My e30 'vert's very own build thread.

[Bimmerteck]

a long time ago in a driveway far far away. . .

I found an e30 that needed to be adopted, so I signed the paperwork and passed the background check and it was all mine.



The headlamps were as if elves were sitting on the front bumper with candles so I found some suitable replacements. (I also got rid of the getto wheels with a quickness!)













She wasn't looking to shabby for a daily at this point, but I desired an altitude adjustment and it was kinda time for some front brakes, which led to some wheels, which needed some tires, ect.

Altitude-Check


Brakes-Check


Wheels-Check (they even fit over the brakes!)


Tires- also Check


Add them all together and. . .

[Bimmerteck]

It was at this point I managed to break a rocker arm and pin a valve open with said broken arm, Causing some neat internal damage to my m20. Unfortunately due to circumstances outside my control I couldn't afford to drive for a few years so as depression set in I put aside my car projects for a while.

although my wife kept me in good spirits by buying me things to keep me looking forward to going back to driving.





Come last summer I threw an m50 on the stand and started to go to work, cleaning it, stripping it's block of it's factory paint, and hitting it with some POR15 engine enamel, and sandblasting anything and everything i could to bring it back up to snuff.





Acquired an s54 oil filter housing.

[Bimmerteck]

Tonight I found inspiration on the forums to drag my camera gear out to the garage and at least organize a bit and take some pictures since I'm waiting on a few parts to come in yet. (thanks Kielan)



I rebuilt the belt tensioner and reinstalled it since the last installment.


There's nothing quite like looking an a huge pile of new parts about to go onto your car.


It's been a while since anyone seen it, but I cleaned up tonight and under all those tools I found it.
(my toolbox top hasn't seen the light of day since right after I started on Mike's e36)

[Bimmerteck]

Well I didn't get quite all the parts I needed to get the motor in place this weekend,so I turned my attention to finding an e36 steering rack and getting it ready to go on, removing the factory oil cooler, lines, brackets, and I began reconditioning the body wiring harness.

To recondition the harness-
1. I first unclipped the small plastic harness retainers all the way around the front end then I carefully unplugged everything and fished the front end harness back through the bumper until I had it all out

2. Then I removed all the old tape (it literally crumbled away)

3. cleaned the wires (windex and a clean terry cloth)

4. removed excess adhesive (Brake parts cleaner and a shop rag)

5. then treated the wires jackets to some 303 protectant to keep them flexible

6. rewrapped the harness using 3M self vulcanizing rubber tape in all stress points and then rewrapped the entire harness in 3M friction tape. (sourced from winzer)

7. Inspect the plugs individually and replace components as necessary.

Before




During



After



Tape used-

This 3M friction tape is the closest I've been able to find to the NLA factory BMW tape.


This is the rubber tape I use in high stress and abrasive prone areas, it has no adhesive and sticks only to itself.



While I was working on the harness I replaced the contacts in many of the plugs, and connector housings that were either loose, corroded or broken.



03/01/2011
Got the first round of hoses, went with Starlite for the oil cooler and PS return lines, Socketless for the fuel b/c it apparently handles ethanol laced gas best. (The SS hose is only laying on my bench b/c it's getting assembled at the same time for the e30 M3 project.)



03/03/2011


Installed oil temp sensor adaptor into the new oil pan's sump. Also I prepared the lightweight flywheel for installation.

[Bimmerteck]

Well I set the motor in place for the first time this evening, amazing how much more room the US motors offer over the Euro s50/s54 motors. Also got my powder coated valve cover installed the wrinkle finish really covers up the flaws normally apparent in the m50s' magnesium covers and looks like it will hold up much better than the PO's attempt to repaint the valve cover.

[Bimmerteck]

Swap Wiring 101

Remove the e30 Connector


E30 connector by systemdelete, on Flickr

Leave the old pins/wires in the e30 connector for future reference.

Cut wires by systemdelete, on Flickr

3. Use the "special tool" to pass the wire through the boot as a bundle quickly and easily.

Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr

Carefully remove the tool leaving the wires passed through the boot.

Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Insert wire seals over the wire before stripping(if your picky) Grey for thinner wire and yellow for thicker.

Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Make a list and check it twice.

Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Don't forget to list the e36 side.

Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr

Run any and all extra wires before you go any farther. Shown are my wires for the oil temp/pressure gauges I'll be adding soon.(you could add oil level sensor wires to the M50 harness this way as well) They will be back fed through the stock harness and will utilize extra pin holes already available on the connector for a nice clean factory look.


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr

Now it's time to go draw up a new pinout for the new connector I'll be grafting onto the e30's main harness.(using the factory ETMs) Stay tuned for swap wiring 201 where we'll cover converting the pinout chart your making at home into a finished connector using factory style methods, below you'll find some of the tools and supplies you might like to have on hand for the next installment of my series "Swap Wiring 201".

BMW factory round pin removal tool.

Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr

A high quality set of crimpers.

Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr

Factory male and female pins.(only male are needed if you aren't adding any extra wires to the factory m50 harness)
61131376191-Small male pins used for most thin signal wires
61131376193-Larger capacity male pins for thicker wires or multiple wire to one pin
61138352926-Female pins for properly adding accessory wires to the factory m50 harness side.

Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr

[Bimmerteck]

Yesterday I replaced my aux fan with a more efficient Spal pusher unit, this 16" pusher fan weighs less, is more compact, flows significantly more air than the stock fan, and pulls 3 less amps at full tilt. I am wiring it to the stock harness for the aux fan and changing out the temp sensor in the radiator so that this fan will automatically cool on low speed if the coolant is above a certain temp or if the A/C is on to keep the A/C running efficiently in traffic. The high speed defaults the fan to high if the radiator temp temp rises too high as a backup should the fan resistor for low speed fail or the thermostat/WP allow the car to overheat.


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr



Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr
This is the harness I cut off the stock fan, tested, cleaned, and grafted onto my new fan. It's not really complicated just be sure to observe polarity when installing an double check the fan spins the correct direction before installation. If in doubt also check that your low speed resistor is good and if not replace it at this time. If you find you need a slightly faster low speed take a meter to the junk yards and look for one with less resistance, many older Mercedes had a slightly lower resistance resistor. (I often use these on r134a conversions to increase efficiency in traffic.)



Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr
Factory harness plugs right in nice and clean, just like the stock aux fan did. originally.


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr
Thinner profile leaves a little more room in front of the fan.


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr
Above is the PN for the Spal fan I used, everything else was recycled stock parts.


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr
Hard to tell from the pic, but it really looks clean and the guard in front of the blades allows for better use of the space in behind the grills.

This weekend I had a few friends (thanks to Chris, Jim, Gene, and Evan) over to help and got my flywheel, clutch, transmission, starter, eyeball arms, and power steering cooler installed, and had Friday off so I got napa to make the high pressure power steering hose for me.


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr
Transmission installed, may not be a feat for some, but with a bad shoulder an injured back the extra sets of hands were well appreciated.




Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr
Shows mounting position of the cooler.


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr
Beginning to plumb the power steering system now that the motor is mounted in it's final resting position.



Plumbed the oil coolers on both swaps tonight. as well as the -10 supply line for the PS pump, and installed the 2 out of 3 underdrive pulleys that Bimmerworld sent me that will fit. :/


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr


Photo by systemdelete, on Flickr

[99sil-teg]

Wow this looks clean as hell. Very nice build so far.

[Average_Jerk]

i really like the alpine white with cardinal red. cant wait to see how this turns out

[Spencer]

Subscribed. Glad you go motivated again!

[Kielan]

Tonight I found inspiration on the forums to drag my camera gear out to the garage and at least organize a bit and take some pictures since I'm waiting on a few parts to come in yet. (thanks Kielan)

[Bimmerteck]

thanks guys!

[Puma]

Awesome. I've been wanting an E30 'vert for a while and this only motivates me further. Deffo watching this one.

[63ard]

omg look at that leather

[Bimmerteck]

omg look at that leather

Thanks it's actually really vinyl.