Lifted E30 V2

[GunMetalGrey]

Cleaned out the bleed screw passage with a small drill bit last night, as it was completely blocked and I couldn't use a pick to clear it. 

I also realized that a sealed beam to ellipsoid swap on an early model car involves a lot of wiring because they didn't use a true independent wiring setup for each high and low beam. I found a good write-up of it, so I need to work on that, which involves taking the fuse box apart a bit. 

I have a list of things sitting on the car to get done, ranging from washing it (sat outside for 10 months) to securing the fuel filter in the trunk, and am slowly chipping away at them. I hope to have something new for the car soon that will certainly increase the amount of fun for it!

[B C]

Besides changing the connectors, no wiring is required.

All you need to do is run a bead of solder between two of the blades on the relay. Let me know if you want more info

Source: I converted mine.

[straight6pwr]

Snap said:

Besides changing the connectors, no wiring is required.

All you need to do is run a bead of solder between two of the blades on the relay. Let me know if you want more info

Source: I converted mine.

+1, you don't even have to do the relay jump if you don't want. honestly, high beams are more effective with low beams off, so I always liked that about the early car retrofit.

Source: science.

[GunMetalGrey]

Snap said:

Besides changing the connectors, no wiring is required.

All you need to do is run a bead of solder between two of the blades on the relay. Let me know if you want more info

Source: I converted mine.

Feel free to share, but after doing just about every combination of things that seem possible it doesn't work. 
Note: Chassis year makes a difference, there are two ways the headlights were wired. 

Source: I too have converted other cars, this one is not the same.

See Also: http://users.rcn.com/nifftylion/headlights/E30 Lighting Conversion Information - X Mon - Pub.pdf

[GunMetalGrey]

Well had I known the Bentley had the instructions I wouldn't have spent so much time figuring out how to make this car happen...

[GunMetalGrey]

So I am having a similar issue as before, and it is actually driving me insane. 

The thermostat still will not open when it is running. 

I elevated the front end, filled the system per the Bentley procedure (bleed screw open, fill till it comes out) then started the car, let it warm up to temp and cracked the bleed screw again and waited until no more air bubbles happened. Thermostat still didn't open. Tried it with the expansion tank cap on and off, no difference. The radiator gets coolant flow with the bleed screw open, and with the screw open it is pushing a good amount of fluid. 
Temperature was verified with temp gun (~195°F) and thermostat was bench tested and was good. 
Thermostat is installed the correct way. I added two holes to it to see if that helps anything and will try Snaps suggestion of revving with the bleed screw open. But beyond that I have no idea. 
The heater core is getting flow, as I can get a lot of heat out of it. 
 

Thermostat open

The reason I want it to stop overheating is sitting on the bench, and I don't want to start on that until I can drive the darn thing. 

Pic for fun

[Jdesign]

GunMetalGrey said:

What the hell are you doing with that super coupe super charger?! That sumbish looks like more of a headache than its worth.

Besides that maybe I would looking into Pressure bleeding the coolant system? You must have air trapped somewhere.

Not saying you're and idiot because I have done this before, but are you sure your thermostat is not installed backwards? And is the arrow/ vent facing upwards?

[GunMetalGrey]

Jdesign said:

What the hell are you doing with that super coupe super charger?! That sumbish looks like more of a headache than its worth.

Besides that maybe I would looking into Pressure bleeding the coolant system? You must have air trapped somewhere.

Not saying you're and idiot because I have done this before, but are you sure your thermostat is not installed backwards? And is the arrow/ vent facing upwards?

i posted pictures of both the manual and the car to show that I have it in there the right way, it doesn't even fit in the wrong way. 

I don't have an arrow on the thermostat, but there was a notch in it that I positioned at the top, and once again I drilled two holes in the thermostat (top and bottom) to assist with bleeding. 

Pressure bleeding is something to investigate

$200 supercharger build requires free superchargers to be used, and that one was free. 
Twin screw was what I wanted, and the super coupe on is actually easier to use than one off a GM 3.8 (Buick, GTP stuff) because those are a lot longer and have a much more inconvenient outlet.

[Jdesign]

GunMetalGrey said:

i posted pictures of both the manual and the car to show that I have it in there the right way, it doesn't even fit in the wrong way. 

