Long Time Dream Fulfillment: E30 Street and Track Car Combo

[CubbyChowder]

Thanks benwalsh91!

Got the axles finished up today:



Really happy with how they turned out. Wow, what a messy process though, glad that's behind me! Pretty satisfying before and after. I love rebuilding/restoring things:



Decided to give the eBay door seals from Turkey a try, only $89 for the pair right now. They showed up super quick. Both of my door seals are totally trashed and shrunken and I was astonished when I saw the genuine BMW price on these seals, makes me feel a bit better about spending ~$500 for new door seals for my 2002 last year though...



From what I've seen, people have good results with these eBay seals with the only gripe seeming to be the appearance of the corner piece. I agree, it's not the prettiest thing but I can absolutely live with it:



Besides that, I'm learning that people are having decent results from a generic seal on Amazon which comes out to ~$60 for a pair if you're really ballin on a budget, you just have to create the mitered corner yourself so it's a bit more effort to fit. I thought about going that route but I'm happy I just went with the eBay seals, I got plenty of other stuff keeping me busy on this build.

Might have the engine and trans in the car tomorrow! My dad is coming down in the morning and we will work on the car all day and see how far we get.

Then on Saturday I am taking my buddy's E30 sedan to a local autocross event. Normally we go together and run in opposite groups but he can't make it this weekend so I'll be out there solo in his shitbox. I've done a lot of suspension/drivetrain/maintenance work on this car in exchange for the occasional session of relentlessly beating on the car. I think he got the better end of the deal but he's a good friend and that car is what inspired this new E30 build for me so it worked out in the end:

[CubbyChowder]

Back with another update, I'm on a roll right now, momentum is strong and motivation is high. Wish it was always like this.

While my dad was on his way down to my shop this morning I got all my flywheel and clutch parts in order, made sure I wasn't missing anything that would throw the day off:



Pilot bearing in, flywheel torqued:



Clutch kit installed:



Bolted up the trans, added new clutch slave cylinder and right after taking this pic installed the starter. Ready to install in the car!:



Dad and I were in the groove and I was all juiced on getting the engine in the car and then the sad reality of my firewall insulation was relentlessly glaring at me and I decided I just couldn't let myself install this beautiful engine with the insulation being completely obliterated. It was an annoying setback but this was the time to do it. So we ripped that shit out:



Then got the nice, solid piece pulled out of the parts car:



Both brake booster/MC setups had to come out and I pulled the clutch MC as well to perform this swap. Definitely worth it in the end.

A quick hydration break before the final install. Love this dude, such a character:



Engine is in!




There is still SO much to do before this thing is running and driving but today was a huge milestone. Thanks for looking

[Albie325]

Looking good brother! Tons of great progress. Here's to hoping the motivation stays strong, love seeing the updates.

[CubbyChowder]

Albie325 Thanks dude! Glad you're enjoying the thread.

Had a really fun day out at the Autocross event yesterday. It's a Corvette club that throws the event but there is a huge variety of cars and people and everyone is cool and easy going. 60 cars total and a fun course this time. My buddy Jimmy was there in his S50 swapped coupe and we were in the same run group so we were able to sit passenger in each other's cars during the runs which made it more exciting and gives you double the time out on track essentially. We switched cars for one run which was awesome too. Autocross is great and I will absolutely continue to do it but it's definitely hard to realize that you get like 8 minutes of seat time in a long 9 hour day of being out there. Makes me look forward to my first track day even more. This is the only photo I took all day:



That Tesla was basically the fastest car out there yesterday (his best time was 63.4 seconds whereas mine was 71.6!). I got to sit passenger for one of his runs and I was giggling the entire time. It was wild.

