Slowly but Surely- 325iX, 325iS, and E30M3 resurrection

[blue91lx]

Fun day today- I was able to order everything needed to get this thing on the road, and also put together an itemized list of everything I've got in this car.

Including the car I'm sitting right at $10K for everything, which isn't bad at all. This also means that going M20 (fully finished/dressed/modded) saved me an additional $7K over the 24v swap route.

Food for thought for those doing a 24v swap the "right way".

Spreadsheet link for anyone interested:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

[blue91lx]

double post, see above

[blue91lx]

IE, Garagistic, Bimmerheads and Bimmer Baron orders showed up! Just waiting on a huge order from FCP and I'll be in business.

[DocWalt]

oooo baby

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

oooo baby

So shiny!




1) FCP order came in so I took inventory. Forgot to order belts :doh:








2) I bought tires today for my filled/drilled style 5s! Falken Azenis RT615K+ in 215/45r16. I didn't want to go 225/45 because they'll likely rub pretty bad, so this 215 should be perfect on the E38 Style 5s. Running a 10mm spacer up front and 15mm rear.



3) I received the last piece I needed to get the front suspension buttoned up today. The IE Swaybar Bracket Kit-thing makes swaybar installs 100x easier, and beefens things up a bit. Glad to to have it all tightened and on the ground. Just for kicks, I also threw the above spacers on a set of iX weaves I have lying around until I get the style 5s on. I was quite pleased with the way things look on a 15" weave.












4) I'm dropping the cylinder head off tomorrow morning to get freshened up, which means I had some work to do. I spoke with the gentleman doing the machine work today and he encouraged getting fresh rockers, so I ordered some Febi units. He'll be putting in new guide seals, resurfacing, pressure testing, etc. This motor is in great shape.

I'm also sending the throttle body out to Riot Racing for a bore, and will be deleting the TB heater and simplifying/tapping the vacuum routing to utilize NPT fittings. The 90* check valve normally used for this became NLA recently, but going through my boxes of parts, I found the one I ordered two years ago when I bought the car, score.

That's all for now, stay tuned!

[blue91lx]

Very rewarding day today. The tire shop mounted and balanced all four wheels for $20 because they didn't want the liability of the fill/drill. They all balanced out perfectly which I was very excited about.

[DocWalt]

Looks mean!

[PAdutch]

I like the falkens on the miata. A good tire for the price. This car is gonna be fun, now get it on the road haha.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Looks mean!

Originally Posted by PAdutch

I like the falkens on the miata. A good tire for the price. This car is gonna be fun, now get it on the road haha.

Thanks fellas!

I'll get it on the road someday. For now it just puts me in a good mood when I'm pissed off in the garage taking apart rusty parts cars.

[blue91lx]

I got my throttle body in from Riot Racing today. I went into the TB bore thinking the price was $235 minus $100 core making it $135, but alas it was $235 plus $100 core, still making it $235. I sent my unit in ahead of time so I didn't find out until I was too far into the process. Had I known this (my fault) I'm 99% sure I never would've sent it in, but they did a great job on it.

Todd was nice enough to plug and machine the front vacuum hole for me (that I was already going to plug). Now I can focus on getting the throttle body heater plate plugged and redo the rest of the vacuum lines with sealed fittings.

I called the machinist that has my cylinder head (who is a very cool older gentleman that has a full shop in his garage) and he must've gotten bored with dealership work because he started cleaning up up all the ports on the head, and is thus taking longer than expected. Once I get that back this should be a weekend job to get it all up and going again. I'll have to have a custom midpipe made as well.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[blue91lx]

Got a bit more work done today. I wasn't going to update until I had it all on the road, but the head work is taking forever so I figured I might as well.

I have the engine torn down and on the engine stand so I can prep the block for the head and other components.

So, I do not have access to an oil cooler and do not feel like buying one. I went to investigate this situation and realized that my b25 block already has the oil cooler deleted (car it came out of was in an accident and I suspect this is why). I'll be changing oil more frequently (3K miles) due to the lack of the cooler (higher temps typically=faster break down) and will be keeping an eye on temps to make sure nothing gets damaged. I've read multiple accounts of Spec E30 cars deleting the coolers so I am not worried about it.

