Codym42's M52 318is UPDATE: Added a ZHP to the collection

[word is bond]

What kind of rear spoiler is that?

[Codym42]

What kind of rear spoiler is that?

Its a Pfeba.

After the car was back, I painted ALL of the trim. I had to tape up the doors to paint the door trim. I didn't want to remove it because I was sure the clips would break.

After that, it was time for the new headliner. The original roof brace was cut out with the sunroof install so I kept the aftermarket brace. Its the black bar you see in the pictures. It's also kind of a frame for the sunroof too. I kept all of this so the roof wouldn't flex. The bar is screwed into the B pillars originally and I used Sikaflex to bond the frame to the roof. The only problem was how to make the headliner look good. I ordered some upholstery foam from ebay, cut it out and glued it over the frame. Another problem was the C-pillar foam. If any of you have ever seen the original foam, you've seen that it has pretty much turned into dust from 27+ years of heat and sun exposure. I cut out some headliner fabric and glued it into place after scraping the factory goo off with a putty knife. The next step was laying dynamat (ebay knockoff stuff) on the roof. At first it wouldn't stick so I used some deglosser to remove all the glue and dirt. Finally, the headliner was installed. It was a very time consuming process but looked great when it was done.

After the headliner was installed, I had to figure out what to do with the B pillar trim....you know, that stuff that is paper thin and is usually cracked? I had a replacement for 1 side from the junkyard, but the paint shop broke the other side in half. My solution was to order some black upholstery vinyl from ebay and wrap the pillars. It turned out great.

The last step was installing the rear window and lock strips. My father and I could not get the lock strip tool to slide in the channel. We ended up using screw drivers and vaseline to spread it apart and push the trim in. It SUCKED. When we were done, we realized the lock strip had actually shrank up while sitting in the basement all this time. That's why you see those gaps.

Finally, I had the windows re-tinted. I first stripped all the tint off myself with a steamer. Then, I took it to the tint shop. They told me the bubbles would go away after 2 weeks. They were still there and it looked bad. I took the car back, and they redid it. Apparently I had left some glue residue from when I steamed it. Surprised they didn't see that the first time.

All was good with life. I had my freshly painted e30, new headliner, and new tint. As soon as I left their shop, I went directly to the car wash. I degreased the m42. I was ready to start pulling the engine and drivetrain that night. When I got there, I looked over the tint and my heart sank. They burned a hole in my brand new headliner. They also broke my pop out window latch, and scratched the outside trim on the pop-outs...how the hell? I also noticed my passenger seat back would no longer lock into place. WHAT THE FUCK. I can look past the seat because my driver seat has had issues like that before, but the hole and the broken latch is unacceptable. The tint job costed $171. I talked them into refunding me $200. It wasn't the money that bothered me, it was the hours of work and effort that I spent into making it look so good.

Up next....pulling the m42, e36 rack install, and m52 swap.

Oh, and does anyone recognize the two black e30s that are in the picture below? They parked behind me at Caffeine and Octane. Great looking cars!


IMG_20170923_152955952 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 001 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 002 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171007_111944274_HDR by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 013 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 014 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 006 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 007 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 011 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 022 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 025 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 031 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 032 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 026 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171105_140602203 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 035 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 036 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
E30 restore 034 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171105_140331582 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171105_140338570 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171105_140349850 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171105_140407172 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171105_090217022 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171108_161033008 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171126_240543700 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171126_240539110 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171126_240740359 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171126_241017551 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
IMG_20171127_051042647 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

[KIRIEIW]

Awesome work man, love the build so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[vtechnik]

Pretty cool car, keep up the good work

[downforce22]

is that a milano verde in the background? i almost looked at one, how does it compare to the e30 with that transverse rear axle?

[Petebee]

is that a milano verde in the background? i almost looked at one, how does it compare to the e30 with that transverse rear axle?

Looks like a Milano Platinum or Silver. Nice handling cars, very neutral balance and softer ride. Busso V6 sounds amazing above 4K RPM.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

[Codym42]

Awesome work man, love the build so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! Appreciate that.

Pretty cool car, keep up the good work

Thanks!

is that a milano verde in the background? i almost looked at one, how does it compare to the e30 with that transverse rear axle?

Looks like a Milano Platinum or Silver. Nice handling cars, very neutral balance and softer ride. Busso V6 sounds amazing above 4K RPM.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

It is indeed my dad's Milano Platinum. It's very fun to drive and sounds great with his Euro/Aftermarket exhaust setup. It handles well, but the body roll is ridiculous lol. Much different than my e30 with H&R race springs.

[Codym42]

Finally, we get to the actual swap. I posted some pictures earlier in this thread where I had an oil pan baffle welded in and also safety wired the oil pump nut. After that I began messing around with the intake.

