New M52 "Restomod" E30 Project - SPANNER RASH

[spannerrash]

How about one of the TVR pearlescent colours? It's about time they came back into fashion!

Interesting idea, I do love a TVR in a flip paint, Reflex Purple always mesmerises me when I see it. It might be a bit hardcore for my E30 though. It'll be quite custom but I'm going more for "restomod" that looks somewhat OEM.

[spannerrash]

In regards to the colour, are you attempting to do an oem looking build or something more custom looking?

First decision is do you go with a bmw colour? Secondly, do you go with an original e30 colour?
For a more retro look there are plenty of early e30 colours that help give the classic look, for example Henna Rot seems to be the most desirable red.

It also depends what interior you have to hand as that would play a large part in the decision.

My personal favourites are Dunkelblau, Zobelbraun or the alpina green and blue also

I'm definitely leaning towards OE looking "restomod E30" type thing. But I fancy a different colour as the Titian Red this car is really doesnt light my fire. It looks really dull for a red, especially next to my Imola Red E46.


Ideally it will be a BMW colour, but I don't think it has to necessarily be an original E30 colour. The interior will be black leather in the end I think, regardless of the exterior.

Those are some great suggestions, thank you! I particularly like Alpina Green, but then I'd end up wanting the cow catcher front chin spoiler to complete the look.

[spannerrash]

In regards to the colour, are you attempting to do an oem looking build or something more custom looking?

First decision is do you go with a bmw colour? Secondly, do you go with an original e30 colour?
For a more retro look there are plenty of early e30 colours that help give the classic look, for example Henna Rot seems to be the most desirable red.

It also depends what interior you have to hand as that would play a large part in the decision.

My personal favourites are Dunkelblau, Zobelbraun or the alpina green and blue also

I agree, you have to decide what look you want. Ask 10 people what colour and you will get 30 results

Personally I think retro colours don't go well on a facelift. I have a henna chromie and would not have it any other colour but would not paint my faceift henna.

I think as it is a facelift with a modern engine I would use a modern colour. E36 engine how about E36 colour? Dakar yellow or Estoril blue?

But the original colour is not that bad either

Very true, some of the classic colours looked best paired with a pre-facelift chromie. I like your thinking with the E36 colour, and theres some sweet ones.

Dakar Yellow is a bit pale for me, always preferred a richer Porsche Speed Yellow over it. Estoril Blue is a good shout though, or maybe Technoviolet?!

[spannerrash]

I'm back with another E30 project update! I took the plunge and decided to spray the entire engine bay in 2k Epoxy Primer. ...

I am a bit biased but I have done mine San Marino Blue, a modern 2017 colour but I love it, Calypso Red Metallic is also beautiful

As for your welding it is great don't worry, Sometimes pretty welds don't penetrate far enough, a good functional weld does the job Getting it pretty and functional is where the professionals earn their money



PS I don't mean this but you'll enjoy it

anglegrinder - Copy.jpg

San Marino Blue is a stunning colour, good choice! I'm getting a ton of recommendations for blue colours in the comments on YouTube which is interesting. Seems to be peoples favourite. I loved my Laser Blue 318is in the past, but I think the fact I've had a blue E30 before makes me want to think of a different hue.



Calypso Red is a thought I've had myself actually!

Hahaa!! Thank you re the welding, no offence taken!

[spannerrash]

At risk of it being a diversion from the actual goal, I talked myself into doing the conversion to removable front core support....

Would a C101 plug have enough pins in it for a wiring connecter? as well as being insulated it would look neat and period too

I took my M30 3.5 out of the top but going back in after paint I opted to put it in from underneath on the subframe, a removable front would definitely make maintenance a lot easier.

Sound suggestion, thats exactly the type of thing I should be using and should be enough pins there! I'll have a look into that. Yeah I am hoping the removable front core support will pay me back over time...

[spannerrash]

Calypsorot!

Ben

A sound suggestion, Ben. I could even avoid messing about changing the colour from "Red" on the log book by doing that. Definitely food for thought!

[Alyman]

Calypso red really suits a facelift IMO - gets me all misty eyed about one of my first E30s which, even though it was a lowly, slightly shabby 318i on nasty pina reps (I had a lot to learn), still has a place in my heart as the car that got me into working on my car for myself (with the help of the zone, obvs).

[spannerrash]

Calypso red really suits a facelift IMO - gets me all misty eyed about one of my first E30s which, even though it was a lowly, slightly shabby 318i on nasty pina reps (I had a lot to learn), still has a place in my heart as the car that got me into working on my car for myself (with the help of the zone, obvs).

