Well, after being absent for a few years I have returned. I've just about completed my M Coupe project, and went on the search for an E30 M3. Long story short, I bought the car site unseen over the phone from Utah. We negotiated a price and I mailed a check. 4 months later my friend towed the car on a trailer back to Wichita for me. I was told the car had rear end damage, and the body was "fair". Overall the car was described accurately, however the paint sucks and there are dents everywhere. The driver's door is the worst, and may need to be replaced. Anywho, onto the pics. Remember, I started this project last April.
How she arrived:
The first step was to replace all the suspension and fix the damage in the rear. I chose IE stage 3 springs and Bilstein Sport shocks/struts. Installed IE subframe bushings/trailing arm bushings, etc. New bearings blah blah. Also replaced the damaged trailing arm and installed a new axle. I had some photos from my phone, but they were blurry and boring.
Talking to the PO it sounded like the motor was okay. Still ran, but the exhaust manifold had been ripped from the head and had a horrible exhaust leak. I attempted to start the car, and it ran for about 30 seconds. I didn't like what I heard, and just didn't sound "right". A quick compression test and cylinder leak down determined low compression on cylinders 2 and 4 due to heavy carbon build up on the valves. I said "screw it", and decided my project just got a bit more expensive. So out came the motor!
All apart!
Sent everything to the machine shop to have cleaned/checked out. Everything was fine, and only some cleaning, polishing and new valve guides were needed. Re-honed the cylinder walls and polished the crank. Picked everything up!
Block assembly was next, making sure all new bearings had proper clearances, new rod bearings as well, wrist pins and new rings were fitted. all OEM.
New chain guides etc. I was surprised at how expensive these puppies were!
Head is on! Of course all new gaskets and seals were installed. All OEM.
Cams were able to be reused
Next was new cap/rotor. Water pump, yadda yadda. Dont worry, I installed all new exhaust studs...
More accessories. I know the throttles are "dirty" but the metal is stained, and I didn't feel like taking them apart to powder coat. They work just fine :-)
How she sat in storage for almost a year. At least it was heated/air conditioned.
Next was fitting the Isahara/Johnson crank scraper. I went with the teflon scraper, and it took nearly 2 weeks of working on it to make it fit. Should be worth it, and I like the added benefit of keeping oil down in the pan for the new oil pump. No shots of the actual teflon, as I didn't have my camera with me.
Quick valve adjustment
Fresh powder coated valve cover and new plug wires
And powder coated intake plenum with accessories
Already to drop in!
I'm sorry to say I don't have any more photos. But as of 3 weeks ago I dropped the motor and installed new radiator and all new silicone coolant hoses. Drained the fuel tank and installed new fuel filter and all new fuel lines. Injectors were rebuilt when I had the motor apart. Installed a new battery and bingo, she fired up. I've only driven it about 50 miles, but she drives very nice. I'll need to take more photos, as next is body work. I've stripped the car down to bare shell and the body work begins on Monday. Sucks to take apart a car and put it back together just to take it apart again!
My next decision is what color??? Car is originally Zinno, but I'm leaning towards a brighter red, something out of the can. Or maybe orange or henna. Haven't decided yet. Stay tuned!
Kyle
How she arrived:
The first step was to replace all the suspension and fix the damage in the rear. I chose IE stage 3 springs and Bilstein Sport shocks/struts. Installed IE subframe bushings/trailing arm bushings, etc. New bearings blah blah. Also replaced the damaged trailing arm and installed a new axle. I had some photos from my phone, but they were blurry and boring.
Talking to the PO it sounded like the motor was okay. Still ran, but the exhaust manifold had been ripped from the head and had a horrible exhaust leak. I attempted to start the car, and it ran for about 30 seconds. I didn't like what I heard, and just didn't sound "right". A quick compression test and cylinder leak down determined low compression on cylinders 2 and 4 due to heavy carbon build up on the valves. I said "screw it", and decided my project just got a bit more expensive. So out came the motor!
All apart!
Sent everything to the machine shop to have cleaned/checked out. Everything was fine, and only some cleaning, polishing and new valve guides were needed. Re-honed the cylinder walls and polished the crank. Picked everything up!
Block assembly was next, making sure all new bearings had proper clearances, new rod bearings as well, wrist pins and new rings were fitted. all OEM.
New chain guides etc. I was surprised at how expensive these puppies were!
Head is on! Of course all new gaskets and seals were installed. All OEM.
Cams were able to be reused
Next was new cap/rotor. Water pump, yadda yadda. Dont worry, I installed all new exhaust studs...
More accessories. I know the throttles are "dirty" but the metal is stained, and I didn't feel like taking them apart to powder coat. They work just fine :-)
How she sat in storage for almost a year. At least it was heated/air conditioned.
Next was fitting the Isahara/Johnson crank scraper. I went with the teflon scraper, and it took nearly 2 weeks of working on it to make it fit. Should be worth it, and I like the added benefit of keeping oil down in the pan for the new oil pump. No shots of the actual teflon, as I didn't have my camera with me.
Quick valve adjustment
Fresh powder coated valve cover and new plug wires
And powder coated intake plenum with accessories
Already to drop in!
I'm sorry to say I don't have any more photos. But as of 3 weeks ago I dropped the motor and installed new radiator and all new silicone coolant hoses. Drained the fuel tank and installed new fuel filter and all new fuel lines. Injectors were rebuilt when I had the motor apart. Installed a new battery and bingo, she fired up. I've only driven it about 50 miles, but she drives very nice. I'll need to take more photos, as next is body work. I've stripped the car down to bare shell and the body work begins on Monday. Sucks to take apart a car and put it back together just to take it apart again!
My next decision is what color??? Car is originally Zinno, but I'm leaning towards a brighter red, something out of the can. Or maybe orange or henna. Haven't decided yet. Stay tuned!
Kyle
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