Bronzit E30 - OBDII S52 shaved bay - weekend/autox toy - Journey

[2mAn]

Oops slipped in some pics of other stuff....

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Some small updates.

Mostly been driving the car and working on the truck. Truck now has working brakes, working fuel supply and power steering. Sorting out cooling next...

Recent engine bay shot:



I finally tucked and trimmed the ignition harness. This has been on my to do list ever since I "finished" the swap. I bought a big set of "electrical connector pin tools" ages ago and they finally came in use! To start I depinned the connector and pulled the harness apart to see what I was working with.



I'm not scared.... snip snip


Planned


Wires extended out the rear of the harness cover. I also made a little aluminum plug for the old port off the side between #4 and #5


And done! I also added extra grounds for all the coil packs. I've been collecting those little ground straps from various junkyard trips until I had enough.



Started another fun e30 project.... supercharger. Mocking up placement in the old AC compressor location. The plan is to use the existing AC bracket, pulley and tensioner. That way the system runs separately from the main drive and I don't have to re engineer the whole thing. So far looks like a fairly simple bracket. The next challenge is to sort out the oil system. Rotrex clearly notes in their technical literature that no component of the oiling system should be elevated above the height of the center of the supercharger. That'll be an issue with the configuration I have in mind. I'll call them to get their advice. Not sure if this'll need some sort of an oil scavenge system or what...

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[Sh3rpak!ng]

Went to radwood two weeks ago. Weather was kinda crappy and the venue was muddy, but it was still a cool event. With better weather it wouldve been awesome. Here are 3 of the 10 highlights anddddd that's all I can share because tapatalk has informed me I reached my cap for number of photos I can share in a month as a a non-VIP member.... fucking assholes. This is how the forums die... I guess I'll get back to hosting from google photos. It was a bit of a hassle but oh well. In E30 news I'm finally tucking the engine ignition wire harness behind the firewall cover. Intended to do that 4-5 years ago when I finished the swap. Time flies. I'll probably also tackle the cold air intake into the driver high beam, that is unless I sort out the supercharger first. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Replacing fuel lines *rolls eyes* thought I wouldn't have to touch these for a few years, but as you can see they've started to split and I could smell fuel around them. Though nothing was actually leaking (yet) this is not something I want to even think about taking a chance with. In hindsight, I bought this fuel line from an aerospace/military surplus store and it could've been fairly old, or not rated for ethanol regardless I'm replacing it with vibrant push lock hose. It's a little more flexible too.







I also took the opportunity to replace some old hose clamps and lines around the filter. This short "U" bend line I replaced with gates fuel hose years ago I never realized until now was actually kinking pretty badly. Hard to see in the photo, but it's a significant kink. I found the BMW PN for the moulded "U" bend hose and ordered it... yea it was expensive $25 but I didn't know what else to do except walk through napa or autozone and look at all their off the shelf moulded lines to see if I could find one...



here's the bmw moulded fuel line



On the topic of headers, I finished installing them. Made this merge setup to connect the euro headers to my existing 2.5" single. Used some spare aluminized tube I had leftover. Don't really care that it's not SS since it'll eventually be replaced. Also noticed that the old "cheaper" flex pipe I'd been using before actually necked down to like 2.25-2" in the middle. Sprung for a vibrant flex pipe this time.



Here's the view looking down. It's tight but no problem tightening any of the O2 sensors.



I've got a handful of small projects getting finished up in the bay. I finally completed the catch can vent the way I intended. Plumbed it with fittings straight down through the sheet metal and will neatly run it down the frame to the back. I had previously just slapped it together with some spare hose and had it route down the firewall and headers... now it looks clean! If I have time I'll also reposition the coil pack harness connector behind the M3 covers - currently it's just hanging completely free right next to the headers. It's irritated me ever since I did the swap I just never bothered to take care of it.

Splitter v2 is going down tonight and I'll be at radwood on Saturday morning!

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[Sh3rpak!ng]

I just ended up putting the S54 subframe with S54 oil pan on the my US S50. Any header option should work I think with making ground clearance... If I ever change things up from the AA headers... Ill dig for a set of euro headers..

Just breezed through your thread, nice work! You're right there's a ton of space once you move to the s54 pan and subframe which also relocates the swaybar... I have an s54 pan and spare subframe hanging on the wall for when the time comes... too many projects, and now the truck

[moatilliatta]

I just ended up putting the S54 subframe with S54 oil pan on the my US S50. Any header option should work I think with making ground clearance... If I ever change things up from the AA headers... Ill dig for a set of euro headers..

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Any E36 Header needs at least the stock secondary's adapted to fit the chassis and for ground clearance. But good to see they take about the "standard" installation. I guess you had to redo the B1 collector for clearance?

That's true. I guess I've spoiled myself with how I had the OEM tubular headers done. I clearanced my subframe and flipped one of the studs around so I could actually install/remove them without touching anything else in about 5 mins. No more....

Yes, B1 header had to be reworked for clearance. It was pointing straight at the swaybar. It was also a bit mangled from the previous modification/install from the previous owner.

[moatilliatta]

Any E36 Header needs at least the stock secondary's adapted to fit the chassis and for ground clearance. But good to see they take about the "standard" installation. I guess you had to redo the B1 collector for clearance?

