jc43089

I just came here to say that I love driving this car.  Sometimes I think about selling it for a dream type project or a "real" sports car but this thing just makes me smile.  It's so easy to control the back end, it's extremely stable at highway speeds and the noises.... THE NOISES!  I don't think a car has ever kept my attention at a fairly stock level for so long.

 
 

Here’s a little more info

Lang Billet Stroker Crank
CP 12.5 pistons
Carrillo Rods
Farrea OE sized valves
Lang stage 2 head
Schrick 288/280 cams
Dinan Large Bore TB’s
Beisan VANOS upgrade

Pusher fan mounted using the SPAL mounts


sits close to flush with the rad. 
 
have a few more things to tackle before this weekend’s HPDE. 
 

Some of you know that my daily is an e46 325xi touring. 

As of recently, it may be going under the knife soon for a swap that was too good to pass up. Found a complete M54B30 with complete 5spd trans setup for a steal of a deal. Includes an underdrive pulley kit, M5 clutch and a Spec M5 lightened flywheel as well. 

More to come....

Took the M3 to Neenah for Udderly Euro this last weekend and had a great time! Ended up taking home Top 20 as well! Lots of really cool builds and some neat BMW's. Highly recommend going next year! 

Yeah I'm excited to see what it hears like through that turbo, the cam is just nasty. Hoping to get an exhaust on there that makes it as quiet as stock. Thanks @KaiserRolls
 
On another note, I think I've got the solution to any future fueling problems...this thing is good for 535LPH at 40psi. The pump barely fits in the hole of the e30 tank. I've got to get creative with the hangar assembly, the line needs to be bigger (3/8"/10mm). I'm looking at aftermarket options. If anyone has experience modifying the fuel pump assembly please chime in. 

Hit 2,000 miles on the new engine today. Still going strong. Need to really look at an exhaust soon. It’s be very nice driving it to work like it’s a “normal car”. Hot out with the AC on. 
 

I love parking next to new vehicles. 
 

The passenger headrest evokes the boredom of a girlfriend sitting in the car waiting for a car meet to be over. 

Updates: 
1. Its amazing how forgiving powder coating can be and how good it looks. Check it out, I literally took this piece threw it in the oven for outgassing and preheat and put some powder on it. 



2. Got heat shielding? Perhaps overboard? No chances. Exhaust has been installed for the last time. There are 3 v-bands and 2 collector flanges, the shit lined up perfectly...no worries on blowing out a flex pipe.


 
 
 
 

I know, I know, I know, I moved and abandoned everyone, but the car and truck both have WI plates so it kinda counts, right?
The real reason is to keep track of things, and this forum format is pretty slicks.

So, I bought another E30. Like any logical man I made sure to buy one that was thousands of miles away, and too low for any sanely priced shipping company to touch. 
Took my truck to WI to say hi to a few people, fly out to CA for work, then fly back to WI so I could load up the car on the trailer and head home with it. Nothing like a 4,000 mile round trip to grab a car!


So the real question here is; why?

This is a car that has been mentioned from time to time, a handful of you know it, but never had much presence on the internet or in person. This is the car that a friend purchased shortly after he saw me rebuilding my first E30 and thought it looked cool. I've been working with this car since day one, and know the details on all of it, so minimal surprises.
He's owned the car for around 10 years, and it has seen an M10, M10 turbo (shortly), M50, and the current setup. It has been the bastard child of many projects, but what I really wanted was the current drive-line. 

