85 323i grey market euro - M tech 1 build.

[reelizmpro]

When I bought this car the PO said it wasn't charging or had a drain and needed an alternator. The alt bracket was loose and belt was slipping a bit so I thought that was the culprit. I bought a new battery since the old one was trashed. I had driven it around but only a few miles and everything seemed okay except the battery was low.

When I test drove the car the other day, I noticed the speedo didn't work and the battery light is out so I pulled it and went thru all the traces. Then I remembered...on early models, pre 86, the alternator cannot charge the battery if the cluster battery bulb is out. Turns out the bulb was good but the socket wasn't making good enough contact and actually measured open on the DMM. I reflowed all the joints on the PCB and as well as the solder contacts for the battery bulb this time. Now the battery light illuminates with the key on as it should. I can't drive the car since the front end is in pieces but I'm confident I fixed both the speedo and the charging issue. The ETM shows power that goes through the battery bulb also goes through the speedo. BMW later updated clusters with a resistor in parallel to prevent this problem.

Now that the boring stuff is out of the way...I wired up the 10" JL Sub and Fosgate amp that came with the car. I like sealed enclosures as the bass is tighter and they can be smaller size so you still have plenty of space.



Also forgot to mention, I installed a 2nd trunk light as well. This combined with the light from the parking lights really lights up the trunk at night. Excellent low cost mod.

[Court M3]

Keeping an eye on this one for a potential build down the road! Nice work so far.

[pandaboo911]

Yes, fogs mount to m-tech spoiler. Don't think you need the valance. In fact the valance might be in the way of the spoiler air ducts or fog light backs.

Nice build, watching!!!! and learning.

jm

I think some Mtech 1 have the fog light mounts and some dont. Mine did not have the fog mountings so I epoxied some mounts. Look in my build thread to see an example.

[e30onBBSs]

still m20b23?

[Court M3]

Barry is a bad influence, now I want a Euro vert.

[reelizmpro]

Yes, still M20B23.

Panda...either way the fogs definitely mount to the spoiler right? so did you remove the valance or install the spoiler over it? I think the front of the fenders mount to the valance.

[kronus]

Fogs mount to the spoiler. Early cars had a 2-piece valence, but AFAIK Mtech I model years and 2-piece valence model years did not intersect, so factory Mtech I cars most likely had valences.

[Javier h]

funny

Japandrew73 had the same question when doing his 333i tribute.

Since he wanted to make his car as authentic as possible, he actually brought a beatup euro valance to replace in his car. Yes, he wanted the euro look even if you never saw it after fitting Mt1 kit. The implication from his venture was that the Mtech1 goes over it.

As you probably know, Andrew ended up ditching the idea because of the cost of refinishing the old euro valance and just mounted the Mtech1 kit.

I can only tell you that the fogs are embedded in the Mtech1 kit for sure. I had a US production e30, so I never ran into the issue when I received the Mt1 kit with the fogs already mounted.

I suspect you might have to remove the fogs from the old valance for cooling purposes. Andrew also said that the MT1 kit had to be cut based on whether or not you had AC installed etc. It's been year since I read that thread but it might not be a bad idea to skim over it.

This might also help.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=161473

Javier

[reelizmpro]

Getting the rear deck ready for paint. Going to dye it gray to match the black interior. Does anyone know where I can find this bulb socket?





I needed new front turn signals and bought aftermarket Eurolite assemblies. Instead of having built in bulb sockets, they use these. I didn't realize they were different from OE.

[reelizmpro]

update 4/18/16:
OEM vs aftermarket eurolite assemblies...




Problem is those bulb sockets are different from OEM. My solution was to cut out the OEM connector/socket and use that instead.

Resprayed my faded blue rear deck to gray...



The interior is just about done. Next is the suspension, CA's, tie rods, and M tech 1 kit.

[2002jm]

front valance

You most likely figured this out, but the fog lights attach to the m-tech 1 front spoiler. You can use the euro valance under the spoiler, or cut the usa valance. On the usa valance, the holes are too small for the back of the fog lights....they will hit and keep you from putting the spoiler on all the way....nice and neat. Pretty easy to cut the usa valance; takes about 30mins total.
Really enjoying your build!!
jm

[2mAn]

The interior is just about done. Next is the suspension, CA's, tie rods, and M tech 1 kit.

we need more pics of the interior. Looks like it IS going to be all black leather?

[reelizmpro]

JM, it's a euro car so no need to cut anything. I was just curious if the valance is left behind the spoiler or if it's removed. Looks like I'll be leaving it.

Simon, since I was missing the rear seat and blue leather seats I believe are an early model thing and probably hard to find...I just decided it'd be easier to swap to black. The PO also cut holes in the blue panels for speakers. I already had black door panels and everything so I went that route. Now I either have to dye the front seats black or have them recovered black...then it will be complete. Thanks again for picking up that rear seat. I owe ya one.

[e30lyf]

that's nice project Barry.. :)


i might have fog light delete covers. if ever you want to run those in the future.

[2002jm]

good to have a euro

Yes, I was hoping to have a euro to do my m-tech, but they are so rare. But they are so much easier to deal with than the usa car. Looking forward to seeing what the finished interior will be. I am thinking about changing out my interior too.
jm