Alpine e30 progress/build thread

[m42b32]

Spent all day on the car and made a ton of progress!

My initial plan was to attempt to use the original e30 charcoal canister to avoid any gas smell coming from the fuel tank vent line, but that proved impossible to retain so I picked up a small filter and mounted it to a bracket up near the brake booster to keep it away from any water/excessive dirt/etc. 

I pulled the radiator back out and installed a SPAL 16" medium profile pusher fan. It's a tight fit vertically so I had to fold over the bottom seam of the core support to get it to clear. The fan is currently wired up to be always on with ignition, but I'll be changing that to a temperature switch with a manual override button before the summer. 

I also got the upper radiator hose sorted out. I used a 1/5" continental 60859 (straight with a 90 degree bend) and trimmed the ends until it all lined up. On the thermostat housing, I have the plastic quick connect fitting removed from an e46 upper radiator hose. I spliced in a radiator hose adapter with two ports, one for the VDO gauge sender and one for the original e30 cluster temp sensor. To get the e30 sensor to fit, I used a 1/4" NPT male to M14x1.5 female stainless steel adapter fitting and bored out the hole to allow the e30 sensor to pass through.  I still have to work out a way to ground the adapter so that the sensors read correctly. 

And finally after weeks of waiting (thanks to Fedex delivering things to the wrong address), I finally got my ebay headers. I didn't order the standard supersprint knockoffs because the rear O2 sensor points right at the firewall and the flange is fairly thin. On the M54 it doesn't have studs in all the openings, so I was worried about sealing and I need to run both o2 sensors. These headers were about twice the price (still cheap for headers), but they have a super thick flange that is sanded flat and have o2 sensor locations that looked promising. They aren't quite proper equal length but they should still be a massive improvement over the awful stock manifolds. They also have a ball flange at the end so I can either use the supplied secondary pipes or make my own. After some screwing around, I got them test fit on the car! 

Amazingly, they clear everything fairly well and I didn't have to mess with the flange holes to slide them on the studs. The rear O2 sensor placement isn't perfect, but I was able to massage the heat shield enough to make room for it. They are just about touching so I am going to put a high temp spark plug wire sleeve over it to pad them (the heat shield is soft and I have condor mounts so I'm not worried about engine movement, I just don't want it rubbing a hole). 

The other O2 sensor fits just fine (you can see the top of it in this photo)

The rear manifold is pretty close to the underside of the car (about 1mm), so I may do a bit of massaging there but it's probably fine.

They are actually not bad to install/remove with the engine installed either which is a huge bonus. Here is the link if anyone is interested (I got them for 162, the seller occasionally puts them on sale so wait for that): https://www.ebay.com/itm/Exhaust-Header-for-BMW-E36-92-98-2-5L-2-8L-323i-325i-328i-95-99-3-0L-3-2L-M3-LHD/253850206367?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Last thing I started working on was a place to mount the Canton 2qt. aluminum radiator expansion tank. I am going to make a replacement for the passenger side headlight shield thing, so I started working on a CAD template to then transfer to steel:

[Jdesign]

Curious to see how that Headlight shield turns out! Great Progress, those headers look great in there.

[m42b32]

Headers are installed! I made a bit more room around the flange for the rear manifold and added a high temp fiberglass sleeve for the rear o2 sensor. I checked the fit on the lower tubes that came with the headers. One fits really well and the other fits like it was made for a completely different car so I'll be making my own. 

Got the booster vacuum line sorted with a piece of silicone hose and a 90 degree check valve from an e36:

Started mocking up the intake hoses and what's left of the MAF. One of the ribs on the bottom hose contacts the larger brake master cylinder (25mm master from e32 750il) so I'll have to shave it down a bit. A stock e30 MC would probably clear. rotating the upper hose a bit points the MAF in a nice spot to put the filter behind the headlights with a 45 degree elbow. 

