e30 316i sedan restoration and some upgrades from Bulgaria

[steffgang]

Great work!
Loving the exhaust

Thanks! I fully agree on the exhaust - looks even better in person.


Unfortunately though - it doesn't fit :


That was a really nasty surprise that left us quite confused. I think I got the root-cause of how it happened. As I was refreshing this thread and collecting and reviewing the pics I did notice that on the pics from the exhaust fabricator the used engine bushes are the taller e34 ones while I am using the e30 M20 ones. Pictures also confirmed that I didn't sent him the bushes with the mounts and most likely miscommunicated what bush is used since I have set of both e30 and e34 bushes around and have forgotten what I did use due to the long periods between updates. So there you have it proven - if you prolong you put yourself through more trouble...

While I was contemplating on how it happened Yordan went on and got that rubbing runner chopped and reshaped:


And had the engine back in to confirm fitment:


Very very happy to see this - he finished it just yesterday evening and I only have the pics for now. What follows is still tedious though - engine out again, exhaust manifold removal, welding, shielding it in heat tape, assembly with yet another new gasket and then hopefully the engine can go back in for good.

So that is exactly where the project is at this point in time. I will do my best to put the updates as they come for my own best - this is indeed a good way to keep record and not forget things.

[steffgang]

Progress has been ongoing with Yordan not getting much help from my end and he has slowly been realizing this is a harder job than estimated plus I've been asking all sorts of extra stuff being added since he is on it and he is indeed doing many great additions for the e30s some of which he offers commercially too.

There is one thing he pushed on me though and I think it went well on my end:




I sprayed it over with this - https://thermotec.com/hi-heat-coating-spray-black/


And I made sure I hit Yordan's deadline on this as he was getting quite furious on all crap I left behind and forget and he kept finding little by little... mostly lost bolts, etc. The one particular thing that got him nuts was the discovery that gearbox linkage I had been running before with the m40 and that same gearbox will not work. Seems I never actually connected that thing to confirm all is good and it turned out that despite my extreme engine furthest back position the M40 must have been sitting ~1cm further back (what a disappointment ) essentially making the linkage I had useless... With the m40 and the 6 speed I've been using an unmodified base out of a 4pot e90 diesel with a slightly shortened linkage rod. Now that base turned out shorter than required and I brought to Yordan a e90 4pot petrol linkage which is much longer than the diesel on but mates better to the gearbox as it is the linkage for that gearbox while the diesel one is used with the GS6-37dz. Anyhow he shortened the damn thing only to discover yet another issue - one he assembled the whole thing the gear leaver hanged some 15 degrees towards the right seat indicating that there is something wrong with the engine and gearbox position. After some thinkering we agreed that my engine mounts are putting the engine slightly to the left and making the whole assembly twist leftwise thus pushing the lever base slightly rightwise causing the observed lever tilt to the right:


Solution chosen at this point in time was not to touch the mounts as engine is already in and they are painted and all plus we have zero opportunity to push the engine to the right due to the exhaust manifold minimal gap... So:


And all went at center. I hope this will not cause further troubles like drive shaft vibration, etc.

[steffgang]

Yordan pushed without much hassle the cooling connections, pipes and hoses:




Fixed the dipstick:


Did some welding on the steering line that I still don't quite understand the path of but it shall go from the rack to the right side where the pump is mated with the water pump:


And while in there added some essential additions:

Brake booster and pump out of e90 (seems to be an already popular mod that I wasn't aware of):


And a really nice solid steering column to rack linkage that he fabricates and offers at a very reasonable price:

[steffgang]

The intake has been a main focus most of the time. He managed to find a neat solution for the linkage:












On that last shot you can see also the oil temp and pressure sensor mounted and the already painted coolant piping as well as the engine wiring taking shape.

[steffgang]

Yordan was sick for few days and had to stay home. He got some quick tryout on the intake:


and within the same day also ran CFD:


Then few days later he sent over these:










Parallel to this he sorted out the engine harness and was preparing for a first start of the engine. And then on the next day he had it started for the first time 4 years later:
https://youtu.be/ckHhw048zNE
https://youtu.be/icbn8wp8Wfc

[steffgang]

I already got the chance to take a spin in it while he was doing some rough initial mapping:


So happy to get to this point!

I want to mention that we've been getting a lot of help from Daniel of https://www.elementperformance.co.uk/ who is helping with key points on setting the triggers and getting Vanoses run as he is already using EMU Black on a 320si and pursuing WTCC power figures.

We used Daniel's printed locking tool for the engine timing setup after I purchased a set that was supposed to be compatible, but is not. Daniel's tool is the only one we've been able to find and we tried the BMW dealership as well with zero luck.

The car has surprisingly few issues besides not nowhere near being mapped, but still drivable. I am extremely happy to report that my Frankenstein oil pan is easily getting 4.5l of oil plenty before the dipstick hole level and we actually get a maximum reading on that unmodified m40 stick at the 4.5l mark. Biggest issue so far is that brakes are not power assisted at all and ICV is not able to get us at decent idle rpms. Likely the reason is that the vacuum rail connections to the ITBs are way too thin @4mm inside diameter - plan is to get them up to 10mm following the size on the S85 rail to ITBs. Apparently the printed intake is not of the proper material so far and as much as I like the colors of it (which are a complete random based on filament the print guy has available) we can have them with the actual material we have to use.

[DanThe]

Excellent updates, great to see something other than cupholders being made on a 3D printer!