New M52 "Restomod" E30 Project - SPANNER RASH

[reggid]

I'm pretty sure I reset the brake light switch on an E30 at some point in the past. Setting it goes something like this - you have to push the switch centre back into the body of the switch and it sets itself when you put the switch back into place.

In other words, take the switch off, reset it. Then put the switch back on and it sets itself.

on a late model? the early ones definitively can be adjusted.

Edit i did see where the red collar and plunger can be manipulated i will see if that is enough tolerance/ range in the required direction

[reggid]

so it turns out the pin positions on mine are a couple mm out which is enough to permanently activate the brake light switch as it works out to be magnified at the pedal due to the pedal ratio, is the switch adjustable? know the early style are but mine is the boxy plastic looking one 1989 car

Edit: according to bentley it is non ajustable. looks like ill have to lop the e90 clevis off to make it adjustable / threaded

I cut down an E28 clevis which is longer to give me an equivalent length to an E30 servo, it welds in just right to the E90 clevis, just cut it back enough for the hole to clear





There is a bit of adjustment on the rod that crosses behind the heater box from the pedal to the servo linkage.

yeah i am not conformable with random welding the e30 clevis as its heat treated hardened steel and there is a risk of brittle behaviour and micro cracks growing into fatigue cracks in the long run. not worth risk for the brake system for me even though forces arent super high

[reggid]

It turns out i had just enough room to extend out the plunger to get it to make contact with the pedal so no need to modify the clevis

[reggid]

i have bench bled the M/C and the ports are plugged and the thing is ready to install, Are there any tips to stop all the fluid pissing out by the time i remove the plug and can connect the actual lines in?

i am running a remote reservoir so there is a length of hose to the 2002 bottle. So i gather i should have the thing filled and lid screwed on tight and try to lower the reservoir so there isnt too much pressure/head? its pretty awkward and fiddly getting the tube nuts start and full seated.

[spannerrash]

Perfect, glad you got away without clevis modification.

Yeah I think you've about nailed it on reducing spillage. keep the reservoir sealed and hopefully it will hold most of the brake fluid in. Aside from that, work quickly to get the lines in.

[reggid]

Perfect, glad you got away without clevis modification.

Yeah I think you've about nailed it on reducing spillage. keep the reservoir sealed and hopefully it will hold most of the brake fluid in. Aside from that, work quickly to get the lines in.

i have a fancy power/pressure bleeder and just read that apparently you don't really need to even bench bleed if you have one of these pressure bleeders. So if it does all leak out as long as the mess is contained then all should be ok.

[Corasdad]

I have just got my e90 booster would these work rather than bending brake lines

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175464644294 ... media=COPY

[flybynite]

i have a fancy power/pressure bleeder and just read that apparently you don't really need to even bench bleed if you have one of these pressure bleeders. So if it does all leak out as long as the mess is contained then all should be ok.

That's what I do, I have both pressure and vacuum bleeders and haven't had to bench bleed anything for years

I have just got my e90 booster would these work rather than bending brake lines
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175464644294 ... media=COPY

Don't use flex hose to replace hard lines unless you want spongy brakes.

Those are for the bits that need to be flexible but you keep lengths of flex to a minimum

[Corasdad]

OK thanks just thought it might be a short cut, but I don't want to jeopardise saftey

[spannerrash]

I have just got my e90 booster would these work rather than bending brake lines

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175464644294 ... media=COPY

In theory yes it would work, but I'm with flybynite in saying that you'll be better off with hard lines. They aren't that tough to bend really if you take your time.

[reggid]

I have just got my e90 booster would these work rather than bending brake lines

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175464644294 ... media=COPY

In theory yes it would work, but I'm with flybynite in saying that you'll be better off with hard lines. They aren't that tough to bend really if you take your time.

what caliper pistons sizes do you have FR and RR? is it up and running how are the brakes btw? how is the pedal firmness/travel distance?

