My Euro Swapped 325es (13+ year project)

[WestCoastEta]

Just going to do a straight swap at this point. I think it makes more sense since I have the new engine on a stand and can tackle all the maintenance I'd never get around to otherwise.

The main benefit to the stroker would have been if I boosted it, which isn't a foreseeable option for quite a while.

Also, I've never pulled an engine and want to take the opportunity to learn a new skill

[E30SPDFRK]

The skirts and rear apron go nicely together IMO, but I agree the front is too low.

Are you going straight 2.5 swap, or still making a 2.7i?

[WestCoastEta]

Oops forgot to update for 14 months lol. Here's a brief update of where I'm at with the car.

Frankenstein body kit installed (Hella air dam, BBS skirts, Zender rear apron)





Ditched the Renown wheel in favor of something much faster 😎



Took the old bucket to the track for the first time and got to practice some slidey stuff



And bought an M20B25 that I'll be swapping in place of the 2.7.



I'm also going to switch up the body kit soon; partially because it looks really imbalanced from certain angles (the front airdam hangs down so much lower than the rest of the kit), but also to make it more driveable. The Hella airdam on the car now is insanely rare and I scrape it almost every time I drive the car. Also need to address the wavy sideskirts.

Lastly, my humble bucket was honored with a COTM feature. Thanks Simon!

That's all for now.

[WestCoastEta]

Thanks Charlie! The cop car was fun for a while (3.5L Ecoboost Taurus) but the 540i is way more on-brand for me. Hopefully I'll get the E30 to an autocross one of these days.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

nice to see you still moving along with projects on this car. shocked me last time I saw you at an autox with a crown vic! the car is coming together. I like the wheels and the general rough but intentional style

[WestCoastEta]

Finished the rack swap a few weeks ago. It took a lot more knuckle grease than I expected – from modifying the steering knuckle to routing the lines, everything was an uphill battle. It didn't help that I accidentally threw away the PS reservoir bracket and overtorqued a special banjo bolt that I needed to reorder from Alabama. All in all it was easily the most time consuming project I've done on the E30. With all the conflicting information out there, I might make a guide myself.







The good news is everything works and I've got super tight and quick steering now. It's so much nicer than the caveman rack that came in the car. Can't wait to get it up in the canyons to really test it out.

After some deliberation and probably a few beers I decided I didn't want to pay a shop to align my shit, so I went ahead and did it myself. Whipped up a box with some rope and jack stands, centered the steering, and more or less eyeballed it. It's not very precise but it's good enough.



So with a fresh rack and alignment, I took it for a test drive and stopped to take some photos at Dodger Stadium. And then it wouldn't start. No fuel, no spark. I wasn't in a position to fix it on the spot so I called AAA. PSA: don't ever tell AAA your car is "extremely low" or you'll wait 6 hours and still not see a tow truck. I had to call a private tow company and pay out of pocket to get home. The guy said in his 20 years of experience, he'd never had to tow a car so low (not just because of the airdam, but the HIK skid plate). It was a massive ordeal and I'm in the process of making a quick release setup for the airdam to avoid this in the future.



So why didn't the car start? Maybe this has something to do with it:



Suppose it would help if I plugged the CPS in

Basically early etas used a bellhousing-mounted CPS and the wire runs right next to the steering linkage. And because I modified the linkage, it snagged the wire and unplugged the sensor. I think a previous mechanic also didn't route the CPS wire correctly. So thankfully nothing major, and I'll be bypassing the bellhousing CPS when I do the 2.7i swap.

I've also been doing a few other projects. The biggest was installing a Continental bluetooth head unit. Wiring has always scared me and I had to make sense of a mess left by a PO, but it was surprisingly simple to figure out. I also ran new wire to the rear speakers, which had never been connected as long as I've owned the car. I had to replace one of the rear premium speakers but they both work. So I have a working sound system with bluetooth and it looks almost OEM.



I also removed the front seats to clean the 34 year old carpets. Very satisfying. Still need new seats, though.





Thought it would be a fun project to remove 50+ lbs of trunk tar. Turns out it was not at all fun. Still need to clean the residue and surface rust then repaint.



And we're not done yet! I finally found a set of sideskirts. They were made by BBS in West Germany, so you know they're legit.



I'll be installing these and the E21 Zender wing when my Alpine white paint arrives. If you're keeping track, that means my car will be rocking Hella, BBS, and Zender aero. The only thing left is a Kamei rear apron.

So this update ended up being bigger than expected and there are a few other things I didn't even mention. The next big project is the quick release airdam. I ordered Dzus quarter-turn fasteners. Should be an interesting project, and should make my life easier.

[WestCoastEta]

My car absolutely bombed its biennial smog test. My E30 is officially a "gross polluter."



Let me know if you guys have any tips based on my score, but I'm told I need to refresh the cooling (temperature gauge fluctuates) and replace the cat at the minimum.

