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**amcp** · 05-12-2020, 05:57 AM

Only 1 of your pics loaded......

**roguetoaster** · 05-12-2020, 09:19 AM

Looks like a good start. For certain you can get your car to be under a ton if you really strip it out.

Remember that an M42 powered car can only win races with reliability, in the corners/braking, and with clean pit stops, so focus on those aspects. Our best finish was 4th at a Daytona 14hr, and we could have had 2nd or 3rd if things had gone slightly differently in the last few laps.

Consider getting some sort of defroster setup from a convertible rear window from a junkyard in lieu of the stock HVAC stack. Try to run a 16" resonator or greater and a muffler or the car can get unpleasant. Definitely add a cool shirt setup before hitting the enduros. A Rigid Industries light bar worked really well for us and survived an impact with a wall at VIR, but lighting rules may have changed. Take the bumper covers off as they are just going to get broken, consider going to a simple metal stock bumper. Ditch the stock mirrors. Have some sort of unique lighting so you can pick your E30 out of the many that are likely to be on track.

Our former Chump Cars: https://goo.gl/photos/KujgunEum4Um3MEk6

**downforce22** · 05-17-2020, 08:39 PM

Originally posted by roguetoaster View Post

Looks like a good start. For certain you can get your car to be under a ton if you really strip it out.

Remember that an M42 powered car can only win races with reliability, in the corners/braking, and with clean pit stops, so focus on those aspects. Our best finish was 4th at a Daytona 14hr, and we could have had 2nd or 3rd if things had gone slightly differently in the last few laps.

Consider getting some sort of defroster setup from a convertible rear window from a junkyard in lieu of the stock HVAC stack. Try to run a 16" resonator or greater and a muffler or the car can get unpleasant. Definitely add a cool shirt setup before hitting the enduros. A Rigid Industries light bar worked really well for us and survived an impact with a wall at VIR, but lighting rules may have changed. Take the bumper covers off as they are just going to get broken, consider going to a simple metal stock bumper. Ditch the stock mirrors. Have some sort of unique lighting so you can pick your E30 out of the many that are likely to be on track.

Our former Chump Cars: https://goo.gl/photos/KujgunEum4Um3MEk6

Thanks for the advice, always welcome. The local lemons race in colorado have only about 50 cars on a 2.6 mile tracks so they dont appear to be as competitive as other races on the coasts. In the last Lemons race where I was driving the subaru a 318ti went neck and neck at the line to finish 2 and 3 overall, first in class by 0.05 seconds. I am not sure if this car was m42 or m44 powered. But the stock 318ti in 95 weighed 2745 pounds so we should be able to be pretty competitive. Here is the video, you can see our subaru broken down at turn 1 after the finish line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgO5tIywzvo

This weekend we made some headway. I didn't get many pictures so I will chronicle for record keeping purposes. An old friend was moving away 3 weeks back and asked if I wanted some e30 wheels. I went and grabbed them and in the process he gave me a box of e30 parts. Inside were 2 oem m42 motor mounts. I brought those down and after looking at them, the locating pin on them didn't fit the m10 subframe. I decided to grind the tabs off and got those bolted down. Next up was the short shifter and shifter bushings. We had to get creative for the shift linkage carrier but found some rubber that would fit for the later style shifter. The trans mouting rails aren't going to work as intended because the floor pans have been cut out and replaced, so that still need to be mounted somehow before we can get the driveshaft in.

We tested the fuel pumps (dual pump system on the early m10 chassis, both worked) and looked at our battery cable. The later model cable is great and we will likely locate the battery in the rear seat area and the fire suppression somewhere back there as well. With the extra length it can go anywhere we want.

The C101 was a logical place to start for the wiring. With the m42 harness having the fuel, main, and o2 relays we were able to get those sorted out with the c-101 wiring and will have to run 1 single fuse for the fuel system since it goes to the regular e30 fuse box after the relays and we want a master fuel cutoff switch. The wiring I was looking at for the c101 was from e30zone and was for an m20 based car. The m42 is different. So After looking at that, my brother and I both verified this through the 1992 318ic diagrams. This is what we are using but will have a separate loom/ fuse for the fuel pump. We won't be using the unloader relays and should have the rest of the functionality in case there is ever another bmw engine conversion on this car. My older brother has an m60 out of an x5 parts car just sitting around.

Untitled by t sz, on Flickr

On top of the c101 wires extended, i put another coat of paint on the cage and we filed down the hole in the glovebox to stuff the ecu connector into the passenger footwell. I connected the ecu and put the rubber grommet back in place. The ecu is hooked up and we took an old seat and set it in place for testing the shifter linkage. It feels solid. Things are starting to come together. Maybe with some luck we can get a start in a week or two. The plan is to get collector plates and make it street legal, so I think we will be able to make that happen.

thumbnail_20200516_162554 by t sz, on Flickr

**tschultz** · 05-19-2020, 08:20 PM

A first start in the next 4 weeks would be great. Excited to see it move under it's own power. We will have to identify who can help us with some of the weld repairs.... I know a coworker who may be able to help although he lives up north past where I live... He is fabricating his own who car and has lathe, mill, welding etc out on his recently built garage space...

