Touring International

[Earl]

Just paid $3 for Photobucket to have more bandwidth (because I was over the limit and my pictures were blanked out verywhere). I did it to keep all of my old photos alive for you guys=)

[bimmerbabe]

I am a big fan of the M-Tech side moldings and will not be shaving them. I just have the moulding off because I never put it back on after peeling the plastidip.

LMK if you'd want different badges for your moldings Have a spare set of super rare Clubsport badges that I would part with for you

btw I think you made the perfect decision about picking these wheels. Your other option wouldn't have been such a stunner, I think.

[Earl]

I decided to focus on the engine this Saturday.

I started off by cleaning up the timing covers.




I had bought a can of VHT Wrinkle Black to do my valve cover and intake manifold, so I decided it would work well here too.



I cannot believe how well it turns out being from a spray can. After two hours had passed, I removed the old front main seal and installed the new one.



Old:


New:




During the time that took to wrinkle, I completed some other quick tasks.

I cleaned up my head and installed new intake/exhaust manifold studs.





I also cleaned and painted the rear portion of my timing case. I was going to just clean it up and leave it raw, but it was stained and just didn't look good enough to me.

Before:


After:


I also installed the coolant passage. (You can see where I painted the front on this side as well.)


I then spent a ton of time cleaning up the oil pan and thermostat housing.

I painted the thermostat housing with the VHT Wrinkle Black as well. I left the shop before it cured so I do not have any pictures of it.

I then tackled the oil pan. The front was covered in oil and road grime. After I got it clean I was also going to leave it raw, but I was not satisfied with how it looked. I sprayed it with engine primer and then put on two coats of gloss black caliper paint. I didn't want to waste my VHT Wrinkle Black and the caliper paint can withstand up to 600 degrees so I am not worried.



I am working on ordering the timing chain guide that I need. I have part number 11311247483 on my engine. The plastic is separating from the metal. I noticed that part number 11311247470 is also listed. That seems to be an all plastic version which would be superior since it cannot separate. I posted a thread on R3V to see which one to order and I have been told that 11311247470 is the one to go with. I am hoping to find one at Concours BMW or somewhere local so I can get my engine back together within the next few weeks=)

I am hoping to work on the valve cover and intake manifold this Wednesday. The car will be going to have the bay welded after I sort a few things out. I am also going to be borrowing a fender roller to get my rear arches situated.

I am happy with how things are slowly coming together. Updates to come after Wednesday=)

[Earl]

LMK if you'd want different badges for your moldings Have a spare set of super rare Clubsport badges that I would part with for you

btw I think you made the perfect decision about picking these wheels. Your other option wouldn't have been such a stunner, I think.

I may need to take you up on that offer=) I only found out about the wheels because of you and I wouldn't have even gotten them here without your help. I thank you very much for that. You have been an amazing help during this build=) I also think that the Breytons were a much better choice than Autostrada Monzas. I couldn't have gone as lippy and wide as those and I would have had to run adapters.

[stancefag]

Awesome stuff going on here!

[Earl]

Awesome stuff going on here!

Thank you=)

[Earl]

Got a smidge of work done yesterday.

I got a picture of how the thermostat housing turned out.


It is a tad wrinklier than the timing covers but it matches well=)

Blasted my bottom end out with brake kleen and air to remove any debris from scrubbing the pistons.


Pulled out my new pan gasket.


I coated smeared permatex silicone on both sides, stuck it on the block, and snugged all of the bolts down.


Hopefully it is leak free=)

I also cleaned and sprayed my oil filter housing.


I sat for a while while it cured to see how the wrinkle would turn out. It seems like it might not turn out as well as I would like so I may need to strip and redo it. We will see once I get there Saturday.

My timing chain guide will be installed Saturday and I have a lot more brackets and such to paint. I am hoping to get all the painting done Saturday and get my rear arches sorted out.

[Earl]

I didn't get a ton done but I did get a little progress.

I started by spinning the front struts down a bit. I didn't take a picture of the end results but it wasn't much different. It looks to me that my tire is sitting on the inner fender.

