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Bringing my dad's car back to its former glory and beyond

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    #76
    Havent been driving Eloise much as she needs to be taken down to get all the bushings and rear wheel bearings replaced, but I moved her out of the driveway to wash Brunhilde (the Z4) and couldnt help but notice the beauty...


    2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
    1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
    1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

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      #77
      Originally posted by 2mAn View Post
      I think if you remove the pinstripe it will help hide it, but overall it looks pretty damn good.
      I had tired pin stripes on my old car. I used a 3M Eraser Wheel. Goes on a drill and makes quick and easy work of it. Also good for removing adhesive/de-badging.

      Awesome story and great looking car. I hope one day I can pass a car I love onto to my daughter and she will take great care of it like you are.

      Also nice to see another Sterling Silver car on R3v!
      1989 325is Lachssilber - Sold
      1990 325is Sterlingsilber - Current Project
      September 2018 Car of the Month: Zeemz
      Youtube Track & Autocross Videos


      Comment


        #78
        Really cool build!
        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


          #79
          Originally posted by Zeemz View Post
          I had tired pin stripes on my old car. I used a 3M Eraser Wheel. Goes on a drill and makes quick and easy work of it. Also good for removing adhesive/de-badging.

          Awesome story and great looking car. I hope one day I can pass a car I love onto to my daughter and she will take great care of it like you are.

          Also nice to see another Sterling Silver car on R3v!
          Hmm... I may have to look into it. Not actually sure if I want to get rid of it though, I've honestly never even considered it until now.
          2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
          1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
          1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

          Comment


            #80
            Nice build and story. (I know it's late but sorry for your loss) Thanks for sharing

            [IMG]https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z.com-vbulletin/550x225/80-parkerbsig_5096690e71d912ec1addc4a84e99c374685fc03 8.jpg[/IMG

            Comment


              #81
              Havent posted in quite some time, as other priorities have come up. However the idle on the e30 has been getting a bit erratic and I could hear a vacuum leak coming from the crank vent hose, so decided to fix it.

              Oh also, the engine bay looks like this:




              Yeah disgusting. Other than a timing belt and water pump, I hadn't touched anything in the engine bay since the car came into my possession. Project on. Decided to replace the vent hose, intake manifold gaskets, throttle body gasket, spark plugs, vent tube upper and lower seals, valve cover gasket, and adjust lifter clearances. Also decided the obviously hideous engine bay need a bit of a clean up.

              And here's the result.




              In the end, it was a good amount of work almost all for nothing. The VCG was fine, the vent hose looked to be in decent shape, lifter clearances were all within spec, TB gasket was fine, etc. However I did realize that the seals on the vent tube were bad and causing tons of oil buildup in the engine bay, and the idle is fixed. As well, it looks a bit better.

              Took it out for a test drive only to realize all the rest of the maintenance that needs to be completed. I guess look for more boring updates soon! Ha
              2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
              1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
              1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

              Comment


                #82
                loving the story behind the car man.. keep up the good work!
                89 325i 4dr s52
                02 BMW 525iT m54b30/manual swapped (daily) *sold*
                21' Toyota Tacoma TRD OR 4x4 6 speed Manual

                Comment


                  #83
                  Hello again everyone! New projects are afoot! Ever since moving to my new house, with a 1 car garage, car work has reduced to a very slow trickle. I've been working on a built engine for the PGT and still dailying the Z4, and as a result the e30 has basically just been sitting.

                  Although I'm not putting miles on it, the suspension and bushings are really seeming to deteriorate... maybe its just the back to back comparisons with the Z4. Anyways, I'd basically just planned to let the e30 sit as is for the forseeable future, to eventually be taken down for a BIG rebuild, but a too-good-to-pass-up situation presented itself!

                  Hadn't been on R3V in quite some time and in a fit of boredom decided to give the forum a quick peruse. I was scrolling through the local threads when I happened upon a NorCal FS post for an S52 motor including 95% of ancillaries necessary for the swap. At first I kind of brushed it off, but over the next week or so it really etched itself in my brain. Well, long story short, yesterday I rented a Uhaul van and picked up the swap!

                  The PO (wilholl) was getting out of the e30 game, at least for the time being, and was looking to sell his accumulated parts as a complete package. We loaded the parts up together yesterday and it was understandably a sad moment given the time and effort dedicated to piecing it together... but these parts will live on in (what I think is) a very worthy vehicle!

                  Here they are sitting in my garage yesterday afternoon (the heads on the table are for the PGT engine build):


                  Pieces of note:
                  • Freshly built S52
                  • ZF 5-speed trans
                  • 3.46 LSD diff
                  • Arc Asylum reinforced front subframe
                  • 98 M3 steering rack designed for the subframe
                  • Modified rear sump oilpan to fit the subframe
                  • Lightened flywheel and clutch, balanced to the engine rotating assembly
                  • M50 IM and big bore TB
                  • Extra M50 motor to pull from
                  • 2 OBD1 M50 wiring harnesses
                  • Red label 413 ECU


                  I needed to do a ton of maintenance to the front end of the car, including a new PS pump, steering rack, LCAs, etc that all came with this package, so it really was a no brainer. Also ordering all new brake pieces (rotors, pads, ss lines), GC coilovers with Koni inserts, and reinforcement pieces for the rear subframe.