**downforce22** · 05-27-2020, 03:44 PM

So with the wiring being the next hurdle it involved taking a look at the ETM's. The 1991 318iS doesn't show the instrument diagrams so I was looking through the 1992 318iC which haas some different splices and circuits. Also the C101 came off a 325iC so it has the check panel wiring which is not used and not on the 318i. I looked through the diagrams and made a reference list for myself. This may be useful for others, but don't assume I did this right.

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With the long weekend, I set about looking at the project on saturday night. I didn't want to get in the middle of what my brother was thinking for the wiring so I started on the fuel lines which had been removed from the bottom of the car because the floor boards were replaced when it was caged. I traced the lines and had 2 lines as well as a fuel pump outlet, meaning 3 lines. This threw me for a loop but after some research I figured it out. There is a vent line on the tank that releases pressure and goes to the charcoal canister. That was missing from the engine bay so I was super confused before I figured that out. I found this diagram, not sure where it came from but it shows the feed/return line and the vent line is #7.

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I had bought new fuel line and that 10 foot length would work for the fuel supply line. I also had an old fuel filter that I threw in there since there wasn't one under the hood. The filter is just hanging so I need to find a bracket to mount the filter to the firewall. Worst case I might take the power steering reservoir out and use that bracket to mount it or just bend some metal into a strap. I took a guess on the vent line vs the return line. I reasoned the return line would have a hose clamp since it would be under more pressure so the metal line with a squeeze clamp was likely the return vent line.

I didn't take any more photos saturday but I got out the coils and hooked them to the engine harness. After that I looked at the two afm and intakes that I've got. One has the factory air filter and the second has a cone filter. I took a look at the vacuum lines for the ICV and used the hoses I had to set that up. I checked the oil which seemed good and called it a night due to how late it was. This was how I left it.

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Monday I went back to do some more work and got a lot done. I reviewed the c-101 wiring to confirm it was correct. The paint on the cage was dry and so the battery could be mocked up again and connected. I took a moment to admire the 2nd coat of the rear of the cage. There is still some touch up in places but it is looking good so far.

20200525_201334 by t sz, on Flickr

With that, I was back to the wiring.

20200525_161525 by t sz, on Flickr

I had grabbed an old coil pack which was removed for a coil on plug upgrade and it still had the black plastic cover for cylinder identification. I used that to verify the spark plug wires were plumbed correctly. With that done and the coil packs hooked up in what looked to be the correct shape according to the bend in the plastic wiring, I took the spark plug wires out of the head. There was water sitting in the spark plug boots. Apparently having an engine sit outside for 4 months thorough winter isn't good. My brother got his air compressor and we blasted the water out and sprayed some contact cleaner on the wires. Next up we were about to go crank but I noticed a thick cable in the battery tray not connected. We set it on the ground of the shock tower and went to crank. Nothing. I figured that cable was a positive and connected it to the positive junction block. Tried again, nothing I realized we hadn't hooked up the engine ground strap so I got that connected to the pan and went again. After some trial and error, I determined the ignition wasn't getting power and we hadn't connected the constant 12 to the ignition cylinder.

20200525_150202 by t sz, on Flickr

With that hooked up and clicking to relay, i connected the ecu and tried a crank. The starter sort of started but fuel pump wasn't getting power. Was thinking the battery was dead, so went and put a charger on that. Meanwhile the fuel pump didn't seem to be turning on, so we bypassed the circuit and were going to manually run the pumps. While doing this, there was a spraying noise which meant fuel leak.

I traced it to under the intake and pulled the intake manifold off. The metal lines to the fuel rail were in poor shape with cracks everywhere and were leaking under the pressure so replacing those with 1 inch sections cut off my new fuel line was the solution.

20200525_150156 by t sz, on Flickr

With that done, my brother was just showing up and he got to work with my nephew looking at our work. Here he is realizing that power cable was actually a ground which would explain why the fuel relay wasn't starting, because the system wasn't grounded right. I hope I didn't fry the ecu with that mistake!

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Clickable link here for the second start. It runs! Whew, glad I didn't fry anything.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/188410...posted-public/

Surprisingly the engine fired right up and idled fine, no o2, no coolant, no messing with coil packs. The fuel system was working great, no leaks, and the coils were wired correct too. That a huge step on this build! My nephew was getting restless and my brother had to go. So after that I got back to wiring to the cluster. It turns out the cluster ground was on the wrong wire and there is a brown black and a black/brown from the c-101 to the cluster. Need to figure what that is, if it is check panel, and if the black brown is the correct oil pressure sensor to the cluster.

Either way I started connecting wires to the C1 and C2 connections on the cluster. With no clock or obc, I was not planning to use C3 on this car. I was spending my time to make sure the wires are approximately the same length and not twisted up in a spaghetti mess. This is going to take a while. I would double check each one and make sure it had enough length to go where necessary while following the factory wiring color and connections thanks to an old wiring harness my brother had.

