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

[flyboyx]

wow! that shifter carrier is short! is that the same setup i'm going to need? can you post more pix of your a/c lines? i assume you are sending those out for plating too?

[Jordan]

Yeah, if you are using a GS6-37BZ it will be. Really any 6 spd is going to be short short in an e30.

I'll post better pictures of the AC lines after they get crimped and plated.

Another day of little things, its all adding up though.

First task today was to wash and dry the MS43 engine harness. This was taken from a 2001 E39 530i. Plenty of slack to reach the glovebox. After it was clean and dry I fished an additional wire through the harness to the passenger side to reach the coolant temperature sensor that will replace the drain plug for the coolant temperature gauge.

In place, starting to route and button up



Since I am using the MS45 valve cover and pencil coils I have to repin the MS45 coil harness to mate to the MS43 DME. The connectors at the DME are the same, however the only pin that is shared is the ground. For whatever reason Siemens changed the pinout and moved each coil wire to a different slot. Not a big deal, 7 wires to remove and reinsert in the correct holes.



Coil harness installed on the engine



Harness leads tied up to the firewall cover, engine covers laid in place to make sure everything fits fine, it does. Sure makes the engine look nice and tidy.




I went to install the FAE brand coolant temp sensor in the drain plug hole and found it hit the cylinder wall. Ugh ok... uh... A quick search revealed this was an issue and apparently the fix was to double up the crush washer. I'd rather not.... so I decided to shave down the end a little. I got it where it was about 1/2 turn from tight and then shave it down a little more... too much.. into the inside of the sensor... whoops.

Since it was ruined I went ahead and cut it in half so I could make some measurements and not eat the next one. They are only $6 so no big deal. I'll modify the replacement carefully based on the dimensions of this one.



While I was under there I decided to deal with the 4-5-6 rear bank header, which is touching the firewall heat shielding. These eBay headers used to be a better quality product IMO. None of the other half dozen or so I've installed over the years had this issue, but again a quick Google search revealed this is becoming a common problem now. Several people complained of touching, or outright conflict between the headers and firewall.

I placed my biggest pry bar between the frame rail and the header, lifting it with my floor jack to put some tension on the pry bar. Doing it this way gave tremendous mechanical advantage over just putting it in the header and tugging. I fired up my MAP torch and headed the header just under the collector up cherry hot while my step son pumped the jack, driving the header down off the firewall with each pump.

I left the jack on it while it cooled, and it stayed more or less where it was bent to when released. Excellent.

One problem solved, but another noted. The O2 bung on that bank points straight at the firewall and does not leave sufficient space to get the O2 sensor in there.... I have spare bungs and plugs, but this means I'll have to take it off to get it welded in place. Ugh....

[anthonymax007]

God I love this thread.

[george graves]

Jordan, there is a speck of dust on the engine cover. You have disgraced this forum. I hope you feel bad. ;)

[ST1G]

Jordan, there is a speck of dust on the engine cover. You have disgraced this forum. I hope you feel bad. ;)

That's some funny stuff right there.

[Schnitzer318is]

This is a high quality build for sure. Enjoying following the process.

[Mouse]

Starting to get the shakes....any updates? lol

[JeLani]

^


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I like water

[Jordan]

Hmm yes updates....

Every time for the last couple days I've tried to sit down, upload new pictures, and write a bit Photobucket has either been outright down or experiencing problems.

Here are a couple interior pictures I took.






I fabricated the AC lines earlier this week and had them crimped together.


I then sent the lines and a handful of hardware overlooked on the last run out for plating.



AC fan installed on the Nissens parallel flow condensor.



AC system installed into the car, less the loop hold downs which I need to buy new.




No matter how much I heated and bent the secondaries on the headers they just did not fit well and I wasn't happy with them. I decided to cut them at the collectors, weld on vbands, and fabricate down from there.

I pulled the headers back out last night which wasn't much fun.

[mbonder]

God those lines look so damn good...

[0-60 freak]

Im going to masterbate ;-)

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[faujijatt]

Im going to masterbate ;-)

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:rofl: [emoji3]

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[AndrewBird]

Not worried about the missing aluminum heat shielding on the AC line?

[Jordan]

Not worried about the missing aluminum heat shielding on the AC line?

Not at the moment, but I have a plan for that... I left it on during the zinc plating because you know.. you can't actually remove it intact. Needless to say it was pretty damn ugly after plating, the electrolyte solution turned it flaky black. I removed it for the time being.

This morning I was just minding my own business sitting at the computer nursing a headache and decided to pop on Houston Craigslist and type in "BMW E30" as I often do. Today the first search result was a guy selling a New Old Stock front center console. The same console I've been looking to find for months.

Needless to say I sent him an email and we met up in the afternoon to make the exchange. Very happy to have caught it and got it!





Brand new still in the dealer bag, order fulfillment from BMW AG in Aug'13. QC Inspection tag on the part indicates an Aug'98 part production.

Side by side with the decent condition used one I'd picked up from OMG Motorsports just a few weeks prior.



Taking the air saw and utility knife to an NLA console was a little nerve racking.... Switches cut out and shoulder notched to clean the airbag knee bolster bracket:



I decided to leave out the window circuit breaker even though its mint/new as honestly I feel its a useless item and it clutters the console. In its absence you just connect the two wires with a 15amp fuse.

[King Mufasa]

Pm me if you want to sell the old console?