Alpine E30 Convertible Running Log
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Recently rolled past 201,000 miles. I haven’t been driving this as much as I should, but I haven’t been keeping it at my apartment and time to drive it is not as available as I’d like.
About a month ago I installed the lowering springs and sport shocks I picked up from @timmer at the e30 picnic (thanks again!), and I’m really digging the new height and ride.
Definitely firm, but not overly harsh or bouncy and very go-kart like. It’s a blast and so responsive, but I’ve been struggling with how low the oil pan now sits (truthfully, most of the reason I haven’t driven it much) so I decided to grab a skid plate from HIKFab thru bimmerworld along with a muffler hanger kit and some fresh front wheel bearings. If anyone here is capable with a welder and would be willing to install the skidplate for me, I would happily compensate you for it.
All that stuff will go on in a few weeks, and I’ll be (hopefully) back and ready to go for peak driving season. Then, it’ll be back apart for a new fuel tank, manual trans swap, diff swap, and subframe bushing replacement this winter.
Speaking of, if anyone has a lead on garage space or a decent storage facility that is preferably in the greater MKE area, let me know. I can make Madison work too, but the closer to Pewaukee the better. Heated and with electric would be a plus, but not necessary. Would rent year round and use for storage and wrenching.
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For oil pan protection I went down the route of:
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For oil pan protection I went down the route of:
I’ve always wanted to try an X-brace to see if it would tighten up the car a little bit, maybe I’ll get one after the skidplate is installed and see if it fits. Did you notice a difference? If they won’t work together, I might try my hand a fabricating my own brace around the plate.
Right now the oil pan protection is a higher priority, with how much driving I do on broken pavement and unpredictable surfaces I need to have that peace of mind. I wince every time I drive over a large pavement heave or even a slightly protruding manhole cover now, and that sucks. I don’t want to have to care as much and just drive the damn thing.
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I’ve always wanted to try an X-brace to see if it would tighten up the car a little bit, maybe I’ll get one after the skidplate is installed and see if it fits. Did you notice a difference? If they won’t work together, I might try my hand a fabricating my own brace around the plate.
Right now the oil pan protection is a higher priority, with how much driving I do on broken pavement and unpredictable surfaces I need to have that peace of mind. I wince every time I drive over a large pavement heave or even a slightly protruding manhole cover now, and that sucks. I don’t want to have to care as much and just drive the damn thing.
My X brace was installed prior to my ownership so I havnt really run without coilovers, x brace and strut tower brace. From my understanding the e30 verts are known to be much more flexible and I dont feel that way about my car...if that helps.
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New ride height looks perfect!
Speaking of, if anyone has a lead on garage space or a decent storage facility that is preferably in the greater MKE area, let me know. I can make Madison work too, but the closer to Pewaukee the better. Heated and with electric would be a plus, but not necessary. Would rent year round and use for storage and wrenching.
Speaking from experience, the farter away from the city you can be the better. You'll find much bigger options for a lot less money if you can be out of the Milwaukee metro area. Small shop spaces like two car garages and such where wrenching is allowed are out there but it takes some searching. I found all three of my rental garages through craigslist, so that or marketplace is probably the best bet (if you can wade through all the crap on there).
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Pretty sure this car ended the season with around 204,000 miles, had the electric fan fail in October so it got parked for the most part after that. Got a lot of good use out of it though, especially once @Jdesign lent me his wind deflector. IMO, it’s a must have for vert owners, it feels similar to driving a regular car with the sunroof down when it’s installed, it’s amazing.
Anywho, this car is getting a bit of an overhaul this winter. Subframe is already almost out to get poly bushings installed, I picked up a 3.73 LSD from @rampelsauce this fall so that’s going in, also with a fresh poly bushing. RTAB’s were replaced a few years ago with the rear wheel bearings, so I’ll be leaving those. By the spring all of the major bushings in the car will have been replaced, really excited for that.
Also on the list is a new fuel tank, new electric fan, timing belt and water pump service, and a smoke test to finally chase some pesky vacuum leaks. Oh, and a manual swap
if anyone has a full swap kit for a m20 or parts for a swap, let me know. The current plan is to get it back together and down to NC for the vintage in May, so I have my work cut out for me. -
https://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi
looks like the closest trans is in Iowa. If it really is out of a 52k mi car id consider that being worth the $850 price tag… not many listed right now and they’re all that expensive. Idk what people are asking for swap kits these days but it used to be $800 for everything all day long.
I think I told you I took inventory of the vins at Gibson’s, I’ll go throw those in the junk yard thread. I know there was 1 or two e30’s this past fall. Honestly I would just find a trans, pedal box and driveshaft and order everything else new. Maybe a good used flywheel too but I wouldn’t bother with used clutch hydraulics.
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@P_Roloff I will have the entire pedal assembly from my car in the next few days once I finish up my pedal swap. Its out of the car already, but I want to make sure everything works before I sell it all off.
