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

[DocWalt]

Man, that thing has seen better days...

I'd probably do a junkyard engine just to get it on the road and work on the M3

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Man, that thing has seen better days...

I'd probably do a junkyard engine just to get it on the road and work on the M3

Haha you're not the first one to suggest that! I'm not rich enough to start restoring the M3 yet. It's in car hibernation for now until life calms down a bit (or I hit the lottery, whichever comes first).

In reply to the junkyard motor, they (M20b25s in yards) don't really exist anymore out here. I'd have to buy another E30 parts car to get a motor out of that I would then still have to go through. Since the head is trash I'd need a longblock, and folks want $5-700 for them now.

End of the day I'm getting 75hp more +10 cool points for a similar price by going 24V because the M52s are far more common. I picked up the 3L stroker internals today. Just need to pull one of the million M52s from a yard.

This also means I'm going to have to finish my steering rack swap and manual swap when the motor is out.... sigh.

[blue91lx]

E34 Pan/Dipstick/Pickup and S52 Cams/trays arrived!

Picking up the M52 from Classic Daily on Friday.

This car is going to be fun!

[DocWalt]

Woo! Progress is good!

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Woo! Progress is good!

Agreed!

I have a motor now! But I don't have anywhere to put it until I move, so until I close on this damn house, my Forester will be pulling wheelies.

Speaking of the Forester, it is about to blow up. Hopefully I can finish moving before it bites the dust. It builds so much coolant pressure on a cold trip around the block that it's enough to spray the entire bay in coolant if the cap is popped. It has also popped the water pump gasket and pushes coolant out of every coolant hose. Not to mention, the clutch is also going bad and it burns a quart of oil (or more) every 1000 miles.

I'm going to a) have to get another daily while I fix it or b) try to finish one of my three e30s to daily.

[rocknrace03]

sorry to hear about your subaru woes, sounds like a HG issue? I feel like someone of your mechanical experience could know that out in a weekend if it is the case. I've done quite a few now and can probably drive in, engine out, hg, and back together in driving in a solid Saturday if i took little to no breaks. Hopefully she stays together for you!

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by rocknrace03

sorry to hear about your subaru woes, sounds like a HG issue? I feel like someone of your mechanical experience could know that out in a weekend if it is the case. I've done quite a few now and can probably drive in, engine out, hg, and back together in driving in a solid Saturday if i took little to no breaks. Hopefully she stays together for you!

Thanks, man! And I agree, i and just avoiding the inevitable . The last DOHC head gaskets it took ~22hrs, it's totally a weekend job!

The problem is the bottom end- I don't want to pull the motor without at least throwing rings in it, so I've been procrastinating until I have a little more time.

[mckpat03]

Ugh, that sucks to hear about the daily. It's always something, it seems. Good luck getting things all sorted out!

It's such a love/hate relationship with older, higher mile dailies. A new car with a warranty and dealer maintenance would be great, lol. I'm currently tracking down mysteries and gremlins in my TDI.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by mckpat03

Ugh, that sucks to hear about the daily. It's always something, it seems. Good luck getting things all sorted out!

It's such a love/hate relationship with older, higher mile dailies. A new car with a warranty and dealer maintenance would be great, lol. I'm currently tracking down mysteries and gremlins in my TDI.

It really is man. I've considered getting a shiny fresh car so many times, but I am 100% sure I'd rather fix a car than have a car payment, at least for now!

I'm just going to have to fight the urge to "build" it and keep it in the lines of "repair" only when I have it apart, because it's only a turbo and head studs away from 300whp........

......but we all know how reliable modified 4cyl turbo cars are

[Shipman]

Subaru issues lol classic

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by Shipman

Subaru issues lol classic

LS swap time in the forester! Joey where you at?!

After much consideration, I ended up getting eBay headers for this build. $1100 + s/h for supersprints vs $92 shipped is INSANE. I've always been one for quality parts, but the difference in price is astronomical, with very little middle ground in the market.

Ended up going with through the seller speed_daddy, as I saw a few others have used them with decent luck in the past. Even if I have to spend $$ modifying them, I will still be better off. Good headers would've cost more than everything else I have in this build thus far!

I think I'm going to buy an E30 catback, too, and just have a midpipe made with a proper collector merge. Still debating on whether to use a resonator or not.

[Big_Jim]

Originally Posted by blue91lx

LS swap time in the forester! Joey where you at?!

After much consideration, I ended up getting eBay headers for this build. $1100 + s/h for supersprints vs $92 shipped is INSANE. I've always been one for quality parts, but the difference in price is astronomical, with very little middle ground in the market.

Ended up going with through the seller speed_daddy, as I saw a few others have used them with decent luck in the past. Even if I have to spend $$ modifying them, I will still be better off. Good headers would've cost more than everything else I have in this build thus far!

I think I'm going to buy an E30 catback, too, and just have a midpipe made with a proper collector merge. Still debating on whether to use a resonator or not.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2866/3...d5ac3bc5_c.jpg

You'd be surprised how many "expensive" headers and exhaust items are just overpriced china pieces with a logo welded on them. I know of a few companies that built their business around that.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by Big_Jim

You'd be surprised how many "expensive" headers and exhaust items are just overpriced china pieces with a logo welded on them. I know of a few companies that built their business around that.

It's a scary thought how often this happens. There are several E30 businesses that are solely built around this.

The other scary thing is.... there is quite a large market of people who can't tell the difference and buy into it.

If these things fit even half decent, I'll be thrilled!

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by Big_Jim

You'd be surprised how many "expensive" headers and exhaust items are just overpriced china pieces with a logo welded on them. I know of a few companies that built their business around that.

I know of one in particular as well......

Originally Posted by blue91lx

LS swap time in the forester! Joey where you at?!

Would be super dope, but all the subaru swaps i've seen seem like a lot of work. Mr. Denmah wants to build an LS forester in the worst way

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by rocknrace03

Would be super dope, but all the subaru swaps i've seen seem like a lot of work. Mr. Denmah wants to build an LS forester in the worst way

I've spent the last few days looking at them and it seems like most folks end up spending $20K+ to get it done even half decent. I'm tellin you, aluminum LSJuan E30 is my end game for me. If I ever get a real job and can fund it, it'll happen.

I really wish someone would offer me a good amount of money for the Scoob so I could just buy something else and be done with it.

[blue91lx]

Driveline is very close to being sorted, which was one of my main concerns. I want to have the everything sorted so I can install in the car post-engine build and then slowly purchase and tie together the rest of the small pieces I need to complete the 24v swap. My 3L stroker rotating assembly will be here on tuesday and I can start tackling the engine build.

Drivetrain will be:

-g260
-RHD 7lb Flywheel (228mm m20 clutch fitment)
-UNDECIDED ON CLUTCH
-stock "i" driveshaft
-3.73LSD diff
-stock axles until they break
-10* tilted DSSR for trans linkage alignment
-Z3M Shifter




Also finally received my 'built' adjustable subframe that I've been waiting on for quite some time along with 24v engine mount arms + e28 M5 'green' mounts, 318iS ECU mounting bracket for the 24v ecu, etc. I'm trying to make this thing look like it was meant to be in there.

[mckpat03]

Ohhhhh, very pretty parts, lol.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by mckpat03

Ohhhhh, very pretty parts, lol.

[Hopefully] these pretty parts will start going on a car sometime soon now that I have a place to work on it!

[blue91lx]

Finally closed! Haven't moved a single thing into my house, but the garage is coming along

[Shipman]

Awesome bro, congrats