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Big Al's Revenge: an OEM+, MTech1 325e restoration

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    Originally posted by rzerob
    Great job on the HVAC assembly. I will be using this as a reference when I do the job myself. Where did you get all of the different foams? Do you have any links?
    Thanks man, it's a tedious job but well worth it considering how filthy these things get over time.

    I just ordered some 1" x 1/8" thick neoprene foam tape for the duct edges (this appeared closest in size to the old foam) as well as a roll of 1ft x 54" x 1/8" foam sheet for that aluminum tray. After doing the job, it may be easier to only get the sheet and cut everything to size that way (I think Melon did his that way), however I've found a few other uses for the tape and it's cheap enough. Here's the links on Amazon:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    One roll of each is enough to do the job about 10X over.
    '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

    Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

    Comment


      Nice move on the vents! I did the same except used #10 nylon washers with no silicone and it worked great.
      Euro Delivery Thread///E30 Project Klaus///COTM August 2021

      Comment


        Melon, yah I about shit a brick when I realized that hole for the sensor wasn't pre-made and I'd have to do it. As for the vents, check out this thread:

        https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...71238&t=171238

        The problem I was having was I'd point the vents at my face, then the first bump I went over the vents would fall and point at my balls. Not that that's a bad thing, but my face needs some love too. The O-ring wedges in between the vent and the vent housing to give it some friction to stay put.

        So to remove the entire vent assembly, there will be two push tabs on the underside of the vent with a corresponding solid lock tab on the top:

        Bottom in green, top in red:



        I had the luxury of having the dash out, so from the underside of the dash I just pushed up on the two push tabs and swiveled the bottom side of the vent out past the tabs, then slid a thin flat head screw driver in between the dash and the top of the vent where that other tab is to release it and slide it out. With the dash still installed, I'm sure you can just slide the screwdriver or similar thin tool in to release the bottom tabs first followed by the top.

        To remove that actual vent itself from the housing, pic #3 of the above thread shows how it pops in: there's a little J-shaped groove that catches the tabs on either side of the vent housing, with a little C-clip at the end that pops into place. To remove, I didn't use a tool the way the thread says. You simply rotate the vent down as far as you can, then continue to rotate down and press on the top of the vent (and push with your fingers from the inside as well) until you feel that little C-clip pop out then just slide the vent out. The vents popped out easier when they were still wet from cleaning.

        As for the O-ring, I just put one on the tab in the vent housing lubed with some silicone and reinstalled the vent making sure the O-ring stays wedged between the vent housing and the side of the vent. I recommend only putting an O-ring on one side of each vent, not both. Putting it on both makes it too tight, I tried it.
        Last edited by Albie325; 06-25-2019, 07:01 AM.
        '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

        Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

        Comment


          Originally posted by Albie325 View Post

          As for the O-ring, I just put one on the tab in the vent housing lubed with some silicone and reinstalled the vent making sure the O-ring stays wedged between the vent housing and the side of the vent. I recommend only putting an O-ring on one side of each vent, not both. Putting it on both makes it too tight, I tried it.
          Guess it depends on the size of the O Rings, I put one #10 on each side and they are perfect, they move smoothly with little effort by hand, but dont move an inch with regular driving and bumps.

          I did not use any silicone though.
          Euro Delivery Thread///E30 Project Klaus///COTM August 2021

          Comment


            Thread of the month for me??

            You bet.

            Excellent work!
            My previous build (currently E30-less)
            http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=170390

            A 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4x4 Offroad in Inferno is my newest obsession

            Comment


              Originally posted by Staszek
              Guess it depends on the size of the O Rings, I put one #10 on each side and they are perfect, they move smoothly with little effort by hand, but dont move an inch with regular driving and bumps.
              Nylon washers are a great idea, didn't think of that. I think that if the O-ring trick craps out I may try that next.

              Originally posted by MR E30 325is
              Thread of the month for me??

              You bet.

              Excellent work!
              I'll take it! Thanks man

              So I got the front premium speakers and tweeters wired up yesterday, here's how it went. I started by looking at the rear premium speakers with the tweeters already wired up. There should be no difference for the wiring for the front setup aside from the fact that the wires connecting the speaker and tweeters are longer. Note the side that the red resistor is on:



              Disregard the purple and red wires, they were cut and sent with the speaker from the seller I bought it from. They will correspond to my Yellow/Red and Blue/Red (+) (Red/Black) and the Yellow/Brown and Blue/Brown (-) (Purple/Black) wires on my car.

