Author Topic: Phrekus (Read 6133 times)

phrekus · « **on:** July 08, 2009, 10:23:14 AM »

I figured it was time for me to take a break from lurking the forums (couple hours a day for the last month) to introduce myself and my car. I started my search for a new project by trying to hunt down a 240z but found that due to lack of rust proofing one in decent condition was far beyond my budget. After 2 months of searching my buddy who drives a GTI suggested that I start looking for e30�s. I have always loved the boxy styling of them but never looked beyond Z�s. After about a month of searching I found this 1991 318is for $1200 on craigslist and managed to talk the seller down to $1050.

When I bought the car it would stall and hesitate during cold starts but it ran well when it warmed up. Once I got the car home I found that pretty much every vacuum line was cracked and the O2 sensor was bad. After getting the car up on jack stands in the garage progress came slow until my first pelicans order came in (roundels, fuel filter, air filter, valve cover gasket and spark plug gaskets, plugs, O2 sensor, intake manifold gasket, TB gasket). We just finished the �mess under the intake� fix and I gave the ICV a good cleaning while replacing all the parts listed. I got the chance to start the car this morning before heading into work and she fired right up with no drama, stalling, hesitation. After that it was hard for me to go into work but I will be putting the wheels back on tonight and getting a little work done before dropping her off to get new exhaust tomorrow.

I will take more pictures once I get the car out of my tiny garage.

monty23psk · « **Reply #1 on:** July 08, 2009, 11:35:43 AM »

Cool...where in FL are you located?

Frank Gallegos · « **Reply #2 on:** July 08, 2009, 11:36:33 AM »

Great start. I look forward to seeing how you progress on your new venture.
Best of Luck.

Frank

phrekus · « **Reply #3 on:** July 08, 2009, 12:33:40 PM »

Quote from: monty23psk;74967

Cool...where in FL are you located?

I am over in St. Petersburg, my goal was to get the car running stable before a small meet and drive on the 18th in Altamonte Springs. I am putting the wheels back on tonight then off to make sure everything is running right. Dropping the car off tomorrow to get a new Magnaflow exhaust setup (supersprint wait is 6-8 weeks). Might also try to use this retrofit AC kit I got from Walmart and this weekend is going to be set aside for removing and painting all the black exterior pieces (thinking about painting mirrors black also) and detailing the car. I am still shopping around for some autobody quotes and a valence for the front.

phrekus · « **Reply #4 on:** July 09, 2009, 12:26:29 PM »

Well my new plate came in the mail today.

Sean_318is · « **Reply #5 on:** July 24, 2009, 08:25:23 AM »

hehe cool plate >

HATER-PROOF · « **Reply #6 on:** July 24, 2009, 11:06:24 PM »

Wow, some-one that has the same interests in the two type of cars I will always keep, my 94 318is E36{"PROOF"} and my 85 300zx{"ASIA"} that's been in storage since january 04. Welcome Phrekus-bring her back to better health.

Armando

phrekus · « **Reply #7 on:** July 26, 2009, 12:20:08 PM »

Nice, yeah I had a 87 N/A 300zx and a 84 300zx 50th anniversary turbo that was a pretty fun drive. Well I wanted to post some updates to keep me motivated.

Once I put everything back together from doing the "mess under the intake" mod I went to bleed the coolant system and only steam came out until the temps got really high. After doing a bit of troubleshooting I got bored at work one day and priced out how much it would cost to just swap the entire coolant system for peace of mind. I ended up placing an order from pelican for overnight shipping to get it in time to work on it over the weekend.

11-14-1-439-570-M104 Kit PEL-WPSKE30-02N: Crankshaft Seal
11-23-1-469-235-M21 Kit PEL-WPSKE30-02N: Belt, Alternator
11-51-0-393-338-M59 Water Pump and Gasket
11-52-1-466-000-M38 Kit PEL-WPSKE30-02N: Fan Clutch
12-62-1-710-512-M323 Temperature Sending Unit (for temp gauge)
13-62-1-709-966-M323 Temperature Sensor, 2-prong, 20 Degrees Cel
17-11-1-178-412-M200 Kit PEL-WPSKE30-02N: Rubber Insulator for Lower Radiator Mount
17-11-1-712-788-M230 Bleeder Screw for Expansion Tank (Brass, includes one O-Ring)
61-31-1-378-073-M85 Temperature Switch in Radiator

Luckily the radiator in it was new (I suspect it had cooling issues they tried to fix and gave up) so the rest of the parts were pretty cheap.

Parts

Parts pile growing... Getting a larger apartment with a larger garage in a month or so... thank jebus...

Engine with old waterpump still intact.

Guess which one is the old one!

Figured I would clean things up a little while I could reach everything. I really wish I would have had the intake manifold and the valve cover cleaned up a little better and maybe powdercoated but I can do that later.

Girlfriend came down to help at just the right time. I was trying to replace the sensors under the intake manifold and her hands are much smaller than mine.

Car put all back together and running great. Couldn't wait to take it for a test drive and it really needed gas so I took it on a quick spin without the hood... or exhaust... but I think most e30's end up doing that at least once.

I have been sanding and painting the trim today and will be dropping it off at the exhaust shop for the new magnaflow setup and I will be moving on to brakes,tires,suspension. Also working on a front Volvo lip but I am only going to use it if I can use a heatgun to bend the sides down.

MelbourneMike · « **Reply #8 on:** September 21, 2009, 05:54:28 AM »

How did it run after the exhaust set up? Which Magnaflow did you get? (also in FL, Melbourne now but grew up in the "Burg")

phrekus · « **Reply #9 on:** December 22, 2009, 03:51:06 PM »

I went with a dynomax super turbo. It works well and it will keep me going while I fix everything else up, later on I will revisit it and maybe pick up something a little more "race spec".