Project Armo "330i" M-tech 1

[petrolhead]

Planing the nikasil block is tricky because the coating tends to chip off when machining

Does it chip all the way or only near the top of the bore? I was thinking that your piston rings don't even go to deck height so do they touch the chipped area?
1mm squish? Sounds big. I'm aiming at 0,7-0,8mm with much bigger bore.

BTW, aren't M54s aluminium blocks with iron sleeves? Would an M54-block be out of the question?

[pazi88]

BTW, aren't M54s aluminium blocks with iron sleeves? Would an M54-block be out of the question?

Completely different desing in cooling system, so it can't be used with single vanos head.

[stonea]

Completely different desing in cooling system, so it can't be used with single vanos head.

But they can be converted to single vanos and to OBDI. I don't know much about the process but this guy did it. Or just go full OBD II with dual vanos.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=370535

[Skarpa]

Does it chip all the way or only near the top of the bore? I was thinking that your piston rings don't even go to deck height so do they touch the chipped area?
1mm squish? Sounds big. I'm aiming at 0,7-0,8mm with much bigger bore.

BTW, aren't M54s aluminium blocks with iron sleeves? Would an M54-block be out of the question?

The piston rings would probably not reach the chipped area but what I don't know is if the nikasil plating will continue flaking more easily once it has been cracked so I'd rather avoid chipping.

Completely different desing in cooling system, so it can't be used with single vanos head.

The blocks in single and dual vanos engines are not interchangeable but M52B28tu and M54B30 would not be out of question as complete engines. Both have aluminum block with cast iron cylinder sleeves. M54B30 was my original idea for engine. The power in that is 1 kW over the legal limit for E30 in Finland (320is + 20%) but could probably be inspection approved one way or another.

M52tu with M54B30 internals, cams and intake manifold would make almost perfect clone of M54B30 and pass the inspection.

But they can be converted to single vanos and to OBDI. I don't know much about the process but this guy did it. Or just go full OBD II with dual vanos.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=370535

I'm guessing he did single vanos conversion because of racing class limitations. For street use I see no point in that. Constantly variable Dual vanos is a bit more hazzle with the ecu but makes big impact on torque curve. The reason I got the engine I have now is that it came with basically everything I need for a very affordable price.

[pazi88]

But they can be converted to single vanos and to OBDI. I don't know much about the process but this guy did it. Or just go full OBD II with dual vanos.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=370535

Yeah if you use dual VANOS head. So it's easier to just buy m54b30 engine to start with :D

[Skarpa]

As said before, I bought the A/C system as a complete kit from a 325i part car. The HVAC unit was pretty dirty so i took it apart and cleaned it. Unfortunately I dropped the unit while taking it out of storage and broke one corner.




The heater core seemed fine but it has plastic ends and is pretty old so I think I'll replace it before installing the unit because taking it out if it breaks when the car is assembled is quite a lot of work.


One of the air recirculation flaps was broken.


Vaporizer was looking not too bad. That oily spot has not come from inside vaporizer


Condenser was not too bad either.


Some of the damage to be repaired


The amount of gunk inside the HVAC unit was amazing and all the foam sealings had deteriorated into sticky crumbling stuff. I washed all the parts.








Then it was time to repair the damages. I used aluminum plate, epoxy glue and pop-rivets



Looks like sperm, doesn't it ;)



System has a switch for disabling the A/C when all the ventilation flaps are closed to prevent it from icing over. The connector was damaged and would slide around or unhook easily. I made a socket for the connector and will use a small zip tie to lock it in place.





Before assembling I had everything wired up and tested all I could without coolant pressure. Everything seemed to work fine.




All the foam sealings were replaced and the unit was reassembled. I bought the large sealings as original spare parts and used industrial foam for the others.





Now the HVAC unit is stored away, waiting for installation.

[petrolhead]

Should it be mentioned here, that air conditioning is very rare indeed, in finnish E30s.
Following this with interest. I've considered building that to my car too. Yes you read that right :).

[stonea]

I think he converted to OBD1 for the M50 intake manifold. The M54 will give you a flat torque curve, but the M50 is more "peaky". Over here in the states the M52 was cast iron block (except for a year in the z3) so the m54 was the first mass produced straight six aluminum block we got. So I think that's why he did all of that work. To get m50 power curve but with an aluminum block.

