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Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:08 pm
by jaffro
very nice mate.
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:11 pm
by aceraf
car looks really clean...
that last pic looks like it was taken in the 80's!
Got a sort of green tint to it!
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:20 pm
by fuzzy
looking
mate. id noticed you seem to be spending more time on here recently.
how much did your lpg set up cost you? i was considering it until i found that e30's were to old to qualify for the goverment grant for lpg fitment. is there any lack of power on gas or is the difference un-noticeable?
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:25 pm
by 320Touring
looking good Stu!
Saw thics car in the flesh people-a credit to its owner
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:30 pm
by E30BeemerLad
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:30 pm
by billgatese30
320Touring wrote:
Saw thics car in the flesh people-a credit to its owner
yep, i'd have to agree with that
looking as good as ever Stu
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:44 am
by StuBeeDoo
Thanks for the comments chaps. 
fuzzy wrote:looking
mate. id noticed you seem to be spending more time on here recently.
how much did your lpg set up cost you? i was considering it until i found that e30's were to old to qualify for the goverment grant for lpg fitment. is there any lack of power on gas or is the difference un-noticeable?
All-in, it was £750 Fuzzy. The old "arse dyno" can't detect any power or performance difference. It's nearly 3 months since it's been up-and-running and already it's a third of the way to paying for itself.
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:33 am
by toby
Why not build a 2.7 fella?
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:48 am
by StuBeeDoo
toby wrote:Why not build a 2.7 fella?
Everyone's done a 2.7 and 2.8's are where it's at now. I'd thought about building a 2.8 before they became the new 2.7, but I'm very slow with these things as there's always something more important to do.
2.3 has always appealed to me - I don't know why. I just have this feeling that BMW left the 2.3 undeveloped when they dropped it and went to 2.5.
A few have done Motronic 2.3's but I've yet to hear of one in a Touring.
It's just about being slightly different, without going to the extreme of a complete engine transplant. It's got to stay M20.
I'm happy enough with the 130+bhp for now and if I see 160 from the 2.3 when I eventually get it built, that'll do for me. I'm not a power-maniac.
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:17 am
by toby
But if you are starting with a 320i, it is a fairly simple block change from a 525e plus ancillaries and no machining. I'm sure you know all this but think of an E30 2.7 that's also more economical than most other E30s. Also the torque of the 2.7 suits the weight of the touring.
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:55 am
by StuBeeDoo
toby wrote:But if you are starting with a 320i, it is a fairly simple block change from a 525e plus ancillaries and no machining. I'm sure you know all this but think of an E30 2.7 that's also more economical than most other E30s. Also the torque of the 2.7 suits the weight of the touring.
525e's aren't exactly 2 a penny these days, if they ever were.
I know all the arguments, I've heard them all before.
Look at it this way.....
M20B20 Motronic engine, strip the bottom end, rebuild with 2.3 crank (which I already have) and pistons, suitable chip (Ant can do one) - job done! No machining other than normal engine rebuild work. Torque should be roughly the same as a 2.5 (stroke's actually longer).
Like I said above, I'm not bothered about the power aspect - I'm actually quite happy with it as it is, that's why I'm in no hurry to build the 2.3. Economy doesn't bother me that much either since I fitted the LPG.
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:13 am
by toby
I see your reasoning.
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:29 pm
by saqi
i do like a touring
sweet ride mate
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:10 pm
by StuBeeDoo
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 8:27 pm
by johnl320
320Touring wrote:looking good Stu!
Saw thics car in the flesh people-a credit to its owner
Me too, I miss mine Stu
. Loving the mims
john
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 8:33 pm
by StuBeeDoo
johnl320 wrote:I miss mine Stu
I miss mine too John! Not allowed to drive for at least two weeks.
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:02 pm
by old_skool
That steering wheel is ace!
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:08 pm
by gareth
you just need a matching leather case for your shades now!
very nice mate
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:04 am
by StuBeeDoo
old_skool_2002 wrote:That steering wheel is ace!
