E30 Zone

Hi all!

I did post an intro in 'Pub Talk' but the thread seems to have disappeared, so I'll start again here!

I come from a Vauxhall background, yes it was a Nova... SHOCK HORROR, I bought as a 1.2spi with 26,000 genuine miles on it, and turned it into a 320bhp turbo'd torque-steering / under-steering death machine!

The Nova did well, and proved, after a good summer of events, that you can do a lot with the little 2 door hatch, it's just such a shame it gets such a bad rep!

A few pics of the car:

Pre turbo (redtop 2l 16V engine)











Post turbo engine (never did get round to hiding the FMIC - but that was the plan - wolf in sheep's clothing etc!)





Interior…. Minimal!





Always good to have good brakes with 320bhp in a bean can!



Lots of stitch welding to hold it all together…







The Nova was meant to be a track car, but it ended up with too much power, which resulted in more of a Âa mile car. PB was a 12.7 sec pass, running only 6psi of boost on road tires. Was wound up to 22psi soon after and was terrifying! Only got one trip to Pod when it ran the full 22psi boost on slicks, but it was rained off… Boo!

A few videos on YouTube: (All when only running 6psi, not 22psi)







Anywho, now that I've rambled on and justified the Nova, which is what I spent two years doing, on to more important matters!

Been car-less since the end of summer, when I decided to strip and sell the Nova for bits, as more and more power hikes seemed to mean more and more wheel-spin! That's when I realised (after years of being told this by friends) that I needed RWD in my life!

I do like a good bit of fabrication; having built the Nova, and having friends with cars such as a YB Cossie engined Caterham, few Mk1 Escorts, Westy Megablade, and the cream of the crop a Talbot Sunbeam with an RX7 engine in!

It's taken a few months of research to decide what to do as a next project. I wanted a shell that I can get lots of fibreglass / carbon panels for, and other motorsport bits. I was originally going to use my LET turbo engine out the Nova in an Opel Kadett C saloon, but decided £ for bhp the Vauxhall engine couldn't do the job, plus it meant a trip to Germany to fetch a decent shell! I then toyed with a Porsche 944 with a rotary engine in, then an Audi quattro which I planned to convert to SWB rally spec. A YB engined mk2 Cortina was on the cards for a while, then a Radical type bike engined car, but finally knew I was onto a winner when I saw this at the Autosport Show a few weeks back and fell in love!





When I got home I did a bit of google image searching and found these, which are all stunning! (Not sure if I want to have another sleeper, or a stickered up touring car rep jobbie though…)











I know they are all M3's, and they are a lot of money, and as I plan to a lot of chopping / fabrication, it would be sacrilege to butcher a nice M3 about, so I am going to settle on the normal E30. I've been doing a bit of reading around, and as I will be fitting a lot of fibreglass / carbon I'm toying with the idea of using M3 panels (arches etc) as I love the lines of the arches (similar to the Nova ), but I don't know yet.

Also don't know the differences between the different models of E30 (facelift wise), but I am after a mint 2 door saloon shell without a sunroof, which is proving tricky to find!

Engine wise, after MUCH deliberation, I am going to use a Volvo 5 cylinder engine (T5)... Strange you may think! But having seen good results with both 4 and 5 cylinder engines, that is what I plan to use! It will be turbo'd and maybe charged too.

The T5's were all front wheel drive, however Volvo put the whiteblock engine in the 960, although it was a 6 cylinder but it was RWD and some were manual so the box from that will mate up fine... Whether it will take the power I want to put through it is another matter!

The 5 cylinder Volvo engine (T5 motor) (known as a 'white block' apparently), is 225 out of the factory, and with relatively simple mods like bigger turbo / injectors / strengthened rods and pistons (Sten Parner is the man), 350-400 brake is easy enough to reach.

The engines are 225 in the 850's, 250 in the T5-R and 850R (it was only a difference in mapping) then in the V70 T5 they were 250 standard. In the later V70R AWD's they were 265 with a bigger turbo.

