Another BMW E28 - This Time From Australia

[epearce]

Thought I should update this. Nothing much exciting has happened really. First semester of UNI just finished, the E28 was hardly touched during this time.

A couple of months ago I took it for a drive with a friend, I really need to drive it again









Last week during my semester break I decided I would fix something that has bugging me for quite a while. When I rebuilt the rear suspension and fitted the Posi-Lock rear camber/toe adjusters I welded them on myself and the welds weren't the best. Every time I drive it there has been the thought in the back of my mind that if they break I'm in a bad situation. So I decided to pull the rear subframe back out, grind off the old welds and get the welding done by a professional for piece of mind.

Rear end dismantled - only took about 3.5 hours to have the subframe out.













Example of one of the ugliest old welds, surprisingly there was no signs of any of the better welds cracking.



New welds, much better.



Repainted the subframe while I had it out.





Putting it all back together was a bit more of a pain, but it came together in the end. It's a good feeling to have one of those annoying jobs out of the way!

Also update the first post of this thread with an overall modification list for those interested.

Thanks again!

[STTICH]

found this thread at random, such a good read.

are there many e28 around tassie?

[Jack__e24]

Stupid clean car! cant wait to see the end result

[albertras]

looking good!

[epearce]

found this thread at random, such a good read.

are there many e28 around tassie?

Appreciate it mate!

There are a few m535i models hiding in sheds, rarely ever see an e28 on the road though. Mine is the only highly modified example i know of.

[OttoB]

Is the car done, or are there more mod's you have in mind? Its definitely a show stopper and congrats on the job well done, mate!

[epearce]

Time goes to fast, it's been too long since I've been able to spend time on this.

Summer holidays are finally here and I have a month off. Super keen to get stuck into the latest project on the E28 that will give me less of a reason to not drive it as much as i should.





Stay tuned over the coming weeks for updates!

[Jimmy_HR32]

Looking forward to the update! Enjoy your time off.

[Gamerx]

Your car looks awesome. What are your wheels/tyres specs?

[epearce]

Thanks mate!

Wheels are BBS RS 005 16 x 9.5 ET -20 front and rear. Rear tyres - 205/45 , front tyres 195/50.

[epearce]

The next instalment.

When I built the engine for this a few years ago, from a high compression block and the B35 head. I stayed with the outdated 2.8 litre Ljetronic from the original 2.8 motor. I did this because at the time I didn't want to go through with a full loom swap and all the headaches involved with that.

However running it on the basic ljet system it was under powered, not as smooth as it should be and it is terrible at cold starts. I adjusted everything over the years to get it running the best i could but at the end of the day, I needed to get rid of the ljet engine management system. Which brings us to the current project.

I have decided to go with Motronic 1.3 as fitted to the M30B35 in E34s and E32, along with all the associated parts required. Not an uncommon swap on E28s, however most upgrade from Motronic 1.1 so it is an easier task for them. The number on pins in the motronic ecu compared to the ljet show give an insight into how much greater it is.

The other improvements are; ecu controlled spark as well as ecu controlled advance and retard (not vacuum like before), O2 sensor, proper idle control, improved airflow meter and injectors; plus going from an ecu developed in 1975 to one developed in the late 80's.







The ljet loom is a hideous setup...







First step was to remove everything that is getting replaced.





Then onto sorting out the loom. The worst part about the loom is that for RHD cars its way too short, so it has to be lengthened at the ecu connection, relays, fusebox connection and coil wires. I started by stripping off the now brittle insulation and then cut out all the wires and plugs that aren't need for my car (A/C, ABS, emissions, autotrans etc).





Then onto the fun part, test fitting the loom and seeing how i will run the wires for the neatest, most practical way and how much they all need extending.





The E34 fuse box plug was then cut off and the E28 one crimped on, matching each wire the correct e28 pin. I chose to crimp instead of solder, it's worked well so far.









I planned to send the injectors somewhere to be serviced and tested. But the local place wanted $400 and I couldn't justify that. A bit of google research and I realised how basic it is, so i did it myself.

Soaked the injectors and cleaned the external parts, removed the filter baskets and then cleaned them internally and checked their flow with carby cleaner, then resistance checked each injector. I ordered an injector service kit off Ebay for $10 and the carby cleaner cost be $10. Winning.

Yeah it may not be quite as effective as a professional job, but these injectors were in good condition, so I'm content.











The next step was to remove the valve cover and upper timing case cover and replace the distributor drive nut as this needs to be changed to run the motronic distributor.





More to come!

[Benwalsh91]

I bloody love what you have done to this car.

one thing for me though is the side indicators/repeaters whatever you call them. I think you should try fitting some clears rather than tinted, I feel it will tie in more with the front lights and also the polished wheels/trim

[RV97]

Impressed! Beautiful car and amazing work done! Waiting more.

[Earl]

My favorite e28 just keeps getting better and better=)

[DawsonLiri]

Read all the thread in one day and wow, is amazing I love everything!
This thread motivated me again, I need to start working on my car again

Keep on