Awesome, it's a really lovely colour indeed, I'm strongly considering going for it. We'll see!

[fixedwheelnut]

I'm back with another E30 project update! I took the plunge and decided to spray the entire engine bay in 2k Epoxy Primer. ...

I am a bit biased but I have done mine San Marino Blue, a modern 2017 colour but I love it, Calypso Red Metallic is also beautiful

As for your welding it is great don't worry, Sometimes pretty welds don't penetrate far enough, a good functional weld does the job Getting it pretty and functional is where the professionals earn their money



PS I don't mean this but you'll enjoy it

anglegrinder - Copy.jpg

San Marino Blue is a stunning colour, good choice! I'm getting a ton of recommendations for blue colours in the comments on YouTube which is interesting. Seems to be peoples favourite. I loved my Laser Blue 318is in the past, but I think the fact I've had a blue E30 before makes me want to think of a different hue.



Calypso Red is a thought I've had myself actually!

Hahaa!! Thank you re the welding, no offence taken!

My San Marino Blue Touring with black leather interior.




A TVR Green one I saw at Ace Cafe last year.


@E30_JV s Calypso Red convertible

[fixedwheelnut]

For the quick release bonnet cable how about something like the E60 5 series set up where the cable has a separating piece under the bonnet where it splits to two cables?

Part 12 here

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpa ... 1437008933

[spannerrash]

3 seriously nice examples there. I still think a TVR flip paint might be too agressive for this build, but paired with those chunky wheels that touring looks very cool.

The people on Facebook seemed keen on pink, but I'm not sure it's me...


Interesting idea about the E60 multi part release cable. I think they're like that so they can serve two bonnet latches and if anything like my E46 its an overcomplicated system which will need attention every so often. Although there might be another simpler way to cut and nipple the E30's release cable and have some way of connecting the two together. Interesting thought. I suspect this will be the time of fine tuning I'll do later in the project when its a running/driving car though.

[chatstar123]

Not sure if you mentioned this already but are you putting a tech 2 kit on the car or standard?

[spannerrash]

Good question, definitely has a big impact on what colour would suit. I am planning to fit an Mtech 2 kit.

[martauto]

Calypso red for me, the late Peter Simons from here had one and it was just "CLASS"

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Cheers Mart! Thats quite a few votes for Calypso Red now. I had a feeling it would be a popular suggestion, it's a lovely E30 colour.

[billyfrost]

Been thinking about colours, drove past a few modern BMWs round where I live over past few days, with the "frozen" finish BMW have been doing over the past few years.

Wonder what yours would look like keeping the same colour but new paint with a frozen finish?

New paint might also brighten up that comparision when you sit it against a car with paint 20 years younger.... ;)

[billyfrost]

Something like this:

[spannerrash]

Interesting idea, I'm not sure I'm totally sold on frozen paint though personally, there's something about it that looks like a wrap to me. Saves a lot of polishing though! I liked frozen silver in the flesh but when I saw a frozen red in the flesh it looked a bit faded pink to me. Certainly food for thought.

[steve_k]

i like the frozen white finish, seems to have an almost satin sheen to it,

i like it so much i did my sport in a similar finish.

[spannerrash]

i like the frozen white finish, seems to have an almost satin sheen to it,

i like it so much i did my sport in a similar finish.

Frozen white sounds really interesting Steve, I was down at Ultimate BMW Meet this past weekend and I was surprised at how few frozen paint colours I saw to be honest. Turns out they're a lot rarer than I realised, I thought they were all the rage on E92 era cars (of which I saw many). I'd have liked to see frozen white in the flesh to get a proper sense of it.

[spannerrash]

Big news! I'm ready to reveal my paint colour choice for this E30 build!

It's taken a lot of umming and ahhing to make a decision, made even more difficult by the wide array of awesome colours that were suggested to me!



I was so close to going Oxford Green, but I ended up going with BMW Mora Metallic 359 (morarot) which is a colour thats stuck with me from the day I first saw it. To be honest, this is a colour I've had in the back of my mind, along with a few others, since the project began. Required some bravery to actually pick it.

I think I fooled a few people on Youtube with my video thumbnail colour switch trick!

I'm sure it'll be marmite for some people, love it or hate it, at least its quite unusual and different. I even picked up a new spray gun for the occasion of painting this engive bay, As I was working my way around the bay spraying, I kept asking myself whether the paint my local paint shop had mixed up really was the correct BMW Mora Metallic 359, it looked really dark to me, didn't have the hue I was expecting, especially without any clear coat on.

Turns out it looks way different outside in direct sunlight than it does in my dimly lit workshop, so it was a huge relief when I took the front core support out into the garden and could suddenly see the flash of pink/purple over the dark red hue. I'm glad I kept going!