                  Anyways, super stoked for the new project! Will keep you all updated over the coming weekends of work!
                  2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                  1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                  1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                  Comment


                    #84
                    Awesome work thus far, that engine bay looks fantastic now.

                    Comment


                      #85
                      Actual work began this weekend...

                      I've ordered pretty much all the pieces for the suspension rebuild and started on the front end on Saturday. Didn't take many pictures of the process, but installed:
                      • No name control arms (came free with the swap)
                      • Lemforder solid M3 offset CABs
                      • No name sway bar endlinks
                      • Convertible stock 21mm front sway bar


                      Sweet CAB install taking place


                      While I was shopping for parts this weekend I picked up a Euro license plate filler, just to see what it would look like. I'd never wanted one in the past, but the direction of the car seems to be changing a bit, so I thought I'd try it out.

                      With:


                      Without:


                      Confirmed... still don't like the look!

                      Waiting on parts to arrive to finish front end work
                      • IE sway bar mounts/bushings
                      • Brembo blank rotors
                      • Akebono ceramic pads
                      • ECS SS brake lines
                      • GC Coilovers (375F/475R, Koni shocks)


                      Front end will be all buttoned up next weekend, at which point I'll move on to the rear end and eventually the swap itself.

                      The newfound excitement of E30 work even motivated me to complete other car work! I've had a built motor for my PGT sitting in my garage, 85% finished for the past 9 months or so. Finally took the heads to a machine shop to get cleaned, measured, decked, and have the titanium valvetrain installed.

                      Also finally worked on a door issue with the Z4 that has been lingering FOREVER. Turns out my bowden cable from the exterior handle to the latch is pretty well fucked. Ordered a new one today to get that fixed! Exciting times are upon us!
                      Last edited by dadsbmw; 04-29-2019, 08:20 PM.
                      2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                      1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                      1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                      Comment


                        #86
                        While I was planning to finish up the front end this weekend, I'm rather frustratingly STILL waiting on my suspension stuff from GC (been almost 2 weeks now and they're literally a 2 hour drive away).

                        For now the parts sit and wait...
                        2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                        1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                        1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                        Comment


                          #87
                          Well... ended up finishing the front end work today. Called GC again this past Monday and they still hadn't shipped my parts so I just cancelled the order and will be remaining on H&R OE Sports and KYB shocks for the near term.

                          I did get my shipment from IE Motorsports though, including 21mm front strut bar mounts, so it all went together this morning/afternoon.

                          I purchased new front wheel bearings kind of on a whim, and am glad I did because the old ones were TRASHED. Ended up doing:
                          • Wheel bearings
                          • Brembo blank rotors
                          • Akebono Ceramic pads
                          • ECS SS brake lines
                          • IE Motorsports front sway bar mounts








                          Finished the work, bled the brakes and went for a drive and... disappointment. The front end really doesn't feel much better than it did before, and still clunks. And, the brakes still feel like hot garbage. Now I still haven't done the tie rods, as I'll be replacing the entire front rack with the motor swap, and I haven't bedded the pads yet, but still. Any thoughts? Would old crappy tie rods clunk? Will my brakes improve when I upgrade the rear?
                          2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                          1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                          1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                          Comment


                            #88
                            Well it's been a little more than a month since my last update, but things have certainly been happening!

                            Since phase 1 (of 3) was completed with the replacement of all the front end components, it was time to move on to phase 2... the rear end. I have been seriously dreading this. I knew it would be a PITA and it fucking was! Honestly after replacing the bushings/bearings/etc on the front, the difference in ride quality was quite small. I've been pretty unhappy about it. So undertaking all the work to redo the rear and having similar results, would be disheartening. Anyway... it's gotta be done!

                            I purchased a bare rear subframe and trailing arms so I could do a majority of the work off the car, and not have the e30 in pieces in my driveway. Started by installing new rear wheel bearings and Lemforder bushings in the trailing arms.


                            Wire wheeled the rear subframe and welded in diff reinforcements


                            Then mocked up and tacked in the IE Motorsports locking camber and toe adjusters.


                            I purchased these because I heard they held their position better than the cam adjustables, but if I had to do it all over again, I'd just go with subframe risers. These locking adjusters allow for WAYYYYYY too much adjustment and appear to be an enormous PITA to adjust.


                            About this time a couple other opportunities reared their beautiful heads... I ended up purchasing a set of Riot Racing cams locally for $700, and selling my stock S52 cams for $450, for a net cost of $250. Not a bad deal if you ask me! I did a bit of research before I bought them, and while there doesn't seem to be a ton of info out there, these have shown to make hp and tq across the board with no losses anywhere in the power band.


