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Building my Mtech-1, Full Build-up Pictorial

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    Building my Mtech-1, Full Build-up Pictorial

    During my Mtech-1 build, I kept a fairly full log on another forum. During this I discussed every stage, took pictures of everything.

    It may become confusing down the list, as the motor changes. At 420 miles my M20B25 bottom end failed due to a valve contact issue, after this the 2.8L was born.

    Enjoy all the photos, it was a great experience.


    POST 1

    I will be updating this thread from time to time for the next few months, posting images of every little change, every new part ordered, paint progress, etc (assuming I have my camera and i'm not lazy)


    Here is the current parts list, which will be ordered this week.



    The first new parts that came in with the 2 new wiper arms for my headlights, to replace my slightly worn/cracked ones.



    More to come once I get the car in pieces. May have the Mtech1 front test fitted tommorrow.

    We shall see.

    POST 2

    The wipers will go with the look I am trying to achieve, I think you will warm up to them.


    So I was going to post more pictures today, however my Sony camera decided to..well die. So instead of being lazy about it, I went out and bought a new camera.

    This thing has a 16:9 mode, so all the pics are widescreen, which looks better imho.

    Here is my powder-coated intake manifold and valve cover, just waiting to get sanded to give it that raised logo look.



    I may send my spare M20B25 head in to the machine shop to get rebuilt, and install a 274/274 cam, although I'm not 100% convinced of going that route yet.

    Today I just pulled all the parts out of storage, and inspected them for damage.

    The front valance has a few small cracks, and needs some repair work, however overall its in great shape.



    Sideskirts are in awesome shape, and line up nicely when held up to the car.



    The rear valance is also in very good condition, and only has 1 small crack at the exhaust exit, which is easily repairable.



    And finally a cool interior shot before it all gets ripped out again :p



    more to come later.
    Last edited by James Crivellone; 07-04-2007, 01:23 AM.

    #2
    POST 3

    Few pictures from today.

    Mtech1









    Crooked, but there



    Rest of the pictures.









    Thats all for now, engine should be out mid week.

    POST 4

    Yet another update.


    Finished removing the trim tonight, sunroof, as well as some of the interior. The front and rear glass will be removed on Thursday. I'm taking this weekend off to enjoy not working on the car, then the following week I will remove the engine, driveline, transmission, brakes, suspension etc. It will still be a rolling chassis overall though...







    Thats all for now

    POST 5

    Thanks for the headliner information guys, I will look into getting a black one ordered.

    More updates today.

    Removed the windshield wiper assembly, heater box, carpet, exhaust, driveshaft, heatshields, door handles, door locks, side door glass, inner door handles, few trim pieces in the engine bay, and the oil cooler.








    More to come thursday.

    Comment


      #3
      POST 6

      UPDATE for 3-5-06

      The chassis is now ready to head off to the painter, me, ben, and derek finished stripping the car down today, its really something staring at MY car stripped (compared to the many i've worked on)

      Today we removed the engine, transmission, ABS system, seatbelts, pedals, complete electrical harness, headliner, and about 9898234 other random little things. I am meeting with the painter this week, and will get the car transported over there.







      Parts everywhere




      POST 7

      Sometimes I enjoy being single and living alone, today is one of those days when I REALLY enjoy it, imagine what the wife would say if she walked into the living/dining room and saw this.



      Next to the actual car itself, this is one of the most tedious portions of the restoration. I will be inspecting and rewiring a good majority of the electrical harness, including adding support for euro fogs, headlight wipers removing whats left the A/C wiring, integrating 100% the E30 M3 instrumentation, as well as completely rewrap the harness to get rid of the sticky gooy oem wrap they use.

      Once the harness is completed, it will be installed just as if the car was rolling off the line, no seperate harness's for the above improvements, everything will be added and rewrapped to make it appear as OEM as possible.

      Electrical stuff I am VERY picky about, and due to the amount of work i've performed on the cars harness, I have had very little electrical problems, and none of them were related to the harness itself.

      POST 8

      Update for today,

      Started on the electrical harness, and setup my test bench to test out the harness as I integrate. I started by first repairing a few splices that I made several years ago, and started soldering in the alarm harness. I also called several places today to get automotive harness tape to rewrap everything, however until then I zip tied the harness every 6 inches to keep it together.


