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1

Member Profiles / Faye: My 1991 318is

« on: November 23, 2012, 08:39:20 PM »

Step one will be getting my garage set up.

I have one light bulb, no work benches, and one outlet. Half of that one outlet has the garage door opener plugged into it too. :rolleyes

There's also no side door to the garage, if I blow a fuse with the door down, I'm stuck inside.

My dad and I were clearing out the wood the PO left in the back and he got bit by a spider. His foot changed color and swelled up for a week. He couldn't get his shoes on for days.

Long story short, my garage sucks.



So, engine ideas...
I feel like it will be cheaper to turbo the thing after repairs rather than trying to do an NA build. I've been talking to this guy about how he got evo pistons in his m42. I don't want to deal with FI though... :/

Any other I4's that can be swapped in easily that make decent power and don't weigh a ton?

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Member Profiles / Faye: My 1991 318is

« on: November 23, 2012, 04:29:51 PM »

Update...

She's been sitting in my garage for a long time.

Long story short, something broke.
I haven't been able to do much with the car since work has been a pain and I've gone back to school.

Can anyone give me any ideas on what to look for before I take the timing chain cover off? How FUBAR'd am I? Is it worth repairing or will the cost of the repairs be to the point where I should just gamble on something else?

At this point, I'm trying to decide what to do.
I wanted to freshen up the body/suspension/wheels etc. before going into the engine. I didn't want to dump a new heart into an old body. I wanted to make a car fit for something great but I had to do it in steps because funds are slow...

Do I do the engine swap/turbo that I was hoping for in a car with old stock suspension?
Do I waste money fixing this problem, get the car straightened out, and then go at the engine again?

ffffuuuuuuu

3

Suspension / Spec e30 Suspension in Street Car?

« on: March 11, 2012, 09:36:12 PM »

I'm looking to redo my suspension and related parts all at once, should I just buy a spec e30 suspension kit or use it as a guideline?

She's not exactly my DD. Only taken out in good weather and on good roads during the summer as well as some autox-ing. I'm looking to do a few HPDE's as well. I'm not concerned if the kit's too "hard core" is what I'm trying to get at.

It seems that there are a few vendors that sell full kits together for less than it would be to buy the parts separately. Also, there would be tons of people running the exact same setup that I am. It would also be an easy way to get an entire setup I'd know would fit and work together and take all the guesswork out.

Is there something I'm missing? It seems like just going the "copy spec e30" rout would be the most obvious but I don't see anyone doing this or suggesting it. Why not?

Any advice for a full setup before I dump my $$ into a bad idea?


EDIT:
I did find one thread with almost no responses on [whisper] another forum[/whisper] and the response was "that setups for e30's with m20's. It wont work with an m42." I can't see how that would make much of a difference... The weight's not that different.

4

Engine + Driveline / Block heater or oil heater for M42?

« on: November 04, 2011, 05:39:45 PM »

I've been looking into getting one of those heaters you just stick to the bottom of the oil pan to warm up the oil somewhat. :/
Figured I'd set it on a timer an hour or so before I have to leave for work..

http://www.padheaters.com/
what I'm talking about^^

5

Off-topic discussion / What was your first car?

« on: July 08, 2011, 11:21:40 PM »

My first car was an old black Chrysler Concorde I affectionately named Lulu. <3
Nothing special but my friends and I did prove that it would make it to 130 mph.

6

Member Profiles / Faye: My 1991 318is

« on: July 08, 2011, 10:20:19 PM »

Welcome to the 'club.  Looks like you picked yourself up a nice little car.  Alpine white is a favorite of mine, looks really nice on BMWs.

Definitely ditch the PS.  I pulled mine and it's been great ever since.  These cars are so well balanced it matters very little.  An e36 rack at the same time is a great upgrade.

Not sure about the A/C.  Might be a bad clutch, relay or control unit.  Check R3v for that, they have a lot more traffic than we do.  You are in an elite; most of us have discharged systems (or they've been deleted).

The most loved combo on our cars is Bilstein Sport/H&R Sport.  Eibach, Ireland Engineering, Koni, etc all have excellent hardware as well.  BMW OEM MTech (Sachs) is a great compromise as well.

Looks like the PO painted the front & rear valences; it's just a personal preference with me, but I've seen some really nice Alpine White e30s that went the other way...the whole car is body-color matched.  Looks stunning when it's done right with an iS lip, wheel effects and some side skirts.

Alpine White's my favorite too. One of the reasons it took me so long to find the car I wanted. The body had to be clean, it had to be a 318, it had to be an is, and it had to be white. Worth the wait.

I'm also looking at e36 racks in the area. Waiting for a few to fall into my price range. I'll probably do it with the suspension further down the road and just pull the PS stuff for now.

I did see that the valences were painted. Not what I wanted but I figured I'd live with it. I'll probably do the Volvo lip thing if one turns up at the local salvage yard.

Welcome!
I have nothing to add regarding Trouble Shooting. I just wanted to say...
Nice Vehicle. Certainly, looks to deserve even an Engine.

 What is the interior wear like?  Photos?

Too late for better pictures tonight. I just took those on my way back from the DMV when I registered her. A graveyard was the only empty lot I found. haha. I didn't even think about the interior. It's clean everywhere but the drivers seat. :/ I've a few of those I'm looking at as well but it's not a high priority right now since the seat's still ~70% good

7

Member Profiles / Faye: My 1991 318is

« on: July 07, 2011, 10:27:21 PM »

After a very long time of looking around for another e30 to replace the one I broke back in '06 I finally found one.

Mileage in the 230k range but runs like a dream. No hot start problems, stumbling, or weird noises. When I got it I was planning on picking up a new DD but she's too clean and I decided to make her my weekend/project car instead. Meaning I can do more impractical things than I would have otherwise...

The PO maintained the car very well. Even took care of the mess under the intake for me.

I have lots of big plans for her but I'll probably be too busy with actual responsibilities to every see them fulfilled.

Here's what I'm looking to do; I'll mark them off as I complete my goals.

-Power Steering
It's leaking all over my garage floor now. I'll probably just do a PS delete and be done with it. I've run lots of cars without it and I'm sure this'll be fine too

-AC
The air conditioning pump works, holds a charge and everything. It's just not switching on. I haven't looked at it at all yet. Could just be a fuse or something for all I know.

-Wheels and Tires
I'd like some more "enthusiast oriented" shoes on rather than what I'm kickin' now.
Anyone have recommendations? Won't see a ton of miles a year and no snow or rain or anything. I'm just looking for something fairly cheap but still grippy.

-Suspension etc.
New suspension on there now but I'd like something with a bit more pep. I wont' be doing anything seriously competitive but some for fun HPDE's, track days, or autox's here and there are planned.

-Engine
I love high revving little engines. I just do. I have no plans for a big 6 swap. I'd like to do an NA build to get a few more ponies loose and to feel a little more comfortable when I wring her out near the top. If funds permit, I'd like to do a turbo build. There are a few stations nearby that sell E85 fuel. I'm going to start doing serious research on high compression/E85 turbo builds. If I do anything with it at all it will just be to see if I can. I'm more interested in having fun than putting down impressive numbers.

That's all for now. Work starts this weekend. I'll also be continuously adding to my to do list.