Alpine e30 progress/build thread

[Jdesign]

Yeah that looks great! Much better than the plastic OEM ones, I might have to follow the trend.. 🤔

[m42b32]

Making moves!

I got the power steering return sorted out with a 1/2" stainless steel elbow, 1/2" trans cooler line, and the original steel section of the m42 return line. To get clearance from between the hose and the alternator I had to space the power steering bracket up about 1/4" as well. 

 

I am deleting the CCV and replacing it with a catch can system, so I got the CCV connections modified to adapt them to some PCV/fuel vapor hose. I found a car with a recently replaced CCV in the junk yard and got the fittings that connect to the valve cover and vacuum distribution manifold (removed the rest of the hose). I tapped the valve cover fitting to 3/8"-18 NPT and used an aluminum 1/2" barb adapter fitting. On the vacuum distribution block I tapped the outer fitting to 1/4"-18 NPT and used an aluminum 3/8" barb adapter fitting. Both are lightly torqued into the plastic with some RTV to ensure an airtight seal. 

 

The hoses will route over to the passenger side where the catch can will be mounted next to the coolant expansion tank. I also got the vacuum distribution manifold reinstalled with the catch can return hose routed underneath the intake. Lots of hoses to attempt to organize neatly...

Also in this picture I have new intake boots installed as well as a used (but hopefully good) MAF. 

 

A while back I modified the gas pedal mount from an E46 to fit the e30 chassis by cutting off the piece that clips onto the floor and bonding the base of an e30 gas pedal in it's place. I used a supposedly very strong 48 hour 2-part epoxy, but it turns out that it didn't take to the plastic well and it broke off when I bumped the pedal. I re-attached it with some Loctite super-duper-super-glue and now it's not going anywhere. I got the pedal remounted and looking like it belongs there. Current state of the interior for your entertainment:

 

It was at this point I realized there wasn't anything stopping me from connecting the battery and doing some initial wiring/electronics checks. Battery connected and nothing blew up, turned the key to the on position (with fuel pump relay removed), and everything functioned as expected. I figured why not and bumped the key and the starter engaged and turned over the engine! The engine was probably pretty dry so I turned it over with the starter for a while to get oil circulating. After a minute or so it really quieted down and turned over smoothly. I realized that nothing was really stopping me from attempting a first start so I reinstalled the fuel pump relay, primed the pump a few times until I heard it load up evenly, and turned the key (actual first start footage):

 

It fired right up! It actually startled me because I wasn't expecting it to light off on all 6 right away like that. I ended up having two fuel leaks, one by the fuel filter and one at the other end of the feed, both just needed the clamps to be tightened a bit more (Running 3.5 bar, vs. 3.0 with the M42). Of course with the leaks stopped I had to check it again to verify, and also see if the drive-by-wire gas pedal was working (RIP headphone users):

 

It does! Open headers are loud haha. The engine had no coolant so I only ran it for a few seconds each time, but I am so pumped it fired right up without any major issues! Now I really can't wait to get it on the road. There is a ton left to do, but this is super motivating. 

[straight6pwr]

awesome progress! all those power steering fittings/joints above the alternator would give me anxiety.

[jc43089]

Excellent!  I am stoked to hear how this drives, I think the 6 cylinder power and 4 cylinder weight really should make an excellent driving experience.

[P_Roloff]

Can't wait to see it on the road, great progress!

[m42b32]

2 minutes ago, straight6pwr said:

awesome progress! all those power steering fittings/joints above the alternator would give me anxiety.

Yup, It's definitely far from ideal but I couldn't find any 1/2" power steering hoses with a sharp 90 to eliminate using a fitting for the return. The feed is the stock e46 hose so no fittings/etc needed to make the turn thankfully. That fitting in the return is super tight in the hose so I'm not too worried about it leaking anytime soon, but checking it regularly would definitely be a good idea

[m42b32]

4 minutes ago, jc43089 said:

Excellent!  I am stoked to hear how this drives, I think the 6 cylinder power and 4 cylinder weight really should make an excellent driving experience.

I'm stoked to find out too haha. I hope it retains some of the 318 'balance', but even if it doesn't it should still be an absolute riot. 

 

3 minutes ago, P_Roloff said:

Can't wait to see it on the road, great progress!

Me too!

