How hard can it be? m20b20 Touring in CA

[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.

[jpod999]

So whats the latest going on?

I've been wondering the same!

[KIRIEIW]

So whats the latest going on?

[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.

[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:

[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.

[Shock(/\)ave]

On the way to the shop, because I basically failed miserably in the rain trying to replace the slave and master cylinder, one of the brake lines blew completely out. Turns out they're all completely shot. I mean really really really rusted to kingdom come.

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!

I was planning on going out of state to pick up a parts car, partly for the engine swap registration idea, and now I'm really now sure if that's the move to make. In part because I needed BAR to confirm that the engine swap would even work for getting it registered.

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.

Feeling pretty in over my head now, and I'm worried about what else is going to crop up :(

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.

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

I was defeated by the coupling between the hard and soft line from the clutch master to the slave today, albeit in heavy rain and in the gutter because I had it straddling the curb so I could get under it.

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. :)

[Chalk]

The timing of that really sucks.

At least you'll know your brakes very likely weren't the cause of that leak. I wonder if the heat of the new environment accelerated the disintegration of the seal?

If you need a hand finding resources to help you tackle the job let me know and I'll help out. :-?

Turns out, the brakes were also leaking :(

On the way to the shop, because I basically failed miserably in the rain trying to replace the slave and master cylinder, one of the brake lines blew completely out. Turns out they're all completely shot. I mean really really really rusted to kingdom come. I was planning on going out of state to pick up a parts car, partly for the engine swap registration idea, and now I'm really now sure if that's the move to make. In part because I needed BAR to confirm that the engine swap would even work for getting it registered.

The slave has now at least been replaced, the pedal isn't coming up when pushed down fully, but I think I may have attached the master to the pedal on the wrong side or something because it feels like that's because it's binding. I think I'll be able to replace the master myself, I just need ramps or a jack that can actually get under this car--"low profile racing jack" I should have known that was a lie for $120, sigh--so I have more room to work in when trying to unstick rusty bolts. The straddling the curb method just was not cutting it. Paying the shop--I hadn't seen your post yet McGyver--to do the slave I guess was a waste of money since I only did that instead of figuring it out myself because I needed to make that BAR appointment I'm missing tomorrow, oh well.

Needless to say missing BAR appointment tomorrow is going to drastically slow the registration process, because I'm going to end up in DMV day pass territory when I need to take it to appointments, and the semester is starting soon. I'm also worried about the car sitting that much while I try and get it together.

Feeling pretty in over my head now, and I'm worried about what else is going to crop up :(

Now I'm looking at having to sink $500 into softlines because I just don't have the facilities to drop the rear subframe, and I'm pretty sure that's beyond my level atm since I was defeated by the coupling between the hard and soft line from the clutch master to the slave today, albeit in heavy rain and in the gutter because I had it straddling the curb so I could get under it.

I'll be extremely interested to see how you fare on getting it registered, cool car to have in the Bay Area! Based on your pictures, I'm assuming you are in Alameda?

I think it's a cool car to have just about anywhere :D Yes indeed, Alamurda represent, lol.

If you ever need some help from a shop, I would be more than happy to help you out here at German Autosport in Berkeley on San Pablo Ave. Bring it by anytime, we're all enthusiasts and would love to check it out!

Thanks! Sent you a PM

[McGyver]

If you ever need some help from a shop, I would be more than happy to help you out here at German Autosport in Berkeley on San Pablo Ave. Bring it by anytime, we're all enthusiasts and would love to check it out!

[jpod999]

I'll be extremely interested to see how you fare on getting it registered, cool car to have in the Bay Area! Based on your pictures, I'm assuming you are in Alameda?

[Shock(/\)ave]

***UPDATE***

So I got in the car to drive to my friends house tonight, and the clutch pedal dropped to the floor. The brake fluid isn't low, and it hasn't come out in the footwell, so I'm thinking my leak was the slave cylinder which has now seemingly gone--though I couldn't get under the car to confirm. I'm gonna have to figure it out and get it going tomorrow so I can get it to it's appointment on the 11th to find out what BAR has to say about registering it as I can't delay since my permit runs out on the 30th.

Time to learn how to hack things together on short notice, probably in the rain, because there's no way I can get it there unless I get it going. Now I'm wondering if I should have taken the app a week later but practically next door instead of an hour's drive x.x

The timing of that really sucks.

At least you'll know your brakes very likely weren't the cause of that leak. I wonder if the heat of the new environment accelerated the disintegration of the seal?

If you need a hand finding resources to help you tackle the job let me know and I'll help out. :-?