[spannerrash]

I'm using E36 328i calipers up front and E46 325i calipers at the rear. I can't remember the piston sizes off hand but they're much more substantial than the stock E30 brakes so should have no trouble slowing the car down.

You'll have to hang on for a genuine report on the brakes though, I've only felt them static in the garage up to now. Driving the car spiritedly is a little way off, but the pedal feels good and firm which is a great starting point.

[Corasdad]

Mine are standard front and drum rears for now will this be ok till I upgrade to bigger brakes, I want to fit it ready for my m52 swap

[spannerrash]

I'd definitely recommend upgrading to brakes to suit the increased power, but from a practical standpoint there's no reason you couldn't run the original E30 brakes, even with the rear drums. In truth the fronts do the vast majority of the work anyway so those are the main thing worth upgrading.

[spannerrash]

I've been busy getting the cooling system completed for the M52 swap E30. I'm really happy with the result on this one!



I decided to forget the idea of trying to use the viscous fan, even though I know they are super effective. There's just not enough room between the engine and the radiator for me to want to trust it and when those fans fail, they do so catastrophically.

I went with the rad from an AC equipped E36 which is a lot larger than the E30's rad, plus has the slot for thermostatic switch which really helps when converting to electric fan. Plus, it uses the end tank style coolant reservoir which I really like.

I combined that with a 16" SPAL electric fan hard mounted on the front, in the pusher position.

To make it all work I picked up another gem from Dan at BMConversions. Turns out he makes a clever custom wiring loom for the M5X cooling system which integrates with the E30's fuse box, utilising an OEM relay and fuse position. Further to this, it enables you to add in an override switch so you can flick the cooling fan on manually which I really like.

Check out the links in the video description on YT if you want to build the same kit as I have. It's truly excellent.

With some light modification to some OE hoses I got the whole system buttoned up, flushed through and bled. That's another big ticket item checked off the project list with this E30 project.

[bennno2005]

Currently enjoying working my way through your videos. I've just bought a 325i coupe which is in need of work so will no doubt end up doing some of the work you've had to do. Would be chuffed if I can get it half as good as yours looks. Keep up the good work

[BenHar]

a 325i coupe

Grrrr!

Ben

[spannerrash]

Currently enjoying working my way through your videos. I've just bought a 325i coupe which is in need of work so will no doubt end up doing some of the work you've had to do. Would be chuffed if I can get it half as good as yours looks. Keep up the good work

Awesome, I really hope the vids come in useful for you with the 325i. Hopefully not too much rust to deal with.

Grrrr!

[spannerrash]

Hey guys, another little update for you, although this time more about the garage setup I'm in while working on the E30.



I got a bit fed up of wedging myself into such a tight gap beneath the car. Axle stands just aren't giving me the lift I need to work on the car properly, and I'm getting too old to put up with it.

I explored a few ideas but concluded that the right was to go was DIY wheel cribs AKA wooden wheel stands. I show you the design and what I used in the video, came in at around £70 quid and a days work, remarkable value for workshop equipment!

Really happy with the result too, I'd be pretty confident setting a Rolls Royce down on them, they really are solid. I might even treat them to a lick of paint I'm so fond of them.

I suspect a few of you fellow DIY mechanics would benefit from a set of these, so hopefully the video comes in useful!

[martauto]

Lovely stuff Alex, they look very strong and robust ,why this has not been showcased before ?
Too late for you now but for other people looking towards this type of thing, go around to the "local" large fabrication shops in your area. They have sheet metal brought in to them on large trucks and are sandwiched between "lovely" timbers which are great for all sorts of stuff.
They cant get rid of the timber, all employees have enough and if you turn up with a little of the folding stuff ???
Mart.

PS CM`s don`t exist, they are something teachers made up because they thought the kids would not understand the metric system , the media use them as they are the ones who actually dont !!

[spannerrash]

Cheers Mart, I'm really chuffed with them, they're remarkably solid. Much more so than I anticipated. Which is lucky when you're near enough trusting something with your life.

