Nocd

[Elysian]

M3 control arms and bushings are in!

[Exposed]

I came in here looking for cracks and was disappoint.

[Elysian]

At least there's a V8, right?

[Elysian]

Yesterday I picked up the panels needed for plastic bumpers (on the front anyways), as well as the red passenger side fender I want. Going to have a red front bumper and a red fender now

[Elysian]

So not liking the Borg Warner T5 pricing at all, don't consider it worth the asking price considering its many flaws (even in WC trim). Talking with Shadowless, I'm going to go with a 4R70W. Can find them all over for cheap, they can handle tons of power, and a shift kit makes them a hell of a transmission. My truck has the 4R75W, so I'm already a fan.

[Elysian]

Picked up a 4R70W this weekend.



Need to order a shift kit.

[Elysian]

Ready to get started relearning how to weld

[Roadhog]

Think you need to remove it from the box first.

[Elysian]

Picked up the front half of the driveshaft.

[Elysian]

And the brake booster showed up. This is from a Geo Metro:




Much smaller than the stock one, should clear the 302.

[Elysian]

I bought another E30

This one runs and drives though, it's the new swap candidate. It's an 88, has the plastic bumpers. This one is an auto with a 4.10 limited slip diff. Pics from the CL ad:






For $750, I couldn't pass it up. I'll part out the drivetrain when I'm ready, until then I'll drive it.

[Mahjik]

Originally Posted by Elysian

For $750, I couldn't pass it up.

Yes... You could have....

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by Mahjik

Yes... You could have....

Nope.

[Elysian]

Here's the car on the tow home.



It has a vacuum leak that I'm working through. I want to get it running, get it inspected and registered, and drive it for a while. I've never driven an E30, so I want to get a feel for the car. Here's one vacuum leak I found:



The nipple on the left side was disconnected. I've ordered a new intake manifold gasket, fuel injector gaskets, throttle body gasket, etc. Also need to check the brake booster, make sure it's not split or anything.

[Elysian]

Found a nice custom exhaust for the M20 in the red E30 yesterday. Full exhaust, including header, X pipe, and Magnaflow muffler with nice looking tips for $100. The header needs a tiny bit of work as it deformed from heat cycling, but it's nothing I can't fix on my own. It's a nice enough system that I'll actually be able to use it for the V8 swap as well, just chop the headers off it.

[Elysian]

I'm pretty close on the M20 in the new E30, it idles well now, but I think has fuel issues. I'm not really wanting to spend much more on it though, so I may just start working on prepping for the engine swap. It would be nice to drive that car first, but not totally necessary for my goals. I got some argon/CO2 yesterday (after a mix up last week where they gave me an oxygen tank and I didn't realize it until I got home), so I'm ready to start welding. First thing on the welding agenda is to build a welding table.

[OverclockN']

What engine do you plan on swapping in again? Sorry, you're a busy guy and its a big thread.

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by OverclockN'

What engine do you plan on swapping in again? Sorry, you're a busy guy and its a big thread.

302 V8, already have it.

[Elysian]

Here's a video of the M20 running.



It'll die if I press the pedal too quickly, but if I slowly rev it it'll rev up. That's why I'm thinking fuel pressure. I'll know tonight, the gauge is out for delivery. Sorry about the open manifolds, previous owner cut the exhaust off before the cat. There's also something wrong with the tach.

[OverclockN']

Originally Posted by Elysian

302 V8, already have it.

Awesome! A friend of mine recently lost the motor in his e39 540. We've been trying to convince him to do an LS swap, but failing miserably. He just bought another 540 to use for a possible parts car. Will be interesting to see what he does, but that 540 is looking like a surprisingly good buy. He'll likely get another 540 motor to get the original running again.

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by OverclockN'

Awesome! A friend of mine recently lost the motor in his e39 540. We've been trying to convince him to do an LS swap, but failing miserably. He just bought another 540 to use for a possible parts car. Will be interesting to see what he does, but that 540 is looking like a surprisingly good buy. He'll likely get another 540 motor to get the original running again.

He should be doing an LS, at that point it's a no brainer. If I were to do it again I'd have done an LS, and I haven't even put the motor in my car yet. I just don't want to undo what I've already bought, which is everything

[Elysian]

I just bought this camshaft kit:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/c...54-4/overview/

Might go to waste on the current GT40P heads, but gotta plan for the future right? I'll have to figure out what else I'll need to get it working, but might as well start on the engine while I can.

[Elysian]

If the link doesn't work you have to disable viglink, Summit Racing doesn't like it.

[OverclockN']

Looks like an aggressive, big cam. Should be fun!!

I assume you're changing out the springs for the extra lift?

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by OverclockN'

Looks like an aggressive, big cam. Should be fun!!

I assume you're changing out the springs for the extra lift?

The Mountaineer springs are really weak, so I have to change them anyways, which is what drew me towards this cam kit. It pretty much does everything I want in my extended goals. Starting the top end teardown of the 302 tonight!

[Elysian]

Got a lot done on the V8 today And filmed it. Going to put it up on Youtube after I get the cam in.

[OverclockN']

Originally Posted by Elysian

Got a lot done on the V8 today And filmed it. Going to put it up on Youtube after I get the cam in.

With a cam that big, it has to be the "chopping wood" sound. Depends on the overlap I guess, but it could be "making popcorn" too.

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by OverclockN'

With a cam that big, it has to be the "chopping wood" sound. Depends on the overlap I guess, but it could be "making popcorn" too.

Yeah it'll be gnarly I'm going to do a video series on the build, and probably another on the blue BMW. Have no idea if people want to watch my fat ass work on my car, but I'm gonna do it anyways

[Elysian]

Found both head gaskets were blown. Camshaft, rockers, valves, etc look great. Was smelling the smell of blown head gasket in the oil, so decided to pull the heads.







Cylinders still have cross-hatching in them, but I'm not sure what exactly I'm doing now. Going to have to get the heads and block inspected now I suppose.

[Elysian]

Got the heads stripped down and ready to take to the machine shop tomorrow. Will have them checked for flatness.