Gheemer's Bimmer

[gheemer]

Sport steering wheel?

Was thinking about getting a Renown or Momo, but stumbled across this locally for next to nothing... Bye Bye airbag!

[laidback93]

Loving the progress even though I can't stand black kidneys on e30s. But, you do you!

How on earth did you find a CA e30 with a crack free dash? Or did you replace it?

I plan to swap out my air bag wheel somewhere down the road. Really want an M-Tech 1.

Who doesn't!?!

[gheemer]

Loving the progress even though I can't stand black kidneys on e30s. But, you do you!

How on earth did you find a CA e30 with a crack free dash? Or did you replace it?

I plan to swap out my air bag wheel somewhere down the road. Really want an M-Tech 1.

Who doesn't!?!

Thanks. Oh, it's cracked. Look a little closer. It's just got a very well done, pretty nice cap on it.
Several more completed projects already, I just haven't found time to upload the pics and progress. Will post my complete cooling system redux soon. Best project yet!

[gheemer]

Complete cooling system redux

Had read so many posts about the weaker cooling systems in the 3 series, and wasn't enjoying the significant temp gauge swings while stuck in traffic, so I decided to completely refresh and give myself some peace of mind.

Here's first sign that this was a good idea; corrosion, neglect, several original build items.


Bumped and broke the fitting on the bottom...oops :(



Clean up the old one on the grinder? - No thanks.



New stuff! If I have to touch it, then I'm replacing it!




Like everybody else, I had to figure out how to loosen the fuel rail to get the thermostat housing out, then back in...

Ahhh, nice and tidy. much more confident driving in traffic in this summer searing heat! Temp gauge solid, lower temp thermostat too...!

[gheemer]

Weekend warrior project... valve cover

All new belts, hoses, plug wires, radiator... sure made that valve cover look pretty tired! :( Here's a simple, and cheap, weekend project.



Spare gasket I had... Quick trip to Walmart...



Remove, clean... Paint! Several coats later.... can't believe my wife let me bake this in the oven! What she doesn't know won't hurt her! :devil:



Sand... painter's tape here and there helps prevent scuffing...



Install complete!



... now that intake manifold suddenly looks like a sore thumb... Add it to the list.

[gheemer]

New kidney grills just a little loose

Most of these OEM-like replacements just don't quite fit right. Got an idea... Decided to snug these up so they wouldn't rattle.

Drilled a small hole... dug out some zipties...



Snip off the ends... Voila!



Can't see unless you're down there looking for them!

[2mAn]

Not a bad looking E30!... keep the updates coming

[325isman]

The work you had done at Korman auto is cool. I buy a lot of parts from them when I am in Greensboro for my e30.....great bunch of guys there... Keep up the good work.

[gheemer]

The work you had done at Korman auto is cool. I buy a lot of parts from them when I am in Greensboro for my e30.....great bunch of guys there... Keep up the good work.

Thanks! Saving for my next Korman project, just not sure what... I really enjoy doing my own work, but it is such a cool place with terrific folks... I even had a chance to meet and talk Bimmers with the legend himself, Mr Ray Korman!

Hope this isn't too shameless of a plug...

[gheemer]

Electrical connectors... aarrghh!

So what happens when you disconnect some parts and components on a 28 yr old car? Yeah... connectors disintegrate in your hand like a year old sugar cookie crumbles...



No joy finding this connector so I could replace it, so whole new sensor from the motherland - $$$ ouch! :( No joy so far on this site either. Anyone out there have a good source for electrical connectors?

[gheemer]

sport seat strut replacement

So I got tired of having the backrests of my seats fall backwards. But i couldn't find a DIY that actually showed how to compress the strut during install.
So after a few trial and error attempts, here's how I did it. Was actually able to do this myself after figuring it out, but an extra set of hands would still be helpful.

First, remove seat from car, remove the handles on the backrest sides, then remove back (two screws at bottom, slide up and off). Good DIYs for these easier steps.
Trick I found was to use a 12" tool to compress the strut, but seat set up was crucial.
First, the seat had to be set to lowest position, The slid forward so rear mounts stuck out just enough. Then lay on side of strut replacement. Picture will say a thousand words...
Note how forward slide adjust puts the rear attachment fittings about equal with the back of the lower seat cushion, and in a good position to compress the strut.

Notice i have removed the plastic end covers on the tool to expose these handy slots to "anchor" the top of the strut.

That's the essence and hard part. A couple more tricks...

In this photo I've just started to compress the strut. I've installed one of the trashed fittings to help temporarily secure the bottom of the strut. I then insert the large screwdriver to pry the strut over while compressing....


Then a quick tap down on the pin, carefully release the compression tool and install the retaining clips. I tapped them on using a 10mm socket.

For the sides of the seats that still have a handle sticking out, I used a tape roll...


The first seat took me a couple hours with many trial and errors. The second seat took me less than an hour from removal to install back in the car.
Good luck!

[gheemer]

Way behind on posting updates. Here's latest:
Renown Monaco Motorsport install today!
'91 BMW E30 325i w/airbag

Package arrived! Well packaged, looks and feels like a quality product!

Old wheel coming out... don't forget to center up the steering, then lock it. Gently remove the horn button.

wheel removed. don't forget the key out to lock wheel, 22mm socket to remove the nut on the column, key in/accessory to remove the wheel.

mount installed. Again, repeat in reverse order the key in/accessory, slide mount on, key out, install and torque 22mm nut.



My horn wasn't making a good connection, so I attached the extra wire to the mount by changing to a larger fitting that would slide over the wheel attach screws and using a nut on the backside of the mount. Horn checked 4.0.
Wheel attached. Install complete.

[gheemer]

BMW E30 Halogen to Ellipsoid conversion with LED

I managed to pick up a couple sets of ellipsoids to source into a set for my E30.
Started with a very nice set of halogens (Hella H1 and H4 upgrade) but decided to take another step up.

Cherry picked from two sets...

Disassembly, cleaning, painting, new adjusters from ECS/Turner...

New adjusters are expensive but so much nicer to work with. Most of the old adjusters are just junk at this point.

Voila! Purchased and installed clear and yellow Laminex to protect them - looks great and really corrects minor blemishes!

Installed! Already look awesome!

Now... LED time. One LED installed...

All 4 installed. And check out the cutoff!

Voila!

[2mAn]

Very cool, glad to see the updates. I was scrolling through the pics and noticed the ceramic coated manifolds were nasty again, did the coating not last or were the manifolds replaced?

[gheemer]

Falling behind on posts... more recent photo, new wheels and tires...