JackBenny's 1991 318is Project

[jackbenny]

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

There should be a big update this weekend. If discount tires ever ships my falkens, they will get mounted to the compomotives. Then I'll haul them to Louisiana this weekend and put them on to finally see how they look.

Oh and I'll be painting the car this weekend too.

And if my time management goes well, I might even get the engine in.

Clearly, I cannot wait for Friday.

[constructor]

Can't wait for the update! Exciting.

[iwantspeed]

Oh and I'll be painting the car this weekend too.
And if my time management goes well, I might even get the engine in.
Clearly, I cannot wait for Friday.

cant wait

[SS350]

awesome, bet you are ready to jump out of your skin to get to friday!!!

i'll hopefully have mine inspected and have a working coolant temp gauge so i can feel warm and cozy about my swap running right!!!! and then drive it around!!

good luck! will be waiting for the updates.

[TwoJ's]

Hey Josh, I like your thought process. I like the tech2 valence, but I am not really a fan of the rest of the kit. I think that the bumpers pods/side skirts and spoiler all look to bulky if that makes sense. The ideal setup in my eyes is stock bumpers, stock front valence, iS front lip with a splitter, iS side skirts, a tech2 rear valence and a tech1 trunk spoiler. I also really like the Euro plate filler. I've got one on my car, but since it is black you can't see it very well. It too would look great on your car. User Backtrail69 on here has this setup and it inspired me to do it on my car. Oh, and Euro bumper trim is a must as well. I got everything I wanted save for the rear valence. I'm a broke college student and I had to put that money towards building the paint booth in my garage.

Here is a couple of pictures of my car just after paint. I haven't gotten my camera out to take photos of my car, so they are low quality phone pics and I don't have any front shots.









And here's a couple of backtrail's car:





His car is an early model so the rear looks a bit different.

[TwoJ's]

Actually, I did find a front picture. It was when I was still putting the car together so it didn't have the front lip/splitter, grilles in the valence or for lights. So it doesn't exactly look very good.

[SS350]

TwoJ's I never noticed before, But to clarify, Euro Bumper trim deletes the side marker lights correct?

if so, those trim pieces along with smoked directionals would be sharp! the tech 1 rear spoiler with the rear valence really is a great combo.

PLUS most of these items can be added after paint! And the rear valence does cover up dents... mine was a mess

[TwoJ's]

TwoJ's I never noticed before, But to clarify, Euro Bumper trim deletes the side marker lights correct?

if so, those trim pieces along with smoked directionals would be sharp! the tech 1 rear spoiler with the rear valence really is a great combo.

PLUS most of these items can be added after paint! And the rear valence does cover up dents... mine was a mess

Yep, that's the Euro trim. And I agree with the smoked turn signals comment. I have always wanted to do some plastic welding/fiberglass work to delete the front turn signals and put them where the city lights are on the European ellipsoids. I think that would clean up the front end a lot.

[Simon S]

Mad props on the project there. :up:
I can relate to the agonizing-long process. You're doing it right. Keep at it.
I'd get the tech II front (lower) valence and call it a day with the exterior cosmetics..
but then again you already have the is lip - so yeah, just focus on getting that car on the road again !!

[jackbenny]

Hey Josh, I like your thought process. I like the tech2 valence, but I am not really a fan of the rest of the kit. I think that the bumpers pods/side skirts and spoiler all look to bulky if that makes sense. The ideal setup in my eyes is stock bumpers, stock front valence, iS front lip with a splitter, iS side skirts, a tech2 rear valence and a tech1 trunk spoiler. I also really like the Euro plate filler. I've got one on my car, but since it is black you can't see it very well. It too would look great on your car. User Backtrail69 on here has this setup and it inspired me to do it on my car. Oh, and Euro bumper trim is a must as well. I got everything I wanted save for the rear valence. I'm a broke college student and I had to put that money towards building the paint booth in my garage.

Here is a couple of pictures of my car just after paint. I haven't gotten my camera out to take photos of my car, so they are low quality phone pics and I don't have any front shots.

Intriguing... The good news is we aren't painting the bumpers so I still have time to think about it but that could definitely be a possibility. Research is in order.

Tires arrived yesterday. The wife will take them into town to get mounted ( for some reason they always cut her deals when she brings them in...go figure) on the th mono. I placed one wheel on a tire last night as a teaser to myself and can't wait to see the finished product. I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea but hey, it's my car right? If I get a chance, I'll snap some pictures before tomorrow's trip.

One order from pelican parts showed up yesterday but the next doesn't show up until tomorrow. That's unfortunate as it has some parts I need for engine installation. If I get that far, I might temporarily install it.

I wrapped one header and have the other to do. Yes, I know, don't wrap headers, etc, etc, etc... The thing is, they are cheap headers. If they fail, I'll get another pair. My curiosity is if I wrap them, am I adding sufficient mass to the tubes to reduce rasp? Some posts I've read in the 24V section would indicate it is possible. I'll wrap the second header today but wear gloves this time. My hands still itch.

