E30 Coupe Complete Rebuild + M60B40 Conversion Thread

[E30Bug]

Couldn't believe how good the main bearings looked.

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5 broken bolts in the valley pan. This will be fun getting these out I'm sure.

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[E30Bug]

All ready to take to engine machinist.





And a few days later I picked it all back up again. All nice and shiney and new looking.

Heads and block were skimmed, heads had the oil and exhaust galleries cleaned, valves re-seated and new valve seals put in, They were also pressure tested. The bores on the block were not honed as the engineer said they were in great condition. Oil galleries were all cleaned and new plugs put in.

[E30Bug]

Cross hatching looked great.

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Crank was crack tested and linished.

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I have most of the parts for the engine. Still waiting on a few bits but can make a start on putting it back together.

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But firstly those dreaded snapped bolts to get out.

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[E30Bug]

I got 4 of the 5 snapped bolts out without issue but that 5th one would not come out. I ended up snapping the easy out in the hole I'd drilled in the bolt. I've since heard that when the pros do it they will only use an easy-out once or twice then they use a new one. I am now taking this to my engineer mate who thinks he'll be able to set it up in a special machine with a special bit (not a drill press but something else?) and that will drill the hardened steel easy-out out as well as the bolt.

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Decided to re-build all the lifters instead of buying new ones. Just couldn't warrant spending that sort of money on these when I can spend a few days and nights cleaning them all. Mind you, I think I'll be pretty sick of doing them by the time I've done all 32 of them.

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[econti]

Looking good and shiny

[E30Bug]

Looking good and shiny

Thanks man.

Really looking forward to getting the engine built and engine bay painted so I can get it in and going.

[wworm]

oh man. I snapped an easy out off in a broken camshaft cap bolt on my yamaha once. 6 hours with a dremel later (and about 6 carving bits) and the bolt was finally out. Hopefully your machinist friend will be a little quicker lol

[E30Bug]

oh man. I snapped an easy out off in a broken camshaft cap bolt on my yamaha once. 6 hours with a dremel later (and about 6 carving bits) and the bolt was finally out. Hopefully your machinist friend will be a little quicker lol

Yeah its a pain isn't it. I'm taking the block in today so heres hoping we get it out without any trouble and I can get stuck into building this motor.

[E30Bug]

Well we got the broken bolt out today. Took a carbide drill bit to drill the easy-out out on his machine then we drilled the bolt out as close to thread size, then ran a tap through it to clear the rest of it out. So glad it came out without any more dramas.

[slum dog]

Updates?

[alistairolsen]

next time, put a nut over the broken end and weld it on, the heat and a larger hex head is normally enough to free them and saves damaging the head

[alkkamai]

Tremendous! This is to be driven exclusively on a clean, indoor track, right?

[Staszek]

Such an awesome project. Wish I had your painting skills!

[jeenyus]

whoa, whoa, whoa! wtf is this?!

I don't know if i've ever seen an undercarriage look like that... ever. Great work!

I'm curious when you show the bearings, cams and crank and you say they look good, what are you looking for necessarily? Upon visual inspection, what are you looking for exactly? scoring? pitting? the obvious? or is there something more obvious i'd miss if i didn't know?

[dmjensen]

Updates please