304 replies to this topic

[mdlimy]

Figured you guys might be interested, and this is still my favorite forum so i figured what the hell.

 

Somewhat current shot(when i remember to update)

 

 
 
I bought the car from Vollgas motorwerks of portland oregon, the car had a stroker m20 in it that was pulled and the car then sat for sometime, i bought it along with an m20b27 eta motor to drop in for the time being.
It came with, e30 m3 front seats, ie poly motor mounts, bilstiein struts and lowering springs, uuc short shift kit, uuc header back exhaust, mtech II wheel and some other odds and ends, it is a clean white straight body with about 120k on it and only a few very minor dents, and since i told my self i would only buy a white e30 it was hard for me to refuse this.







it was in need of a bath real bad, so i gave the engine bay a good degreasing and gave the car a quick soap.






i hate tan, will be doing something about that....but it sure is sexy =]


i want a factory shift knob also...



Picked up the motor a week later....
u know u love the kabota =p


oh no, fram gtfo!





much better






Then today started dropping the motor in, my dog athena, you will see her quite a bit, she keeps me company.

once the car is clean she wont be sitting there ever again! lol



 
9-4-11
Made a bit of progress today, went to the junkyard, they only had one 325 and it was an e so i grabbed the throttle body i needed. The whole harness, ecu and guage cluster was gone so i still need to grab all that. I called around the only other 3 yards and none of them have any I's =[

I grabbed the rear heater hoses and that little valve setup from the 325e at the yard, i still use that even with the I tstat right?

so i still need
-I tstat
-eta harness and ecu and coding plug
-waterpump pully
-need to pick up the headers

also need to mount the alternator and ps pump, not sure if i have all the parts to mount them, it sucks because ive never worked on these before and i recieved the car with no motor in it and a trunk of parts lol.

yanked the motor back out and dropped the trans, damn these 260s are light!

sorry for the wierd color pics, for some reason my phone decided to not be normal lol.






managed to get the motor and trans mated and back in it goes



 
 
9-7-11
Turns out its easier to just swap to an 885 head on the b27 bottom end and use my current wiring hanress and cooling system rather than trying to convert it all to use the b27 cooling system and wiring harness.
 
So a little update, the guy i bought the car from had an I head and parts at the shop so i swung by tonight and grabbed it all along with the headers that go with my exhaust ;)
I dont see the 885 casting number on the head like most heads, this head and manifold are off an Xi tho, so can someone reassure me that it is the correct head and manifold i need?

So now i have
-complete I head
-I intake mani with fuel rail and injectors and harness and throttle body
-the headers to finish off the exhaust

Im pretty sure thats most the stuff i need, it sounds like i need to get a couple coolant/water temp sensors from an I motor and a headgasket kit and some head bolts.





this is the only numbers i could see on the head, but it is a little bit dirty and it was kinda dark out so i might be missing some, can someone confirm for me please?



9-8-11
 
got the head most the way stripped down, dont have a valve spring compressor(need to invest in one) so i will have the machine shop pull those before they pressure test and deck it, will drop off the valve seals with them tommorow morning when they arrive, hopefully can have the head back before the shop calls it a day and is gone for the weekend. ugh might fork up for a regrind and seat, not sure yet.





and some goodies, love having a chill ex boss who lets me order through his wholesalers, cheap parts within the hour!

 
 
9-9-11
 
Had the machine shop pressure test the 885 head today, no cracks, exhaust valves got a recut and the deck got machined flat and valve seals installed, dropped it off in the morning and picked it up after work and started assembling it and working on the car.





nice clean FLAT surface for the headgasket


yanked the head off the b27, its pretty nasty, quite a bit of carbon build up, ive seen much worse but it is no wonder the exhaust valves werent sealing





So i scrapped the carbon build up off all the pistons and scotch brighted them with some wd40 to get them clean, 10minutes later and they all looked much better



cleaned the deck the best i could, its definetly flat and pretty damn clean so im confident i will get a good seal with the hg



I bought a goatze headgasket instead of using the pos vr one from the kit i bought, very happy i spent the 30 bucks and picked this up, it looks a million times better quality than the victor rienz....and it smells of fish:rofl1:





Set the head on





didnt have the torque specs for the head with me so i started putting the headers on, then called it a night, ill finish tommorow.


