e30 Quest for Stance

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 02:37 AM

Whats up guys!

My name is Nick and I like cars.

hmm... Figure thats not gonna cut it.

Well allow me to give some background on myself. I joined SW a little over a year ago and made this intro thread Little more familiar?

Good.

Well since then I replaced my 325e "eta" engine (2.7L M20 b27) with a '90 325i motor (2.5L M20b25). With my limited skills, time, and tools, the swap took me a total of 4 months to complete

However it was all worth it in the end.
Sorry for any inconsistencies, most of this took place exactly a year ago and I'm mostly copying and pasting from my thread on r3v

Lets get it started in here!

Quote:

Phase one: Boredom after graduation leads to blown grad money :giggle:

Got the car from my cousin a couple days after my birthday (precisely August 8th)

Ironically had a church camp the same weekend and had to wait to fawn over my VERY OWN car; God's chariot!!

Cool rare stuff

Yes it's on a jack

Minor(?) faults

2 tone

Succumbed to temptation and my first mods arrived!

Dinan chipped ECU

Clutch stop<---GET ONE!!

Friend donated two free Alpine speakers from his vert... Only two working speakers :tongue:

Ran like a champ but had a FILTHY engine bay!!

Obligatory strut tower pic (you couldn't know there was a sticker there before cleaning!)

I had a hunch that the older couple up the street would trade me my wheels + cash for the style 10's on their vert so I gt bussy making them presentable...

Most awkward convo of my life

1:
Anyway:

All (mostly) clean!

More packages FTW!

Prior break in; evidence on trunk itself and passanger door lock (it's actually in the car)

More tomorrow... That's a start though, innit?

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 02:43 AM

lol

Quote:

Whats goin on??

A bit of damage. Looks as if it was hit before too! That fender is the only one retaining the "factory" paint finish. Recently found bondo under there as well:

No registration but I risked a trip to my buddy's house for some goodies

BBS RG003!!

Had some faults though; major rash and BALD tires!

Cars like it when you put gas in them :giggle: Left me stranded up the street from my house. Good times...

At this point in time we started looking at another house. Bank was pwning on payments and we found this bigger yet cheaper house. Suck it Bank of America!!

O and I **** tandem garages :hitler:

:moving stuff; see r3v:
Commence shadowlining! I don't suggest Plastidip for anything other than the side trim :banghead:

Perfect view :giggle:

Not bad... Sadly the other side was not finished as I was interrupted by moving :bigcry:

Also got an is spoiler!

The weather here in socal could not make up its' mind and it pretty much rained/drizzled from September through January. I concluded that rollin on bald tires was not safe and traded the wheels to someone who could show them more love than I could. What I got

Don't laugh!

k u can laugh...

Then I got rid of these

And traded them for these

Sanded and painted trim rings

Day and night on the road!

High beam mod

Awwww yeeeehhh

Whats that stuff you put in the tank again?? Oh yeeeaah gas!

1:

Picked up a couple things and got stranded at a friend's house; only this time the lines sucked up some dirt. Unclogged it and a minute excretion from the pits of hell released its grip on the fuel filter and down to the earth it fell, fouling up the air for miles :puke:

Stuffs

By moving :mrgreen:

:More moving:
Our humble abode... It will be missed!!

New place

Facing out of the new place

ok ok THIS is how you lower a car

Here's my set up:

-Eibach Prokit springs
-JOM shocks/struts

Working in my friend's garage/stable where my car broke down

"Ready?? ok, 'releases jack pressure'"
"It keeps going down!!!"
"Dam this shts stiff af!!"
"Dude I can't get the jack out!
"Fuk it's sittin go the jack! 'insert normal jack to assist'"
"IT'S EVEN LOWER!!

^Pretty much how the end of that nigh went :nice:

Holy rake batman!!

Time for the rears!

In plus test fit lol

One problem with the old driveway teehee

Got it registered the day after we did the rears and I was on my way

:

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 02:44 AM

3

Quote:

Ok so we're in about January/February I believe.
My friend posted up that his Magnaflow sounded ricey on his 318 and he wanted to trade for a stock eta one. So I traded him for my stock-ish replacement; he even installed it for me

Don't know wtf this is; wasn't terrible but looked ugly...

Magnaflow!

Never got to start it up with the straight pipe :-?

Yes, those are REAL NASCAR road cars

Suttle but sounded sexy haha The car liked to pop a little when it got warm. Nice deep sound but not loud and not much drone

Quote:

So now is where things start to get bad...

Fisrt during my daily commute my rear shock bolt stripped and backed out when I was on the freeway

:
Sketchy as fuk!!

