86 eta 5.0 swap...

[2mAn]

Quite the process! Just went through the whole thread. Love how throughout this whole build the eta that this build was for is still sitting in the corner of the backyard lol

[Elysian]

Been working on the car a bit lately, friend of mine helped me bolt the suspension back up a few days ago.

Today I finished up the radiator hoses, then ran the brake lines for the drivers side.






Need to find the clip that holds the brake line on the bracket in the wheel well, but pretty happy with how everything is lining up so far. Still need to run a line to connect to the rear brake lines, and a line to connect the passenger side front brake caliper.

[Elysian]

I started getting ready to work on the BMW this weekend, was going to start making brake hard lines, but then the OEM Bilstein shocks for my Miata showed up and I installed those instead

Thankfully my Miata "build" is almost done, only thing left to do is a front sway bar, which I'm not in a huge rush to get at this point, the Karcepts bar I want is $675

[Elysian]

The wheel centers are back from powdercoating. The only mounting surface they did tape off was to the hub, so I'm going to wind up having to sand some coating off on each wheel center, as well as drill out each hole... Still, they look great. Can't wait to get my wheels together.

[Elysian]

Had a dream I finally got to drive my E30 V8, was great, but now I can't stop thinking about it and how much work I have left to do

I also had to fix lighting issues in my dream, go figure.

[Elysian]

Exhaust on the S3 is fixed, top end and passing performance is back to what it should be. It's ugly but functional, doesn't leak, so I'm good with it. Coated it with header paint to keep it from rusting. Learned quite a bit that will be applicable to the E30 when I get to building the exhaust.

[Elysian]

Why can't you get a good PDR guy to work on it? Good luck

Not sure what PDR is, professional dent repair? I'd rather do it myself and learn something, which has been the theme of my entire E30 build.

[uturn]

Why can't you get a good PDR guy to work on it? Good luck

[Elysian]

Accidentally ordered the 16" Spal fan I need while trying to order some 3" 180 degree bend to repair the dented exhaust on my S3. Didn't realize it was in my cart on Summit when I ordered the exhaust pipe.



Exhaust piping:



One of two dents I need to repair in my S3's exhaust:



Going to cut out the dented spots in a bit of a pie cut shape, then weld in new metal. Should be good practice for when I need to build the exhaust on the E30.

[Elysian]

Dropped the wheel centers off at powder coating yesterday, here's the color I picked:

https://www.prismaticpowders.com/sho...573/gold-smith

Will get a gloss clear coat over it as well, so will look pretty sweet. Should have those back in about 2 weeks.

[Elysian]

So with the issues I had with die grinding the one wheel barrel I worked on, I decided to start looking for a new compressor. I really didn't want to troubleshoot the crappy Husky. Found a Porter Cable 24 gallon compressor at Tractor Supply for $219, and converted the Husky to an auxiliary tank. Have nearly 50 gallon capacity and a dedicated spot for both tanks now.



The Husky tank can also be disconnected from the main tank and used as a portable air supply.

[Elysian]

Got more work done on the wheels, removed the centers to drop them off at powdercoating (can't do that till Tuesday unfortunately):



Got the lips cut off of the remaining 3 barrels:



And got one of the barrels all sanded out, only thing it needs now is a thorough cleaning:



I may work on the other 3 barrels later, but have to head to physical therapy for my knee now. My air compressor has fought me the whole way, it's not very good, so sanding these out is taking some time. I'm also sanding them with 100 grit so it doesn't take off too much at a time.

[Elysian]

Was really rainy today, but decided to try working on the 3 piece wheel conversion today. started by cutting the front lip off one of the wheels:



But realized I should have removed the tire first, I couldn't pop the rear bead at all and had to put the center back in then take it to a wheel shop to remove the tires. Took the other wheel that still had a tire too. Pic from the tire place, hard to tell it was pouring in this pic though:



I'll get back to it another day, supposed to rain tomorrow too.


edit: Here's the inner barrel now, still have a bunch of cutting and sanding to do on it before it's ready to be assembled as a 3 piece wheel.

[Elysian]

Got the transition at the throttlebody opening smoothed out, much happier with it now.



Might work on the wheels this weekend.

[Elysian]

This is the sort of thing that gets me excited.

The throttlebody flap actually fully articulates with no issue, I was sure it would catch on the original opening.