Helmut the e21
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A while back Helmut was sporting a stock m10 with the turbo big enough to disintegrate that poor motor. After two years of trashing this setup my turbo manifold decided to crack every weld and reject the turbo flange.
I decided to get rid of the m10 and switch to more modern unit. I acquired the early m42 with the plan to boost it. Stock 1.8 is nice if you like it to spool at 5k rpm.
Since I got family in Poland, and Poland is Europe's junkyard, there are plenty of e36,e34 and e39 m47 diesels sold for parts. I found two diesel cranks and have them shipped to the States.
With M47 crank and enough bore I will have close to 2.1L. It should spool nicely especially with some efr (if budget allows)
To use it in m42 the crank nose has to be turned to match the m42 chain sprocket ID. Also additional keyway needs to be cut. M47s use same bearings as m42/m52s. I plan to use the 360 thrust bearing. Question: What is your opinion on the 360 degree oiling grooves for high (er) rev applications (8-8.5k rpm)?
With power goals that I got in my mind the whole stock drivetrain was not up to the task.
I had the e28 subframe modded to fit e21 from my previous project. I had to decide what to do with the front end.
There were two options: e21 front with e12 hubs to make it 5x120 or the more entertaining way using the whole e36 front end.
Front Subframe
I roughly chopped 3" of the middle of the front e36 subframe and welded it back together. I had to modify frme rails in order to bolt the new subframe in.
Stock vs e36
E36 modified subframe by w grynccut
E36 modified subframe by w grync,Jig
E36 modified subframe by w grync, weld the crap out of it
E36 modified subframe by w grync,Frame rails
I used panzer angles and tube to make it bombproof. I guess anything over 1/8" is overkill but oh well.
Control arm Mounts
I decided to use the wider e46 arms to match the increased rear track width. SLR adjustable lollipops were used to center the wheel.
E46 arms and lollipop mount by w grync,I set the arms parallel to the subframe for the neutral anti-dive. I can always add some spacers under lollipop mounts to increase anti-dive
Control arm angles by w grync,Trailing Arms
The rear end is as problematic as the front. to fit wider wheels i needed to move shock pickup points almost 2" in. Shock mounts are from https://www.aa-mfg.com/
Trilingarm by w grync,Brakes:
Stock e46 330i up front and e32 rears.
Suspension:
Koni race single adjustables. Front and rear e28 swaybars. Not sure about the spring rates.
I modded the front e36 strut housings. I chopped the tops and welded volvo 740 threaded top portion of the strut tube.
Progress might be slow but I hope to build the motor over the summer and maybe even have it on the road this year.
pe that it will
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I love your ingenuity and fearlessness.
Have you ever considered a K20/K24 swap?
I did. I just dont like 12” overhang on the swap flywheels. I would have to sleeve the block to be reliable at the power levels that i want to run. Aftermarket is much better tho and there will be a good reliable suply of engines for the next 20 years.
I’ll run m42 for now and when i pop it i might switch to k24 or something else.
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I pulled one side rear fender and will start working on the other side.
I cut the inner fender and pulled until it started to dent the outer then i backed up a bit. I welded piece of sheet metal to the inner to fill the gap. I will prime with epoxy and seam sea the shit out of it.
I got my new Mig setup its the everlast i-mig200e. I have only experience with some crappy 60 amp mig and inverter tig machine. So far i am impressed with that new mig.
I migged the front lollipop mounts together. And will weld them to the frame rails later this week.
I had to notch the rear frame rail to clear the triling arm.
Trailing arms with the new shock mounts tacked in.
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Damn its been almost two months since the last update.
i got distracted building my welding/shop table. 1/4" top 2x3x1/8" tube. Nice and solid. Good enough for some light duty welding
Helmut and welding table by w grync, on Flickr
Helmut and welding table by w grync, on FlickrI pulled the second fender, finished front coilovers and welded the lolipop mounts. i put some contours in and my car looks like crap. Waaaaaay too big
Untitled by w grync, on FlickrI am changing plans and will roll on 15x7s with some skinny 205s this season (if it ever comes out of the garage this season).
Since my car is wider front and back by roughly 30mm per side the standard e21 offsets do not work anymore. and finding high offset 8-9" wheels with 5x120 pattern is almost impossible. I could build some splits but it would probably cost more than my car is worth.
I got set of these for $40. Just need some paint. 15x7et20
Untitled by w grync, on FlickrOh and i just ordered a nice an light flywheel (6-7lbs) to accept my 7.25" tilton clutch. I suspect some terrible clutch engagement characteristics. It will be chirp the tires or stall and nothing in between.
Lastly i had to shorten e36 tie rods to get the toe in check.
I cut, welded and added some sleeves to prevent shopping cart mode in the future.
Helmut and welding table by w grync, on Flickr -
Another month and another update. I refinished style 7s and wrapped em with some cheapo toyos 195/45/15s.
This thing sits low
Good thing is I plan to run some 16s which will be 1-1.5" taller. Either way there are no chances to run the 3" exhaust under the subframe. There is not much space for the 3" over he subframe either. I suspect some side exits in the future.
