Project Lessmeister: 91 318iS Restomod w/ MTech2 and modern drivetrain

[bmwman91]

Jordan, what do you think of the difference in dash material from the original to the new style? Does it look pretty close? Thanks!

+1

I am OK with dropping $800 on a truly new E30 dash, if it has the proper texture. Random comments on here seem to indicate that it has a different grain that is a lot more like the E46 dash. Granted, it will still look a hell of a lot better than a cracked and warped original lol.

[mr2peak]

The new dashes are a rubberized material, really nice. They make a matching center console as well for consistency.

[E30 Wagen]

Does the texture on the new glovebox match the texture of the new dash? I ask because the material/texture of my new dash and e-brake console seem to have the updated material, but my new shifter console and knee-panel (non airbag) look like the old texture and doesn't even come close to matching the new stuff. I like the new material a lot better and don't want to buy a new glovebox if it's still made from the old material. I think i'm going to have to go aftermarket and have a raw shifter console recovered in a material that matches the new e-brake and dash.

Comparison of new e-brake console and shifter console texture, both purchased new last year:

[george graves]

I'm sure the flash is exaggerating the difference a bit - but still, I'd be kinda pissed.

[Rouvld]

Does the texture on the new glovebox match the texture of the new dash? I ask because the material/texture of my new dash and e-brake console seem to have the updated material, but my new shifter console and knee-panel (non airbag) look like the old texture and doesn't even come close to matching the new stuff. I like the new material a lot better and don't want to buy a new glovebox if it's still made from the old material. I think i'm going to have to go aftermarket and have a raw shifter console recovered in a material that matches the new e-brake and dash.

Comparison of new e-brake console and shifter console texture, both purchased new last year:

Hmmmmmm that very interesting? I'll upload my comparison tomorrow.

[dude8383]

Those euro/blocked clips that BMW wouldn't ship to the US just arrived :-)

How did you get your hands on blocked parts?! Pretty impressive to say the least.

[Wschnitz]

You need someone with a euro vin car or have someone in europe buy them and ship them.

[JeLani]

Thanks guys, striving for nothing short of perfection on this restoration.

I sold the widebody car to a friend back in Dec'14. Here it is aside its stable mate:

Geez thats a perfect widebody

[dude8383]

You need someone with a euro vin car or have someone in europe buy them and ship them.

That's what I figured. I was thinking this dealer has some super duper special privileges...

[Jordan]

My new glovebox matches the dash and rear console.

The new forward console pictured on ECS has the new texture, it's weird that yours does not.

[Jordan]

Not much has gone on this week in my camp. I've been sick and hacking up a lung over here, hard to find motivation to head into the garage after a 10 hour work day.

Paul over at Ehrlich Wheel Works sent me this today, my RS's are coming along. They back sides have been milled to clear the factory brakes without the addition of spacers, they have been stripped of previous finishes, and the bolt pattern has been plugged pending redrilling to 4x100.



I'm going to try to get by Imperial Collision tomorrow and check up on the progress of the chassis, but that is highly dependent on my side work load. We'll see.

[AndrewBird]

What is the process used to plug them? Looks interesting.

[monty23psk]

What size 16s or 17s?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[Jordan]

One of my projects for the weekend is rebuilding the IHKS case as a unit. The outside of it was very dusty, and the more I looked at it, into it the more I saw filth. I'm used to taking these apart and changing evaporators on E39/E46/E83 cars and the E30 unit while more electrically simple... looks about the same.



One thing BMW/BEHR have not changed over the years is the lousy foam gaskets they use to seal the blend doors and flaps to the housing. Many have no doubt noticed that E30's tend to have some air flow even when the vent is closed.... this is why. They use some biodegradable open cell foam. You can literally roll it off and ball it up, what doesn't turn to dust in the wind anyway.

All of the internal gaskets will be replaced with closed cell neoprene rubber, which should last forever. The OE gaskets are not available anyway.

Add to that the fact that the inside of the case is beyond disgusting with 25 years of debris inside.... time to tear it apart and clean out the funk.




The yuck factor is much more potent than the photos let on. Sticky furry dust and grime all over, and the air you breathe inside the car tumbles past it all.


Then there are the doors that open and close when you turn the recycle function off and on. They seem to take the brunt of the funk deposits, and their gaskets are no exception to the decomposition of the others. Along with that the smaller inner door that closes the IHKS unit to outside air when recycle is on are often broken as mine is.





The entire boss breaking off the door is a common failure mode, although I have also seen the ball stud pull out of the plastic boss as well.

When these are broken the servo motor for the recycle function will still move through its range of motion, but you will still be blessed with outside air & odors you may not have wanted.

I pulled 4 IHKS units from parts cars at work and all 4 had at least 1 broken flap. The doors are mirrored left vs right, but between the 4 I was able to make a pair of doors that had small hairline cracks but no complete failures. These will be reinforced prior to being reinstalled to prevent future failure.

I would have gladly bought them new, but best I can tell BMW offers NO NEW PARTS where as it concerns the IHKS subassemblies. At over $1300 for the complete IHKS unit new... I'm going to pass on that.

[MT325is]

Oh my. I wish i had the funds to do my build like this! insane! and will look beast!