The official turbo build thread.

[golde30]

too bad you didnt run the 666fab m50 turbo manifold, i wanted to see that baby mounted in an e30. looks like yer making really good progress though, and who cares if the welds are ugly, just wrap it all with black header wrap!

[So Live]

Hahaha, exactly the way i was seeing it. haha.

I would have loved to bought a 666 mani but i dont have the money. So far ive spent $2700 total and thats including two MS boards and a few parts im not going to use. $1500 on a manifold just didnt seem logical for what i wanted to spend on everything else.

So today i took the time to ditch all the brackets and studs im never going to use and paint the engine bay :) It took a while but itll be worth it in my mind. Painted it with semi gloss black hi heat stuff. I didnt take the time to really smooth out all the imperfections but its not a show car so i dont really mind.

Got the gauges all hooked up but they seem a little finikey. They glow white in the day time (w/o the headlights on) and amber at night (with the lights on). Sometimes, the boost gauge wont light amber when the lights are turned on. Then while i was taking pics w/ the headlights on i noticed if you touch the brakes, the water temp, oil temp and oil pressure turn on white. hmmmmmmmm. i have some more work to do. Its weird because all the gauges get switched 12v and lights on 12v from the same sources.

Pics:


So fresh...


It really doesnt look as bad as it seems:
lights off

Lights on


Good stuff. Im really excited. Oh i found out the DA kicks ass for sanding down the welding slag on the piping and i think my dad came up with a pretty cool solution for cleaning the insides of the charge pipes.

[4ce30]

Awesome build! I plan on having some sort of OBDI swapped e30 Boosted one day! But this is real dope..

-Brandon

[So Live]

Thanks alot dude! Its really gratifying when other people think all the work ive been doing all by my self is cool stuff.

:)

[ejnight]

Nice job. That is a lot of work.

[So Live]

Thanks man! It is a lot of work! Itll be great when its done though.

So im in the process of getting an order together with Pat at BMA. Hes the man and he gives good prices if you talk to him directly. So im getting all the tensioners and a full bottom end gasket kit from him. Ill paint the front timing cover and the oil filter housing and the oil pan while i have it all off. Maybe ill paint the valve cover too cause i have a gasket for that in my trunk haha. So all the gaskets in the motor will be new at this point and ill make it all look a little nicer at the same time so its a good thing.

Any suggestions for a paint scheme for these 3 parts? i think i want the pan to be bright silver but idk yet.

So seeing i get the parts from him, ill go home this weekend and try to get this thing on the road. All i NEED to do is get the whole timing situation done, clean the charge pipes and then get the fuel system mounted.

Probably wont be done cause i want to wrap the downpipe and paint the charge piping too before its all buttoned up but it would be nice to ride around a little bit.

Oh and i got the o2 sensor finally!

[PiercedE30]

Titties. That is all.

[So Live]

:D

:pimp:

[loonibab325i]

Damn man, looks pimpin!

Your doin a great job, keep it up!

-Abe.

[golde30]

update!!!

[So Live]

Haha, nothing big this weekend unfortunately. Ive been doing a bunch of little things. Found out that i need more parts. My motor is retarted and the only M50 with a oil pump chain tensioner that i can find.

I took about an hour and a half to scrape off the oil pan gasket. I pressure checked my whole intake at about 18 psi. thats all air tight and now the pipes are in primer. Ill paint them tomoro. I wish i had a bottle. Making welds your going to see and want to be proud of is way too hard with out it. Im determined to by a tig machine this summer...

I got the timing cover off. Painted the cover, the oil pan and the oil filter housing. Looks pretty good.

So im stuck right now. Everything is taken out of the front of the car (rad, intercooler and fan) and i cnat really put it back in till i have the timing cover installed for good.

Old cars are fun!






Hmmmmmm...

[So Live]

So, ordered a tensioner from a M30. well see what happens. I ordered the oil pick up tube gasket too just incase my kit didnt have one. Dont remember seeing one...

Painted the valve cover and the charge pipes. I have to go over the charge pipes again. Wrinkle is tough to spray paint lol. The wrinkle came out mint on the bottom of the pipes where you wont see it haha.

Engine bay is officially blacked out!

Its going to be a long weekend. Im going to pressure test the manifold and the down pipe once i get the WG dump tube hooked up to the DP. I dont think im going to wrap it quite yet. I want to make sure none of its going to crack.

I really really hope the m30 tensioner works out. If it does, It will be more of a bolt shit on and ghetto tune weekend than anything else.

I need to pick up some hard ware for mounting the turbo and the waste gate too.

Yee haa

[KangamangusDriver]

Keep us posted!!!

[So Live]

Will do dude!!

[So Live]

So it looks like its going to be a good weekend. I decided to buy a oil chain tensioner from a m30/s38. Guess what... it totally works. Its almost exactly what was in there.

I left my camera at school so no pics this weekend.

So tonight i got the motor all buttoned up. Got the radiator, fan, intercooler and the drivers side charge pipe in. Started sandblasting the compressor housing but i think im done with that. Its a shitty holset haha. Im ready to mount the manifold, turbo, wastegate cut the hole for the dump tube and weld that up, hook up the exhaust and try to fire it off!!!

I hope i can get it going tomoro. I have to go to the nutty company and get some hardware for the turbo and wastegate. Also need a bunch of fuel hose clamps and some clamps for the diverter valve.

Im excited...