Long Time Dream Fulfillment: E30 Street and Track Car Combo

[moatilliatta]

Hmm, wonder why the Koni's are Red. Did they switch from Yellow?

[AWDBOB]

This build is motivation as I finish up my hoopty! Coilover delivery day is a great day. I've always ran the race plates because that is what I had on hand- I've always wanted to try the Sports that you have there.

[nando]

to keep the vacuum in the booster? That is an extremely elaborate way to accomplish this, especially on the IX setup. I have an elbow, to a two way double check valve, to an "air pump" (described on realoem) Y lookin' thing that also connects to the intake boot, to two hoses that go individually into the throttle body. All of that to hold vacuum in the booster, dafuq?

I can basically eliminate all that fluff with a single elbow check valve for $12? Did you simplify this area on your IX Nando?

The stock configuration works fine, I don't have any reason to mess with it. I guess if you were missing parts or building from scratch (as in this case), it could be worth the effort, but otherwise - meh.

[CubbyChowder]

haha wow that sounds like a nightmare. Yeah honestly I couldn't tell you the reasoning behind why they designed things the way that they did, I just know that it is possible to simplify it so that's what I did. Here's what that setup looks like currently, I dig it:



Today I had the sudden motivation to address my pop out window situation. They had some horrible dark purple tint on them:



Also the seals were absolutely obliterated. I think this car sat for years in the hot sun with the pop outs open or something because this is what the seals looked like:






It seems someone even squirted some white exterior window caulking in there as well as some other sealants/adhesives. It was a mess. So I got some new seals on order a few weeks ago and they showed up recently:



A little before and after of the tint removal:




Then I pressed in the new seals which was definitely a pain in the ass. Initially they seemed like they were too long but I learned that they need some serious finessing to set in. I understand that it is to account for future shrinkage factor (zing) but I'm not totally jazzed on the fitment as there is some subtle waviness to them now (which might not show in pictures) because of the overcompensated length of the seal so it looks slightly shitty in my opinion, but I digress. They are done:




And with that I have two beautiful, freshly resealed un-tinted pop outs. These windows are rad, can't wait to pop them open when I'm cruising around town:





Then my coilovers showed up! It was exciting. I've had about 7 or 8 anticipated coilover delivery moments in my life thus far and the sensation doesn't fade, there's just something about it. But that actually goes for most car related package deliveries really:




So next week should provide some massive progress on this car with the majority of parts being in my possession now. That's it for tonight.

[jeenyus]

It's to keep the vacuum inside the booster. Presumably in 1987 or whenever this was designed, they couldn't integrate the check valve in that elbow fitting, or they hadn't thought of it yet.

to keep the vacuum in the booster? That is an extremely elaborate way to accomplish this, especially on the IX setup. I have an elbow, to a two way double check valve, to an "air pump" (described on realoem) Y lookin' thing that also connects to the intake boot, to two hoses that go individually into the throttle body. All of that to hold vacuum in the booster, dafuq?

I can basically eliminate all that fluff with a single elbow check valve for $12? Did you simplify this area on your IX Nando?

[nando]

It's to keep the vacuum inside the booster. Presumably in 1987 or whenever this was designed, they couldn't integrate the check valve in that elbow fitting, or they hadn't thought of it yet.

[jeenyus]

i like how you simplified the brake booster vacuum hose. that area is unsightly with how complicated it is. The funny thing is that my RPM will rise if i pump the brakes and it's so annoying. I have standalone so i can check to see if my MAP is changing with the pumping of the brakes, but nope, it's not. just the RPM.

That being said, i don't completely understand the purpose of the massive amount of hoses and check valves and I have no idea why there is even one leading off the intake elbow. Do you have more information on this? Why are is this setup the way it is? more pictures of your setup so i can possibly emulate it?

[nando]

yeah, I'm pretty sure that bar is cracked in the same position. it's been like that for years, lol.

[CubbyChowder]

Northern - yeah with them being made from insanely thin sheet metal, stuff just tears easily over time. My last set of sport seats also had the bolster section torn. I think people naturally just sit straight on the bolster as they enter/exit the car which would make sense why it eventually tears.

nando - if your knee bolster is sagging I would guess that your frame is ripped in the same way mine was. It's actually a pretty easy repair once you have it all apart, it's the disassembly that is time consuming. Sounds like you have a reupholstery and frame repair project in your future

[nando]

Nice build. I've wanted to repair my sport seats for ages - they're not that bad, but the bolster is still a little sad and the leather has been shit as long as I've owned the car.

[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.

[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.

[Albie325]

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

[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]

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