Didn't get too much done on the E30 today but I managed to install the shifter setup as well as a new rubber boot:

[CubbyChowder]

Knocking out a bunch of little odds and ends. Yesterday I started off by installing a new rubber buffer for the transmission:



Then got that installed along with the inspection plate (bowl reinforcement?) piece. Whatever these things are called:



Then got a new CSB pressed onto the driveshaft:



I was pleasantly surprised to find that the convertible parts car had a new looking brake booster and master cylinder, so I got those cleaned up and ready to go into the car:



Take note of the elbow fitting in the booster. I wanted to see if I could further simplify the vacuum boost setup (already modified the TB which you'll see in a minute) so I found an elbow fitting with a built in check valve from an E46 and took a chance on it and it ended up working perfectly! Maybe this has already been figured out but it was news to me. Part number 34331161300 for anyone interested. Here it is compared to the stock elbow fitting:



So now I can just run a single hose from the booster to the TB without an inline check valve (or that unsightly 3-way check valve setup found on late model cars). Just clean and simple. Here's the modified throttle body side after I tapped both ports, plugged one and installed a barb on the other:



Since I originally prepped this M20 for my 2002 project, I took the time to delete the cruise control tabs on the throttle body and cable bracket (this was like 2 years ago now) because minimalism. With it in the E30 now, I decided to just delete the cruise control altogether so I pulled all that out. Cleans up the engine bay a bit too. Last night as I was laying in bed it dawned on me that I had a brand new accelerator cable stashed away so I woke up all excited and installed that first thing haha. Really liking how this whole zone is coming together:



Then I started getting the M20B25 engine harness installed and got it mostly routed and connected everywhere as well as the coolant hoses under the intake into the heater core (forgot to take pics). Reached a good stopping point there and then started assessing my fuel tank situation. Late model on top from parts vert, early model out of my car on bottom after some pressure washing:



This is one area where I really could've just let it be and not create an extra project for myself but at some point I got it in my head that I wanted the full late model fuel system because bigger capacity, single pump and I prefer the fuel filter location as opposed to being next to the charcoal canister. I figured out the wiring situation with the dual level sender setup and also extended the wiring to power the pump. The tank took a little bit of modification and finagling to fit but I finally got it in there after a few attempts. Forgot to take pics of this as well but I'm glad that's checked off the list! Still need to swap the fuel gauge in my cluster in the coming days. Will also be nice to know that every rubber fuel line in the car is brand new.

In other exciting news, I registered for two track days at Buttonwillow the other night! One on June 27th and the other on July 25th so I have a little over two months to get this thing ready. I cannot wait to finally drive on the track, I've been dreaming about it for years!

Thanks for reading along

[808ETA]

More progress was made this past week. Parts rolled in and I was able to assemble the engine further. Got the cam seal and o-ring replaced so on went the timing belt, timing covers, pulleys, etc. Once all that was on, I checked the valve clearance and only had to make very minor adjustments to a few. Then cap/rotor and spark plugs and wires went on followed by the intake with rebuilt M50 injectors and t-stat housing with all new sensors and what not. So that's exciting seeing that come together:

...

Is this a worthwhile upgrade? Or should I just buy some new modern speaker equivalents and sell these off? The wiring bunch in the driver's side speaker zone definitely does not want to accept the new premium speaker.

Anyways, that's it for now. My shop is currently BMW mayhem and there are car parts scattered everywhere and so many labeled ziploc bags all over the place and tools in every corner it feels like madness but it's also all part of the master plan so it feels calculated and under control. Until next time, will post again soon. Stay tuned.

Awesome thread! Your powder coated parts got me all tingly. I bought a 7K tach on eBay for my 84 ETA which will get a 731 head and Motronic 1.3 upgrade hopefully soon. I believe to just have to make sure you get a VDO since it looks like that's which cluster you have. Which tach does your parts car have?

[CubbyChowder]

Awesome thread! Your powder coated parts got me all tingly. I bought a 7K tach on eBay for my 84 ETA which will get a 731 head and Motronic 1.3 upgrade hopefully soon. I believe to just have to make sure you get a VDO since it looks like that's which cluster you have. Which tach does your parts car have?

Thanks!

Both clusters are Motometer. I've researched this subject for a bit but got kind of annoyed as all the info varies, some say just to swap the 7k tach, others say it won't be accurate because of the coding plugs, others say early/late model cluster components aren't interchangeable at all, others say they are, etc. Every time I think I've found my answer, I read something that contradicts it.

So can I really just take the 7k tach from the late model Motometer cluster and install it in my early model motometer cluster and have it read accurately? Or do I need to mess with coding plugs? I really want to keep my original early cluster because it's the only one that doesn't have broken tabs or cracked plastic, plus I found out it has a new SI battery board.

