Alpine e30 progress/build thread

[Jdesign]

Now that's creative. Nice work. Care to share where you ordered the materials and part cost?

[m42b32]

Jdesign said:

Now that's creative. Nice work. Care to share where you ordered the materials and part cost? 

Depending on how it works out I can make a diy/write-up on it. I think overall I have less than $80 into the whole thing, with over half of the cost being the bearing and weld cup.

[m42b32]

Couldn't start testing the shifter setup with the engine hanging free so...

E21 trans mounts with AKG cups installed

Put in the front subframe with a z3 steering rack and Revshift poly motor mounts. I haven't modified the firewall yet so I held off on installing the sway bar for a bit more access. While I was at it: new control arms, condor offset eyeball arms, ground control adjustable sway bar links, and the rebuilt m3 struts with yogurtland springs, bilsteins, and e90 drop hats. 

With the engine finally bolted down nice and solid I was able to test the shifter. The initial setup was insanely short, I think it was like a 1" throw from 1st to 2nd. I ended up trimming things down and ended up with a 3" throw from 1st to 2nd and the knob is at a comfortable height. It feels super solid, no flex anywhere and it should be really tight with new washers and rod joint. I tore it apart for paint and I'll get some pics of the final result this week. 

On Sunday I turned my attention to the frame rail...and chopped it out

Its a bit hard to see but the internal support for the bumper shock is pretty mangled. Replacing it will require totally dissecting the frame rail so I am going to try renting a slide hammer and massaging it back into shape, hopefully that works and then I can start fitting the new frame rail piece. I ordered a new OEM core support from Umansky and should have it next week.

[B C]

1" throw[emoji38] wow

Im also running the AKG E21 mounts. Its a good way to go.

Make sure the rubber bumper that rams into the back of the subframe and bolts to the lower flywheel cover is intact while you are in there.

[m42b32]

Snap said:

Make sure the rubber bumper that rams into the back of the subframe and bolts to the lower flywheel cover is intact while you are in there.

Do m42 cars have one of those? I'll have to look, I can't remember haha

[B C]

Ah they might not since you have a more generous amount of space for the fan

[m42b32]

Was at the garage after work, forgot to look for the bumper, next time haha. 

Over the last few days I finished the mounting setup, painted everything textured black, and I did the final assembly today. 

Shift lever painted and assembled:

This was my solution for mounting the shifter base to the chassis without drilling holes:

There are notches cut to fit on the flange around the edge of the hole the rubber boot usually sits in. Then they bolt to the upper half with the bearing cup via studs, sandwiching the body in-between:

I put an adhesive backed foam gasket around the edge to seal the hole, and secured everything with some stainless lock nuts/washers.

Top view of bearing cup with everything assembled:

 

While I had everything apart, I replaced the shift shaft seal (what a pain in the ass...), shift rod joint, and the yellow plastic washers. 

Final touch: BMW Motorsport golfball shift knob!

Really pleased with how it came out. There is next to zero play and everything is super solid, the shifts are pretty short but don't take too much force to get into gear, and the knob height is really comfortable. I can write up a DIY and post a parts list if people are interested.

[YoungCR]

What a great looking set up! I'd be interested in making one.

[jc43089]

Me too, I get the idea from the pictures, where did you buy the bearing, and now that you see the travel amount would you have still needed to do the grinding you did?

[m42b32]

Sure! I'll make a separate thread with all the info so it doesn't get lost in this one. I took a video when it was finished that I can post too

[Jdesign]

That turned out great!!!!! Awesome work, I really liked that you worked around not modifying the chassis.

[m42b32]

Finally finished rebuilding my M3 brake calipers:

Painted the calipers and carriers with gloss black caliper paint and along with a re-seal kit I used new pistons, guide pin bushings, bleed screws and anti-rattle clips for all 4 corners. 

Next up: rear axles

[jc43089]

Looks great!  I need to rebuild the calipers on my Volvo with new seals before I have one get seized, they are 400$ each, scary.  They are 4 piston Brembos.

[straight6pwr]

can you enlighten me on m3 calipers? are you going 5-lug?

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

can you enlighten me on m3 calipers? are you going 5-lug?

Yup! I am in the middle of an e30 M3 5-lug conversion so I'll be running the stock M3 brakes all around as it is required by the swap. I'm also changing to an e32 750il brake master cylinder (slightly larger bore than the OEM M3, but with the correct threads for non-m e30 brake line fittings) to compensate for the bigger calipers.

[straight6pwr]

nice! i'm a bit dense - the weds you posted were 5-lug and I didn't put 2 and 2 together.

[m42b32]

Picked up a new core support from Umansky to replace the bent replacement (also I cut that to pieces getting the new frame rail section out haha), these things are pricey but knowing it's straight is worth the premium. I'm hoping to finish fitting all the patch parts and start welding things back together this weekend! My overall goal is to have the body repair done by the end of April. 

[m42b32]

Got some good work done with the great weather this weekend!

I was able to massage the inner bumper shock support back into shape. It's not pretty but you can't see it once everything is back together. 

Finished fitting the new bumper mount and got everything mocked up. Everything seems to be lining up really well. Next step is to lightly tack it all together and check the panel fitment. Hoping to have that done this week so I can weld everything up for good! 

Got the differential mount reinforcement plates welded in:

The three exhaust heat shields were looking pretty gross so I cleaned them up with a wire wheel and sprayed them with some high-temp silver paint:

Opened up the medium case 4.10 LSD that I'll be using. Its got a bit of sludge inside from sitting around for a while, but the internals seem to be in great shape. Hopefully all it needs is some new fluid and it's good to go. 

[B C]

I didn't know those diff mount reinforcements were available. Have you ever found any examples of the stock mount bending or cracking on the information superhighway ?

[m42b32]

Here is an example of hairline cracks forming, from a build thread on r3vlimited (JGood's m60 swapped e30). I recall seeing it once or twice more in other random build threads too, but it's not very common.

I will be running subframe riser bushings that require spacers to lower the diff back to it's original location. I wanted to add the reinforcements to compensate for the increased stress the mounts will see (less contact area, increased distance between the diff and subframe). Its definitely overkill for a stock m42, but with more power planned in the future I figured it was good to do while I was in there for added peace of mind.