                            I also stumbled upon a deal that was WAY too good to pass up for my PGT. Found an old school owner who was looking to get out of the game and basically throwing his highly modified car away. Won the auction on ebay for $330 for a car with AWR coilover suspension, aftermarket LSD trans (no PGTs came with LSD, so you can only do this aftermarket), J-spec motor, super high end 90s stereo (just sold one of the amps for $350 by itself!), and a bunch of smaller but rare aftermarket parts.


                            Car arrived at my house on a Tuesday, I stripped it of all valuable parts that Saturday/Sunday, and Pick-n-Pull came for the shell on Monday.

                            Lastly, in my continuing quest to now piece together a suspension setup, I ran into a crazy deal on some Eibach coilover springs. Was searching craigslist for some 450lb/in rear coils when I ran across an ad posted by a speed shop selling 50+ Eibach coilover springs for $250 total! He had the ones I wanted so I purchased the whole lot and will be selling the extras! Feel free to PM me if you're interested, as I have a number of sets of E30 appropriate coilover springs.


                            Back to the e30. After painstakingly sawing at the rear subframe bushings, I was finally able to remove them and slip Lemforder replacements in their place. Also filled the open areas of the Lemforders with window weld, just to stiffen them up a bit. Up next was paint, and I layered on 2 coats of Rustoleum brush on. I was looking for something that would be as durable as possible without having to resort to $$ powdercoat. The Rustoleum certainly did the job, but it's definitely not a pretty as the powdercoat would have been.




                            Next up was the diff. The s52 swap I purchased came with a 3.46LSD with a Z3M cover, which is a MAJOR upgrade from my stock 400k mile 3.73 open diff. I removed and replaced the output shaft seals and clips, installed a new cover gasket, filled with Redline gear oil, put in a Revshift 80A poly diff bushing, and gave her a coat of paint as well.






                            With the new rear end pretty much completed, I got everything assembled and pulled Eloise into the driveway for her hip/knee replacement.


                            Pulled the entire subframe as a unit- as one tends to do. Unfortunately at some point the flange where the midpipe and rear section of the exhaust meet was removed, and welded into a single piece from the headers back, so a little sawzall action was required.




                            While everything was out I installed ss brake lines, a new fuel tank filler hose, a convertible rear sway bar with a new bushing (I've read conflicting reports that this bar is like .5mm larger than stock, but I had it on hand so in it went!), Lemforder swaybar endlinks, and ebrake lines. Similar to the front wheel bearings, I wasn't planning to replace the ebrake lines but did on a whim, and sure enough discovered the passenger line stopper had pulled deep into the tube. Took quite a bit of pulling and twisting but it all came out. It pays to do maintenance, even when you may not think you need it!


                            With all the "while you're in there" pieces taken care of, it was time for the new subframe to go in. Took a bit of finagling, but I managed to bolt it up by myself.


                            While she was out I discovered that one of the CV shaft boots had recently torn open, so I ended up buying one from Oreilly. Had heard a lot of horror stories, but the new one I purchased seems decent so far, and fit without much issue.


                            Proceeded to get everything reconnected, installed new ebrake shoes, hardware, brake rotors, pads, and ss lines.






                            Set her back down on the ground, bled the brakes all around, and prepared to take her out for a test drive. Now as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the front end redbuild was... lack luster. This was the moment I was dreading, because if this project went in the same direction, it was a whole lot of work for basically nothing. Well let me tell you... HOL-E-SHIT. Night and fucking day! Pure insanity! Now I've only been around the block once in her, but it feels like an entirely different car! Even the front end feels better! It must have been that the rear end was SO bad that drowned everything out.

                            Anyways, I am VERY happy with the result. The exhaust is hanging again, but needs to be welded together, but I kind of like the unmuffled sound! I may just run it this way until stage 3, when the whole thing will be replaced anyways!

                            Welp, thats it for this update!
                            2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                            1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                            1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                            Comment


                              #89
                              Well after driving her around a bit today she feels amazing still! Just so much more planted to the ground! I will note however, that that brakes are still not up to snuff. After finishing the rear I went ahead and bled the entire system again, starting at the front driver and ending at the rear passenger. It's better than before, but still spongy, especially at tip in. I'm doubtful I could even lock them up if I wanted to. I drive my gfs Honda Fit and that thing brakes WAY harder than the e30.

                              I'll have to do some research I guess.
                              2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                              1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                              1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                              Comment


                                #90
                                Originally posted by dadsbmw View Post
                                Well after driving her around a bit today she feels amazing still! Just so much more planted to the ground! I will note however, that that brakes are still not up to snuff. After finishing the rear I went ahead and bled the entire system again, starting at the front driver and ending at the rear passenger. It's better than before, but still spongy, especially at tip in. I'm doubtful I could even lock them up if I wanted to. I drive my gfs Honda Fit and that thing brakes WAY harder than the e30.

                                I'll have to do some research I guess.
                                Nice work!

                                For your brakes, bleed them the opposite of how you did it here. Start with the rear passenger, then rear driver, front passenger and finally front driver. That might help you with there being air in the system. If you don't have a pressure bleeder it might be worth the investment, it's an awesome tool and makes the job super easy and a one person deal!

                                Keep it up and enjoy the drive.

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