JackBenny's 1991 318is Project

[jackbenny]

thanks guys. nothing like a running engine to provide motivation. So far no oil leaks. I have a coolant leak on the front of the engine. It's dripping on the crank wheel and flinging it all over the place. It's not too much though but I'm worried it's coming from the water pump which is brand new. Maybe i didn't tighten the bolts enough. It might be the water temp sending unit i have on the upper radiator hose also. Regardless, i hope it's something simple.

I haven't even checked to see if the cluster works (temps, Check Engine, etc...) I'm going to try and get the auxillary gauges wired up so I can check on the temps and oil pressure. This weekend I'll change the fluids in the gearbox and rear end. After that, I'll tighten everything up underneath and get this bad boy back on the ground...maybe even terrorize the neighborhood a bit. :)

I'll see if I can get the other "start" videos loaded up. The first time it started, I couldn't shut it off due to a short that took a while to diagnose. I'll try and get some pictures of the engine bay too.

Thanks for all the support guys.

[sandlock]

congrats man.

[MR E30 325is]

Glad to hear it got started.

This thread was the motivation to create one about my own E30. You did an excellent job.

[jackbenny]

Worked on cleaning the garage today. The garage was only in the 90's so it was reasonably comfortable. I decided to take a bit of time to diagnose the coolant leak, see if there were any other leaks and hook up the extra gauges so I could check the health of the engine while running. Really I just wanted to check the oil pressure and water temps. The oil temp sender or the gauge didn't work so my gerry-rigged setup may not have worked. Regardless, I had good pressure, the water temp gauge worked (both the auxillary and the cluster). Checked to make sure the aux fan worked and that was successful. Double checked my fluids and topped off accordingly. Everything is looking rosy. Except for that damn coolant leak. I think I found it on the lower radiator hose at the thermostat housing attachment. After I wiped everything down, it was the only place that I could find that was ....moist? It seems it drips down onto the crank and accessory drive and flings coolant everywhere. I tightened it down but it still leaks. something isn't right there so I need to pull it off and check it out. Maybe I cut the hose poorly, i dunno. I am using an E34 lower hose should anyone care. Still, that's the only problem so far. With the holiday weekend and the garage back in shape, I'm going to work hard to get this bad boy back on the ground and back it out of the garage under it's own power for the first time and a year and a half. :D

I know I slacked on pictures this past update. It was difficult to take them while trying to get the car running. This weekend I'll try and take some and add them to the thread.

So for now I'm on the lookout for a 6cyl coding plug and an obd1 throttle body cable bracket... Feel free to hook a brudda up. ;)

[jackbenny]

Independence Day bump...sort of.

The ticker in my sig says that my time is running out! fortunately, all we have left to do is put the baby seat in the car. But the three day weekend has afforded me some time to work on the car. Previously, I was diagnosing a coolant leak. Turned out that the water hose was just ... bad I guess. I never could figure out why it leaked. A different hose sealed up no problem and no leaks since.

I also started to diagnose my electrical to make sure everything was in order. After draining and refilling the diff, I decided to start the car and put it in gear to check for any issues. but mainly, i wanted to see if the new cluster had a working speedometer. Thankfully it did. From there I wanted to check the taillights. The brake lights were constantly on as the pedal was not contacting the brake switch button when it wasn't applied. I had to readjust the fork on the booster which was a colossal pain and required the sacrifice of the majority of epidermis on my hands. But the brake lights work now along with the turnsignals and the reverse lights (well one burned out). I'd like to get some brighter bulbs so suggestions are welcome.

Downloaded some pictures today...



This is the Turner adapter to let you use your own sender at the bottom of the oil pan. I elected to put my oil temp sender down here.



Here you can see some of the work in progress. You can see the coolant hose adapter for my coolant temp sender.



Here the bay is cleaned up a bit. There is still some work to do on the harness covers but I will take care of that a bit later.



Here is my expansion tank location. It's making bleeding pretty painless.



You can see my temporary arrangement with the overflow hose. Again, that will be cleaned up shortly.





Better view of the overflow tank. Still needs a bracket fabricated for it.



DMU mounted.



Interior mess.



Euro plate filler. I think it looks pretty good.



Horn button now functional

And finally, rolled out under its own power.







and right back into the garage...





Past and present....


So I still need the throttle cable bracket and coding plug. I need a few other pieces as well but for the remainder of the day I will probably work on the interior.

I can't wait to terrorize the neighborhood. :evil:

[chadthestampede]

those wheels look so good

[Schnitzer318is]

Excellent work... I hope my swap comes out half as good when I finally get around to it.

[e30guydownunder]

Man those wheels are perfect. Best combination of style and all out race look. I know what I'll be tracking down when money is not a worry.

[hellakush]

[Civilian]

Excellant update. Looks so good on the driveway. Can't wait for you to keep working on it and finish it. Good luck with the baby!

[TrentW]

The car simply looks awesome. Those wheels give the car a completely different look and I'm liking them even more than I thought I would. Your choices on everything are really coming together.

[Dj Buttchug]

damn those wheels are awesome. Compomotive FTW!

want to sell that m42 valve cover :)

[jackbenny]

damn those wheels are awesome. Compomotive FTW!

want to sell that m42 valve cover :)

heh, I have some plans for it after it gets stuffed into the E21. :p

Today's subject is shift knobs. I've narrowed it down to two choices.

I like the Jaffster.



I like the fact it is made out of delrin and it moving the shifter close to the steering wheel.

The other knob is the BMW performance edition.



It is a short shift knob but the alcantera would go well with the interior.

I'm leaning more towards the delrin as it seems to be more functional. Plus, I've had many cars with metal shift knobs and I'm kinda tired of burning the shift pattern of the knob on the palm of my hand.

Anybody use these knobs?

[jaywood]

The top one is pretty sick....I like it

[Ray Smoodiver]

The things I would do for this car.

Your attention to detail is nothing short of incredible.