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

[AWDBOB]

What did you cover the rust with? Is that POR-15?

Temporarily, farm and implement on the quarter panel, while I waited on my silver "Mastercoat" to arrive.

On rust prone areas lower on the car I use AutoGuard. Much better than Por15 in my experience, as is Mastercoat.

I've been looking for better shells that are all one color and free of poorly repaired body damage, but so far, no luck.

I sold a nice red bare shell, non roller a few months ago that would've been the perfect reshell candidate, but timing was not on my side.

[AWDBOB]

I've been chipping away at the 318i sedan to get it moved along to its next owner. Once I got it running/driving, the power steering rack decided to blow out its seals, so I swapped in a good used rack with new inner/outer tie rods. The cluster I put in also yeeted itself, so I had to put together another one, this time with working odometer gears!

I have done 100s of small things that are hard to remember at this point. Every time I drive the car, there is a new list, so I've just been making lists and checking off boxes.

Today I went on a 45min drive, and outside of feeling a bit floaty, seemed to drive well, held temp, good power, etc. M42 cars are pretty cool and unique- I was surprised.

If all goes according to plan, KI4UJO will be taking over responsibilities from this point, in partial exchange for a slicktop 318Ti Compact that I most definitely don't need.

He's going to button up the transmission issue, fix an oil leak, align the car, and ultimately turn it into his daily driver!

My goal is to have the 318i slicktop sedan, turbo 318iS, s50 early sedan, black 318i sedan (this car below), and an '89 coupe all gone before vintage, and have hooptie's head gasket repaired for the trip.

I can only drive one car at a time- the older I get, the more I crave simplicity.

I'll have more progress to report soon on OG hooptie, but will save that for another day.

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]

It's hard to believe it, but the black car finally left for good, after 2 years of sadness. I got the car to a good enough point that KI4UJO and I felt comfortable making the trade off, both very aware that the projects we were trading each other were very likely going to have further needs before being entered into daily duty.

I called it a catalyst deal, to where we both moved on from something we didn't want to look at anymore, into something we were excited to wrench on!

The car I received (plus some monies) was a 318 compact. It's a rust free, manual, slick top car, and I'd say that's about where the positives end. Jonathan fixed the car up in the past and sold it to a buddy, who daily drove it for a few months, and then it ended back up with Jonathan, right around the time when we were chatting about what it'd look like for him to own the 318 e30 sedan.

When it left, the 318 sedan needed some suspension sorting, some engine oil leak sorting, the transmission pulled to investigate what we both think is a bad dual mass flywheel, and more small stuff that will likely pop up once it's in daily driver duty.

The 318Ti needed what was assumed to be rear subframe bushings (bad clunk under accel/hard shifting), an interior, paint work (hood), a battery, an a/c line, and just a general buttoning up. I took the car for its first drive and noticed a frightening grinding noise at 45+mph. Turned around right away and limped it home, assuming the differential was the culprit.

So as to not have another lingering project, I got right to work.

Dropped the subframe in 30mins, love me a rust free car, and the design change in Ti rear subframe bushings (vs e30) that don't sit up in the chassis, and the ebrake cables that neatly pull out of their tubes.

That is where the fun began.

Immediately upon dropping the subframe, I realized the diff was missing the upper 2 bolts, and the diff bushing was shot (obviously) from trying to hold the diff in place. The diff was ripping itself out of the subframe. Scary stuff.

I then opened up the diff and saw what I figured I would find, which was lots o' metal. I sent Jonathan a pic, and his dad described it as having "self adjusting bearing clearances" based on the 1/1 metal/fluid ratio in the drained fluid.

Thankfully, I have spare e30 subframes for days, and a small case open 4.10 on the shelf that had a good bushing, to boot. Swapped the Ti axle stubs over to the e30 diff, resealed the cover, pressed the new Corteco subframe bushings into the new used subframe, and we're almost in business. Will button it up tomorrow and go for a rip. I really should sell this thing, but it is oddly fun to drive. If I can find an interior without too much trouble, I will keep it. If not, I'll get rid of it.

