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

[s14brent]

hey did you ever get the ac wiring figured out? I know that was years ago, but just curious as I'm just getting there now and still can't find a straight answer

edit: like did you run pin 64 from dme to violet ac switch wire for the idle compensation.

[stonea]

I actually really like the lighter being over on that side. I hate when I'm charging something and the wires get in the way when I'm trying to shift.

[Rain30]

It took me around 2.5 weeks to read this from start to finish, and now I cant wait for updates! It's like binge watching your favorite show until your caught up to the current season. Now I have to wait for a new episode to come out every week :(

This is hands down the best build thread I think I have ever seen (and I read a ton of these). Your attention to detail is awesome, and the time you put into finding out how to make everything work, and function the way you want it to, makes me realize I would be much happier with my own projects, if I'd just take it a little slower, and be okay with making a V1 and then a V1.2, ect.

That being said, I hope you dont mind if I "barrow" a few of your ideas. I will definitely give you credit for them here and on IG. I have to have that coolant drain tube for my E30 and my E46!

Keep up the great work, and I look forward to more updates!

[Toodaloo]

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

I'm in love with the shifter! Awesome work with the shifter surround as well. I wouldn't have expected that to come out so perfectly! I know I would probably have ended up messing up a cut or two along the way haha.

[Toodaloo]

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

I'm in love with the shifter! Awesome work with the shifter surround as well. I wouldn't have expected that to come out so perfectly! I know I would probably have ended up messing up a cut or two along the way haha.

Edit: looks like I forgot how to R3V since I haven't been on here for a while. I meant to edit my post not quote myself...
Will you be at bimmerfest this year!?
- Andrei

[Sh3rpak!ng]

This is an incredibly detailed and inspiring build. Just got caught up on the thread. Keep up the great work!

Thank you! :D I just finished reading through yours as well. You've also got a very clean well put together build going, looking forward to your progress

Holy crap... I've spent the last two weeks reading from beginning to end after stumbling on your thread. Everything you've done is just so clean and satisfying, and hopefully, I can put a 1/10th of the attention to detail you did into my car. So much yes... SO much yes haha ;D

Thanks man :) I really appreciate the kind words. I have some sort of extreme automotive ocd that I can't leave things "half finished" or even 95% finished or else it bugs me incessantly. Glad you've enjoyed it!

hey did you ever get the ac wiring figured out? I know that was years ago, but just curious as I'm just getting there now and still can't find a straight answer

edit: like did you run pin 64 from dme to violet ac switch wire for the idle compensation.

Nope, byt the time I was ready to finish installing it and test, I decided this was a racecar and sold all the AC components. I know there is a thread somewhere on here (maybe in the s52 24v swap section?) that had a lot of good info and some solutions iirc

I actually really like the lighter being over on that side. I hate when I'm charging something and the wires get in the way when I'm trying to shift.

I agree with you. Maybe my mistake was a good one haha

It took me around 2.5 weeks to read this from start to finish, and now I cant wait for updates! It's like binge watching your favorite show until your caught up to the current season. Now I have to wait for a new episode to come out every week :(

This is hands down the best build thread I think I have ever seen (and I read a ton of these). Your attention to detail is awesome, and the time you put into finding out how to make everything work, and function the way you want it to, makes me realize I would be much happier with my own projects, if I'd just take it a little slower, and be okay with making a V1 and then a V1.2, ect.

That being said, I hope you dont mind if I "barrow" a few of your ideas. I will definitely give you credit for them here and on IG. I have to have that coolant drain tube for my E30 and my E46!

Keep up the great work, and I look forward to more updates!

Thank you sir! Glad you've enjoyed it so much. I've definitely learned a shitload from building this car. I think if anything it really shows how much work it really takes to make things work and feel exactly the way you want them to. That definitely takes a lot of steps, or versions as you've seen. Sometimes I get it right the first time, but more often than not it takes a couple iterations. I enjoy working on the car most when I'm working on these little detail projects and I have no pressure to get it done quickly, or done right the first time, just to take my time and enjoy the process. You are more than welcome to take ideas from here, I've borrowed plenty myself. And I do appreciate the credit :)

I'm in love with the shifter! Awesome work with the shifter surround as well. I wouldn't have expected that to come out so perfectly! I know I would probably have ended up messing up a cut or two along the way haha.

Thanks! It did come out better than I expected too, though i did cut too much f the center console, but it bothers me a lot less than I thought it would so I may not bother replacing it.

Edit: looks like I forgot how to R3V since I haven't been on here for a while. I meant to edit my post not quote myself...
Will you be at bimmerfest this year!?
- Andrei

Hahaha yea! I think I'll enter the "25 and under" competition one last time and see if I have any luck this year now that the car is all cleaned up. Though I'm preparing myself to lose again to some pandem widebody, square headlight, accuair, $5k wheels, wood trunk paneled thing :p



Anyway, time for a few updates! Though i haven't been too active here, I have been busy and I do have some progress to share.



