91 318is Field Rat

[captain awesome]

Long story shortish, I bartered some work helping a buddy for this 318is. It sat in a field for at least 10 years as it was last registered in 2006. I believe the description I was given was "It went into sputtering fits. I suspect it was something simple like a sensor." Now I know there is usually nothing more expensive than a free car or motorcycle, but I already had a pile of parts that would crossover from an abandoned e21 project and I just couldn't let it suffer any more.
The bad:

clear coat is almost completely gone(possibly had a respray?)
driver seat is torn pretty good, rear seat at the top is worn
tires are shot
suspension isn't any better
glove box latch is broken
hood latch is broken
some hammered out body damage on the rear passenger quarter
cracked bumper trim on the driver rear corner
under the hood has given a home to critters far and wide
some wires have been chewed on, not sure to what extent, but it appears to have been only under the hood
passenger door seal has shrank quite a bit
front valence looks a little bent up, but I think it can be tweaked for the time being
sunroof crank is sitting in the console, not sure why
driver side fender has a little bend by the door seam
missing passenger rear C pillar trim

The good:

No rust. There are a couple blemishes that have surface rust, but no bubbling or crunchy stuff.
I already have an m42/trans/m20 flywheel swap that's ready to go. From radiator all the way back to the driveshaft.
I already have a super nice set of euroweaves and decent tires that are meant for this car.
New CSB and guibo
Full m42 harness etc.
I've got a set of e21 Recaros that need some love, but should work out well.

[captain awesome]

Pulled the basketweaves off to put on the euroweaves since the old tires wouldn't hold air for more than a few days. While they were off I decided to inspect the brakes, rubber parts, to see if I need to order anything immediately or hold off until I get things rolling.

Driver side pad sensor wires just dangling. Brake pads up front are new(ish) and the rotors look okay. The rear need replaced.



Obviously rubber bushings, sway bar links, etc. are cracked or worn.



















Rotten muffler, but I've got a full exhaust system that's in good shape.



Got the glove box open. I'll need a whole box and latch setup eventually. Last registered in 2005 if the paperwork I found is correct.



Dammit. No LSD in the rear. Oh well.

[captain awesome]

I decided to cleanse the filth from the e30.

Under hood before.



After lots of compressed air, shop vac, etc. No scrubbing involved yet.







Critter haven in the air filter region.







Much to my surprise the only wires that were chewed on were the aftermarket fan relay/switch wiring and one of the ABS wires. Headlight wires and other accessories look good. The interior got a quick wipe down and vacuum.



The gas pedal was flopping around off the mount. It's a little cracked, but I think it will work for now.




Some dangling wires under the dash.



Broken inner door handle and missing trim.



Worked my way to the trunk. Mostly spent time cleaning seals from the years of buildup sitting in a field. Pulled the battery tray to see what possible rust lies below. It didn't look terrible at first.





Then I vacuumed up most of the debris and hit it with the wire wheel on my drill. Going to need a patch piece for sure, so much for rust free.





I then hand scrubbed the car to rid it of the gross film stuck to it. Lots of clearcoat still peeling off on the hood and front fenders.















Previously mentioned e21 Recaro seats.



I've also got an almost perfect dash, rear perforated vinyl seat to match the Recaros, glove box, sunroof crank parts, etc. to freshen up the interior.

[captain awesome]

Slowly eating this elephant one bite at a time.

Inner door handle replaced.
Hood strut replaced.
Hood release arm/cable replaced.
New throttle pedal and rubber for brake/clutch.



Removing parts is easy, so I started with the exhaust, driveshaft, and shields. It was then I realized the m20 flywheel should be my main priority. Unfortunately once you open up the can of worms more parts are needed to finish the job. Stainless clutch pivot pin/spring, pilot bearing, pressure plate screws, flywheel bolts, delrin/poly shifter bushings, etc. Today I took a picture of some work because I've never done it before, and for some reason it was really neat. Or at least I thought so.

Bread. 10mm deep socket. 1/4 drive extension. Hammer.

Pilot bearing removed.





I've got a truck load of suspension/brake parts waiting to install, but I'm holding off until the old motor/trans is out first.

[captain awesome]

Finally got around to pulling the old m42.





And then dropping the front suspension and subframe.






The subframe has seen better days, so I made templates, and eventually welded in reinforcements. Also shown is the battery tray patch piece.










Template to fill torn hole.





I also drilled out the tip of each of the cracks to keep them from cracking again.