That sounds like a very interesting lead on free or cheap timber! I thought £70 was a bargain for these, but it would have been a lot less without the wood cost.

Haha my brain can only compute CM and MM, unfortunately. It's when people start talking about fractions of inches, I completely glaze over and have no idea what language they are speaking any more.

[spannerrash]

Well, I did the unthinkable and booked an MOT for the M52 swapped E30.

I was so excited to get this car road legal and start enjoying it and shaking it down ahead of summer, spurred on by a few fair weather days.

Knowing it was ambitious, I set about reassembling the car. In theory I should have only needed to chuck the ugly old front end parts back on and check it all still worked for it to pass inspection.
The reassembly went quite well actually, and dare I say, the car looks pretty mean in its current state, it's sure to turn a few heads!

What I didn't foresee were the problems I ran into during the first drive. Unsurprisingly, I was feeling really deflated. Looks like I've got a lot of work to do before she's ready for the MOT after all..



If anyone has any ideas on my clutch problem, please do share your thoughts!

[martauto]

I would still go for the MOT and then you know exactly what you are in for, it`s far too easy to miss very silly stuff and a second set of eyes is always good.
I built a kit car back in 1983 and missed a couple of silly bits but I sorted them out once I knew but never thought of them before.

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Cheers Mart, yeah I think you're right, there's a good chance the MOT might flag up some stuff I didn't even think of.

But I feel like I should wait until I at least don't have any known reasons for it to fail.

With the clutch, I'm also a bit worried about driving it far, even as far as the MOT centre and back, while it's an unknown issue.

Imagine if the clutch disintegrates and destroys my gearbox bell housing en route. Or imagine if it turns out to be something minor like the clutch slave cylinder and I've gone and destroyed my clutch by driving it far.

Hopefully I will have an update soon and figure that one out.

[spannerrash]

Back again with another M52 E30 update for you. A mixed bag of news really, some additional and unexpected issues, but in equal parts some great news!

• The Good: By some miracle, my clutch no longer seems to be slipping. All we did was remove the slave cylinder and refit, but nothing appeared wrong. Great news either way!

• The Bad: I had an issue I didn't anticipate, which was finding out my driveshafts were shot and slinging grease up the underside of the car. New SKF drive shafts now fitted.

• The Ugly: Turns out my steering issues were worse than I realised, the tyre contacted the chassis, and the rim touched the front ARB! I made some DIY steering limiters and fitted them.

More details on the above in the latest vid of course. All in all, we're making forward progress again which is a good feeling. Hopefully no more unexpecteds before the MOT!

[spannerrash]

Finally, after what feels like forever, the E30 build is road legal!



On the buildup to the MOT test, I ended up swapping in a brand new PAS pump to remedy the tired original one, tinkered with the headlamp aim by adding some shims into the bottom mounts (stroke of genius), and also fitted some nifty coilover covers to protect my new suspension on its inaugural drive (and beyond).

This time, efforts resulted in victory and the car got its MOT pass with only advisories, and to celebrate we took the car out for its first proper rip.

I'm actually surprised by how savage the car is, the drive is full of theatre and I was not expecting it to be so brutal, harsh, loud or fast. Possibly a bit too intense, although when you are giving it some welly, it's epic fun. The performance seems excellent from the M52 engine, it absolutely sings and pulls harder than I imagined it would.

Plenty still to do, in terms of handling I think it needs toning back a bit, let's just say the handing is "busy". The suspension is teeth-rattling stiff on our terrible roads and it more or less skips along lumps and bumps.

As of right now though, I'm still celebrating this win!

[martauto]

Spot on mate, it`s a great feeling when you have built it from scratch to know very little was needed for a test.
Credit to you !!
(and the "old man" )

Mart.

[BenHar]

Well done, Alex.

Tyres won't last long at that rate!

Ben

[spannerrash]

Spot on mate, it`s a great feeling when you have built it from scratch to know very little was needed for a test.
Credit to you !!
(and the "old man" )

Mart.

