My name is Earl, and I have a Stainless Steel bolt fetish =)
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I decided to focus on the engine this Saturday.
I started off by cleaning up the timing covers.
I had bought a can of VHT Wrinkle Black to do my valve cover and intake manifold, so I decided it would work well here too.
I cannot believe how well it turns out being from a spray can. After two hours had passed, I removed the old front main seal and installed the new one.
Old:
New:
During the time that took to wrinkle, I completed some other quick tasks.
I cleaned up my head and installed new intake/exhaust manifold studs.
I also cleaned and painted the rear portion of my timing case. I was going to just clean it up and leave it raw, but it was stained and just didn't look good enough to me.
Before:
After:
I also installed the coolant passage. (You can see where I painted the front on this side as well.)
I then spent a ton of time cleaning up the oil pan and thermostat housing.
I painted the thermostat housing with the VHT Wrinkle Black as well. I left the shop before it cured so I do not have any pictures of it.
I then tackled the oil pan. The front was covered in oil and road grime. After I got it clean I was also going to leave it raw, but I was not satisfied with how it looked. I sprayed it with engine primer and then put on two coats of gloss black caliper paint. I didn't want to waste my VHT Wrinkle Black and the caliper paint can withstand up to 600 degrees so I am not worried.
I am working on ordering the timing chain guide that I need. I have part number 11311247483 on my engine. The plastic is separating from the metal. I noticed that part number 11311247470 is also listed. That seems to be an all plastic version which would be superior since it cannot separate. I posted a thread on R3V to see which one to order and I have been told that 11311247470 is the one to go with. I am hoping to find one at Concours BMW or somewhere local so I can get my engine back together within the next few weeks=)
I am hoping to work on the valve cover and intake manifold this Wednesday. The car will be going to have the bay welded after I sort a few things out. I am also going to be borrowing a fender roller to get my rear arches situated.
I am happy with how things are slowly coming together. Updates to come after Wednesday=)
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Love the attention to detail, especially on parts most would consider not to matter. I do the same things and people think I'm crazy.
How much are the guides? Due to the age and one starting to fail, it may be prudent to replace them all.
Thank you sir. All the little things count for me=) You're not crazy at all.
The guide I need is about $50. I inspected the others and they look almost new. The PO replaced the timing chain and head so I believe he replaced those too. Those are all solid plastic pieces too. The one failing was a terrible design where a plastic strip is adhered to a metal mount. The plastic is peeling off the metal on mine.
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You will see it Saturday. Looks much better in person.
Two more pictures that look almost exactly the same (and close to picture one in my last post)
daaaaaaammmmnnnnn
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Yes it is a good damn. what is your plan for paint? and I apologize as I forgot what engine you are putting back into this? m44? I know thats what you had prior
With a good paint job, this deserves a stance feature, first Ti that I've seen done really right, stance wise
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It is getting the m42 put back in. Refreshing it now. The only thing I didn't do is the bottom end. It will be resprayed black. I'm not looking for a feature. Just trying to make the car look how I picture in my head:) Thanks for the kind words.
TJ, you're the best:P
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Got a smidge of work done yesterday.
I got a picture of how the thermostat housing turned out.
It is a tad wrinklier than the timing covers but it matches well=)
Blasted my bottom end out with brake kleen and air to remove any debris from scrubbing the pistons.
Pulled out my new pan gasket.
I coated smeared permatex silicone on both sides, stuck it on the block, and snugged all of the bolts down.
Hopefully it is leak free=)
I also cleaned and sprayed my oil filter housing.
I sat for a while while it cured to see how the wrinkle would turn out. It seems like it might not turn out as well as I would like so I may need to strip and redo it. We will see once I get there Saturday.
My timing chain guide will be installed Saturday and I have a lot more brackets and such to paint. I am hoping to get all the painting done Saturday and get my rear arches sorted out.
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I didn't get a ton done but I did get a little progress.
I started by spinning the front struts down a bit. I didn't take a picture of the end results but it wasn't much different. It looks to me that my tire is sitting on the inner fender.
I decided that instead of polishing my header, it would make more sense to just paint it black to go with the rest of the engine theme. Turned out nice.
TJÂ was looking at the wiper spindles and asked if I was going to remove the wiper motor since I don't run wipers on this car anyways. I took his advice and removed the motor. It lead me to finding the perfect place to route my harness, and now I have way more than enough room to fit it all in there.
I just need to grab some plugs for the holes at the hardware store.
After that I painted up a few engine parts, installed one of the mount arms, and installed my oil filter housing with the new gasket and O-ring.
I also popped the trans on the MK3 being an idiot. I have to have a new daily by the end of this week so I may have to shell out a bit of money for something that will last. That will cripple this build a good amount unless I want to take out a personal loan for the paintjob. We will see what happens.
I'll be at the shop for a bit today to install the brackets I painted and to dig into the volkswagen and see how fun it would be to swap the trans out.
Updates tomorrow hopefully=)
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Painted a few more items yesterday.
Removed the throttle body from my intake manifold
I then cleaned it up a bit and removed the throttle cable bracket to give it a nice coat of paint as well.
I didn't stay long enough to see how it turned out, but here is what it looked like before I left (1 hour into the curing process)
I also installed the passenger side motor mount and alternator bracket on my motor.
It is slowly looking like a motor again. I need to figure out how to paint the alternator and how to get my hydraulic tensioner (and bracket) clean enough to paint.
I also have the front sitting as good as I believe I can get it.
Something is holding it up. I spun the strut body more than enough to get it to fully drop, but I think my tire is sitting on the inner fender.
I still need to work on my rear arches, but here is where it is at from sitting on the tire for two days.
I should be able to get them sitting perfectly with no problems.
I will be doing a tiny bit on Wednesday since I still need to sort out my daily situation. Tah Tah for now=D
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Didn't do much yesterday because I was supposed to pick my new daily up early in the afternoon, but it got delayed.
Pretty much just reassembled the throttle body.
I then picked up my new daily. Really clean 1990 Prelude Si. Tried to find a bmw this clean in the price range and couldn't do it. 5 speed with 132,000 miles=)
Should work well for good gas mileage and being reliable=)
Hopefully progress on the compact Saturday
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