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  4. the one and only e30 s52 engine swap

the one and only e30 s52 engine swap

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Members BMWs
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  • B
    B
    Boris3
    wrote on last edited by
    #145

    Man I've got to learn how to weld.  Nice job!

    1990 325i racecar (ITS, former Spec E30); 2004 330i ZHP

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • jc43089J
      jc43089J
      jc43089
      wrote on last edited by
      #146

      Looks good!

      2/94 325i Sedan, Arctic Gray: UUC LTW FW, EVO 3 and DSSR, +.020 Maxsil pistons, ASC delete, Eibach shocks/springs, 16" contour reps 238k
      3/93 325i Coupe, Schwarz 2, Sketchy stance action, ebay turbo, 300k
      '89 325i Vert, Alpine White: 5spd swapped, sold.

      '04 Toyota Sienna: 24V to 24V swap in progress

      '05 Volvo V70R, 6spd.  200k
      '85 Toyota LandCruiser: Lifted, gas hog. 205k
      '99 Nissan Maxima: 5spd, Rusty but trusty winter beater. 252k RIP.

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • JdesignJ
        JdesignJ
        Jdesign
        wrote on last edited by
        #147

        Looks awesome, much congrats on tons of progress. Please take some nice close ups of that dash when its ready to go back into the car!

        SumBunny.jpg

        https://www.instagram.com/_jdesigner_/                                          http://nevertoolow.tumblr.com/

        🥳SOLD BMW E24 633CSI - BMW M30B32                                          🧪SOLD HCH  ES9 - 1.3 LDA
        👽BMW E30 325IC - Toyota 1JZ-GTE                                                     ⏰ HONDA EF9 CIVIC SI - JDM B18C5
        ☠️BMW E36 318i - Ford 5.0 FE302                                                         🚴‍♂️ GT-Labomba - 26x2.75 Freeride
        🤹‍♀️SOLD BMW E36/7 Z3 - BMW M54B25                                                🧓SOLD BMW E10 2002 - BMW M10M05

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        • AsparagusMikeA
          AsparagusMikeA
          AsparagusMike
          wrote on last edited by
          #148

          Sorry for the late update. Spent the whole last week in Arizona enjoying the beautiful warm weather. Before I left I was able to finish up a couple things.

          After getting my timing cover gaskets in the mail as well as many other parts needed for the motor I got the timing cover back on and gave the upper timing chain tensioner bolt another shot at redemption... Success acheived :D

          20180112162322.jpg

          Not to long after, my buddy showed up and went at it finishing welding the reinforcement on the rest of the subframe pieces...

          20180112202920.jpg

          20180112202949.jpg

          20180112231248.jpg

          20180112214548.jpg

          20180112203606.jpg

          20180112212447.jpg

          20180112212410.jpg

          20180112231412.jpg

          That was about it until I got back this last weekend. The following morning woke up, ate some asparagus, and began tearing apart the steering rack for rebuild...

          20180121132154.jpg

          20180121135331.jpg

          Once it was dissembled, threw it in the wash tank for a good 2 hours for a thorough cleaning.

          20180121212145.jpg

          20180122130524.jpg

          Would have the rack already back together by now but I have been struggling and struggling to get the last main seal in the middle of the rack housing out but nothing seems to be working.

          20180123171531.jpg

          So far I have tried removing the seal with a bushing remover kit which ended real quick as it seemed I was stuck in between two different sizes that was either to small or to big to grab the seal. Tried using a wooden dowel as well as a long thin punch and screwdriver which only got me breaking off the plastic molding pieces behind the bushing that are suppose to come out with it and be replaced.

          20180124165126.jpg

          That was pretty much all I had for an edge to tap on. Now it seems anything I try to tap on the back of the bushing slips off. At this point I am pretty much stumped and took a break from the whole thing for a bit so I don't lose my mind.

          On the up side... bushings showed up!

          20180122174419.jpg

          As for other things accomplished... designed up a new gas pedal bracket today to replace the unsalvageable rusty old one. Checked it on the pedal itself to verify proper fit and then welded her into place at the same location as the original.

          20180124171756.jpg

          Between school and work lately it has been hard to get over to the shop and get anything done. Hoping to get a break this weekend and crank out a few things.