Thank you Mart, yeah I was feeling particularly proud of what we've done when it got the pass.

[spannerrash]

Well done, Alex.

Tyres won't last long at that rate!

Ben

Cheers Ben! Haha indeed, I had to give it some stick, it's given me plenty recently.

All feeling much more worth it now it's road legal and usable.

[joeyb]

Just watched a couple of your videos, well done. Its a nice feeling when you get them running and road legal for the first time! I've fallen out of love a little bit with my M52'd E30 but watching your videos has given me a bit of motivation to get the spark back!

[spannerrash]

Yeah I'm still feeling really pumped about it!

Howcome you fell out with your car, did you face problems?

[spannerrash]

I've been really enjoying driving the E30 and I've done around 200 miles in it now. I'm learning to drive it better but there are a few things that definitely need changing for it to be the right balance for me.

I'll elaborate on all of that in the very near future and talk about how the car is to drive, so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I got busy doing a messier job, but one which hopefully prevents future even messier ones.

I applied a Lanolin oil underbody protection to the car. This may seem a bit mad as the more common use of Lanolin treatments such as the more heavily marketed Lanoguard products is to neutralise rust and prevent it from getting worse. I however am using Lanolin as a preventative sacrificial layer on top of my Dinitrol underseal, before road grime gets any chance to stick.



I went for a much better value alternative to Lanoguard, I used Buzzweld Chassis Guard which is Buzzweld's own blend of Lanolin Oil underbody treatment, and honestly I couldn't be happier with it. Judging by how hard it's been to remove it from my garage floor, I suspect it's going to last quite a long time too.

I'll be sure to check in with an update on how it holds up, but as far as the application goes and how the product seems to be so far, I can fully recommend it. I've linked to everything I've used in the YouTube video description, as always!

[spannerrash]

A little overdue maybe, but I've now had chance to put some miles on my M52 converted E30 and ready to share my experience.

The car has been awesome in many ways, and it's exceeded my performance expectations massively. It's an absolute hoot to drive, the M52 is strong and feels like a junior S54, and the whole thing is a lot more exciting to drive than my E46 M3 in my opinion. You're having more fun at much lower speeds which was my hope.

However, there are some issues with the car that I just cannot live with.

I took the car out on a spirited drive to try and relay how the car feels, and I also talked about some of the drawbacks that are spoiling my enjoyment of the car a bit.



I think I have a decent plan to tone the car down slightly. If I could get it to be a bit less savage, I suspect I would use the car a lot more, and I'll be ready to finish the build off too rather than feeling paralysed.

Let me know your thoughts on the exhaust sound, the "pots and pans" were an unexpected!

[flybynite]

Nice to see it on the road, more than either of mine are atm

Scorpion has been the default for many but is well known to be a bit on the obnoxious side. I'm sure a decent place would swap one or both boxes to tone it down without chucking the whole thing?

The 3.64 diff you have seen will be fine, the small case probably wouldn't last long anyway, mine didn't. The GS37BZ box suggested in the comments is also from the M54B30 FL E46 330i. Good box but would not solve the problem of the diff. 5-speed with the 3.64 would be fine. 6-speed only comes into its own with longer diff ratios. I am planning to use that box with a torsen 3.15. (exactly as the OEM Z3 was setup) That gives a cruising gear but keeps a decent spacing further down.

The Bilstein B12 kit (B8 dampers and Eibach springs) were tried and tested to be the most you would want for daily. I had similar Koni yellows and had no issue. Coilovers can be hit and miss and often price doesn't guarantee quality. Not cheap but the KW V3 can alter slow (cornering) bump independently of fast (pothole) and rides well for a performance coilover.

I'd go OEM rubber most joints. BMW knew what thy were doing for a few things

I put over 100k miles on my 323i but back then we knew no different and other options were worse. Going end to end of the country is a different proposition in cars now.

Getting things to how you want them is part of the 'fun' and you don't know what works until you have tried it.

Good luck with it!