20200525_200659 by t sz, on Flickr

A 6 fuse isolated fuse block arrived and we set it up in the dash bar for now. With that in I could run the fuel pump fuse and start to mock stuff up. But as it turns out it isn't as simple due to the wiring into the cluster and the different circuits. I hadn't spent enough time putting that together or reviewing the rest of the chassis circuits in the ETM so this is where I left it on Monday. The wires include a headlight switch and factory turn signal and wiper stalks so this acts like the original wiring is still there but simplified.

20200525_201320 by t sz, on Flickr

Since the first start, I have been reviewing the ETMs like a madman and putting together a wiring diagram based on the BMW design. We have enough fuse terminals due to the deleted circuits, and our original fuse diagram won't quite work as we had designed it. Here was the original layout, credit to my brother on putting this together.

Here is the new layout after factoring the fused and unfused circuits. This is made using the fuse blocks we have and the usb/cigar/voltmeter we will be using. This was the first iteration that I did last night.

20200526_224605 by t sz, on Flickr

And here is the revised diagram after some thought. I think this should do what we need, which will organize as BMW originally designed it and retain factory functionality. I am combining the low beams together and then the high beams together instead of 4 fuses for those, and combining circuits 22 and 23 into one fuse so eliminate another fuse. I need to figure out if we really need a horn relay to power the horn. Either way I feel pretty good about this to get the fuses started. Of course this is a bit simplified for interior lighting and fine details for hazard/turn signals need some more work.

20200527_114342 by t sz, on Flickr

**downforce22** · 06-22-2020, 01:59 PM

The wiring saga continues. With the instrument cluster done, next up was the lights, instruments, power, and switched/ constant powered fuse boxes. Sticking to the plan from the last post, we used 6 fuse unswitched power, and 12 fuse switched for the rest of the interior. This process takes a lot of time but you want it to be right and to work in harsh racing environments. I used heatshrink and wrapping of the wires so they can be pulled apart but have pretty good strength as is. This is several days condensed into one post.

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The 6 slot fuse box was located first and wires started going places like the fuel pump and power to the 12 slot fuse box. With a couple of wires run, we located the console to help locate things and keep it tidy. My nephew even stopped by to help check voltage.

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Then the headlight switch and hazard switch were located. But of course you need the wiring to the running lights set up for that so that was mocked up in place.

20200606_174621 by t sz, on Flickr

With progress being made, I routed wires to and from the fuse block. This includes running lights, differential speed sensors, fuel sender, etc. You can see the wires adding up in this photo. Pretty soon another wire here, another wire there and you have a mess on your hands. With all the time spent on this, and tired of wires, I decided I wanted to clean the windows and apply another coat of paint on the roll cage. Still more cleaning but this is better.

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Back to wiring. I ran the brake sensor wiring, power to the hvac unit, and started connecting turn signal wiring. Then I got the reverse light wired up with an old srs connector and ran wiring to the trunk. Then i started connecting to the 12 fuse block by the e brake. With e brake light wired and everything the mess of wires was out of control so I had to add some zip ties.

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The cage was looking pretty good and I put some sheathing on the wires going back to the diff and fuel level senders. I spent a lot of time to make sure the wiring was outed nicely and not all twisted and knotted up.

20200613_220449 by t sz, on Flickr

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With that in a good place, next up was to tackle the headlights. This got a little complicated. There are 2 relays for the headlights and I am not using an unloader relay. Third relay for the horn. I had the housings and the plastic clip and cover for them to sit in the factory location by the driver strut tower. Here were donor parts to get it set up. I needed a 5 pin 87a style rela and it turn out the bmw main relay is a 5 pin with two 87 outputs. When I went to test it, I blew a fuse... oops. The result was a low beam relay and high beam relay. The low beam relay ran the low beams via 87 and with the high beam switch it activated the high beams and closes low beams low filaments and turn on the high beam high filament. I also had a sport seat for the passenger side. I need to figure out why the seat doesn't drop down. If I can get the adjuster to lower the seat then this would be a great passenger seat.

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Next up was getting underneath to get the drivetrain going. Got the driveshaft in and then worked on the brakes and clutch line/slave. The brake line had a leak so that got put on hold for now. No test drive today. With a turn of the key you can start the engine, turn on the lights and hit the highbeams and horn. That was a huge win for the amount of time this took. Brought the engine up to temp, filling it with water for now, and checked voltage. 14 volts at idle. Temp gauge working, tach working, fuel gauge works, running lights work. We are in business. Engine revs good, I may just need to do spark plugs and oil at some point.

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With the hood aligned, lets look at those relays and that wiring again. This looks better. Also the cluster mileage for documentation. My brother got the old grounding bar under the dash mounted up as a solid ECU mount out of the passenger's footwell. It looks great and you can see how it sits in one of the pictures below.

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I rounded out the day with that 3rd brake light out of an e28 and cleaned up some wiring near the pedals. Just need to mount it to the shelf and hopefully it won't vibrate too much.This passenger sport seat won't fit in the driver side but it was comfortable as I was doing the wiring.

**paynemw** · 06-25-2020, 12:18 PM

Great work, Love all of the pictures.

**downforce22** · 06-28-2020, 07:54 PM

Thanks Paynemw, this is a documentation type thread so I can have it to look back on how far the car has come and see where it goes in the future.