I will also be temporarily deleting AC for sake of functionality/weight and will add it later on when I can convert things to R134, parallel flow condenser, etc.

On the stand. Notice said oil cooler delete.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
[IMG]Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr[/IMG]
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr



Cut a bolt down to delete the block portion of the TB heater with a fresh crush washer.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




Spent some time cleaning things up and prepping the deck surface, cleaning pistons, chasing threads, etc. I'll go over this again before I throw it all together.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




Started working on the oil pan and fitting the Ireland Engineering Oil Pan Baffle. The pan was damaged during the accident (I assume due to the consistency of other things) and repaired. The pan seals perfectly fine so I am not worried about it in the least. I'm going to have it hot tanked this week. Tested fitment over the oil pump to line things up. I used a 1/4" drill bit for the holes. I was in a pinch for bit so I decided to try the HF ones. The Ti Harbor Freight bits are surprisingly nice.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by blue91lx

The Ti Harbor Freight bits are surprisingly nice.

*until you have to sharpen them.

I have some as well that I keep at my internship. They dont sharpen worth a damn, once the coating wears off its just soft steel unfortunately.


I just bought some "black oxide" ones, worth seeing how they hold up for ~$10

[DocWalt]

I love seeing shiny engine bits!

Good info on the drill bits. I really need to learn to sharpen them, I've got a bunch of dull drill bits laying around and it would be nice to grt more use out of them.

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

I love seeing shiny engine bits!

Good info on the drill bits. I really need to learn to sharpen them, I've got a bunch of dull drill bits laying around and it would be nice to grt more use out of them.

definitely a skill that Im glad was forced upon me. I'm not an expert by any means, but its nice to be able sharpen a painfully dull bit when you need to.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by rocknrace03

*until you have to sharpen them.

I have some as well that I keep at my internship. They dont sharpen worth a damn, once the coating wears off its just soft steel unfortunately.


I just bought some "black oxide" ones, worth seeing how they hold up for ~$10

Originally Posted by DocWalt

I love seeing shiny engine bits!

Good info on the drill bits. I really need to learn to sharpen them, I've got a bunch of dull drill bits laying around and it would be nice to grt more use out of them.

Originally Posted by rocknrace03

definitely a skill that Im glad was forced upon me. I'm not an expert by any means, but its nice to be able sharpen a painfully dull bit when you need to.

Yeah, I was wondering about sharpening them. I'm at the point in life where I just buy new bits when they get dull/break. Wasteful yes, but works for the amount of time I have to commit to things. I've got some junk Craftsman bits now that I've broken 80% of so far- I'm just excited the HF ones haven't broke yet!


Got some shiny parts back from the machine shop. I know I said I was going to use a RHD flywheel but got so sick of buying parts I just had the machine shop deglaze the one I had, because it was in good shape.

Head was perfect, and he went above and beyond smoothing ports out, etc. It looks like new, with the Billet 272 cam installed along with new updated Febi Rockers and stem seals. I put in a new cam seal/oring.

He also hot tanked my oil pan for free after I drilled for the baffle and filled the pan with shavings. The baffle is in now with the help of loctite.


IMG_2270 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2267 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2272 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2275 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2269 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2271 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2274 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2266 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




Forgot to buy new dowels for the head halting progress there, so I figured I'd throw the new CSB in the driveshaft in the meantime. DS is in pretty good shape, ujoints all felt good/moved freely. It was a royal pain in the ass to get the old CSB bearing off and I couldn't get the new one on, so I'm just going to have it pressed on for my sanity.

I have a new LuK clutch, new flywheel bolts, pilot bearing, trans seals, manual pedal assy, etc that I still have to mess with here soon. This project began so long ago I almost forgot the car started as an auto and I have yet to finish converting it over, despite having all of the parts.

My goal is to have this all wrapped up by the end of April. Sooner if I get more time, but that's doubtful.