I finalized the seat bracket design, cut it out of the aluminum sheet (with a combination of hole saws, angle grinder, cutoff discs, flap discs) made it look pretty and then mounted it in the car. But like everything else it wasn't that simple. Everything is interfering with pretty much everything, so I had to get a bunch of odd sized bolts, washers, nuts and use a bizarre combination of those and spacers that I made out of black nylon to get it all to fit just right. This took WAY WAYYYY more time than I ever thought it would, but it was worth it. Now that the seats are in perfect placement this thing is really starting to feel "right".





Had to make a square adapter/spacer for the seatbelt flange.







As I mentioned before, clearance is tight and the seat is sitting very low so there was no chance that the stock locking mechanism would fit. I had to cut the flange for the passenger -> driver side hook up off the driver side bracket too. Hence the clothes hangar lever. Ill figure ut something better for that at some point, but for now it works.





Here are some photos from the streets of willow track day that I did ages ago but never posted (and forgot to download). Since then I've evened out the ride height. It was a bit high in the rear.









Also installed one of these to round out the shifter install :D (the massive seat brackets will soon be for sale)





Here's a recent photo of the engine bay now that it's "complete"





Here's the driver side brackets installed. What I didn't take pictures of was that the seat also interfered with the springs that keep tension on the locking mechanism, so I had to drill new holes for it to seat into and bend the spring to fit. I swear, not even the simplest, most innocent piece of this car escapes modification for one reason or another.





And here's something I am particularly proud of. BMW somehow came across this photo from my IG and reposted it on their page :D ;D notice the pigeon trying to get in on the action

[TheWipprSnappr]

Baller update. I understand the need to adjust the rear height for performance purposes, but based on pure aesthetics, I love the stance/rake in those pics. Especially with the meaty tires, it just looks super aggressive :devil:

[industrious]

Great Build Thread!!!

New user, just got an E30 this week, its a 1991 318IS to be exact. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your build thread. I look forward to more updates since that S/C from the M3 hasn't been installed yet ;D

[c0rbin9]

^ Post some pics/details! In your own thread of course.

[Digitalwave]

Do you have co-drivers when you do track days? You could have saved a lot of time not messing with the stock sliders for the seats, haha!

[TeXJ]

Very clean engine bay, no windshield washer fluid hoses?

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Baller update. I understand the need to adjust the rear height for performance purposes, but based on pure aesthetics, I love the stance/rake in those pics. Especially with the meaty tires, it just looks super aggressive :devil:

Thanks. I used to like the raked look more than I do now. The car still has a touch of rake currently, it's not totally flat. But I do rub just a touch in the rear.

New user, just got an E30 this week, its a 1991 318IS to be exact. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your build thread. I look forward to more updates since that S/C from the M3 hasn't been installed yet ;D

Thank you, congratulations on the new car!

^ Post some pics/details! In your own thread of course.

+1

Do you have co-drivers when you do track days? You could have saved a lot of time not messing with the stock sliders for the seats, haha!

I have passengers from time to time, and usually have passengers at autoxs. I also still drive the car on the street quite a bit and have friends of varying sizes sit in the passenger seat. A very small handful of trusted friends/family are allowed to drive it from time to time so I can feel what it's like from the passenger seat :) So between all that it's nice to have the adjustability and it also kinda became a challenge to myself to make it work :D

Very clean engine bay, no windshield washer fluid hoses?

Thank you! Nope, ditched the washer bottle long ago. Honestly have never needed it since. I just wipe the windshield when I get gas if it's really bad.

[TeXJ]

aww ok, was wondering if it would be helpful during track sessions, but I guess you could just wash it once you go back to the pits.

[Rain30]

How do you like the UHMW Condor bushing on the street? My E30 is currently running DD and I needs new bushing, I need to decide between poly or UHMW. I have Polys all around in my e46 and love them.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

aww ok, was wondering if it would be helpful during track sessions, but I guess you could just wash it once you go back to the pits.

Actually that's a good point I hadn't thought of before now. I do have a really small universal compact washer bottle and pump that I got ages ago, so I'm sure I could figure out a good place to mount it if needed. Also still have the wiring tied up behind the passenger side wiring cover.

How do you like the UHMW Condor bushing on the street? My E30 is currently running DD and I needs new bushing, I need to decide between poly or UHMW. I have Polys all around in my e46 and love them.

I have no problem with them, actually like them quite a bit. It's kinda hard to remember what it felt like before, but I don't really think it added any more harshness than was already introduced by the stiff coilovers. There's also not much vibration transferred. Probably a fair bit of noise though.