I don't think I have ever actually started a thread before, I usually just troll around and buy/sell things. So here it goes, my build thread of the swap that has been done a million times by now. But hey, I searched through many peoples 24V builds to get info on my swap and they each had different info to offer that helped a lot. FYI, the car is almost done, so this is kind of looking back over that past year and where it sits now.
My plan was a 24V swap, suspension, clean it up, and try to get out on the track/autocross as I have never done it before.
The car: 1991 Brilliantrot 318i slick top - wanted to get coupe but compromised due to my impatience. Bought it in 2/2016 and here it was
I quickly bought some different wheels and tires, BC racing coilovers with custom spring rates, new control arms/poly CABs, tie rods, end links, and other suspension components to freshen it up
Here is the car with the above installed, also got new headlights and euro grills. i got rid of the black kidneys in this picture, I didn't like the look
Here are the coilovers with the welding that is required to install. The coilover slides over the old cut strut housing and it is welded in place. It was also drilled through and 2 bars are welded in for strength, i don't really want that weld to fail....
One of the last rides before going under the knife, the m42 was fun while it lasted, just not enough
Picked up the M52, and purchased the rest of the obd1 sensors that it needed to be fully obd1.
The infamous oil pump nut, I safety wired it while the oil pan was off just to be safe, not sure if the problem is overstated or not.
MTech2 steering wheel rewrapped with tricolor stiching
Installed the gripforce lightweight flywheel, stage 1 clutch and pressure plate TOB etc..
Good trick my brother taught me to keep the flywheel from moving while torqueing the flywheel bolts
Hood off and in my apartment so it didn't get scratched, my fiancé wasn't a fan of that idea...
m3 gearbox mounted on my fancy engine stand made of 2x4s
Engine out, not the easiest in a single stall apartment garage...
[/url]E30 by
Pretty straight forward to pull, the exhaust was the worst part, as the bolts needed to be sawed/drilled etc to get off. picture shows the firewall being drilled to move the brake booster over to sit the intake manifold for the 24v. Also made one of the modified clevises needed to move it over
Engine in for the first time, pretty tricky, if putting in with transmission on - don't even try without a load leveler, I cant imagine doing it without one. I didn't have to cut any of the firewall soundproofing, dropped in with exhaust manifold on (I used ebay long tube headers) and I have the stock Control arm bushing lollipops - plenty of clearance for me at least. I have the treehouse racing lollipops if anyone wants to buy them
I sent my harness off to RobertK to be modified for the swap. He did an excellent job - highly recommend. Also purchased a TRM chip for the obd1 manifold, 21.5lb injectors, Lightweight flywheel, etc..
Leftover stuff for sale if anyone sees anything they want!
Not sure how to post video but first start up went well, very loud with open headers....
Here is the exhaust set up i went with, ebay headers, y pipe to magnaflow resonator and magnaflow 14 inch muffler - im happy with the sound. Although the headers may rattle at certain rpms.. not sure yet.
My brothers Golf R build... had a tune with stock internals, antilag etc... pistons destroyed..
Pretty recent picture
Messed around with what i thought was a vacuum leak but ended up being a bad MAF
Still left:
New diff - still has the 4.10 used by the stock 4 cylinder, gearing is very short. debating if a 3.73 will still be too short - any input from people with a ZF gearbox and 24V?
fix valve cover oil leak, i replaced the valve cover gasket and its still leaking out of the front - trying new rubber grommets used when bolting the cover down
Alignment is horrible after doing new tie rods, apparently i'm not good at estimating the length of them.
other than that just annoying stuff like bleeding brakes.
in the future id like to get a roll bar and bucket seats for the track. I'm happy with the power for now, we will see if a turbo is in its future
My plan was a 24V swap, suspension, clean it up, and try to get out on the track/autocross as I have never done it before.
The car: 1991 Brilliantrot 318i slick top - wanted to get coupe but compromised due to my impatience. Bought it in 2/2016 and here it was
I quickly bought some different wheels and tires, BC racing coilovers with custom spring rates, new control arms/poly CABs, tie rods, end links, and other suspension components to freshen it up
Here is the car with the above installed, also got new headlights and euro grills. i got rid of the black kidneys in this picture, I didn't like the look
Here are the coilovers with the welding that is required to install. The coilover slides over the old cut strut housing and it is welded in place. It was also drilled through and 2 bars are welded in for strength, i don't really want that weld to fail....
One of the last rides before going under the knife, the m42 was fun while it lasted, just not enough
Picked up the M52, and purchased the rest of the obd1 sensors that it needed to be fully obd1.
The infamous oil pump nut, I safety wired it while the oil pan was off just to be safe, not sure if the problem is overstated or not.
MTech2 steering wheel rewrapped with tricolor stiching
Installed the gripforce lightweight flywheel, stage 1 clutch and pressure plate TOB etc..
Good trick my brother taught me to keep the flywheel from moving while torqueing the flywheel bolts
Hood off and in my apartment so it didn't get scratched, my fiancé wasn't a fan of that idea...
m3 gearbox mounted on my fancy engine stand made of 2x4s
Engine out, not the easiest in a single stall apartment garage...
[/url]E30 by Pretty straight forward to pull, the exhaust was the worst part, as the bolts needed to be sawed/drilled etc to get off. picture shows the firewall being drilled to move the brake booster over to sit the intake manifold for the 24v. Also made one of the modified clevises needed to move it over
Engine in for the first time, pretty tricky, if putting in with transmission on - don't even try without a load leveler, I cant imagine doing it without one. I didn't have to cut any of the firewall soundproofing, dropped in with exhaust manifold on (I used ebay long tube headers) and I have the stock Control arm bushing lollipops - plenty of clearance for me at least. I have the treehouse racing lollipops if anyone wants to buy them
I sent my harness off to RobertK to be modified for the swap. He did an excellent job - highly recommend. Also purchased a TRM chip for the obd1 manifold, 21.5lb injectors, Lightweight flywheel, etc..
Leftover stuff for sale if anyone sees anything they want!
Not sure how to post video but first start up went well, very loud with open headers....
Here is the exhaust set up i went with, ebay headers, y pipe to magnaflow resonator and magnaflow 14 inch muffler - im happy with the sound. Although the headers may rattle at certain rpms.. not sure yet.
My brothers Golf R build... had a tune with stock internals, antilag etc... pistons destroyed..
Pretty recent picture
Messed around with what i thought was a vacuum leak but ended up being a bad MAF
Still left:
New diff - still has the 4.10 used by the stock 4 cylinder, gearing is very short. debating if a 3.73 will still be too short - any input from people with a ZF gearbox and 24V?
fix valve cover oil leak, i replaced the valve cover gasket and its still leaking out of the front - trying new rubber grommets used when bolting the cover down
Alignment is horrible after doing new tie rods, apparently i'm not good at estimating the length of them.
other than that just annoying stuff like bleeding brakes.
in the future id like to get a roll bar and bucket seats for the track. I'm happy with the power for now, we will see if a turbo is in its future
Comment