So another day of working on the car and more progress thanks to my brother. He is good about fixing problems quickly, I don't know if it was the accumulation of days spent working on this adding up, or what but I had a hard time getting stuff going this weekend but my brother was great spearheading projects.

First up were the seats. These will be temporary to get the car mobile and tested until we can get race seats and get dated belts for actual racing. I figured out the adjuster on my sport seat and threw that in the passenger seat with the stock bracket/slider. It just barely fits but I was able to lower it down all the way for maximum headroom. The other seat uses a wedge engineering seat bracket with some sliders my brother had and seat mount brackets I had. The seat is a spare passenger seat out of an e24. Unfortunately the cage is an inch or two from the door pillars which reduces headroom even more. We may have to get a low mount seat or modify the brackets to lower the seats (or both) to maximize headroom.

20200627_174314 by t sz, on Flickr

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So the rear end was a bit dim with only 2 brake lights. The 3rd light from an e28 was mounted on the parcel shelf (or whats left of it) and my brother suggested we upgradethe rear to add another light similar to the e28 upgrade. I brought a spare housing and you can use the one housing for parts to add another bulb in each brake light.

20200627_194654 by t sz, on Flickr

First you pop out the metal grounding plate of the donor housing. The tabs holding it in are very brittle so you have to be careful no to brake them if you plan to reuse. I ended up breaking one on the housing I was installing it on but all in all, it is still in good shape. You are looking for the bulb holder and wire. This is whats left after taking 2 and installing them in the other housings. You need to snap off the plastic in the housing for the new bulb and slide it into the bulb holder. I ran a new spade connector and wired that into the brake signal. If wanted, we could disconnect that or add a switch. I like interchangeability.

20200627_194716 by t sz, on Flickr

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After install, we have 5 brake lights now instead of two. Also a clickable video to show the brake lights, hzards, and reverse lights on. Only thing missing is the running lights due to a faulty light switch.

20200627_174119 by t sz, on Flickr

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Next up was a mount for the fuse box. From the old wiring harness, which was the donor for the wiring, was the fuse box from the e28. We took the housing and removed the mounting posts inside it and fit the 12 fuses in there with a screw. My brother came through clutch with a bracket to the e brake and it is mounted out of the way and nice and solid. The cover is old and looks very lemon-y but should be nice and protected.

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The next wiring component was the windshield wiper and motor. I figured for a 24 hour race you want wipers with slow and fast and possibly even windshield spray/cleaning. I plumbed that all up, but the relay seems to be having some problems on single wiper mode. This is mounted on the firewall by the C-101. It has 8 pins but its totally interchangeable and hopefully protected enough from much weather. It uses the factory wiper stalk and wire colors. I also ran 2 wires for the brake fluid light but we have the wrong style connector and need the early cap with the 2 spade terminals to make it work.

20200627_151909 by t sz, on Flickr

While I was under the hood, I replaced the water pump/alternator belt which was showing its age. The old one will be a spare now.

20200627_130732 by t sz, on Flickr

After that I started wiring up the window adjustment wiring. I put it in this sheathing that should protect it in the door jambs. I need to figure out where the adjustment switch will go now that there is no door handle and there will be a series of other switches in the center console.

20200627_174219 by t sz, on Flickr

Last was the wiring under the steering column. This was cleaned up and with the windshield wiper stalk wired up. There is finally enough room for your feet under there. The yellow green wire will be the hvac power and it has its own designated ground. The brake light switch will also go under there. I also might wire up the cigarette lighter port as a switched usb port, the other one that will be on the dash will be constant 12v power. I figure you will have one that could power a gps or lap timer and one that could power a charger for a phone or go pro.

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That is all for now. Still more to do. This is the current list of things to do. But currently you can sit in the driver seat, turn the key, and start the car.

- Fix brake line leak
- bleed brakes, bleed clutch line
- Stainless brake lines (ordered)
- WIre in mirror control switch
- create panel above center console for switches, hvac, and covering the mess of wires
- wire in switch panel
- mount master power switch somewhere
- make more permanent power wiring (constant 12v) to ignition and constant power fuse box
- wire in hvac power and ground
- mount brake light switch
- mount throttle cable securely
- mount hood release somewhere
- install windshield
- figure out seat belts or temporary belts
- replace diff output shaft seal (have the wrong one)
- install polycarbonate windows
- weld up cage
- make more permanent trans mount on driver side
- get skid plate
- mount bracket to secure later steering column from moving
- figure out problems with headlight switch (running lights are intermittant)
- mount later m42 radiator more secure on the early radiator mounts
- mount coils or do m62 coil on plug upgrade
- install blower motor and covering panel
- mount relays on fire wall somehow
- install swaybars
- replace left front shock (blown)
- run check engine light wire and oil light
- run interior lighting for night driver changes
- verify springs on pedal assembly as a couple have been disconnected
- mount gas pedal to floorboard
- exhaust welded up out the back of the car
- alignment
- mount battery in rear seat

**downforce22** · 10-02-2020, 07:30 PM

It has been a busy summer and I have other projects I have been working on.

