Alpine e30 progress/build thread

[KaiserRolls]

patsbimmer1 said:

Don't drive in their blind spot?

Obviously

But

This isn’t always avoidable

I’m all for defensive driving (many years on a motorcycle) but it comes to a certain point when you need to remind a shitfuck that they are driving a 5,000lb death missile and have some form of responsibility to point it where it doesn’t run into someone.

That being said, shotgun blasts and big fireball is by far and away a better tool than a horn to keep these dipshits from running into you.

Is it a douche move? Probably.

But at least you’re not calling a towing company to come scoop your hopes and dreams up from the ditch because sally home maker merged without looking because she was pinning a new fucking casserole recipe.

[jc43089]

Speaking of terrible drivers I passed a giant crane, like the ones with 7 axles and the moron driving is playing on his phone and occasionally glancing up at the road.  How dumb can you possibly be???

[m42b32]

patsbimmer1 said:

Don't drive in their blind spot?

In that instance the guy was on the far right while I was in the far left, didn't look or signal and came flying across all 3 lanes in one move, not much I can do to avoid or predict a situation like that. Staying out of blind spots is nearly impossible in rush hour traffic headed in and out of downtown Milwaukee. 

I want a louder horn not to be annoying or scare people, just to ensure that they hear me when they're doing something stupid that could result in a collision. I'm not looking to blow out eardrums or make people shit their pants (even though they sometimes deserve it), I just want something that's guaranteed to be audible even to someone vlogging about their mcgriddle in a well sound-proofed/modern car. 

Think I can fit this behind the grille?

[straight6pwr]

lots of room in front of your radiator

truckin'

[Jdesign]

Are you thinking Hella super/sharpe tones, or like some WOLO Trumpets?

[m42b32]

Jdesign said:

Are you thinking Hella super/sharpe tones, or like some WOLO Trumpets?

Was thinking Hella's (painted black so you can't see them) but there were some good options posted in my other thread too. WOLO trumpets would be a fun project but more than I'm looking to spend, I've got enough to do and buy this winter haha

[Jdesign]

m42b32 said:

Was thinking Hella's (painted black so you can't see them) but there were some good options posted in my other thread too. WOLO trumpets would be a fun project but more than I'm looking to spend, I've got enough to do and buy this winter haha 

WOLO's are cheaper than the Hellas. Roughly $40 for a pair with everything.

[m42b32]

Jdesign said:

WOLO's are cheaper than the Hellas. Roughly $40 for a pair with everything.

Haha oops, I was looking at the marine horns that are like an 18" trumpet and $70 a piece...

[GunMetalGrey]

KaiserRolls said:

But at least you’re not calling a towing company to come scoop your hopes and dreams up from the ditch because sally home maker merged without looking because she was pinning a new fucking casserole recipe.

I just wanted to draw more attention to this, because it is both hilarious and true.

[HipMF]

GunMetalGrey said:

I just wanted to draw more attention to this, because it is both hilarious and true.

And also sexist, but this is a BMW forum... I still laughed out loud.

[m42b32]

Got an engine! 

[B C]

Exciting!!!! What year/ how many miles?

Should be well worth it

[m42b32]

Snap said:

Exciting!!!! What year/ how many miles?

Should be well worth it

Definitely exciting! I'm so pumped to start getting into it. It's from a 2002 330xi auto (ms43, didn't want to mess with converting an ms45 engine), the car had 120k on it before it was hit in the driver's front corner. I'm going to do some minor work on it like vanos seals, disa rebuild, rear main seal, secure the oil pump nut, and clean everything up really well before I put it in the car.

[wasnt m3]

What oil pan do you end up using with this swap? I can't imagine using the xi pan.

[m42b32]

wasnt m3 said:

What oil pan do you end up using with this swap? I can't imagine using the xi pan.

The standard E34 M50 oil pan bolts right up and uses the same gasket. For the oil pickup, most people modify the rear-sump m54 pickup, as the m50 part will not bolt up to the oil pump. I have heard that the pickup for the E38 728i works with the front sump, but have not gotten a 100% confirmation that it is compatible with the e34 pan, still investigating this.

[m42b32]

Was out of town for two weeks and then didn't have any time to work on the car, but I finally got to my garage this past weekend and started tearing down the engine and got it on a stand:

Got a bunch of unnecessary stuff stripped off like the AC and SAP, and pulled off all the accessories to start cleaning things up and get access to the oil filter housing. The donor car was hit in the driver's front corner and it caused the power steering reservoir to crack and dump all it's fluid onto the alternator, hopefully it didn't damage anything and I can just flush it out with some brake cleaner. 

I also did a test fit on the shorty headers, might have a problem as the rear manifold contacts the block slightly. There must be a slift angle difference between m52 and m54 exhaust manifold mounting surface, so I'll have to do some massaging. It might be easier to just get some M54 specific long-tubes.

[B C]

This is the thread ive been wanting to see updates for! 
Once finished, A dragster race between your car and Dan's car would be quite interesting.

[m42b32]

Snap said:

This is the thread ive been wanting to see updates for! 
Once finished, A dragster race between your car and Dan's car would be quite interesting.

I'm definitely interested to see how they compare! That and I'd love to make a 1/4 mile pass or two, just for fun!

Progress has been slower than I want at the moment, but once I'm past the new year I can start really getting into it

[m42b32]

E38 M52tu oil pickup tube on it's way from Europe, hopefully I'll have that soon to test it with the E34 oil pan. Fingers crossed it fits! 

I also finally have everything I need to properly order the adapter harness. This will integrate the drive-by-wire/OBD2/Fuel pump relays/Tach/etc into the E30 chassis and save me TONS of time as opposed to modifying an entire e39 body harness or messing around with making my own harness. My goal is to have this swap running as seamlessly as possible, but because I don't have a check panel, I'm going to skip the CAN integration, as all it would gain me is a working check engine light on the cluster.

[GunMetalGrey]

An E38 M52tu, nice investigative work!

Where is the adapter harness to come from?