      Yep that is EVERY light on the check panel on, I had to pull a rear light to make the final one come on for the photo ;)



      If only the cluster was in a damn car :p



      We have light



      POST 9

      Met up with the painter (IE my Godfather) today, we decided on a ballpark amount in terms of costs, and wen't over a gameplan for the mtech1 restoration.

      The front valance has a few cracks, torn parts on it, the rear valance has a tear at the exhaust exit section that needs to be repaired.

      The sideskirts are great and need minor work.

      We also went over the needed information for the original alpine white 1 replication, which will be easy, and we decided to do a double clear on the car to get all imperfections out of the paint and to ensure a long lasting finish.

      Total ballpark to get everything handled is around 3500 bucks, thats around 1000 for labor which is more then fair to this guy, he's a perfectionist when it comes to porsche's and painting, so I know my e30 is in good hands.

      I will be getting the car to him in 2 weeks, he's finishing up more on this 911 and making it rollable to he can hand it off to his buddy for final assembly.

      Here are a few pictures of the 911, its going to be a track car type application, so he has not painted the inside of the car, however the exterior is amazing, and when a good buff job and wax it will look fantastic.

      He was not the actual person to paint the entire car, it was a friend of his who wanted to paint his own car, however this was guided/mentored by my godfather, so his criteria applies.

      Here are a few pictures, I didn't get a close up but yes they are 930 turbo calipers and brakes.




      And a preview into what all my nuts/bolts will look like when I'm done



      More to come later, I have a 2500 dollar BMA Order coming up next week, I will post the final list once I do that.

      Comment


        #4
        POST 10

        Another update.

        I finished integrating the alarm harness into the factory harness today, this includes crimping new connectors for the headlight/defrost/hazard harness that runs to the center of the car, everything is just as removeable as before, and it follows factory grounds and power taps.


        Here is a quick video if it working, the bench is a mess but everything is layed out for testing purposes.




        Tommorrow I will add the rear fog circuit, and integrate it into the cluster.

        POST 11

        Update for 3-14-06.

        I finished placing orders today, had 2 NLA parts (trim, so wrecking yard hunting I go) and a mismatched nla part number on the headliner (I punched in the wrong color, which WAS NLA...Whew.

        The bad part was that the black headliner is double the price, but whatever, it was in stock in california, and I grabbed the last one in the country for the low low price of 280 bucks.

        I also ordered the ST Sways, they should be here next week (ground shipping for the win).

        Also on a funny note, on my way home a HUGE ass rock bounced onto the freeway and destroyed my right front headlight on my 4runner (not a sealed beam either), and as my other one had a small hole in it already, I coughed up the 320 bucks and bought 2 new oem toyota front headlights + clips. At least they will match and look good. Then when I got home the damn key broke, so today I went to 2 bmw dealerships, a toyota dealership, and a locksmith. Talk about luck.

        Tonight was pretty laid back, we rolled the car back and my dad decided to be the lucky one and pressure wash the engine bay, yes thats a BMW F1 hat he has on, it pays to have a dad who is a huge car guy (if only he still had his 911 though =/ )

        Me and Derek also ripped the motor apart in about 2 hours, the head is going into teh machine shop for a complete inspection, slight resurface, 3angle valve job, and MAYBE a 272/272 11.5mm Cam.

        I also stared at the stock rusty exhaust manifolds for an hour and decided that they were too ugly to keep, so I'm going with a set of headers, prolly the bavauto ones, although I am open to suggestions if anybody has any, price is not an object, I just want a good value for the money.

        We also started laying out parts for Cadmium plating, as well as powdercoating. Every nut, bolt, washer, metal bracket, etc will be cleaned, and either cadmium plated or powercoated to give it a brand new appearance.

        Obviously if I went with the cam I would need larger injectors, and a new chip from Mark, so I'm debating if I want to spend the time, I will not be adding aftermarket fuel management to the motor as the damn thing is coming out in under 2 years anyway, however as the motor on the outside will be cosmetically perfect, I want it to run as well as it can.

        The block and head will be painted in a long lasting finish, black for the block and silver for the head, and every component surrounding the engine will be cleaned to make sure it looks brand new. This includes painting the alternator black (stripped 100% apart of course).

        Here are the pics from this evening.









        Thats all for now, once I get that damn crank bolt off the engine block will get painted, and the head will go into the shop once the parts come in for it (I'll be assembling it, but I want everything in place)

        POST 12

        Not much has changed on the car, minus less paint on it ;)

        Today I got more parts in, including one of the special parts.



