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

[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]

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]

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]

Took a half day at work and got the harness fully removed and cleaned tidied up a bit.

Things to note:

-Chassis harness OUT and mapped out
-Drivers rear impact of some sort repaired in the past. I need to grind, coat, and re seam seal. Repair looks well done.
-Random spot of rust on the passenger floor pan I missed. Grind and seam seal is the solution.
-License plate lights free of rust

I have a squid chip/19# injectors coming, along with some really cool oil additive he has been working on, called Squid Ink. He has a pretty cool Wiki page with a ton of details about oil analysis. Check it out: https://oil.sssquid.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

I'm about ready to place my first order for parts. Mostly cheap housekeeping stuff, thankfully.

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

[AWDBOB]

woah, what's with all the z3 steering racks? the same person with the dash was hoarding these?

(car looks nice, seems like a good project..)

Nope- it was another result of the Zionsville connection. He isn’t going to be doing his steering rack conversions after they downsize, so I was able to buy what he had in stock. There are two Z3M/E36M racks in there (Progressive, 3.2T l2l), so only 5 are the 031/611 linear 2.7T l2l pieces.

And thanks! I got busy the rest of the weekend, but *hope* to have this chassis harness completed by the end of next weekend.

[ethirtydavid]

woah, what's with all the z3 steering racks? the same person with the dash was hoarding these?

(car looks nice, seems like a good project..)

[AWDBOB]

Seriously that is a score...but be careful a powdercoated subframe is the gateway to more shiny parts...ha ha....

I thought the same thing as I loaded it up and started thinking about powdercoating spare trailing arms and thinking about what medium case diff i'd swap into it and quickly shut that down

My initial justification was trade value. I'm trying to turn my paperclip into a house.

I scored a minty black vinyl sport seat bottom and partial upper today on FB for $50 that'll go well with my other spare ratty black vinyl sport seat and free black vinyl rear seat. Trying to keep things efficient while taking advantage of deals when they arise.

[mjweimer]

Seriously that is a score...but be careful a powdercoated subframe is the gateway to more shiny parts...ha ha....

[AWDBOB]

The floors seem to be in really good shape, congrats on the purchase. Swapping out a chassis harness and/or an engine is a small price to pay for a decent chassis IMHO.
As a fellow beater e30 enthusiast, hope you have it road worthy and no time so you can enjoy many many miles with it.

Thank you- I am was thrilled to see what it looked like under the carpet! It's certainly motivating to know you're not working on a turd.

Hot damn - that is a solid chassis. Totally worth the wiring repair to get a build platform this clean. I need to come up and have a look at this thing sometime soon.

Completely agreed- the car was definitely a blessing. Once the harness is behind me, I think it's going to be all smiles. You should come up soon, I need help

We could also do a linda test drive

That looks solid, looks like you finally have a winner! If you find a different dash will you set that one aside for me? As a part of my project I'm going to experiment with recovering the dash and it may take me a few attempts to get something decent.

I think I do, too! And that dash is yours- I need the vents out of it for the new unit, but the rest of it is free to you.


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I didn't get any wrenching in today because I went on a parts hunt in Indy, and per usual came back with way more shite than needed.

The good is that I got a great deal on a minty dash that someone pulled out of a car they wrecked years ago and hid in their father's garage, until today!

I also ended up with Z3 racks for days, a powdercoated subframe, a '90 318 chassis harness, and a ton of other goodies.

The new dash is non-airbag, so if you're reading this and have a half decent non-airbag under dash panel, I'd love to buy it from you.

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

[CompleteCustoms]

That looks solid, looks like you finally have a winner! If you find a different dash will you set that one aside for me? As a part of my project I'm going to experiment with recovering the dash and it may take me a few attempts to get something decent.

[mjweimer]

Hot damn - that is a solid chassis. Totally worth the wiring repair to get a build platform this clean. I need to come up and have a look at this thing sometime soon.

[gnmzl]

The floors seem to be in really good shape, congrats on the purchase. Swapping out a chassis harness and/or an engine is a small price to pay for a decent chassis IMHO.
As a fellow beater e30 enthusiast, hope you have it road worthy and no time so you can enjoy many many miles with it.

[AWDBOB]

Oh yeah! M42 goodness! I like where this is going...

Is it a slicktop sedan to boot? Hard to tell from the photos.

My car came with Stagg suspension, which I believe uses Vogtland springs. I can confirm that these E30 springs are way too soft, and pretty low as well. Switching over to H&R OE sport springs, Bilsteins, and adding a slightly thicker rear spring pad to level the ride height (compensates for the M42 engine being lighter than the M20) makes a world of difference.

Sub'd!

Sadly, she's not a slicktop, but this will be my first M42 car and so far I am quite pleased! It seems like it has bits all over that are lighter- I am excited to explore the weight/balance/dynamic aspect of an M42 car!

In the name of one thing at a time, the goal is to get the chassis harness done, get it running, and then afterwards assess other areas like suspension/brakes/etc. I will look into the OE sports!

SWEET FIND. Sucks about the harness though. Hopefully no rust bs to uncover.

Thanks!! Yeah the harness is a huge bummer. A chassis harness is a pretty cumbersome and large job, so my goal is to nip it in the bud ASAP so I can put it behind me.

Very nice.

Thanks- my first DS car as well, and the color in person is quite appealing.

Trans tunnel to floor rust?

Pull carpet asap?

Did they remove the harness or just cut it?

They cut the harness behind the fuse box like a ham fisted ape. It's pic #7 in the OP.

No trans tunnel or floor rust!!



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I wanted to get this chassis harness project completed as to not let it simmer, so tonight I pulled the dash, carpet, interior trims, etc etc to assess the rust and start the chassis harness removal. I'm picking up another '91 318 chassis harness tomorrow on lunch, and am going to get back at it to see if I can't get this finished up tomorrow.

I am, however, looking for a better dash to put back in the car, as this current one has seen better days.

Oh, and LOOK AT THESE FLOORS!! I certainly feel blessed to have found this car, despite the circumstances with the harness.

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





Starting to get a picture of why the harness was cut. This fusible link repair is scary. Oh, and I found the ultimate duo: a grinder under the seat paired with the clear eyes in the front ash tray.

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




A little bit of surface rust around the accelerator pedal bracket, but outside of that these floors are in incredible shape. I am quite pleased.

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





More to come over the weekend when I get this new chassis harness in the car!

[moatilliatta]

Trans tunnel to floor rust?

Pull carpet asap?

Did they remove the harness or just cut it?

[roguetoaster]

Very nice.