I ordered the m50manifold.com kit which made things so much easier. I had no idea what was under the intake on the m5x engines. Turns out there is an idle control valve, oil separator, throttle body coolant lines, purge valve solenoid, and various vacuum hoses. The m50manifold.com kit comes with detailed instructions and pictures on everything you need to know.

m52 intake swap 002 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
m52 intake swap 003 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

This extra throttle body is for the ASC aka stability control…not needed in an e30.

m52 oil system 010 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I swapped out the oil filter housing to one from an m50. It has a metal cap and allows me to use an m50 power steering pump. I did this because the banjo bolts were the same thread sizes as the e30. Come to find out later that I wasn’t able to use the e30 lines, however I was able to use the e36 325i (m50) lines, so I guess that worked out!

M52 Project 001 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I used an ECS tuning water pump pulley. It’s a different size and flows a bit more coolant. Also not plastic! Also installed was a new Graf water pump and a new thermostat.

M52 Project 006 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

The oil level sensor was deleted with this BMW factory cover plate. My 318is doesn't have an oil level light anyway.

M52 Project 003 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Here are the secondary air pump delete covers. These are also a factory BMW part and they fit horribly!! We had to grind them and enlarge the holes for them to fit on the exhaust manifold. I’d recommend not buying them.

M52 Project 007 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 009 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Make sure that when you do this swap, you get an E36 m52 2.8 liter harness!!! Do not try to use a z3 or 323i/is harness. They do not have the connectors for the o2 sensors on the exhaust manifold!!

Pictured below is the z3 harness with it’s weird little relay box.

M52 Project 023 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

The engine only has 83k miles. Nice and clean under the valve cover.
M52 Project 029 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

New spark plugs were installed. Can’t go wrong with some nice NGKs.

M52 Project 035 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Here is the m50 manifold with some of the m52 components bolted up.

M52 Project 027 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Dipstick tube mounted securely.

M52 Project 039 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Oil separator drain tube was welded on.

M52 Project 042 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

[Codym42]

Next, was the transmission detent shift pins. This was hard to do. Some of the pins were really stuck in there. I mounted up the shifter while the trans was on the work table and I couldn’t even shift into fifth. After the new pins were installed, it shifted like butter.

M52 Project 045 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 046 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Finally time to pull the m42 at 283k miles!!

M52 Project 048 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 050 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 059 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 060 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Steering rack is out

M52 Project 061 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I was really hoping to try the 318is throttle cable but it was the only thing I forgot to disconnect….oops.

M52 Project 063 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Dad started removing the unused engine bay brackets. The harbor freight spot weld cutting bit works great.

M52 Project 064 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 072 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 073 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Apparently I don’t have enough patience to sand down bondo. I put it on too thick and sanding by hand takes forever!

M52 Project 076 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 075 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Not bad but looks better in the pictures. I used the Automotive Touchup spray can with no clear.

M52 Project 077 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Dad was able to smooth out the air box brackets perfectly.

M52 Project 078 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

New e36 steering rack from RackDoctor along with Lemforder e36 outer tie rods.

M52 Project 065 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 066 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I didn’t even bother making a new bracket for the steering shaft boot. The carpet really pissed me off trying to get that thing out.

M52 Project 069 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Porsche 944 brake booster installed. I bought a brand new one from PartsGeek.com

M52 Project 074 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

The new booster required cutting some of the insulation. If you don’t do this, the pedal doesn’t hit your brake light switch anymore (because its spaced away from the firewall). I found this out the hard way…

M52 Project 096 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

The brake line also had to be moved up.

M52 Project 097 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

New Lemforder control arms were installed. Goodbye aluminum e30 m3 control arms. You will be missed.

M52 Project 070 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

3.15 Torsen LSD on the left from a ’99 Z3 2.8. On the right is the small case S4.10.

M52 Project 079 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

After many curse words were used, the diff was finally installed.

M52 Project 080 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Let’s get this project moving…

M52 Project 081 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I used a brand new Valeo single mass flywheel with clutch kit

M52 Project 082 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 083 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Here I used the e36 m3 shift carrier and selector rod with a Z3 shift rod, Garagistic Delrin carrier bushings and a rear Garagistic poly bushing.

M52 Project 085 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

This bitch is finally in.

M52 Project 087 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I had a hell of a time using the e28 mounts. We finally got them to settle in but I had already ordered AKG swap mounts.

M52 Project 088 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

My subframe looks rough from this angle but it is reinforced.

M52 Project 091 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

At this point, things were really looking good.

M52 Project 094 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

E36 m3/328 driveshaft with an e30 csb and 328 guibo. Don’t try to use the e36 m3 guibo. It’s too thick.

M52 Project 086 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
Then the worst happened… My brand new Febi slave cylinder blew up after about 10 pumps of the pedal. I had to remove the transmission again.

M52 Project 099 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Water pump shaft was ground down for clearance with the fan.