        There you see a factory oem black 318is headliner that I will modify to fit in my car, including the oem sunroof panel, which is a lighter color of black (I wanted to kinda two-tone it and I like how its a lighter color)

        Its a very soft material, and came ready for trimming/hole poking (I kept my old headliner for a template to make it easier)

        Next we have the new ST Sways, which I will have stripped down and repainted black.




        Also got the first shipment in of the new oem chrome mouldings for the side of the car.



        Thats it for now, tons of more parts coming in, the huge BMA order has not arrived yet as half the shit needed to be imported.

        Comment


          #5
          POST 13

          Got most of the parts in today, waiting on a few backorders (mainly euro only parts)

          Here are the pics of it, bringing the car to paint this saturday!!! =)






          and me going WHAT THE HELL HAVE I DONE!!!!



          More to come =)

          POST 14




          Brought the car over to paint today, the day has finally come...etc.etc.etc


          More in a few weeks when its done :p







          POST 15

          AINT UPDATE 1


          Went over to check on the progress, he replaced a 4x3 inch rust hole in my rocker panel, and just got done applying the mud to clean it up when I got over there.



          Few sanded areas to repair small dings/dents



          FM Radio is gay.



          Several dings in the roof are being repaired as well



          Car should be primered by Saturday =)

          POST 16

          Paint Update II...


          Rolled all 4 fenders today, and began the hunt of all small dents on the car, found a few small ones that we barely noticed.

          Also repaired a few small dings on the firewall where the factory stamps the VIN on the metal...20 years ago when the car was built (04/86 w00t) it actually dented the sheet metal when they stamped it, so we fixed that.

          Also did some more sanding and prep, and took one of the doors apart.

          More to come as we go =)


          Comment


            #6
            POST 17

            Dropped the Injectors off today to get rebuilt, flow tested, and cleaned. (Thanks MR 325 for the injectors)

            Car got a quick shoot of primer today to look for more dents, 95% of the body work is done, and tommorrow we should begin test fitting the mtech1, and from that point on we will shape it to fit the car perfectly.

            Side skirts getting sanded.



            Factory stamp slowly coming into view once again, had tons of paint on it



            Overview of the car thus far



            Rolled Fenders



            Former factory creases are now gone



            Rebuilt Rocker Panel (used to be a nice rust hole)



            All for now!

            POST 18

            Picked up the injectors today, and got the final parts shipment in for awhile

            I still need to order new front foglights, I have one with a small 1 inch crack in it, so hopefully I get to that before the picnic, if not its not a huge deal as its hardly noticeable at the moment (still gunna replace them though)

            Here are the new parts that arrived, I opted for a real Shrick cam and not a regrind, I simply do not want to work with oversized eccentrics if I can use factory parts.

            Also purchased new eccentrics, and rockers, going to use the existing valves and springs as they have very low milage on them, however I will be getting a valve grind done to ensure everything is perfect.



            Rebuilt and flowmatched 19lb injectors



            Final bulk of parts, bumper fittings, brackets, etc



            And the new euro plates that will go on the car for shows etc.



            I will be working with Mark D to custom tune the motor, and probably have a custom chip made to ensure everything is running nicely. I will probably be purchasing my own LM-1 so I can provide mark with as much information on the motor as possible, including RPM/Air/Fuel to get everything perfect. I also plan on purchasing an EEPROM burner at some point so I can keep a collection of custom software so I can tinker with things.

            Quite a few of my friends have been asking me what the grand spent total on the car has been so far.

            I added all the invoices together, and currently as of right now I'm sitting at $10,341.86, that includes all parts, paint, and whatever.

            I still do not have prices from the machine shop, candium plate/powdercoating guy, and I still gotta get the damn thing new tabs/emissions test.

            More to come soon.

            POST 19

            Pulled the front crank bolt off today, and began cleaning the block.

            Also pulled out my m3 oil sender, as well as the oil housing bolt. Going to tap that for the sensor.

            Bringing the head to the machine shop tommorrow to have everything taken a look at.





            And the skidplate that I forgot to take a picture of earlier.

            Comment


              #7
              POST 20

              Got the headers in Friday, and also cleaned off the top of the pistons on the M20.

              More to come end of week when I get the car back =)






              POST 21

              Update 928349823948923849283479275498724308972

              Ran into several problems today with test fitting the bumpers onto the front and rear valence. I need to trim the bottom of the bumpers themselves so they fit flush with the mtech kit. I have the wrong bumpers, so I will need to modify these to work correctly... which should not be difficult at all, just need to remove material =)

              On the bright side of things, the engine bay has been painted, and looks awesome.







