My E30 Rehabilitation! ft. Boost Noises

[2mAn]

Cruised down to south Austin the other day to check out an antique store, and perused an old bmw repair shop afterward.

It was very cool to see this M1 lurking out front, albeit wasting away. Maybe another rehab build is in order ;)



The interior smelled strongly of cat piss :(



That poor exposed engine was covered up with a trash bag:

Crazy, was this in Texas? Were you able to talk to anyone about it? Thats seriously a shame...

I noticed your car doesnt have any kind of OBC (or does it??) because the clock is the most basic clock setup available... the good news is that it should be a very easy plug and play to put a euro analog clock in. I highly recommend it

[zwill23]

Crazy, was this in Texas? Were you able to talk to anyone about it? Thats seriously a shame...

I noticed your car doesnt have any kind of OBC (or does it??) because the clock is the most basic clock setup available... the good news is that it should be a very easy plug and play to put a euro analog clock in. I highly recommend it

Yep, it's located in South Austin at Terry Saythers. I spotted it on a Sunday so unfortunately the shop wasn't open, but I am very curious about the background. If I had to guess it commands too big of a price tag for the condition, hence why it continues to waste away. It's not the only rare bmw sitting out front in similar condition...

It's actually suppose to have a six button OBC, but it was long gone when I picked the car up. I found that clock in a junkyard a couple years ago and grabbed it just to fill the space. Definitely not ideal, but better than a hole in the front console.

I've considered picking up a euroclock, converting the space into a phone holder, or using it as a future gauge space if/when the car sees turbo dreams. But I remain undecided. I believe an adapter is needed for the OBC to euroclock conversion, right?

[2mAn]

Yep, it's located in South Austin at Terry Saythers. I spotted it on a Sunday so unfortunately the shop wasn't open, but I am very curious about the background. If I had to guess it commands too big of a price tag for the condition, hence why it continues to waste away. It's not the only rare bmw sitting out front in similar condition...

It's actually suppose to have a six button OBC, but it was long gone when I picked the car up. I found that clock in a junkyard a couple years ago and grabbed it just to fill the space. Definitely not ideal, but better than a hole in the front console.

I've considered picking up a euroclock, converting the space into a phone holder, or using it as a future gauge space if/when the car sees turbo dreams. But I remain undecided. I believe an adapter is needed for the OBC to euroclock conversion, right?

That name sounds VERY familiar. He sold a 2002 race car on BaT ( https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1976-bmw-2002-57/ ) and mentioned he was going to be selling a bunch of his cars... maybe he's collecting change to give this one love OR its one of the cars going to be sold soon

Heres his reply when I asked what he was going to be selling:

2mAn—highlights: Colorado 2002 pretty stock, Inka 2002, turbo flares and not as stock, e39 540 six speed, e28 535i, riviera 2002ti clone, tear drop trailer, R75/5 MC—that’s all this year. Next year—Inka 2002Touring 5speed, silver 02tii barn find, ’71 3.0CSL, ’79 M90 engined Euro 635. After that—2 Targa Baurs, 1600 Full Cab, M1, 502 V12 Hot Rod, …

No M1 mentioned, so who knows...

As far as the OBC-> Euro Clock conversion you will need the harness. The OBC has ~12 wires going into it, the clock has ~4 or something and they have their corresponding plugs

[pondhopper]

Seems to mention the M1 second from last.
He built some Frankenstein BMW race cars in the past.

[TriniBoy]

Great work man, and great thread.
Quick question, just wondering now that you've spent a over a year on the FEQ rear axles how are you finding them?
I've heard nothing but good things on these, especially considering the price.

[2mAn]

Seems to mention the M1 second from last.
He built some Frankenstein BMW race cars in the past.

You're right, my eye always goes straight to the 507 V12 and completely overlooks the M1 haha

[econti]

Oh man, a M1 just sitting outside? That is actually criminal.
There are only two in my country (I believe) and they are an all time dream car for me

[zwill23]

As far as the OBC-> Euro Clock conversion you will need the harness. The OBC has ~12 wires going into it, the clock has ~4 or something and they have their corresponding plugs

I'll look into it! Always looking for new ways to spice up the interior ;)

Seems to mention the M1 second from last.
He built some Frankenstein BMW race cars in the past.

You're right, my eye always goes straight to the 507 V12 and completely overlooks the M1 haha

I don't think anyone can blame you there :devil:

Oh man, a M1 just sitting outside? That is actually criminal.
There are only two in my country (I believe) and they are an all time dream car for me

Ugh, I know. It must be a barn find of some sort. Maybe I'll give Terry a call at some point to try and lay this story to rest.

