timmer

Big thanks to everyone who made it out today. Fantastic turnout as usual, probably 100 cars throughout the day. Also, thanks Glen for helping out with directing traffic! Cool to see Chris Young win the main raffle prize.

Bump. Just OVER a week away!
 

So concrete will be getting poured at my new house in the next 2-3 weeks-ish. The driveway is 100' long and 35x50 off the garage. Lots of room for cars to park. 
I have been kicking around the idea of hosting a 1 or 1.5 hour C&C for people in our smaller circle (local BMW friends (WIBimmers), and some of my other car friends, this is not a public event), followed by a cruise. Some of you know that I built my house intentionally about 1 minute away from the start of my Holy Hill cruise route area. We are very close to Hwy Q/Platt. I have room for people to park and congregate outside, and I would be willing to provide good coffee (Colectivo probably). Rather than doing a 2-3 hour C&C, my thought was to do a shorter gathering and then spend more time driving. The nice part about this is that because of my location, it's a great jumping off point to start a cruise up to RA as well. So potentially I'm thinking of hosting this on a few days this season where it makes for an easy half-day (4 hours or so including time at my house and roundtrip to and from RA) for cruising that isn't going to dominate your whole day, but as part of that most likely would do this during IMSA or Vintage where you can optionally make a day out of it to watch some races. 
I would probably look to start these at a reasonable hour of the morning, like 9 or 9:30 a.m., rather than the 7-8 a.m. starts most public C&Cs have. Get to driving by 11 or so. For the shorter routes around Holy Hill area, it would usually be 1-1.5 hours of driving, so back in time for lunch. There are several good places to eat very near my house and by Holy Hill - Joe Mama's, Sloppy Joe's, and Freiss lake pub.  Alternatively on any days that we do RA cruising, you could just eat there. 
I would probably try to limit this to like, 7-10 cars and I assume that's the most people I could get to actually show up anyways. I'm sure I know a few people here locally who would be interested. Most of you know I do pretty good cruise routes so shit would be legit, right now I'm just trying to gauge interest. If it's a small enough group of people I may just reach out to people individually for scheduling. Nothing is planned or set in stone yet, this is just an idea I started to come up with. 
 

New suspension on so I could get it over to the next garage spot lol
 

Almost spring update!   Took advantage of the warm weather this weekend and tackled the suspension upgrade...
Fortune Auto coilovers (thanks @KaiserRolls), new control arms, lollipops, poly bushings, and end links.  Should be a huge improvement over the 35 year old suspension bits.  
 
Unfortunately, my original Racing Dynamics strut bar doesn’t fit because the adjustment knob on the coilovers hits the center support.  I’ll put it on the wife’s convertible, and figure out which one to purchase for my car.
Hopefully this weather will continue and I’ll get her on the road soon!
 
- Timmer 

 

Almost spring update!   Took advantage of the warm weather this weekend and tackled the suspension upgrade...
Fortune Auto coilovers (thanks @KaiserRolls), new control arms, lollipops, poly bushings, and end links.  Should be a huge improvement over the 35 year old suspension bits.  
 
Unfortunately, my original Racing Dynamics strut bar doesn’t fit because the adjustment knob on the coilovers hits the center support.  I’ll put it on the wife’s convertible, and figure out which one to purchase for my car.
Hopefully this weather will continue and I’ll get her on the road soon!
 
- Timmer 

 

I didn't realize this s52 was modified the way it was, and I'm glad to see someone else with a high power s52! 
The cams really do come on around 3500-4k, I've had people ask if it's turbocharged haha. 
 
New suspension should be awesome! 

You could make a solid weekend out of that trip. These are just a small bit of fun roads on your way to Greer

Anyone up for a summer road trip to South Carolina for the “World’s Largest BMW parade” Guinness Records attempt?  
 
I’m seriously thinking about it just as an excuse to make a long drive with the bimmer and get out of town for a bit...the big question is which one do I take?? 🤷🏼‍♂️  Probably one with working A/C!!
 
https://theultimateparade.com
-Timmer

Anyone up for a summer road trip to South Carolina for the “World’s Largest BMW parade” Guinness Records attempt?  
 