I don't have an arrow on the thermostat, but there was a notch in it that I positioned at the top, and once again I drilled two holes in the thermostat (top and bottom) to assist with bleeding. 

Pressure bleeding is something to investigate

$200 supercharger build requires free superchargers to be used, and that one was free. 
Twin screw was what I wanted, and the super coupe on is actually easier to use than one off a GM 3.8 (Buick, GTP stuff) because those are a lot longer and have a much more inconvenient outlet. 

Hmmmm. Well that is frustrating. What brand is the thermostat?

I would try one of these funnel bleeders first before buying a pressure bleeder. They are like $30

Im curious to see how you get that S/C working with your car. You wouldn't by any chance know if the S/C that motor is from still has the trans? M5R2-RKE or T5 Presumably?!

[GunMetalGrey]

Jdesign said:

Hmmmm. Well that is frustrating. What brand is the thermostat?

Im curious to see how you get that S/C working with your car. You wouldn't by any chance know if the S/C that motor is from still has the trans? M5R2-RKE or T5 Presumably?!

Wahler with BMW also stamped in it. As noted it bench tested fine. 

The S/C has been sitting around for awhile, what trans are you looking for?

[Jdesign]

GunMetalGrey said:

Wahler with BMW also stamped in it. As noted it bench tested fine. 

The S/C has been sitting around for awhile, what trans are you looking for? 

Well its most likely not the T-stat then and more of a bleeding or plugged issue. 

Im hoping to run across a M5R2-RKE or T5 as the bell-housing on mine is all haggard from someone snapping the slave tabs off.

[GunMetalGrey]

I took out the safety bypass valve for the heater core, not sure if it is relevant to the overheating thing but I figured why not. 
Drove it around for awhile last night, but since I drilled 2 holes in the thermostat I couldn't tell if it was opening the thermostat or not. I'll have to beat the crap out of it for a bit and find out. 

I cheated and made the lights a little bit easier and just used a relay to switch the low beams with the highs. I may actually take that back out because it isn't needed, but it looks kind of cool. There is a lot of light coming off the front of the car now. 

^That picture makes the shop look like a mess. I should fix that...

[Jdesign]

it loos so sweet.

[B C]

Definit loos cool

[stealthbimmer]

GunMetalGrey said:

I took out the safety bypass valve for the heater core, not sure if it is relevant to the overheating thing but I figured why not. 

Drove it around for awhile last night, but since I drilled 2 holes in the thermostat I couldn't tell if it was opening the thermostat or not. I'll have to beat the crap out of it for a bit and find out. 

I cheated and made the lights a little bit easier and just used a relay to switch the low beams with the highs. I may actually take that back out because it isn't needed, but it looks kind of cool. There is a lot of light coming off the front of the car now. 

^That picture makes the shop look like a mess. I should fix that...

Those hurt my eyes just looking at them in a picture. They should be sufficient.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[GunMetalGrey]

Managed to high center the car this weekend trying to crawl down a bank. I've done the same thing before, I think there is a video of it floating around on here. Luckily it just took both of us pushing up on the rear of the car to get it over. It did take the exhaust off in the process though. 

The supercharger had a bit of a bind in it so I pulled that apart to inspect it, and ended up just replacing the screws with another (and better shape) set that was laying around in the shop. It spins quite well now and has less play. 

This update is lame without any pictures, but I didn't take any.

[suspenceful]

Is the car maintaining proper temperature yet?

[GunMetalGrey]

suspenceful said:

Is the car maintaining proper temperature yet?

It's not overheating, but is shy of cluster temp, but frankly that's fine by me. It did make a taco run and sat in traffic a bit and wasn't gumpy about it so I'll call it good.
I should check the thermostat housing temp to see if the temp gauge is still reading about right.

[B C]

GunMetalGrey said:

It's not overheating, but is shy of cluster temp, but frankly that's fine by me. It did make a taco run and sat in traffic a bit and wasn't gumpy about it so I'll call it good.
I should check the thermostat housing temp to see if the temp gauge is still reading about right.

nope, gotta test it at a chick-fil-a drive thru or it doesnt count.

are you checking it with a temp gun?

[GunMetalGrey]

Chick-fil-a would be a long trip for sure!

I didn't check actual with a temp gun, but the lower hose is hot as well as the whole radiator. Will verify exact temps