Great work man, and great thread.
Quick question, just wondering now that you've spent a over a year on the FEQ rear axles how are you finding them?
I've heard nothing but good things on these, especially considering the price.

Thanks! I haven't had any problems with the FEQ axles and they've held up to a bunch of launches, burnouts, donuts, etc... albeit with stock M20 power. When I was first doing research I believe I found someone on the forum (forgetting the name) that used them on a drift car without issue, that pretty much sold me.

If I had to find something to complain about with them, it's that the shafts themselves have a bit of surface rust now. If I could go back I may have painted the shafts, but really not a big deal.

[econti]

Ugh, I know. It must be a barn find of some sort. Maybe I'll give Terry a call at some point to try and lay this story to rest.

Please do. And let us know how much its worth to him

[TriniBoy]

Thanks! I haven't had any problems with the FEQ axles and they've held up to a bunch of launches, burnouts, donuts, etc... albeit with stock M20 power. When I was first doing research I believe I found someone on the forum (forgetting the name) that used them on a drift car without issue, that pretty much sold me.

If I had to find something to complain about with them, it's that the shafts themselves have a bit of surface rust now. If I could go back I may have painted the shafts, but really not a big deal.

Yea when I was digging around for info, I found a similar thread, and a few others with nothing negative, but I figured I'd ask you for some "longer term" perspective.
Thanks for the info and heads up on the surface rust. I think I'll give them a try.

M1 ;D

[zwill23]

My bung hole, bugs, and other goodies

Updates! Nothing too radical, but it's interesting enough for R3v I think!

I've been itching to fix some electrical bits that have been nagging at me lately. Between my ignition switch, crumbling plugs, and MAF trouble, the small stuff was starting to add up.

I mentioned a while back that I broke my ignition switch when Kid8 and I installed the fresh dash, well, that has finally bitten me enough times that I decided to replace the switch all together. I've had to tear apart my steering column on more than one occasion just to reset the ignition switch position so I could start the car.

Ignition switch removal:



Old vs. New:



Yeesh, quite a bit of corrosion here:



Testing the new switch!



Installed :up:

Replacing the switch was a lot easier than I expected. With non air-bag cars I believe the steering column needs to be lowered and the impact bolts removed to replace the switch. In my case, it was just a matter of bending the upper steering column panel out a bit to swap the switch in and out. This ended up being a 5 minute job once the under-dash panel and things were removed.



Replaced all of my anti-lock brake connectors with weatherpacks:



Installed a Docooler keyless entry system thanks to a write up from Eric Giles. I'm very impressed with it, especially for $15 bucks!

Write up can be found here:

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=46332&page=34

Initial testing and install:



Removed unnecessary wiring from the Docooler unit and used heavy duty velcro rated for temps up to 150 deg to mount it inside the trunk. So far the adhesive has held up to the Texas heat great! I used constant power from the old antenna and the amp ground to power the unit.



I've had a couple MAF codes pop up lately so I decided to crack it open and give it a quick refresh. Overall, the internals looked pretty good, but I gave it a once over anyway. I cleaned the contact surface using a piece of paper and bent the electrical tab down a bit more to ensure good contact.

I actually started the car with the cover removed and it was neat seeing the needle bouncing around inside the housing, it definitely stays pretty busy in there.

I haven't received anymore CEL's for the MAF, so I think this did the trick! Once I was finished I resealed the cover with some silicon.



I think R3v might find the next series of events pretty interesting...

Driving around a month or two ago I started to notice eerily low oil pressure from my PODI gauge, roughly 6-7psi at idle. I'm accustomed to seeing about 10psi so the recent development was interesting. About a week later I notice my oil pressure at idle drop to 4-5 psi and the low oil pressure idiot light starting to flicker.

Red flag.

I limped the car home from work that day, holding down the accelerator to keep oil pressure up at lights, and parked the car until I could figure out what the hell was going on. Fortunately, the car times it's issues very conveniently, as my girlfriend was about to go on a vacation with her family for a couple weeks. Time to wrench :devil:

Armed with a Honda Fit as my temporary daily, I decided to start troubleshooting the E30 and start another impromptu project.

Here were my goals:

• Determine the cause of my low oil pressure
• Have a turbo bung welded to a spare crack-free oil pan
• Swap oil pans
• Replace driveshaft
• Valve adjustment

Before jumping right into an oil pan swap, I changed the oil and filter to make sure I wasn't just dealing with a clogged filter, but I was greeted with the same symptoms after I warmed the car up.

That pretty much solidified my need for a pan swap, so I reached out to a buddy to have a -10AN turbo drain bung welded onto my spare pan. I go back and forth on turbo or ITB dreams what seems like daily, so I did this just to keep my options open. Thanks varg for the bung placement advice!