[Skarpa]

Should it be mentioned here, that air conditioning is very rare indeed, in finnish E30s.
Following this with interest. I've considered building that to my car too. Yes you read that right :).

Damn, a while ago I had A/C compressor and bracket for M10/S14. But I must admit that I'm fair bit surprised about A/C in your car.

I think he converted to OBD1 for the M50 intake manifold. The M54 will give you a flat torque curve, but the M50 is more "peaky". Over here in the states the M52 was cast iron block (except for a year in the z3) so the m54 was the first mass produced straight six aluminum block we got. So I think that's why he did all of that work. To get m50 power curve but with an aluminum block.

That does make sence in racing application where peak power matters more than wide torque curve in low revs.

[Julien]

I retrofitted a/c in my 1992 318ic. Best mod ever, although the little m40 was a little slow(er) with it on :)

If you need any wiring diagrams (looks like you have them) I have the original e30 dealer a/c installation PDF on my computer

[petrolhead]

Damn, a while ago I had A/C compressor and bracket for M10/S14. But I must admit that I'm fair bit surprised about A/C in your car.

Perhaps we should discuss it in it's topic, not mess up your thread, but yes. You know what an E30 is like on a hot day, it's hell. Trip from southern Finland to say Kalajoki is not fun. So, anything that improves or adds to driving enjoyment..
By the way, is that bracket a brass colored thing that weighs a million tons? I saved one huge bracket like that from a random scrap block 'cause I didn't know what it was.

That does make sence in racing application where peak power matters more than wide torque curve in low revs.

In the real world, one does need a wide power band to make quick progress. Very rarely can you drive so that you shift @ redine or near it. Plus those lazy six engines have boxes with widely spread ratios.

[Skarpa]

By the way, is that bracket a brass colored thing that weighs a million tons? I saved one huge bracket like that from a random scrap block 'cause I didn't know what it was.

That's probably it. I don't have a pic at hand but if I remember correctly, the bracket is pretty big. The compressor is mounted with vibration dampers to counter the vibrations in four cylinder engine. Although, you might be better off with a compressor out of E36 or newer. They are a bit smaller, designed for modern coolants and you can probably come up with lighter than original mounting.

[Skarpa]

I had a look at one of the front subframes I have. It's rusty around the sway bar brackets but seems otherwise solid. I need to check if the one under the car is better. I made patterns for the the reinforcement plates for motor mounting points and the sway bar mounting points. I drew the plates in cad and will have them lasercut. I'll share the dwg files once I have welded my own plates and checked the design.

[Skarpa]

With 24V engine the brake booster needs to be relocated or replaced. I got E32 540 brake booster from my brother. It has two chambers and is the same size as E30 ix booster.


540 uses remote fluid reservoir and I didn't want to do that. I got the reservoir from E34ix. It's triangle-shaped and should clear the throttle rubber boot. Reservoir has one extra fluid outlet that needs to be blocked. My unit came from E30 so it was already taken care of. I think euro-spec E36 M3 has the same shape of reservoir without any extra outlets.


540 booster has two bolts whereas E30 booster has four bolts. Also the spacing is a little different so the holes in the firewall and in the pedal frame need to be modified. I removed the pedal frame from car for modification.




One last difference: 540 booster has solid fork for brake pedal, no adjustment. The fork is about 15mm shorter than in E30. I took it as an exercise in TIG-welding and welded an extension on the brake pedal bracket and drilled a new hole to match the fork.


After modification the pedals line up nicely. Pedal assembly is waiting for final test-fitting with the engine before painting the pedal and the frame.

[Skarpa]

[quote=Skarpa;4548297]I plan to use the E28 M535 motor mounts for the motor and I realized that I will have an issue with these reinforcement plates. The E28 mounts are usually flipped and installed into the outer slots of the front subframe. Especially with the reinforcement plates, the nut will be very difficult to access. My first thought was to cut open the reinforcement plate but that would still require grinding the actual front subframe to fit socket over the nut and I don't want to do that


I'm thinking of using the motor mounts without flipping them. I would weld shut the motor mount holes in subframe, use blind reinforcement plates and drill the holes where I want them. I'm guessing a little bit outwards from original position. Any opinions on this from more experienced people? I have ordered the mounts but I need to wait for them to arrive to be able to test fit.