Raid (Type 1??) 360mm. £6.99 eBay special. Would have been rude not to..... I really wanted a 370mm MTech1, but you know how difficult they are to find. gareth wrote:you just need a matching leather case for your shades now!
Good point Gareth! Have made mental note.
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 12:08 pm
by StuBeeDoo
toby wrote:I see your reasoning.
I'm big on theory!
Personally, I feel the biggest failing - from an output point of view - of the M20 is the short stroke. IMHO, that's why the 81mm stroke conversion is so popular.
I did some calculations a while back, on M20 bore/stroke ratios.....
1990cc = 1.21
2316cc = 1.04
2494cc = 1.12
2554cc = 1.09
2693cc = 1.04
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:11 pm
by Simon13
Looking good there stu, everyone talks a good 2.8 but only know of 2 in existance!
Re: My Touring Revisited
Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 6:46 pm
by StuBeeDoo
StuBeeDoo wrote:It started life as a poverty spec. 320i.
I recently got a print-out from my $tealer. Not only was the car poverty spec., it left the factory with beige interior! 
That would probably explain why a previous owner fitted Anthrashite cloth from a '93 318i Touring. I suspect the same donor gave-up its 15" BBS, as they were date-coded 93.
Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 6:58 pm
by aceraf
StuBeeDoo wrote:
Need to do this on mine...sick of the standard buttons.
Do they close the windows all the way with 1 push?
Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 7:53 pm
by StuBeeDoo
aceraf wrote:Do they close the windows all the way with 1 push?
No, they aren't one-touch. I don't know if you can actually do that on an E30.
The reason that I did it was the E36 switches don't need a heavy push - just a light touch is all that's needed. Doesn't bother me that I don't have one-touch.
Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 8:01 pm
by aceraf
StuBeeDoo wrote:aceraf wrote:Do they close the windows all the way with 1 push?
No, they aren't one-touch. I don't know if you can actually do that on an E30.
The reason that I did it was the E36 switches don't need a heavy push - just a light touch is all that's needed. Doesn't bother me that I don't have one-touch.
I know what you mean...getting fed up with mine, you have to press really hard, and they still end up stopping half way if you move your finger slightly.
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:26 pm
by StuBeeDoo
Time for a couple of updates methinks. Here's the first one - Silber cloth Recaro interior.....
I recently found out that the car originally had "Natur" (ie beige) comfort interior. I know it's not to everyone's taste, but in some ways I sort of wish it was still the original colour.
I should have a couple more goodies to show-off in the next few days.
Re:
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:31 pm
by josh-hocking
thats nice!!! those seats
Re:
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:06 pm
by Fal_325i
Those seats are lush
Re:
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:22 pm
by toby
They turned out very very well those seats from the look of them!
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:38 pm
by StuBeeDoo
OK, here's the latest upgrade.....
Glass sunroof panel
So, that's it. 4-and-a-bit years and I've finally got it just about how I want. A set of 16" Hartge's could be tempting, if the price is right, but I'm not actively looking. Same goes for an MTech tailgate spoiler.
Next year, a few small bodywork issues will be addressed and when they are, it will gain an MTech2 front spoiler.
Thanks for looking and for the comments.
Stuart.
Re:
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:42 pm
by Chris-W
Nice one Stu
Re:
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:43 pm
by Simon13
I like seats!
Stuart it never ever ends!
Glass roof retract?
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:49 pm
by vinni
Re:
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:49 pm
by StuBeeDoo
Simon13 wrote:I like seats!
It's a good job I'm not any taller, my napper nearly touches the headlining! 
Other than that, I'm happy with them. On advice from another E30 nut, I've convinced myself that they're "faux-leather".
Simon13 wrote:Stuart it never ever ends!
Yep, you're probably right. 
Simon13 wrote:Glass roof retract?
Sure does. Works exactly the same as the steel one. Everything is original except the panel itself.