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Mmm euro header. Cool to see they fit.

I may have missed, stock engine mount heigh with bar In stock position?

Yeah, trimix doubled the last few months, I almost shitted when I got my bill..

LOL yea, they "fit" only took some serious persuasion with hammer, angle grinder, welder, removal of engine mount and arm, and raising the motor to get them in there

I'm guessing you're referring to the swaybar position? I had to space it down about 1/4" and engine mounts/height are stock

I was fortunate to have bought that full bottle of trimix from someone on craiglist for like $90 and haven't done enough SS welding to need a refill for 3 years. Now I've got three empty bottles all need filling x2 C25 and the trimix.... not looking forward to that

[moatilliatta]

Mmm euro header. Cool to see they fit.

I may have missed, stock engine mount heigh with bar In stock position?

Yeah, trimix doubled the last few months, I almost shitted when I got my bill..

[Sh3rpak!ng]

How big are the collectors? The pie slice tight bends are always fun to look at, but donuts almost always are easier to work with and result in a cleaner finished product.

it's collecting to 2.25" which will eventually continue as dual tubes all the way out the back when I get around to stage 2 of this project.

It's hard to tell from the photos but pretty much all of those bends are on multiple planes so even cutting up a donut or mandrel bent tube would've more or less ended up like this. 304 SS is also damn expensive. I'll use mandrel bent tube for the rest of the exhaust where the bends are simpler with more space.


Oh and I figured out why the welding got difficult towards the end... was running out of gas

[Sh3rpak!ng]

yeah the 60678 is what I have, I'm surprised they stopped selling it. It was the same thing as Sunex but half the price. I love mine, it's held up well and it works really well with my E30 and E36.

I haven't had a single hiccup with it. I used this with no problem (e30, e39, and my old e36 m3). The release knob can be pretty sensitive if you forget and are in a rush, but yeah it was like $110-120 and well worth every penny. I'm not sure why they would discontinue them either. I was looking at the daytona floor jacks last time i was at HF and thought they would have something comparable.

Thanks guys. I'm going to keep an eye out for a used one or else just suck it up and buy the arcan version some day soon. Really kicking myself for not acting earlier but oh well.

Great job on the headers. I've used helium tri-mix and ss wire, I think my wire wasn't the cleanest (should have bought a new roll instead of using what a friend had left over) and had some issues there as well, I still have the bottle in my garage of the stuff, damn it's expensive too! but yeah you have the ideal 24v header setup for sure now.
Awesome pickup. I was actually looking for an older american truck (for a short while) to haul parts and my mini bikes with. I just don't want to deal with any more carbs. I've lost so many hours tuning them on my bikes, no experience with them on cars though. I'm curious to see what you do with this one.

Thanks! The prior experience has helped me get this job done fairly quick. I'm really not quite sure what's the issue with the mig welding SS - sometimes it was laying a nice smooth bead, and sometimes just spattering and nasty. Might've been the HVAC kicking on in the house and robbing amperage, but I'm not sure. The wire is also like 2-3 years old? But it's been kept in a clean box so idk.

I'm excited about the truck. Been wanting to dabble in that arena for a long time.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Things got fairly tricky here snaking both pipes just right so they would clear the floor, swaybar, each other, and leave space for the v bands.





All tacked up ready for full welding.



Having to do a lot of grinding. MIG welding stainless isn't as smooth as mild steel and I think I'm starting to tax the garage's electrical system, but this will work just fine. I intend to ceramic coat later too.



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How big are the collectors? The pie slice tight bends are always fun to look at, but donuts almost always are easier to work with and result in a cleaner finished product.

[s14brent]

I knew HF used to sell a longer/lower jack than the standard low profile unit I have... Dammit I wish I had bought one when they were still available. Looks like the Arcan XL2T and Sunex 6602LP are the same jack (the HF 60678 looks the same too). And the Arcan is $200 on amazon. These two seem to be the lowest/longest reach floorjacks for under $500.

What's your opinion of the HF 60678?

I haven't had a single hiccup with it. I used this with no problem (e30, e39, and my old e36 m3). The release knob can be pretty sensitive if you forget and are in a rush, but yeah it was like $110-120 and well worth every penny. I'm not sure why they would discontinue them either. I was looking at the daytona floor jacks last time i was at HF and thought they would have something comparable.

Great job on the headers. I've used helium tri-mix and ss wire, I think my wire wasn't the cleanest (should have bought a new roll instead of using what a friend had left over) and had some issues there as well, I still have the bottle in my garage of the stuff, damn it's expensive too! but yeah you have the ideal 24v header setup for sure now.
Awesome pickup. I was actually looking for an older american truck (for a short while) to haul parts and my mini bikes with. I just don't want to deal with any more carbs. I've lost so many hours tuning them on my bikes, no experience with them on cars though. I'm curious to see what you do with this one.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

that international is awesome and so are those headers. Why both O2 bungs on one header? clearance?

thanks! one of those bungs is for the wideband sensor to my wideband gauge, otherwise each header has an O2 sensor like usual. Clearance actually wasn't an issue at all.