The one unexpected project was joining an e28 lemons team for the first 24 hours race at high plains raceway. We pulled the engine due to a rod out the side of the block and proceeded to replace with another m30b35. Long story short it was only running on 5 cylinders and we finished 8th place overall with almost 1300 miles. Here is a link to practice testing the day before and my first time in the car.

E28 535i Open lapping at High Plain Raceway (day before 24 hours of Lemons 2020)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iA8pG0v6VA

Onboard footage of my first time in the car.I was warming up for the first lap or two and got up to speed about 10 minutes in until traffic got in the way. I...

I was also able to lap in my e30 as the sun was going down to practice night driving for the race.

Open Lapping at High Plains Raceway in a 318iS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw3H6lC52Z4

driving my 318is at open lapping the day before the 24 hours of lemons. I drive with some lemons racers. data from my gps watch overlayed using the free dash...

Back to this car, that was some extra motivation to get this thing going. I added the positive terminal to the engine bay. A friend pointed out how heavy the power cable is so long term I am not sure if this will stay, but it is here for now.

20200705_105134 by t sz, on Flickr

Got the pedals hooked up and at some point added the brake light switch. Wiring getting cleaner.

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Took the disc brakes off the new subframe for new bushings. This gave some trouble so reinstall still hasnt happened.

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Throttle bushing for crisp pedal response.

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replaced rear output shaft seal

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Replaced broken brake line. We have brakes now!!

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Fitted an exhaust

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Took it for a test drive. It ran terrible but worked!

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Found a friend, a car my dad built long ago tat my brother bought from him, a 68 1600.

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Fitted passenger window frame from condor. These are great, just not too easy to put in and out with the window seal still in place.

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Finally got those old subframe bushings out.

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Replaced spark plugs and coil pack to try and figure out why it isnt running great. The head looks great. Changed the oil while I was in there.

20200924_133904 by t sz, on Flickr

Had found a 280mm massive street kit bbk upgrade for sale from a friend and finally got it installed. Corrado rotors 280x21 wilwood dynapro dual piston vs the stock 260mm nonvented. They came with hawk pads.

20200924_171249 by t sz, on Flickr

I forgot you have to run on 15s with this setup so I had to improvise with wheels and spacers from my daily driver.

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While I was at it I swapped out the crappy red springs. I believe they were bav auto and they are as soft as stock, just lowering but they were too low anyway. To repair the blown shock I swapped in a set of 325ix springs with a coil cut to raise it and stiffen it a bit. With the m42 I think it should be stiff enough and it doesn't count against my budget. Got that ghetto look going on here.

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I got back home and brought my latest acquisition to the car. They are SSR Type C 15x7 with advan 032R tires. Offset is about 35 so I am running a 20 mm spacer at the moment. With these discontinued I have the motegi wheels also where both sets weigh less than 10 pound per wheel.

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With that done I looked at the rear springs and didn't like the stance two photos up. The rear was too low even with the early rear fender arches. I think i referenced my 325ix engine replacement from earlier in the year further up in the thread and I swapped that back to stock springs. With that I had an extra set of H&R rear springs off an iX. I figured that would stiffen it and raise the rear end up.

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Notice the plenty of room under the big brake kit.

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I put the bumper trim on and it is starting to look like a car.

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Next I wired up the mirror control switch for power mirrors. Always helpful in a race car going through the night. Notice it on the left roll bar gussetts.

20201001_153001 by t sz, on Flickr

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In the last photo you can see the center console panel that my brother 3d printed. He installed it and I wired up the fuel pump and the led lights for the switch panel as well as the usb ports which are on an always hot circuit for charging with the engine off. I had to swap two wires, the check engine light and the oil pressure light since those were backwards. All is working now when you run the stomp test.

Another picture in the daylight. It looks a little jacked up so maybe the rear springs will settle, but otherwise front to rear it looks pretty close to even. On par with a lemons car atleast.

20201001_153723 by t sz, on Flickr

20201001_155936 by t sz, on Flickr

20201001_160025 by t sz, on Flickr

The last thing I did was work on the windshield. The lock strip is a pain to install. I was able to get both sides and the top in but the bottom is being stubborn unfortunately.

20201001_181949 by t sz, on Flickr

So a few thoughts about what is next.

- I need wheel studs since the corrado rotor doesnt have a set screw into the hub. With spacers, that becomes even more important so I just need to buy them. I am looking at the motorsport hardware 90 mm ones which can accept 20 mm spacers.
- The rear struts are blown. I found some kyb brand for $25 ea on rockauto and ordered them. ECS sells them for $50 each.
- The lights aren't working, I need to see if a fuse is blown or if its something else. The e28 headlight switch has been problematic but the dash lights werent on so I believe it is a blown fuse.
- When I check the oil it is very drippy and since I filled the cooling system with water I suspect a bad head gasket. Power isn't great and though it seems each cylinder is firing I am leaning toward a crack somewhere or a bad headgasket. Next up is a compression test but I ordered a new headgasket and bolts for like $50 on rockauto and with my spare m42 head we migt be able to narrow down the problem. The photo of the head above. looks good but you can see some milky substance in the valvetrain. Stay tuned I would like to get this thing back together soon but it is coming together well.