One unfortunate thing is that my inexperience as a painter has caused me to get loads of dust nibs in the clearcoat finish. In hindsight thats definitely due to not remasking, it will be the dust from the previous epoxy primer coat i'm sure of it.

Hey-ho, its just an engine bay, and its good enough to move on! Valuable takeaway for when I paint the exterior though, I'll learn from it.

What do you think of my choice of colour??

[billyfrost]

Don't mind it tbh, definitely a more modern colour which was the brief.

[martauto]

Spot on mate, a massive big up for having the balls the size of a house for picking something you like.
I know we are jumping the gun but what wheels are you intending to use ?
It`s very close to Calypso red but brought up to date in my eyes and will look sooooooooo cool.
Also a great choice in "back up " cars too,an e46, good choice too ,oh was it an M3 ?
Lovin this

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Awesome, thanks so much guys!

I'm a big fan of style 5 wheels, they tick the boxes for me. So since I did my 5-lug swap I acquired some nice 16" E38 7 series wheels which I think look just perfect, a subtle upgrade from the E30's standard 15". In time I might change to something more exotic, but in my head these should be exactly what I'm going for in a driver's car.

Ahh yes my other car, which is pretty much a garage queen these days and only comes out in fair weather. Had it for around 8 years:


If you're interested, check out my vid from last summer where I recorded some glorious S54 sounds!

[billyfrost]

Maybe once you've painted the car you'll get a better feel for what works but the style 5 16s in the videos sit lovely.

Slightly off-topic but worth mentioning, I do wonder if wheel sizes are an age-related choice. For years and years I coveted 16 style 5's on my E30s (and 16 SL alloys on a 190e) yet as I'm heading toward middle age the 15s look perfect to me these days! Funny that. I'm also one of those weirdos that prefers stock 18s on an E46 M3 (rather than 19s), the slightly larger tyre profile just looks great, imo. I'll get my coat...

[spannerrash]

Haha! Maybe wheel preference is on a sliding scale. I do think the 15s always look great, but 16s with a meaty tyre look just perfect on an E30 to me.
An M3 on 18s is nice too, and a rare sight! But the CSL style wheel is just iconic so I had to do it. the 18's will have their day again I'm sure of it!


I'm glad the whole stretched tyre look is going out of fashion though, mods that make a car crap to drive just don't make sense to me! I like my modifications to look and be purposeful. OEM+ is what I'm into.

[billyfrost]

Love the CSLs of course, great alternative to OEM, look proper.

[spannerrash]

I'm back with another update on the E30 Build. I've been busy trying to figure out a faster steering rack.

There are some pretty great options for a steering rack upgrade these days, and I remember just how transformative it was for my 318is when I had it upgraded to the E46 purple tag rack, which is 3 turns versus the standard E30 4 turns.

I was tempted to go with the same for this build, but I do like to make life a bit more difficult (and expensive) for myself at times so pushed the boat out for the 2.7 turn lock-to-lock Z3 steering rack swap.



After spending a bunch of money getting what would have been a bargain Z3 rack rebuilt, it was generally pretty smooth getting it fitted as you see in the vid.
I've even got a plan for a Vauxhall Corsa steering linkage to solve any clearance issues with the M52 exhaust manifold (when its finally in). Keep your eyes peeled for that future vid.

I have however come to a sticking point witth the PAS lines which I touch on at the end of the video. To actually finish this rack conversion I have to figure out how to bend the original lines to match the ports on the Z3 rack, but I can't seem to find any pics or a guide for how to do this, and it looks a bit unlikely to me currently. Maybe someone on here can let me know how they've managed to do it?

Also, let me know your thoughts on switching to those outer steering rack holes, it does clearly say to use the inner holes for PAS racks, even on the wiki, but I do wonder if the outer would be better in this case.

[spannerrash]

Well, I've been busy trying to get this Z3 steering rack swap finished off, and I'm pleased to report it's all worked out nicely in the end. Although not without it's challenges!



I had quite a time trying to get the Corsa C steering linkage to work with the E30 steering column end transplanted on. The needle roller bearings drove me to distraction as they had a tendency to all drop out of the bearing cup. Once you've put them back in, you can imagine how frustrated you'd be to find out the bearing is knackered, for the 3rd time!

I got there in the end though. After I carefully extracted 2 more bearings from the E30 linkage I was away and cracking, couldn't have turned out much better in the end, although more difficult to do than I anticipated.

