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1988 E28 528e Turbo Project (my first E28!)

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    1988 E28 528e Turbo Project (my first E28!)

    This past weekend 7/18/2015 my buddy's and I picked up a 99% rust free bronzit e28 which is my first e28 I've ever owned or really came in contact with. It had been sitting for a few years and the gas tank is pretty awful but I'm very excited to start this project with a few friends who are much more knowledgeable on the turbo side of things than I am!

    The PO stated he parked it because it wasn't getting fuel. The plug on the pump showed 12v while cranking so no issue there. I checked out the pump and the ground "strap" thin piece of metal was broken off the pump itself... such a small problem, it's possible he had broken it on the install since it looks like the pump had been replaced.

    The engine does crank and appears to have spark (small starting fluid test...). I did replace the wires since the PO did not have the reference wire attached to #6 on the spark plugs. I'm not sure if this stops the engine from running or what it does, but I did put on a set that had that reference and plugged in.

    I had an old e28 pump lying around which I found was actually working so I hooked it up but still, while it was pumping, no start because no fuel was getting to the front of the engine... This leads me to believe the inline pump/fuel filter are f'd.

    My immediate plan for now:
    1. Clean the gas tank out, install a new Walbro 255 pump and filter, delete the inline pump all to get the car running
    2. Pull the engine/trans, I know it may seem stupid to get the car running then yank things, but I'd like to aquire all or most of my parts before teardown while enjoying the driving and figuring what else needs to be fixed
    3. tear down the engine, install an i intake/head/ecu on the 2.7 super eta block, mls gasket, studs. Also, installing the i flywheel/clutch/trans or at least swapping the bell housing for the e trans and using it... I believe this can be done to use the i flywheel?


    As far as the turbo goes, we're planning on a budget build saving money where we can but not skimping on the important items. The budget is hopefully going to stay under <3k. The turbo we're probably going with is the HX35 with 350-400hp as our goal with anything >300whp being the main idea.

    Once the actual turbo build is done, the plan is also to upgrade to 540 brakes and see what's out there for a nice spring setup.

    For the wheels, we're going with the E39 17" Style 5's.

    For the outside, I'm tickled by the whole "Bronzit E28 which hauls ass" factor ha! Ideas on the table are: bumper delete, bumper tuck/polish, euro bumpers... Also no more pinstripes. The paint was resprayed by the PO and he did a really good job so there's no reason to re-do it. The 1% of rust consists of tiny bubbles in two spots by the hood vents and small stuff starting on the passenger door.


    Some pics! Don't mind the sketchy looking straps, we only used those to get to the store to get some nice ones.





















    instagram: @tonerrrr
    High resolution E30 Fuse Box 300dpi PNG

    #2
    Looks great! I almost bought an e28 for $500 but the owner was a drugged rusky who didn't have the key or pink in hand.
    1989 325I(M20B25US)|KAMotors CAI|Bilstein Sports|H&R Sports|ST Sways|SSSquid Tune|Red46 Sump Armor|

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      #3
      Sub'd . Sweet bronzit sir !
      1990 Alpine 325is
      1992 Schwarz 325ic (sold)

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        #4
        Update: Got it running!

        We completely bypassed the old fuel system and fed the fuel rail directly with the new walbro fuel pump/new gas.



        Not bad for two years not running... now I at least know when I put a new filter on it and delete the other inline pump, I shouldn't have a problem with it running. We plan to back feed the lines though to be sure there isn't any gunk in there. I bet the inline pump just wasn't working though.

        Both the inline pump and the pickup pump looked to be newly installed so it looks like user error in the wiring and that ground on the pickup were the cause of it not running.

        Also found out it has a 3.25 lsd!

        Here is the new fuel pump, it comes with a nice little kit, $89 shipped: http://www.ebay.com/itm/171348077517


        Here is the new/old pump that was in the car. You can see that they did replace it two years ago but the untreated gas or water in the system rusted it out


        Pumping the old shit out



        Tank looks less than ideal


        Snail, it was meant to be!


        Dirty



        Will need a new one of these...


        New suspension bits all over the place, the PO wasn't lying!





        Here's where the inline pump and filter are, passenger rear... tons of space, I'm amazed at how much space the E28 has. The lines are routed very easily too.


        Exhaust leak


        More pics of the underside




        Couldn't wait, had to see it with the style 5s





        My buddy happened to by doing his 944s dash at the same time


        3.25 LSD!!!

        instagram: @tonerrrr
        High resolution E30 Fuse Box 300dpi PNG

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          #5
          Bonus timelapse from my buddy doing his dash


          instagram: @tonerrrr
          High resolution E30 Fuse Box 300dpi PNG

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            #6
            Did some more work last night, dropped the tank, ran some new fuel hoses (need injector hose straight from the pump now), installed the walbro! Also got the rest of the fuel/gunk out of the tank.

            Dropping the tank was very easy and only held on by 3 bolts!

            Next up, compression test, new plugs, figure out why it's so loud... pop the valve cover off and check valve clearances.

            Started the car on its own fuel lines/tank/new pump and filter:







            instagram: @tonerrrr
            High resolution E30 Fuse Box 300dpi PNG

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              #7
              Cool, sub'd

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                #8
                Off to a great start!
                '93 300TE 24V Krautbomber
                '84 528e 5 speed Saphirblau Metallic [R.I.P.]

                I love all BMWs with round headlights!

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                  #9
                  Small update: Looks like some bad news for the super eta...

                  Although something seemed pretty wrong with the engine I would have never guessed it was this bad! My buddy and I calculated the car may have around 75 torque now... the plan moves forward!



                  instagram: @tonerrrr
                  High resolution E30 Fuse Box 300dpi PNG

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                    #10
                    Are those your compression numbers? 3 dead cylinders?

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                      #11
                      3 totally gone... You can see #2 and #3 spark plugs are "clean" from the fuel it seems.

                      instagram: @tonerrrr
                      High resolution E30 Fuse Box 300dpi PNG

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                        #12
                        Sub'd.
                        Vlad: '87 535isMaytag: '87 528e'88 911Project Minerva - S54 E28

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                          #13
                          I would seriously consider swapping in an m30 since you have the super eta harness already you can run m1.3 or ms easily. You can usually find a decent b34 for 300 bucks. Also my e28 has a drain plug on the tank.

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                            #14
                            what happened to this build?! Super Curious.

                            Originally posted by mitch55 View Post
                            I would seriously consider swapping in an m30 since you have the super eta harness already you can run m1.3 or ms easily.
                            So all I'd have to do is put my ECU from my 1988 535is, M30b34 and getrag into a 1988 528 without swapping harnesses?
                            Paynemw
                            1986 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - Sold!
                            the ebb and flow of 325is ownership - In RVA
                            1988 BMW 535is - RIP but my dream BMW

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