Rocky helping out with the new bolt lol
btw don't ever intend to use your factory e30 jack; EVER!!
Tried to check out wtf happened when the left side of my car suddenly had no shock/resistance in the school parking lot. Car went up, stuck my finger under the tire trying to feel around and BOOOM, jack like slipped off, car fell on my fingers but only on the very edge. Thanks God for camber?
Anyway FUK THAT. Never again.

Literally the same week I saw this on the way home from school:

:hitler:
Picked up my sister on the way and noticed that driving around kept it cool; stopping mad it hot. Well in my stupidity I apparently put it through too many cycles and found this when adding coolant

I had literally just got the car on the road; maybe driven it for two weeks. Said fuk it and decided to wait and change the gasket over spring break. Added water everyday and drove it for 2 more weeks on the bad gasket.

: old house got vandalized before we sold it:
Juuust great...

On a brighter note, teaser to next update

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 02:53 AM

4

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I got bored and decided to redo my yellow high beams cuz they were so dull.

Came out so yellow they almost looked green!! My grandma went on a walk and told me I left my headlights on lol

I decided to change it up a bit since I didn't have money for lamin-x

Looks much better to me; almost like the Hella 550 fog lights

Now the fun part... On my way back from school one day I started to feel more jerky movements than the usual with my stiffer suspension. More of a back and forth motion than up and down. When I exited the freeway the car was idling loudly like I had a major exhaust leak or something and it sounded like a Subaru with a fart can

: Picked up my sister and drove home and parked it where it sits today

Too tired to give you everything up to date now but here's the tare down

MY milkshake brings all the girls to the yard :giggle:

Done for the night

More tomorrow!

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 02:56 AM

5

Quote:

How to remove the fan with the wrong but surprisingly effective tool (I get the feeling it was made just to do that as it is utterly useless in any other application):

Messy

;

Taking stuff off. Bich bolts -.-

Purolator... wut

Adjuster bolts were frozen there and had no intention of moving

Removed the head as the autozone chain wasn't long enough across the motor

Ghetto rigged!!

Nasty! Fluids were in the cylinder closest to the firewall

Regulating tranny height

Had to cut the decently fresh timing belt :puppy:

I should pause to say that this was not all in one day; this actually took two days!
1st day Justin(Avuse30) came over and helped with disconnecting stuff.
We set the hoist angle but couldn't get it out.
Apparantly we didn't disconnect the clutch line and it was causing the engine to come out sideways lol

Some time during the same week Jose (jp slick) and we beasted it out at 1AM

:

Clutch stuff

Ta-da!

Tranny chillin

Amusing dog is not amused

Baaack to my swap; got to swapping over what I needed from the old motor
Oil pan the i motor came with was toast

The good pan; cleaned it up a bit but forgot to take pix

eta block

i block

Which oil level sender? Hmmm...

Winnar: used the one off the eta

Swapped thermostat housings since I kept all the eta cooling components (cheapo!!)

Same with the water pump though this required a bit more cleaning. Thanks to Ben (e30Trooper ) for suggesting I soak it in hot water; worked like a charm!

My friend Justin (J-Sauce) made a contraption where out of a large plastic bin for electrolysis and after seeing the results on some of the stuff he did, I decided why not try the Exhaust manifolds?

Before:

After:

Swapped exhausts; thanks Dustin for the complete i set-up!

Took the tranny outside (yes thats an e30 seat belt; Dustin's idea(rede30)
In case you didn't know the bell isn't the heaviest part; deceiving bell is deceiving!!

Took some time to be a hooligan and take mandatory engine bay pix haha

I'm hungry so enjoy and stand by for more updates later this week

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 03:06 AM

5

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:On Thursday May 5th (2011), the car lived and made it's first trip with the new motor around the block!

Words can't describe the feeling of all the hard work and long hours coming to life:

Well I am not the ricer so the only reason there are so many pix of the "hot air intake" is because I traded it for a used K&N drop-in filter.

I paid almost 15 bucks to ship mine... He slipped his in a manila :hitler:

Aaaanyway

Started on wiring and realized I was missing a few things. Quick junk yard trip was in order

What I came away with for a little over the entrance fee. Cargo shorts FTW

Arguably the biggest PITA job to do under an e30: Selector rod bushing. I'm getting pissed just thinking about it...

Was stick going in like this for the longest time... The hole was just too small and this was after taking a drill to it!

Eventually got the bitch in. Also had to reform the clip as popping it off distorted it.

No wonder my reverse lights don't work...

Like my intake boot?

So hard to align!

Yay!

Oh wait, I Think I forgot something o.O

Separated both sides and did everything again but with the guibo this time. No pix cuz
-I gashed my thumb
-I was already pissed about doing it twice

First sign of life: got the battery and associated alternator stuff wired up. Messed with the lights a bit
lows

lows + highs

Went on a little trip to get a broken flange welded back on to the i down pipes

Everyone was giving us crazy looks, even this guy who drove with us for a while

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 03:07 AM

Big enough picture dump for the night haha Getting to the good stuff don't worry!!