Car Details:
1984 318i
Rear euro bumper on, front in the car to be put on
full late model brake swap
houndstooth / black leather interior
Koni adjustable suspension, poly throughout the whole car for bushings
M3 steering rack

Engine Details:
S52 OBD1 Swapped
11.5:1 Pistons (bored over)
MLS Head gasket (.01" taller than stock to compensate for block and head decking) 
Shrick Cams
Bavarian CNC port and polished head
Upgraded valve springs
Solid lifters (?)
M50 Intake manifold
Riot Racing big bore throttle body
3.5" Euro MAF
24lb injectors
Turner Underdrive pulleys 
ARP hardware throughout 
Ceramic coated headers, full stainless exhaust from Mr. Asparagus's NA setup

Needless to say, the car can really get out of its own way. 
We rolled the car across a scale a year or so ago which was very similar to how it sits now, and the scale showed 2,400 lbs. Lightweight NA power is a whole different ball game from what I've known. 

The car needs plenty of clean up work as it has been "neglected" for many years, a lot of the finer details are not in a way that I appreciate. 
I'm excited to be back behind the wheel of an E30 that will actually be enjoyable to drive (the diesel noises were cool before, but the rest was strongly mediocre).

Until next time!

 

Update...
1. Got the last tee fitting to run my pass side brake line. Added a grommet to the wheel well for the brake line. 
2. Oil pressure sender installed for the terminator ecu and AN -4 oil line ran for the turbo. 
3. Catch can mounted, PCV lines are getting run over to the driver side wheel well. I decided to run a provent 100, it has 3/4" inlet/outlet and a return back to the oil pan with a check valve. This will be practically maintenance free. The outlet will be plumbed into the turbochargers intake. More to come on this set up. I also added a tee with a filler for the water setup, this was needed in order to fill the intercooler and bleed all air from the system. I mounted this with zip ties cuz no build is done right-proper without zip ties holding shit together. 
4. Downpipe/exhaust. I was able to get an 80 degree 3.5" mandrel bend, fits the car perfect. Put the one end in the press and made it into a round to oval adapter, worked better than anticipated. 
5. Oil pan, charge pipe, intake, and turbo drain is all off getting welded. Once I have that back the car will need to be put together and I should be close to start up. 






 

Photos of the new to me trunk installed. 

Bought another BMW last week, plan to keep this one pretty stock and just daily and enjoy. Say hello to my 2005 330i ZHP! There were only 36 made in Alpine/black leather/6speed! This car is truly incredible. I think the ZHP might be one of the best all around daily’s bmw ever made? I love it. I picked it all the way up in Atlanta and took a proper detour to the tail of the dragon for a break in. It needs some small stuff here and there cosmetically, but the chassis and drive terrain are in fantastic shape! 
 
already polished the headlights, PPF’d the black pillars, and new knob. (Ignore the giant bug under the kidneys lol)

Ode to the old e21 back in action.

Changed out the halogen headlight bulbs with some Morimoto 2stroke 2.0 LED bulbs. Love these! I first put them in my previous Dodge Magnum. The cutoff, color temp and brightness far exceed anything else I've used/seen. They are engineered to work in halogen housings or projector housings, so the pattern/cutoff is exactly how it should be. No stray light blinding oncoming traffic. Need to get a good picture of the cutoff against garage door one of these evenings.

Halogens

LEDs

Next up is switching out the interior lights for LED replacements. I also ordered a footwell light kit from leatherz.com which allows a plug-n-play install of OEM style footwell lights that dim with the rest of interior lights when turning on/off. Pics of that coming when they arrive. 

Thanks For Looking 

I'm running out of things that I want to modify on the car but i'm checking one more off the list soon.  My car has the beloved burl walnut trim that BMW inexplicably put on every fucking car if no other trim option was selected.  It's not the worst I've ever seen but it's one little thing in the car that draws attention away from the sporting nature of the car.  I didn't want to do CF because my interior is already covered in black and I didn't think the CF would pop enough, also I didn't want to sell a testicle to buy it.  I opted to go a little different and plan on covering the wood trim with M cross fabric that I ordered from Relicate.  If you haven't checked them out I highly recommend it!  I like the randomness of the pattern.  It'll also add color without being too in your face. 
Also - I registered for the FVSCC / MSCC Road America AutoCross on 9/13.  I hope to see some of you guys there!