-10AN fitting zapped onto the pan:



My bung hole!



Capped off!



Then I went ahead and pulled my oil pan, I've already pulled this god damn pan at least three times so I didn't bother with any pictures. I think I've covered that one enough in this thread :rofl:

Inside the pan, everything seemed clean with no obvious oil pump clogs. Hmmmm... let's check the oil pump pick-up screen.

HOLY SHIT.

FUCKING BUGS.

Bugs and a small piece of gasket had been the cause of my low oil pressure... I couldn't fucking believe it. In the craigslist pictures I posted on the first page of the thread, you'll notice the engine had been sitting with the valve cover off exposed to the elements for nearly 10 years. Well, some time along the way it looks like some creepy crawlies found there way inside the engine where their carcasses have apparently been getting fried for the past 3 years I've owned the car.

After cleaning the pick-up screen and reinstalling the oil pan, I'm now seeing oil pressure of 16-17 psi at idle. Wow. I'm not sure why I never checked the pick-up screen in the first place, so if anyone has to pull their pans for whatever reason I highly recommend checking the pick up while you're in there.



While putting everything back together I also replaced the driveshaft with a fresh unit from the Driveshaft Specialists of Texas. I was very impressed with the rebuilt shaft and it even has serviceable u-joints!! I highly recommend them for anyone in the market.

My driveline feels night and day different now and the backlash between shifts has been totally eliminated. The u-joints on my original driveshaft were definitely toast.



To finish this project off, I knocked out a valve adjustment to keep the M20 healthy



After all of this, I had to readdress my AC system. I was having issues with the compressor cycling on and off almost instantly, but the system was leak free.

It ended up being a clogged expansion valve causing the issue. I cleaned the valve and lines with three cans of brake cleaner and replaced the evaporator core and AC drier just to be safe. It's been working great now, so hopefully that's the last of my AC woes.

Clogged valve:



Old vs. New Evaporator Core:



To remove the evap core I had to unplug the ECU and push all my gauge wiring out of the way, but overall it wasn't difficult to replace:



I scored a nearly brand new HVAC panel and fresh buttons for a great price on Craigslist! I was pretty excited about this one because my old panel was cracked, faded, and warped. If anyone needs a nearly new volume fader or hazard button shoot me a PM!

Fresh HVAC panel:



While installing that I also put together a small project I've been wanting to do for a long time - a phone holder in the OBC slot. Paying $100+ for a euro-clock or functioning OBC never sat well with me, so I was pretty excited that this was only $25 out the door for a blank, phone holder, and small phone charger.

I use this thing every damn day :D

P.S. If anyone has tips for eliminating the gap between the lower cluster panel and the HVAC panel I'm all ears. I've tried eliminating that gap several times to no avail.





Lastly, I ordered some garagistic front / rear strut bars! I'm actually very surprised at the difference in front-end grip the front bar made. I get to carve some pretty cool turns going to and from work and the front wheels have noticeably more bite now.



I'm not so sure the rear bar has made that much of a difference, but I think I have a cool idea to at least give it some practicality in the trunk! For now it just holds my sunshade



Also, I visited a friend in St. Thomas and saw this island E30! Some locals said the E30 used to be the island car to have before they probably all rusted away. The sunroof on this one was seriously rotted, but it was cool to see it still running around.



Bonus doggo!



I'm still working toward a megasquirt install, but I'm also at the point where I'd like to just sit back and enjoy the car awhile. It's important to enjoy the stages of the evolution I think, although I'm pretty bad at staying satisfied with it. So I guess we'll see how long that lasts ;)

[benwalsh91]

Man just read all 11 pages! love what you have done to this.

when i am in Austin maybe we can get the e30 folks out, maybe hit up that pizza joint you mentioned a few pages back!

[kid8]

Doggo looks super happy! Keep it up man, looking forward to the next upgrade lol.

[zwill23]

Man just read all 11 pages! love what you have done to this.

when i am in Austin maybe we can get the e30 folks out, maybe hit up that pizza joint you mentioned a few pages back!

Thanks!! Definitely, I've actually met quite a few E30 dudes in Austin now. There is a sneaky little scene here.

Shoot me a PM when you're back in the area :up:

Doggo looks super happy! Keep it up man, looking forward to the next upgrade lol.

Hah! Lil gal is always excited for a car ride.

The upgrades never stop! :nice:

[iwantspeed]

very cool project just re read it.


i have an oil cooler line weeping too


i kinda want to convert it to AN hoses
but this seems like a good fix too.