I had to redo the whole rear subframe because I messed up the angles of the diff. Diff cover was too close to the floor. Fortunately I had e21 and e28 subframes lying around. Quick chop and weld and now its good to go with the diff sitting at much better angle.
I also test fitted the m42. It is a rear sump setup and I will definitely need to chop some oil pan off to get the head to clear the firewall.
I will most likely have to vert mount it if I will ever want to turbo it. Also it is pushed so far back that the first exhaust runner is uncomfortably close to the firewall and strut tower/inner fender and slanted situation is not helping at all. Also a lollpop mount and arm might be a bit in the way of the downpipe.
I got my Australian engineered, made in Taiwan chromoly flywheel from Rama. This thing is so light that I thought that I got an empty box.
Flywheel weighs 5.5lbs and flywheel/tilton 7.25" twin is right at 13.5lbs. Drivability will suck big time.
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I figured out my swaybar situation. I got a set of e30 ST bars 22/19mm front fits pretty good. I will link the front to the strut housings just like e36m3.
I started chopping the oil pan and should weld something up this or next week.
I got a new torch: ck tl26 I might need the whole 200 amps to do 1/4” aluminum for the oil pan. The torch that came with my thermal arc is ok but the cables are way to heavy and stiff. New ck feels much better. Its still air cooled. I might get the water cooler at some point.
I also ordered the ECU. It is Maxx ECU race unit. https://www.maxxecu.com/products/race
It has everything that I will need and more.
What is your opinion on the lcd dashes? I would like to run a dash instead of bazillion of gauges. I would like to have the ability to see timing, e85 concentration in addition to boost, o2, oil pressure and whatever else I might need at the moment. Having al the information in one area also helps. You can also program whatever alarms you need and it will pull everything from ECU via can
I like the aim dashes but the only option to have 10" dash is to go with their PDM unit. Haltech is not bad, there are couple other that are not bad but not sure about the support. ECU mater ADU is very nice but quite expensive.
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Not sure how much help this will be. But I found this today while browsing around bimmerpost looking at digital gauge options for my e90. No clue how good they are and the website has a really scammy name. But it claims to mate up to the maxx ecu.https://customdigitalgauges.com/products/race-cluster
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Not sure how much help this will be. But I found this today while browsing around bimmerpost looking at digital gauge options for my e90. No clue how good they are and the website has a really scammy name. But it claims to mate up to the maxx ecu.https://customdigitalgauges.com/products/race-cluster
I’ve seen it before. Their universal dash that talks to maxx ecu does not have bmw graphics but i am sure they could load it.
I am not sure about the support tho.I like aim’s flexibiity with CAN. You can define your own can protocols. Also aim has multiple pages that can be swapped. What i dont like about most dashes is that you cant use your own graphics . Most of em have predefined graphics and will allow only changes to some parts of the graphic and maybe a font size and color.
Maxx Ecu has built in bluetooth and they have app for apple and android. I dont know how responsive the gauges run on a tablet would be.
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Wheels turned out great, what paint did you use? I wish the style 7’s came in 16” as well.
Would run these on my car if they did.
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Wheels turned out great, what paint did you use? I wish the style 7’s came in 16” as well.
Duplicolor cheapo laquer from Oraily it comes in quart size cans.
I sprayed that with smaller touchup gun 1.0 tip. Just stirred it and shot it.
i was too cheap to buy a clear to go with it so i followed with rattlecan clear. I dont expect it to last.I will run em just for one season to see if i havent screwd something up with suspension. If the car survives first season i will get some 16s with some beefier tires.
Would run these on my car if they did.
I would love to have em in 16x7 and 16x8 or even 8/9”.
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I did some sway bar fitting tonight.
Where do i connect the links?Control arm as in e30 or strut tubes as in e36m3? Any pros or cones to either setup?
id go for strut tube. I’ve ran both setups. When I was setup to control arm, I would bend the adjustable endlinks, they would bind, the bar wasn’t in a great position either because the adjustable endlinks were so short.
Currently I’m mounted to strut tube, way more adjustment to get the bar in a better spot, links don’t bind, etc
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Thank you sir.
id go for strut tube.....,
I whipped front bar mount today. Temporarily mounted the bar and the control arm link is a no go. Its too short and at weird angle. I will link it to the strut tubes.
I also did one of the rear diff mounts and started to fit the rear bar. Looks like the rear will fit quite nicely.
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So i water tested it and found 3 pinholes. Welded em shut and no more leaks. I got the drain plug bung and 10AN for turbo drain ordered will weld em next. Also the oil pickup will need some slight chopping and welding to fit correctly.
Do you think I should baffle the pan since there is no sump for the oil pickup?
Don't mind the welds, looks like shit but will hold. For my excuse last time I welded aluminum was 2 or 3 years ago.
I ordered poly rear sway bar bushings and mounts and stock diff bushings. I should have the suspension ready for paint sometime next week.
I might even drop the motor in this month.
Depending how bad the exhaust situation is going to be I might skip the headers and whole NA nonsense and go for turbo manifold right away. Stock m42 should be able to put 200-250 without much problem.
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I would think baffles are a good idea
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