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Dlux BMW E21 build

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  • Originally posted by Fruttolo View Post
    Kill all amber _\m/
    Couldnt agree more

    Originally posted by gnmzl View Post
    Sweet.
    In case you are interested and haven't seen the DIY on how to make a StarTec taillight replica out of these clear lenses, I can dig it up. StarTecs were never available on E21s and if you were to make 'em, you'd be my hero. It would be even easier, since e21 lenses separate from the taillight itself.

    Would you care to share the link to those, I have a buddy who might be interested.
    Yeah, if you have the info, that would be awesome!

    The lights are on Ebay. Just search E21 taillight and they will pop up. He has clear, clear/red and smoked. IMO, they are for a great price too.

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    • Took me a while to find it. Post number 237 is the explanation how to do it on an e30, but I think you'll find out it will be easier on an e21 lens.

      Panici's '87 325is E30 - Restomod, M52 Swap, Standalone ECU, Custom Paint, Turbocharged Comfortable - Classic - Sporty ​ ​ ​ (https://flic.kr/p/2oxhf5o)​ (https://flic.kr/p/2oxheHG)​ ​ - Index: 15 posts/page Page 1: Specifications, Purchase story. E39 m52b28 Removal, Getrag 260 Removal. Page 2-3:


      Yet again, when I searched for those on ebay, I saw the same guy offers the smoked version, as you said. And it looks very much like an e30 StarTec, maybe some minor changes are required to achieve an accurate replica. He offers a clear lens for the e30 but no smoked version for it. I would jump all over it

      Any way, feel free to share more pics of your car with us.
      "You could roll an E30 in a BMW showroom today and people would think:
      Well, they finally got the 1 series right!"

      3.0 L e30 ground up build

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      • I guess I am confused.

        I read that link and it looks like he just bought clear lenses, painted them with smoke and then put them on an existing housing? I dont think he made the lenses, did he?

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        • Correct, he bought the clear lenses, painted them to look smoked and also painted the housing inside, to match the Startec's appearance. But, he only did it since these lenses are not (or at least weren't) available smoked. For the e21, they are available and you can just buy them instead of wasting you time trying to do it yourself.
          "You could roll an E30 in a BMW showroom today and people would think:
          Well, they finally got the 1 series right!"

          3.0 L e30 ground up build

          Comment


          • Originally posted by gnmzl View Post
            Correct, he bought the clear lenses, painted them to look smoked and also painted the housing inside, to match the Startec's appearance. But, he only did it since these lenses are not (or at least weren't) available smoked. For the e21, they are available and you can just buy them instead of wasting you time trying to do it yourself.
            Ah, got ya. Sorry I was confused.

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            • Well, I am coming close to the end of my part of this build. The last thing I have on my list is to finish the E24 rear seats and make a pass thru between the E24 seats for my subs.

              First thing to address were the seat belts. The E24 female does not fit in the E21 male, or vice versa. So, I had to figure out what to do there. The E24 male/housing didnt look like a straight bolt in so what I figured out was just to take the nylon webbing part of the E21 out of the seat belt housing and replace it with the E24 nylon webbing, pretty straight forward. I will show pictures of how you pull the part out of the housing. This ended up working perfect.





              Second thing I had to address on the E24 seats to get them finished up was the problem that there are 5 mounts on the console. The two holes up at the top are easy, just drill a hole in the E21 trunk and pass a bolt thru. You cant do it on the 2 bottom ones though because the hole enters in somewhere under the car where its actually hidden, so, I didnt even use those. The 5th is in the center front of the console and its so flimsy that I didnt use that either. What I did is make some small brackets that bolt in where the seat belts bolt on to the console and then welded these to the car. I figured this was actually the safest and strongest method.



              Now to the sub box and the pass thru... This means I have to cut a hole in the trunk area and make a specific sub box. I can hear the purists tears from here. BTW, this car is 100% rust free. Cant wait to hear the crying about how I have to build a car the way others want. LOL









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              • Welp, thats about it. My projects on this car are mostly done, or at least the planned ones are. Only things left are paint and headliner which I plan to have professionals do for me so it actually looks nice.

                I got the sub box all done. I figured about 3-4 hours and I would be able to make it,... yeah, no. LOL I probably had 25 hours into this box said and done.







                I had been running a generic box and it sounded ok, nothing special. I am running JL audio W3V3 10" subs so I got a hold of them to see if they could provide specs to their speakers. Not only did they provide specs, they actually drew a box up for me according to the space I provided! Crazy they do that for free! Well, I had to modify their plans but they still helped a ton. I needed the box to follow the slope of the back seat and also go around the rear strut brace and I was not going to bother them with that.





                So, all said and done, this box sounds legit! Its hitting a ton of frequencies that I could never hear before. Its sounds so good! I am stoked that I did it, I was questioning myself at one point if it was going to be worth all the work.





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                • Damn, that looks impressive.
                  You are one of the few people I know of, who can proudly say "I finished the project car". Congrats, sir, very well done.
                  "You could roll an E30 in a BMW showroom today and people would think:
                  Well, they finally got the 1 series right!"

                  3.0 L e30 ground up build

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                  • Thanks buddy!

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                    • I have been slacking on a video I made for the BMW. I made two.




                      The first one is just me describing the mods to the car. The 2nd is me going on a drive. I will post the 2nd when its done uploading. I feel like I am on dial up. LOL




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                      • Part 1 was a detailed walk around on the Dlux Fab E21 LFX swap, here is the drive up the canyon.

                        Its a bit long but I am sure you can figure out how to make it shorter if needed.

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                        • How it been running with the final tune? Does if feel like it has the power it should?

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                          • Originally posted by stubs179 View Post
                            How it been running with the final tune? Does if feel like it has the power it should?
                            I guess thats a hard question to answer for me.

                            I think I would need to put it on the dyno to see what type of numbers it puts out.

                            Some days it feels like it has way more power than others. I dont know if thats just me? Sometimes it feels pretty fast and sometimes I can stomp on the pedal in 3rd and break traction.

                            I think something I could look into is that my MAF sensor does not read. I dont know how to address that as I think its in my tune.

                            Having said all of that, its fast enough that its not bothering me at all and it is running great. Its never let me down when I feel like I need more power. I would do the swap again for sure.

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                            • Hello Erik, I'm a new member and this is my first post, just wanted to thank you for your e28 subframe conversion documentation, it really made the work easy to know where to cut and your measurements were right on. Thanks mate. I still have one question about the parking brake cables, did you modify the e28 cables or used something else?

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                              • I am really glad it helped you. I have received so much info from the the net that its important for me to give back.

                                If I remember right, I used all E28 cables and jackets, everything E28. I think I took the cables out and cut the jackets to size and then put the cables back in and cut them to size at the parking brake. You need a cable end for the parking brake. I ended up having to drill and tap extra holes as the two threaded holes didnt hold the cable well enough...

                                amazon.com/gp/product/B003LJ0XF4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


                                41WBwlYHEhL._AC_.jpg

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