Also, I am considering doing a spoof on an e30 m3 touring car livery. Let me know your thoughts but I found this as well as a JTCC livery that is neat. It will of course be rattle canned.

20200929_201604 by t sz, on Flickr

Screenshot_20200929-195942_Chrome by t sz, on Flickr

**2mAn** · 10-02-2020, 08:54 PM

Hadn’t seen this before , but seems appropriate for me to find it once the 84 was fitted with SSR Type Cs. Love it

**mike.bmw** · 10-03-2020, 01:52 AM

Very cool. I'm loving all the photos!

**tschultz** · 10-06-2020, 07:25 AM

Looks great! Excited to get it running better and ride around in it for the first time.

Here's my list of work that I wasn't sure was resolved yet:

- Grommet around steering shaft at bulkhead
- resolve headlight switch connections
- finish center console mounting/securing
- make more permanent/insulated power wiring (constant 12v) to ignition and constant power fuse box
- mount master power switch somewhere. Determine if current switch is acceptable or not
- wire in hvac power and ground
- mount hood release
- mount gas pedal to floorboard
- mount later m42 radiator more secure on the early radiator mounts
- install blower motor and covering panel
- mount relays on fire wall somehow

To drive it, I think these are all pretty important:

-Purchase and mount battery box (welded metal box in place?)
-Weld repair: steering column support
-Weld repair: cage support/spreader plates
-Weld repair: floor reinforcement where floors were cut out
-Weld repair: O2 sensor bung on exhaust
-Wled repair: more permanent trans mount on driver sid
-Race seat
-Welding: Seat mounts with sliding adjustment
-Seat belt install (street legal) vs 5 point harness'
- get skid plate

Optional at some point later:

- Install rear disc brakes and subframe
- install swaybars
- alignment

I personally thought the Hartge livery theme would be cool with a play on words of "PartMe" or "Partge" just because it is lemons and theme based:

I also like the 22 Michelin car, but it is harder to play on the theme-- but hey the engine block is painted lime green!

**downforce22** · 10-29-2020, 09:43 PM

I am still trying to decide on a theme and or livery but that is not at the top of the priority list.

So unfortunately the windshield sat and a day later the windshield cracked. A glass installer said it was from the roll cage, 100%. I didnt get a picture of it, but it is in the passenger side field of view so for now it stays and cracked windshields are not against the lemons rules. It is starting to look like a car compared to my 318is now.

20201019_081751 by t sz, on Flickr

So some work that was done recently. I removed the crappy shocks and was able to KYB gas-a-just shocks for $25 each and threw those in with new upper shock mounts. This raised the rear up even more with the H&R ix rear springs but that is ok as it is decently stiff and still on a budget.

20201019_081935 by t sz, on Flickr

20201019_091719 by t sz, on Flickr

Next up were wheel studs. I got long enough studs to fit 20 mm spacers for the high offset sets of wheel I have (et 35, and et 42 on 15x7). I installed the fronts for now which is fine since the corrado rotors do not have a matching set screw hole to bolt to the bmw hub. That may be something to machine at a later date to ensure no movement of the front hubs. In the mean time I could only install the fronts as the drum brakes are still on the rear.

20201019_094431 by t sz, on Flickr

20201019_095247 by t sz, on Flickr

20201019_100541 by t sz, on Flickr

They fit great with the spacers but the problem (i found out) is that if I didn't use the motorsport hardware hubcentric spacers, the front wheels would lock when you tightened the lugs all the way. I found the e30 tech thread on the 280 mm street kit and it has these 2 mm spacers to fix this problem. I was able to contract the guy I bought the bbk from and got the spacers from him that night. http://e30techarchive.com/showthread.php&t=103241.htm

Then when I was test driving I still felt like it had a misfire. I checked the oil and it looked ok, coolant wasn't milky and the engine wasn't overheating. I swapped ECU to verify that ECU was not causing a problem. No change from that ecu swap. I pulled the spark plugs that I had swapped last time and they looked great, no issues or oil. Next, I decided to check the COP upgrade I had done on my other 318is to rule out the wires, and coils as problems. After swapping that, it seemed to fix the stumbling issue, but I ran into the problem with those lug studs causing the front wheels to lock up after tightening so I couldnt test any more. My brother is parting out an x5 and had an M62 sitting there with 5 bremi coils left so I threw those on the car. Im thinking that may have solved the problem and the headgasket and bolts I got don't need to be used yet.

20201019_150005 by t sz, on Flickr

After that i've got a few more ideas to do to the car.

- With the coil packs removed that frees up the battery tray. I am thinking it would make sense to remove the heavy e30 trunk mounted battery cable and movoe the battery to the engine bay. It solves 2 problems. One, I don't need to build a mount and/or battery box for the battery inside the cabin, and it will remove a solid 10 pounds. Two is simplified the master power cutoff switch that now just needs to go the switch and into the cabin.