IMG_2276 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[empera]

This is awesome! Love seeing new or fresh parts!

[mckpat03]

Sick. I"m loving all the progress this winter!

[DocWalt]

head looks great!

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by empera

This is awesome! Love seeing new or fresh parts!

Fresh parts make the world go 'round!

Originally Posted by mckpat03

Sick. I"m loving all the progress this winter!

Let us also acknowledge the accuracy of that statement in regards to 'winter'. It snowed again tonight out here! That's the second snow in APRIL

Originally Posted by DocWalt

head looks great!

I gave him room to take his time on it, and he really did a great job. He smoothed/polished all of the ports, taking down any casting imperfections. He also did a very nice valve job, installed new stem seals, new stainless exhaust manifold studs, deglazed my flywheel, etc all for $260.




I made a pretty decent bit of progress today. SO many small tasks really suck up time, but in the end it is the small things that make the build what it is.

I tore the front seals out to clean everything up. I pressed in a fresh front crank seal and intermediate shaft seal as well, and installed a new OE intermediate shaft pulley.

IMG_2280 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2281 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr



Got the head torqued down with a Goetze HG, new dowels from ECS, and fresh OEM head bolts. I also installed a fresh tensioner, tensioner spring, water pump, Conti belt, etc. I cleaned up the fuel rail and harness and installed all of that with the rebuilt green tops.

IMG_2283 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2286 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2296 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2294 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr






I finished the throttle body heater delete by drilling/tapping the hole on the thermostat housing. I'm waiting for a SHCS to plug it up, as my local stores didn't have anything in stock for a 1/4-18 npt.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2278 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr





I also worked on my throttle body vacuum system, drilling/tapping the TB for an elbow and a barb fitting. I also installed a new grommet and a 90* check valve in the booster (now NLA).


IMG_2290 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2292 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2293 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr





I also test fit the windage tray that I'll finish up installing tomorrow.

IMG_2297 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr





I also stopped by the machine shop and had my CSB pressed on. The small town feel in this city is neat at times. I walked in with no appointment expecting to drop it off, the owner looked at it, brought me back in the shop, and had me hold the driveshaft while he drove the CSB on with a custom piece he had to fit over the axle shaft sized to the inner race of the bearing. Reinstalled and we're good to go.

IMG_2284 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr





I also did some exhaust planning. I have the IE long tubes which have a 2.25" collector. I also have a Magnaflow 2.25" x pipe, a pair of 2.25" vbands, and my freshie eBay catback that just came in.

I'm going to have a midpipe made and will be placing the x pipe 32" (~800ish mm) from the collectors to hit the (I hope) correct exhaust harmonic. I used this eBay catback in the past and was very pleased with fitment, and most importantly, sound. mjweimer gave me a very nice Eberspächer catback to use and my original game plan was going put a new muffler on it. However, after some thought it became clear that just getting the eBay unit would be a simpler, more cost effective choice.

image1 (7) by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
image2 (3) by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




That's all for now- I'm hoping to continue the progress tomorrow.

[blue91lx]

Made some more progress this eve.

Adjusted lash to .010 all the way around. Everything is very tight, with ample adjustment room left on stock eccentrics, which I was worried about since this was an aftermarket billet cam.

IMG_2302 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr



Threw the VC on with a fresh gasket and a light touch of ultra gray.

IMG_2303 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




And test fit the headers √


IMG_2304 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




I picked up this low mile g260 from a local and it's in great shape. I had planned to replace all of the seals on it today but nothing was leaking at all, so I just cleaned it up instead of messing with it.

IMG_2298 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr




Also, it seems commonplace to replace the entire pedal assembly when doing a manual swap, but it's not necessary. All you need is the clutch pedal, brake pedal, and long bolt/nut from the manual pedal assembly and it bolts right into any auto pedal assembly. If you have an airbag car (like me) you don't have a choice but to do it this way, but IMO it's much easier than swapping the whole pedal assembly even on a non-airbag car.

IMG_2305 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2301 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2310 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr