How hard can it be? m20b20 Touring in CA

[Chalk]

What an aggravation! I'm really sorry we didn't catch that - it would most definitely have been a priority fix before the car left our possession.

I'm sure you must be upset by it, as am I - we had the car in a really good shop not long ago, and you'd think they would mention that to us!

It wouldn't be as bad if it had the decency to fail after I had it registered! This is really upping the difficulty, and it's going to take a lot more time to try to make that happen because of it.

I've ordered Chase Bays front to rear relocated brake lines, fender lines, and clutch master to slave line. They should get here tomorrow which gives me whatever daylight is left then and the next day to get the car functioning for it's new appointment on the 20th.

Can you get anything in writing from them before you proceed with something like a parts car? I'd be nervous going that route if they could just change their mind after all the work was done. Totally agree with you on the idea that you should've just said it was an M20B25 since it's just about impossible to tell the difference without pulling the motor apart.

No time to wait, what's another 1k in the face of the rest of it? I won't be starting the swap until they give me the go ahead. Besides, the parts car has some nice parts on it...despite being pretty junk.

After you get this work done there isn't much that hasn't been replaced, so here's hoping you'll enjoy smooth sailing from thereon.

Ehh, the fuel line's seriously rusted and it vibrates pretty bad from like 75-90mph. I don't think I'm going to run out of things to fix for awhile

I had similar thoughts after the heater starting spilling coolant right before the really cold weather set in.

Even without having snow to contend with that would be a major problem here. It really didn't feel much colder over the weekend in iced-over Portland than it does here, and the number difference was within 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

That makes my lying on a piece of cardboard on top of slush in pouring freezing rain seem downright luxurious. ;)

Sounds like you're really being tested at the moment; stick with it and I'm sure you'll be rewarded with a great long term mechanical companion. :)

Well at least I don't have icy conditions to contend with.

Don't really see any other choice, trying to offload a car that can't be registered and has no brakes sounds like a good way to lose what I put into it for like 1000km worth of driving, coulda rented some exotics for that.

[Chalk]

Progress?

So.. I ordered a braided steel line reroute kit awhile back:

http://www.chasebays.com/chase-bays-front-to-rear-brake-lines-rear-hard-line-delete-82-91-bmw-e30/

The offending line--well part of it:


I also ordered braided steel fender lines and a clutch master to slave line through them because the old one is stuck where it goes from hard to soft and I still need to replace the clutch master cylinder so it doesn't gunk up the new slave.

Then I took a look at the front brake hard lines where they exit to the fender wells:



Now I don't think trying to pry those apart to put new fender lines in is a good idea unless I get the engine bay kit.. This is legitimately approaching the cost a shop quoted me to replace the broken line, but I was like no, if I do it myself I can save money. Ugh.

I guess they want people to buy their brake bias kit too, because there's no provision for the stock bias thing, so the plan is to relocate it to the junction in back (they set it up in a way that it doesn't fit in the stock location), and I had to order a male to male fitting from ebay--I guess that piece isn't supposed to exist for some reason?--to even attach it. The front to rear kit also makes the rear fender lines redundant

Every time I get under it though I find more things of concern:



I started to make some progress after being stumped by the fitting where the brake bias valve usually fits which was really stuck for days, not to mention all the rusted screws I had to buy a dremel to flathead so I could remove them




It took a bit of modification to make the brackets accept the new line

But when I got about here...

...I looked far enough ahead to figure out that the reroute kit that lets me avoid dropping the rear subframe...necessitates dropping the exhaust

I wasn't even supposed to have a nonop car in the driveway.



Obviously it's not making it's appointment on Friday...I'm having to rush back from school to work in one hour bursts because it rained the entire time I was free, and even then I did what I could. Permit runs out on the 30th, and the parts car if I even can do an engine swap is like an hours drive away...where this was supposed to go before the permit ran out.

I seem to have a propensity for getting in over my head :loco:

[Powling]

Don't get discouraged, it will all be worth it in the end! Once its all sorted and you are driving it on the road you will appreciate it more because of the work you put into it.

[KIRIEIW]

So whats the latest going on?

[jpod999]

So whats the latest going on?

I've been wondering the same!

[earthwormjim]

I've been wondering the same!

He probably found out you can't BAR a grey market car. Has to go to a certified lab and get a certificate of conformance.