- It appears the early 318i had a 19mm brake master cylinder. Driving it, the brakes pedal moves a lot until you get braking force. Generally you want less movement for a better/ quicker braking feel. I have a 25 mm e32 master cylinder but didn't install it because it only had 1 outlet instead of the 2 from the early non abs car. I will need a tee and some fittings and hose but should be able to make that work and though it will increase brake pedal force by 30% or so, it will reduce pedal travel by the proportionate amount. This will be acceptable to do when replacing the rear brake lines for the rear disc trailing arms.

- I was able to separate 1 of the rusted axles from the disc brake trailing arm, but one is still holding together. I removed the trailing arm bushings and once I get the e brake cables removed then the new disc trailing arms can go in. I am debating just bolting it all up with the new subframe and pounding out the old axle if i can't get it while it is off the car.

- The roll cage leaves some to be desired as it has the strengthening gusset plates and bar that, while helpful for rigidity, reduce visibility and reduce driver headroom. Because of this I am looking at the cobra imola which is designed for skinnier waists, maybe up to 34" depending on what review you read. I like it because it is one of the skinniest meaning with custom brackets we could move the seat closer to the center of the car and possibly lower for more headroom. They have a low profile cushion in the pro fit version so I may plan for that to lower the seating position even more.

SEAT SIZING
SEAT	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	WEIGHT
Monaco Pro	19.5"	16"	15"	13.5"	21.5"	34"	20"	23 lbs.
Racer Pro	18"	14"	13"	12"	20"	35"	18"	20 lbs.
Imola T Std.	18.5"	15"	15"	13"	23"	36"	18"	24 lbs.
Imola T GT	19.5"	16"	16"	14"	24"	36"	18"	26 lbs.
Suzuka T Std.	19"	15"	15"	12"	22.5"	36"	18"	22 lbs.
SuzukaT GT	20"	16"	16"	13"	23.5"	36"	18"	23 lbs.
Sebring T Std.	19"	15"	15"	11"	23"	36"	18"	24 lbs.
Sebring T GT	20"	16"	16"	12"	24"	36"	18"	25 lbs.
Evolution T Std.	19.5"	15"	15"	12"	21"	38.5"	18"	24 lbs.
Evolution T GT	21"	16"	16"	13"	22"	38.5"	18"	25 lbs.
Suzuka Pro Std. Tech.	20"	15"	14.75"	11"	22.5"	35"	18"	17 lbs.
Suzuka Pro GT Tech.	21"	16"	15.75"	12"	23.5"	35"	18"	19 lbs.
Sebring Pro Std. Tech.	20.5"	15"	14.75"	11"	22.5"	36"	18"	20 lbs.
Sebring Pro GT Tech.	21.5"	16"	15.75"	12"	23.5"	36"	18"	21 lbs.
Sebring Pro Ultralite	20.5"	15"	14.75"	11"	22.5"	36"	18"	15 lbs.
Evolution Pro Std. Tech.	19.5"	15"	15"	12"	21.5"	35"	18"	20 lbs.
Evolution Pro GT Tech.	21"	16"	16"	13"	22.5"	35'	18"	21 lbs.

That is all for now. I've got a clip for the blower motor, those wheel spacers, and a coupe other parts like the cop plate to install. Maybe some progress this upcoming weekend.

**downforce22** · 11-23-2020, 05:03 PM

Lots of work since the last update. First the second trailing arm was separated from the old blown and rusty axle after lots of effort. Had to use a hub puller tool bolted to the hub and a 19 mm air compressor cranking as hard as it would push for several minutes to get it to slide out. It eventually broke free and that meant the rear subframe could be removed for rear subframe bushings and the rear trailing arms could be installed for the disc brake upgrade (the one major flaw of the 83/84 318i). Of course I burned out the old bushings.

20201101_150903 by t sz, on Flickr

20201019_174125 by t sz, on Flickr

Then I got the coil on plug plate installed. The revving issue seems to have been fixed as I mentioned last post.

20201101_113811 by t sz, on Flickr

As you can see in the above photo, the battery was relocated to the right front under the hood. The logic is that simplifies the master power switch as it just needs to go in the cabin to the driver and back out to the rest of the electronics. It also removes about 10 pounds of battery cable as well as eliminating the need for a battery tie down inside the cabin. With this, the rear seat is still open for a fire suppression system while retaining a passenger seat.

This meant wiring up a master power switch. It is now on the A pillar. I think it is protected right there and accessible by the driver. We might need to slightly modify to insulate the connections but it is good for now.

20201101_161911 by t sz, on Flickr

20201101_165308 by t sz, on Flickr

20201101_165300 by t sz, on Flickr

To finish up the wiring for now, I found a dome light fits perfectly in the sunroof slot and I hooked it up to one of the spare switches. In the future I will probably be adding more interior lighting but this is a good start for driving on the street.