I checked out a cars & coffee style event in Thiensville yesterday morning. It was put on by fuelfed car club out of Chicago, but was open to the public (for pre-1995 cars) so I popped over in the Volvo. Probably 25 cars total, but every one of them was interesting and all of the owners I chatted with were very nice, welcoming and surprisingly knowledgeable compared to the average car enthusiast. This was by far my favorite event I’ve been to in a while. 
Of the BMW variety, I spotted a e31 850, 2002, e9 3.0cs, and an amazing older BMW 700 that I’ve never seen or heard of before. Probably the coolest BMW I've seen in a while. Oozing with character.

Still working on random parts of the car.
1. Added a proper metro-pack connector for the fan and added the wiring for the pump.
2. Added a bleeder to the intercooler and heat exchanger.
3. Installed the reservoir in the trunk and yes I did leave that length of clear hose hanging like that....just to bug your OCD. Got one of them hose cutter tools, so nice...
4. Finally got the last fitting in today for the fuel system. Finalized the fuel hoses in the engine bay area. Mounted the fuel filter. 
5. Turbo drain mocked up. Need to pull the oil pan to have the -10 male fitting welded in place. You can see the drain tube will also have a -10 fitting welded in place. I plan to use a coupler to attach. 
6. Took a picture of the coil relocation and LT1 boots I got to route the wires away from the exhaust. As long as they don't touch the exhaust they should be good to go. I have some fiberglass sleeve I'll use over the wires as well. 
7. Made a new ground cable for the battery. Still need to make a new engine ground. 
8. Hard line to AN fitting adapters installed.


















 
 
 
 
 

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/d/streamwood-2008-bmw-335xi/7163578386.html

I wish the seller would've blocked more of it so nobody would have to look at it

Yesterday I showed up with just below 3/4 tank of gas, assuming thats where the level will be more likely than not. With the lack of factory adjustments in rear and having no camber plates up front, this appointment was more so to get the sway links and coilovers adjusted correctly than a true alignment. My arbitrary settings that I had everything set at was actually just about spot on for corner balance besides the sway links. I was surprised. 
Here are my results. 


I will for sure need to weld in some camber/caster adjusters on the rear subframe as that is the only "really need inprovement" outcome. That will be a winter project most likely.
After all said and done, the car feels great! It tracks straight, feels more balanced and flatness in turns is fantastic. Even with the minimal alignment adjustments, it was worth the trip in my mind. 

Is anyone planning on going to the bmw meet this coming Tuesday? If so, would anyone want to cruise over with me? It’s in mequon and Nines American Bistro, I’ll be leaving from St, Francis but would be willing to meet anywhere! 

I've been on the fence about keeping the truck for awhile but after I had two Cayenne Diesels fall through due to dealer incompetence I have given up.  Along with the amount camping we do has proven it's useful to have the truck bed.  So now that i'm keeping this turd it can't stay stock.  First up is a set of wheels and tires!  They are KMC Dirty Harry 18x8.5 et0 with LT275/70r18 Nitto Terra Grappler G2.  I'm happy with the "meaty flush" look on the truck and love the bronze even if it means I have to put up with Subaford jokes (that have already been rolling in btw).
I've already installed a Hopkins Insight brake controller since the truck didn't come with one.  I didn't want to do the OE conversion because I wanted to be able to transfer it to future vehicles if needed.  A lot of what I'll end up doing is to make it a more capable tow vehicle.  The 2.7l ecoboost has never left me wanting more power hauling our 26' 5k lb camper but the F150 chassis is soft.  Even with a weight distribution hitch with sway control properly set up I've had a couple "moments" on the road from wind or passing semi trucks.  After a couple years I'll probably move into a Super Duty but until this this turd will have to do.
Next up:
2" Leveling kit Stiffer rear shocks Rear air springs Decent fucking headlights BEFORE

AFTER


 

Saw my first singer at RA this weekend!

Plate biker achievement unlocked