The Journey of Linda and Friends - the M20b31 Lives

[AWDBOB]

gettin' work done! way to go! I'm in the process of patching rust, which hasn't been too fun for me, but necessary and even more so where i live.

Trying to keep things moving! My brother has been doing rust repair on his iX, too.

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Everything is off to the machine shop!

The finish on the 731 head was pretty poor (machinist said "I think whoever cut this needs a new cutter"), and a few spots needed welding around the coolant jackets due to corrosion. Once all that's done it's going to get the right finish for the 86mm bore cometic HG (50RA or less).

The block is getting disassembled, cleaned, and then off to get honed, because...... the pistons are in! The last piece of the puzzle for a little while, until I get all everything back from the machine shop and can start assembling it all. I also need rod bolts, but there's no rush on that.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[digger]

how bad are the water jackets? i'd be a bit hesitant in letting anyone weld after the machiing has all been done.

[AWDBOB]

Sorry this is just a zoomed in screenshot, but it's pretty bad right here. It's the only place that needs to be welded, by the corner of the fiberglass piece.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[AWDBOB]

Finished up the detail on Black Betty! This single stage gave my polisher and I a run for our money. It looks like a different car!

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[wworm]

Looks damn good!

[AWDBOB]

Looks damn good!

Thanks, man! I am bonding with Betty.

Pulled the central locking module and soldered the tab back on the fuse. System still not working properly, although now it's trying. t'll lock the right side of the car from the trunk and passenger door, but then it immediately unlocks. Me thinks the drivers tumbler failed.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




This was a satisfying repair. the front seats are pretty nice, aside from the drivers seat bottom cushion. It was a nasty dyed, shrunken, cardinal piece held in by zip ties. A fresh panel/foam plus some hog rings did the trick.


Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[zwill23]

You are cruising through these cars! Excited to see Linda's transformation

[AWDBOB]

You are cruising through these cars! Excited to see Linda's transformation

Thanks! I'm trying to keep this train moving in the right direction.

Last update of the weekend. I made a bit more progress today on some things I was procrastinating on.

I wanted to fix the central locking system since it still wasn't working after soldering the fuse in the module. I pulled off the drivers door card to investigate. The actuator was fully seized. Worked that loose, still no workie, although now it was triggering the other doors. I then found that something inside the lock mechanism was frozen, so I pulled it apart and worked with it and got it to free up! Now if you pull the lock up, everything unlocks. Push the lock down, everything locks. The drivers side door and trunk tumblers are still a bit picky, but I'm not rebuilding them. It works well enough to keep your car locked up and safe!

I also took the opportunity to fix the sagging door card, which was a nice win. I stole the nice cowl vent trim and wiper arms off of the parts car, and hit the wiper arm caps and some crack free grills I had with SEM trim. I installed a nicer early model lip I've had for sale for three years that I don't think anyone is buying. The faded kidneys stick out pretty bad, so I'll refresh them next weekend.

It has been pretty satisfying bringing this thing back to life!

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[AWDBOB]

If anyone else cares to vomit with me, cheers:

[wworm]

OOooooof. Gonna be worth it

[AWDBOB]

I sure hope so man. I was low-key hoping to do ITBs but it throws the budget waaaaay off. I had AC and a heftier cooling system on the list, but I'm probably going to throw it all in with my current cooling system with no AC and add that stuff later once I recoup a bit.

[Staszek]

If anyone else cares to vomit with me, cheers:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

Not too bad, let me know when you double that lol!

[AWDBOB]

Don't wish that evil on me! And yeah, you S54 guys have some serious coin invested. This feels like a large amount for just an n/a motor setup, but I knew from the get-go the cost to hp ratio is about as low as it gets with this setup. With $10K I could've went M30 turbo haha, hind sight is 20/20.

[mjweimer]

I'm excited to see where this is going Bobbie.

I tend to be fairly organized but I never track project costs...its easier to live in denial than know facts....ha!

[AWDBOB]

Thanks, Matt! I am excited- I think this engine will be a perfect fit for this car, and will serve as a foundation that I can continue to build on. I saw your '95M on BAT! Does that mean rolling wreck will get some love here soon?

[mjweimer]

Yes - the M3 is sold and the wreck should be coming out of hibernation soon....one more special project to finish up first....

[AWDBOB]

First off- my garage is an absolute mess, as I am in the middle of 100 different projects, so please excuse.

I am pretty excited about this roof rack I pulled off of my parts car. It just looks "right". I also picked up a 618 pressure plate that I'm going to be running with a stock clutch disc and a lightweight euro flywheel for extra clamping force, but with stock-ish pedal feel.

I buttoned a few more things up on black betty and went for a long drive today on some good ole country roads. It was a treat, and really made me wish I hadn't ripped apart the iS again. Does anyone else get incredibly sick of dumping money into cars? I've been there for a while now. I'm hoping things slow down soon.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[AWDBOB]

I stopped by Zionsville Autosport today to help Dwight disassemble an S52. In exchange, I got to borrow this!

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

Dwight, pulling the rear main off.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr



The old 3L is pulled apart. Now that I have the torque plate, he's going to clean the block early next week and then send it out to get honed.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr



I found this when Kevin and I pulled apart the oil pump. Looks like old bearing material from a different engine and some other goodies.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[Reichart12]

Your spreadsheet looks like mine when I did my 2.9L. Except I was in a bit more with my dyno tuning I had done.

[AWDBOB]

Your spreadsheet looks like mine when I did my 2.9L. Except I was in a bit more with my dyno tuning I had done.

I have been surprised at how quickly everything adds up, despite getting the 3L bottom end and built 731 for "free". And I am going to be street tuning the car mostly, save for fine tuning on the dyno to keep operation costs down. What did your 2.9L make?

I opted to use OEM rod bolts instead of ARPs to save cost ($40 vs $170).

All of the builders I spoke to said that BMW stuff is fine, especially since I'm not going turbo. I will also be using OEM head bolts instead of ARP studs.