Other things accomplished include filling the engine with some Shell Rotella T6 5w40 so I wouldn't forget when it's time for the first start. I also started fitting the HIK fab skid plate, that thing is a beast. I got it all mocked up and marked out the areas on the frame rails to prep for welding.

[m42b32]

Jdesign said:

Curious to see how that Headlight shield turns out! Great Progress, those headers look great in there.

Hopefully it turns out nicely! I saw someone do something similar on r3vlimited and it seemed like a great place to mount things:

(build thread for this car: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=345894&highlight=bronzit&page=62)

[Jdesign]

Yeah that looks great! Much better than the plastic OEM ones, I might have to follow the trend.. 

[m42b32]

Making moves!

I got the power steering return sorted out with a 1/2" stainless steel elbow, 1/2" trans cooler line, and the original steel section of the m42 return line. To get clearance from between the hose and the alternator I had to space the power steering bracket up about 1/4" as well. 

I am deleting the CCV and replacing it with a catch can system, so I got the CCV connections modified to adapt them to some PCV/fuel vapor hose. I found a car with a recently replaced CCV in the junk yard and got the fittings that connect to the valve cover and vacuum distribution manifold (removed the rest of the hose). I tapped the valve cover fitting to 3/8"-18 NPT and used an aluminum 1/2" barb adapter fitting. On the vacuum distribution block I tapped the outer fitting to 1/4"-18 NPT and used an aluminum 3/8" barb adapter fitting. Both are lightly torqued into the plastic with some RTV to ensure an airtight seal. 

The hoses will route over to the passenger side where the catch can will be mounted next to the coolant expansion tank. I also got the vacuum distribution manifold reinstalled with the catch can return hose routed underneath the intake. Lots of hoses to attempt to organize neatly...

Also in this picture I have new intake boots installed as well as a used (but hopefully good) MAF. 

A while back I modified the gas pedal mount from an E46 to fit the e30 chassis by cutting off the piece that clips onto the floor and bonding the base of an e30 gas pedal in it's place. I used a supposedly very strong 48 hour 2-part epoxy, but it turns out that it didn't take to the plastic well and it broke off when I bumped the pedal. I re-attached it with some Loctite super-duper-super-glue and now it's not going anywhere. I got the pedal remounted and looking like it belongs there. Current state of the interior for your entertainment:

It was at this point I realized there wasn't anything stopping me from connecting the battery and doing some initial wiring/electronics checks. Battery connected and nothing blew up, turned the key to the on position (with fuel pump relay removed), and everything functioned as expected. I figured why not and bumped the key and the starter engaged and turned over the engine! The engine was probably pretty dry so I turned it over with the starter for a while to get oil circulating. After a minute or so it really quieted down and turned over smoothly. I realized that nothing was really stopping me from attempting a first start so I reinstalled the fuel pump relay, primed the pump a few times until I heard it load up evenly, and turned the key (actual first start footage):

It fired right up! It actually startled me because I wasn't expecting it to light off on all 6 right away like that. I ended up having two fuel leaks, one by the fuel filter and one at the other end of the feed, both just needed the clamps to be tightened a bit more (Running 3.5 bar, vs. 3.0 with the M42). Of course with the leaks stopped I had to check it again to verify, and also see if the drive-by-wire gas pedal was working (RIP headphone users):

It does! Open headers are loud haha. The engine had no coolant so I only ran it for a few seconds each time, but I am so pumped it fired right up without any major issues! Now I really can't wait to get it on the road. There is a ton left to do, but this is super motivating.

[straight6pwr]

awesome progress! all those power steering fittings/joints above the alternator would give me anxiety.

[jc43089]

Excellent!  I am stoked to hear how this drives, I think the 6 cylinder power and 4 cylinder weight really should make an excellent driving experience.

[P_Roloff]

Can't wait to see it on the road, great progress!

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

awesome progress! all those power steering fittings/joints above the alternator would give me anxiety.