Teaser:

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 10:59 AM

Just about everything is in place now

Dad helped me out and traded my old starter for a refurbished one

Wiring it up...

lolstarterbolt

Next finished up the exhaust

She was all done! However it too me 2 days of trouble shooting to figure out 2 crossed plugs.

However on May 5, 2011 she started up and created a hell of a smoke show

And she passed smog first try

Not too shabby for an 18 y/o with no job aye?

GygaxE30 · 05-23-2012, 12:02 PM

Crazy what kind of problems you had with this car! But you did a great job!

The us bumpers are quite funny for me, very BIG! I like just the euro version..

Nice E30!

Vegardb · 05-23-2012, 12:12 PM

Omfg im glad we don't have these nasty bumpers in europe

But nice car, epic wheels and tyres!

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GygaxE30

Crazy what kind of problems you had with this car! But you did a great job!

The us bumpers are quite funny for me, very BIG! I like just the euro version..

Nice E30!

And I still had a few more problems! Will update shortly with more stuff. As for the bumpers, these things are just stupid! But I plan to remedy that in the near future with some euro bumpers.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegardb

Omfg im glad we don't have these nasty bumpers in europe

But nice car, epic wheels and tyres!

Thanks man, I hope to get some epic fitment as well!

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 07:01 PM

6

Quote:

Since I got it running, I did a few things to it.

And it did a few things to my wallet that I'm too scarred to talk about :bigcry:

All joking aside, went to a friend's house and got the rear bumper tucked (stage 1 lol)

Chillin at Adams Motorsports Park with another e30 I found (still don't know who owns this)

Gwaro stopped by day after bimmerfest

Yup, the one that got hit

Clean garage after the swap... Felt so weird looking at that space again lol

Messing with the lights

Clear lenses

Sealed beam high beam

JDM tight yo!

Swapped my bulbs; high beam bulb in the low beam and vice versa. Look at the difference! (high beam bulb on the left)

My buddy backed in to me at church :/ Busted my minty tail light and warped the metal there...

Less than perfect replacement, but it's something plus you can't beat free

New wheel

Correct 44" fairing

Some stickers I collected

"Amikay" because it's a replica of a Yakima fairing lol

Tic Tac Toe lol

What could be the problem...

My brand new oil filter :hitler:

Back to the garage...

Wait, Coolant too??

Check out that sexy radiator

Other side...

Lets fix that...

Found those bolts on the floor; looks like they backed out and ground in to the radiator and punctured it

Picked up a free radiator from Mike and traded it for an early model one to match my cooling system

:

Zip ties don't last forever LOL

Neither do sunroof cables apparently...

My car gave life to another e30! (Kadeem's drift car)

Just in time for Archifest 2!

ChiltonDom · 05-23-2012, 08:24 PM

looks good ..........

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 11:03 PM

7

Quote:

Stopped by Terry's house (recipient of my BBS RG's) on the way back from Archiesfest 2. Hooked me and Kadeem up with some wheels!

The plan was to respray them and paint them black but after seeing them on an e30, decided against it and my buddy eventually picked them up to put them on a Honda

We took Ortega HWY to Archiesfest and my car couldn't really hang (really awkward shifting between 2nd and 3rd lol)

So on the way to have my exhaust welded up I swooped up an open 4.10 diff from JakeP for 20 bucks. Best 20 I've spent!!

Exhaust is i manifolds>eta exhaust>Random (OBX?) muffler

My buddy AJ gettin down lol

Done for the night

It sagged a bit so I put this extra hanger to good use (modified below)

Need to grind it off a bit

Sounds alright, my old system sounded like a hybrid...
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=...type=2&theater

Loooooong geeeeeaaaaars
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=...type=2&theater

Back to Brandon's house to do the diff

2.79 is a big case and the 4.10 is a medium case I believe.

WHEEEEEE!!!:giggle:

vs.

:twisted:

low-eta5 · 05-23-2012, 11:05 PM

8

Quote:

It's against my car's nature to run right at any given point in time...

Fuel pump was cutting in and out and left me stranded close to home. Buddy gave me a push with his wagon and kind of tucked one side of the rear bumper

Changed the fuel pump with no difference

Problem ended up being loose fuse box harness wires and fouled spark plugs from running rich

Gaps all over the place

Care was fixed but still had the paint rubbed off and had never installed the new lens. Pulled out my bumper using a wire hanger inside a plastic tubing haha

Also got this for really cheap from my buddy Dustin. We were laughing at how useless this was but decided to give it a shot. It works surprisingly, better than it should haha

Painted and drying. Just sitting on the towers in t he pic. Installed it later that night.