[YoungCR]

Congrats on the milestone! Can’t wait to hear it with the full exhaust 

[rampelsauce]

You gave my laptop speakers a spasm when you blipped the throttle.  Also, who plasti dips a golf ball and calls it a shift knob?  What are you, some kind of alternate universe Arnold Palmer?

[m42b32]

2 hours ago, YoungCR said:

Congrats on the milestone! Can’t wait to hear it with the full exhaust 

Same! Open headers sound meh so hopefully I can get some nicer sound with a proper exhaust!

 

Just now, rampelsauce said:

You gave my laptop speakers a spasm when you blipped the throttle.  Also, who plasti dips a golf ball and calls it a shift knob?  What are you, some kind of alternate universe Arnold Palmer?

Haha sorry... It did the same thing with my eardrums, and most of the neighborhoods eardrums, so that was quickly the end of that. And basically, except I suck at the golfs

[Jdesign]

Awesome. I chuckled at your hand jolting away from the key on the first start up. CONGRATS!

[m42b32]

1 minute ago, Jdesign said:

Awesome. I chuckled at your hand jolting away from the key on the first start up. CONGRATS!

Haha definitely a mix of nerves/excitement/it scaring the sh!t out of me since I was expecting some sputtering and such to get it to start, not just lighting off after half a second...

[B C]

Great work! You should feel proud

[m42b32]

Getting some little things done here and there. I got the coolant return hoses situated and secured, routed the catch can return line, and got more of the wiring tidied up. There is a lot going on but its starting to look fairly organized and clean (much better in person, the flash makes it look a lot worse). 

 

I also got the sunroof drain figured out. The M54 head sits super close to the firewall, so I had to do some extensive trimming to get it to clear and still route water properly. 

 

 

[m42b32]

Spent all of Saturday working on this, getting closer!

 

I didn't get a picture of it because it's not that interesting, but I made a new reverse light harness that routes along the trans and up through the hole in the firewall for the engine harness. Originally it passed through the shift lever grommet but since I made my body mount shifter the harness needed to be re-routed. I now have reverse lights!

 

I got the coolant temp sensors tightened down and grounded by soldering a wire through a small hole drilled in the e30 cluster temp sensor. The VDO sender is grounded through that wire as well. 

 

Capped the holes in the firewall grommet for the AC lines and reinstalled the grommet. I still have to remove the AC evaporator core to complete the delete, but closing the hole is as far as I need to go for now. 

 

Shaved down part of the UUC DSSR for a bit more giubo clearance. Got it reinstalled and there is plenty of clearance now:

 

Finished the headlight backing panel on the passenger side!

Here is the final panel. It is made form 22 gauge steel which initially felt a little thin, but with the bend along the top and the wider mounting bracket at the bottom it's actually very stiff. 

 

It mounts to two M6 rivnuts in the core support along the top, and then an M6 rivnut on the bottom and conveniently one of the old mount points for the AC receiver drier thing. There are clearance holes on the bottom and side for wiring to pass through, and one small notch for one of the high beam adjusters near the radiator. I'm going to paint it black and use some rubber edging along the sides and wire cutouts to finish it off. I'm super happy with how it came out!

 

With the Canton 2qt radiator expansion tank mounted and plumbed! The outlet of the expansion tank runs through the hole below, I'm just waiting on the fitting for that connection and the cooling system will be ready to fill and bleed!

 

I was hoping to mount the oil catch can to this panel but there just isn't room to do it nicely so I will have to find another location for that.

[YoungCR]

Nice Fab work!

[straight6pwr]

that headlight cover looks awesome.

you're getting alarmingly close to running/driving e30 land.

ill need to get stickier tires for autox this year so you don't make me look a fool.

[jc43089]

Question on that expansion tank.  Does the high up hose connection, which I assume comes from the small hose high on the radiator, have an internal tube going to the bottom of the tank?  Or is it just a hole into the tank?  I've looked at those and never gotten a good answer.  The stock tanks have that bleed line go down to the bottom of the reservoir to prevent air from going back into the top of the radiator every time the engine cools.

[m42b32]

On 4/15/2019 at 8:46 AM, straight6pwr said:

that headlight cover looks awesome.

you're getting alarmingly close to running/driving e30 land.

ill need to get stickier tires for autox this year so you don't make me look a fool.

