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

[DocWalt]

Really interesting dyno results! I love the technical work like that, even if sometimes it goes poorly, it's nice to test and verify.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Really interesting dyno results! I love the technical work like that, even if sometimes it goes poorly, it's nice to test and verify.

Same- I wish it was executed correctly round one, but hopefully he'll make it right!

It's finally M3 time.

Started pulling the engine. Going to do a set of 11:1 pistons, keeping the rest of the build simple so I can put the budget towards the rest of the mechanical refresh.

First time on the hoist! Car is much better than I thought it'd be which is exciting. So nice to see yellow zinc plating on the crank sensor bracketry that's likely missing on 50% of the M3s out there.

Engine will go to the machinist this week and I'll carry on refreshing the rest of the car.

Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr
by bimmertown, on Flickr
by bimmertown, on Flickr

[blue91lx]

///Motor is out!

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[blue91lx]

Got the motor torn down and during the process was getting really nervous because there was a LOT of moisture in the motor from the blown HG.

But I'll be dipped, after a thorough inspection I can't find any block/head cracking, and the cam trays look useable.

Obviously machinist will have final say, but with the cost of spare block/head/cam tray this is a huge win and I am very pleased.

On the not so good end of things, the bores are rusty, and the valve springs are rusty which is obviously a huge no-no to use rusty sprung steel....... which mean I'll have to buy a set of springs, which likely means I'll upgrade, which will probably convince me to buy cams of some sort.

Regarding the cause for the HG failure, nothing stood out. There was red gasket maker under the cam tray which means someone was probably in there, so maybe just a HG job gone bad?



Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr
Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr
Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr
Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr
Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr
Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr

[DocWalt]

Glad to see you finally working on the M3! Sucks that there's some rust in the bores and on the valve springs... but seems like things are generally good!

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Glad to see you finally working on the M3! Sucks that there's some rust in the bores and on the valve springs... but seems like things are generally good!

Honestly I wasn't upset about rusty bores- for whatever reason, pistons are the cheapest part of this build, so I get the excuse to bump compression up to what it was in the Sport Evo models for the same price as buying stock sized rings from BMW. My buddy is going to Germany next week and is hopefully picking up timing chain guides for me because BMW stopped making all of it

[DocWalt]

Of course they did...

Having anything exciting done to the head itself?

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Of course they did...

Having anything exciting done to the head itself?

Unfortunately no- cams/springs alone add over $2k of parts/setup cost, so after hearing my stock valve springs & cams were useable I decided to keep the head stock.

The s14 is such an underwhelming, unbelievably expensive to maintain/upgrade engine I wasn't convinced cams would change much for the price.

Parts were going NLA at such a rapid rate, and the retired machinist I've used for years agreed to do the motor for me which is what drove me to drag the car out of the shadows and start the project, before the cost/availability of parts and services surpassed my desire/budget haha.

It's a shame this stuff is getting so hard to enjoy due to cost. I have my dream car, and likely won't use it at all because the parts to fix it simply don't exist.

You can't get normal parts anymore. Need a windshield? They don't exist. Bumpers, fenders, glass, ancillary engine parts, interior parts, etc etc, all NLA.

[DocWalt]

Makes sense, it's really ridiculous that everything is NLA. It's a big reason I ditched the GTI, the OEM replacement parts that *were* available were really crap. Tons of pricey aftermarket parts that mostly didn't work well with each other too, haha.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Makes sense, it's really ridiculous that everything is NLA. It's a big reason I ditched the GTI, the OEM replacement parts that *were* available were really crap. Tons of pricey aftermarket parts that mostly didn't work well with each other too, haha.

Don't blame you at all- most vintage euro stuff is in a very similar state, with no resolution in sight.

The lemforder control arms I put on my last E30 ate boots in a year. The quality of the "OEM"s has fallen hard.

BMW Classic is trying to find new manufactures as the quality OG's stop production on important parts. M20 head gaskets used to be made by Goetze. Then they stopped production on the Goetze OEMs. Then the genuine BMW Goetze gaskets disappeared. Now the genuine is back and supposedly made by Reinz.

There are 1000 examples of it, but yeah, it's a rough time to own vintage euro stuff!

[DocWalt]

Even my wife's beater E46 drift car is a pain in the ass to buy quality parts for and it's decades newer. Really really annoying, it's wild how lame the aftermarket is quality wise. I guess if there are no options they'll just keep selling trash.

[blue91lx]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Even my wife's beater E46 drift car is a pain in the ass to buy quality parts for and it's decades newer. Really really annoying, it's wild how lame the aftermarket is quality wise. I guess if there are no options they'll just keep selling trash.

Yup- pretty wild how chassis with huge markets aren't fixing the problem, like your e46 debacle.

I had a call last year with the ceo of an unnamed aftermarket euro parts company that doesn't have the best reputation, who told me they were beginning to fill catalog gaps for BMW Classic.... so I don't exactly have high hopes for future genuine BMW stuff even.

-----

Such a great Vintage this year! I was on the fence about going so a buddy called and convinced me to go. Another pal had a spot for a floor mattress at an airbnb, so I started last minute hooptie prep for the trip down (7hr ish drive each way).

Went to see a show in Cinci the night before I left so I drove the silver E30 for a shakedown. Car felt great. Pulled a bit of dampening out of the front and it solved a bump bounce condition that showed up after I changed spring rates.

Sent Jake a few logs to finalize the t00n- he made a few fueling adjustments, turned on closed loop fueling and the car ran better than it ever has. The super light throttle/tip in stuff that is almost never perfect on a standalone setup feels like a stock ecu car now. Very happy with how the new 2.7L/standalone worked out.

Did another pre drive inspection Thursday before I had to leave and saw my Evil Energy amazon fuel hose finally started to crack externally after 6yrs. Pulled lines and saw no internal cracking so I cut back the damaged bits to get by for the weekend. I'm going to order a reel of the 6bar s54 hose and replace it all.

The event was in maggie valley this year, and the area accommodated the show much better than hot springs, despite HS being a swankier/nostalgic spot. Blue Ridge Parkway right around the corner, plenty of hikes, it was bliss

Drove down with an Indy pal- he has a super clean early royalblau eta, among a garage of other insanely clean cars. Rolled into town around 1:30a. Another buddy waited up and we unpacked some existential luggage until way too late

I went for a solo drive/hike the following morning up on the blue ridge to an old prop plane crash site.

The rest of the weekend was spent connecting with so many good folks that I rarely get to see in the flesh. The guy who bought my old bmp design s50 polaris early 4dr was there- he and his wife have driven the car all over. Turns out he knew the guy who built the car, who sold him back the 370mm mt2 wheel the guy originally put on the car when he built it. Was great to see them and the car again.

Turned acquaintances into friends, and somehow got 28mpg doing it. What a great time. Filled up before/after a canyon run and the car did 26mpg on a spirited drive. It's running/feeling great. I gave up on the header deal for now so the car has been on a stock exhaust which let the fresh premie speakers, bro's tweeters and new amp I put in shine.

TLDR: buy hoopties, drive them to see people

Dinner got out of hand on Saturday- click for vid: Checca 2.5L vs 2.7L Lang S14. Induction noise bliss.

Right click, open link in new tab to view

IMG_4772 by bimmertown, on Flickr






Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr
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Untitled by bimmertown, on Flickr