‘91 E30
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Solid lifter conversion is about 99.9% done. Cams were in and out a bunch while setting lash.
this kit uses the stock lifter/hydraulic adjuster, but the hydraulic adjuster is basically gutted and you use shims that are .010” and .008” thicknessstock adjuster removed from lifter
dropping in shims
and back in the trays
still using the stock s52 cams for now
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So happy you finished this. What's next? Putting everything else on?
Timing chains/timing cover/time it/oil pan/gaskets etc etc etc
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Ended up pulling the intake side to reshim 2 lifters, all back together & timed now
FCP order showing up soonish for some stuff that I either misplaced or never ordered.
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Popped the front main in, installed the damper (still need to torque that, which basically means set the impact to max and send it home) engine is on the subframe now, m20 FW on with arp hardware, new spec clutch/pressure plate,TOB/PB, clutch pivot pin with grease fitting, trans put on, new control arms, bushings, etc etc
@Rekpointis stopping by to help toss this thing in
side note, this hikfab plate has probably saved me from purchasing around 70 oil pans
it did pick up a slight bend, but I’m going to toss it in the press to see if I can’t straighten it back out a bit
also, say no to brass pivot pins lol. This maybe had like 4k miles on it - was previously running a south bend stg3 street clutch/pp
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Popped the front main in, installed the damper (still need to torque that, which basically means set the impact to max and send it home) engine is on the subframe now, m20 FW on with arp hardware, new spec clutch/pressure plate,TOB/PB, clutch pivot pin with grease fitting, trans put on, new control arms, bushings, etc etc
@Rekpointis stopping by to help toss this thing in
side note, this hikfab plate has probably saved me from purchasing around 70 oil pans
it did pick up a slight bend, but I’m going to toss it in the press to see if I can’t straighten it back out a bit
also, say no to brass pivot pins lol. This maybe had like 4k miles on it - was previously running a south bend stg3 street clutch/pp
What’s the one on the left made out of? Is that a grease zerk that I see on it?
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What’s the one on the left made out of? Is that a grease zerk that I see on it?
It is stainless steel, that is a grease zerk
https://leogranderacing.com/products/greasable-stainless-steel-clutch-fork-pivot-pin
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@Rekpoint stopped by and we got to work. Instead of just blasting away at the crank bolt with an impact I figured I’d pick up a torque wrench that went to 300ftlbs - still needed a way to hold the crank as I don’t have that tool.
the Amish-Inspired crank hub holder was born.
in case it isn’t obvious I don’t own a hole saw. Drilled out what I could with a step bit and went after the rest with a die grinder lol
Glen was the leverage and this stupid thing worked lol. Right around the last bit of torque, the end started to split but we made it to 300ft lbs lol
Once that was torqued we made pretty quick work of it, still a fan of lifting the engine/trans/y pipe into the car all together vs using a hoist
all jacked up and bolted in
intake isn’t bolted up yet, just wanted to make sure the 45° bend pipe was going to work for the intake - won’t be running a maf with MS3next up is to make the car a roller again and get it down on the ground so I can get the harness in and connected as well as coolant hoses/radiator/etc etc
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Car is on the ground after like 14 months on jackstands lol - slapped the driveshaft/exhaust/heat shields back in, got the front suspension in and torqued. Bled the brakes/clutch and thankfully had no leaks after I remade all the lines when I ditched the abs. Shouldnt reeeeaally need to get back under the car anymore other than to hook up the wideband
the press was able to straighten out the bend in the skid plate pretty easily
Tomorrow going to start on the wiring in the engine bay/wideband/possibly IAT sensor.
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This is where I stopped over the weekend. Heater core/expansion tank lines are in. Most of the wiring harness is in.
since I’m going with MS3, I don’t need to use the factory O2, MAF, or IAT wiring- I still left them in the harness just in case, but tucked them out of the way.
wideband O2 is routed, just needs to be wired. IAT wiring is most likely next up
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Wiring in the engine bay is done now, IAT wiring shares the same loom with my VDO gauge wiring & obviously the wideband is it’s own thing. Both have been grounded
The only wiring left is to add the MS3 pigtail to the wideband analog output(yellow) and the MS3 Pigtail to the IAT wire(brown), both of which meet up in the glovebox. Vac source for the MS3 is waiting in the glovebox as well.
I still need to bolt down the intake manifold, cut fuel lines to proper length, trim vac line for the FPR, install fuel rail, injectors, injector harness, throttle body, intake.
will need to add oil, PS fluid & coolant eventually.
coolant will most likely be the last thing as I need to verify base timing with MS3 and it’s way easier to do that without a radiator in the way.
intake tube also needs a bung welded to it for the sensor.