Only the best oil for my BMW......

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

[mjweimer]

Always liked the E36 compacts. That diff mount is a mess...boggles the mind how 2 diff bolts would end up missing but when one has a selection of spare subframes it becomes a non-issue.

I'm thinking this could become a really fun daily...M52 swaps are so much easier on this platform...

[AWDBOB]

Always liked the E36 compacts. That diff mount is a mess...boggles the mind how 2 diff bolts would end up missing but when one has a selection of spare subframes it becomes a non-issue.

I'm thinking this could become a really fun daily...M52 swaps are so much easier on this platform...

Yes, when I pulled that subframe I was shocked! Thankfully that was the extent of the damage, and with a quick run to das warehouse, a replacement subframe was found.

how dare you wish that evil on me! When I got this thing, my brain went into overhaul/project mode, and I immediately realized that I don't have room for such an endeavor, although it would be rad to rip this thing with an alloy m52 on the daily. I'd love to get all of my stuff gone as planned, and then revisit the 318Ti in a different stage of life when I have less going on. Things immediately unfold if gone beyond the current scope of the project (subframe refresh). I've gotta keep Ti endeavors short and sweet.

There is a same color, auto Ti with super nice interior for a grand in southern IN, that I'm sure is rusty.....the ultimate parts car to this one. In an ambitious weekend, the two cars could be combined to make one, really rad Ti. I just don't have the capacity for it. In fact, if you buy both and combine them, I'll buy it back from you in July

[mjweimer]

Bwahahaha....I knew you'd love that suggestion and I figured it had crossed your mind...I mean why wouldn't it. Think of all the torques. Of course that would be deep rabbit hole and a time suck v. getting all the other cars out into the wild.


If this thing ends up being a fun/engaging car, the interior swap might be worthwhile. If I didn't already have one interior spread out all over the place and one of the other cars patiently waiting on a cooling system refresh...I might have taken you up on that plan.

[AWDBOB]

Bwahahaha....I knew you'd love that suggestion and I figured it had crossed your mind...I mean why wouldn't it. Think of all the torques. Of course that would be deep rabbit hole and a time suck v. getting all the other cars out into the wild.


If this thing ends up being a fun/engaging car, the interior swap might be worthwhile. If I didn't already have one interior spread out all over the place and one of the other cars patiently waiting on a cooling system refresh...I might have taken you up on that plan.

I did the smart thing and moved the Ti onto its next home once I finished sorting the suspension. It was only bound to be a time suck, and ultimately, not a very rewarding one.

I've been working on the S50 car this week to get it buttoned up. Took some of the unnecessarily aggressive suspension bits off of the car in exchange for B8s/H&R Sports (50406), put the stock sways back on, etc. The car was never a track car, and was in that weird "street/track" car spec that does both poorly. So I made it a street car again.

I also added power steering back as well. First test drive was a success, what a difference. Car feels great, but sadly the softer suspension revealed that the poly trailing arm bushings are toast. I can't stand poly bushings...... this will be the 4th subframe I've done in a few months. Hoping this season of life is over sooner than later, lol.

So many small things that I have been buttoning up. The trunk carpeting was all mismatched and a mess, radiator petcock leaked, etc etc.

This uncommon look is growing on me somehow. The front and rear bumpers are early model specific MT2 style, made by "BMP Designs". The car is Polaris Silver, which I really enjoy. The wheels are old TSWs that somehow go with the look of the car.

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

[kronus]

This looks great. Strong 90s vibes with the TSWs and BMP.

I've been working on the S50 car this week to get it buttoned up. Took some of the unnecessarily aggressive suspension bits off of the car in exchange for B8s/H&R Sports (50406), put the stock sways back on, etc. The car was never a track car, and was in that weird "street/track" car spec that does both poorly. So I made it a street car again.

I've also been having the repeated experience of de-building "track-prepared" cars and enjoying them more. Maybe we all weren't so smart back then..

