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The Red Rocket - E30 318is "Sabine"

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  • The Red Rocket - E30 318is "Sabine"

    Chapter 1
    After years of lurking through forums, I've decided to start my own build thread.

    It was probably around 2008/2009 that i fell in love with BMW E30. I had seen a Bell Motorsports 325i at the Australian GP, and every year since then i pretty much went just to see the BMW Car club of Victoria's E30 line up.

    Aged 14 then i kept reading up on what to do with them. Which model to buy, mods, engines, ect ect. Well having a Father that came from Panel beating, and a Uncle that was a Mechanic they had worked hard all their lives, and they didn't want me playing in the garage and wanted me to focus on studying. Over the years the not so popular E30 back then started to climb in prices and the project never took off due to funds and space for a project.

    Until now !!!







    Aged 21 the 7 year wait was over. I actually bought it sight unseen from Adelaide.
    The funny thing is i bought it a couple days before my first weekend working at the Australian GP as a racecar mechanic.

    As all projects go they have problems that need attention. Well this what i was presented with upon arrival.



    That night she went into the Garage and i pulled the old man from retirement and we set to work.



    Water tight and that's how its looked for the past 10 Months.

    She was suppose to be pushed back out side and covered, but the more i got into it, and the less time i was home it just sat for a good 6 months.
    Last edited by GJA003; 12-22-2015, 07:20 AM.

  • #2
    Chapter 2

    I had opened a can of worms. I started to repair the problematic vacuum leaks, but was in and out of town for work and time got away from me. So there she sat for quite a few months. Living at home still, it didn't go down great with a single garage. After a few arguments, i got this going again and started making my parts lists.

    Trying to source BMW parts locally in Australia at reasonable prices just doesn't happen. With previous experiences with past and present BMW's i sourced from the US. The shipping unfortunately is what kills it for us. But dealing directly with BMW Bloomfield, i was taken care of and the important goodies were on the way.

    In the meantime i bench tested the injectors, flowed them and gave them a new life. Clean the throttle body, manifold and started cleaning her up.
    Gave the interior a much needed steam clean and repaired the stitching on the drives seat.

    I forgot to mention when the car arrived after having it shipped down the boot was full of goodies/parts.

    Last edited by GJA003; 12-22-2015, 07:53 AM.

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    • #3
      Chapter 3




      Well now i had the parts, it was all systems go. The Vacuum leaks sorted, the ICV cleaned, back went on the manifold and throttle body with new gaskets. I had to sort out the front lower control arm ball joints and bushings, engine mounts and power steering leak. All which i had sourced or ordered at the same time. So it could pass a certificate of roadworthy for registration.

      Before i began the repairs i had taken it to local shop to see what they didn't like before i went overboard. By the time i was ready the local shop who i had already paid for the RWC had disappeared. Doors shut and empty after being there for the last 10 or so years.

      So i gave it a quick buff and clean before looking for another shop where i hope it'd pass.



      They failed me for the windshield and the door rubber. I had the day off and didn't have time to go back again for some time. So the old bloke said if i could get there by 4:30pm with a new windshield it would pass. Trying to find someone to fit a windshield at 1:30pm was a mission. But i got it done and a couple days later got it registered in my lunch break.

      Comment


      • #4
        Chapter 4


        So for the next few months i just enjoyed driving it.



        The aircon didn't work, the FM radio isn't connected and it still has a few gremlins. But it didnt concern me, i thoroughly enjoyed driving it after all these years. The complements from older men and women randomly is what makes driving it so enjoyable. I didn't know what direction i wanted go with it. Do i restore it, build it for looks or make a race car. Having been motivated by some local E30 builds (Mike, Denis, Christopher and Gordie) i knew a had of a lot of work and money to invest before i'd be happy to park up next to them.

        With following Sebs builds another local Stanceworks fanatic. I had made a major mistake, i hadn't named her. So i set too it, trying to find what suits and it came to me. Sabine ! Named after Sabine schmitz the crazy Transit Van lap record setting Nurburgring driver.

        With a name set i knew what i wanted out of the car all these years. The direction was set and motivation was at it's highest.

        A couple more issues started to appear, the hot summer days proved the cooling system needed work. But with the racing season coming to a close, the summer make over should help.



        I even used it for my own recreational use. It had the tow bar, so why not.
        Last edited by GJA003; 12-22-2015, 08:38 AM.

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        • #5
          Nice. Like the story

          Comment


          • #6
            Great intro. Read everything and I must say you will do things right no matter what direction you go.