I’m seriously thinking about it just as an excuse to make a long drive with the bimmer and get out of town for a bit...the big question is which one do I take?? 🤷🏼‍♂️  Probably one with working A/C!!
 
https://theultimateparade.com
-Timmer

A while back Helmut was sporting a stock m10 with the turbo big enough to disintegrate that poor motor. After two years of trashing this setup my turbo manifold decided to crack every weld and reject the turbo flange. 
Helmut by w grync,
Helmut by w grync, on Flickr
Helmut by w grync,
 
I decided to get rid of the m10 and switch to more modern unit. I acquired the early m42 with the plan to boost it. Stock 1.8 is nice if you like it to spool at 5k rpm. 
Since I got family in Poland, and Poland is Europe's junkyard, there are plenty of e36,e34 and e39  m47 diesels sold for parts. I found two diesel cranks and have them shipped to the States.
With M47 crank and enough bore I will have close to 2.1L. It should spool nicely especially with some efr (if budget allows)
M47 diesel crank by w grync,
 To use it in m42 the crank nose has to be turned to match the m42 chain sprocket ID. Also additional keyway needs to be cut.  M47s use same bearings as m42/m52s. I plan to use the 360 thrust bearing. Question: What is your opinion on the 360 degree oiling grooves for high (er) rev applications (8-8.5k rpm)? 
M47 diesel crank by w grync,
 
With power goals that I got in my mind the whole stock drivetrain was not up to the task.
I had the e28 subframe modded to fit e21 from my previous project. I had to decide  what to do with the front end. 
There were two options: e21 front with e12 hubs to make it 5x120 or the more entertaining way using the whole e36 front end. 
 
Front Subframe
 
I roughly chopped 3" of the middle of the front e36 subframe and welded it back together. I had to modify frme rails in order to bolt the new subframe in. 
 
Stock vs e36
E36 modified subframe by w grync
cut
E36 modified subframe by w grync,
Jig
E36 modified subframe by w grync, 
 
weld the crap out of it
E36 modified subframe by w grync,
 
Frame rails
I used panzer angles and tube to make it bombproof. I guess anything over 1/8" is overkill but oh well. 
Untitled by w grync,
Untitled by w grync,
Front suspension by w grync, 
 
Control arm Mounts
I decided to use the wider e46 arms to match the increased rear track width. SLR adjustable lollipops were used to center the wheel.
Front suspension by w grync,
E46 arms and lollipop mount by w grync,
Front suspension by w grync,
I set the arms parallel to the subframe for the neutral anti-dive. I can always add some spacers under lollipop mounts to increase anti-dive
Control arm angles by w grync,
 
Trailing Arms
The rear end is as problematic as the front. to fit wider wheels i needed to move shock pickup points almost 2" in. Shock mounts are from https://www.aa-mfg.com/
Trilingarm by w grync,
Rear suspension by w grync, 
 
 
Brakes: 
Stock e46 330i up front and e32 rears. 
 
Suspension:
Koni race single adjustables. Front and rear e28 swaybars. Not sure about the spring rates.
I modded the front e36 strut housings. I chopped the tops and welded volvo 740 threaded top portion of the strut tube.  
 
Strut tubes e36 by w grync, 
Strut tubes e36 by w grync, 
 
 

Progress might be slow but I hope to build the motor over the summer and maybe even have it on the road this year.  
 