Definitely feeling more confident about getting it out this summer! There will certainly be a learning curve with about double the power... no more on/off gas pedal haha

 

On 4/15/2019 at 11:20 AM, jc43089 said:

Question on that expansion tank.  Does the high up hose connection, which I assume comes from the small hose high on the radiator, have an internal tube going to the bottom of the tank?  Or is it just a hole into the tank?  I've looked at those and never gotten a good answer.  The stock tanks have that bleed line go down to the bottom of the reservoir to prevent air from going back into the top of the radiator every time the engine cools.

To be honest, I completely forgot about that one... whoops. I'm 95% sure it doesn't have an internal pipe running down to the bottom. I'm not convinced it is 100% necessary as the air might just bleed right back out next time it heats up, but I do think it would be best practice to have that feature so I am looking into ways to add it. I am thinking of using a barbed bulkhead connector tapped into a plug on that port, then fit the hose on through the top hole. 

 

[jc43089]

1 hour ago, m42b32 said:

To be honest, I completely forgot about that one... whoops. I'm 95% sure it doesn't have an internal pipe running down to the bottom. I'm not convinced it is 100% necessary as the air might just bleed right back out next time it heats up, but I do think it would be best practice to have that feature so I am looking into ways to add it. I am thinking of using a barbed bulkhead connector tapped into a plug on that port, then fit the hose on through the top hole. 

Right, it might bleed out, I'm not sure how I feel about doing that.

I was looking for a tank with a small connection down low for the radiator bleed line, it doesn't really matter whether it comes in the top and has a tube to the bottom or just comes in down low as long as it isn't too near the larger hose where coolant gets sucked back in so that any bubbles can rise out of the liquid.

[m42b32]

15 minutes ago, jc43089 said:

Right, it might bleed out, I'm not sure how I feel about doing that.

I was looking for a tank with a small connection down low for the radiator bleed line, it doesn't really matter whether it comes in the top and has a tube to the bottom or just comes in down low as long as it isn't too near the larger hose where coolant gets sucked back in so that any bubbles can rise out of the liquid.

Agreed, I would definitely prefer to have the peace of mind that the bleed is 'permanent'. I ordered some parts to fit an internal tube with the goal being putting the hose end about 1/4 of the way from the bottom of the tank, since I'd like to fill it around 1/2-2/3 of the way full. 

[jc43089]

4 minutes ago, m42b32 said:

Agreed, I would definitely prefer to have the peace of mind that the bleed is 'permanent'. I ordered some parts to fit an internal tube with the goal being putting the hose end about 1/4 of the way from the bottom of the tank, since I'd like to fill it around 1/2-2/3 of the way full. 

Let us know how it works out.  I would love to replace my plastic coolant tank with an aluminum one, and also need something for the van project.  Although with that I can easily mount the tank well higher than the top of the radiator so it shouldn't be an issue.

[m42b32]

Making progress!

 

Installed a new E30 CSB on the lowish mile E36 M3 driveshaft I picked up a while back and got it installed in the car with a new gumbo

 

I liked @straight6pwr's method of removing the AC evaporator core so I did the same. I blocked off the opening in the side cover with a piece of plastic from an old tool case I don't use and seam sealed it in place. The core had tons of junk in it so I should get a lot more air flow now too. 

 

Spent the rest of the weekend doing a bunch of wiring. I made some changes to the radiator fan wiring that was previously always on with the ignition and added a manual override switch in the center console and a 91C temp switch in the radiator. I also completed the wiring for the VDO water temp/oil temp/oil pressure gauges. The backlight/dimming works well and at least the oil pressure gauge is working, haven't gotten any heat into it to test the other two. I also started the Hella Sharptone horn wiring but couldn't get too far as I don't have a relay for it yet. 

 

I also continued with the center console. The console I have is from an early model car so I had to make some modifications for the knee bolster mounts and such. There is a large cutout on the side as well as a notch cut into the rib that runs along underneath the ashtray area. I also removed all the insulation on the back as it seemed to cause some fit issues. The original console is on top, new one on the bottom.

Before:

After:

 

And installed! Looks great with the gauges in there, fan switch works well too. I still haven't wired the e36 switches as I don't have the right ones, but left them in to fill the holes. 

The only issue is the console still isn't sitting right so I'm going to have to pull it back out again and do some more investigating. 

 

Getting closer!

[YoungCR]

Looks factory! nice work

[B C]

gumbo 🤣