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87' E30 vert build thread! Now with M50 Swap!!!


Blaine0002

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Money spent so far:
55 - fan and clutch from forum member
15 - new odometer gears from Garagistic
250 - Carpet and Ellipsoids from forum member
162 - hood shock and clips, entire hose and clamp kit grille clips from Bavauto
115 - Reconditioned exhaust manifolds. New nuts, studs and gaskets.
100 - New lower shift boot and shift linkages from autohausaz.
80 - z3 shifter

(sic)

 

too much


Hey guys, new to the e30 . mostly an e34 person so far, but i saw a deal i couldnt pass by and figured i could use a project :)

as it stands right now
9ArBF.jpg
paint is PERFECT. car is dirty because its been sitting under a tarp for a couple months due to it lacking a rear window. paint was redone about 4-5 years ago by bmw and the car is from texas.. so no body rust!
hf9Bf.jpg
yes, these are e46 fender ducts. no I dont know why.
YPAjc.jpg
guy i bought it from said he was stripping interior out to restore the car. he threw out the carpet because it was shitty.... i cant find another carpet! anyone have one for sale? :)
fnl1Z.jpg
no floorboard rust
cU3Zv.jpg
trunk full o parts
uu3Id.jpg
exhaust off a ford lightning. no mufflers. dont ask.
mkuoR.jpg
parts that were in the back seat. none of the seats have holes. minor cracks.. could use some TLC
pIIdQ.jpg
minor corrosion on the rear floorboard. i imagine this will just wash out.
YaInL.jpg
checkin out my current car
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bay shot... its really dirty but the engine started up fine when i replace the battery. 'fine' is defined as loud as fck due to one of the exhaust manifolds not being bolted to the cats. I get a check engine light but im hoping its either due to no pressure on the exhaust or due to there being no sensor on the coolant resivoir
http://i.imgur.com/fSnsC.jpg
worst part of the car. ill probably take as much of it off with a sander as i can then coat it with anti-rust paint.
http://i.imgur.com/Jhs5a.jpg

Hoping i can find some parts on these boards and get it running and looking good with your guys' help!

Edited by Blaine0002
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cleaned up the car a bit today. put the headlights in. will eventually upgrade to ellipsoids / euro grille because it looks pretty derpy like this IMO.

also i vacuumed out theinterior and trunk. going to do sanding and rust control tomorrow.

Im thinking i may go with an electric radiator fan. does anyone have any suggestions?

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Another update since i know you guys care oh so much. got the radiator fan installed today, i had to remove the radiator to get it on which i thought was odd.. i put the radiator fan back in and theres a little less than a half inch of clearance between the fan and the radiator!? is this normal?

also, ive noticed that if i rock the car really hard when it stops i hear something rattle inside the engine, im kinda scared to find out what it is, is this a symptom to anything? thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...

update. got the carpet today. fiddled with the dash and found out i gotta remove it and the heat blower in order to get it in, some people say you should cut around the console to get it in easy, but i dont want to do a half ass job. oh well, gives me time to look for a new dash anyways and get the carpet steam cleaned before i put it in.

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  • 2 weeks later...

tits. got most of the interior in. some of it is just sitting there cause of me missing nuts bolts ect, so i gotta order some or pick some up somewhere.

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New shift linkage is in, it shifts like a dream (i dont see why anyone would want a shorter shift than a 1.9 z3) but it still doesnt go into 2nd, just grinds. probably a synchro. oh well ill replace the tranny when i do an engine swap :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

been wanting to do my headlights for a couple days now, but the humidity kept me from being able to paint anything.

finished today though! heres the process

What i started with

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Teardown:

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Finished!:

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Close up:

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its hard to see how good they look with my crappy phone camera. maybe ill post better pics eventually.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Well, had an issue awhile back, car sputtered and died while getting loud at the same time, though tit might be crank positioning sensor, so while i was waiting for that i got a valve job done and painted intake manifold and valve cover.

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Turned it over with the new crank positioning sensor and nothing. but i did happen to hear the fuel pump dumping gas onto the ground at the fuel filter... shit.

Dont know if the fuel filters clogged yet or if i have another issue, im HOPING thats whats keeping it from starting... if not i have no idea?

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