I decided that instead of polishing my header, it would make more sense to just paint it black to go with the rest of the engine theme. Turned out nice.




I was looking at the wiper spindles and then decided I should just remove the motor since I don't run wipers on this car anyways. It lead me to finding the perfect place to route my harness, and now I have way more than enough room to fit it all in there.




I just need to grab some plugs for the holes at the hardware store.

After that I painted up a few engine parts, installed one of the mount arms, and installed my oil filter housing with the new gasket and O-ring.





I also popped the trans on my daily being an idiot. I have to have a new daily by the end of this week so I may have to shell out a bit of money for something that will last. That will cripple this build a good amount unless I want to take out a personal loan for the paintjob. We will see what happens.

I'll be at the shop for a bit today to install the brackets I painted and to dig into the volkswagen and see how fun it would be to swap the trans out.

Updates tomorrow hopefully=)

[Earl]

Painted a few more items yesterday.

Removed the throttle body from my intake manifold



I then cleaned it up a bit and removed the throttle cable bracket to give it a nice coat of paint as well.


I didn't stay long enough to see how it turned out, but here is what it looked like before I left (1 hour into the curing process)



I also installed the passenger side motor mount and alternator bracket on my motor.



It is slowly looking like a motor again. I need to figure out how to paint the alternator and how to get my hydraulic tensioner (and bracket) clean enough to paint.

I also have the front sitting as good as I believe I can get it.



Something is holding it up. I spun the strut body more than enough to get it to fully drop, but I think my tire is sitting on the inner fender.

I still need to work on my rear arches, but here is where it is at from sitting on the tire for two days.


I should be able to get them sitting perfectly with no problems.

I will be doing a tiny bit on Wednesday since I still need to sort out my daily situation. Tah Tah for now=D

[cus]

jesus that sits nice!! impressive work

[Earl]

jesus that sits nice!! impressive work

Thank you=)

[Earl]

Didn't do much yesterday because I was supposed to pick my new daily up early in the afternoon, but it got delayed.

Pretty much just reassembled the throttle body.


I then picked up my new daily. Really clean 1990 Prelude Si. Tried to find a bmw this clean in the price range and couldn't do it. 5 speed with 132,000 miles=)





Should work well for good gas mileage and being reliable=)

Hopefully progress on the compact Saturday

[Earl]

No progress was done Saturday. I went out to Dubs in The Valley and had a great day/night=)

I worked at the shop for a while yesterday knocking things out.



I sprayed the lower intake manifold with wrinkle black



I also measured the sizes for plugs I will need to plug the holes for my wipers. The hole in the body is 1". The hole in the plastic shroud is 7/8". I should be able to pick them up cheap at the auto store or parts store.

I also started working on the drivers rear arch. It took two hours to unroll and remove the seam sealer. It was such a huge pain.


I am now trying to get it to roll flat, but the Eastwood roller seems to be too long=( Trying to figure out what to do now. Hopefully the other side goes easier since I know what I'm doing now.

I really need to install my new wheel bearings out back too. The ones on the car are in absolute horrible shape. I wouldn't even be comfortable having it roll down the road on a dolly like this. We will see if I feel like tackling that Saturday. The fenders definitely need to be worked on Saturday.

Stay Tuned

[bimmerbabe]

Progress! Yay!

[Earl]

Knocked out a few small tasks on Saturday..


I started by installing the plugs for my wiper delete.




Turned out pretty well for some cheap 89 cent plugs=)


I'm also debating on if I want to take the time and properly shave my rear wiper before the car goes to paint, or if this plug will suffice for now.


We will see how hard going about shaving it will be.


I then installed my ECS oil pan plug.



The rest of my time at the shop was spent unrolling my passenger fender and removing the seam sealer. I ran into some rust so I didn't re-roll it yet. The rust doesn't affect the outer fender so I might just neutralize it. If I can find a patch panel I would like to go about it that way.


We will see what Wednesday brings.