Earl

I wish I had the 9.5" rears=( 
Here are pictures of an actual rear test fit on a friend's coupe.

The ground control RSM's are one of the favorite parts I've purchased for the black car

Not E30 content, but super stoked about this.
1984 Yamaha QT50.

Zomg

Heres the breakdown:

Olde timey skid racing footage as seen on Jalopnik today.
E30 content around the 22:00 mark.
I love the simplicity and the low power 4 cyl action
 
 

This weekend was exhausting...

The picture is pre-paint, and without the hanger on the rear section. Despite my ugly welds I'm really happy with how it turned out. The majority of the system is a mix of aluminized steel mandrel beds and straight sections, and the rear muffler and flanges that connect to the headers are stainless. I used some lap-joint band clamps to connect the mid-section to the pipes coming off the headers, and some 309 stainless flux core wire to weld on the muffler. The 309 wire was really difficult to dial in, but is apparently the best way to join dissimilar metals. 
 
And the end result after getting a coat of black high-temp paint:

I managed to keep it pretty snug against the body so I hopefully minimized any ground clearance issues. 
 

Seen here is a post-paint adjustment since the tip was sitting too high and hitting the body. Also seen here is the final install of the newly rebuilt 3.15 LSD (huge thanks to @TehRaydarlover) with a condor diff bushing to match the rest of the car. Just needs a fresh fill of gear oil and the drivetrain will be ready to go!
 
For the exhaust hangers, I used some generic exhaust hangers and mounted them to one of the heat shield bolts in the middle of the car, the original hanger location on the rear subframe, and then added two nutserts to the frame rail under the trunk floor. They are pretty stiff so the exhaust basically feels like it is solid mounted. Not sure if I love that but the engine is also solid mounted so it should be ok. If it ends up cracking I'll know where to add a flex joint haha.

 
While I was waiting for paint to dry I mounted the strut brace to finish off the engine bay!

 
With the exhaust mounted I was able to bleed the cooling system without pissing off all the neighbors. It bled very easily, but unfortunately I need to drain it all again to fix a leak in the upper radiator hose. Bleeding the cooling system was also the first time I ran the engine for an extended period of time. The lifters were pretty loud at first but after a minute or two above 1500 rpm they quieted nicely. It got up to a steady operating temp of around 200F according to the ecu, oil pressure is right in spec too. The exhaust is definitely on the loud side, but its manageable and sounds pretty good so far. 
 
I also decided to make sure everything clears the hood since the PS reservoir and coolant expansion tank sit pretty high, so I got that mounted back up. Maybe not the smartest move because I need to mess with the cooling system still, but it felt good seeing it looking like a complete car again (bonus super cluttered garage shot)

 
Another issue I've come across is the bleeder screws on the front calipers...again. I just can't get them to seal. I'm hoping there is just some dirt or something causing the leak, but I have a feeling there might be an issue with the caliper itself as this has been a recurring problem with multiple different bleed screws. Hopefully I can get that sorted. 
 
Picnic hit list (5 days remaining):
- Fix leaks and re-bleed cooling system
- Get the front brake caliper bleeders to seal
- Fill the diff

Yep. Aluminum straps and seam sealed from the inside to prevent leaks. Did this 2 years ago and all is good, however, car rarely even sees the daylight haha.

I've done the sunroof delete using the original skin, super easy. Finished it up with 3m seam sealer and leak free.

I love knowing the car is being driven
EDIT: i think I have the tow hook for you still it's in my garage I'm pretty sure

We go often! Any of you are 100% encouraged to come out and check it out! It's kinda hard to get a pass as they sell out super fast but come to any of the Drift Days hosted by ClubFR and get some ride alongs! Final bout is also a huge event and worth coming for. It's only $10 for a pit pass at the drift day events!

Anybody ever been to a drift event at USAIR?  I want to go to Final Bout this year.

I've shot one of these and wouldn't mind owning one=)
 
Speaking of shooting, I'm going to die while dailying the drift car if it snows=(

I bought an H&K VP9 for no reason other than I wanted one.
 
Much excitement to go shoot it.
 
That is all.

Could it just need a valve adjustment?  If the valves aren't closing all the way that would be a problem!

Oddly enough I feel the exact opposite of this. I cannot see any of the modern BMW engine lasting reliably much past 200k. I wouldn't even bat an eye at buying an m/s5x car with 200k+ on it and knowing it'd be reliable. 

Oddly enough I feel the exact opposite of this. I cannot see any of the modern BMW engine lasting reliably much past 200k. I wouldn't even bat an eye at buying an m/s5x car with 200k+ on it and knowing it'd be reliable. 

What I'm saying is getting lost in translation. It won't handle terribly at all or have any sort of understeer conditions. I obviously cannot explain what I mean properly so I'll just give up and let you guys enjoy your 24v swaps lol

What I'm saying is getting lost in translation. It won't handle terribly at all or have any sort of understeer conditions. I obviously cannot explain what I mean properly so I'll just give up and let you guys enjoy your 24v swaps lol

There is a small trade off with the added power. You end up losing a little bit of the go kart feel that you may have grown to love. It happens because the weight is not pushed in front of the strut towers instead of being "behind" them. With the extra power you yourself probably won't notice, especially with not having driven the car as is for a bit

Rampelsauce delivered the package:
 
One BMW tote bag
One e36 front end cookie cutter
Seven packages of BMW all weather mat "feet"
Two WiBimmers can coozies
Four WiBimmers iron on patches
Eleven WiBimmers "handout" cards

Rampelsauce delivered the package:
 
One BMW tote bag
One e36 front end cookie cutter
Seven packages of BMW all weather mat "feet"
Two WiBimmers can coozies
Four WiBimmers iron on patches
Eleven WiBimmers "handout" cards

2 things checked off the list today!
Picked up a glove box from a guy off r3v for a fair price. That's gonna be shipped out tomorrow and on it's way.
Called up driveshafts specialists in Texas this afternoon and got me a reman'd driveshaft ordered. I can't even begin to describe how helpful the guys are over there, they really know their shit and were super helpful in figuring out what I needed. Prices were very reasonable as well. 100% recommend!

99% of the cars there are glorified winter beaters so it doesnt matter if they see snow or not.

😑

😑