Another BMW E28 - This Time From Australia

[epearce]

The next part is the part I've been eager for.



Replacing all the front suspension and steering components. Basically the only wearing parts left on the car.

First step was to remove it all, the only hard part was popping the ball joint out of the pitman arm.



All the bushes were shot and ball joint boots torn.







The next step was waiting for all the new parts to arrive. Next update in a couple of days!

[epearce]

So to continue where I left off.



I wanted to replace every wearing part (minus steering box) with high quality parts, but also upgrade where possible. Spent hours researching which way to go with certain things.

Adjustable front sway bar links, 13mm AKG bump steering spacers, powerflex black upper and lower control bushes and powerflex black front and rear sway bar bushes were the upgrades I went with. The aim was to make it as firm as possible.







Also went with e32/e34 aluminium lower control arms.



I had some spare time, so I mirror polished both arms. Took about 5 hours each arm..





Painted everything.





Then fitted the powerflex bushes to the control arms.





By now everything was ready to fit (centre tie rod and sway bar bushes not pictured)





It was a bit of a challenge getting the control arms into the chassis/subframe, they were such a tight fit. Had a few other minor issues along the way as well with interference and parts touching that shouldnt, but they were easy fixes.





After a month or longer of every spare night spent working on this part of the upgrade it was a massive relief to finally have it back down on the ground with the wheels on and ready to drive.

[epearce]

Friday afternoon just gone was the moment of truth. I hadn't had it out of the shed since mid April. It was great to back behind the wheel of it, and it now felt so tight in the front end. Went to a spot not to far away from where I live that I scoped out in the winter and took a few quick snaps. For not being cleaned since the start of the year it still looked shiny









Now that I new it drove well, it needed a wheel alignment. So I did that at work the following morning.





Followed by an oil and filter change.



Now its covered back over and ready to enjoy in the warmer months ahead. With nothing major planned to do on it for a few months i'll be lost without tinkering away on it.



Apologies for so many photos in the last few posts! Thanks for taking a look.

[Frode D]

Amazing work on the car. I really like the upgraded interior and the wheels, wouldn't change a thing!

[Gamerx]

Hey, are E32/34 lower arms better than E28 arms?

[Puuha-Kape]

Beautiful built man! Do you have any plans cleaning the engine bay? I mean simplifying it to match the exterior of the car.

[epearce]

Amazing work on the car. I really like the upgraded interior and the wheels, wouldn't change a thing!

Thanks mate! Appreciate it.

Hey, are E32/34 lower arms better than E28 arms?

They are alloy vs steel, so weigh less. That's about the only difference.

Beautiful built man! Do you have any plans cleaning the engine bay? I mean simplifying it to match the exterior of the car.

Thanks so much!

I know what you mean. M30 e28s bays are hard to make neat, especially the early ones like mine. The only way i can think of to.make it neat would be to make my own wiring harness and hide it where possible. It may happen down the track, but it isn't a priority at this stage.

[BLACKRIFLESMATTER]

Eden, I just read this from begin to end, took me 2 days. Just wow, this is one of my all time favorite builds. you have done an absolutely outstanding job with your E28. Keep up the great work man! I look forward to seeing more updates. Seems like the only major thing left to do is to get your front end resprayed. Had to give you a follow as well, so I know when you do something to the car.

[epearce]

Eden, I just read this from begin to end, took me 2 days. Just wow, this is one of my all time favorite builds. you have done an absolutely outstanding job with your E28. Keep up the great work man! I look forward to seeing more updates. Seems like the only major thing left to do is to get your front end resprayed. Had to give you a follow as well, so I know when you do something to the car.

Thanks josh! Really appreciate it.

Yeah the front end does need a respray, along with the whole car ideally. Few other major things to do as well, but I'll be sure to post updates here if they happen.

[epearce]

Another minor update, probably be the last update with mods for a while Resigned from BMW and ended my mechanics career a couple of weeks ago. Stoked I was able to go from a 1st year apprentice to workshop foreman in 5 years. I'll be a broke UNI student now for a few years now, but hopefully the end result is worth it.

Fitted an oil pressure gauge a couple of months ago. Mainly for piece of mind. I didn't have any oil pressure issues, but I had never checked it after fully rebuilding the engine. The inner mechanic in me wanted to know what it was.

Went with the Innovate oil pressure/temp guage to match the rest of the guages, also cause i like there programmability etc.







Used Aeroflow adaptors for easy fitting and no modifications required.



Then fitted the pressure sensor to the factory switch location in the cylinder head, then the temperature probe into the oil filter housing.





Fitted the guage in the under dash trim, didn't want it standing out. And to keep me happy the oil pressure is within spec





Another minor thing was replacing the under bonnet sound deadening. I only had minor traces of the original stuff left and plenty on ugly glue. Once that was cleaned off fitting new stuff wasn't too hard. Can't really comment on noise improvements, but it looks better.



And to cap it off, a few photos from a couple of weeks ago.










Thanks again for reading, appreciate the opinions!

[Earl]

Where did you get the hood insulation? I have been looking for a roll of that stuff forever lol

[FcBeunHaas]

Nice project dude! You have put a lot of work into it, and damn i like you'r interior

[epearce]

Where did you get the hood insulation? I have been looking for a roll of that stuff forever lol

It's just an ebay special. Quality seems good though.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151487459886?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Nice project dude! You have put a lot of work into it, and damn i like you'r interior

Cheers mate! Appreciate it.

[Bodoman]

just read the whole thread, outstanding work. Attention to detail even under the car is a bit of me Wheels, fitment, interior.. all on point. well done man, she's beautiful

[epearce]

just read the whole thread, outstanding work. Attention to detail even under the car is a bit of me Wheels, fitment, interior.. all on point. well done man, she's beautiful

Much appreciated mate, means a lot!