JackBenny's 1991 318is Project

[Massimo]

You have a skill non of us have. I think the rest of R3V would have just said fuck it, it is good enough. Props to you sir.

Oh and has anything developed on that F40 replica you have/had?

[jackbenny]

Eventually I got all the parts I needed. I ended up breaking all the clips that held the door protection strip on. While I was very annoyed, I took my time when I got the new clips...





We also painted the trunk because I sanded through the paint. While I mounted the trunk lid, I haven't sanded it yet. I thought this picture would be a good illustration of the differences in finish...



I took a lot more pictures of the skirt installation on the driver side.

Getting everything lined up...



Getting everything lined up better...





Marking the hole locations is pretty easy, the clips are sharp and with the tape I didn't even need paint for where it needed to go. I drilled the hole...



I used my round file to hold the grommet as it was a pretty good fit...



Some RTV on the grommet to act as an adhesive and seal the hole...



Insert the grommet with the file...



Tap in with a mallet and wipe away the excess...



Lather, rinse, repeat for the other locations.

Like I said in the previous post, I coupled this with the 3m trim tape.



Insert even more bruised thumbs, cursing in multiple languages (well 3) and screaming at the car, I ended up with this...



This was honestly the worst job I've had on the car since the mono wiper install. Afterwards I realised that it is easier to pop the clips on the car, hang the skirt on the clips and then clamp from the bottom. Those of you who do this in the future, please take this tact, your thumbs will thank you.

You may remember I had a power steering leak. Turns out all the lines has some sort of leak. So I needed some new lines but I'm sure you are all aware of the cost of the high pressure line. I was reading what the E36 racers do to eliminate the leaks and they end up doing an AN conversion. I've wanted to do AN fittings in the car and will do more when the power upgrade comes. I sourced an aluminum reservoir from canton, a frame rail cooler from derale and various blue and red aluminum AN fittings. I needed to convert the metric fittings to AN first so this is what it looked like.







Sadly this was a fail on my part. I sourced metric adapters with o-rings so that I could effectively form an ORB connection. The adapters though didn't have the o-ring in the correct place, more like the pintle on a fuel injector. As a result I needed metric banjo to an fittings. As the return line is an-10, finding a 16mm to -10an adapter proved extremely difficult. I was able to source one from British American Transfer or BATINC, the importer for MOCAL. While the website is old fashioned (you fax your order after reading .pdfs), the customer service was very good. With the new parts, I re-evaluated my arrangement.







This looks much cleaner in my opinion. I will need a straight AN10 fitting and I think I will need a 180 or 165 degree return fitting (blue and red) to go to the cooler. Those lines will run along the frame rail back to the cooler.



Of course the best place would be underneath the radiator but I have nixed that for 2 reasons. One is an oil cooler should I decide I need one and the other is an intercooler which I WILL need later. The original plan was to have the cooler run longitudinally along the frame rail inboard of those fuel lines. Unfortunately, It protruded below the frame rail and I wanted it protected. I thought right here by the transmission would protect it and the transmission mount rails would provide a nice sturdy way to attach. The plastic covers come off and there will be plenty of air moving....I think. Suggestions are welcome. Why not use the convection coil originally supplied from the factory? The derale cooler was less than 15 bucks.

And this is where I currently am at. I'm very close to getting back on the ground. A couple of fittings and a skid plate and I'm good to go. Sadly, I will being going to France next weekend for work so my time is once again restricted. But at least I've posted proof that the car is being worked on.

[White325is]

Looking food man. I now know the feeling about painting a car white, wet sanding and buffing it. Seriously white has to be one of the worst colors ever to shoot/color sand and buff. You never know if your to close to sanding or buring through. I wish I would had went with a different color from the get go.

[tg318is]

Wow. Great work mate! Loving this thread.

[mtlbloodshot]

Did you use a 198mm DSSR?

[TrentW]

"This was honestly the worst job I've had on the car since the mono wiper install. Afterwards I realised that it is easier to pop the clips on the car, hang the skirt on the clips and then clamp from the bottom. Those of you who do this in the future, please take this tact, your thumbs will thank you."

Can you be more specific on this procedure? Are you saying to hang the skirt from the top clips (grommets), attach the bottom clips to the car and then attach the skirt to the bottom clips?


Oh, and don't fret too much over the paint. Once you get it all back together and on the ground I think you'll be very pleased with the result.

[jackbenny]

Looking food man. I now know the feeling about painting a car white, wet sanding and buffing it. Seriously white has to be one of the worst colors ever to shoot/color sand and buff. You never know if your to close to sanding or buring through. I wish I would had went with a different color from the get go.

Amen to that. The fluoresent lights probably make it look worse too. It'll get there.

"This was honestly the worst job I've had on the car since the mono wiper install. Afterwards I realised that it is easier to pop the clips on the car, hang the skirt on the clips and then clamp from the bottom. Those of you who do this in the future, please take this tact, your thumbs will thank you."

Can you be more specific on this procedure? Are you saying to hang the skirt from the top clips (grommets), attach the bottom clips to the car and then attach the skirt to the bottom clips?


Oh, and don't fret too much over the paint. Once you get it all back together and on the ground I think you'll be very pleased with the result.

