My Hoopte30 Project Attempt #6 - the painless way to earn cash back every day

[mike.bmw]

Quick progress on this - I love it!

I've been running a sssquid chip and 19# (4 pintle, Bosch units) on my M42 for 4-5 years and both are fantastic. You should be quite happy with it.

Any plans for the infamous M42 "mess under the intake"? Some remove/bypass it. It can be a common area for vacuum leaks (and coolant leaks).

[AWDBOB]

Quick progress on this - I love it!

I've been running a sssquid chip and 19# (4 pintle, Bosch units) on my M42 for 4-5 years and both are fantastic. You should be quite happy with it.

Any plans for the infamous M42 "mess under the intake"? Some remove/bypass it. It can be a common area for vacuum leaks (and coolant leaks).

Yes! With projects like this, it’s sink or swim with time. When the harness is done I will slow down, but if I don’t do that stuff right away, life takes the reigns again and it never gets done, so I moved some stuff around to get as much done as I could.

And yes- I like to delete the TB heater and simplify the TB vacuum lines on the m20 cars that come through the stable, and hoped to do the same on this car to clean things up a bit, in m42 fashion, of course. I’ll be doing the mess under intake/injectors/get it running at the same time.

I have been looking at replacement springs for these Vogtlands and am having trouble coming up with a concrete solution. I have new KYBs (not ideal, I know) that Jakeb gave me on the cheap for hoopty, so I have to keep things mild so they don’t destroy the KYBs.

The OE Sports (50404-55) are just a touch too high for my liking, regular H&R Sports (50406) I think will be too stiff, 29664 is made for the early 84-85 318, but those rates are very soft for a lighter car, and then from what I can see, regular 50404s (no -55 or -88) were designed specifically for the late 318i/S with m42, but no one seems to run them, and/or I have heard reports of folks buying 50404s and getting sent OE sports (50404-55). What a conundrum. The 29964 set sounds like the way to go, and with the softer rates may work better with the KYBs.

[mike.bmw]

Yes, the 318i/is springs situation is a bit frustrating. I spent a long time researching this. Eventually I went with the 50404-55s, Bilstein B4s, new mounts and hardware all around, and a 14.5mm E46 rear spring pad. The car sits nice and level, is lower than stock, and handles well. It's a good setup for a car that gets driven frequently. If you want a lot of photos of what this setup looks like on a 318is, check out my thread here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...ite-1991-318is

I'm not actually sure H&R made specific 50404 springs for the 318i/is. I've seen countless posts (forum and FB) of people ordering the 50404s and receiving the 50404-55s. The 29964s may be a good option. I recall reading that OE E30 M3 springs are another option, but I never did much research on that. If you want any specific measurements or details on the 50404-55s, please feel free to reach out.

[AWDBOB]

Yes, the 318i/is springs situation is a bit frustrating. I spent a long time researching this. Eventually I went with the 50404-55s, Bilstein B4s, new mounts and hardware all around, and a 14.5mm E46 rear spring pad. The car sits nice and level, is lower than stock, and handles well. It's a good setup for a car that gets driven frequently. If you want a lot of photos of what this setup looks like on a 318is, check out my thread here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...ite-1991-318is

I'm not actually sure H&R made specific 50404 springs for the 318i/is. I've seen countless posts (forum and FB) of people ordering the 50404s and receiving the 50404-55s. The 29964s may be a good option. I recall reading that OE E30 M3 springs are another option, but I never did much research on that. If you want any specific measurements or details on the 50404-55s, please feel free to reach out.

Your car looks so good on the OE Sports! I am looking for just a touch lower.

I tend to agree with you there- I have not actually seen evidence of the 5404s existing in the flesh, either.

What I did find out about, however, are the 29663 springs, which are supposedly the H&R sports for 4cyl cars. They are not sold here, but are easily obtainable now due to distribution from over the pond.

