Welcome to my build.
I originally started with a '84 323i more-door, but since have moved on to a 87' 2-door.
This thread will show how it started off up until present day.
'87 2-door Chromie M52B28 Conversion/Resto
Moderator: martauto
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jimbom30cab
- Tech 1 freak
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:00 pm
- Location: in the garage
Great work mate, nice job. 
What would we all do without our Dan hey !!
What would we all do without our Dan hey !!
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Topblag
- Old Skooler
- Posts: 7095
- Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:00 pm
- Location: Fife - You got a problem with that ?
Nice one, i've developed a liking for the moredoor variety the past few years and anyone with taste loves a chromie 
1990 325i Cab auto in Alpine White II
1988 Alpina C2.5 moredoor in Black, 71k
1990 325ix, moredoor auto in Laser Blue. 51k
1984 Hartge H35 in Black
2004 996 C4S in Silver 43k manual
2006 Audi S6 V10 in Black 58k
1988 Alpina C2.5 moredoor in Black, 71k
1990 325ix, moredoor auto in Laser Blue. 51k
1984 Hartge H35 in Black
2004 996 C4S in Silver 43k manual
2006 Audi S6 V10 in Black 58k
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E30BeemerLad
- Married to the E30 Zone
- Posts: 16806
- Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Norfolk
Nice project mate.
Chrome & 24v is the way to go.
I would have attacked the engine bay with the pressure washer before putting the mill in there though.
Chrome & 24v is the way to go.
I would have attacked the engine bay with the pressure washer before putting the mill in there though.
So thought I would update this, appears all my original photos have decided to disappear.
Bought this 84' more-door chromie, was owned by two of my mates previously and I couldn't see it get stripped or scrapped. Originally I intended to get it running properly, tidy it up, MOT and run around in it for a while. Those plans quickly changed and now a year down the line I'm still building it.
I know a more-door or even a non-sport isn't everyones cup of tea, but I'm not fussy with e30's. I quite like the look of it and its unsuspecting to other road users.
Apologies for the quality of the iPhone pics.
Previous owner washing it, all part of the deal. It had been sat around for an age gathering moss.
Straight to it: Old engine out, it ran fine, only 70k miles on the clock and it had recently had a whole new ignition put on it. Later found out someone must have fried the original ECU as it was running a 2.0 version.
Which left me with this mess.
Sourced a M52B28 locally, old and new.
Started the conversion, nice lighter flywheel found on the earlier e30's.
New crank shaft oil seal.
Started tarting up the engine at my work.
Danthe manifolds bought, the quality of these are brilliant, worth the price.
Back to they bay, reasonably solid, but sitting about for a long time has took its toll.
Excuse the M badge, wasn't put on in my ownership, honestly.
Quick mock fit of the e36 power steering rack, e34 joints and Danthe splined shaft.
Getting there.
Sump off.
Flywheel on after a skim.
New Sachs clutch.
And in...
M50 manifold on for trial fit.
In the meantime, bought a new e36 radiator. Turns out the bought the non-aircon variant. Whoops.
Also started to buy some of the engine bay trim.
Clearance is tight against the steering column but will be fine!
Cheapo Scorpion exhaust bought.
RX7 4-pots for later.
Strip down begins again.
Found some mint condition poverty spec interior for cheap. Originally the car came with the 'Pacific' pack interior, which is blue. Rank.
This is going to be fun.
Picked up this wonderful one owner 328i sport. Subsequently flogged the engine on and kept the gearbox and prop for myself.
Some previous repairs had been done really well. I hope you can sense the sarcasm.
Made a start on the engine bay revamp.
Cleaned the engine up some more, treated it to a metal impeller waterpump, thermostat and metal housing.
Finished off my temporary air vent.
Clio servo treated to some love.
Picked a set of these up for cheap.
E36 M3 oil filter housing.
AN10 adaptor.
Had a mate machine some brackets up for the rx7 calipers.
Test fitted with some Corrado G60 discs.
Small problem, they will fit under the 15" BBS wheels but will need spaced out for the offset. Going to machine the Mazda badge off too.
Shocks stripped down.
Top mount was properly goosed, so rather than waste time removing it I got the grinder out.
Same with the securing cap, nothing would remove it so I welded up a makeshift tool.
And off.
Shocks werent even that bad.
Bushes/ball joints out, these were stubborn to say the least.
Easier to cut them off.
Ready for blasting.
Lower arms powder coated.
Shocks blasted and etch primed.
