Rontgen's 1990 325iS Build Thread

[Rontgen]

On to the fuel system. After inspecting the fuel system I found a mix of original 27 y/o hoses, replacement EFI hoses, and replacement NON-EFI hoses. In the engine bay, I found both the feed and return lines has been replaced with hoses that clearly stated "NOT FOR FUEL INJECTION" right on the hose. They were old, hard as a rock, and leeched fuel odor, so they needed to go. Back by the fuel filter, I found where the PO had decided to replace some of the hoses and thankfully he used EFI line. But rather than spend a couple dollars on the correct, molded BMW lines, he tried to make off the shelf hose work. Needless to say, the line that comes from the pump to the filter inlet (180 degree bend) was kinked badly, definitely restricting fuel to the engine. No wonder it ran the way it did...

Considering the age of the car, we started in on replacing all the rubber components we could reasonably get to. We ended up replacing:

- Fuel Filler cap
- Fuel filler-to-Body gasket
- Fuel filler tube to tank hose
- Evap hoses at expansion tank
- Fuel filter
- Fuel filter inlet/outlet
- Return line to tank
- Engine bay lines

After pulling the back seat, we saw no evidence that the fuel pump or sender seals had been leaking, so we left those alone for now. If we need to get in there later, that's not a big deal.

I also sent the injectors out for cleaning and flow testing by MEPEH (http://www.mepeh.com/)

[Rontgen]

Brakes!

Despite some of the riggery I've found, the previous owner of this car was actually very good at keeping fluid changes up to date Every fluid I've run across was clean and looked fresh, to include the brake fluid. Perhaps that's because the car leaked so badly that he constantly had to add fluids, meaning it always had freash fluid! :) Regardless, I guess it's better than finding old dirty fluid.

The brake reservoir grommets were leaking and had stripped the paint off the lower half of the brake booster and most of the driver's side of the crossmember. Cleaned that up and hit it with some flat black rustolem to prevent rust in the future.

We then replaced the reservoir grommets (which was way more difficult than I'd expected) and all 6 brake lines with ATE OEM replacements. Used some DOT 4 fluid and completely flushed the lines using my Motive Brake Bleeder. We'll eventually do something with rotors and pads, but for now they look good and have plenty of meat left.

[Rontgen]

Now it's time to do the conversion from Automatic to 5-spd. This has been documented hundreds of times, so not much to say here aside from the differences with an airbag column. With the airbag column, the pedal box is integral to the column support. What this means is you simply swap the pedals (clutch and smaller brake) from the donor box and not the entire pedal box. Sounds easier, although getting the longer bolt in and through the pedals is easier said than done. I still need to work out a solution for the clutch switch, but since that's only used for cruise control, it's low priority at the moment.

I picked up a 325i single-mass flywheel and had it resurfaced locally, to include the 0.3mm step along the outside of the clutch disc surface. We're using a LuK clutch kit along with a late-production 325i Getrag 260. Shifter linkage will be stock for now, along with a stock repro shift knob and boot.

Gave away the Automatic transmission. As I discovered, they are quite literally worthless.

[Rontgen]

Interior

Not much to report here yet, aside from the dash. :( Someone in the past had one of those plastic dash toppers installed, presumably to cover a cracked dash. In the years that followed, the dash topped began to warp and crack. After looking at it in passing for months, we decided one day to dive in and find out what was lurking under the topper.

Let this be your warning - if you are considering one of these toppers, they are essentialy permanent. There's effectively no way to remove it without destroying the dash underneath. We tried everything from a heat gun to soften the silicone and gently prying to just ripping the topper off with force. In the end, it didn't matter. The bond between the dash vinyl and the topper was WAY stronger than the bond between the dash and the foam structure below. The real kick in the nuts is the original dash wasn't really all that terrible. Anyway, we'll be looking for a replacememt dash eventually. For now it looks awful, but it won't stop the car from running.

Had a pre-paod VISA gift card from work, so I picked up a stereo to replace the broken original

[Rontgen]

The HVAC blower motor didn't work well at all and after disassembly, I could see why. Carbon dust everywhere, worn brushes, and worn bushings at the end. After pricing out a new motor assembly, I decided to try and repair this one. I found a ball bearing available on eBay as well as a set of brushes. I enlarged the hole at either end of the motor and reassembled everything with good ol' JB Weld clear. Will it work out in the end? That remains to be seen, but if it doesn't I'm only out $25.

[Rontgen]

Picked up an original IS wing to replace the aftermarket wing that had been stuck on years ago. Needs paint and some straightening, but it was cheap...

[Rontgen]

At home with it's younger brother...

[Rontgen]

If all goes well, we should be dropping the motor and trans in this weekend! More pics to follow!

Thanks for reading!

[BECKSTER]

Great progress.

[FredK]

Whoa. Where did you get those carbon brushes for the blower motor? Great progress!

[Rontgen]

Thanks! Brushes came from eBay: http://m.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Heater-Blo...-/110454908358

[325isman]

Car

Great looking car. It's a fun car to drive.

[Poorhouse]

Great project.

I've got a 6 year old and hope to be doing something like this in 10 years.

[Rontgen]

Thanks guys!

Did a white trash wheel repaint in preparation for new tires. Used 2 cans of Dupli-Color wheel paint silver and 1 can of gloss clear. It's not powdercoat, but for $18 total investment, they look much better.

As I'm sure you guys are aware, a 195/65R14 is not easy to find these days. Going with some Falken 828 all-seasons for $63/ea at Discount Tire. Eventually we'll do better wheels and tires, but for now we need something that's safer than the 10-y/o dry-rotted tires we have now. I suspect in the next couple years, the 14" tire supply will dry up completely, making these wheels virtually worthless...

[Rontgen]

The dash situation had me concerned since there didn't appear to be a lot of good options. Plastic dash caps look like crap, a dash mat wouldn't cover many of the damaged sections of this dash, and a new OE dash at $1000+ is just out of the budget for this build. The used BMW part market near me is pretty dry (think sahara desert), so I didn't have much confidence that a used dash would magically appear on Craigslist one day.

I had found a couple used dashes for sale here and on eBay, but the price and location made them much less attractive. Plus, most sellers don't want to fool with shipping a dash (and I can't blame them). I did a search on car-part.com and found a junkyard about 2 hours away that showed to have a complete dash with no damage in the comments. Could I be so lucky as to have found a dash this quickly?

I'm pretty excited about this. I scored a crack-free dash out of a 88 325i this morning. We're gonna douse it in 303 Aerospace over the next few weeks and try to get the vinyl as supple as we can before installation. Hopefully we can go a few years before any cracks start to appear.

The best part? $125 + tax ($134 total) + no shipping expense or hassle = :) :)