              And the Mtech1 front valance with oil cooler holes cut out, being repaired and cleaned up.



              POST 22

              Picked up the head today, had the following done to it

              .006 mill on the head surface
              284/272 Cam
              Original Valves/Springs
              Valve Grind
              New Valve Seals
              New Rockers
              New Eccentrics
              New Camseal

              Fully cleaned

              They also removed a stuck bolt, and trapped the center of my oil housing bolt for the oil temp sender.

              Total cost was around 364 bucks, they did an awesome job.










              Hitting the painters tonight, should have more images then =)

              Comment


                #8
                POST 23

                Another Update, I took the weekend off to enjoy my birthday, really didn't want to do anything car related for once!.

                Painted the block today, and just tossed the engine together to see how it looks. I'm going to put the motor together this Sunday, and I should have the chassis back this week (keeping my fingers crossed)

                It may be SOHC, it may only have 12V, but god damn its sexy looking =)

                The top of the intake manifold and the valve cover will be sanded so the BMW logo shines through.




                More to come =)

                POST 24

                Well, the first major part went back together today.

                I present to you my partially rebuild (bottom end is stock) M20B25.

                Final Specs are as follows

                M20B25 Stock Bottom End with ~124K Miles
                Fully rebuilt head
                Shrick 284/272 Cam
                BavAuto Headers
                19lb Bosch Fully rebuilt/flowmatched injectors.
                Mark D Software

                Every Seal, Gasket replaced, each part cleaned by hand, certain parts were either powdercoated, cadmium plated, or painted.







                And before somebody points out the gasket sealant on the headgasket, that is only a VERY fine layer to prevent that fucking oil leak that 99.999999% of M20's have.

                Chassis comes back very soon =)

                POST 25

                If car gods exist its time to start praying!.

                This is going to be down to the wire to get the car to the picnic, if all goes well it will be there, far from complete, but at least running under its own power.

                Last night was very long, but very worth it, I dunno if it was the chemicals or what but I shed a tear of joy lemme tell yah.

                Final Sanding/Prep



                First white to touch the car



                Actually painted part of the rear end myself, just had to take a stab at it.



                Base on, before touchups (very few)



                Time for clear



                I'll let these pictures explain themselves







                ITS WHITE, ITS FUCKIN WHITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                thats all for now :D

                Comment


                  #9
                  POST 26

                  Installed the electrical harness today, as well as the firewall shield.

                  Also installed the rear tail lights, as well as the wiper motor, and other small misc items.

                  Removed the front subframe for painting as well.







                  Tuesday we are painting the subframe, sways, and other misc black items.

                  Wed the headliner/glass should be going in, and then the interior. Car should be running and 100% in about 2 - 3 weeks =)

                  POST 27

                  Forgot to upload these yesterday, but here.

                  Cleaned up and installed the ABS Pump, and got the brakelines sanded down for paint (black), also installed the brake booster.



                  Electrical is slowly coming along, should have that done tonight.



                  Also got the battery cable installed



                  Few close shots of the sideskirts, keep in mind the car has not been buffed yet, so a few small clear runs are still there.



                  Sign of things to come



                  POST 28

                  Thanks for dropping by Josh/Andy, nice to get another opinion on this toy of mine. Great hanging with you guys on the drive too!

                  Did more stuff today, JParker2004 stopped by to lend a hand, and painted one of the sways for me, nice to get rid of GRABBER GREEN!!!!! and paint them black =).

                  The interior is slowly coming along, We searched for over an hour for the trim piece below the instrument cluster, only to not locate it. I'm sure its hiding someplace, as I had like 3 of the damn things.

                  I am somewhat organized here.



                  Dash lighting, and fuel indication working, center console is installed



                  New license plate lights installed, you can see the shine of the new paint, as well as the polished rear lights that Derek took care of for me.



                  1 check light off (license plate lights) 6 to go!



                  Slowly getting the wiring cleaned up, its a lot better then it was when I first got the car.



                  Another interior angle



                  Few things mounted on the passenger side



                  Wheel wells



                  All for now, it SHOULD have a motor in it this weekend...fingers crossed at least.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    POST 29

                    Lack of updates are cool, it shows I'm working or something.

                    Today I created a solution to the sloppy shift linkage that most of our cars still have.

