, but the power, delivery, and sound never disappoint. I'm fine with the MS2/ITB/Exhaust cost. I'm a bit miffed that I'll have to throw another ~200 at a revised backing plate to get the airbox to fit correctly (we'll see) but such is life. I've gotten off building a motor for now, but if I had another 5k to throw at the car a 3.1 would be a serious contender. If I already had a motor on a stand...that's a different story. I would say do it while you have it apart, I hate doing work twice.

Awesome build and I love what you have done with the car.

Planning on building a 2.8 high comp itb motor for my ix over the next couple years ;D

Just wish I had the knowledge of digger or firebird when it came to the subject of tuning

Thanks for the kind words! Sounds like a fun setup. Digger is super approachable, just ask (with some intelligent thought put into your question) and he's usually very helpful.

[ThatM20Guy]

Awesome build and I love what you have done with the car.

Planning on building a 2.8 high comp itb motor for my ix over the next couple years ;D

Just wish I had the knowledge of digger or firebird when it came to the subject of tuning

[AWDBOB]

Incredible build- I just went through the whole thing again.

I am interested to hear your thoughts on something:

If you had to, would you go back and do this over again, as opposed to swapping in an M52 or a budget 24V of the like?

I am at the point where I have my M20 torn down and am debating on putting a cam and IE headers on (building an exhaust obviously) which would mean ITBs too in a bit of time. But I'm torn, because my heart tells me to keep the M20 stock-ish and wait to do a budget M52 swap, and then do headers, exhuast, ITBs, cam, etc on that.

What are your thoughts? Are you happy with your setup in terms of power and cost?

[mr2peak]

Let me know, and point him to Facebook. Tagged him, but no response

[318aye]

I'll see if Rama will set up a group buy on the RHD ITB page for the updated plate and trumpets, I'm sure at least a few of us would jump on it.

He just emailed me back. Apparently it's a new backing plate and 5mm shorter spacers. We'll see what it runs.

[mr2peak]

Go for it.



I'll do that. I've been meaning to drop him a line. On one hand the car isn't a daily, and I love the open trumpet noise. On the other, the box really is the proper solution. Stuff that's 98% executed like the box fitment just eats at me.



Yup, stock everything. I do not want to modify the hood in any way.

I'll see if Rama will set up a group buy on the RHD ITB page for the updated plate and trumpets, I'm sure at least a few of us would jump on it.

[318aye]

So sexy. I need those ITBs on mine

Go for it.

i think rama has now developed some slightly smaller OD trumpets that fit inside the box better and a new backplate (im guessing its clocked down at the front slighty) to give more clearance for the front of the airbox to the bonnet/hood. might be worth inquiring about specifics

I'll do that. I've been meaning to drop him a line. On one hand the car isn't a daily, and I love the open trumpet noise. On the other, the box really is the proper solution. Stuff that's 98% executed like the box fitment just eats at me.

Are you still running the hood liner? I ditched mine, stripped the foam and "persuaded" the bracing underneath for more clearance, it's definitely still tight but not touching.

Yup, stock everything. I do not want to modify the hood in any way.

[Raxe]

Are you still running the hood liner? I ditched mine, stripped the foam and "persuaded" the bracing underneath for more clearance, it's definitely still tight but not touching.

[digger]

i think rama has now developed some slightly smaller OD trumpets that fit inside the box better and a new backplate (im guessing its clocked down at the front slighty) to give more clearance for the front of the airbox to the bonnet/hood. might be worth inquiring about specifics

[2mAn]

So sexy. I need those ITBs on mine

[318aye]

So no matter what I try, the airbox still manages to rub on the hood :(. I've pulled it until I can figure out a better solution. In the mean time, the trumpets sound great :). I'm going to powdercoat them, probably to match the valve cover. The car felt unfinished lately, so I'm working on cleaning up a few items. The cluster, shifter and interior will be going back to stock, I have a line on a set of sport seats that I'll try and restore along with an MT1 steering wheel. I have yet to have a cluster overlay last more than 4 months, and I'd rather not keep something poorly executed. I'm also looking at having the rear section of the exhaust toned down a bit, and switched over to a dual outlet to fill the valence properly.

Got the IE front bar in this evening, the oversteer is pretty controllable with the endlink on the middle setting. I'll probably leave it like this for a while and get used to the car again.