E30 Zone

I have been meaning to write this thread for a number of years. I picked up a fairly low miles 316i auto, sun roof facelift with electric windows back in 2014
The first thing i set about doing was to ditch the hub capped wheels and fit a fine set of BBS reps.. as you do.
I managed to pick up a really clean set of sport seats for £250 and 4 hours of driving. If only we could still find bargains like this now.
The M40 was never going to stay but whilst it was in i dressed it up a bit. By now it had been treated to a set of BC coilovers, which are still on the car
I got distracted with a baur for a bit as well but it didnt last.

Next up was to pull the M40b16 and fit an m52b28. Round about this point in time i would pester Dan plenty. The car has his steering column, fan loom and PWS pipes to this day. When it was a b28 i also used his exhaust manifolds. Dan has always been a pleasure to deal with.

whilst this was going i replaced every bearing and ball joint etc. This was also when i changed the rack to Z3 rack

The b28 was a great upgrade and looked pretty good once fitted.



i had to keep with the powder coating theme, so i pulled the rear subframe and set about it. I really regret not changing to rear disks at this point in time. Spring was coming and i got impatient

I then entered the car into a local sprint. The cage went in to make it look racey haha

Round about this time i got offered a decent priced s50.

So i set about with 1 week to go before the sprint swapping over to the S50. At first i ran the s50 engine with the 2.8 exhaust manifolds and open ITB's. Dan had a map to help run without the maf. The car was running rubbish and i missed the sprint. I should have left in the 2.8.

It took me a few weeks of head scratching and swear words but i got to the bottom of the crap running. Some one had swapped the injectors for a set from a 320. i was chasing too much air as fuel pressure was correct. i didn't expect the injectors t be wrong. A lesson learned

having over come my fuelling issue, it was time to get the airbox in correctly. This meant moving the servo over a couple of inches to make room. Another top tip from dan, was to source an e34 brake linkage and cut it down, allowing for the extra room.

i vapour blasted the ITBs and got the rocket cover and airbox powder coated with a crinkle black to freshen it up a bit.

Next up was some new bonnet insulation, M Tech gear knob and an LSD source from Dan of course

the car always had a blister on one of the quarter panels but upon a proper inspection it had gone into the inner arch. Up until now i had never welded on a car but had played about with a mig welder. I decided just to get stuck in.
It was time for some new shoes as well

With the new shoes on.

The following winter i had some more rust to take care of. This being easier with taking the engine out... again.

i replaced the brake pipes again and resprayed the bay. The block got treated to a clean up as the last time i put it in, i was in a rush to make the sprint it never made.

Again whilst it was out i figured id do the bearings and studs. I also changed the clutch to a sachs performance clutch as the one in the car originally wasnt really fit for the engine and i would slip slightly.

The 2.8 manifolds finally got changed for a Fritzbits s50 RHD manifold

To complement the manifold i bought a Supersprint system designed for an S50'ed E30. A lovely bit of metal.

Next up was a trial fit of the aftermarket tech 2 kit before paint.

after paint

I've since installed a cat 1 alarm and immobiliser for some added security and blip locks.

and almost up to the current day. I've got rid of the stance wheels and smoked rear lights, along with the chrome kidneys again. I've probably missed out loads but this is my e30 so far.

Where the hell to start ??
Epic to the point of "Kin Ell"
Great write up but an even greater car you have created, absolute credit to you sir

Mart.

(I did rather like the smoked lights though )

Cheers Mart. Yeah the rears were nice but I kept changing my mind on them. I finally stuck them on ebay to stop me changing my mind again

Its so great to see a project come good, sorry, better than good.
It`s lovely to be able to afford something on this scale (you still have a house and family )
but not to compromise on what you saw from long ago is truely amazing.
Thanks for this mate
Mart.

Are you an engineer ?

Appreciate it Mart. Its been done in stages. Stock up on parts whilst i run it through the summer and when the gritters come i take it off the road and work on the next mission with it. Its been neglected this winter so far as i am in the process of rescuing an early z3. I do have a set of brakes waiting to go on and i'd love to find a mint anthracite 6 pot carpet for it, if anyone has 1 stashed away?

I am not an engineer but i've worked in an electromechanical role in heavy industry for a long time but In honesty its gained from messing with cars
haha.

Three words f,ing loving it.

ah wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:01 pm

Three words f,ing loving it.

Thanks AH, i appreciate it

Top drawer work there , well done it looks epic

fixedwheelnut wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 07, 2023 1:03 pm

Top drawer work there , well done it looks epic

Thanks mate, appreciate it

Really enjoyed seeing the progress and what an end result. It must be an animal. Admire your dedication in seeing it through and we'll done on tackling that bodywork, it looks like a great job

tha881 wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 09, 2023 8:14 pm

Really enjoyed seeing the progress and what an end result. It must be an animal. Admire your dedication in seeing it through and we'll done on tackling that bodywork, it looks like a great job

Thanks mate. It is good fun, spritely out of corners on the B road twistys and amusing how far round the RPM needle goes versus the dials. It sings on full chat.

Roll on spring time !

Smart motor mate! Thanks for creating this thread

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