According to the Euro catalog, 29664 is 6cyl sport (which contrasts the US info), and 29663 is 4cyl sport. The 29663 offers a 35mm drop F/R. I can’t find any photos online or information abort spring rates on them, but I may go for it, because they sound like they may be exactly what I’m looking for.

Edit: Called H&R on lunch and they said that 5404 was the "kit number" but includes 5404-55 springs, but didn't offer the difference between the 5404 "Kit" and the 5404-55 "Kit" (there is none).

They also can't give out the details on the 29663 since it's in a different market, and suggested the "super sport" springs (50404-77) and said that theyre "made for the 318i/iS. I checked out the application guide, and they are yet another generic spring made for "all E30s".

[mjweimer]

Why not OE sports, stock spring pads in the rear and E90 drop hats? This may give you a bit lower look and still allow for some reasonable suspension travel/comfort/damper life.

Another Euro option is the 4 cyl specific Eibach E2003240. I generally prefer Eibach's over H&R's for a daily as their rates seem a bit more friendly.

[AWDBOB]

Why not OE sports, stock spring pads in the rear and E90 drop hats? This may give you a bit lower look and still allow for some reasonable suspension travel/comfort/damper life.

Another Euro option is the 4 cyl specific Eibach E2003240. I generally prefer Eibach's over H&R's for a daily as their rates seem a bit more friendly.

I considered that as well, but couldn’t find any photos of a late 318 with the drop hats with the 5404s. This debacle is why I always end up with Ground Controls.

Once I feel out the suspension portion after I drive it, I may just use the new KYBs on the Vogtland springs since I already have both, and then look for a used set of GCs down the line when the struts go kaboom.

[moatilliatta]

I wonder what make them rust out at the trans tunnel / trans mount. Looks like your front rocker area is clean.

Bummer about some butt damage, But looks like a good daily. Daily's do seem to be disposable and its so hard to keep them perfect..

I've then thinned and rebuild a few of these harness, reach out if you need a hand or reference.

To date the best collection of ETM I know off.

http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm

Not a huge fan of Koni reliability, but man a good set of GC sure do ride better then the standard H&R, bilstein combo, even with cut bump stops.

[AWDBOB]

I wonder what make them rust out at the trans tunnel / trans mount. Looks like your front rocker area is clean.

Bummer about some butt damage, But looks like a good daily. Daily's do seem to be disposable and its so hard to keep them perfect..

I've then thinned and rebuild a few of these harness, reach out if you need a hand or reference.

To date the best collection of ETM I know off.

http://www.wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm

Not a huge fan of Koni reliability, but man a good set of GC sure do ride better then the standard H&R, bilstein combo, even with cut bump stops.

oooooh fantastic ETM link, thank you for that! And yeah, ultimately if the car is too nice I won't let myself enjoy it, so something like this is solid but just rough enough around the edges to enjoy and not care too much. And yeah, most of the car is good rust-wise. I'm not too worried about that trans tunnel rust. I'm just going to clean up and POR whatever is rusty, I will not be making any patches. Most of the time I find it's caused by water sitting behind that aluminum shield on the underbody, the threads not having enough paint/undercoating, and the rust carrying up into the body.

And yes, my other car on GCs rides SO much better than the last car I had H&R/Billys on. Can't do all of this stuff at once, though, so I'm just going to rock what I have until I get to doing the suspension.

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I got the harness fed through the firewall, and started routing the harness. This harness I got has had so many modifications/repairs. Evidence all over of an alarm system that just was just hacked to death. A full day and a roll of Tessa tape later, I got most of the front drivers side harnesses and sub harnesses in place. What a pain this is.

Since this is also my test vehicle, I have to add cruise control, 13 button OBC, and a 4ch radio harness. So all of that has been a blast to retrofit so far. 2/3 of my 4ch radio harnesses were for a vert which has different rear speaker placement. It's been a fun day of chasing wires, to say the least.

