Jake's Epic BMW 135i Build Thread! (5+ Years of Ownership)

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Thanks everyone! Gonna keep plugging away at it so it's ready for spring. Still a lot of work and fine tuning to do.

YoungCR said:

We're you satisfied with the harbor freight abrasive blaster? Interested in picking one up. Congrats on the progress, can't wait to see this ripping down the runways again. 

Yeah, this is the second time I've used it for this job. I don't know how it would do in other scenarios though. It doesn't spray with insane power, but it gets the job done. I use a small pick to break up anything that the blaster couldn't remove.

[jc43089]

Dry air is very important for blasting.  I have a Harbor Freight pot type blaster and it works well with my redneck air dryer.  In the linked post is a picture.  It is a piece of 4" PVC with a U of 3/4" copper pipe and  T at the bottom with a pipe coming out the side to have a place for water to pool.  Hang it up and fill it with ice and cold water for good heat transfer and have it between your main compressor and a secondary tank.  It works really well and cost very little.  I put a drain on the bottom of the PVC so when the ice is melted you can drain it into a bucket.

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If anyone is curious about the walnut blasting procedure, I put a video together. If you haven't already, subscribe to my channel! I'm so close to the 1,000 subscribers I need to stay monetized. You can count on me to put out some awesome content this year. I like the whole YouTube thing.

[Jdesign]

That looks awesome. I will have to watch it later!

[GunMetalGrey]

As someone who is overly technical that I find two things off in that video lol. Minor nuances really, but you aren't "turning the valves", and the starter jump thing shouldn't connect to ground, just jumping 12v to the solenoid. Why harbor freight decided to do a black and red wire for that button I will never know. 
That and if those walnut shell pieces are just "being around in the air" you should really wear a mask! 

It's impressive how gunked up those valves and ports get. What's the primary origin of the deposits? I know you don't have fuel spraying the valves like port injection, but is the stock PCV stuff really dumping that much crap into the intake of the turbo? 

Good video skills as always!

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GunMetalGrey said:

As someone who is overly technical that I find two things off in that video lol. Minor nuances really, but you aren't "turning the valves", and the starter jump thing shouldn't connect to ground, just jumping 12v to the solenoid. Why harbor freight decided to do a black and red wire for that button I will never know. 
That and if those walnut shell pieces are just "being around in the air" you should really wear a mask! 

It's impressive how gunked up those valves and ports get. What's the primary origin of the deposits? I know you don't have fuel spraying the valves like port injection, but is the stock PCV stuff really dumping that much crap into the intake of the turbo? 

Good video skills as always!

There are more than two overly technical nuances in that video, lol. Most people aren't as technical as you, but it's hard to describe things on camera without going over the top. I know you're turning the crank, which results in the valves moving. But once you say it, it's said and you can't have a back and forth conversation with yourself on video (without looking mental). You can re-record, but you're bound to mess up somewhere else down the line. Doing these videos has made me realize how hard it can be to make a continuous 10 minute video!

The walnut shells weren't just floating in the air. I opened the box and once the air-tight seal broke, little pieces went flying everywhere lol. A mask and goggles wouldn't hurt though.

These valves were actually not bad, I'm guessing they were already done at some point. If you Google pictures of other N54s, you'll see they get realllllly bad with tons of buildup. It's purely because of the PCV system, without any gasoline to clean it up. I don't think the turbos help (more chances for oil to get into the system).

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Stuff happened this weekend! Tidied up a few things and was able to try starting it.

As you can see in the video, there are still things that need to be finished. Everything went smoothly, hoping to have the car back together next weekend and take it for a drive!

[GunMetalGrey]

I would strongly suggest making a heat shield for those ignition wires, maybe even as far as wrapping them with something as well. That's critical wiring and you don't want resistance variation due to temperature variances. Ask me how I know . 

Glad to see it's running! 
I look forward to seeing the rest buttoned up!

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GunMetalGrey said:

I would strongly suggest making a heat shield for those ignition wires, maybe even as far as wrapping them with something as well. That's critical wiring and you don't want resistance variation due to temperature variances. Ask me how I know . 

Glad to see it's running! 
I look forward to seeing the rest buttoned up!

Yeah, I have a couple different routes I can take. Some people just tuck them as far away as possible, others wrap them in some heat-resistant wire loom, or some people just install the insulated beauty cover with some heat-reflective tape on top. I'm not sure what I want to do yet. Gotta get them mounted first.

[Jdesign]

I agree on insulating those wires really really well. What coil packs are those? (Forgive me, I have not watched your video yet)

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Jdesign said:

I agree on insulating those wires really really well. What coil packs are those? (Forgive me, I have not watched your video yet)

They're an aftermarket set from Precision Raceworks.

[KaiserRolls]

Progress!

[bk335]

I'm digging your vids man! Great quality for just starting.

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bk335 said:

I'm digging your vids man! Great quality for just starting. 

Thanks man! I just uploaded another one, diving into the details of port injection for N54/N55 cars.

[B C]

I know it takes a lot of effort to make videos but I think its great that you are documenting stuff like this for posterity. It will probably benefit a lot of other DIY N54-ers

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El Snapo said:

I know it takes a lot of effort to make videos but I think its great that you are documenting stuff like this for posterity. It will probably benefit a lot of other DIY N54-ers

Brb, Googling 'posterity'...

Thanks man! The videos have proven to be helpful so far, so I'm gonna continue putting them out. A couple extra bucks from the monetization is cool too.

[GunMetalGrey]

I was really expecting your into to involve "Oh! Didn't see you there!"

Can you get a light that attaches to the camera? Or add lights to the garage? The big stick light in many shots is odd, and it seems to really wash out other things when looking at the stainless bench.

Looking good sir! These videos have been excellent from day one.

[KaiserRolls]

Not only are they helpful for other n54 peeps, but I’d use the shit out of them for checking my own work later on lol

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GunMetalGrey said:

I was really expecting your into to involve "Oh! Didn't see you there!"

Can you get a light that attaches to the camera? Or add lights to the garage? The big stick light in many shots is odd, and it seems to really wash out other things when looking at the stainless bench.

Looking good sir! These videos have been excellent from day one.

I had more stuff filmed and planned for the intro but the video got really long so I cut it out.

I’ve been thinking about getting an LED light to mount on top of the camera, but then it’s not amiable/adjustable without having to bring the camera close up on something. Playing around with ideas on my low production budget right now

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You guys are gonna love this update! Let me know what you think of the car and the video!

And be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel as most of my exciting updates will hit that platform first.