Rebuilding the build that never was - S/Ced schwarz e36 vert

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Did you ever have a problem with the Elring gasket? I have one I'm planning to throw on my M52 whenever I pop my headgasket. I've never heard anyone complain about goetze though either. I'd probably run anything but VR.

Nope, no issues at all. It looked like a nice gasket and I have yet to read/hear/see one fail or have issues. That said, from what I could find the goetze gasket is apparently superior to the elring, and the genuine BMW gasket is the king. There are a handful of big power FI guys in the bf FI section that run o-rings and an oem gasket with great success. When I finally get around to working on the engine of this car I'll likely go with the genuine BMW gasket just because it's the best, and the car is FI. For NA I wouldn't hesitate to go elring again.

That's a crazy amount of room behind the rear seat!

Yes it is! I didn't really even know it was there. Normally there is a thick sheet of sound deadening material covering it all up, so I never noticed when I previously removed the rear seat. I think that space is there for two reasons, one it's caused by the extra metal frame that bridges the two sides of the car to add stiffness that is lost without a roof, and two because rollover protection (popup bars) were an option that if fitted would have taken up that space. It sure makes a nice secret hiding spot!



Finished the sub box. Also cut out some extra space on the driver side behind the rear seat to fit the amp and glued the rest of the brackets back into the passenger side door.





The box isn't pretty. It was very tough to both maximize its volume and make it fit perfectly in that space. I had to clearance a couple of corners and edges in order to make it fit snug, but it is finished now, and I can't wait to power it up! (tonight if things go as planned)

[Codym42]

That's a crazy amount of room behind the rear seat!

[Northern]

Did you ever have a problem with the Elring gasket? I have one I'm planning to throw on my M52 whenever I pop my headgasket. I've never heard anyone complain about goetze though either. I'd probably run anything but VR.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Started repairing the doors. It's a little tedious but I think after this repair, they'll never need it again. The trick is to remove all of the old glue stuff that failed after 20 years. Various suggestions included mineral spirits, sandpaper, etc. but that wasn't fast enough for me so careful use of a dremel and a cutting disk shaved it all of very quickly.

Prepped with the top bracket already glued.





The amp and sub





More progress






And one door finished with speakers installed!




Started building the sub box. It's a really really small space with some weird angles. It'll be a bit undersized vs the sealed box volume recommended by the manufacturer, but I don't have much of a choice.





Test fit - I got it right :) and yes I predrilled everything, but I think I was too shallow on the predrill for that top left screw which caused it to split. My ocd REALLY doesn't like it, but I know it doesn't really matter. I also glued everything, so the screws were more so to hold it together while the glue dried.





Marked out the face plate ready to cut





I hate cutting the MDF in the garage. It makes such a ridiculous mess. Luckily it wasn't much and I'm finished now.





And my friend showed up to boost leak test his stage 3 s4 manwagon, drink some beers, eat some pizza, plan on how we're going to spend the next 5 years worth of paychecks, and "fake complain" about all of the issues plaguing our cars.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Got some more work done. I am just trying to fix the essential stuff that would prevent this car from being a decent dd for the next month or so while I fix the e30. After the e30 is fixed, I'll come back to the e36 to give it the attention it deserves.

I tried to pop the door panels off withoutht breaking anything (to install the new tweeters finally), but that was wishful thinking. One of the very first projects I ever tackled on a car was to repair the door panels of the e36. The plastic pockets, top rail, and side brackets commonly become un-glued from the inside of the door which results in a loose panel with gaps everywhere, or the panel pretty much falling off. Anyway, I was a noob when I fixed it 6 years ago and I am surprised they held up so long after such a sketchy repair haha. I even made a DIY writeup :P and had to refer back to it before I started taking apart the door because I couldn't remember http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ose-Door-Panel

So, I'll attempt to use some more appropriate glue. This repair is especially tricky because the door panel is made out of some strange wood/cardboard composite and the plastic parts are ABS. Those two materials are difficult to glue together because most glue/adhesive either bonds with one or the other.