 
 
9-10-11
 
Picked up a trigger wheel today thanks to a local dude which i think i might be hitting up for some more parts if i cant find them at the jy tommorow.

still need some hoses, waterpump pully, crank sensor bracket, alternator and ps brackets, it sucks not knowing what shit i need and just having to find out as i go along.

Torqued the head down today, adjust valves and put the valve cover on, installed new timing components also.
tightened up the headers and put the trigger wheel on.
here is where i left off =/

 
 
9-13-11
 
got all the parts i need, attempted to start the car today but ive got no fuel pump coming on.
Tested the pump, its ok.
The car had a unichip installed but im not sure if its all hooked up correctly, could someone tell me if this wiring looks botched?

it looks like its connected to some wires coming out of the ecu but none run down the harness anywhere else and theres a few wires coming out of the unichip plug that arent hooked up. Id like to just do away with the whole thing for now but im not sure if it is part of my reason for no fuel pump.


 
9-18-11
 
Got the car running, ran like shit, pulled the unichip out and rewired the harness back to stock and it runs like a champ, needs an iacv tho.

Today i pulled the seats out and the door panels off and did some cleaning, i am on the hunt for a black capet kit and black door cards and black front m3/vert seats and some late model rear vert seats. But for now, ill clean it all up and leave it.

yuk



could be worse i guess




after some cleaning of the door jams

My girlfriend helped me all day, she cleaned all the seats and door panels, actually did a great job




Also found out my seats are heated, just need to wire them and get some hog rings and reattach the bottoms.

Pulled the ugly seat covers off the rear seats and cleaned them up and installed them, shame about the tear =/ oh well, only temporary till i can find a vert rear seat


Pulled the rear spoiler off and cleaned under neath it, also pulled the tail lights and license plate to have a good wipe down, cleaned in the trunk jam and the inside of the trunk lid


thats all for now
 
9-21-11
 
got the car up in the air tonight and did some steam cleaning, also extracted carpets.

cleaner than it looks in pictures.




 
 
9-28-11
 
Still waiting on a stock ecu to swap out for the one in the car which has a war chip setup for the old stroker motor the car had, so it runs pretty rich and wont pass deq/smog, so the car wont be on the road till around the 10th, which is ok because it gives me time to work on it.

pulled the carpet out and steam cleaned it in preperation for dying it black




some good old sem trim black for the trim and grille, and valspar vinyl dye which i will use to dye the carpet black and possibly the door cards if it looks right.


also recieved my shift boot and ebrake boot from topgaiter on ebay, they look great and they arrived within 5 days from the uk! we will see how they fit but from what i see so far i would definetly recommend, the price was too good to pass up


Also bought a set of trim rings from a guy here on the forum, forgot his name, at first i thought the temp and fuel guage rings wouldnt fit but they just need to be pushed in very very hard, but they snapped in nice and tight in the end, the speedo and tach need a dab of glue to be held still, no big deal.
Also painted my needles red.
Just waiting on my alpina tach strip and some bulbs and batterys for the si board.

 
 
10-14-11
quick update, dont expect anyone to care but i would like to keep this all logged ;)

got the stock ecu in the car, runs much better, passed smog/deq with flying colors, transfered title and got new tags, just waiting on insurance and i should be able to start driving it.

havent got much done at all lately. cant put the carpet back in yet because i need to buy another can of carpet dye because it got knocked off my dresser and ruining my bedroom carpet....good way to spend 50 bucks.

Plans to m50 swap, should be picking up an nv m50b25 next week.
 
 
10-20-11
 
well i took the plung.
now im on the hunt for a clutch, motor mounts, and an e34 oilpan and pickup.




 
 
10-22-12
 
snapped a few pics since i realized i havent posted pics since i had it cut/buffed/polished/waxed, pictures dont do it justice, paint looks great, couple small spots on the front fender and on one rear quarter where the primer is shinning through from being polished before, but over all i am happy with it.
i want to repaint the front and rear valances, but im not sure where to find some alpinwiess II paint....anyone?




i hate all that yellow shit under the car, really need to reundercoat the whole car, sigh...oh well, maybe one day. My boss just bought a 3m udnercoat spraying gun for a pretty penny so he can undercoat the unimog we are building, so i can properly undercoat/seamseal anything i want now =]

So does anyone know what i should do for paint? i need some alpinwiess II in either a spray can or just a can that i can throw in my hvlp, would i be better off just having it paint matched at a local store?
 