[AWDBOB]

IMO best way to do it is to take your early fuel/speedo gauges and swap them into the late cluster.

The only early model (rear coding plug) that came with a 7k tach was a 4cylinder car, so tach won’t be right if you use the early cluster w 7k tach in a 6cyl car.

With your skill set, you’re more than capable of throwing SI batteries into the late board, and as long as someone hasn’t “long screwed” it or batteries haven’t leaked it’ll likely be fine.

[808ETA]

Thanks!

Both clusters are Motometer. I've researched this subject for a bit but got kind of annoyed as all the info varies, some say just to swap the 7k tach, others say it won't be accurate because of the coding plugs, others say early/late model cluster components aren't interchangeable at all, others say they are, etc. Every time I think I've found my answer, I read something that contradicts it.

So can I really just take the 7k tach from the late model Motometer cluster and install it in my early model motometer cluster and have it read accurately? Or do I need to mess with coding plugs? I really want to keep my original early cluster because it's the only one that doesn't have broken tabs or cracked plastic, plus I found out it has a new SI battery board.

I'm not an expert on the subject. I found the info somewhere a while back and bought a VDO tach to match my VDO cluster. I 'm still waiting for my head so all of the parts are collecting dust and I never tried it out.

On a side note Forever Black will make your orange window trim look new again!

[CubbyChowder]

Thanks guys, your comments helped me figure it out. I've had these clusters apart and swapped parts like 4 separate times now haha but I think I got it figured out now and have my final cluster assembled, ready to go back into the car and hope that it all works. Time will tell.

Today was slow moving and not very glamorous but I got a few more minor tasks done, got the new relocated fuel filter mounted and everything plumbed in with new 7.5mm fuel line and clamps. Took a bit of bending and readjusting of the early model hard lines to make it work properly but got there in the end:



Then I moved to the engine bay and moved some wiring around and built a new mount for the late model coolant reservoir (taking inspiration from the mount from the parts vert) and took some measurements, cut, bent a piece of flat strap steel up and then welded it into place. Then figured out a mounting solution for the plastic snap-in fitting on the other end. Low and behold, just like factory, but in my own style:



Reservoir fit up perfectly except it's hideous, so that will need to be addressed soon:



That's it for today. I'm kind of at a stand still waiting for parts to roll in before I can really make big steps here but still feels good to knock out some of the little bits, it all adds up.

Thanks for reading along, more to come soon.

[Albie325]

Hmm, I've never seen this part before but now I want one lol. Have a part number? I'll have to look on realoem as well

[CubbyChowder]

Hmm, I've never seen this part before but now I want one lol. Have a part number? I'll have to look on realoem as well

All I bought was the rubber bushing itself (part number 11811132527), the metal piece I pulled off the parts car M20. I've seen quite a few of these on M20 cars but the rubber part is always missing. From what I've read, it's to prevent the engine from shifting forward under heavy braking so that the fan clutch doesn't hit the radiator (is this true?). Who knows how effective it actually is but the bushing is like $2 so I figured why not.

[Albie325]

Sweet! Should at least be able to type it in and get to the right diagram, thanks

[CubbyChowder]

Progress report: she runs! This update will be pretty scattered

From where I left off with my last update, I was starting to get close to test firing the engine. I was still missing some odds and ends to get it all buttoned up for good but wanted to get it together enough to see if it would at least fire up. That way I could make sure my wiring was correct and that the fuel system swap was working properly.

I made up some new cables, the shorter being the oil pan to chassis ground cable and the longer being the alternator to starter cable. These were fun to make, was my first time. Got them installed:



Then my new clutch master cylinder showed up so I got that installed as well as the new braided steel clutch line. You can see the new MC poking out of the firewall. I replaced that grommet as well:



With that in place, I could then install the brake booster and connect the vacuum line to the TB, get the charcoal canister in and run new fuel lines up to the fuel rail. NOW the engine was ready to test fire even though it was still open manifolds and no cooling setup whatsoever. Thankfully It fired right up and I have a really wholesome video of my dad who was filming the whole thing, being excited and having a proud Dad moment haha it's awesome. I only ran it for like 5 seconds but I'm stoked that it at least runs.

