E30 Frankenstein Progress Thread

[slashl0l]

Holy shit, this is going to be absolutely amazing

[semaj4712]

So nothing really new on the car besides a few small things, like euro clock and maplight mirror...I did take some pretty nice shots of my car at the Big Socal Euro meet...

[semaj4712]

so, when I bought the car it came with a e36 center console but it was spray painted to match and missing the actual center console, So I bought a full setup from a guy on Bimmerforums, and got it in the mail last week.

You can see the difference between the two consoles...


I prematurely cut off the leather from the center console but you can see the foam and center console here...


Since I had foolishly (or quite genius) bought the GLI back seat that was notched and not the right size, I had an extra arm rest to cut up.


I wanted to attempt to do this on my own so I borrowed a sewing machine from a lady friend of mine, but spend several hours swearing and didn't get very far, so she helped me out and mainly did the whole thing, but either way it came out great...

Here I am glueing the edges back onto the armrest....


And the finished product...



And I now have an e36 armrest that matches the new interior

Now since I have no idea how to put the armrest in since it was never actually in before, I need to do some research but eventually I will figure it out...

So the e30 to recaro seat brackets came in yesterday from massive, great buy, great brackets...and I went and picked up my rear lower bench from my upholsterer
Snapped right in, and allows the 2.5 inch drop that the upper piece will need in order to bolt in


And then I got the brackets in the mail today from Massive Brakes, and rushed home to put them on the seats and get everything bolted together...

Seats out...


Brackets on Recaros...the Metal cable that goes across between the lift and right slider is a bitch, for some reason the PO had jerry rigged the thing on and it barely worked, it was a big issue when trying to bolt the seat in as it wouldnt slide right etc, got it to work but it was a pain in the ass, ordered a replacement from Pelican


And without too much fight, but a little bit of swearing on the passenger side, I got them in...they sit a lot lower than the comfy seats, which I like, but the seat belts stick up quite a bit, may try and see if the seatbelts on the sport seats are any smaller...but either way I am very happy with them, seats are firm and feel great


Will take better pictures this weekend at Socal Euro

This brings me to today, hope you have enjoyed the progress thus far and more will come shortly

[semaj4712]

I had also picked up another set of Recaro Trophies, this time Electrics and ordered my brackets...


Also got my AKG Quickshifter in the mail...


Anything was better than the sloppy 325i long shifter...and that damn center console had to be replaced

You can see the PO with their einstein engineering skills drilled that damn hole with it still in the car...what a mess, anyway

Old center console vs new


Trey (Yert315) came by and helped me out, (I couldnt get the bitch clip off a few nights ago) and we got the bitch in...Will say this, while it is a great quickshifter, all the threads were super freakin tight and are nearly imposible with a crescent wrench to tighten, and the seated bolts made it difficult to work with because the notches on the plate were larger than the seated bolt square, but we made it work...


Quickshifter in, and cleaned up the interior to install the new center console...


Whilst I was trying to put my old shift boot on it ripped and crumbled to pieces, so I decided to take an old crown royal bag I had sitting around and use that for temp, I had seen this done before but dont really like it...its just temp as I want to find and try to retrofit an accordian style shift boot



Ill end up getting a different shift knob at some point, but want to finish the interior before I decide what will look the best

I got both the Momo Steering Wheel Hub in and the Grant 6 bolt to 5 bolt adapter...


I finally got the steering wheel I ordered nearly 2 weeks prior, I am still waiting on the horn button which is also backordered...but in about 5 min I had the steering wheel assembly bolted on and I totally fogot to even take pics, oh well, here it is in all its glory, Steering wheel is an exact replica of the steering wheel from a 1967 Porsche 911R, they only made 20 911Rs so finding an original isnt gonna happen, but this is an exact replica down to the same manufacturer, Monza...



Here is what it would have looked like in the 60s and the an example of the horn button that is on its way...


Very happy with the way it looks and feels...everything is exact down to its 5 bolt pattern, (hense the need for the grant adapter plate)

Also decided to throw this on, I had it on my Previous car and the guy who bought it decided he didn't want it, it is a Reiger Roof Spoiler, many people seem to **** the look but I like it

[semaj4712]

The Interior was okay, but I wanted to start there and I sent my car off to CastroMotorsports for new Muffler and Engine Mounts, and Skid Plate

Old Interior




Picked up a set of Recaro Trophies, only to find out you cant swap manual trophies over....grrrr


Rogue Engineering Clutch Stop


Test Fit the Rear Seats...good, but not perfect, bottom was just not quite right and had mounting issues, So I took the old bench and this bench to the upholster to have him recover the old foam with this material...


Anyways got the car up on the lift on Castros


Old Exhaust...