Cut the old spring platform off.
New bearings/hubs.
Cheapo suspension set-up. Will do for now, I feel like I'm bleeding money on this at moment.
Pedal box mounted, decided I didn't like the Clio servo and the options for a larger master cylinder weren't great. This works out about the same cost wise as a new M3 or 540i master cylinder. Should offer better adjustment for bias and I'm not arsed for servo assistance. Also new sound insulation mats from Germany.
Getting there.
Refurbed the gear linkage, the difference between the old and new bushes should be like night and day.
Modified the fork with another I had about.
New clutch slave cylinder and braided hose.
Correct rad in, wish I had bought a bigger fan, see how this one fairs up first.
Making a start on the valance, not as bad as other I have seen. As soon as I get the front end reassembled I can assess what room I have for my Mocal cooler.
Bought this 84' more-door chromie, was owned by two of my mates previously and I couldn't see it get stripped or scrapped. Originally I intended to get it running properly, tidy it up, MOT and run around in it for a while. Those plans quickly changed and now a year down the line I'm still building it.
I know a more-door or even a non-sport isn't everyones cup of tea, but I'm not fussy with e30's. I quite like the look of it and its unsuspecting to other road users.
Apologies for the quality of the iPhone pics.
Previous owner washing it, all part of the deal. It had been sat around for an age gathering moss.
Straight to it: Old engine out, it ran fine, only 70k miles on the clock and it had recently had a whole new ignition put on it. Later found out someone must have fried the original ECU as it was running a 2.0 version.
Which left me with this mess.
Sourced a M52B28 locally, old and new.
Started the conversion, nice lighter flywheel found on the earlier e30's.
New crank shaft oil seal.
Started tarting up the engine at my work.
Danthe manifolds bought, the quality of these are brilliant, worth the price.
Back to they bay, reasonably solid, but sitting about for a long time has took its toll.
Excuse the M badge, wasn't put on in my ownership, honestly.
Quick mock fit of the e36 power steering rack, e34 joints and Danthe splined shaft.
Getting there.
Sump off.
Flywheel on after a skim.
New Sachs clutch.
And in...
M50 manifold on for trial fit.
In the meantime, bought a new e36 radiator. Turns out the bought the non-aircon variant. Whoops.
Also started to buy some of the engine bay trim.
Clearance is tight against the steering column but will be fine!
Cheapo Scorpion exhaust bought.
RX7 4-pots for later.
Strip down begins again.
Found some mint condition poverty spec interior for cheap. Originally the car came with the 'Pacific' pack interior, which is blue. Rank.
This is going to be fun.
Picked up this wonderful one owner 328i sport. Subsequently flogged the engine on and kept the gearbox and prop for myself.
Some previous repairs had been done really well. I hope you can sense the sarcasm.
Made a start on the engine bay revamp.
Cleaned the engine up some more, treated it to a metal impeller waterpump, thermostat and metal housing.
Finished off my temporary air vent.
Clio servo treated to some love.
Picked a set of these up for cheap.
E36 M3 oil filter housing.
AN10 adaptor.
Had a mate machine some brackets up for the rx7 calipers.
Test fitted with some Corrado G60 discs.
Small problem, they will fit under the 15" BBS wheels but will need spaced out for the offset. Going to machine the Mazda badge off too.
Shocks stripped down.
Top mount was properly goosed, so rather than waste time removing it I got the grinder out.
Same with the securing cap, nothing would remove it so I welded up a makeshift tool.
And off.
Shocks werent even that bad.
Bushes/ball joints out, these were stubborn to say the least.
Easier to cut them off.
Ready for blasting.
Lower arms powder coated.
Shocks blasted and etch primed.
Cut the old spring platform off.
New bearings/hubs.
Cheapo suspension set-up. Will do for now, I feel like I'm bleeding money on this at moment.
Pedal box mounted, decided I didn't like the Clio servo and the options for a larger master cylinder weren't great. This works out about the same cost wise as a new M3 or 540i master cylinder. Should offer better adjustment for bias and I'm not arsed for servo assistance. Also new sound insulation mats from Germany.
Getting there.
Refurbed the gear linkage, the difference between the old and new bushes should be like night and day.
Modified the fork with another I had about.
New clutch slave cylinder and braided hose.
Correct rad in, wish I had bought a bigger fan, see how this one fairs up first.