On the other hand, bending the original E30's PAS lines to accomodate the new Z3 port positions proved easier than I anticipated. The lines are super stiff and hard to bend, but they certainly are bendable with a bit of heat and a vice. After a lot of back and forth I ended up routing the high pressure line around the back of the subframe rather than in its original position. Quite an extreme re-routing, but I'm very glad to have avoided the need to spec custom ones. I've spent enough money on this steering rack conversion as it is!

The line routing for RHD E30s power steering line conversions doesnt seem well documented with like one pic on the whole internet to help you. So hopefully this sheds some light on it for those looking to do the same.

As an additional note, you may recall I was unsure whether to switch to the front steering rack mounting holes for more neutral track rod angle. Well after asking on the Facebook group someone pointed out that they found the rack fouled their engine sump in this forward position. As I'm fitting an M52 engine with the E34 front sump, I opted to stick with the inner mounting holes to avoid any future headaches.

[fixedwheelnut]

I'm back with another update on the E30 Build. I've been busy trying to figure out a faster steering rack.

There are some pretty great options for a steering rack upgrade these days, and I remember just how transformative it was for my 318is when I had it upgraded to the E46 purple tag rack, which is 3 turns versus the standard E30 4 turns.

I was tempted to go with the same for this build, but I do like to make life a bit more difficult (and expensive) for myself at times so pushed the boat out for the 2.7 turn lock-to-lock Z3 steering rack swap.



After spending a bunch of money getting what would have been a bargain Z3 rack rebuilt, it was generally pretty smooth getting it fitted as you see in the vid.
I've even got a plan for a Vauxhall Corsa steering linkage to solve any clearance issues with the M52 exhaust manifold (when its finally in). Keep your eyes peeled for that future vid.

I have however come to a sticking point witth the PAS lines which I touch on at the end of the video. To actually finish this rack conversion I have to figure out how to bend the original lines to match the ports on the Z3 rack, but I can't seem to find any pics or a guide for how to do this, and it looks a bit unlikely to me currently. Maybe someone on here can let me know how they've managed to do it?

Also, let me know your thoughts on switching to those outer steering rack holes, it does clearly say to use the inner holes for PAS racks, even on the wiki, but I do wonder if the outer would be better in this case.

Contact @Danthe on here or his Facebook business page here ; https://www.facebook.com/bmconversionsuk
He makes up the linkages & pipes to order

[spannerrash]

He was my first port of call if I'd kinked those original PAS lines!

I like his solutions a lot, they're very elegant. I've got an E46 PAS line from him on the shelf for another day actually, so can vouch for the quality too.

I figured I'd do what I can to do things DIY style and on a budget for this though as I'm still hurting from needing to send the Z3 rack off for a full rebuild.

[AlexD911]

Hey mate, great progress you're really moving!

A question if i may?

How are you finding the Dinitrol Underseal? I used the Black one on my car, however i have not touched it for almost a year and recently started back at it again. I noticed the underseal has an almost Waxoil behaviour to it, its not ever fully cured how i hoped and seems to come off very easily if you knock or marr against it.

Cheers

[martauto]

Very impressed mate,
Lovely work and such research as well, BUT.........For the second time now ,that vice WILL hurt you or someone soon
Ask me how I know ??
Please nail it down or my Boy`s will be on the way !!!
You dont have to keep it in that position, but it would have made all the difference to what you were doing
Keep it going mate and I look forward to the next one

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Hey mate, great progress you're really moving!

A question if i may?

How are you finding the Dinitrol Underseal? I used the Black one on my car, however i have not touched it for almost a year and recently started back at it again. I noticed the underseal has an almost Waxoil behaviour to it, its not ever fully cured how i hoped and seems to come off very easily if you knock or marr against it.

Cheers

Hey Alex, interesting what you're saying about the Dinitrol underseal, I did notice myself that there are a couple of areas that have remained tacky to the touch, mainly where I applied it thicker than I should have.

But it certainly doesnt appear like it'll ever come off mine. Maybe you've had some kind of paint reaction beneath causing it to not adhere correctly. If it comes off as easy as you say you might not have much choice but to wipe the bulk of it off and try again. Hopefully its not as bad as it sounds!

[spannerrash]

Very impressed mate,
Lovely work and such research as well, BUT.........For the second time now ,that vice WILL hurt you or someone soon
Ask me how I know ??
Please nail it down or my Boy`s will be on the way !!!
You dont have to keep it in that position, but it would have made all the difference to what you were doing
Keep it going mate and I look forward to the next one

Mart.

Cheers Mart! I know! And I did think of you as I was again chasing the vise across the desk.

I really do need to source some appropriately sized bolts that will take the abuse! I'll move it up my list.