I am also converting to premium sound while I am at it. This will be a pimped out 318.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




Stuff like this is ALL over the harness that I have had to fix. Two before:

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr



After:

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[AWDBOB]

Matt@EDC came down to lend me a hand today- it was so helpful having a second set of hands/eyes routing all of this stuff. He's the real MVP.

We got the chassis harness pretty much entirely plugged up, and added cruise control, 13 button OBC (both engine bay and interior harnesses), and a 4ch premium sound radio harness. I am so grateful that I had the rusty '89 iS to pull all of this from.

I did a mini wire reference write up for retrofitting some of these bits in a 318 because the info out there was spotty. https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...F0#post9973021

It looks the same inside, but I am way closer to having this harness done.

Oh, and I found a set of black houndstooth door cards at the warehouse I am going to fit on the 318 for some pizzaz.

Some of the harnesses pulled from the iS, ready to go in the 318.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr


Where we left it today.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr


Door cards!

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[AWDBOB]

I ground down the surface rust spots and applied POR-15. The rear damage wasn't bad once I ground it down- the shop who repaired it didn't coat the metal under the seam sealer, which is why it looked scary. Seems to be a common occurrence. I need to do another coat and seam seal a few areas and she'll be golden.

Also the fragile, plastic horn piece was not present when I got the car. Pulled one off of the parts car and used some rivets to mount it up.

Someday when I feel like putting myself through more misery I will finish the chassis harness. I have had to do so many repairs I got mad at the car for being a huge project and took a break from it.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[Codym42]

Love seeing a diamondschwarz car resurrected! Sina's project thread immediately comes to mind.

The wiring looks like a nightmare but hopefully its all downhill after that.

[mike.bmw]

I thought I saw this for sale on FB. Glad you are continuing onward! Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[AWDBOB]

Love seeing a diamondschwarz car resurrected! Sina's project thread immediately comes to mind.

The wiring looks like a nightmare but hopefully its all downhill after that.

Me too- I have always had a silent love for DS!

The wiring really is beating me up. So many small thing to go through, and the mound doesn’t really get any smaller until the project is completed, sadly. Oh well, comes with the territory!

I thought I saw this for sale on
FB. Glad you are continuing onward! Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

You did- I got so frustrated with how much time the car was taking and tried to dump it, only to get 100 messages with folks asking if they can drive the car home. I took the ad down shortly after.

Trying to stick it out. Doing a bit of a garage rehab tomorrow with Matt@edc to get the workspace a bit more efficient to hopefully turn things over more efficiently.

[mike.bmw]

You did- I got so frustrated with how much time the car was taking and tried to dump it, only to get 100 messages with folks asking if they can drive the car home. I took the ad down shortly after.

Trying to stick it out. Doing a bit of a garage rehab tomorrow with Matt@edc to get the workspace a bit more efficient to hopefully turn things over more efficiently.

People. I thought it was pretty clear from the ad the car wasn't in a drivable state.

Good luck with the garage rehab. Getting mine neat and organized usually provides me a fair amount of motivation. Hope it does the same for you!

[AWDBOB]

People. I thought it was pretty clear from the ad the car wasn't in a drivable state.

Good luck with the garage rehab. Getting mine neat and organized usually provides me a fair amount of motivation. Hope it does the same for you!

Agreed- mine has been in such a bad state of disarray for so long with the warehouse, Linda’s parts, so many “in progress” engines and side projects, etc it’s hard to even walk in there. It’s not productive, at all. I’m hoping a few days of hard work will at least get me to a workable state.

And yeah, I can’t blame them for being optimistic, but I’m glad they pissed me off so I pulled the ad

My xterra, despite being nice and manual trans, is only getting 13-14mpg city/highway, which has given me some extra incentive to get the 318 on the road for the mileage.

I spread myself so thin and barely maintain a delicate balance of sanity (my own fault), so when something tips the scale the wrong way things hit the fan quick. It’s what always causes me to sell stuff/abandon projects once they get out of hand. I really hope things simmer down soon so I get to enjoy some of the work I’ve put into the cars!