Making a start on the valance, not as bad as other I have seen. As soon as I get the front end reassembled I can assess what room I have for my Mocal cooler.
subscribed 
i wonder if i could copy your brake conversion and you could possibly replicate those brackets and post them to me ?
been looking at a cost cutting worthy brake upgrade and the rx7 jobbie foots the bill
i wonder if i could copy your brake conversion and you could possibly replicate those brackets and post them to me ?
been looking at a cost cutting worthy brake upgrade and the rx7 jobbie foots the bill
m52 b30 stroker 6-speed 318is Galvanizer
m42 touring
+ a yard full of scrap turds
Thanks for the kind comments, slow progress just now as I have another car I need to get roadworthy.
With regards to the caliper brackets, I have redesigned them and I am planning to look into geting a few sets made up and coated. Watch this space.
Ryan.
With regards to the caliper brackets, I have redesigned them and I am planning to look into geting a few sets made up and coated. Watch this space.
Ryan.
drop me a pm Ryan when you have some for saleryan_gwa wrote:Thanks for the kind comments, slow progress just now as I have another car I need to get roadworthy.
With regards to the caliper brackets, I have redesigned them and I am planning to look into geting a few sets made up and coated. Watch this space.
Ryan.
m52 b30 stroker 6-speed 318is Galvanizer
m42 touring
+ a yard full of scrap turds
Small update time...
Engine back in, hopefully this is for the last time!
Luckily the manifold still fits with the pedal box.
S50 oil filter housing on.
New starter on.
Sender for oil pressure gauge fitted, its a very tight fit but still has clearance.
Bolted the pulleys back on along with the PAS pump, chucked a belt on and it lines up fine? I'm sure I read somewhere that the S50 oil filter housing pushes the pump back and requires spacing?
Wipped the cam cover off and the cams look great, thankfully!
Started assembling one side of suspension. Still need to press the lollipop bushes in.
Couldn't resist throwing a few more bits on.
How it looks at the moment.
Thought I would have limited space for the oil cooler, but thankfully there is a tons of space. Going to angle the cooler towards the vents for maximum airflow.
Some might have noticed the addition of the Jimmy Hill splitter, didn't realise when I bought it that the pre-facelifts had two variants of valance. Typical that I would have the one it didn't fit!
Put a wanted add out and got a response almost instantly, quick drive across Dundee and Jake aka. shedrool83 sorted me out with this later valance which is in incredible condition. Picture is pretty crap but you can kind of get the idea.
And lastly, I couldn't leave without trying a back Borbet on. 9J is pretty wide on the rear, I don't know how people get away with running them on the fronts too!
On to the other side to finish the front inner arches! Until next time.
Engine back in, hopefully this is for the last time!
Luckily the manifold still fits with the pedal box.
S50 oil filter housing on.
New starter on.
Sender for oil pressure gauge fitted, its a very tight fit but still has clearance.
Bolted the pulleys back on along with the PAS pump, chucked a belt on and it lines up fine? I'm sure I read somewhere that the S50 oil filter housing pushes the pump back and requires spacing?
Wipped the cam cover off and the cams look great, thankfully!
Started assembling one side of suspension. Still need to press the lollipop bushes in.
Couldn't resist throwing a few more bits on.
How it looks at the moment.
Thought I would have limited space for the oil cooler, but thankfully there is a tons of space. Going to angle the cooler towards the vents for maximum airflow.
Some might have noticed the addition of the Jimmy Hill splitter, didn't realise when I bought it that the pre-facelifts had two variants of valance. Typical that I would have the one it didn't fit!
Put a wanted add out and got a response almost instantly, quick drive across Dundee and Jake aka. shedrool83 sorted me out with this later valance which is in incredible condition. Picture is pretty crap but you can kind of get the idea.
And lastly, I couldn't leave without trying a back Borbet on. 9J is pretty wide on the rear, I don't know how people get away with running them on the fronts too!
On to the other side to finish the front inner arches! Until next time.
Are you running a bias pedal setup for the front and rear brakes? If you are I would suggest you set up the bias with a pressure gauge in the bleed nipples followed by a session on some mot brake rollers.
Great write up
Great write up
Mick! Just noticed you managed to dig out my old thread. Wasn't sure whether to start a new one?
Not much photo worthy progress on the new shell, I have removed the doors, glass, front/rear subframe.
Currently knocking up a roll over jig that should be done by the weekend.
KW355 - Yeah running a brake bias set-up, was cheaper than buying a 540i or M3 master cylinder and allows for me to dial in the correct amount of bias.
Not much photo worthy progress on the new shell, I have removed the doors, glass, front/rear subframe.