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks Guys. Appreciate the support.
              Hopefully the good stuff will start to unfold.

              Part 5


              With the Christmas season upon us, work coming to end. I didn't have a chance too give the cooling system a much needed look over. Now that i'm holidays, it was the priority. Sitting in traffic with the needle way over 3/4 and the heater on full blast on a 30 degree Celsius(86 degree Fahrenheit) day was a mission.

              The more i looked into it, the cost to refresh the current system didn't seem worth while. So after some more hunting, i found the M44 Fan from a E36 318is or any E36 4 Cylinder would do the job with some modifications.



              So out came the Radiator, Fan Switch, the original AUX pusher style fan and the old Thermostat (88C). I decided to replace them with a M44 OEM Pusher fan (64508372039) the matching Radiator Switch 2 stage (61318361787) and a 80C Thermostat (11231265085) Which i drilled two 1/8 holes in to allow constant flow. Fuse 3 and 18 i think it was. High and low fuse was replaced with a 40amp from the original 30amp.

              For those reading that might be thinking they want to upgrade from Mechanical to Electric. DO IT !! The car runs so much cooler now under normal driving and as soon as i get on it just as it creeps over half the fan kicks and cools it down. I can even over ride it by hitting the snowflake for constant fan or when the aircon is on. It even feels better acceleration wise with out the heavy fan hanging off the front. Plus i weighed the difference of old vs new and i took 1.7kgs out of the engine bay



              The end OEM+ Result. Perfect for the hot dry summer ahead, as i wanted to start doing some road trips. The added bonus is it should really help for those track days

              I decided to treat my self to a Christmas present too.


              BC BR I-32-RH 8kg front 10kg rear.
              These coilovers have given me nothing but trouble and i only just opened the box. Unfortunately i decided to trust a local shop rather then outsourcing. It just got worse and worse from the moment i payed. I decided to go with BC's because i wanted to still tow my bike around to the dirt track. I wanted a set of true coilovers but they require rear bracing and i wasn't too keen to be towing with them. Well im stuck with these ones. The shop i ordered from didn't list that i asked for non-intergrated and then after dramas and constantly asking for updates 4-5 weeks later they arrived. The wrong set, when i asked for replacement set it just got worse and worse. So after arguments, full refunds not possible and countless lies, i told the local shop (Tigersoft Performance) to just leave me alone. (Thats the short nice way to put it...)

              So now i'm left with these. Which isn't the worst thing, it just requires more bracing and more money now. I want to purchase the Mason Engineering rear strut bar and diff support. But at $1000aud shipped i might need to rethink my options.

              While i was replacing the fuses on the fan i decided, if i going to be putting miles and road tripping i may as well go over the whole thing.

              Before


              After


              That's pretty much up to date. Plenty more things to do.
              Last edited by GJA003; 12-23-2015, 11:41 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Well it's been a while to say the least. But i've just been saving and gathering parts and finding the motivation to get back into Sabine.

                So this week it was time to get back into her. Going the track/street car direction i decided to use a local truck weight bridge to get that stock figure. With me in the car and half a tank it weighed in at 1260kgs So we have some work too do.



                I missed out on three or four sets of wheels now by not much and it was killing me. I lost the motivation, got busy with work and things went quite on her for a few weeks.

                So I stopped looking for a bit but have since started to realise she needs wheels asap. This weekend I happened to spend a bunch of time on her since its valentine’s day and get the ball rolling again. Not a lot a photo's really, was too focused on getting it all done. While I was at it I did all four wheel bearings and inspected bunch of stuff. Which was a bad idea because she needs more goodies.

                But the True coilovers are now in and man I love the feel. On full soft it's a tad too bouncy but on full hard she means the business. It’s so stiff and easy to control that rear end now.

                Rears all in stock fronts


                Front and rears in


                I had just set all four spring preloads and coils at half. So tomorrow I’ll jump under her again and set the ride height where I want it as it looks shit with a mad rake.

                While upgrading the rear shocks to true coiIovers i spoke with Hakhawk about the Mason Engineering Strut/Diff Brace and what other things I need to consider with the true coil set up. Well the strut towers are a weak spot for the E30 as it is, so with the shitty Australian dollar to US dollar I was crying as I ordered my Strut/Diff brace. But the product is so well designed I was pleased with what arrived. Everything went together quite easily, while i was there i upgraded the lower shock 8.8 tensile bolt to a 12.9 now as its taking more load.