And then welded in the reinforcements for motor mounts top/bottom as well as sway bar mounts.

















A quick spray job with some Duplicolor satin black wheel paint on the raw steel areas.

[sandrune]

Looks like a promising snag! Especially since you already have a complete swap ready for it. New paint and a freshened up interior and it'll be good as new! Perhaps his sputtering issues were partly due to the duck tape keeping that intake boot together haha

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[captain awesome]

Moved on to the steering rack. I pulled a cheap e36 rack from the local yard. Cleaned it up, installed new Febi tie rods, and made a quick power steering delete with some hose I had leftover from my 633csi. Also made some rack spacers from spare scrap I had.







I pulled the steering shaft to notch the firewall. The flex joint was rough, so I made a solid mount setup.



Notched the mounting plate holes for the shaft. I believe the plate ended up getting notched at the bolt holes more than shown to drop the bracket closer to the passenger side.



And the notch on the firewall.





Time to start assembling the front suspension. I cleaned up both calipers, dust seals, lubed the guide pins, etc.
Lemforder control arms
OE rubber cabs(for now)
OE sway bar links
21mm front vert sway bar
Bilstein sports
H&R race springs
drop hats
OE strut mounts
rubber brake lines - rotors - pads - sensor
wheel studs

[captain awesome]

On to the rear. Subframe dropped after using the 5/8" bolt trick I read about here.





Old junk removed.





Rtabs were pulled with the AKG tool a forum member sold for a decent price. Worked great for install as well with new Lemforder ones.



Febi subframe mounts
Meyle HD shock mounts
Lemforder sway bar links
OE diff mount bushing
14.5mm rear IX sway bar
pads - rotors - rubber lines
cleaned calipers and seals
repaired brake sensor wires
studs



Back on some wheels and ready to scrub the engine bay.









Before scrubbing I ziploc bagged plugs, cut finger tips from rubber gloves to cover various hose holes etc. Sprayed everything with Simple Green to soak for a while, and then scrubbed with an old dish brush and tooth brush.



After. Not too shabby.



Almost forgot, I pulled a bunch of little parts from a local U Pull It for very little money. Front windshield(aftermarket), wiper arms, e36/m42 electric fan. The windshield was WAY easier to remove and install than I expected.

[captain awesome]

With the motor and trans out I figured it's a good time to get the fuel system cleaned up after sitting for 10+ years. I drained the tank of putrid old fuel and proceeded to pull the pump assembly.







Rust and varnish. More varnish than anything, and quite frankly after looking at the inside of the tank, it looks like a pain in the ass to clean. I've cleaned and lined a bunch of motorcycle tanks before, and I know how difficult it can be to get it "clean" enough to stop putting debris in a fuel filter.

After a round or two in carb dip, the pump assembly hanger cleaned up nice.







The pump cleaned up nice as well, but is locked up. I'll be ordering a Deatschwerks dw200 as a replacement. I've used Walbro before, but can't stand the noise they make. Since I'm replacing all new lines, filters, etc. it made sense to shop around for a new tank. Autozone had an online special for 25% off online orders plus free shipping on anything over $100, so for $153.29 I got my brandy new tank.

[captain awesome]

That's kinda where I'm at now. I planned to just make a fun street car, but after trying out some autocross, I've refocused my efforts geared towards that. Unfortunately I've already done some mods that push me out of STX, so I'll end up in DSP. If all goes according to plan I should have it running and ready for the first run of next season. If it happens to be ready late this season I'll be even happier.

[MR E30 325is]

Excellent!! Great start, and you really can't beat a bit of your time in exchange for an E30

[paynemw]

get in work!

[AWDBOB]

Looking awesome- great save! I'm doing something quite similar, however, moving at 1/8th of your pace.

You should throw an M52 in there while you have it all apart.

[e30sh]

RockAuto has a German made VDO pump for the 318is for a bit over $200. Just picked one up for my car.

[captain awesome]

Looking awesome- great save! I'm doing something quite similar, however, moving at 1/8th of your pace.

You should throw an M52 in there while you have it all apart.

I started the project in late March I think. Usually I like to try and take 10-20 minutes a day to just accomplish one thing, or test fit stuff helps get things done. I've also had a couple long evenings and a good solid 8 hour day within a short period.

As for the m52, I'd love to do a bigger 6 swap, but that takes more money and time than I can commit to right now. The m42 I got should be solid, and will probably get a turbo late next year if I can swing it.