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Dlux BMW E21 build

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  • The strut bar looks very nice, maybe you can add a third point to mount it.
    The E30 light conversion is very interesting, I maybe do to mine someday.

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    • I started in on the interior. I saved this as one of the last things to do as I knew it would be really satisfying and maybe my favorite part of the build?

      I feel like people look at me a bit crossed eye when I tell them I am building an older BMW. Like, "why would you put the time and effort into such a car?". Well, it does have a lot to do with it being my first car when I was 16 but even back then, I can remember the first time I sat in my first E21.

      When I sat in my first car, the instant my butt hit the seats, I was in love. I think a lot of it has to do with the way BMW designed the dash. I love that the dash seems to curve around and favor the driver. As if this is MY car and sorry youre just a passenger but its all about me and the BMW E21 makes me feel very spoiled in this way. I dont think you can understand this car without at least sitting in the drivers seat and maybe even driving it?

      Having said all of that, the interior is my favorite part for this reason. I really want or maybe I should say "need" the interior to be perfect for me.

      The center console that my car came with is cool and has its character for sure but it was made with an A/C unit in it and this made it so the stereo pointed upwards. Again, character for sure but its not very functional when you want to see what is playing on the radio or just the time. Also, this console made it so there is nowhere to put your phone or wallet. I didnt like that so I went with a non A/C center console.

      On top of the non A/C console, I wanted a double DIN stereo. This will give me modern luxuries like a back up camera and navigation.

      Here is the non A/C console I ended up finding for a really good deal. Its in pretty good shape. I thought I was genius because I went on ebay.uk and found it. Well, if you actually think about that, the UK uses right hand drive.... the console I got was a right hand drive. LOL. Whoops! Luckily I found out that you can just disassemble it and mirror it and it works out fine.



      One thing I dislike about these cars is that they used some weaker plastic in the console so at this age, they have pretty much stripped and lost many of the screws that hold the console together. If they are not stripped or gone, the console still feels really weak to me, like its going to break or it flexes too much as is. I wanted to address this and make it bomb proof.

      I started out with the back plate. I made a gnarly thick 3/8" Delrin back plate to replace my cracked and broken one.



      Next is the gear shifter surround. If you look, you will see the plastic on my surround is cracked. This means no threads. Pretty simple, I just made pieces that go inside and I will shoe goo them and this will reinforce the threads.





      Thats pretty bomproof with just those two upgrades but then I needed to install my double din stereo. I was not smart enough to get an install kit and I didnt want to go get one or wait so I just made my own. It doubles as a brace for the console too. The sides bolt to the side of the console.






      With those three mods, this console is bombproof for sure. I could install it in that tight spot with my foot and not be worried about it flexing or breaking. That feels awesome to me.

      The last thing I did for the console was to make a new "floor' for it. BMW thought it was a good idea to make the OG one from a wall papered piece of cardboard. Obviously, this creates a lot of problems and at this point, fits and looks like crap. I duplicated it out of some textured plastic. This plastic is awesome. It matches the BMW textured plastic perfectly. You would think this is factory.



      Here is where I am at with the console. I still need to install it but I need to wire a bunch of other stuff before I am done.



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      • Next thing I worked on in the interior was the gauge cluster. One of the most awesome things about this motor swap is that I can swap in all these gauges and all I have to do is wire for power and lights. No hooking up to sensors or anything. Just plug right into the OBD2 port and everything is up and going.

        I wanted to keep the gauge cluster somewhat stock looking or maybe I should just say that I didnt want a flat panel. I wanted it recessed like the E21 does.

        So, I got to work and I layed out the gauges. They are tight! I cut out a layout and put it on top of the original gauge pod.





        I then cut out everywhere there was interference.



        Installed the gauges... man, its tight in there! I cant even turn the rings on the back that hold the gauges in. I have to turn the gauges themselves because all the rings on the backside hit each other! You couldnt go any bigger on gauges!

        And this is where I am at with it right now... The shiney black plastic will be replaced with the same textured plastic that I did the center console in. I cant wait to install this! I am loving the way it turned out!

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        • Originally posted by gnmzl View Post
          Ohhhhhh man, big milestone there! I felt so relieved when it fired up!

          So stoked, congrats!
          Thanks!

          Originally posted by Miroteknik View Post
          Congrats dude! I appreciate the fact that you kept all the attempts in the video haha. Do a walk-around video too!
          Yeah, I will have to do a walk around when its all done. Thanks!


          Originally posted by DawsonLiri View Post
          The strut bar looks very nice, maybe you can add a third point to mount it.
          The E30 light conversion is very interesting, I maybe do to mine someday.
          A 3rd point where it attaches to the strut? If so, I am not sure its needed, I am not sure it would hurt though. The only thing I dont like is struggling to get to my adjustments on top of the shock.

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          • Great work, as always!
            "You could roll an E30 in a BMW showroom today and people would think:
            Well, they finally got the 1 series right!"

            3.0 L e30 ground up build

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            • Thanks! We need a like button... LOL

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              • Great work but my favourite part is that cluster, I love it, looks factory but cooler! I'm a fan of speedhut gauges too, they're in my wishlist for when I come to that point with the mk1

                FB: @DumbassCarCrew - IG: @fruttolo_dumbasscrew

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                • Yeah, I have high hopes for these gauges. They better be nice for the price!

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                  • I like this new cluster, but for me the original is the best (when you fix the light situation).
                    And you can use that with the adapter from IE!