Got more stuff from Dustin

Sanded

Mocked up

not really feeling it... Sitting in my garage now

Came really close to going with the factory is valance...

Buuut I've always dreamed of installing a sport lip and finding one is near impossible. However, through some poking and pestering, I found one at a price I couldn't refuse. It's rough but it gets the job done for now. May try to repair it in the future; of course always looking out for another one out there.

Part number?

Commence prepping

It was minty, think it was a factory replacement.

Could not wait...

Don't even attempt to sand 4 layers of paint with 600 grit LOL
The middle white spot is he original primere. Radiating around it are the various layers of primer and paint

Exacto knife FTW

Paint

Getting ready to swap valances

vs.

Tucked and painted the front bumper while I was at it

low-eta5 · 05-24-2012, 11:20 PM

Murdering this thread lol

Anyway here's one of the last little photo dump segments

Quote:

To complete the front end transformation I smoked the headlights Like so

Fuk it, lets just run no grills

Phase 1: Low bems

Heat gun did the trick

Detour!!

lol jk

How e30's achieve superior cut off haha

vs.

Phase 2: High beams

Painted them at some point

It was a little bit too bright outside and the lights were on lol

low-eta5 · 05-25-2012, 03:10 PM

Now that all that is out of the way, lets get on with current events. I promise updates will be a little more consistant and "as they come"

Now is time for your participation lol

First off, I found these for 20 bucks

:

Full set of early model mudflaps with no mounting hardware and the passenger side front is ripped.

How have you guys mounted these? I hear the factory method involves crappy clips...

Some of you have also seen my thread where I test fitted these AC Schnitzer reps

17x8.5

Fitment

Rears not compressed all the way

Working on them, currently sanding the lips down.

My buddy came through on some used Continentals!

215/45/17

During the test fit I noticed my spring was in upside down... Could this be why my car always squeaks on this corner? Every little bump sounds like a chick chirping

Probably just need new bushings...

Anyway that's my last update until I actually do something

jalbitre72 · 07-08-2012, 05:54 PM

Nice work man can't wait to see the Finish. (They are never finished)

justaneffer · 07-08-2012, 10:22 PM

needs more low! but damn.. you worked damn hard. respect

hi its me alec · 07-08-2012, 10:39 PM

Nice thread man, good progress. A couple things..

- I wouldn't reuse your old cooling components after you ran it with a blown headgasket

- Are you sure those are ACS reps? I'm not aware of any 3 piece reps.

- Yes, your spring upside down can definitely cause noise. They need to be seated perfectly for sure

Mr. Pedobear · 07-08-2012, 11:29 PM

Good stuff man! Any as they come updates?

low-eta5 · 08-22-2012, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalbitre72

Nice work man can't wait to see the Finish. (They are never finished)

So true!

Quote:

Originally Posted by justaneffer

needs more low! but damn.. you worked damn hard. respect

Thanks man! And I hope to get on coils if I keep it

Quote:

Originally Posted by hi its me alec

Nice thread man, good progress. A couple things..

- I wouldn't reuse your old cooling components after you ran it with a blown headgasket

I cleaned them out best I could, I only reused the water pump and hoses. The new radiator is holding engine temperatures below half way even in this heat so should be fine for now I hope

- Are you sure those are ACS reps? I'm not aware of any 3 piece reps.

Pretty sure, they say Nicole on the back instead of O.Z.

- Yes, your spring upside down can definitely cause noise. They need to be seated perfectly for sure

Looks like the top nut was loose causing the squeaking noise but I'll still turn them over the right way; thanks

low-eta5 · 08-22-2012, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Pedobear

Good stuff man! Any as they come updates?

I've been busy with school and went on a roadtrip, didn't get to update plus I didn't do much until the last 2 weeks :P

But here's some updates

Been thinking about selling the car actually, I want to get in to a w124, 400e/e420 so the car will most likely be up for sale soon :/

I did solve an idle and hard-start issue, just need to button up some vacuum leaks and she will be golden

Thinking about spray painting since I am currently still jobless so I sanded and sprayed a portion of my spare trunk to see if I liked the color

Satin Burgundy sprayed over 220 grit... Not a good idea; I wasn't thinking straight

Wet sanded on the left

Masked

Looks ok from far but really a terrible finish. I'll try again with 600 grit

Also Re-did my shadowline . Only had one side done in plastidip but it stared chipping and flaking so tackled it yesterday morning

Paint

Before

After (needed to mask it off better)

I was supposed to drive it to L.A. but it decided it would rather not run right so ditched it at a friend's house and went in his miata lol

That's about it

Also the reason I want a Benz: My buddy's 348hp 500e