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 -
https://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi
looks like the closest trans is in Iowa. If it really is out of a 52k mi car id consider that being worth the $850 price tag… not many listed right now and they’re all that expensive. Idk what people are asking for swap kits these days but it used to be $800 for everything all day long.
I think I told you I took inventory of the vins at Gibson’s, I’ll go throw those in the junk yard thread. I know there was 1 or two e30’s this past fall. Honestly I would just find a trans, pedal box and driveshaft and order everything else new. Maybe a good used flywheel too but I wouldn’t bother with used clutch hydraulics.
That was the plan, no sense in putting anything but new hydraulics and clutch components in there. I was going to find a stock single mass and get it resurfaced/lightened, and then get a used driveshaft, trans, pedal box and trans brace. You’re telling me, I found one in Waukesha for altogether too much money and one in Detroit for a more reasonable price. Definitely let me know the VIN’s for the cars at Gibson’s, might get lucky there.
@P_Roloff I will have the entire pedal assembly from my car in the next few days once I finish up my pedal swap. Its out of the car already, but I want to make sure everything works before I sell it all off.
Noted, I’m seeing that airbag and non airbag pedalboxes are pretty different but if anyone here can confirm that the clutch pedal swaps over, I might be game.
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I really suck at taking photos…
Subframe is completely removed from the car as of today. Getting the aluminum sleeves of the bushings out of the body was a struggle, the drivers side wouldn’t budge using the standard lag bolt and 1/2” rod method, and I ended up snapping the top section of the sleeve off inside the bore in the body. 5 minutes with the trusty Milwaukee die grinder and the broken piece was out, and the other sleeve eventually popped loose after driving in the lag bolt and hitting the bolt head side to side until it released from the bore. Had a heck of a time getting the subframe down off of the driveshaft as well, but it’s done, and now the real fun can start!
I sourced a full manual swap kit already, hoping to get it within the month as the guy I’m buying from has yet to remove it from the parts car. I’ll be getting the stock single mass lightened and resurfaced before install, does anyone have firsthand experience with a good target weight and local shops to have the work done at?
Otherwise, next items on the list are installing the new subframe bushings and diff, pulling the driveshaft, exhaust, and fuel tank, and then the trans can come out. Hoping to get to that later this week or this weekend, we’ll see how things go. I’m generally just excited to be making progress, my goal is to be finished in early April so I have a solid month to shake the car down before heading to NC in late May.
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I had an m20 flywheel lightened, resurfaced, and balanced by C&S in Butler.
it wasnt cheap, but machining the ring off the back of the flywheel gets you somewhere close to 13 lb.
You will have gear rattle in neutral but it revs nice
Good to know. Is this the infamous getrag rattle I always hear about? It’s just an annoying noise and not indicative of anything worse correct?
@MattY and I had the same experience on the calypso coupe. Lag bolt trick worked on one side and had to cut out another.
I was expecting worse to be honest. After I broke the first one I figured the second would be the same regardless of strategy so I just whacked the lag bolt back and forth underneath to save time and it just popped out clean. I was also surprised at how little time it took to get the busted aluminum piece out, other people must’ve been using chisels and drills or something. A couple burr bits was all it took for me.
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Good to know. Is this the infamous getrag rattle I always hear about? It’s just an annoying noise and not indicative of anything worse correct?
yes, you will get gear rattle in any gearbox when you have a lightweight single mass flywheel. It is an inevitability. Multiplate clutches make their own weird noises. Manual transmissions always have and always will be just a little bit clunky in certain conditions. I was always curious to see if Redline shockproof oil would cushion the gears and reduce the noise. Ultimately its the same reason why it’s stupid to run a solid flex disk or “guibo” which the entire damn world spells incorrectly and I will never forgive them. Lets all agree to call it a flex disk and never say anything that rhymes with guido.
Engine power output is in pulses and the deceleration between pulses opens up the gear lash. This is less prominent with a heavier flywheel as there is less deceleration between pulses. It’s happening in every gearbox, just less noticable/audible. The dual mass flywheel eliminates this.
Embrace the fact that its manual. Dont expect perfection. Install a really good shifter, freshen up everything you can, and make the experience of rowing gears as magical as it can be.
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Slow progress is still progress! Work has been nuts for me lately, but I found some time today to get out to do some work on the car. Managed to get the diff disconnected from the subframe (confirming in the process that the existing diff is FUDGED), and got the old subframe bushings out and the new poly ones in. I knew the diff had a shot I out bearing, but upon turning the output flanges it appears that the gears or bearings in the carrier are roached, it’s super chunky and has a lot of resistance to movement. Kinda curious how much fluid is actually left in it, but not looking forward to the smell when I find out. Should make a good welded diff at any rate. Old crusty stuff:
New nice stuff (including the 3.73 LSD I bought from @rampelsauce:
Thanks to @YoungCR, I had the correct tools for the job, the right puller made this pretty pain-free. I used a torch to heat up the bushings from the outside and just applied force with the pusher until they popped out. One bushing was pretty cracked and deteriorated but stayed in one piece, while the other was completely torn in two. The new bushings should make a huge difference after seeing that, and thank goodness for the easy install of poly!
