JackBenny's 1991 318is Project

[Danny]

Thanks man, its my daily. I like to whip it slideways in school zones while bouncing off the s50's mad high 7200 limiter.

No biggie though, I got it because I'm hardcore like that.

[MR 325]

Danny wishes he was SoCal. :D

[BimmerTim]

That shifter is very phallic.

Bet it feels nice in your hand though. ha.

[sandlock]

'ergonomically shaped' would be an understatement.

congrats, pops!

[jackbenny]

So free time isn't quite what it used to be but hey, I think I have a valid excuse! That being said, I still have a couple of moments to sneak out and do some work.

So I got a shift knob...



<insert phallic euphemism here>

It's a nice shift and the throw isn't as long as you would think. It's also quite precise coupled with the UUC short shift kit. More importantly, It's close to the steering wheel and I can hit all the gears with my shoulders pressed against the back of the seat.



My folks came to visit and see their new grandchild so that enabled to both sleep and work on the car a bit. I decided to straighten the office up a bit so I finally installed my passenger seat.



I also took the opportunity to install my M3 EVO seat belts that I got from Blunt a while back. The car is almost legal to drive...except for that pesky exhaust issue....



Talking with my father we decided to make a shelf for the rear seat delete, similar to what he has in his 911. A quick trip to the hobby store and we picked up some foam board to start making some templates.











I'm setting the angle here as I want it slightly sloped rearward should I place anything on the shelf. There will be 5 ribs to support the bottom floor.

This is pretty rough but in the end it will be carpeted and made out of something not ...foam...y.

But it's now my time with the little monkey so work will continue at some later date. I would like to order my exhaust parts today so we'll see if that will actually happen.

[Gnarles]

Glad to see you are still finding time to work on the car! I am in search of a new shift knob, may have to copy you and Danny and get one of those "ergonomically shaped" ones :up:

[325ix]

I like the way your rear seat delete is looking. I have been trying to imagine a way of doing this.

[MR E30 325is]

Congrats again pops

And your updates are still full of good stuff. This E30 is going to be one of those ones thats remembered and talked about at all the E30 get togethers

[jackbenny]

I like the way your rear seat delete is looking. I have been trying to imagine a way of doing this.

The rear side panels will need to be reworked so I'm glad I haven't wrapped them yet. The real question is what to do with the rear wheel well humps. I could try and integrate them with the side panels and wrap it all with the alcantera or I could try carpeting them separate from the panels and the seat delete. I haven't quite decided.

I will be using the existing seat attach mounts to mount the delete. I just have to figure out exactly how I want to do it.

Sadly there aren't too many pictures of E30's with a rear seat delete like this so I've been forced to look at some E36's. I'm picking and choosing what I like but I think it will be unique and useful.

as if an e30 trunk isn't big enough already...

[325ix]

The rear side panels will need to be reworked so I'm glad I haven't wrapped them yet. The real question is what to do with the rear wheel well humps. I could try and integrate them with the side panels and wrap it all with the alcantera or I could try carpeting them separate from the panels and the seat delete. I haven't quite decided.

I will be using the existing seat attach mounts to mount the delete. I just have to figure out exactly how I want to do it.

Sadly there aren't too many pictures of E30's with a rear seat delete like this so I've been forced to look at some E36's. I'm picking and choosing what I like but I think it will be unique and useful.

as if an e30 trunk isn't big enough already...

I use my rear seat only occaisionally and would love to be able to take it out and have a clean looking interior. You may look at the ind-distribution e92, it has a nice delete which may serve as inspiration.

[jaywood]

What steering wheel is that?

Car looks great man.

[ayemattyyy]

Nardi deep corn in Alcantara, read up a page or two.
Looking great man! And congrats with the kid. Glad to see you still find time for both him and the car.
Matt

[jackbenny]

So tonight was .... fun?

Tonight I fired up the car after putting the proper registration stickers on the plate and decided to take it to get gas for the first time in two years. During the drive which was really only a couple of miles total, I was able to assess several things about the car:

1) My alignment is crap. The caster is providing some great steering feedback but my toe is way off. The car will push on initial turn in and then bite pretty hard. The tires are new and need to be scrubbed but it was an unsettling feeling. That alignment is forthcoming.

2) My horn keeps shorting in the steering wheel hub. It's quite embarrassing to pull into the gas station with your horn blaring. I have since unplugged the horns until I can figure out what's shorting in the hub.

3) I have not installed an O2 sensor but my check engine light has yet to come on. I have verified that it works by unplugging various sensors on the engine and it lights immediately. I would have thought it would be in open loop now.

4) Engine got pretty hot. At idle, the cluster gauge made it to red and my auxiliary temp gauge red 210. This was with the heat on and the ac condenser fan on as well. When I got home, I let it idle with the coolant cap off to bleed some air and added some more coolant as I'm sure the heater core took some. When everything was said and done it was at halfway on the cluster and just under 200 on the other gauge. I need to get the car on more of an incline and do it again. I have two fans to add as well so I think the cooling might be taken care of.

Friday, the car will get its exhaust system installed. The setup will be very similar to Hoveringuy's. I got a nice y transition piece from the place he recommended. I was quite pleased. It will go to a magnaflow cat, to a Borla XR1 intermediate resonator/muffler and back to a vibrant muffler. Piping will be stainless. They are going to try and tweak my headers as well.

The car now has door handles and I've started prepping the trim and painting it. They seem to be coming along fine and Blunt is shipping me some fasteners for it. Dad has repaired the bumpers and I will going out next month to paint them and pick them around Thanksgiving.

I also have seemed to acquire my father-in-laws project car that's been sitting for 10 years. He can't work on it and would rather see it finished by someone who would appreciate it. I pick that up in November but you'll have to wait til then.

And yes, I know there are no pictures. I'll try and get some posted this weekend along with a sound clip assuming there are no issues at the shop.

[SS350]

So tonight was .... fun?



4) Engine got pretty hot. At idle, the cluster gauge made it to red and my auxiliary temp gauge red 210. This was with the heat on and the ac condenser fan on as well. When I got home, I let it idle with the coolant cap off to bleed some air and added some more coolant as I'm sure the heater core took some. When everything was said and done it was at halfway on the cluster and just under 200 on the other gauge. I need to get the car on more of an incline and do it again. I have two fans to add as well so I think the cooling might be taken care of.
.....
I also have seemed to acquire my father-in-laws project car that's been sitting for 10 years. He can't work on it and would rather see it finished by someone who would appreciate it. I pick that up in November but you'll have to wait til then.

And yes, I know there are no pictures. I'll try and get some posted this weekend along with a sound clip assuming there are no issues at the shop.

On the coolant bleeding, that is where my one major mistake in my swap occured... I had a heater hose slightly loose... anyways i could not keep the heater from blowing hot air, and with air staying entrained in the system i ended up blowing my head gasket by overheating (after trying for hours of bleeding) - of course maybe the gasket was bad to begin with... but... if the heat doesnt stay hot just be careful!! Sounds like you are ok tho.

other than that, new project car sounds fun! and i really like the rear deck, 911 style shelf/seats sound very nice..

good job and enjoy!

[jackbenny]

Vroom



Daddy like. It came out very nice though the recording would lead you to believe there is some rasp, it's probably just audio clipping.

I wanted something to hold the gauges so I picked this piece up from summit. not bad for 12 bucks or so.



The car seems to be running cool now. The ride is firm but not jarring and I haven't played with the shock settings yet. An alignment is next on the agenda. It darts around more than my buddy's elise.

I'll tackle that next weekend.