          Things up next on the agenda include...

          1. Get the holes for the alignment cams on the rear sub frame opened up to the same shape as the brackets installed.
          2. There are three more small holes ate through by rust that need to be cut out and welded.
          3. Once the above two are completed, POR-15 everything.
          4. Work on getting the seal out of the rack
          5. Start working on getting the carpet cleaned up.
          6. Make up new brake and fuel hard lines to be installed as well as ordering the brackets which I seemed to have forgotten about getting on the last order.
          7. Continue to work on getting the seal out of the rack
          8. Begin working on cleaning up the gas tank.
          9. Throw steering rack away and buy a re manufactured one like I should have in the first place instead of fucking around with this one.
          1 Reply Last reply
          2
          • B
            B
            B C
            wrote on last edited by
            #149

            I wasnt aware some of those reinforcements existed, I only have a few of those. What is your spring and damper situation?

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • AsparagusMikeA
              AsparagusMikeA
              AsparagusMike
              wrote on last edited by
              #150

              Snap said:

              I wasnt aware some of those reinforcements existed, I only have a few of those. What is your spring and damper situation?

              Some of it may a bit overkill, whatever. I'm running BC racing coilovers, spring rates are 6k in the front and 10k in the back (Stiffness is pretty close to the same of what H&R race springs would be).

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • GunMetalGreyG
                GunMetalGreyG
                GunMetalGrey
                wrote on last edited by
                #151

                Did you form or purchase the plate that is welded in the open area of the rear trailing arm?
                I've been wanting to do something similar as a "skid plate" for the lifted car lol.

                ...

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • KaiserRollsK
                  KaiserRollsK
                  KaiserRolls
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #152

                  GunMetalGrey said:

                  Did you form or purchase the plate that is welded in the open area of the rear trailing arm?
                  I've been wanting to do something similar as a "skid plate" for the lifted car lol.

                  Garagistic makes them

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                  • AsparagusMikeA
                    AsparagusMikeA
                    AsparagusMike
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #153

                    I'm sure a lot of you guys have heard of or are familiar with the whole rx7 caliper bbk for the e30, whats ur opinions on it? Any experiences with the setup?

                    1 Reply Last reply
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                    • KaiserRollsK
                      KaiserRollsK
                      KaiserRolls
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #154

                      AsparagusMike said:

                      I'm sure a lot of you guys have heard of or are familiar with the whole rx7 caliper bbk for the e30, whats ur opinions on it? Any experiences with the setup?

                      I run brembo blanks, stock calipers, good pads and fluid, stainless lines, etc - I have yet to find myself needing more brake for regular driving and for autocross.

                      What are your plans for the car?

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      1
                      • AsparagusMikeA
                        AsparagusMikeA
                        AsparagusMike
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #155

                        KaiserRolls said:

                        What are your plans for the car?

                        Well hopefully find my way into doing some auto-x/track events as well as enjoying it occasionally on the weekends driving around to meets and what not. On what I've read up and researched, people that have done the conversion say that when tracking the car the brakes are quite a bit better over the stock calipers with the same pads and the longevity of the pad life increases substantially. Also, the conversion itself is so so simple and inexpensive that I almost feel its worth giving it a try.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • m42b32M
                          m42b32M
                          m42b32
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #156

                          The biggest downside to the rx7 brakes is that you are then stuck with using specially machined rotors, which isn't a big deal if you have spares on hand, but you can't overnight something off the shelf if you ever need one in a pinch and they're going to be generally more expensive. If you're tracking the car the bigger brakes will deal with heat better, but as long as you can lock up your tires (which you can on stock brakes), bigger brakes won't necessarily stop you any sooner than stock rotors and good pads.

                          1991 318is, 1991 318i, 2022 Bronco

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          1
                          • EarlE
                            EarlE
                            Earl
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #157

                            I thought you run corrado rotors?

                            museum sig 2earl.jpg

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                            • GunMetalGreyG
                              GunMetalGreyG
                              GunMetalGrey
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #158

                              ^ Yeah, with the center-bore opened up 1mm. 
                              I had built a set of them, but they didn't fit under my wheels so I sold em. 