After that, I pulled out the remanufactured E46 purple tag steering rack:



Got that installed with the spacer hardware and modified steering coupler. Then fit the reservoir and re-bent the lines until everything fit up nicely. That was time consuming and laborious but absolutely worth it.

Then I figured I'd shift gears and start putting as much of the cooling stuff together as I can even though I'm still waiting on a new late model expansion tank to show up. This is where regrets were had. Sometimes I'm a cheapass and rely on good reviews to reinforce my cheapass decisions and almost always regret it in the end. Weeks ago I ordered a cheap eBay silicone cooling hose kit after "hearing good things" and thought I was a badass for getting a whole kit for like $63. Well after getting it mostly together having to trim hoses here and there because they were too long, the last two hoses didn't fit at all. The T-stat housing to water pump hose technically did fit but was short and SUPER tight, I didn't like it at all so I decided not to use it. The upper radiator hose wasn't even close to fitting though, it was impossible. Several inches too short. I don't know how these things sell and get good reviews... I'm a sucker for sure:




So I will have a mismatched cooling hose setup which kinda kills me on the inside but also, fuck it. The eBay hoses that did fit feel really solid so they will stay. Onward and upward.

Here's how the engine bay sits as of now. Soo close!



With the engine progress now halted as I wait for parts to arrive, I was excited because I knew my Revshift bushings would FINALLY show up today after nearly 7 weeks of waiting. These are the last piece of the puzzle for the rear subframe to go back in the car which kicks off a whole new sequence of exciting parts installs and gets me that much closer to driving. It showed up around noon and I was jazzed, been long anticipating this one:



Exceptttt, they sent me the wrong parts. I was pretty frustrated to discover this as this whole transaction has been kind of a nightmare but I know they're going through a lot right now so I'm trying to be gracious, but HOW DARE THEY inconvenience ME when I'm feeling impatient (boo hoo). New parts are supposedly on the way? I know I'll be happy with them in the end.

Since spirits were high I figured I would shift my focus elsewhere and address my sport seat dilemma. My driver seat was seriously all kinds of fucked up. It was twisted and warped in every which way, none of the knobs or levers worked and it was in perpetual recline mode where the seat back would not lock into any position. Truly a hot mess. I had already decided it was destined for the dumpster but I figured I'd disassemble it real quick first just to make sure.

Upon disassembly, the carnage became even more apparent. The seat frame was broken clean and literally split in half:



The bolster frame was bent and broken:



Not pictured were the seat back mounts, where it bolts to the hinge assembly that the seat shocks are mounted to. Both broken off completely, the seat back was just floating and the cables to pop the seat forward were mangled haha this seat was so messed up! I don't know how it got this bad and I was so close to tossing it in the dumpster like 4 separate times today. But I figured I'm already this far, might as well just try to fix it, I don't really have an alternative right now.

So I got the bolster frame fixed up and reinforced:



I forgot to take a picture of the finished repair but I massaged the split frame back into place, re-welded it and then added some reinforcement so that it doesn't break again.

Then re-welded both seat back mounts:



The foam was suffering in places too. Performed a quick and dirty repair:



I reattached all the upholstered bits and upon reassembly I greased/lubricated everything heavily. Lo and behold I have two fully functioning sport seats that are in somewhat presentable condition. I then cleaned and used a vinyl conditioner product to try to soften up the brittle vinyl a bit:



This will totally do for now. I tested the driver seat in the car and it feels great and everything works as it should. I do plan on upgrading the seats down the road at some point, wether it be just reupholster the fronts or switch to a new seat altogether. This at least allows me to drive the car because before there was no way in hell that was possible. So that feels like a big win for today.

ALSO, I got an email this evening informing me that my Ground Control coilover setup finally shipped! It'll be here in two days!! That was a great topper to the day, this thing is going to come together soon and I am honestly so excited about it. It has been a ton of work and effort but I've really enjoyed this project so far.

[Northern]

I was talking with someone else about sport seat frames being crap only 10 minutes ago, funny to see you documenting exactly the same issues.

I also had the pivot point for the reclining mechanism rip off the frame, but haven't had the bolster support tear off.