20201101_165230 by t sz, on Flickr

20201101_165220 by t sz, on Flickr

Next up was the master cylinder upgrade. Due to the extra line, I installed the stock master cylinder when we put the brakes together the first time. As it turns out the 84 318i came with 17/20 mm master cylinder to account for the drum brakes in the rear. They move less fluid apparently. By swapping to a e32 25/25 master cylinder the braking bias may be upset so this 25 mm MC is going to reduce pedal travel, increase sensitivity and force required. To solve the balance, I removed the factory proportioning valve to the rear lines and replaced it with an adjustable Wilwood valve. To reduce the 3 lines to 2 I bought a Tee for the brake lines and tied the front together and ran 1 new line. You can use the same tee that splits the rear brakes to tie together the fronts. I think that was only $15 for the correct tee. You can see the gold M10 tee in the pictures below. I need to find a bracket for the valve to mount it by the airbox.

20201115_143843 by t sz, on Flickr

20201115_162259 by t sz, on Flickr

20201115_181345 by t sz, on Flickr

20201115_181335 by t sz, on Flickr

Then the big job was up next. I had removed the fuel filter and noticed it rattled so I decided to spend $5 on a new one from advance. I went with the old see through and it was small enough to mount under the car by the external fuel pump. This shortened the fuel line and made it fit just right and not drag below as could be seen in previously posted photos. I forgot a picure of this but you might see it under the subframe in some of the next pictures.

It was time to get rid of the drums. This was not bad on a lift with a spare set of hands or two.

20201122_104539 by t sz, on Flickr

20201122_104921 by t sz, on Flickr

20201122_130021 by t sz, on Flickr

20201122_130029 by t sz, on Flickr

We had a heck of a time getting this thing out. Once the main bolts and end plates were out, the subframe was just hanging to the chassis. Eventually we found the solution thanks to RTS auto. Link for anybody else doing this job. The aluminum can rust itself to the chassis. The secret is to thread in to the rubber bushing from below and then use a hammer and drift to pound the aluminum bushing out of its resting place. https://www.rtsauto.com/how-to-remov...ing-on-an-e30/

20201122_131918 by t sz, on Flickr

20201122_131915 by t sz, on Flickr

The second one broke the aluminum before it came out so we had to try the same method to extract the broken chunk. This didn't come out as easily so I somewhat hesitantly grabbed a gas torch to heat up the bottom while my brother was in the car ready to whack on the bushing. It seemed to be moving but the washer was just coming off. Holding a map gas torch on this bolt means flames are directly on the gas tank as you are holding it. Not a great place to be holding the torch, or above the tank in the back seat hitting on the bushing.

20201122_132256 by t sz, on Flickr

With it heated up and it not coming out I grabbed some PB blaster and sprayed it on the aluminum piece. With that cooled off the aluminum came out after like 2 whacks. Glad to have this in the rearview.

20201122_133441 by t sz, on Flickr

While we were working on that, my other brother cleaned the subframe and trailing arms with a wire brush and painted it black to prevent rust. I had previously installed the garagistic 80A polyurethane bushings in the subframe and sprayed it black. He had also already taken the old subframe apart and reinstalled the new trailing arm bushings.

20201122_130301 by t sz, on Flickr

20201122_133734 by t sz, on Flickr

I got the new stainless brake lines hooked up while my brothers connected up the driveshaft. Then we were ready to raise the new subframe back in. This is nice with a lift and not bad with a small case differential.

20201122_145004 by t sz, on Flickr

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20201122_145730 by t sz, on Flickr

The springs went back in and the axles too while I hooked up brake lines. One disc brake trailing arm had a good brake line that I was able to reuse. The other side was cut so I reused the 2 shorter lengths of brake line from the drums and was able to hook those together and get the driver rear hooked up. I might want to replace that in the future with the right line but for now this works fine. I also installed the rear wheel lug studs. Perfect amount of quality components hidden up there mixed with old pads, rusty brake calipers and rotors!

20201122_155258 by t sz, on Flickr

While we were at it, we looked at the front too. I had some old offset solid bushings that we replaced up front.

20201122_164940 by t sz, on Flickr

20201122_164944 by t sz, on Flickr

The last hurdle we solved had to do with the front brake upgrade. I posted the wheel spacers above, but whenever you would torque the front wheels down, the wheel would lock up.I couldn't figure it out. My brother was looking into the slots in the brake rotor and it turns out the bolts holding the brake caliper and bracket on the car were too long. They were digging into the back of the rotor when you would tighten it because the corrado rotors do not have a set screw setting the rotors against the hub. And without that, I never noticed the caliper bolts were bottoming out on the rotor since it would sit flush until you tightened the lugs. We solved this I think by putting washers on the bolts that thread into the back of the brackets. We will see I guess. I ordered a fia race harness, race seat, seat side mount brackets, and some roll cage padding. The harness is FIA Sparco 04818RAC camlock 6 point pull up lap belt with 2" shoulder and 3" lap belts. They should be good for 5 years. I went with the Momo Supercup which has good reviews, isn't too big, and was a good price shipped. I got momo seat brackets and the last part I ordered was dual durometer BSCI roll bar padding. It comes with a softer outer padding on top of an inner padding to protect against major collisions and a soft outer for while driving in more daily duty without a helmet.

The front brake line I added seemed to be clogged so no test drives and I need to replace that front line. Maybe I can get to it this thursday before thanksgiving. I would like to get a test drive video up next.

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'84 318i 'LTW' Lemons Race Car with M42

'84 318i 'LTW' Lemons Race Car with M42

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