Sonny's Weak M10 Build

[Sonny]

Hey Sonny,



Glad to see that you finally got around to making a build thread.

I would honestly recommend having these three things as priority:



1: Cooling System - Flush the rad and system, new water pump, new fan clutch. If you're really going to go for an electric fan, I would avoid ebay and go with a Spal if anything. The stock mechanical fan is perfectly adequate but make sure the engine mounts aren't trashed.



2: Suspension - Replace bushings (especially worn ones), shocks and springs, sway bars, tires. Look out for worn suspension parts like bushings, ball joints, etc. Replace and upgrade as necessary. Shocks and spring kits are a good option because coilovers are not always the best suspension solution depending on the application. With an early model 318, I would assume your car doesn't have a rear sway bar. Try to find front and rears from a convertible or 325 or aftermarket. Tires are important, you don't need to drop a ton of money on Michelin Super Sports but make sure they're at least decent. Having a sorted suspension will make the E30 more fun to drive regardless of power.



3: Manual Swap - Swap it to manual, the car will be much more fun to drive. Driving slow cars fast is more fun than driving fast cars fast IMO.

Yes thank you! I have done the entire cooling system, car is a 5 speed, and also did a suspension refresh.

I ended up messing up by not torquing a wheel down correctly and dropped it. I’m dealing with a clunk right now that happens on driveways and speed bumps if you may know what that’s causing the issue. Thank you!

[CMBusch]

Ok! Post a video? Yeah I skipped reading pretty much everything but just wanted to put my 2 cents in.

[CMBusch]

Engine work takes patience and finesse.

Suspension work takes anger, a big fucking hammer, and a torch.

Also,
Sig'd

[Melon]

I've been sig'd!

[Sonny]

Sonny's Weak M10 Build

Meyle hubs on success

Today she is getting new locking nuts put on for control arms as I don’t trust the old ones anymore after the drop of tire. She drives solid so far and I want to thank you all for helping me !:) anything else I should do while at it?


The insides of the locking nuts that mount control arms to subframe near engine mounts seem to look like they were pushed out?

[Sonny]

Don’t do what I did and forget the brake dust cover. Luckily I had not torqued down the nut so I pulled the bearing out and redid it

[2mAn]

Don’t do what I did

words to live by ;)

[Sonny]

words to live by ;)

Feels amazing having the e30 back on the road, what a fucking tank it really is. I will always care for her, what shall I name her in your opinion?

[LJ851]

Don’t do what I did

words to live by ;)

Truth !

[Powling]

Feels amazing having the e30 back on the road, what a fucking tank it really is. I will always care for her, what shall I name her in your opinion?

Cher.

[2mAn]

Cher.

Seconded

[CMBusch]

Feels amazing having the e30 back on the road, what a fucking tank it really is. I will always care for her, what shall I name her in your opinion?

Don't. I've never liked naming cars or referring to them as a 'she', but that's just my opinion. I just call mine what they are i.e. black sedan. If I had to choose a name, Cher is perfect.

[CMBusch]

I've been sig'd!

Haha you've made quite a few quotable posts, but this one is just too true.

[Sonny]

Sonny's Weak M10 Build

Car suddenly started smoking white as soon as I got home at idle. Maybe it was the Carwash going in the muffler and seafoam residue as it coated my trunk and bumper with oil residue also last I ran a can in the vacuum line 2 weeks ago when and the car had sat since with only 30 miles after the seafoam. Hopefully so as I don’t want to find out I have coolant loss, going to wait for her to get cold and start, we’ll see if she smokes or hard to start as that would mean I might have cracked my block on impact.

[Melon]

One side didn't have a dust cover, so I didn't install one.

Fuck it.

It was all back together before I realized it.
If it fails, it fails.