Currently knocking up a roll over jig that should be done by the weekend.
KW355 - Yeah running a brake bias set-up, was cheaper than buying a 540i or M3 master cylinder and allows for me to dial in the correct amount of bias.
Small update.
My original more-door project has come to its end. Everything has been salvaged ready for transplant onto the new shell.
Here are a few pics that you may have already seen from Mick's for sale add, his photo's don't appear to be working at the moment.
1987 316i Manual 2dr Chromie. Checked with the DVLA and the last registered mileage was around 68k just before it was taken off the road in 2010.
Excuse the M50 lump, that didn't come with the car...
Although I had invested a lot of time into the more-door shell it still had weeks, maybe months, of work left to do. This shell is in incredible condition in comparison.
Got it home...
The next stage was to remove the front and rear sub-frames, sadly with this originally being a 316 it had drums on the rear and 45mm struts. So most parts got added to the scrap metal pile.
Decided that this shell deserved to be treated underneath, so knocked up a roll-over spit. My mate donated me some drums off his Mk1 Golf to lock it off. Works better than expected.
I'm a little light on the photo front, but I was in a mad rush to get started. Jump to the finished article...
The previous owner has spent considerable time prepping the engine bay in order to get it sprayed, but most of it will be redone to freshen everything up.
Made a start on removing the tank, brake and fuel lines. Then on to the soul destroying task of removing the manky old under seal.
Stone chip primer on the bare metal. Amazing how much fresh metal is underneath, no dry rot whatsoever.
Unfortunately I had to cut out and patch a small area, the plate is flush behind the welds so after some dressing you shouldn't be able to notice it.
Old jacking point removed, the spot welds were in some random places.
Replacement dressed, zinc primed and spot welded back in place.
The drainage holes are in fantastic condition, such a relief!
That's it so far. Was a solid weekends work to get this far. Slow progress.
The prep stages on the metal will be:
(1) Bilthamber Hydrate 80,
(2) Stonechip primer,
(3) POR15 Etch primer,
(4) Two coats of colour coat,
(5) Top coat,
(6) Clear Dinnatrol or similar to avoid stone chips.
And this is the colour I have gone for, top marks if you can guess what it is!
My original more-door project has come to its end. Everything has been salvaged ready for transplant onto the new shell.
Here are a few pics that you may have already seen from Mick's for sale add, his photo's don't appear to be working at the moment.
1987 316i Manual 2dr Chromie. Checked with the DVLA and the last registered mileage was around 68k just before it was taken off the road in 2010.
Excuse the M50 lump, that didn't come with the car...
Although I had invested a lot of time into the more-door shell it still had weeks, maybe months, of work left to do. This shell is in incredible condition in comparison.
Got it home...
The next stage was to remove the front and rear sub-frames, sadly with this originally being a 316 it had drums on the rear and 45mm struts. So most parts got added to the scrap metal pile.
Decided that this shell deserved to be treated underneath, so knocked up a roll-over spit. My mate donated me some drums off his Mk1 Golf to lock it off. Works better than expected.
I'm a little light on the photo front, but I was in a mad rush to get started. Jump to the finished article...
The previous owner has spent considerable time prepping the engine bay in order to get it sprayed, but most of it will be redone to freshen everything up.
Made a start on removing the tank, brake and fuel lines. Then on to the soul destroying task of removing the manky old under seal.
Stone chip primer on the bare metal. Amazing how much fresh metal is underneath, no dry rot whatsoever.
Unfortunately I had to cut out and patch a small area, the plate is flush behind the welds so after some dressing you shouldn't be able to notice it.
Old jacking point removed, the spot welds were in some random places.
Replacement dressed, zinc primed and spot welded back in place.
The drainage holes are in fantastic condition, such a relief!
That's it so far. Was a solid weekends work to get this far. Slow progress.
The prep stages on the metal will be:
(1) Bilthamber Hydrate 80,
(2) Stonechip primer,
(3) POR15 Etch primer,
(4) Two coats of colour coat,
(5) Top coat,
(6) Clear Dinnatrol or similar to avoid stone chips.
And this is the colour I have gone for, top marks if you can guess what it is!
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jimbom30cab
- Tech 1 freak
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:00 pm
- Location: in the garage
Love the "previous repairs" pics
good thread this, enjoyed reading and looking at the pics
is the colour "Diamond Black" ??
good thread this, enjoyed reading and looking at the pics
is the colour "Diamond Black" ??