Finally, I've made some changes in the garage and added some overhead storage and created more workspace. This was my project for the week while on vacation. I'll post some pictures when it's cleaned up but I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Sadly, the E21 was forced to spend last night outside. :(

And now to finish my post as my kitten has decided to attack the cursor on my monitor, making it very hard to type.

[chadthestampede]

Hey Josh, I like your thought process. I like the tech2 valence, but I am not really a fan of the rest of the kit. I think that the bumpers pods/side skirts and spoiler all look to bulky if that makes sense. The ideal setup in my eyes is stock bumpers, stock front valence, iS front lip with a splitter, iS side skirts, a tech2 rear valence and a tech1 trunk spoiler.

+1000

and here I thought I was the only one who thought that the whole tech2 kit never looked good on an e30. It seems to me like trying to modernize the car too much. Or something like that. Too bulky anyway.

[jackbenny]

Wheels have now achieved a blissful marriage with the tires. I don't have pictures though as I've been working on cleaning the garage. Pathetic excuse I know but hey, I've got three cars sleeping in the driveway instead of the garage! If I get a chance later tonight, I'll try and post some. I am pleased with the look though I seem to be missing one centerbore cap. hmmmmm.

Things seem to be backing up on my to do list so the chances of the engine dropping are getting slimmer I'm afraid. I will still make a valiant effort but just forewarning. I have a box packed with parts but I haven't gathered any tools as they are scattered all over the garage. The car however, will be painted. I'll be purchasing product tomorrow afternoon and spray it saturday.

To those of you who have pm'd me, I am not ignoring you, I just haven't had a chance to reply back. I would expect the next update to answer most of your questions though.

Thanks

[SS350]

Cool! Don't rush the paint, the engine will be there!!! Masking and prep take a long time too!

I tried prepping my car the evening before paint.... i stayed up all night untill my friend came to spray it, then the base reacted bad... and WHAM... we had to wet sand it again anyways!!!!

ok i hope that doesn't happen to you! best of luck, pics can wait!!

[TrentW]

+1000

and here I thought I was the only one who thought that the whole tech2 kit never looked good on an e30. It seems to me like trying to modernize the car too much. Or something like that. Too bulky anyway.

Too bulky and confuses the clean lines of the E30. Always thought it looked like JC Whitney or something. Well, maybe that's too harsh--but you know what I mean. I am in favor of the rear valance and spoiler tho.

[jackbenny]

Update...Sort of

"One cannot have everything the way he would like it. A man has no business to be depressed by a disappointment, anyway; he ought to make up his mind to get even." - Mark Twain

So to those of you down in the south, specifically Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, how 'bout that weather?

For those unaware, the south was barraged by cold weather this weekend. What did this mean to me? Well, the barn is unheated (except for the inadequate exceptions of two standing halogen lamps) and uninsulated so it was rather uncomfortable to work in. More importantly, we couldn't get the car up to the minimum temperature required for painting. So, in keeping with many of all your recommendations, we decided not to paint. Better to not rush the paint job and ruin it. Perhaps later this month if it warms up, we'll run out and finally spray it. That's not to say things didn't get done this weekend though...

The wife and I took the previous week off, mainly to relax and spend time together after my 3 week stint in Hamburg. I took the opportunity to rearrange the garage as it wasn't working well for accessing the refrigerator and like most garages, could use more storage space. We both moved the fridge so that it was between the single car and double car doors and then rearranged the benches accordingly. I used one rolling bench as my new miter saw work station and broke down the metal racks to use as work surfaces. Later, I'll grab some butcher block or something to cover them both. We then built some overhead storage for my vast array of BMW parts. So far I am pleased with the outcome, but it's still a long way from being finished.






Whilest I worked on filling up my new found storage space, my wife took the compomotives to the tires mounted.





You might notice the bed of the truck looks different. The silver Tacoma got rear-ended something fierce and got totaled. I was sore for a week but feel fine now. The good news is that the insurance gave me more than I paid for the truck...that was two years old! The wife and I decided to get another toyota but stepped up to the Tundra instead. Oh how I've missed the wonderful cacophony of the V8. It's more comfortable than the Tacoma and can tow more. It just doesn't fit in the garage.:(




The E21 hasn't been getting much love either. Just no time to work on it. I hope to rectify that soon. The battery drain issue is really sucking the joy of driving it around. Gratuitous 320i shot here...



The journey to Louisiana was relatively painless but cold. Cold to work on a car outside that is, around 40 degrees F. So with many layers on, we pressed on and got some wheels mounted to the car!

So to remember (and because I get asked these questions all the time) the wheels are Compomotive TH Mono, 17 X 8 ET 22. The tires are Falken Azenis RT-615 235/40R17.

Because we had done some work to get the previous 245's to fit, I had some spare 3mm spacers that I thought I would try. The results are as follows:







Enthused by the fitment, I had to put on the front, right?



Me likey. I know these aren't everyone's cup of tea. They don't have deep dish and they aren't BBS but I've been a fan since I've seen them on touring cars. I think they look cool.



More in the next post...