1989 325is Build

[sampayne]

Why the hell is this in the General Technical area and not the build thread section?

yeah..... I goofed that up when I started the thread. I'm pretty sure only moderators can move threads around, right?

[rustneversleeps]

Good stuff so far!

Broken rocker arms seem to happen all the time.

Good luck on getting it fixed.

I really hope not.....

Yeah, I think the e30 is a great platform. Despite what some say (mainly non-bmw/e30 people), the m20 is a pretty simple engine and the car as a whole is pretty basic. Start with simple projects - oil change, valve cover gasket, ect. and work your way up as you get more confident. Get yourself a bentley manual and read around this forum and you could fix just about anything!

yeah..... I goofed that up when I started the thread. I'm pretty sure only moderators can move threads around, right?

That's how I'm learning not that i don't know my way around cars but learning a lot about the E30 in general is fun and the bently does come in handy.....Now on to the water pump and timing belt cross my fingers...Great build BTW i like to start a build to just for reference to but crapping at explaining things..lol
Subscribed and keep up the great work...

[MR E30 325is]

We gotta get this thread into the project thread forum. I am sure an admin can move it. You are doing a great job with this thing!

[sampayne]

Great build BTW i like to start a build to just for reference to but crapping at explaining things..lol
Subscribed and keep up the great work...

We gotta get this thread into the project thread forum. I am sure an admin can move it. You are doing a great job with this thing!

That would be great if it could get moved to the right place haha.

Thanks for the kind words guys!

[sampayne]

Think i'll just leave this here.
who said you need an engine hoist to pull a motor.......



:devil:

[sampayne]

My starter finally crapped out the other day. It started as an intermittent issue where the solenoid would click and I would have to cycle the key a few times to get the starter to turn. It slowly got worse and the other day it finally stopped working all together. Luckily my roommate is parting out his car, as you can see from the above picture, so I was able to grab his.



Total PITA. Everything I read online about pulling a starter is true. But a few hours later I was finally able to swap in the "new" one.

[sampayne]

SS exhaust fab

Finally time to start building my exhaust. It all started with a set of fleabay headers I bought off a member from here and I've been collecting the rest of the pieces ever since. Heres the rundown:

Ebay headers
2.5" vibrant "ultra quiet" resonator
2.5" cheapy ebay muffler
vbands, flex pipe, bends, ect.

The goal is to have the something thats not obnoxiously loud, but still have a good sound and be daily drivable.

Most of the parts:



The first order of business was to fab up a merge collector/Y pipe since the headers are meant to mate up with the stock dual exhaust.

I bought a 180º ss intercooler pipe, chopped it up and welded it to fit up to the headers. A small section of 2.5" was then hammered into oval and worked out and shaped to match.





All ready to be welded.



Welds turned out alright. Not used to welding thin material like this.





Nice shot of the back purge on the inside.



I realized after I started making the Y-pipe that it would be a lot simpler to just use the X-pipe supplied with the headers and chop it at the X. Then shape and weld on the 2.5". It'll still work the same either way, so I'm just going to tell myself that my version flows better.

Anyway, I want to make the whole system pretty modular so It will be easier in the future to swap the headers out for a downpipe, if I ever go turbo.

V-band on the end on the Y-pipe.



Flex pipe on the other side of the V-band. That chinese pot metal stainless is a total mess to weld......



Final thing to do is weld the Y-pipe setup on to the header X pipe.



The stainless on the headers was even worse to weld than the flex pipe! It's hard to see in the picture, but the welds are all are black and sugary. It's like I didn't even have my gas on or something when I welded it haha. Note to self: you get what you pay for with chinese stainless products.... :neutral:

But overall, it turned out pretty nice. I'm pleased with it.





Thats all for now. More to come soon.

[sampayne]

Lets build a heat shield!

Started with some templates, took a couple revisions to get just right.





Transferred the template on some aluminum. Cut, then bent into shape.



Poor man's hole saw.



Almost there..



Figured I give the gold tape stuff a shot. Mainly because I put the materail in the sheet metal break upside-down, so the super scratched up side faces out.... -___-
Also, because more $w@g points.



Installed. All edges that might contact the body, brake lines, coolant lines ect. are protected with some fuel hose. I also plan on getting some sort of gasket material to put around the top edge of the shield so it seals against the hood when closed.

[parkerbink]

Very nice progress, thanks!

[sampayne]

Very nice progress, thanks!

Thanks. Good luck with the chip!

[IRON-E]

It's refreshing seeing a nice build on an m20 car.

[sampayne]

It's refreshing seeing a nice build on an m20 car.

Thanks man.


I've been on the look out for some seats, since my sports seats are a little worn out. Found these recaro ls-b on craigslist for a STEAL.



Made some adaptors, utilizing the stock seat belt support bar.



Painted up and installed on the seats.


Bolted up





I think they look really good. The bolsters are very firm and hold me in place much better than the old sport seats. Also, the seats themselves have much less back and forth motion and play when driving/shifting, definitely feel like an upgrade over the old ones.

[parkerbink]

Nice!

[parkerbink]

Can you make more adaptors? I'm looking for solutions for my seats if I find a set similar to yours I'll need adaptors.

[sampayne]

Can you make more adaptors? I'm looking for solutions for my seats if I find a set similar to yours I'll need adaptors.

Possibly. Although they look simple, they were a pain to make. I would need to make a jig, to drill/weld them to ensure the fit would be consistent. Maybe if there was some interest from other people I could make a few.