New Exhaust


New Skid plate from HIK Fabrication

[semaj4712]

A little back story is always nice for those who like to read, if you dont like to read, scroll down and just look at pictures I guess...I came into the E30 scene about a year ago, after coming from the VW scene, I have always enjoyed working on VWs and still enjoy that community and what they are creating over there. But after a MKII project that I sunk years of my life into and loads of money ended in a car that I couldn't get down the street in without something breaking, I decided to leave the scene, and possibly the car scene for good. I got into sport bikes which ended years later with a near death crash on the hi-way that led me back into cars. Although my respect for older cars was greatly increasing and after moving to California a few years prior the only friends that I had that were into cars were into American Classics, so I pulled the trigger on a 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk, I was so excited and still to this day love this car, it is one of less than 10k ever made with the Gran Turismo stamp on it. I rebuilt the engine got it road worthy, and enjoy it all the time (except for right now as the tranny is no beuno).

Anyways this brings me to the start of my BMW and E30 story, last year I got a big tax return and decided instead of paying bills and being responsible, Id buy a euro, I missed my VWs and wanted something to throw money into, while looking for a MK1 TDI Caddy I found a few E30s that were really catching my eye. I had never considered buying a BMW but my uncle had an E30 for years and I had helped him form time to time when he built it, and I decided to hit him up and find more out on the car, and to my dismay he had sold the car but knew the buyer, and the buyer, to my excitement, was willing to sell the car. I was a proud owner of a 91 318is

Fast forward 6 months, while stopped at a cross walk, a 16 year old rear ended a mini-van that rear ended me...my car was hit pretty hard, enough to knock the bumper partily off and do a good amount of damage to the rear quater and trunk panel. After settling with insurance I bought it back, and sold it to a fellow R3V member, whom is now make it look very pretty and road worthy again, I had my heart set on a E34 M5 in great condition...however same night Id sell my old E30, he would sell the M5

Which brings me to a few weeks ago, I was hit up on R3V that he was selling his E30 M50. So I went down to Long Beach and thought it was a pretty solid car, drove very well, had a lot of power...after some negotiating brought it home. I was very happy with it, and could not wait to get going on some of the things I want to do with it.

This is the picture of the car that the dude sent me,


After I got it home and cleaned it up


And without doubt I of course cracked my oil pan the first night...


Nothing a little JB Weld cant fix...or a lot of JB Weld




My Build thread for the 62 Studebaker - Currently off the road for Tranny Rebuild


My Old E30

[semaj4712]

UPDATE PROGRESS - Updated 5/17/13


1989 BMW 325i - M50TUB25 - Euro Frankenstein


Accessories (OEM):
◦ Crack Free Dash
◦ E36 Rear Center Console with Cup-holders
◦ E36 Front Armrest Upholstered to Match Recaro Seats
◦ BMW Motorsport Door Handles
◦ Blacked out Kidneys
◦ Euro Grilles
◦ BMW E30 Sunshade
◦ E28 Maplight Mirror
◦ E30 Euro Analog Clock - Blank with M stripe
◦ E30 German Check Panel w/built in Volt Meter
◦ E30 MotoMeter Euro Cluster with Alpina Tach

Accessories Aftermarket
◦ Rogue engineering clutch stop
◦ CAR TEC Autodesign roof spoiler
◦ Recaro Trophy Greys Front and Rear with Rear Armrest
◦ Massive Brakes E30 to Recaro Seat Adapters
◦ Porsche 911R Monza Steering Wheel with matching Porsche Horn Button
◦ Momo E30 Hub and Grant Adapter Plate
◦ BMWPedals
◦ Bavarian Auto E30 Car Cover
◦ VW Passat B3 Duck Bill Front Valence
◦ Ash Tray Gauge Pod w/VW VDO Gauges: Oil-Pressure, Oil-Temp
◦ Rally Armor Mud Flaps

Drivetrain:
◦ ZF Trans
◦ 3.42 LSD
◦ AKG Motorsport STAGE II Quick Shifter
◦ Flossy Grip Rod Heavy Weight Shift Knob

Electrical:
◦ Kenwood KDC-MP34U Headunit
◦ Euro Smilie Headlights
◦ 5600k HID 55W Low Beams
◦ Factory Option Fogs
◦ 3200k HID 35W Fogs
◦ George Graves Light Dimmer

Engine:
◦ M50TUB25
◦ Bahr Radiator
◦ Custom exhaust with Flo-Pro Muffler / Dual tip / Catless
◦ OEM E46 motor mounts
◦ OEM E34 Oil Pan
◦ KAMotors CAI

Frame:
◦ JGee(R3V Membername) HIK Fabrication Severe Duty Skid Plate
◦ Ireland Engineering Front Strut Bar
◦ Dussen (R3V Membername) Custom Rear Strut Bar

Suspension – Front:
◦ KW Full Coilover Suspension

Tires & Wheel Accessories:
◦ Fifteen52 16x8 ET30 Snowflakes Limited Run White
◦ Toyo Proxies 4 205/50/16R
◦ Rear - ECS 20mm Hub Centric Spacers
◦ Front - Motorsport Hardware 15mm Hub Centric Spacers
◦ 90mm Motorsport Hardware Studs
◦ Muteki Open Ended Tuner Lugs