                    For the record I have all new bushings, an M-Coupe/Roadster Shift Lever, and an 86 325E Transmission.

                    When in gear, I would still have a little slop from side to side. This is due to the bushing that BMW uses to connect the transmission and the shift linkage carrier.

                    Most people just drill it out and run a big ass bolt/washers to remove the slop.

                    Not good enough, so I made a trip over to my grandparents to use my grandpa's shop, fully equipped with machinery from the 1920, to around 1970, nothing is newer, and everything is fully stocked with raw material.

                    First let me introduce the Sears Lathe, originally made smaller for a US Military spec, and iirc made in the mid 30's (however its been upgraded to a new motor/electrical)



                    Just starting to turn it down.



                    Starting to take shape



                    Pilot hole drilled, Now drilling the bolt hole



                    Hole drilled, time to cut the bushing off the raw material



                    And the final creation



                    And another



                    The piece it was formed from



                    And installed in the shift carrier, I used a press to get it nice and tight, it will not be coming out without a press.




                    I think that will take care of my sloppy shifter.

                    More to come as I go =), I'm happy I blew off the picnic, its allowing me to create several custom things that I've been wanting to do.

                    POST 30

                    Installed the front sway bar (ST) steering rack, subframe, steering linkage, and got the wheelwells painted.

                    As soon as I get a few suspension parts in (new mounting hardware, upper spring plate) the car will be able to roll around again and get the motor installed.





                    Rear lighting is done and working



                    And the interior, nothing really new yet



                    POST 31

                    Update 892384928394

                    Got a ton done today, and I AM putting the motor in thursday, nothing is holding me up at the moment.

                    Completed installing the front suspension, which included existing shocks/springs, ST Sways, New wheel bearings, Zimmerman rotors, ATE Pads, existing upper strut bearings (with rewelded longer studds), as well as the rear bumper, valance etc.

                    Grabbed one of my 2 M-Roadster Mufflers and held it up, should work out nicely once I figure out brackets for it.

                    Also completed installing all the brake lines, as well as the master cylinder.



                    First battle scar of assembly, not a big deal at all as it can be easily repaired (as the paint is so new color matching will not be an issue)



                    Side profile shot, I need to adjust the rear bumper just a tad, so the gaps are still a bit off.



                    Brake lines have been painted black to add some nice contrast



                    Completed front suspension, a few small paint areas will get some touchup with a brush when the car is completed.





                    Completed front valance, it will get installed once the sheet metal valance is out of paint and the motor is installed



                    Closeup of the Mtech trim piece that spaces the bumper molding out for the valance





                    That is all for now

                    Comment


                      #11
                      POST 32

                      Update 28,392, Current Financial status = ERROR

                      Took this big thing, and put it in the pretty white thing. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

                      It will start for the first time on sunday..Sunday...SUNDAY









                      More to come over the next few days.

                      POST 33

                      Got more done today, got all fuel lines installed, engine electrical, coil, few coolant lines, throttle cable, hood release.

                      Also test fitted the front mtech1 valance. Not quite fitting how I'd like it (small gaps annoy me) so its coming back off so I can get it to fit perfectly.





                      I then grabbed my mtech1 fog lights out of the box....I THINK I'm gunna buy new ones, dunno why, but I'll let the picture do the talking.

                      Yeah great eh.



                      POST 34

                      Update 9823948234


                      The starter issue turned out to be simply an incorrect starter, the one I recieved was a bosch replacement for an X5X series motor, not the M20... The starter is physically the same, with the small difference of a different gear, hence the reason it would not connect with the flywheel, the tooth count was a tad different.

                      I dug through my collection of used starters I've aquired, and found the one that originally came with my motor, did a quick bench test on it, painted it, and got it installed.

                      Originally the motor would not start, due to me accidently reversing the TDC/6 and Speed Reference Sensor plugs. Once those were fixed the engine took a little cranking but finally fired up. I then received a 1223 Motronic Check Code which then told me I also connected the two coolant temp sensors backwards. Once that was fixed the engine appears to run fair at the moment. I have a decent vacuum leak on the brake booster check valve that broke during installation, and duct tape can only work so well as a temp fix. So I've been constantly pulling a 1222 Code of Lambda Control 1, which is usually related to a vacuum leak of some kind.

                      I currently have the idle switch bypassed to hold the engine at around 1800RPM idle, this is mainly for the cam breakin which occured earlier, as well as maintaining an idle as the engine struggles idling at 600RPM due to the vacuum leak.