 
11-16-11
 
Well progress has slowed lately, working alot, moved into a new house, finally have a decent sized garage, and money hasnt allowed for much progress on the e30.

But here is what has happened lately.

started glassing in the side markers on the bumper trim



recieved the 13 button obc i bought from a member on here, everything looks great, havent installed yet.


installed my kenwood i had sitting on the shelf along with some hertz hi energy 3way 6x9s in the rear, will be installing a 4ch amp and building some kick pods for the front 6.5" components in the future, have everything just need the time.



recieved my euro ellips' headlights yesterday and installed them last night.
resoldered the euro plugs onto my harness and wrapped it all in heatshrink and pet braiding.


will clean up the wiring a little more when i do the m50 swap and the m20 is out of the bay.


yes i know i need to put the front end back together....as soon as the bumper trim is done.


ordered a morimoto hid kit, i wanted something with quality and i have heard good things about them and figured i could justify spending 100 bucks more than the shitty ebay setups.
http://www.theretrof...roducts_id=3959

Thats about it for now.
 
2-12-11
 
god damn it, just typed up a huge post and then it disapeared, i give up, pictures do the talking.
Im putting a volvo 5cyl turbo motor in the car.
bought a 260/6 out of a 535i today, now i can buy the adapter plate and get rolling on it.
pulled the m20 this evening.









 
 
 





whats up now suckas =p
02 t5 motor, will be running on my old vems standalone from the 855 and a big snail.

Robbie

Edited by mdlimy, 28 May 2013 - 08:59 PM.

[adamjjohn203]

Holy shit that is a beautiful thing! How long till it's done?? You are bringing it to IPD right??

Edited by adamjjohn203, 18 February 2012 - 08:37 AM.

[mdlimy]

Holy shit that is a beautiful thing! How long till it's done?? You are bringing it to IPD right??

If it is driving it will be at ipd, i will try to see if i can manage to get it into the show =p
I just got the motor today, need to order the adapter plate from sweden and cut up the oil pan and make some engine mounts and a few other little things, i think i can get it all done within a few months.

[rusheR]

Wagon was way cooler...

[Q-Ship]

verrry cool.
this is such a cool project.
Love the creativity and the skill to make it happen

[The Big Tuna]

I heard ipd built this car with you? lololol

What you driving in the down time??

[loudatom]

So....much....win....

[EVL WAGN]

Awesome stuff Robbie

[maciekb2002]

Did you have to modify oil pan , If I am correct steering rack sits in front of the engine , just like 5 version.
Throw some pics from the bottom.
Are you getting adapter ? We can save couple $ on shipping from sweden . I will need e36 to whiteblock.

[fischmama]

Nice!

[mdlimy]

thanks for all the support guys, seems like it will be one of those love it or hate things but you know the haters are the people that just know nothing about these motors or dont have an open mind to anything other than bmw, either way i could give a fuck, its gonna be brutally quick when im done and the best part, its not fwd!lol

I heard ipd built this car with you? lololol

What you driving in the down time??

a sweet ass geo tracker LOL!

Did you have to modify oil pan , If I am correct steering rack sits in front of the engine , just like 5 version.
Throw some pics from the bottom.
Are you getting adapter ? We can save couple $ on shipping from sweden . I will need e36 to whiteblock.

The oil pan will need some custom work, unfortunatly my subframe is more towards the rear unlike the rwd volvos where it is more towards the front so i dont really have room for a rear sump.
My plan is to cut the stock oil pan and build on to it, obviously i need to leave the whole top flange and the front section where the oil filter and orings are, the rest will have to be something custom, ill get some pics today of clearance. Going to pressure wash the motor today then hang it back in the engine bay.
Have you spoke to klracing? When i spoke to them i asked about using the adapter plate for the "small" bmw gearbox which would be my stock m20 getrag 260 and he said the input shaft is too short and require alot of work to make it fit and he recomended using a getrag 260 out of a big six car like an e34 535i, i found one on craigslist for 350 bucks with a good clutch.
My stock m20 getrag bolts up to any e36 motor and visa versa so that means your e36 trans you plan to use will require more work, the 535i getrag is identical to my stock tranny except 3/4in shorter in the front bellhousing.
Im definetly down to save on shipping, just shoot me a pm and we can work something out but your probally going to want to source a g260 out of a e34 535i.

Robbie

Edited by mdlimy, 18 February 2012 - 06:33 PM.

[greekone]

Bad ass.

[Tommy.]