I decided to go with this epoxy because it listed that it will bond well with wood and most plastics* and their "exception" list for the plastic did not mention ABS.





I laughed at myself a little bit when I saw and remembered what I did all those years ago. It was a combination of some random epoxy in some small places, a lot of hot glue, and duct tape what was I thinking... I used to think hot glue was the shit





I'm pretty sure I finally figured out the fuel leak that was driving me crazy for the past several months. There was gas pooled up on top of the fuel pump lid. The lid wasn't even hand tight. I was smelling it most strongly at full tank which makes sense if it was indeed leaking because of the loose lid. For good measure I cut a little off the transfer hose to give a new hose clamp a solid bite.





Looks like this used to be a nest... (driver side)





I got rid of the center arm rest finally. I used to like it, but since I started autocrossing etc. I realized how much it really gets in the way of aggressive shifting. Also I got used to driving without it in the e30. I think it looks much cleaner.

The 2 parts needed to convert are the non-armrest center console trim, and this little bracket.





Which goes here and is the new rear support for the console trim.





Finished

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Finally finished installing all of the new speakers and components ( still need to change the front tweeters though...) It sounds fantastic so far!! But it's missing the bass, so that'll be coming soon too.

I used these capacitors as filters so I could drive the front mids from the headunit, otherwise I would lose them. It added some nice fill and helped bring the soundstage off the floor.





In the e36 convertible, there is some nice space behind the rear seat perfect for hiding wiring and components. I mounted the new amp on the left side in the factory spot, and stuffed the front crossovers, the rear crossovers (those packets of black heat shrink), the front filters for the mids and some spare wiring not used after the install.





I made a new mounting plate for the new amp.





Everything looks nice and tidy. I also relocated some wiring that was in the middle spot in anticipation of putting a subwoofer there.





I cut away most of the original bracket for the rear speakers since the rear woofers were an inch smaller than the new ones. Then I drilled some holes and used some stand offs to mount the speakers. Everything fits pretty much exactly as it did stock.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

This is when my family/friends start to think I'm weird/crazy... I got very excited over a "box of screws" :D There's also a 2 sided honing stone for cleaning up the block surface when it comes time for that.





Made some progress on the audio. Spent a lot of time figuring out which wires go to what speakers and how I can wire it all up the way I want using only the OEM wiring. Actually should be pretty easy now that I have a clearer map of it all. Basically, all of the wires converge behind the back seat (wires from the HU, and wires to all of the speakers). Cleaned up the head unit harness and wiring, started routing RCA cables and basically figured out how I'll mount the oversized 5.25" rear speakers using a combination of the original bracket and some standoffs.


I'll be going back and re-doing all of the wiring to the gauges and accessories... what a mess.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

anyone have advice for the headgasket? I put an elring gasket in the e30, but I'm considering either goetze or OEM bmw for this car. Goetze is $50 and OEM is $100

Pictures from ecs for reference


OEM BMW



Goetze

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Started work this past weekend. TO get it off jack stands I had to install a driveshaft and reinstall the exhaust. I robbed the driveshaft to get the e30 driving after I emergency swapped a zf320 due to the g260 dying. I picked up a 325e '86 driveshaft (it has a 4 bolt rear and the large trans flange for the larger e36 guibo) - eventually I'll swap them between the 2 cars.

New M3 guibo and hardware. FYI a lot of oem metric hardware can be purchased at belmetric.com, they specialize in all metric stuff. Pretty useful especially for some of the not-so-common sizes etc.





New headunit





Wiring kit, amp and the front speakers





Bench full of audio stuff





Took most of the rear interior apart





Rear all apart. Lots of space behind the seat to fit amps, crossovers, etc. I plan on using the OEM wiring from the amp to all of the speakers. This allows me to mount the crossovers back there too since the OEM amp sends signals to each speaker individually. Game plan right now is to power the front woofers and tweeters with the amp, the front mids with the headunit, and the rear woofers and tweeters with the headunit. I can easily add another amp/subwoofer later. I'll lay the RCA cables for front, rear, and subwoofer regardless.