                    Originally posted by Erik D_lux View Post
                    Thanks!
                    A 3rd point where it attaches to the strut? If so, I am not sure its needed, I am not sure it would hurt though. The only thing I dont like is struggling to get to my adjustments on top of the shock.
                    For the 3rd point I mean it at the center against the firewall, since the struts goes back to clear the engine. I don't think is needed but looks good for me.

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                    • I am resizing the images on the forums. Let me know if you guys like it better or worse.

                      I had to redo the oil filter bypass that I made. My gauges showed 0 oil pressure and I really had to think about it and figure out what was going on.

                      On the stock filter housing, there are 3 ports. Supply, return and then 1 that I had a hard time figuring out. This one that I had a hard time figuring out had its own port from the block and it went to the outside (supply) of the filter housing. It had a valve though. This valve is only open when the filter is not on and putting pressure on it. I figured this was just to drain back into the block when doing a filter change. After thinking about it further, I think its actually a safety feature. I think they put it in so if youre filter comes loose or off, then the valve opens and it bypasses the filter and the supply just feeds directly into the supply. This is why it sounded like I was getting oil but no pressure. Anyway, I took the adapter off that I made and welded that entire port shut. Now I am at 60psi! I will update the original post so hopefully nobody copies me and has the same problem.



                      I feel like these E21s are a perfect example of the 70's and 80's. One thing that sticks out to me are the side mirrors. In 1980, they went to the wing window location and they were electric and plastic. I much prefer the 70's where they are chrome and manual so I swapped mine out.

                      Since I was removing the ones from the wing, I had to make a plate to cover where the old ones went. I do have a spare car that I could have stole that part from but I didnt like the amount of work to put them in and I also didnt like the look.





                      Chrome mirrors installed! I love them! I think they look much better.



                      I saw somebody selling some door handles that were drilled out awhile back and I thought it was a pretty cool touch so I decided to use the idea myself. I have spare handles so no risk involved.



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                      • Originally posted by DawsonLiri View Post
                        For the 3rd point I mean it at the center against the firewall, since the struts goes back to clear the engine. I don't think is needed but looks good for me.
                        Yeah, thats actually a cool idea. I will put some thought into that.

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                        • I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and decided to try and shoot for it. I have some in laws coming into town this weekend and wont have time to work on this car for about a week so I wanted to get it done before then. I thought I would put in a good bit of hours and shoot to have it done last Saturday.

                          From Sunday to Saturday, I would wake up around 4:30 or 5am and then hit the bed around 10pm. Monday-Friday I "had" to work, or do my paying job so I would work 5am to 2pm and then 2pm to 10pm on the car. 17hr days in total. Well, 6, 17hr days in a row seems to be about what my brain and body is capable of because on the 7th day, I feel apart. LOL. I couldnt think very well and things were taking much longer than need. Carpool tunnel and tendinitis are in full swing too! Awesome.

                          So, car is close to being a driver. Just need to finish up a couple things. I hope to drive it Tues or Wed.

                          Interior is done! I couldnt be much happier with it. I love the way the gauges turned out and also the NON A/C console with the double din.

                          Seat heaters and Cruise control are also installed. Cruise control probably needs some programming but I will have to see when I drive it.

                          For the cruise control, I could not use the OBDII port as my gauges are already using it. I ended up using the reluctor ring that is in the rear difff for a speed signal.



                          Double din, seat heaters (both sides) check engine light (middle) and 12V outlet (far right) that is ALWAYS hot.



                          Gauges





                          Gauges lit up. I wanted them to match the rest of the interior so I made them with white pointers and red lit faces. I need to change my stereo to red to match.



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                          • You cant loose with style 42's!

                            It took me a really long time to figure out which wheels I wanted. IMO, these are the coolest BBS wheels.

                            The style 42 wheel comes in a couple different offsets and widths. From what I know, you can get (double check me):

                            8 x17 et20 from an E39
                            7.5 x17 et41 from an E36 or Z3 Z3
                            8.5 x 17 et41 from an E36 or Z3
                            8 x 17 et47 from a E46 (?)

                            The et41 are pretty hard to find. ET47 are almost impossible to find and the et20 are easy to find all day.

                            I think ideally I would have been best with the et47 wheels in the rear if I didnt narrow up the E28 rear. Since I did narrow it up, the et41 8.5 x 17 seem absolutely perfect!

                            In the front, since my custom front end will allow for adjustment any which way I want, the 8 x 17 et 20 seem like they will be the way to go. I like that I can find replacements all day. In fact, I picked up a set of 4 for $200 so I do have 2 spares already.

                            I went with 215/40r17 NItto in the back, 205/40r17 Nitto in the front.



                            After getting the tires and wheels mounted, I did some more measuring and I didnt like the amount of clearance under the exhaust. Running pretty low, I figured I would have about 1" from the bottom of the exhaust to the ground. Being new to lowered cars, that seemed really low to me and I didnt like it so, redid some of the exhaust. I moved it further out towards the wheel, where the subframe goes up. This netted me another 1.25" of clearance so I will have somewhere between 2-2.5" of clearance now. I hope thats enough.

                            I had to move the sway bar up to accommodate too. Lucky for me, I just flipped the mount upside down and that did the trick.

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                            • All that, and no pics with wheels mounted?

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                              • Originally posted by Miroteknik View Post
                                All that, and no pics with wheels mounted?
                                Front end is still not together. Once I have the front together, there will be pics for sure.

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