FuturisticConcept Art BMW E36 with a V8 on a bottom dollar budget

[Jdesign]

UPDATE. I drove the car to work.

EDIT!  I tried to drive the car to work.

I got about half way and the watertemps started going to about 220ish. Boiling coolant spewed from the unsealed overflow and on to the windshield (luckily on the side that has a windshield wiper) I turned back around and put it back in the garage after pulling over every 5 mins to let it cool off. Neat experience.

( I cant believe I haven't given up on this turd yet)

Tonight I plan on installing a new upper coolant house as the one on there is a shitty flex-fit, a new thermostat and gasket, and attempting to properly bleed the coolant system.

OH! and thanks to @Daggerty I have a massive rear wing to install now. I just need to build some uprights. 

[Bassboy3313]

I know the feeling of overheating and pulling over multiple times to let it cool down from my experiences this past weekend.

[Jdesign]

Bassboy3313 said:

I know the feeling of overheating and pulling over multiple times to let it cool down from my experiences this past weekend.

Yeah its not a whole lot of fun. Good thing I had thumb drift to play on my phone while I waited.

[Jdesign]

Well I discovered what my problem is last night. I sure am learning a lot about these here Ferd motors.  

I got a new t-stat, gasket, and a new upper coolant hose I chopped up from a ford explorer to replace the shitty flex-fit one. I tried to bleed the system with the front right in the air and the cap as the highest point. It burped for awhile then suddenly tons of coolant poured out. Almost a whole gallon worth. Really weird. So then I shut the car down and topped it off again and let it bleed some more. This time I put the cap on when it started pouring out. Coolant gauge was reading a steady 180 at idle. I decided to go around the block and see what would happen. Here's where I noticed something odd. If I was on the throttle, temps would rise to 230 and continue but at idle they would slowly come back down.

Any guesses on what would cause this........

Okay fine I already know the answer. Since this motor has been around so long, components and accessories need to shift from the left to the right of the motor, depending on the car and the belt style. For example, a 1992 mustang 302 would have a serpentine belt spinning most of the same components in the same direction, where as a 1977 Ford F150 302 would use a V belt and have some of the same components mounted in different locations, and possibly have them spinning in the other direction. 

Moral of the story? I have a counter-clockwise spinning water pump spinning clockwise. As exciting as this is, I might not have to swap it out. I can simply install a power steering pump that is not on the car and make the belt go under the pulley rather than over, flipping the direction in which it is turning. UGhhh isnt learning fun?

[Jdesign]

Here is a visual for you guys to understand what I'm talking about

What I have now

And what it needs to look like with the PS pump added

[Jdesign]

Also, on the more aesthetic side of things, as I patiently await my red window tint, I started to think about rear window louvers. Now there's a few threads out there on other forums about E36's with louvers and it just doesn't exist. And from what I gathered, the whole world will burn if I make it happen.

Well I guess I just want to make the world burn.

So if you guys have any leads on your brothers, or your cousins cousin, or your uncles Larry's bitching mustang that's been sitting in his yard with a set of window louvers hes willing to sell, send me in his direction. I want a set. I found a few on C-list, but im not 100% they are going to fit with my dimensions. I also have my eye on some of those roof visors that people put on civics. I figured maybe I could take 5 or 6 of those things and layer them giving the effect of louvers. Any ideas here are welcome as I want to keep this cheap, even if it meant I have to start making fiberglass molds.

Pics of said louvers:

[Earl]

I had a friend in California who is close friends with the guy that does louvres for 350/370z's and other newer cars. He had my friends m3 to make louvres and the shape of the rear window wasn't working for him to built a set that fit right

[Jdesign]

Earl said:

I had a friend in California who is close friends with the guy that does louvres for 350/370z's and other newer cars. He had my friends m3 to make louvres and the shape of the rear window wasn't working for him to built a set that fit right

Thats good to know, any pics of said car and louvers? I want some!!

[Bassboy3313]

The guy I got my fiberglass hood and group 2 airdam from in Portugal now makes louvers for the e21. $250 + shipping. Probably nowhere near the shape you need and most likely more than you want to spend. Figured I would mention it anyways.

[Earl]

Jdesign said:

Thats good to know, any pics of said car and louvers? I want some!!

The guy never made them because the shape of the rear window didn't allow for him to make it look right. Take a peek at the compound curves of the rear window and you'll see what I'm talking about=)

[Jdesign]

Earl said:

The guy never made them because the shape of the rear window didn't allow for him to make it look right. Take a peek at the compound curves of the rear window and you'll see what I'm talking about=)

Dont bring rain to my party. I think I can make it happen. NO MATTER WHAT. So many ppl hating it, or saying it isnt possible is making me want to make it a reality more and more. as a matter of fact, I just finished photoshopping it now.

[Earl]

I'm all for it but I was just letting you know my story lol

[Jdesign]

Earl said:

I'm all for it but I was just letting you know my story lol

I apologize, I miss read that, as I have read 982345 posts from other sites and the negativity got to me. Im Sorry

[Jdesign]

Okay, so more progress on the water pump/ power steering issue. When I got the car the guy gave me a bunch of random parts and boxes he had sitting in his garage that went with the car. In one of those boxes was two of what I believe to be late 90's V6 vulcan Ford explorer power steering pumps. Since looking for any information about this Ford 302 motor is a nightmare because of 394853 different styles of everything, I just decided one of these pumps will have to do. I grabbed some various material I had laying around to mock up brackets to hold the pump in place. From here I plan on making something a little more acceptable in CAD and machining it. This is what I cam up with so far:

High quality, I know. But its serving its purpose for a good mock up. I don't really have to worry about adjustability as there is a heim joint on the alternator to adjust the slack in the belt.

[Jdesign]

I started making mock-up risers for mounting the Rear wing from @Daggerty. I dont exactly know if im 100% sold on the wing yet. Something about it just isnt what I envisioned. I think mostly its because of mounting brackets to secure it on the decklid. I think the uprights need to be mounted behind the car somewhere, and the car needs flares or something. The wing just might be a little premature at this point. hmmmm....

On another note, I am finishing the power steering brackets today and should have that installed tonight. I also started looking into paint treatments and photoshoppped some to make the car look more ratty. I think I might be using some red paint carelessly tonight....

[Earl]

What happened to the futuristic aspect versus just being ratty?

[Jdesign]

Earl said:

What happened to the futuristic aspect versus just being ratty? 

Its going to happen. I need to add LEDs with 3D printing a bunch of random parts to add structure behind misc panels. Structure like so:

Behind panels and such like these:

[YoungCR]

Buy a box of Franzia and call it paint night

[Earl]

The whole mix of flat and gloss black with red just doesn't sound futuristic to me. Are you sanding through the paint down to metal and primer in spots to give it the weathered look that KHYZYL SALEEM usually goes for? I think sanding off all of the paint down to bare brushed metal and clearing it like the hood of your civic would really give you that futuristic look. With the red windows it would really pop since I've seen quite a few future concepts with colored "glass" 

[KaiserRolls]

Trellis frame from the husky/Ducati style bikes