              As for the Green/Black and Solid Green wires, these should correspond with the Green/Gray and Yellow/Gray wires in the front doors. Here's where they are wired in:

              The Green/Black is connected to the larger spade connector on the tweeter as well as the larger spade connector on the resistor side of the main speaker:



              The solid Green wire attaches to the smaller spade connector on the tweeter and is soldered in to a small spade connector on the non-resistor side of the main speaker behind another already soldered wire:



              In the door, the Green/Gray wires all have a large spade connector at both ends, and the Yellow/Gray wires have a small spade connector at the tweeter (drivers side only) and a random blue plastic cap on the speaker side. Based on this, the front tweeter wires should correspond to the rear speakers as follows:
              • Green/Gray = Green/Black
              • Yellow/Gray = Solid Green


              Pardon my drawing skills, but here's the general schematic. The red resistor is facing toward the tweeter in the drawing as it is on the rear speaker:





              Here's the spade connectors on the speaker and tweeter:

              Resistor side:



              Non-resistor side:



              And tweeter:



              Here's how the same pics will look with the wires in place:







              Here are the ends of the wires in the kickpanel:



              For the Yellow/Red, Yellow/Brown (And corresponding blue wires on the passenger side) as well as the Green/Gray, just connect the spade connectors to the appropriate pin. For the Yellow/Gray, cut the blue plastic connector off and solder the wire onto the speaker:





              Should be good to go:







              Repeat on the passenger side, except that there's a different connector at the tweeter that looks like this:



              If you don't have that short spade->plastic connector piece, you could always cut the plastic piece off the tweeter wires in the door and crimp on new spade connectors as they are on the driver side.

              And that's it! hope it works.

              Today I got a bunch of other random stuff done.

              Got a bunch of trim items painted:

              Before and after:



              Polished and painted the third brake light:





              Repainted a few other bits:



              Rear parcel shelf all buttoned up:



              Carpet in:





              And got the head unit and HVAC panel installed and upgraded to a euro clock:



              The window/mirror kill switch was broken so I ordered another. The fader isn't connected to anything, I think I'm going to follow a few other members' leads and install a blank switch that controls the antenna going up and down since I won't be using it as much with the new head unit in place and want to save the motor when I can.

              I got the auto trans drained, all the auto trans coolant lines off, the exhaust off, and the driveshaft off. I found it easier to loosen the trans side driveshaft bolts from the inside:



              With the driveshaft out, I dropped the gas tank (again) to replace the CRP fuel hose I used under the tank. I mentioned this in a previous post, but I read a few horror stories about CRP hose cracking after only a year or two and have been freaked out since. The BMW hose wasn't in stock anywhere the first time around otherwise I would have saved myself the hassle.



              Changed this short section of CRP hose as well:



              It was a pain but I finally have all BMW gas lines and can sleep soundly:



              I hit a snag removing the auto trans dipstick tube as I didn't have the right size wrench (30mm) and the adjustable wrench I had kept slipping. I ordered one and it should be here by the weekend so I can continue on with the trans removal.
              '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

              Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

              Comment


                I love this level of documentation and detail. Nice choice on the head unit. I've been very happy with mine. The interface is really clean and simple... perfect fit for e30s.

                Comment


                  Man, coming along great.

                  I have the feels on doing work over and over.

                  Also, thanks for the info on the vents.
                  And, I usually buy fuel line locally, most of the SAE measurements have close metric equivalents, and can use Gates top quality hose.

                  The Continental head unit is great, love having modern features like BT and HD radio in a classic car.
                  I do things.

                  Comment


                    Its been said again and again on here, but your attention to detail is extraordinary. Definitely watching this one and probably using this thread as a reference when I redo my seats.
                    1991 sterling silver 318is
                    1987 alpine white 325i convertible

                    Comment


                      nice work on the hvac unit


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                        Subbed and bookmarked. Awesome details and OEM+ restore. Love all of the reconditioning tricks and elbow grease vs buying a slew of new/nos parts. Should make for a super classy E30 when you're finished.
                        '89 325i OBD2 S52 BUILD THREAD
                        Shadetree30

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                          Thanks all, I hope to keep it coming!

                          Got my AFM and cluster sent off to Bavarian Restoration so will be a while before I'm driving. I also decided to have my seat belts re-webbed, once I get those sent out and returned I can complete the interior and turn all my attention to the mechanicals (finally).
                          '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                          Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

                          Comment


                            So some good news and bad news.