[AWDBOB]

This looks great. Strong 90s vibes with the TSWs and BMP.

Yup, something of this aesthetic would've been the poster car of the time period!

I've also been having the repeated experience of de-building "track-prepared" cars and enjoying them more. Maybe we all weren't so smart back then..

It's weird being an adult and realizing how much of what we modified wasn't actually doing anything positive for the driving experience. I never in my life thought about the difference between a race and street camber plate until I was 30+. Turns out, makes a difference, who knew lol

[AWDBOB]

been busy in hoopty land!

In an effort to button up the S50 car, I installed rubber trailing arm bushings to replace the sad poly that was in there. Subframe bushings were quality and showed no wear, so they stayed.

The 3.25 diff that was in the car leaked from every orifice, and I had a nice n' tight '93K mile 3.25 on das shelf that I threw in with an AKG bushing that matched the subframe bushing hardness with some fresh 75/140. Been using 75/140 on the last few diffs, after a chat with dr. Zakspeed about how it seems to work better on 30 year old used diffs. I concur and have had better luck with it over the traditional 75/90.

She'll be up for sale in Indy soon to cap off my "year of the sell"

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



Turbo 318iS went to a new home- a buddy had been looking for a rust free chassis for ages, and I just passed along the deal that I got on this thing to him, to move stuff along in the year of the sell.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr



Which brings me to the steamy pile of garbage he blessed me with in return.... a rusty '90 auto coupe that has been more or less fully refreshed in the drivetrain/suspension sector.

LCA, steering rack, IE springs, konis, head rebuilt by the famed Turn In Concepts in Cincinnati, long tubes with a full custom exhaust. He tore the car down for paint after doing the work and found a bunch of rust. So now it's my responsibility to make it go away. The goal is for this to leave in one piece, as it runs/drives/stops/steers super well. Would be a killer drift car with a manual, but that's an avenue for someone else to explore.

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




And then a cool local guy from Indy who used to make M42 coil on plug plates waaaay back in the day wanted me to come free up the driveway spot that had been taken up by his uber rusty 318iS for a while. He sent me this shot of the Cavallino in the car and I couldn't say no.

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



Meanwhile, I had been trying to sell the slicktop 318 4dr without much/any luck for $3500, which I thought was cheap. The car needed suspension/brake work but it wasn't bad. I needed the space, so I posted a "someone please save this car before I part it" ad on R3V FB and a cool dude from FL promptly picked it up, so I didn't have to cut the roof off on live stream after all.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr





I have been saving a superETA motor for my keeper hoopty, and finally yanked it out of the car that it was in and popped the valve cover off to find everything one hopes and dreams of. New HD rockers, new cam, ARP studs, etc. It had been sitting, so I pulled the head off to inspect the bores and it was all perfect.

So in the coming weeks I will be throwing this back together with an OE dealer head gasket and hoopty will be back on the road! I'm going to leave the mess that is the current quarter panel situation for now, but hopefully next winter I'll have Tim @ClassicDaily stitch a quarter on it for me.

I bought a garagistic X brace for the car, and had F&R strut bars on the shelf I've been saving for hoopty to stiffen up all of the salvage flexing it likes to do. I also talked to my buddy who is a great fabricator, and we discussed adding a bar on the floor in front of the rear seat, tying the b pillars and floor together to help the chassis out. Once he gets time, that will get done.

Last piece of the hoopty suspension puzzle needed are camber plates to replace these GC race plates. I need some street camber plates, ordered them from IE and they said they're having issues making them so they couldn't fulfill the order. I'm not spending $500 on ground control units, so if you're reading this and have some used touring/street camber plates, hit me up.

Also, once S50 car sells, after a long long way, it's finally M3 time! That's all for now, folks.

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

[QuiqueUy]

what a great update haha ! a lot of selling cars and what i assume are good decisions.

Hope you get that m3 soon and happy the head was a nice score !

[AWDBOB]

what a great update haha ! a lot of selling cars and what i assume are good decisions.

