My Official "E30/M50 (+ S52) Improvement Effort Thread"

[808ETA]

It still looks good! There are some very small areas that have succumbed to a tiny bit of chipping but overall the coverage is almost no different.

Awesome! Thank you

[RenaissanceMan]

Nice build! How is the POR-15 looking after 8 years? I've heard mixed reviews. How was your experience?

It still looks good! There are some very small areas that have succumbed to a tiny bit of chipping but overall the coverage is almost no different.

[808ETA]

A little paint to make things look new.

Had some time today to work in the garage and the weather was gorgeous so I decided to paint the block. I did the same thing to my M52 build and it came out really nice. Used POR-15 since it 'soaks' into the metal nicely and prevents corrosion. Plus it dries into a nice glossy black color. :D

Of course, before I could get to the block surface to paint, I had to remove a bunch of stuff.





Evidently a lot of moisture (coolant leak?) had previously made its way in between the old paint and the block metal. As a result, a lot of the paint was flaking off and areas were looking pretty well-oxidized... Here are both sides as I was prepping for paint after I removed the motor supporting brackets and the harness and sensor stuff:





An air tool die grinder with a steel brush rotating attachment came in very handy as I was prepping the block. It allowed me to get into all of the nooks and crannies and it scuffed off the surface rust really well. I made sure to cover up any coolant passages or oil passages that were exposed so as not to get any of the debris in the motor.

I applied the POR-15 using a couple of different sized brushes and here's the end result:





While the paint was drying I was staring at my harness mentally trying to prepare this OBD2 conversion. I'm sure I'll be utilizing all of the OBD2 threads up here as I try to figure out all of the wiring and whatnot.



Hope to have more brake upgrade progress to report soon...

Nice build! How is the POR-15 looking after 8 years? I've heard mixed reviews. How was your experience?

[RenaissanceMan]

http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/...pscmwwnstc.jpg

i saw it mounted up there so i thought maybe someone else prior to you had run it somehow. i'm surprised it bolted up!

Yeah, that's the configuration that was on the M Roadster the motor came out of. The M3's didn't use that setup.

[dude8383]

I'm pretty sure you can't use it with most 24v swaps due to difference in orientation. I am using a regular e36 compressor on my car.

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http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah171/adamnitti/Red%20E30-S52%20Project/1030161020_zpscmwwnstc.jpg

i saw it mounted up there so i thought maybe someone else prior to you had run it somehow. i'm surprised it bolted up!

[RenaissanceMan]

Really amazing build, it gives me a lot of inspiration for my own swap.

Thanks so much, stonea!

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[RenaissanceMan]

Lol! Thanks, brother! Half the fun is figuring this stuff out on my own so I can blog about it... [emoji4] I promise to reach out on the next 2 person challenge!

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[stonea]

Really amazing build, it gives me a lot of inspiration for my own swap.

[agent]

the most elaborate contraption to assist in installing a cylinder head lol. why didn't you simply call me so I could swing by and help for a minute ?

[RenaissanceMan]

Hm. That looks like a 318ti a/c compressor. I've never seen anyone use that with their 24v swap. I wonder if it works as well as the larger units from the 24v motors...

I'm pretty sure you can't use it with most 24v swaps due to difference in orientation. I am using a regular e36 compressor on my car.

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[dude8383]

Hm. That looks like a 318ti a/c compressor. I've never seen anyone use that with their 24v swap. I wonder if it works as well as the larger units from the 24v motors...

[RenaissanceMan]

Haha I thought the same... to each their own!


Quick question, could we get another photo of that a/c compressor? Never seen such a small version mounted up to a 24v...

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[RenaissanceMan]

Quick question, could we get another photo of that a/c compressor? Never seen such a small version mounted up to a 24v...

Sure, let me dig it up. That's actually the compressor from the M Roadster that this motor came out of. I won't be using it on this swap, however.

[RenaissanceMan]

the most elaborate contraption to assist in installing a cylinder head lol. why didn't you simply grab it with two hands and position it on the block?

Because that would have been too easy. :D A bit of overkill I know, but it only took about 10 minutes to rig and made guiding and holding the timing chain through so much easier.

Also, because OCD. :(

[dude8383]

the most elaborate contraption to assist in installing a cylinder head lol. why didn't you simply grab it with two hands and position it on the block?

Haha I thought the same... to each their own!


Quick question, could we get another photo of that a/c compressor? Never seen such a small version mounted up to a 24v...