RockNRace's 86' 535i LSX BMW: Turbo and Tuned!

[camopaint0707]

this has to be one of the coolest build I've ever seen. Makes me wanna do something like this to a car now.

[Reds82]

Nice progress cant wait to here it fire nothing like building something and it comes to life. What are you actually planning for the car?

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by 95naSTA

Nice progress so far!

thanks!

Originally Posted by SovXietday

Thanks man!

Car looks good, I wonder how you even have time to spend with Chandler lol!

thanks dude, it hasn't been easy, most of my work gets done early morning jam sessions for 8-10 hours before i see her at night. hows the job?

Originally Posted by schaffer

I like this.

Originally Posted by camopaint0707

this has to be one of the coolest build I've ever seen. Makes me wanna do something like this to a car now.

its not that special, but thank you for the kind words. and i recommend it if you have the time and space. its been fun, but also kind of annoying at times, today i spent 6 hours customizing AN and barb fittings so i can run my oil lines.

Originally Posted by Reds82

Nice progress cant wait to here it fire nothing like building something and it comes to life. What are you actually planning for the car?

Thats for sure, i can't wait to hear this thing roar to life! Actual plans are... Kinda a little bit of everything. Ill probably daily it if it proves to be reliable/ not overheat in traffic. Id like to turbo it sometime, just because i really enjoy welding and fabricating. Im sure it will make appearances at the strip/ auto x, I just want to enjoy it. Hopefully once I'm through school this drivetrain can be transferred into a late 60's pickup or some sort of muscle car

[cmr076]

is it done yet? why haven't I seen it? slacking Joey.

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by cmr076

is it done yet? why haven't I seen it? slacking Joey.

I'm trying, i need your expertise ball busting back in my life to get over the final obstacles

[rocknrace03]

its alive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wP-gmOjg4M
open headers, and brake boost line was open. idles like a champ when i put my finger over it. home stretch now!

[mckpat03]

Awesome! Good work!

[rocknrace03]

working on some radiator plumbing. need to get some special fittings to stop an oil leak, and a driveshaft. soon.

[schaffer]

when will we see the burnouts

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by schaffer

when will we see the burnouts

later this summer. the stock rear end is an open dif and will probably shred if i beat on it. this bad boy is a cruiser until all the minor bugs get sorted out. but you'll see it drive by the end of the month

[rocknrace03]

time for a much needed update on this piece.

well 1st of all, its not done. but its close, and i mean it this time, i promise.

since you last saw it, I've been dealing with issues in the oil filter lines, so for now, i have no filter, buutt it still leaks, so that sucks.

then i got a hood scoop to clear the intake

then i cut the hood and taped it on


i got my driveshaft made at associated truck parts in allentown, went to fire it up to see if all was well, and no start. thanks to the denmah, i found this

unfortunately this kept me from cars and coffee
then i ordered in some race car parts.

and mounted them in ricer fashion

then i made some radiator mounts, and got really excited about my aluminum tig welds


also installed a serpentine belt and removed the power steering pump. also added some custom paint to the top of the radiator. tried tinting the silver paint, and it fish eyed bad. so it could be better. but oh well

and finally today i was able to rivet the hood in place and plasti dipped it, i plan on doing the whole car once its completely done



tomorrow Denmah is going to come over and hopefully get this thing running, i think i have an issue with the anti theft system, fingers crossed anyways. then its just a few small things like throttle cable and minor wiring to get this thing on the road!

so theres your update on my crappy home brew junker bmw

[blue91lx]

Yes!! I need to see this thing in person when she's all finished up. Not a huge fan of the cowl, but can't win 'em all when you're throwin so much 'merica inside a german (don't take that as hate).

Any rough budget estimate thus far? The 530iT is taking over daily duty for a while, but when that M60 explodes, an LSX will rightfully reside in it's place, and it will be done exactly as you are doing it- budget friendly.

Did you throw an LS1 cam in it while the motor was out?

Looks great, man!

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by blue91lx

Yes!! I need to see this thing in person when she's all finished up. Not a huge fan of the cowl, but can't win 'em all when you're throwin so much 'merica inside a german (don't take that as hate).

Any rough budget estimate thus far? The 530iT is taking over daily duty for a while, but when that M60 explodes, an LSX will rightfully reside in it's place, and it will be done exactly as you are doing it- budget friendly.

Did you throw an LS1 cam in it while the motor was out?

Looks great, man!

thanks man, i don't really like the hood either, but i also couldn't justify the cost of a ls1 intake set up vs 100$ hood scoop. But i agree, stock hood would have been nice. The engine is also 100% stock. but it should make around 280hp at the rear tires, so thats good enough for me.... for now...
I've spent around 6500$ so far. but i bought a 900$ engine, 750$ trans, and bought just about everything else from summit racing.(250 $radiator, fancy an fittings,500$ racing oil pan set up, ect) you could easily go junk yard shopping and pick up almost everything you need on the cheap(140$ engines, 90$ trans at the local u-pulls). I just went with new and known good stuff because i would hate to spend time and money and have the engine kill itself after a month or two and have no money to fix it. Some people have done swaps for as cheap as 3-4k total, maybe even less. If i were to do it all over again, id try and hold to a tighter budget, because theres no way i could sell this car for what i have in it. Im just hoping i can use this drivetrain in another project after college. LS Wagon would be sweet!

[Shipman]

So fantastic

[SoStock92]

Cool project - I too wish you could make the stock hood work, though.

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by SoStock92

Cool project - I too wish you could make the stock hood work, though.

if i buy an ls1 intake set up and a low mount alternator, it would fit fine, unfortunately they're really expensive and the truck intakes flow so well that its not really worth the extra cash. Its kinda been growing on me, I kinda like that it looks "terrible" since the rest of the car is so beat up anyway.


Update.

Denmah came over yesterday and we tried different computers and still ran into the same issue. I decided to see if i had fuel pressure at the rail, and got nothing. We discovered that the piece of tubing that holds the pump to the sending unit had exploded. I replaced that hose, feeling hopeful i went to start the car. and i get a bunch of clicking from the fuel pump relay and no start.... there must be some sort of electrical issue that hopefully is simple and easy to fix. but unfortunately its going to have to wait for the weekend after i finish this weeks school work.

[BigWhiteTodd]

loving the build, keep it up.

[95naSTA]

Sucks to hear about the FP issue. Hopefully you get it wraped up next weekend.

I'm in wish you could make the stock hood work somehow camp, just have the intake manifold sticking out or something. But if it's growing on you, rock the hell out of it. I have a feeling the grumbling exhaust makes it fit better.

[blue91lx]

Quit slacking!

[rocknrace03]

Originally Posted by blue91lx

Quit slacking!

school man, school im also broke lol!

my birthday is in november and i have a week off of school for thanksgiving, hoping i can replace my fuel pump, send my harness back and get this turd on the road. depends how fast winter shows up too