                      Also noticed 3 small leaks, one on the power steering tank, another on the power steering pump (top line has a leak, needs another crusher washer I think) and a decent oil leak at my oil temp sensor tap. All are easily fixed via a new hose clamp, and several new crush washers and/or a new o-ring. Coolant holds perfectly fine, and the heater works perfectly.


                      The exhaust is completed for now, as well as all the mtech1 pieces. While they still need a little adjusting, everything is basically mounted and ready for final paint buff and cleaning.

                      Wed the car goes into the shop to get the headliner installed, then to the glass shop to have them toss the front/rear windows in. I could do the windows myself, but my cousin owns a tint/window shop so he's doing it for me instead, why not =).

                      Here are a few pictures of the current status, as well as a small walkaround video of the car running. Keep in mind the vacuum leak on the motor, and the idle bypass, which is why the motor is idling very high at the moment. The throttle response is fantastic though.

                      WALKAROUND VIDEO











                      As I know these questions will come up.

                      I have brand new foglights on order, as mine were completely rusted through. I also have a brand new coolant tank which will replace the original crusty one. The grills/kidney will also be repainted black so everything looks nice (the kidney will remain chrome)

                      Thats all for now, I'm getting very excited as tommorrow I will be driving the car around the block, yes without doors, glass, or anything else, but it will be a nice roadtest to make sure everything appears to work.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        POST 35

                        Update.....FIRST DRIVE!!!!!!


                        Got the car dropped to the ground, and took it around the block a few times to look for issues. Overall its working out well.

                        One major issue I'm running into is the engine having serious issues starting, sometimes it will sputter until it finally fires, othertimes it will not fire at all. If I pull the fuel pump relay it will finally fire for a few seconds, so the engine is flooding itself out. I am blaming this on a very bad vacuum leak due to a broken check valve. I'm waiting for a replacement, and the engine runs great above idle, so I'm blaming that at the moment. The idle is around 600, but pretty poor (even for the 284 cam) and causes the engine to knock occasionally as the ICV/ECU try to figure out what the hell is going on. I did NOT throw a check code tonight though, so I'll slowly get everything figured out.

                        I have a rubbing rotor on the front of the car, passenger side, gotta pull the wheel off and see whats up with that. I'm thinking its that stupid dust shield that sites behind it.

                        Other then that the test drive went fine, I can really feel a difference in how the engine responds, and the longer throwout bearing makes the clutch grab a bit harder, which I also like.

                        Here are the pictures, as well as a video of the engine event, thanks to my friends who grabbed my camera and started taping, some of it is kinda funny.

                        The Video has me driving, the pictures have my dad driving

                        VIDEO



                        Pics



                        Then we had that engine restart issue once again, so over came the group





                        Back into the shop



                        And a few other cool pictures









                        Tommorrow the car goes into the shop for headliner and glass. Thursday night I will continue to troubleshoot that weird engine issue, although I'm betting its that vacuum leak.

                        All for now =)

                        POST 36

                        Update v.Headliner

                        I get the car back tommorrow after glass gets finished.

                        But here are a few pics of the headliner, the quality of the installation was simply amazing, it looks soooo much better then tan.




                        More to come

                        POST 37

                        Got the car back this morning, got some interior stuff completed, and still working on the motor issue.

                        It gets doors and sunroof tommorrow, plus the stereo installed.








                        POST 38

                        Never did care for pinstripes.


                        Anyyyyyyy

                        IT HAS DOORS, they have not been buffed at ALL, so they look very dull compared to the car itself, but don't worry the paint matches :p

                        Not many pictures, as I put around 50 miles on it today, taking it on twisty roads, surface streets, freeway, ranging from 0 - 110mph to make sure EVERY little piece of the car works... and so far all I gotta say is FUCK YEAH, it is a complete BLAST to drive. The cam makes a hell of a difference on the motor, and the sound is amazing.

                        I cannot stress enough how exciting I am that this project is nearing an end (for this phase) I am very happy with the overall outcome on the motor, and it runs perfectly. Not enough people give the M20 very much credit, and while this is no Jordan 2.8, or M50, its a VERY fun, very capable motor that pulls like a bat out of hell above 3500rpm. Its very different then a stock M20, and different in a good way.

                        Here are a few pictures that my friend snapped, and a 5 min video that includes clips of everything I did, you can hear the exhaust, my friends bullshitting, and best of all get a semi-ride in the car and see exactly how well it really does do.