Here is one of the new rear woofers vs one of the BSW (oem size) woofers. Significantly larger. This should be a nice upgrade.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

So here is some of the plan in no particular order. I have a rather comprehensive page of notes in a notebook at home, so I'll be adding to this when I remember to take a look at it.

I'll be pulling the motor and bringing it down to the short block.

- VC nuts cadmium plated (they rusted after I wire wheeled them duh, so I'll do this as much for looks as corrosion protection)
- head skimmed and checked, maybe a valve job
- bleed and test lifters
- copper o-ring the block
- ARP studs
- OEM headgasket (elring or goetze)
- check main and rod bearing clearances
- oil pan baffle
- stewart water pump OR larger aluminum radiator - which is the better choice?
- paint block grey?
- new gaskets/seals everywhere
- chase/clean out all threads in block
- replace all pins, bushings, detents, seals, gaskets etc. in transmission
- replace the rubber hose with euro hardpipe for the euro expansion tank
- make a hardline to replace the small rubber overflow line from radiator to expansion tank
- rear subframe and differential bushings
- all chassis reinforcements available (swaybar tabs, engine mounts etc.)
- trim unneeded wires/connectors from harness
- shave and paint the engine bay
- tuck wires behind fenders
- split apart the harness, re-loom it and lengthen it where necessary for the wire tuck
- re wire headlights with heavier gauge for the HIDs? (necessary?)
- new headlights and bi-xenon retrofit with FX-R 3.0s (my current retrofitted lights will be for sale - TSX retrofitted DEPOs)
- new corner lights (probably clear OEM with a laminx tint)
- new ccv setup (VC -> catch can -> SAP vacuum pump operated with hobb switch -> check valve -> exhaust bung)
- CCV setup using black/red AN fittings
- brake calipers powder coated candy apple red with black lettering?
- M3 mirrors painted candy apple red
- new S/C oil lines made with red/black AN fittings + better bracket fabbed for the oil reservoir
- new headunit
- new amp and speakers all around
- black t-bolt clamps if I can find them
- switched power distribution block for aux gauges + other accessories
- new clips on all exterior trim
- fix the convertible top motor
- find/fix the fuel leak
- install lip on bumper
- spray intercooler black w/radiator paint for stealth
- relocate come connectors/wires in the bay for a cleaner look
- get the unneeded sensors deleted from ECU
- budget dtm shifter - use early e30 sheet metal shift carrier bolted to trans tunnel
- heat shielding on rear of engine bay and on trans tunnel to reduce radiant cabin heat
- ground all of the coil packs and test them


That's all I can think of for now

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Nice tire choice.

I like them very much so far.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Eh, just wait until no one in your family is surprised anymore when a box of parts shows up at the front door or another car is towed into the driveway. I lost count a while ago, but in the 14 years I've had a driver's license I've had well over 20 cars. Just picked up my first non-BMW, a 73 MGB roadster in August, so we are just getting started...

Current count is 5, but I've had as many as 7 at one time.

Haha, they're no longer surprised when car parts arrive on the doorstep... they got used to that a while ago.

That MGB roadster sounds sweet! I'm not sure when my departure from strict BMW ownership will be, but I know I'd like some american muscle in my fleet. Or a cobra kit car would be badass. Or a lotus. Or a viper.....

[iwantspeed]

Nice tire choice.

[mbonder]

Eh, just wait until no one in your family is surprised anymore when a box of parts shows up at the front door or another car is towed into the driveway. I lost count a while ago, but in the 14 years I've had a driver's license I've had well over 20 cars. Just picked up my first non-BMW, a 73 MGB roadster in August, so we are just getting started...

Current count is 5, but I've had as many as 7 at one time.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Nice looking bay in the above pics. Interested to see more pictures when its done.

^ Not weird at all, I'm only 21 and I have 4... 6 if you count the girlfriend's and her dad's...

Thanks! It's going to a whole other level :devil:

Yea, I have plans for a few more cars. The biggest issue I am starting to have is space for them all.