[Chalk]

It's all gone terribly wrong

***UPDATE***

So I got in the car to drive to my friends house tonight, and the clutch pedal dropped to the floor. The brake fluid isn't low, and it hasn't come out in the footwell, so I'm thinking my leak was the slave cylinder which has now seemingly gone--though I couldn't get under the car to confirm. I'm gonna have to figure it out and get it going tomorrow so I can get it to it's appointment on the 11th to find out what BAR has to say about registering it as I can't delay since my permit runs out on the 30th.

Time to learn how to hack things together on short notice, probably in the rain, because there's no way I can get it there unless I get it going. Now I'm wondering if I should have taken the app a week later but practically next door instead of an hour's drive x.x

[Chalk]

Oh man, and it's a slick top??? Dang... Uber lucky.

Definitely much more my style :)

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/smogfaq

In a very quiet way they are saying that within these 6 counties there are areas that do NOT require smog

My buddy bought a set of rally armor mud flaps for his E30 then sold the E30. He will sell them cheap, just lmk

Its not impossible to make the touring legal in CA, but its not going to be easy. I wish you luck

How cheap? I'm looking at the universal ones that are sub $20 because of my budget, even though it would be nice to have better ones.

Thanks for that link, I might need to go that route depending on how my appointment with the refs on the 11th goes. I'm looking at getting a parts car with a 2.5 if they say that will let me avoid lab testing. That would also avoid sourcing other replacement parts individually as well, and how cool would it be to turn the parts car into a drift missile and tow it behind the touring to track days? *dreams*

Very interested in how this turns out for you, I've always considered importing a e30 touring but recently settled with a e46 touring instead. I did a ton of research on importing one, but just never went threw with it. Shit I have family in Germany AND my Dad works for the airlines so I could potentially fly over to Europe for free!

One of my family member's has a property up north in Lake County and like you said, they don't require smog, you just pay the registration fee each year much like other states HOWEVER it is required to have one smog before having the car registered/ title transfer to that county. Thats right, you need to smog the car 1 time and it will be exempt from smogs forever, as long as it stays in your name. We have a few cars registered up there, one being my Grandpas 88' 735i. He hasn't smogged it in nearly 20 years. I do however see in the near future CA requiring smog in all countys due to people taking advantage of the system, and more importantly the god awful growing population. You could say we're taking advantage, but for what its worth he's MAYBE put on 2,000 miles on his 7 in the past 10 years alone.

Good luck figuring this out, and please we all beg you not to be secretive on how you get it registered here.. To many people purposely don't post info on the subject on importing cars/ registering them because they want to make a quick buck and do it for you.

I'll be happy as can be if I can pull it off just once in my case, and I'm definitely not patient enough to try and make money off other people doing it. Have no fear, I will share the details, successful or otherwise. Thanks for the heads up about lake county, it may not help with the initial registration, but I could definitely see other uses for that in the future :D

I have similar sentiments on the population growth :( I just think they should focus on new car regulations instead of hassling people about their old cars. Old cars naturally die out, and if they keep making emissions more stringent, we'll end up upgrading to something more efficient when the old ones go. I mean out of the total population how many actually have the goal of driving an old car anyway?! Just leave us alone! Sigh

Aside from that I'm just like, if the car has the proper equipment (which BAR will check and tell you) and if it passes smog mandates for the year it was made (which they should be able to check at any smog station) then where does all this extra nonsense even fit? It's ludicrous.

I heard the same but that doesn't make sense. I have an 85 323i with M20B23 that was BAR'd in the 80's and we never got the 2.3. A closed loop piggyback computer was installed for emissions. Besides, they are all M20 engines. Perhaps they changed the rules somewhere along the line.

True... but that's CA in the 80s, vs CA now. EPA and Customs laws are way more stringent now with importing vehicles.

I probably should have just lied and said it was a 325, they probably wouldn't have noticed. Or at least thought it got great emissions for a 2.5 lol Things that make me wonder if I was born too late though.

[MortyCrock]

I heard the same but that doesn't make sense. I have an 85 323i with M20B23 that was BAR'd in the 80's and we never got the 2.3. A closed loop piggyback computer was installed for emissions. Besides, they are all M20 engines. Perhaps they changed the rules somewhere along the line.

True... but that's CA in the 80s, vs CA now. EPA and Customs laws are way more stringent now with importing vehicles.


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[reelizmpro]

A friend of mine imported a 320i touring and wasn't able to get it registered in California. They said because we never got the 2.0 engine it wouldn't be allowed. He ended up swapping the motor to a 2.5 m20 and was then able to get the car bar'd and registered in California.

I heard the same but that doesn't make sense. I have an 85 323i with M20B23 that was BAR'd in the 80's and we never got the 2.3. A closed loop piggyback computer was installed for emissions. Besides, they are all M20 engines. Perhaps they changed the rules somewhere along the line.