Catch can location TBDeventually once the intake/air filter are in their final spot I want to build an ‘air box’ of sorts or just a heat shield for the filter. Bought some 3D printed brake duct adapters that will be feeding the air filter area with air that isn’t coming directly off the hot radiator
still need to trim that hose a bunch, just tossed it in to see if it could make the right bends
might work on it a bit more tonight to get some more engine bay stuff wrapped up, would be fun to attempt a start this weekend
I’m using an OBD2 valve cover with OBD1 harness. I hate painting, so plastic it is. also using the m52 oil filter housing instead of the metal lid s52 OFH - mainly because when I was running the m52 I bought a brand new PS pump for it & the OFHs are slightly different with pump mounting.
Mirrors still folded in as it’s still in storage lol
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I am both amused and amazed at the 2x4 crank holder
Bravo sir
I am impressed it held up to that (once)
Engine bay is looking quite clean! I look forward to seeing videos of non lifter tick auto-x runs!
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Nice work!
I also noticed the Quickjack (?) in the latest picture. Experience with it so far?
It’s the quick jack 5000TL (110v) So far have had evo x, nb miata & e30 up on it. Nb miata is about the smallest wheelbase I think you could fit with it.
Works well with the e30, I’m lifting off the subframe pinch weld connector area (added “race German” extended plates) & pinch weld under the front of the door.
Once you figure out which liftblocks/orientation works best for the car, setup is a breeze.
They are a little on the cumbersome side for maneuverability, the wheels they have on them are hilariously small - but I really didn’t have the room for a 2 post lift.
these store nicely against my wall on the hooks when not in use.
super easy setup, bleeding them was kind of annoying as the ATF went everywhere. I opted to use Teflon tape instead of the “updated” pneumatic sealant they provide. (They used to all ship with Teflon tape, but apparently people couldn’t figure out how to tape things and sent it into the pump)
Here are the 2 locking positions when using the tall blocks
Lowest lock
highest lock
these pics are only using the “tall” set of lift blocks, they include both a short/tall set that do have the ability to be stacked together, I don’t do that though
Because of how they lift, the car will move about 12” front to rear, just something to keep in mind if you don’t have much room in front of/behind the car
what’s nice is if you plan on the car being up for a while (lol) you can lower the jacks onto the locks and disconnect all the lines
I waited for a while for these to go on sale and due to some Home Depot shipping mess ups, ended up getting these for like $1200.
overall I really like them, changing wheels/tires/oil changes/bleeding brakes is all super easy -
Thanks for all of the detail!! My garage has no room for a 2 or four post so I've been thinking about a QJ off and on.
You also anticipated my next question about where to actually lift on the e30 with the QJ given the typical abused pinch welds. Much appreciated!
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Poked around a bit on Sunday, everything is hooked up in the engine bay now(other than radiator), just need to have the IAT bung welded up to the intake tube
Here’s a better pic of the duct routing for the intake
TBD if it will help or not, they’re fairly tight bends - eventually will add a ‘heat shield’ of sorts along the drivers side frame rail to block what heat I can coming off the rad
Added oil & PS fluid, brake fluid level is good, getting closer to hitting the key & finding out if I screwed anything up
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IAT bung welded up
new AEM filter that isn’t a cone shape so it fits better
wired up the MS3 pigtails for the WBo2 signal and the IAT. Dropped the 2017 battery in the car and hooked up the MS3 to the laptop. Before turning the key I removed the fuel pump relay. Key on and we’re live
i bought this MS3 back in like 2017, so needless to say I had to update stuff a few times ha. Firmware updates wiped some oem temp sensor calibrations so had to re-enter the coolant temp, IAT was no big deal as I’m using a GM sensor and would’ve changed it anyway.
-Calibrated TPS, changed to GM IAT, added values for stock CTS, switched to wbo2
I was going to continue on, but the battery voltage was dropping fairly fast, so I wanted to get a few cranks in to get some oil moved around. It quickly dropped to around 7 volts and wouldn’t really take a charge. Bought a new agm battery a day later, have that on the tender for now. Pulled the oil filter cap off and it was full of oil, will probably do some more priming before putting the fuel pump relay back in. Can probably remove the stock O2 relay now toonext up is to jump into the reqfuel & injector settings as I’m running some EV14 380cc (36lb) injectors - when I bought them 3 years ago 380cc was the smallest they offered, now they offer 315cc (30lb)
after that’s adjusted can probably attempt a first start. Once it’s idling I can then verify/set base timing. Bought a LS(?) plug wire to use as an extension to go from coil pack to spark plug so I can grab cyl1 signal.
assuming that goes smoothly I can drop the radiator in and get PS/coolant bled and go for a first drive
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All the MS3 stuff is good to go after some help on injector dead time voltage curves from a friend, figured I’d burn it to the ecu & then wanted to see if it would start. This was the first time I put the fuel pump relay back in
didn’t let it run too long without the radiator, just wanted to see if it would hold idle. It was in warm up enrichment so the idle was pretty high, but should be enough to verify base timing and then toss the radiator in and get everything bled.
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