                So I usually try hide everything in my head about my build. But I’ve decided to seek some opinions. It’s going to be a Track/Street car and I will build some 3 Piece Wheels one day for her. But this is the direction im currently heading. Let us know what you think.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I like the direction youre headed, good luck and so far so good.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Been really slow on the updates, i'll try and improve on it.

                    So with the suspension dialed in, she isn't the greatest daily driver the true coil set up is great. But my daily commute to work consists of some horrible roads. After a couple of months of hard driving i noticed some cracks in the front seam sealer around the strut towers in the front and decided over winter to find her a garage where i could build it up for summer.



                    Not quite happy with the BC true coil kit, as when shes on the hoists it has bugger all droop in the suspension, which you can feel on corners when "testing" inside wheel will lift. So with the ride height set, i wrapped the struts with some cling wrap to save the threads from dirt and grim and played around with the clicker adjusters for a better daily set up.

                    So back on the ground i got into cleaning the engine bay up. With the reverse opening hood, it was impossible to clean the front of her up and made it hard to work on.



                    So off came the bonnet and i modified the hinges with some custom made split pins for easy removal/installation.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      good start. look forward to seeing where it goes
                      sigpic

                      Pronounced Eve-odd Rich-E

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        So now she's parked up on the front lawn and sitting in the weather.
                        Not ideal, but im working on finding a Garage to start pulling it apart in.

                        Over the months, i picked up some clean/oem looking cup holders and got my hands on an original IS lip. The lip is in factory primer, which i plan on painting black when i get around to doing the black around the body of the car to match. I picked up a Purple Tag E46 rack also from the wreaking yard which will get fitted later on. I know the body needs some love but other then a good detail that's all i plan on doing until the mechanical stuff is all done.

                        So too the mechanical side of things, well with 315,000kms on the clock and my unconventional driving it's pretty rough to drive now. So with the engine knocking getting louder, i started the think of what swaps i'd consider.

                        The popular M50-M54 swaps didn't interest me, its basic and been done. A S50,52,54 would interest me but they are a needle in a haystack here. If you were lucky enough to find one it'd be well over 6,000. Money i don't have on an Apprentice Mechanic wage.

                        So i decided on rebuilding the M42 that's in it.



                        I actually bought a spare M42 which is pictured. Why, well i wanted to race the E30. Given its a light car i wanted to build the ultimate "baby M3" a 2.1L M42 with ITB's and tuned on E85 A mix on the S42 and S14 something that can still be street driven but perform flawlessly on track.

                        I actually got a decent deal on the engine, which came with a full exhaust, supersprint axle back, ecu, gear box and Mark D chip. It was cheap and couldn't pass it up.

                        So i got it home and straight into stripping it to ensure it wasn't a dud. I'll update with photos but it's all stripped and im pleasantly surprised that its in great condition.
                        Last edited by GJA003; 05-04-2016, 12:21 AM.

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                        • #13
                          So i stripped the engine down in the Garage and got it to the point where i could pack up the engine stand and start on rebuilding what i'd need for the Stroker Build and what can be refurbished for the standard 1.8L

                          I'm still an apprentice mechanic, so for a school project i asked if i could rebuild my own engine to help get marked off. Sure enough they were happy to assist and we took it in bits, cleaned it dissembled it and inspected it as needed.








                          I had bought this engine just off another enthusiast that he had lying around for a project that never took off. Not knowing what state it was in, but the deeper i dived into it i was surprised how decent it actually was. The lifter was the cause to why i found metal on the oil pick up and then a timing chain guide was cracked were the only issues i found. The head was off a E36 so at some point its been worked on.

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                          • #14
                            I FINALLY WON A SET OF WHEELS !



                            Yep, i got a little impatient and bought these bad boys from Japan.

                            BBS RS033 Genuine 4X100's which i was after.
                            It's going to be hard to pull 15's off but i wanted a more Track built car then a stance scene car. I'm yet to decide on lip widths but i was going after either 2" 2.5" or 3" set ups.

                            So hopefully in the next couple months ill have them rebuilt and on.

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                            • #15
                              I had a couple days off and decided to make the most of the empty paint booth at work.

                              So i took all the bumper trims off and got sanding. I had a fair bit of work ahead of me as they were in a shocking state but im so happy with how they came up for a days work.






                              Found a genuine is lip locally and painted it while i was there.

                              Also got rid of the fog lights as i never use them and prefer the cleaner look.

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