                              A friend had them on his car and seemed to have serious lock up "issues", like his modulation was negatively affected. 

                              A good high carbon rotor and good pads had always treated me very well. (Centric rotors(stoptech) and Hawk/EBC pads)

                              ...

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • B
                                B
                                Boris3
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #159

                                AsparagusMike said:

                                Well hopefully find my way into doing some auto-x/track events as well as enjoying it occasionally on the weekends driving around to meets and what not. On what I've read up and researched, people that have done the conversion say that when tracking the car the brakes are quite a bit better over the stock calipers with the same pads and the longevity of the pad life increases substantially. Also, the conversion itself is so so simple and inexpensive that I almost feel its worth giving it a try.

                                Maybe try the autox/track events first with the car to see if you need the upgrade? You won't for street driving and unlikely for parking lot autox. Once you get more comfortable with the car and learn how to be faster with it on the track you might. For an e30 the combination of brake lines and hoses in good shape, stock blanks, high temp fluid (ATE, Motul) and brakes properly bled, race pads (PFC 08/11, Hawks HT-10 or DTC 60/70), sticky tires, and proper braking technique go a long way. With the above the only stopping issues on track I've had are when I've overcooked a corner by going in way too deep with too much speed before braking, or when a car in front of me dumped fluids/oil.

                                1990 325i racecar (ITS, former Spec E30); 2004 330i ZHP

                                1 Reply Last reply
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                                • AsparagusMikeA
                                  AsparagusMikeA
                                  AsparagusMike
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #160

                                  Alright, for now I'll stick with the e30 calipers, invest in better pads and rotors, and upgrade later if needed. I am considering of still switching over to a master cylinder from a e32 750i as it is said to have a stiffer feel from the pedal.

                                  So, originally I had planned to rebuild my own calipers but now that I look at what it costs to buy a reman'd one, I might as well go that route. Is there any reason I should switch over to the ate calipers vs. sticking with the girling? I understand that with the brass bushings they are suppose to have a better feel... any experiences with those as well?

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • B
                                    B
                                    B C
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #161

                                    The master cylinders and calipers are paired together. You can mix and match, but your mechanical advantage may not be what its supposed to be. There is no reason to switch to the ATE and brass slide bushings in my opinion. this is a good resource if you havent already come across it

                                    http://www.massivebrakes.com/

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    1
                                    • KaiserRollsK
                                      KaiserRollsK
                                      KaiserRolls
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #162

                                      If you go with brass, keep up with cleaning them so they don’t bind.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      1
                                      • P_RoloffP
                                        P_RoloffP
                                        P_Roloff
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #163

                                        Can’t comment on the ATE calipers, but I bought rebuilt rear girling calipers from centric last year after snapping a bleed screw and I have nothing bad to say about them, they seem to be pretty good value for the money. If you care about how they look, make sure to get paint on them ASAP, they start to get surface rust pretty quickly.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • B
                                          B
                                          Boris3
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #164

                                          Snap said:

                                          The master cylinders and calipers are paired together. You can mix and match, but your mechanical advantage may not be what its supposed to be. There is no reason to switch to the ATE and brass slide bushings in my opinion. this is a good resource if you havent already come across it

                                          http://www.massivebrakes.com/

                                          There was a buzz for a while in the E30 racing community about switching from the Girling fronts to the ATE fronts with the brass bushings but this is low on the mod scale say compared to brake ducting kits. The advantage was supposedly better braking due to even pad wear throughout the life of the pad rather than the tapering which can happen with the Girling's rubber bushings in heavy track use.  Not really worth the cost or the additional maintenance like KaiserRolls noted. Like Snap said put your money elsewhere. Good indication of current interest is that there's a guy on R3V that's been trying to sell the ATE caliper/bushing combo for over a year with multiple price drops and no takers. 

                                          Rebuild kits for calipers are cheap and the rebuild process is not hard if all the metal bits are in good shape, no stuck broken bleeders etc. Like P_Roloff I've also had good luck with remanufactured Centric rear calipers.  I got my rebuilt rear ATEs from ECS Tuning.

                                          1990 325i racecar (ITS, former Spec E30); 2004 330i ZHP

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