 
pe that it will

Why Turtle Farts? Be as she's low, slow, and sounds like an elongated  fart due to the cherry bomb exhaust. 😬 Regardless, I'm glad she's finally on the road!
Backstory: I was looking for a clean E30 coupe since fall of last year, and found this '86 325es on Craigslist in Wisconsin Rapids last May... took the hour drive to Rapids and met with the owner who was best described as "eccentric".  
He had inherited the car from a friend following his passing and soon realized he didn't have the means to continue working on the car.
First impressions were good!  Completely rust free, lowered on bilstien's, all suspension bushings upgraded to poly, upgraded brakes, and best of all, it ran and drove.  
Unfortunately there was absolutely zero service history, but the car fax showed it came to Wisconsin from California in 2013.
It had a terrible driveline shudder and a cracked, but meticulously fixed with JB weld, oil pan. The expected cracked dash, non functioning odometer, and a/c are all present and accounted for. Other than that, most everything else is good. Following a bit of haggling and $2,900 later; she was on the back of a flatbed heading to my house on May 23rd. I felt pretty good with that.
I spent my free time this summer replacing the oil pan (thanks Snap!), the driveshaft, guibo, center support bearing, timing belt and other maintenance items, a good cleaning and polishing, and here we are!
My goal for this year was to bring it, along with my '89 cabrio, to the Door county Euro rally this September.
I plan on a mild restoration to follow in the upcoming years... the big question is: what do I want to do with the powertrain?
I want a mild, reliable build, and am thinking a turbo/hybrid (i) build utilizing the current engine, or a outright swap with a newer motor.... after looking under the hoods of a few cars at the E30 picnic, I was overwhelmed with the options and talent that is out there! I am excited to see where this goes.... 
 
-Tim
 
 
 

It was nice meeting you! 
 
I really wanted to see your E70 ice race haha 

Winter update!  Is it spring yet??
Thanks to @KaiserRolls for hooking me up and giving me a project to help pass the time!  This should help bring the old girl to the next level!  

Once I tear into her, I’ll post some pics of the 35 year old suspension parts coming out...
-Timmer

Winter update!  Is it spring yet??
Thanks to @KaiserRolls for hooking me up and giving me a project to help pass the time!  This should help bring the old girl to the next level!  

Once I tear into her, I’ll post some pics of the 35 year old suspension parts coming out...
-Timmer

Here is the e30 vs e46 rear caliper. 32mm vs 40mm piston 

Go the tires mounted, took a look at the fender difference here, the passenger side has been rolled/pulled and the drivers side has not been rolled yet. 

I successfully seated the piston rings last weekend. The engine sounds amazing. I installed my s54 swap cluster from "e30 clusters" on Facebook. They did an awesome job. I installed a check engine light and hooked up the oil temp sensors.

So I've been busy doing some swapping the last couple years and thought I should share what I've been up to. I currently have 2 e30s, red s52 supercharged and blue m50nv(sold).
I picked up an s54 with a 420g(6speed) that has a hole in the block. The head and cylinder are destroyed from what looks like a piston going through an industrial ninja mixer. The flywheel was a bonus, lightweight with new sachs clutch kit.
I found a good cylinder head. I also picked up a mystery block that supposedly had 80k miles on it. Sure enough after disassembly, it looks as though it did. I cleaned everything up and am currently waiting for some new rings and rod bearings.
My goal is to sell the s52, zf310(lightweight flywheel, act clutch)supercharger kit, and mspnp to swap in an s54 turbo. (Sold)
For the s54, I'm going to use arp head studs and the oe mls gasket. The rod bearings are ACL. I'll be opening up the ring gap a little bit as well. Any input is great. I'm deciding what kit or parts to use for this build, as well as a hp goal. Definitely want to go turbo, more tq.

Bump, new stuff is showing up this week so these need a new home. 
 
will also be making a listing for the adjustable AKG front endlinks if anyone is interested in those 

Took a staycation since both of our trips to Canada had to be cancelled.... had some time to rip out the interior, installed new carpet and the seats.  Had to fab up some brackets to account for the uneven floor of the E21.
 Not perfect, but much better!   Lots of work left to do...
-Tim

Sweet! Yeah that will work since I only need the buckles... I’ll shoot ya a message.  Thanks!

I’d say they’re still an inch or two too high, but it works for me... I wouldn’t want to be much taller or bigger since the steering wheel isn’t adjustable. Comparing it with my E30, there isn’t too much difference.
 Way more comfortable than the original seats though!

Mad jealous of your lot, house, and shop building. 
G O A L S

I do have a pile of seatbelts, let me check!