Lifted E30 V2

[GunMetalGrey]

SteelBlue said:

I can't believe you've done this...we had those carpets steam cleaned

The car was trying to continually steam clean them! But it was just watering them down.

[GunMetalGrey]

Got a call from the diesel shop on Friday, once again he asked me to call back about the fuel pump; anyone see a common trend here?

Turns out the pump is all internally pitted and rusted, and the guy was impressed the car even ran. He said rebuilding it is pointless and he cant find an obsolete pump. Nifty. 

Turned to the E28 forum as I recalled a guy saying he had fuel pumps in stock, sent him a message and turns out it is @dealindave's euro contact! He recognized me somehow, and said he didn't have a pump anymore but can get one and have it remand. then ship it. So I'm assuming that will take a handful of weeks, which seems to be how this project goes! 

Nozzles shipped on Friday from Germany, will be interesting to see how long those take. 

The waiting game is in full swing!

[Jdesign]

It think its hilarious that it took a few days to get this thing swapped and running, but now sourcing simple parts is the complete opposite.

[B C]

Its as if you are trying to find parts for a Lancia Thema 8.32

[GunMetalGrey]

Jdesign said:

I think its hilarious that it took a few days to get this thing swapped and running, but now sourcing simple parts is the complete opposite.

I had not realized the humor of this, thank you for pointing it out!

[GunMetalGrey]

Moar updates!

My excessively expensive crush washers came in! They came in a nice small plastic bag inside of a paper envelope! All the way from The Netherlands! 
Take a look at the quality! 

They are super soft and hammered flat pretty quick, but they are oblong, but it looks like they are normally a "press fit" application so hopefully the diesel shop can get them on.
They have an interesting chamfer on the inside as well, ruining the thought that they are just a normal washer in a crazy specific size.

I hadn't heard back from Ivo in a week or so about the fuel pump, so I started getting concerned that this thing would never work again. I emailed a few people on the E28 page that said they had TD fuel pumps but all of them were pretty much trying to tell me the pumps are the same between the US and the Euro motor, but they have never actually worked with them. Buncha smart guys eh? So I politely told them that they were completely different and had no chance of working with a euro motor that hadn't been adapted to run US spec things.

I reached out to @dealindave because Ivo is a contact of his as well, hoping he could extract some info, and he got a response today that they are searching for a pump. So now  I'll be able to sleep at night knowing something is still happening. 

While I play the eternal wait game I figured I might as well continue on chassis modifications!
Drew up some subframe spacers and had strut top spacers from before.

Alignment dowels and everything in the new subframe spacers, fancy shit eh'?

Hooked the motor up to a support bar and loosened up the motor mounts, and lowered the subframe down gently with the longest pry bar I had.
Passenger side was a breeze and the alignment dowels pressed in smoothly.

Drivers side was a bit trickier, as the steering coupler didn't want to move all that far. I moved the knuckle up the spline a bit and got the subframe down just far enough to sneak the spacer in.

Threw the longer bolts I bought in there and was pleased at how quickly that part went. 
Next step of the steering coupler is to see if I can sneak it back down far enough on the steering rack shaft to put the bolt back through it. If not I will be getting a poly steering coupler and adding a few washers to it for spacing. 

As you can see in the first picture, the motor mount is now fairly far away, and I'm not quite sure how I want to tackle that yet. Gotta play with angles and alignment to see what kind of arrangement I can make. But the motor will be staying at its original height in relation to the body. 
I am literally body lifting a uni-body car right now...

So the subframe spacers cleared up some of my more extreme control arm angles, but what fun is having non extreme angles? Time to make more of a mess of the geometry! 
My subframe is now lower than my oil pan as well, which is sweet. 

Now onto the strut top spacers!
I needed longer studs through the strut tops, so I found some random hardware in my bucket o' hardware and tacked them in while the strut top was in the chassis (strindle/struckle had been removed at this point)

Looks funny right??

Install spacer

Reinstall strut top to strut and marvel at your creation!

Took the assembly and put it back in the chassis, which looks kind of funny from the top.
The extra stud length is for shimming later to even out the ride height both sides, or push for a bit more overall.