Yup, It's definitely far from ideal but I couldn't find any 1/2" power steering hoses with a sharp 90 to eliminate using a fitting for the return. The feed is the stock e46 hose so no fittings/etc needed to make the turn thankfully. That fitting in the return is super tight in the hose so I'm not too worried about it leaking anytime soon, but checking it regularly would definitely be a good idea

[m42b32]

jc43089 said:

Excellent!  I am stoked to hear how this drives, I think the 6 cylinder power and 4 cylinder weight really should make an excellent driving experience.

I'm stoked to find out too haha. I hope it retains some of the 318 'balance', but even if it doesn't it should still be an absolute riot. 

P_Roloff said:

Can't wait to see it on the road, great progress!

Me too!

[YoungCR]

Congrats on the milestone! Can’t wait to hear it with the full exhaust

[rampelsauce]

You gave my laptop speakers a spasm when you blipped the throttle.  Also, who plasti dips a golf ball and calls it a shift knob?  What are you, some kind of alternate universe Arnold Palmer?

[m42b32]

YoungCR said:

Congrats on the milestone! Can’t wait to hear it with the full exhaust 

Same! Open headers sound meh so hopefully I can get some nicer sound with a proper exhaust!

rampelsauce said:

You gave my laptop speakers a spasm when you blipped the throttle.  Also, who plasti dips a golf ball and calls it a shift knob?  What are you, some kind of alternate universe Arnold Palmer?

Haha sorry... It did the same thing with my eardrums, and most of the neighborhoods eardrums, so that was quickly the end of that. And basically, except I suck at the golfs

[Jdesign]

Awesome. I chuckled at your hand jolting away from the key on the first start up. CONGRATS!

[m42b32]

Jdesign said:

Awesome. I chuckled at your hand jolting away from the key on the first start up. CONGRATS!

Haha definitely a mix of nerves/excitement/it scaring the sh!t out of me since I was expecting some sputtering and such to get it to start, not just lighting off after half a second...

[B C]

Great work! You should feel proud

[m42b32]

Getting some little things done here and there. I got the coolant return hoses situated and secured, routed the catch can return line, and got more of the wiring tidied up. There is a lot going on but its starting to look fairly organized and clean (much better in person, the flash makes it look a lot worse). 

I also got the sunroof drain figured out. The M54 head sits super close to the firewall, so I had to do some extensive trimming to get it to clear and still route water properly. 

[m42b32]

Spent all of Saturday working on this, getting closer!

I didn't get a picture of it because it's not that interesting, but I made a new reverse light harness that routes along the trans and up through the hole in the firewall for the engine harness. Originally it passed through the shift lever grommet but since I made my body mount shifter the harness needed to be re-routed. I now have reverse lights!

I got the coolant temp sensors tightened down and grounded by soldering a wire through a small hole drilled in the e30 cluster temp sensor. The VDO sender is grounded through that wire as well. 

Capped the holes in the firewall grommet for the AC lines and reinstalled the grommet. I still have to remove the AC evaporator core to complete the delete, but closing the hole is as far as I need to go for now. 

Shaved down part of the UUC DSSR for a bit more giubo clearance. Got it reinstalled and there is plenty of clearance now:

Finished the headlight backing panel on the passenger side!

Here is the final panel. It is made form 22 gauge steel which initially felt a little thin, but with the bend along the top and the wider mounting bracket at the bottom it's actually very stiff. 

It mounts to two M6 rivnuts in the core support along the top, and then an M6 rivnut on the bottom and conveniently one of the old mount points for the AC receiver drier thing. There are clearance holes on the bottom and side for wiring to pass through, and one small notch for one of the high beam adjusters near the radiator. I'm going to paint it black and use some rubber edging along the sides and wire cutouts to finish it off. I'm super happy with how it came out!

With the Canton 2qt radiator expansion tank mounted and plumbed! The outlet of the expansion tank runs through the hole below, I'm just waiting on the fitting for that connection and the cooling system will be ready to fill and bleed!

I was hoping to mount the oil catch can to this panel but there just isn't room to do it nicely so I will have to find another location for that.

[YoungCR]

Nice Fab work!