BMW e21 315 with m42 turbo 240 Hp

[Johie]

Hello,
 
wanted to share my project with you on this site because i am always reading and not posting:nono
 
for my profesion i am product engineer, and i do a lot of mechanic work on performance cars and old bmw's. 2 different things haha.
 
i fell in love with a stock bmw 315 1983
 
opalgrun metallic
15 inch mim wheels with 195 40 15
lowering springs
1500 carb engine
4 gear box
tacho with rpm! original?
 
i had a very nice e36 318is with turbo

 
 
8.5 :1 (compression with evo pistons)
but the engine broke down and i didnt want to spend more money om my cars so i stopped investing. i sold the e36 in parts, the only thing what was left was the broken engine with turbo. as i said i didnt wanted to invest any more money so i builded a new stock engine wich was also laying around in my garage.
 
stock engine compression 1:10 (max boost = 0,6 - 0,7 bar approximatetly more than 200 hp)
port and polished head
MLS gasket(used for the 4th time )
ARP head bols
ARP conrod bolts
e30 oil pan
TD-05 turbo
440cc injectoren
forge intercooler
standalone management
the stock e21 1500 started to burn oil a lot and i had to give full throttle to go with the traffic with my 70 hp, so i decided to swap the engine, altough i didnt now how i would fit and i wanted to do the suspension and brakes first.
i am very busy with school and working but on a crazy evening i decided to pull the engine out in the mechanic shop i work in. i pushed the stopwatch and pulled the engine out in 90 minutes.
 
i fitted the m42 and is sits very good.
 
the next evening i welded the mounts and on a saturday i fitted a e36 318is drive axle and completed the cooling,wiring etc (i have done more bmw project so i can wrench on BMW blindfolded)
i pulled a VW transporter midmuffler out of the old iron bucket bought a steel exhaust pipe and welded the exhaust.
Because i wanted it to be finisched and driveable fast i didnt pay a lot of attention to detail so is still have to clean up the wiring and intercooling tubing etc, but hey it drives!
 
removed the bbs and front bumper to see how it looks, you can also see my intercooler, the front bumper is back on the car,
 
 
last week i had some time to dyno it. 236 HP and 290 Nm torgue! how much fun is that! AFR are good now, and delayed the ignition a little.
 
as you can see, the chrome bumper is back, and it is standing on some steel 13 inch wheels. i also recieved my new front shock aborbers.
video
 
http://youtu.be/1j9d5nEpO2s
 
 
i have a lot of pictures on my own server but these are displayed to big, so i can not post them here. next time!
 
right now i am busy whith making an coilover set with my recieved spax dampers. and i mounted some federal semi slicks on the MIM rims.

Now for the e21 i made some custom coil overs.
 
-old coilover out of iron bucket from golf 3
-golf mk1 SPAX adjustable gas shock aborber
-welded together
-HR springs
-camber plates i bought cheap, they didn't fit to the stock 3 holes. so i drilled 2 new;)
-removed brake back plates, maybe i will rebuild them for brake duct hose
-painted black
 

 

 
did some fenderrolling to the back, maybe next week the front. you can also see my e30 tachosender

 
now sitting a bit lower, and with the federal semi-slicks, when the fenderroller is been on the front, i wil lower it a little bit more on the front i think. maybe a little bit higher on the back, exhaust is scraping speedbumps

 
the very good and not as pricy as r888 semi's, it sits low, but without fender rolling is does not rub under normal driving. because of the nicely build coilovers i think

 
and the back, with the towing hook still on as you can see. i still use it, last week i pulled a heavy mercedes V-klasse, without any problems. haha


i wanted to go to circuit zandvoort 2 weeks ago, but i didnt finisch the car, i still had to do the brakes and the seats and checkup. I just didnt want to rush, because i want to drive it on the circuit, not trash it!
 
the seat are now finisched

 
and i bought an plastic tank, that will save weigt! it is an 40 L tank. i think i will put some foam in it, and line it up with a catch tank.

 
and bought a pair of porsche calipers i will fit them on the front with some 300mm discs so i can still drive 15 inch.:alright

 
 
i think i will make a 5x120 suspension front and rear. not sure yet

[dude8383]

That is one incredibly good looking E21. What will you be using to convert it to a 5x120 pattern?

[bossco477]

Love it. How is it doing ? any other pics ?

[Vivek]

I'm a bit confused. So you're on fully stock internals (basically)? How thick is your HG? How much boost are you running?

[deansweet]

Amazed at how good of condition your ride is in...
Thanks for posting!

[romkasponka]

Very nice project!

Federal RSR are not semi slicks just UHP tire and you can not compare them with 888 at all. Just different level. I use RSR on my daily car but with 888 you would get much more grip.

[DesktopDave]

Love it!  Thanks for posting so many pictures - you have some serious skills there!

Opalgrun metallic has always been a favorite of mine, it's a really rare color over here.

[bmwconnect]

Amazing setup and the only thing that I would change is the stock boot at the throttle body as it's blowing up like a balloon in boost and it will eventually let go. been there done dat!