                        I am VERY close to calling this complete, tommorrow the sunroof, stereo, and the rest of the interior gets installed, monday the hood and trunk, and tuesday a complete buff to get the car as perfect as possible. The paint issue in the rear with the scratch will be paint matched for now, and will be corrected once I return from my vacation.





                        And the video link, around 22 megs.



                        More to come =)

                        Comment


                          #13
                          POST 39

                          Another Update.


                          Got 95% of the stereo installed, sunroof is completed, and misc trim pieces throughout.

                          Tommorrow I am finishing up several other aspects, and then tuesday night all the trim pieces will go on the car after the entire body has been wetsanded and buffed to get the paint quality to really shine.

                          Few pictures, the sunroof needs to be adjusted AGAIN, but it works fine.

                          Amp Rack



                          Headunit (and missing fan switch, gotta yank one from a wrecking yard tommorrow)



                          Sunroof Panel, new weather stripping, and the back needs to come up a tad.



                          The reason it looks dirty is because it is, just some dust that got attracted to it during installation.




                          Top with the sunroof open, that small spec is an area that had a piece of tape on it that nobody noticed, it will be touched up iightly and then sanded, so it will match everything else.



                          Current condition



                          Almost Done!

                          POST 40

                          Another Update

                          More of the interior is completed, trunk is pretty much done. foglights are installed, rebuilt the vacuum lines for the brake booster, mounted the AUX fan for the cali trip, and probably several other things I forgot.

                          I also thought it would be amusing to put an OHHH Shit Handle on the drivers side (the interior guys accidently put holes there for it, so why not)










                          More to come

                          POST 41

                          Head if off, oil all over the place, its clearly leaking around the valve seals....ALL OF THEM.

                          You can see the puddles of oil in each closed valve.

                          More to come once I talk to the guy who built it.







                          And just to prove to Matt that I bought one..

                          Comment


                            #14
                            POST 42

                            Tore down some of the motor today, mainly just external bolt on parts. Tuesday i'm ripping the motor out and tearing it down to assemble an overall parts list.

                            Bare Motor



                            Cylinder Wall damage




                            Polished Valve pockets on the factory I pistons



                            ETA Crank that will be used in the stroker, original crank that shipped with my car



                            420.55 Miles put on the car since the motor first went in.



                            POST 43

                            Tore the block down today, pretty much every rod bearing was fucked due to the valve contact, main bearings were perfectly fine. The crosshatching is pretty much gone on the cylinder walls. Once the pistons come in I will get everything to the machine shop, then back to my garage to assemble the motor.

                            Lack of crosshatching, vertical scratches


                            empty engine bay once again


                            All 6 rods, labled and in good shape


                            damage to the pistons, including vertical scratches on each side of them.


                            Damaged Rod bearings (for reference my 210K ETA motor had perfect rod bearings with minimal wear)


                            Bottom end empty with bearing caps installed


                            Another shot of the block


                            All for now, will get pictures of the motor during reassembly, Shooting for 210 - 220HP out of this thing. Should be fun.

                            Also found a fuckload of shaft play on the input shaft on the transmission, causing that rattling noise that all Getrag 260's have. I am personally rebuilding the transmission myself, and will get pics of it apart. All syncro's are fine, so only worn out bearings will be replaced.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              POST 44

                              Who loves pretty engine parts




                              block gets into the machine shop next week.

                              POST 45

                              Update.

                              If you recall awhile back I made a replacement bushing for the shift carrier/bitch clip area.

                              Well today I made the last piece of shift linkage, to remove the remaining shifter play..It should be pretty damn nice, near gated now.






                              Also got a nice shipment of parts from BMA on friday.

                              POST 46

                              Motor is almost fully put together, tranny comes back this week, then back into the car and the final stuff gets assembled and perfected.




                              POST 47

                              It Runs...It Drives...Engine is fantastic, keeping it below 4000 RPM, but still fun up to that mark.

                              The shift linkage is fantastic, easily the best BMW shifter I have ever felt, everything else feels loose in comparison.

                              I'm out of town this week, but it gets buffed, minor wet sanding, full detailed, and ready for the PNW June 10th E30 Picnic.

                              http://www.scchosting.com/e30/5-6-07...er%20Start.mov <-- Video




                              More to come later

                              POST 48

                              i'll let the pictures do the talking.








                              POST 49

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