M52 Project 095 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I used an early e39 528 fuel rail with built-in FPR.

M52 Project 100 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

The power steering really confused me. At first, I mounted it in the stock location. This does NOT work.

M52 Project 101 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Wiring harness installed

M52 Project 102 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

E36 325i high pressure and low pressure line to the reservoir. E30 m42 low pressure line from rack to reservoir (started to kink).

M52 Project 104 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Dad found the correct bracket for the reservoir in the junkyard.

M52 Project 105 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

Fresh injectors from eBay.

M52 Project 106 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I can’t remember what coolant hoses I used. I’ll update later.

M52 Project 108 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 109 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr
M52 Project 111 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

M50 intake pulled back off.

M52 Project 112 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

I had to reinstall my heater hoses because they were leaking. I said screw it and removed these support brackets. The intake is annoying enough to get on without these.

M52 Project 113 by cdygrubbs, on Flickr

My next update will be a list of parts I used for the swap.

[mjweimer]

Nice series of updates. My build is on a similar path to yours with the Z3 engine w/AKG mounts, ZF320 w/valeo SMF kit and a 3.15.

I will be very interested to hear how the clutch feels....I have never driven a valeo single mass conversion but they are very popular with the E46 crowd.

BTW: what is your air filter set-up?



MJ

[Codym42]

Nice series of updates. My build is on a similar path to yours with the Z3 engine w/AKG mounts, ZF320 w/valeo SMF kit and a 3.15.

I will be very interested to hear how the clutch feels....I have never driven a valeo single mass conversion but they are very popular with the E46 crowd.

BTW: what is your air filter set-up?



MJ

Thanks. Our builds are so similar lol.

I'll update on the clutch when I finally get to put some miles on it.

The air filter is a KAMotors intake.

http://kamotorsperformance.com/bmw-e30-carbon-fiber-3-intake-kit-ver-5-m42-m20-m30-m50-s50-s52/

[Codym42]

Parts List

Engine
M52 2.8L Aluminum block - from a '97 Z3
M50 Intake manifold w/ m50manifold.com conversion kit
OBX intake boot/KAMotors CAI
OBD2 throttle body - (the Dinan BBTB sucks without a custom tune)
E36 Throttle cable w/ cable stop to shorten cable
E39 early 528i Fuel rail
Rebuilt pink top injectors
E34 M50 oil pan w/ welded dipstick tube for CCV drain, using m52 windage tray
Achilles oil pan baffle
Safety wired oil pump nut
AKG Swap mounts
BMW SAP delete plates and gaskets...shitty fitment
Graf water pump, 92 degree C thermostat, ECS water pump pulley
M50 140 Amp alternator
Red46 skid plate

Power Steering
E36 Steering rack from Rack Doctor
Lemforder E36 Outer tie rods
Garagistic rack spacers
M50 Power Steering pump and oil filter housing
E36 325i High pressure hose
E36 325i low pressure from pump to reservoir
E30 M42 low pressure from rack to reservoir

Drivetrain
ZF320 Transmission - from a '98 M3
3.15 Torsen LSD - from a '99 Z3 2.8
Valeo 328i Single mass flywheel and clutch kit
Sachs 328i slave cylinder
E21 Transmission mounts
Garagistic transmission mount cups
E36 driveshaft - from '98 M3 w/ E30 CSB and E36 328i guibo
E36 shift carrier - from a '98 M3
Z3 shift lever - from a 2.8L car??? ... not sure
Garagistic Delrin oval front and poly rear shift carrier bushings
Thayer Motorsports detent shift pin kit

Electronics
328i engine harness
328i DME reflashed and modified wiring harness by Blake Minson
318is stock DME bracket
Reman Starter - Bosch SRO445x
E30 M20 starter cable
E30 M3/318is firewall covers

Brakes
Porsche 944 ATE Brake booster from PartsGeek.com

Cooling System
M42 radiator
Radiator Hoses - NAPA 8484 - cut to fit
Expansion tank hose - MasterPro 21605 from O'Reilly's
Spal 30100400 - 16" Low profile puller cooling fan - TIGHT FIT
Derale 16759 adjustable fan controller
Heater hose - back of head to bottom - E30 M20 hose 64211380527
Heater hose - from metal pipe to top - 11531703844

Exhaust - Fabricated by Markert Motor Works!
Vibrant 1141 2.5" Ultra Quiet Resonator
MagnaFlow 53006 Universal Catalytic Converter
MagnaFlow 11236 Muffler
Syncro Design Works downpipes
Magnaflow Exhaust tip
Evilenergy V-Bands from Amazon

[mike.bmw]

Wow! I love this thread. Great work and excellent detailed photos!

[Codym42]

Wow! I love this thread. Great work and excellent detailed photos!

Thank you very much!

[paynemw]

Very COOL! Thanks for the thorough parts list