Mark the clip locations as described in the sticky. I think if I then removed the clips from the skirt and attached each one to the grommets, you can get more leverage on the clip and get it to insert. There was just too much plastic flexing. Once they are all inserted, hang the skirt from the top, the clips should slide in, and then clamp the bottom with the black clamps. It's all theory though.

It looks like I have an issue between the front fender and the door skirts on the driver side. It looks to be loose so I'll need to find a way to fix it. I'd love to use something like caulk to join the very top of the skirt to the body, I can see the adhesive tape in a small gap. I'll have to keep looking.

[jackbenny]

Did you use a 198mm DSSR?

I'll have to check "the box" where all the receipts are. I try to avoid "the box" at all costs.;)

[alexw]

Just read this whole thing. As so many others have said before, awesome work!

I read 100 pages ago (so it seemed) that you weren't going to run the center console. Any interior shots of that, and the finished relocation of the window switches? That is, if you've gotten that far?

Good luck man!

[alB5]

ewghtyiy7uioy

[jackbenny]

Hai Guys. I've made a bit of progress...

When we last left our intrepid enthusiast, his fingers were bruised and bleeding from installing all the trim pieces to the car. With that finally completed, I could focus my attention to the power steering lines. I needed a few different fittings before I could make the hoses.



The -10 line is a tiny bit kinked but since the hose is larger than stock, I'm not very concerned. You can also see the high pressure hose (blue) and the fittings used. I elected to use aeroquip for the high pressure but Earl's everywhere else.

If you remember, I was going to use the transmission crossmember rails to support the cooler. I used some english hardware I had laying around because I couldnt find the original t-studs. Wouldn't you know that I found them this afternoon so I'll go back and replace them.



Here you can see the bracket I made to attach the cooler. I have started to mock up all the hoses so I know where I can clamp them down. I also installed a raceskids plate.



Here you can see the brackets in much closer detail. I ended up using 18ga steel and riveted it to the cooler after cutting off the original brackets. The cooler is tucked away above the frame rails and should be well protected. You can also see the p-clamps holding the lines. There was a stud originally used for the rubber sound deadening that made a nice spot for the first clamp point. After this was a trial and retrial of finding the best way to route the lines.



Here you can see a bracket I fabricated to hold the reservoir. This is really my first time fabricating with metal so my skills are nowhere where I want them but it's improving. I really need a brake and shear for sheet metal although the edge of the workbench makes a decent bend radius when coaxed with a hammer.





In these pictures the new brackets have been painted and reinstalled. All the lines are tightened and the reservoir filled with fluid. No leaks, just sloppiness on my part missing the filler hole. It cleaned up nicely.

Since I was in a fabricating mood, I decided to make a bracket for the overflow tank. Up until now, it's been sitting there loose. My wife found an aluminum door kick guard to use so I thought I would give it a try.



Here you can see the initial mockup and the transfer to cardboard showing where the holes needed to be drilled and where the bend lines occur. I added a little bend relief to help as well. In a perfect world, I would draw this up in CATIA with sheetmetal for aero and print out the flat pattern but this should work as well.



Transfer the pattern to the metal.



and then drill the holes with the drill press.



Ready to cut. I elected to use a jig saw. It worked well with the steel so it should be like butter with the aluminum.



A few bends and then I mocked it up. The aluminum was softer than I wanted so I will probably find a thicker gage and remake it. For now, it's adequate and holds the canister.



And here it is installed. As i said, a sheet metal brake would be much better in the fabricating and keep the metal more straight.

I double checked everything under the car to make sure it's was completed. After my check, I decided it was time...

To throw it on the ground.









I've got a little over three inches from the ground to the skid plate. It's lower than last time it was on the ground and I'm really starting to like it. At first I was going to raise the rear a bit but the stance has really grown on me.





Looking like a car again.







Now that it was on the ground, I could finally back the car out and move it over one stall. It's been blocking my attic access all this time. I hooked up the battery, fired the car up easily and did a quick check for leaks. With none seen, I sat in the car, slid it into reverse, lowered the parking brake and gave it some revs.



um, yeah, daddy like.





daddy like alot.



I had to take the opportunity to give it a drive and a shake down so i took it out. The good news was that there was no check engine light. The bad was that the anti lock light came on so I need to trouble shoot the sensors. The brakes drag a bit too, but I haven't adjusted the pedal to allow the booster to fully release. It's next on my agenda.



Most important, no leaks. No power steering, no coolant and no diff fluid. I think I finally got them all. So I returned her to her new home within the garage.



Nighty night.



It's nice to be enthused about a project again. Yeah, there still is a lot of crap to do but now, I'm a bit more motivated. Having no traction in 2 gears can put quite the smile on your face. ;)

[jackbenny]

Just read this whole thing. As so many others have said before, awesome work!

I read 100 pages ago (so it seemed) that you weren't going to run the center console. Any interior shots of that, and the finished relocation of the window switches? That is, if you've gotten that far?

Good luck man!

I haven't done anything to the interior but I should be back on track now. I will be relocating the switches to a 316i euro HVAC panel. The radio slot is in the middle with two blanks on either side. i will put the switches there and will be one of the next projects coming up.

[lambo]

It's so cool to finally see this car rolling around again. I remember looking at your thread before I go my E30...such inspiration. Good work!

[Huff]

YES! YES! YES!! Great to see that thing moving man!!

[ck_taft325is]

I love this project.

I think I've said it before but you're an inspiration. So many thanks should be directed at you for an amazing build.