So there ya have it! More lift! 
Until the next update!

Just kidding.
Side with subframe spacer, no strut spacer

Side with strut and subframe spacer ( I kinda botched the angle due to the garage door)

This gives a bit better perspective
Left (passenger side) has no strut spacer, drivers side does and is at full droop (obviously)

I'm digging the more level ride height, as the rockers sit just about level at 11.75" on the front corner.

So after doing all of this I was pleased, but not all that much. Sure I got more ground clearance but I didn't change the suspension travel or make it any "better". 
I'm trying to find weld on (non eyed) coilovers that I could use (with custom spring rates) to increase the front suspension travel from the stock (6" or less if I recall correctly) and bring that up to about 12-15 inches while using a dual spring (dual rates) setup to keep it from harsh bottom outs. 

All in all I'm happy to see the chassis more level, but am still seeking for more!

[P_Roloff]

Awesome progress, this thing keeps getting better and better.

I've never noticed those center caps before lol, those are great.

[YoungCR]

The center caps are great haha. This thing looks knarly! Can't wait to see it in action.

[GunMetalGrey]

GunMetalGrey said:

First appearance of those center caps lol. It's been awhile! Never had such a clear shot of them though! 

Hoping to hear about the fuel pump soon. It sucks having no idea if I'll be able to get one. I can't find any, it's not like I've found some and they are just too expensive, I simply can't find one.

[Jdesign]

Awesome progress. I like everything about this so much. 

Ben Pls, when are you going to install the rear flares? I want to see that happen!

Also it looks so much better without the turn signals. Maybe just ad some LED bulbs somewhere instead of the large squares?

[GunMetalGrey]

Jdesign said:

Awesome progress. I like everything about this so much. 

Ben Pls, when are you going to install the rear flares? I want to see that happen!

Also it looks so much better without the turn signals. Maybe just ad some LED bulbs somewhere instead of the large squares?

Rear flares will likely happen after I redo the front ones lol. I found some that should work better up front.

Those turn signals do suck! There are some new ones sitting in my amazon cart. 
Though I do have some ideas for them!

[B C]

oh me oh my, the negative camber and subsequent reduced toe in the rear scares me O__O

[Jdesign]

I want to see this thing with 15X10's and some 35x12-15's!

snap said:

oh me oh my, the negative camber and subsequent reduced toe in the rear scares me O__O

It looks like positive camber in the rear to me. How far can you go till you need custom control arms....

[B C]

You are correct. I had negative in my head because it is a negative situation for autobahn stability.

You get 10 internets.

Only Ben can attest of its actual driving characteristics but in my brain gives me scary thoughts.

[GunMetalGrey]

snap said:

Only Ben can attest of its actual driving characteristics but in my brain gives me scary thoughts.

After the e46 control arms I have a pretty impressive amount of negative camber up front, and after the modification to the rear there is a pretty little amount of camber (nearing negative numbers...)

It's a hands on driving experience for sure, and anything over 55 feels..... concerning. 
I never have gotten the car aligned properly yet though, so that may help the steering feel at minimum.

[Jdesign]

snap said:

You get 10 internets.

[HipMF]

snap said:

oh me oh my, the negative camber and subsequent reduced toe in the rear scares me O__O

Toe actually increases under droop (i know because I've measured it) so you really messed up here.

-10 internets, and please don't ban me.

[SteelBlue]

Jdesign said:

Ben Pls

Glad to see this has caught on

[Jdesign]

HipMF said:

Toe actually increases under droop (i know because I've measured it) so you really messed up here.

-10 internets, and please don't ban me.

But I think @snap is referring to when its actually planted on the ground.

[HipMF]

Jdesign said:

But I think @snap is referring to when its actually planted on the ground.

Not sure what you mean, but here's the data from the e21 (if photodumpster works...):

Assuming that the e30 is similar, and that the lowest toe number is roughly ride-height, toe will increase as the vehicle is lifted.

These aren't the results I was expecting before I measured it. I had assumed the toe went negative under droop...