Awesome Robbie!

[mdlimy]

Well i guess ill just make this somewhat of a build thread since im sure you all are interested.

So today, strarted by pressure washing/degreasing the whiteblock, gearbox and the engine bay.
Determined the almost certain position of the motor.
Removed a shit ton of aluminum from the bellhousing so the flywheel ring gear will fit.
Cut the water pipe so i can shorten it.
Decided that i need to come up with 450 bucks to order the adapter plate and hardware, but i dont have 450 bucks
Decided i will be ditching the oilcooler on the pan in favor for some -AN fittings for fittings to an external oil cooler, the factory cooler would hit the subframe, unfortunatly.
Oil pan modifications is gonna be a real pain in the butt, i snapped some pics of clearance but they are on my buddies phone so i will post them when he sends me them.

determined position



yes it clears, will still be raising up the res for a bit more clearance, just stoked to not have to deal with any shit on that side







Thats all for now.

Robbie

Edited by mdlimy, 19 February 2012 - 07:28 AM.

[Commander Riker]

Awesome!!!

[exexpat]

Pardon my threadjacking, sir, but does that mean your estate is gone?

These are great cars and since there are a couple of them modded globally, parts should be a bit more plentiful compared to the Volvo.

[nari]

Pardon my threadjacking, sir, but does that mean your estate is gone?

These are great cars and since there are a couple of them modded globally, parts should be a bit more plentiful compared to the Volvo.

I was about to ask this..

Anyway, a whitblock e30 is a really great idea

[Karl Buchka]

Before you guys start sucking each other's dicks over how amazing this is, just remember that going from "engine hanging freely in car by hoist" to actually running and driving involves an absolute metric monkeyton of work. No offense to you Robbie, as I have no doubt you can pull it off, but no one should get ahead of themselves.

Maybe I'm just jaded after having seen more than a few threads start like this, yet there's only been one RWD T5 in the states since my brother and I swapped my 242 back in 2007.

Definitely subscribing and looking forward to seeing the progress though. Are you going to run a stock header?

If you aren't married to the getrag, you can get a 960 bellhousing and an R154 or W58 adapter plate for a 1UZ-FE. I've got the CAD of the plate if you want it.

You should check out Homer's project thread over on tbricks. He's putting a T5 in his 244 with an M90, HX35, and VEMS.

[exexpat]

I believe in Robbie. He got Alphards to fit on an 855.

[mdlimy]

I believe in Robbie. He got Alphards to fit on an 855.

LOL!
and yes the wagon is gone, i parted it out some time ago =[

Before you guys start sucking each other's dicks over how amazing this is, just remember that going from "engine hanging freely in car by hoist" to actually running and driving involves an absolute metric monkeyton of work. No offense to you Robbie, as I have no doubt you can pull it off, but no one should get ahead of themselves.

Maybe I'm just jaded after having seen more than a few threads start like this, yet there's only been one RWD T5 in the states since my brother and I swapped my 242 back in 2007.

Definitely subscribing and looking forward to seeing the progress though. Are you going to run a stock header?

If you aren't married to the getrag, you can get a 960 bellhousing and an R154 or W58 adapter plate for a 1UZ-FE. I've got the CAD of the plate if you want it.

You should check out Homer's project thread over on tbricks. He's putting a T5 in his 244 with an M90, HX35, and VEMS.

thanks for the words of encouragment
But really, any comments you have please post them, everything that you post has heaps of good info.
I do fully intend to finish this no matter what, i parted out my volvo which i loved more than anything to build this e30 and then i ripped the motor out of this to put the white block in, so this project pretty much has my 100% attention until its done.

I am fairly married to the getrag, klracing makes and adapter plate to fit this gearbox and ive already ground out the bellhousing to fit the flywheel, and it will use my stock shift linkage with a little bit of extending, so it just makes for a more simple install, the gearbox is identical to the stock one that was in the e30 other than the input shaft and bellhousing being 3/4" shorter.

So what you are saying is you have the cad drawing for the adapter plate to put a 960 bellhousing on a 1uz-fe toyota v8 trasnsmission?
I remember you making an adapter plate to use the wc t5 trans with 960 bellhousing....

anyways as far as transmission goes im gonna try this route to try and keep everything behind the motor fairly bmw original.

I will check out homers thread, sounds like some info that can be of use.

Also Karl, since you are in sweden, have you ever seen any of the klracing adapter plates?

Robbie