Hope you get that m3 soon and happy the head was a nice score !

thanks man! it feels soooooo good to liquidate. I acquired so much over covid and then didn't have the time to do any of the stuff I wanted to. Now, realizing my capacity and honing in on exactly what I want/need to do is a very good step forward.

------------

Progress

Now that the three 318s are gone I could bring hoopty in for vintage prep.

If you remember from before, hoopty has had a blown head gasket since I got the car, but I put over 5k miles on this thing and it ran better than any other m20 i've had, with a HG leak. long live the m20.

I yanked the engine/trans, as I built a 9.4:1 compression 2.7L stroker M20 for the car that I'm going to swap in before the vintage. I'll be running a 272 cam with this setup, along with ClassicDaily's new standalone, which will be announced tomorrow!!

The engine consists of:

-virgin late model m20b25 block/pistons, new Goetze rings
-block shaved down 2mm
-81mm 2.7 325e crank
-130mm 2.7 325e rods
-new rod bearings/bolts
-rebuilt oil pump, etc etc
-rebuilt 885 head w 272 cam

I'm going to go up to jakes and throw it on his dyno with stock ecu, and then convert it to standalone and dyno again. I'm just running a stock exhaust, as I spent a ton of exhaust work on Linda and I'm not convinced it made a difference to justify the cost.

This car is seriously a piece of shit. I am likely going to have a quarter put on it over winter, but will enjoy it until then.

Oh, and I bought everything to go sanden r134 from LC Wylie, so I'll be doing that while the motor is out.

Hoopty did 5k miles with a broken head bolt, and another head bolt that was finger tight!!!! Still can't believe it

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]

What a wild couple months. Turbo 318iS is gone, both 318 sedans gone, and S50 sedan is gone! And i sold my 02 that I never even took possession of lol

Which finally means that it's time for vintage prep on hoopty.

I have a really long list to do in a couple weeks.

I'm doing a full Sanden R134 conversion on this car, and got a valence painted by a local blind painter who still charges too much, so figured it was time to put in a good aux fan, parallel flow condenser, r134 drier, single pressure switch, custom line for compressor, and new green orings on the line from the drier to the condenser.

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





2.7L in question:
-325e 81mm crank
-325e 130mm rods
-late model 325i pistons
-deck shaved 2mm
-makes a 9.4:1 comp 2.7L M20 with the right pistons to match up with the 885 head

Head in question:
-pulled off a car at the warehouse which got parted midway through being built
-New HD rockers
-New unknown cam
-ARP studs
-machine work looks good, and the valve job looks good, so we're gonna clean up and install with a Genuine dealer head gasket, hoping the cam isn't a 304

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



Aaaannnd where you see the ARP lube on the valve cover is where the studs are hitting the valve cover. Studs are the older versions that are too long. Don't really know what to do about it at this point. I may have to drill out the baffle and make room for them.

I pulled the s2.93 tonight, as turbo plans are on hold as i get the car sorted and enjoy it for a while.

I prepped an s3.46 clutch type I had from an e28 and will throw that in tomorrow.

Loooootttssss of work ahead, but will be doing my best to get it done, now that all of the other projects are gone.

[kronus]

I ran into that problem with the ARP studs and ended up hammering divots into the baffle. you can also double up VCGs for a bit of extra room, but jury's out on whether that's more or less jank.

congrats on freeing yourself of a lot of simultaneous projects!

[AWDBOB]

I ran into that problem with the ARP studs and ended up hammering divots into the baffle. you can also double up VCGs for a bit of extra room, but jury's out on whether that's more or less jank.

congrats on freeing yourself of a lot of simultaneous projects!

I think I may end up having to machine a valve cover for this setup- the block was decked 2mm, in addition to the "tall boy" ARPs of old I'm in need of 4-5mm of clearance.

Maybe I'll just run no valve cover. A shirtless m20

And thanks man. Apparently it takes owning 20 e30s to realize you only need 2. I haven't even been on FB marketplace looking since! (lies)