I can’t remember if I updated here, but I picked up a full manual swap a few weeks ago from a local guy. I ended up paying more than I thought it was all worth especially considering condition, but I really want to get this back on the road quickly so sacrificed had to be made. I discovered however that the driveshaft u-joints were borked after I got home that night, and thankfully after some coaxing the seller gave me a refund on that (sold it all to me as good-condition, working, no issues with anything for a price that reflected it, so I was I think justifiably a little upset about it). So I’m still looking for a good g260 manual driveshaft if anyone has one laying around. And before anyone asks, yes, I’m planning to reseal the G260 before installing. Seller claimed that it shifted well and didn’t suffer from any grinding or gear pop-outs, so fingers crossed that’s actually the case.
Other random news: scored a console with a Husco armrest for $10 the other night along with some sweet e34 parts, excited about that! It needs the cover replaced but I believe replacements can be sourced; otherwise, I have family that does upholstery so I could potentially go that route too. (E34 parts were rear headrests and a power rear sunshade if anyone cares)
Next on the list: Drop the exhaust and driveshaft, then pull the fuel tank and replace. Then, it’ll be on to removing the trans and starting to put things back together.
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Edit: ignore me on the diff studs I see them now lol
Any plans to replace the clutches in the diff while it’s out?
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Edit: ignore me on the diff studs I see them now lol
Any plans to replace the clutches in the diff while it’s out?
No plans as of right now. I plan to check breakaway torque while it’s out, and if it’s poor I’ll drop it and rebuild it later. I truthfully bought it more for the ratio and overall condition, and I really don’t need to spend more time/money on it right now when there’s so much else to get back together. Now that all the fasteners are fresh it should be relatively easy to drop if needed.
Still looking for a good used driveshaft for this swap (hint hint nudge nudge, if any of you hoarders have one let me know), and stumbled upon this:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/bmw,1990,325i,2.5l+l6,1011700,drivetrain,drive+shaft,2308
Just slightly more expensive than the rebuild services for a stock driveshaft, and from a little digging they appear to have serviceable u-joints as well. I’m almost thinking I should just grab this and be done with it, any thoughts?
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If it has serviceable unjoints and is less than a rebuild, the cost over a used driveshaft seems worth the investment to me if you can swing it now. Rebuilds will be far cheaper.
also forgot to reply sooner but glad the bushing job wasn’t too much of a pain! Really surprised one came out in one piece for you.
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If it has serviceable unjoints and is less than a rebuild, the cost over a used driveshaft seems worth the investment to me if you can swing it now. Rebuilds will be far cheaper.
also forgot to reply sooner but glad the bushing job wasn’t too much of a pain! Really surprised one came out in one piece for you.
That’s my thought. I think it’d just be worth not having to worry about them for a long time, even finding a used one in any condition right now is tough.
Yeah, it went super smooth! Glad I got the practice run with the e30 bushings outside the car, I think this spring I’ll be doing the e34 ones but potentially leaving the subframe in the car to do it. I’m a bit torn, I’m not sure if I want to pull the whole subframe and do RTAB’s at the same time. I’ll already have the struts off as well… decisions, decisions.
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The first of the parts are showing up! Still need to place my order with FCP for the bulk of the manual transmission items (clutch, master, slave, etc.) but ordered my DSSR and selector today joint from Ireland engineering, driveshaft, clutch pivot pin and fuel tank from Rockauto, trans mounts from AKG, and shifter stuff from McMaster. Shooting to fab that up this weekend with the help of @m42b32’s excellent write up, I drove his car last year and fell in love with the shifter enough that I had to have my own. Also, the price of OEM shift levers seems to have increased significantly, and I see no reason to spend more for an inferior end result.
Anywho, the fuel tank showed up today, and I thought I would give my initial impressions since I really haven’t seen much info online about the tank I bought. If anyone has looked recently on Rockauto, the Spectra tank that seems to be the first choice is out of stock, with the only available option being from Liland Global. Didn’t have much choice, so bit the bullet.
Packaging was kinda shitty, no bubble wrap or protection but other than a few bent tabs, everything seems to be in one piece. All of the small fittings have foam protectors on them to prevent overspray and clogging of lines, which I thought was a nice touch. Some waviness can be seen in a few spots on the tank but overall it seems to be an okay product for the money. The finish is pretty uniform and seems to be relatively thick and tough, and the metal itself is of reasonable thickness. I will probably POR the seam before I install it to try to eke a little more life out of it, but that’s probably not strictly necessary. My only real gripe so far is some small bits of debris in the tank shown in the images, but it’s nothing the fuel filter won’t take out.
I’ll post another update when I go to install it, and another when it comes time to fill it! Fingers crossed!
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