                            First, the bad. I was washing the F82 the other day and when backing it into the garage, my mirrors were off a bit and I scraped the side of the garage. Really pissed at myself, gonna cost about $2k between the paint, body, and new clear bra and that's gonna set me back on a few things I've been trying to purchase for the E30:



                            UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WTF.

                            Ok, onto some better news. Nothing major, just a little more progress.

                            I finished up the pedal assembly by replacing the accelerator pedal bushings, all the bungs for the tension springs, as well as a new accelerator cable:



                            Old vs. new:



                            New bungs:



                            And new cable, with autotragic kickdown cable removed (for good!):



                            New felt sound deadener, tried cleaning the old one but it still looked pretty gross:



                            Got the A/C lines behind the glovebox flushed out with A/C solvent and put new O-rings in, snugged them up, and wrapped with butyl/cork tape:



                            Got the glovebox and all the passenger trim back in place, it was actually a bigger pain than expected to get the glovebox aligned properly so that it opened and closed smoothly.

                            I decided to refinish the buttons on the seatbelt release carriers. One of them had been buried beneath the seat for some time and was still nice and red, the others were all chalky:



                            After reading a thread on how to bring mine back to life, the easiest way to do it was just to paint them. I wanted to get this done prior to shipping them out for a refurb so as not to get any paint on the new webbing:

                            Thread: http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11882



                            All done, the original good one is on top, the two on the bottom are painted. Came out super close:



                            Also repainted the kickpanel with black vinyl paint, it too was pretty chalky looking, almost gray:



                            Next I decided to reconnect the battery so I could roll my windows up and get to work taking out the glass and window regulators as well as to get the sound deadener installed in the doors. I used the opportunity to test my electrical work. This was a good initial sign:



                            Thanks to earthwormjim for installing the proper amber diodes for the buttons and backlight, looks really good and matches the OEM backlights perfectly!

                            I was very pleased that everything worked as intended. The speakers sounded AWESOME compared to the old setup. Only setback was that I found out the driver front tweeter was dead so will have to order a new one. I used the good passenger side tweeter to check the wiring on the driver side to make sure I didn't screw something up. It worked so the problem is definitely the tweeter itself. Very relieved that things worked out considering I'd never done any wiring or audio sound work before. Also very happy with the Continental head unit, very easy to use and the bluetooth was nice and clear when streaming music. Soooooo nice to have some modern amenities with a very stock look.

                            Last I started taking the rest of the coolant system, fan, radiator, hoses, etc. out of the car. I kept picking tasks seemingly to avoid the elephant in the room: at some point I'd have to get the stripped torx bolt removed prior to realistically making any more progress on the manual swap (my epic and unsuccessful 5-day battle was mentioned in a previous post). It was the last of the 8 bolts holding the trans reinforcement plate in place and prevented me from doing the oil pan gasket when I had the front subframe out of the car.

                            My old foe:



                            I got the auto coolant lines and auto dipstick tube removed and had easier access. Using a Dremmel with a grinding wheel attachment, I ground the head of the bolt off to the point that the bolt would slide out with the trans reinforcement plate from the opposite side.

                            And this, boys and girls, is the look of sweet victory:





                            As hard as it was to try and remove the bolt with the plate still on the car, I figured I'd need a vice or something crazy to unscrew it. To my shock (and annoyance) I was able to unscrew it by hand :finger:



                            Now I can officially get to work removing the trans and replacing the oil pan gasket. I'm headed to the mountains for a nice Fourth weekend with the fiancée and pup so the rest will have to wait until next week. Happy Fourth guys, don't blow off any fingers! 'Murica.
                            Last edited by Albie325; 07-03-2019, 07:44 PM.
                            '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                            Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

                            Comment


                              Sucks about the stuff man!
                              No bueno.

                              Ugh, that one fucking bolt.

                              A Craftsman universal wrench fits on the torx bolts, made it a little easier to get access, since getting to it with a socket is a major PITA.

                              I love having Bluetooth music, makes the whole car feel modern. Deets on Amber backlight. I bought the Amber version, it matches well, so I'm wondering what extra steps were done in yours.
                              I do things.

                              Comment


                                I am not saying that the bumper doesn't have any damage but the picture looks like mainly just paint transfer. Have you tried to buff it out? If there is paint transfer it would look a lot less noticeable.
                                How to remove, install or convert to pop out windows
                                http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=297611


                                Could be better, could be worse.

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