That stuff was all part of my head-swap plan regardless though, so right now my plan is to just go ahead with the engine build and retest later. An 885 with a mild cam and fresh exhaust should pass CA smog from what I've read. There's no point fixing everything wrong with the emissions system if I'm going to replace it all anyway.

As soon as I got home from the smog shop I started the latest endeavor: E46 purple tag steering rack swap. I copped a cheap rack on Greg's List last week and cleaned it up, replaced the boots, added E36 outer tie rods, etc. Instead of modifying the stock lines, I decided to throw down the big bucks for Chase Bays lines and reservoir. It's a really nice piece of kit, and I'm glad to know it'll bolt right up without any issues. I'm using Garagistic's steering rack swap kit and delrin steering flex coupler.





Anyway, power steering fluid is fucking disgusting.



A few other random updates include new motorsport roundels. I won these in a raffle at the Dockweiler meet from CAtuned and wasn't sure if I wanted to install them but I'm really glad I did. They look great and the quality is fantastic. And BY THE WAY, everyone was super pissed at me for winning so much stuff in that raffle (castro airbox, griots detailing package, CAtuned roundels, Bimmerheads shirt), but I bought $20 worth of tickets and won all that stuff fair and square. I was blessed by the E30 gods in that raffle and I will not apologize.



I decided I didn't want to mount the E21 spoiler so I bought a W201 Zender spoiler on Offerup from a guy who said it would "perfectly fit E30 trunks." Well it does not. It doesn't even come close.



So then I decided that while the E21 spoiler is a little beat up and not for the right car, it is very rare (and therefore very cool) and I decided it belongs on my car. So I drilled some holes in my rusty ass trunk to test fit it, and I'll be mounting it with proper adhesives after I paint it. I forgot to take pictures so y'all are gon have to wait.

That's all for now.

[WestCoastEta]

Rear ride height is finally where I want it. I ordered the 4" spring from Eibach, went to mount it, realized I ordered the wrong diameter, ordered the correct 4" spring, mounted it, drove around, adjusted it some more, etc. Lots of waiting in between. In a perfect world I'd drop the front just a hair, but that's not possible in LA. Maybe I'll tweak it in the future, but I'm satisfied for now.



Finished my ramps today. These are so handy, couldn't be more stoked.



And finally, I test fitted the Zender spoiler I bought a few months ago. It doesn't fit lol. Apparently it's for an E21. Does anyone know if the E21 spoiler with match up to the E30's trunk lid? I might just redrill my trunk to make it work. Haven't decided yet.

[WestCoastEta]

Had most of the day off so I took care of a long overdue project: ramps!





I haven't worked with wood since 8th grade shop class and didn't know exactly what I was doing, but I'm super happy with them and they work great. I can pull straight in and out without scraping. Hell yeah.

The wagon is a superb lumber hauler.



Btw, if you've ever questioned whether a stock eta can roast a set of brand new sticky tires:

[WestCoastEta]

Ah yeah I'm running the 5" spring that came with the coilover conversion kit. Eibach sells 4" springs for like $60 each, so maybe I'll get a set of those.

Update: ordered the 4"ers from Eibach. They were cheap as hell anyway

[E30SPDFRK]

What length are your rear springs? You need 4" springs to go really low in the back, but GC usually specs their kits with 5" springs.

[2mAn]

Just wait until you have some HRSPR

[wworm]

lmk when you wanna sell those wheels 8)
glad to see this back on the ground

[WestCoastEta]

Can I get a yee haw?



Finally finished everything up and got to drive the thing for the first time in 5 months. It was suuuch a good feeling to get back behind the wheel, and the car drives 1000x better than before. I've never known what a proper-handling E30 feels like until now. The JOMs were so garb compared to this setup.

Since I put the car on jack stands 5 months ago I changed brakes (rotors, pads, steel-braided lines, rear hard line, Motul RBF600), control arms + poly bushings, rear end links, full suspension (GC coilover conversion - front housings shortened 2", Koni yellows, IE street/track camber plates), and tires (Federal RS RR 205/50). Also a new shift boot.



I'm not totally stoked on the current ride height, although it is very functional. The fronts will go down way more, but this is as low as the rears will go. I might just ditch the rear adjusters.



Either way, glad to have it back on the road. Before I get an alignment I need to replace the steering rack. I'm leaning towards the purple tag E46 clubsport, but I don't have the funds for that project just yet.

After the rack, I'll hopefully be able to fulfill my stroker build goal that I've had for a while. Maybe one day at least

[2mAn]

I've now been through 5 daily drivers since I've started this thread (E30, Abarth, Twin Turbo Cop Car, 530i, and now 540it). I'm pretty sure the 540 is here to stay.

Its things like this that make me feel like Im not so bad, or we're all one in the same here

BTW Bummer that the line didnt work, at least it didnt cost ya an arm and a leg