JP 91iS

[JP 91iS]

Wired a spare trunk light And am considering making a custom trunk lid liner using the same felt I used on the rear ceck.


Cruise control actuator I used the old e30 cruise bracket that came with my donor system. It can only mount on one side so I'm looking for the mounting bracket from an e36 m42 or whatever ones will work with this setup. Had to replace my stock throttle cable while I was at it.


Mark D chip installed 91 octane Finally put a chip in.  I have the 93 octane chip waiting around until I live near a good source.

I've sent my seats to the upholstery shop to be recovered so they can match the rest of my interior. Could take them a while though. Also had to replace my wiper motor since it was totally dead. Kind of a pain in the ass job, but not really that bad. The high speed doesn't work so now I think I may also have a faulty switch or relay.

[monty23psk]

Very nice work sir.

[E30/318is]

Helluva job there JP.
An inspirational thread it is.

[JP 91iS]

Thanks guys, I do what I can.  

Turns out the upholstery shop wanted an arm, leg, and my testicles to recover those seats sooo that's not gonna happen.  I'll just run with them as is until I have space and time to try recovering them myself.

In the meantime though I made a clutch stop following this diagram:


I found a few different setups on DIY clutch stops for the e30 but I went with this one and I'm happy with the results.  Removing the dead space at the back of the pedal travel really helps with faster and smoother shifts.  If anybody hasn't done this, then go out and do it tomorrow.  With approx $4 you can greatly improve the feel of your driving experience.

[samulis]

Great topic, very well made and pictured, joy to read, thank you. Quality of work is pleasant.

What are you going to do with the paint? It looks kinda dead. Just cut* and wax or all new paint?

*sander polisher?, sorry dont know how its called.

[She loved E]

Yeah really nice build. I remember seeing your initial post... I had no idea you were planning on going all out! I dig that you're keeping it mostly OE as well.

Hopefully you don't mind the thread-jack, but I have a question about your premium sound install... how did you wire the front speakers & tweeters? I just added the speakers to my car (not using the amp, as I have an aftermarket HU), and while the wiring was already there, the front tweeters aren't working. I *think* it has to do with a switched +/- wire, but I'd rather confirm with someone who's done it before tearing open the kick panels again.

Here's what I'm talking about (hopefully this looks familiar):

[JP 91iS]

Thanks samulis, the paint is pretty much toasted.  Eventually I'd like a full respray (just because I'm anal) but for now I'm going to have to settle with a good cleaning, buff, polish and wax.  I'll see how that turns out but I'm pretty sure I can hide the white marks where the clear coat has been eaten away.

She loved E: since I used the complete premium sound harness it was easy.  The wiring for the tweeters is already in the door and you just hook it up to the speakers in the kick panels.  I'm pretty sure your problem is that with aftermarket wiring you will need to add a crossover to make the tweeters work properly.  The stock premium systems somehow deals with that problem via the stock amp.  I didn't really look over your wiring diagrams since I don't have any of the notes I took on hand right now.

[JP 91iS]

After the recent work I've been hearing a wump-wump kind of sound from somewhere in the rear.  I put the car on the lift and I can't really tell where it's coming from.  I rotated the tires front to rear and that didn't change the sound.  Could be a) differential b) wheel bearing c) axle d) center driveshaft bearing?

I've read that a bad diff or wheel bearing has more of a high pitched whine.  This sound is not high but low and kind of a out of balance hum noise.

I've replaced the diff fluid with redline.  Last night I installed Centric Performance rotors all around with some Axxis Deluxe Advanced street pads.  I also put in new ebrake pads and hardware.  (forgot to take pics, maybe I'll snap some later).  Found that my Passenger Front caliper carrier had seized carrier bolts so I'll need to repair that.  But later on down the road I'd like to upgrade to ATEs on the front (instead of the lucas girling) and put in the stainless steel lines I've had sitting around.

Anyways, that didn't change the noise at all so I'll have to do further inspecting...

[carlos318is]

Thanks guys, I do what I can.  

Turns out the upholstery shop wanted an arm, leg, and my testicles to recover those seats sooo that's not gonna happen.  I'll just run with them as is until I have space and time to try recovering them myself.

In the meantime though I made a clutch stop following this diagram:


I found a few different setups on DIY clutch stops for the e30 but I went with this one and I'm happy with the results.  Removing the dead space at the back of the pedal travel really helps with faster and smoother shifts.  If anybody hasn't done this, then go out and do it tomorrow.  With approx $4 you can greatly improve the feel of your driving experience.

What is the clutch stop and how do you do it:confused:

[JP 91iS]

What is the clutch stop and how do you do it:confused:

http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/html_product/clutch_stop/html_clutch/about.htm

[samulis]

Check out that rearwheel has balance weights in the rim, if theyr gone it might just be the wheel it self out of balance.

[JP 91iS]

Check out that rearwheel has balance weights in the rim, if theyr gone it might just be the wheel it self out of balance.

Thanks, I rotated the wheels from front to rear and the noise remained the same.  The more I drive the more I think its just a wheel bearing.  But then again it could also be an axle.  I'm not sure what a bad axle would sound like though.

[Sean_318is]

Wow, awesome stuff

[///M3]

I can really appreciate all of the hard work you put into your car.  Good work!

[JP 91iS]

Thanks ///M3

I just finished the move out to Montana.  Looks like the project budget is going to take a serious hit.  It's funny I've put on more miles in the last 3 days than I have in the time since I bought it.  But this coming winter will allow me to recuperate some money and save up for the suspension stage.  I'd like to finish the seats and take care of some random exterior mods in the mean time.

I installed the VW recaros as-is so I can enjoy them while I wait until I recover them.  They sit a bit low (for my height of 5'10") so I saved some parts from my old sport seats to try and make a custom hybrid that will allow height and tilt adjustments.  Now when I hug a curve, my car hugs me back.



Some pics from the road:






Still looking pretty shabby but it runs like a champ!