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My Euro Swapped 325es (13+ year project)

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    #61
    lmk when you wanna sell those wheels 8)
    glad to see this back on the ground
    1984 Delphin 318i 2 door

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      #62
      Just wait until you have some HRSPR
      Simon
      Current Cars:
      -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

      Make R3V Great Again -2020

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        #63
        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.
        Byron
        Leichtbau

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          #64
          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
          Last edited by WestCoastEta; 04-14-2020, 01:47 PM.

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            #65
            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:

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              #66
              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.

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                #67
                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.

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                  #68
                  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.

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                    #69
                    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
                    '89 325i OBD2 S52 BUILD THREAD
                    Shadetree30

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                      #70
                      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.

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                        #71
                        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.

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                          #72
                          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?
                          Byron
                          Leichtbau

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                            #73
                            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

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                              #74
                              Making good progress, A little low for function, but has good style. Liking the momo way better. I wouldn't worry about BOOSTING, id just do what you can the best! Mufflers aren't too expensive, plus it'll sound a lot better. Looking forward for more progress!

                              I was up above it, Now I'm down in it ~ Entropy - A Build thread.
                              @Zakspeed_US

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                                #75
                                Well 8 and a half months later, I finally feel confident enough to say I have a perfectly functional 2.5i swapped E30.



                                I didn't think it would take this long, but as with any big project, I ran into tons of little issues along the way. I made mistakes, I got stuck, and I probably placed about 15 separate orders from Pelican. But ultimately everything was solvable with the help of forums, Youtube, and trial and error. I'm lucky enough to have a shop space at work with a bunch of tools, and most importantly, a parking spot. I won't break down every minute detail of the swap, but here are the major milestones.



                                Prepping the new engine was pretty straightforward. I replaced all the gaskets and seals. New plugs & wires. New belts. Cleaned the injectors. Ran the throttle body through an ultrasonic cleaner. Degreased the shit out of everything. I decided on using Permatex The Right Stuff for the oil pan... but I dropped a washer into the oil return tube and had to redo the whole thing. The first of many pains in the ass.

                                Speaking of pains in the ass, I decided to repaint the valve cover and intake manifold while the engine was on the stand. I figured a few coats of paint stripper would remove the old blue paint without any problems. I was dead wrong. I spent WEEKS trying to remove the old powdercoat. I bought every type of aircraft remover I could find, but nothing made a dent. In retrospect, I should have absolutely paid a professional to hot-tank the parts, but I was extremely stubborn and insisted on doing it myself. Eventually I managed to strip all the powdercoat off, and I resprayed them in VHT wrinkle black. Thankfully, I couldn't be more happy with the results.



                                So the new engine was finally ready. Before pairing it to my transmission, I cleaned and resealed the old Getrag. Since I have a single mass flywheel, I got about 12 pounds shaved off by a local machine shop and mated it up to a brand new clutch.

                                Finally, it was time to swap everything into the car. After cleaning 35 years of grime out of the engine bay, I managed to get the engine installed it all by myself in a few hours.



                                I installed poly engine & transmission mounts, and I also made a DIY chassis mounted shifter out of the sheet metal shifter carrier. This is one of the pieces I'm most proud of. Paired with a DSSR, the shifts are fantastic compared to before.



                                Besides the engine, I also swapped my tired 2.93 diff for a 3.73 that I resealed and pumped full of fresh gear oil.



                                Finally, I swapped over to a late model cooling system with a Z3M radiator. I added a SSSquid chip for a little extra bump. And to top everything off, I treated myself to a very long-awaited upgrade. Dope ass seats.



                                After all the components were installed, I went to fire it up and... nothing happened. I had fuel, but no spark. So I spent several weeks hunting down gremlins to get to the bottom of this, and ultimately found that my ignition wiring from the DME wasn't spliced correctly. Between my 86 chassis and 87 engine, there were a lot of nuances that were hard to identify. But eventually I got the wiring sorted, and the car started up.

                                After an initial test drive the car felt great, but I noticed the clutch pedal was extremely creaky. So in went a new master/slave cylinder – although I find "master" and "slave" to be extremely outdated, so I prefer to call them the Chad & Beta cylinders.

                                Finally, it was time to drive the car home from work. I made it approximately 3 miles before this happened:



                                The engine cut out on the freeway and wouldn't start back up. So I had it towed back to the shop, and the very next day the car started right up with no issues whatsoever. But the day after that, it wouldn't start again. No fuel; no spark. I spent the next week or two trying to diagnose this intermittent issue, and ultimately after cleaning and reconnecting all the grounds and other connections the car consistently started back up without dying. So I drove the car home without any issues, and I've been driving it around town reliably ever since.



                                I still have a long ways to go but it feels like a completely different car now. I really couldn't be more stoked.

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