The eninge I want is the B5234T that would be found in a 94/95 850 T-5.

I'll be fitting Sten Rods and Pistons or similar, so I want the 2.3 engine as it has thicker cylinder walls over the 2.5 and also the Pre-S/C/V70 engines will be non VVTi and easier to work with in terms of ECU's etc. Also theres a lot more about and less money spent on the engine means more for nice parts!

I will probably use 960 mounts and a 960 sump (shortened by 1 cylinder), as the mounts will be easier to adapt for an E30 chassis due to the crossmember location.

The M90 out of a manual Volvo 960 2.5 will bolt up to the T5 engine, (same bell housing pattern). Using a diesel clutch out of an 850 TDI will be a quick fix until it starts to slip!

A lot of the inspiration is being drawn from Ronnie Hilmersson's Manta A, which is worth a look in at http://www.hilmersson-racing.com/

I am in the process of selling my Yamaha WR450F supermoto http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=007 so am in the position to buy the E30 now!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!

a volvo engined e30 will upset some of the purests but hey each to there own and after serving my time on volvos i know the gains from there engines and would like to see this take place

Cheers mate! (PS - love your avatar picture / video thing!)

See here for a few questions I need answering before I buy an E30 - http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... 45#1031245

Thats a mighty plan there mate!! Makes my 335 conversion look boring! I look forward to this coming together!!

Sounds Awesome mate. I had a Nova for my first car. Just a tad short of 320bhp though. 1.2 Merit. I absolutely loved it though with its flaired arches and clean lines and it was the famous vauxhall red which turned pink everytime the sun shined. I still miss it now. As you say its such a shame they have the image they do because they were such fun to drive.

But ive since moved on to RWD drive old skool rightness and im completely hooked. As a warning though this zone is highly addictive. Just so you know.lol.

nothing wrong with the nova background i had my fair share of Novas and left the scene when it came to either doing a Red top conversion or buying a car i always wanted! the E30 won and i would not go back unless it was a cheap run around for fun!!

your Nova looked though mate- was you on "novaload?"

I like your plans Aramil

Out of curiosity - why a Volvo lump, why not SAAB 2.3 turbo lump? It's all hearsay but aren't they supposed to be able to take around 400-500hp with factory internals? As for gearbox it's supposed to be compatible with lots of GM boxes.

In any case - good luck, looks like a fantastic project!

jay1980 wrote:Thats a mighty plan there mate!! Makes my 335 conversion look boring! I look forward to this coming together!!

Cheers dude - I'm looking forward to it too!

Eddie25 wrote:Sounds Awesome mate. I had a Nova for my first car. Just a tad short of 320bhp though. 1.2 Merit. I absolutely loved it though with its flaired arches and clean lines and it was the famous vauxhall red which turned pink everytime the sun shined. I still miss it now. As you say its such a shame they have the image they do because they were such fun to drive.

But ive since moved on to RWD drive old skool rightness and im completely hooked. As a warning though this zone is highly addictive. Just so you know.lol.

Good old Vauxhall Flame Red (or pink as you rightly said!)

Nova's do have a bad rep, but I think its starting to disappear as they are getting rarer... Maybe the next Mini in terms of its following?!

mikeyboy wrote:nothing wrong with the nova background i had my fair share of Novas and left the scene when it came to either doing a Red top conversion or buying a car i always wanted! the E30 won and i would not go back unless it was a cheap run around for fun!!

your Nova looked though mate- was you on "novaload?"

I was / am on Novaload (or PNG as its now called). Rob77 is my username on there (and Migweb)...

Thanks to all for the comments and warm welcome!

Aramil wrote:
I know they are all M3's, and they are a lot of money,

Not all actually, the black one isn't, so shows what can be done with a standard E30.

Welcome, and sounds like you have some wicked plans.

i just sold my 1994 volvo t-5 aswell mate, went cheap mostly cos it was auto and turbo smoked constantly, u will pay alot more for a manual than auto as there alot faster 0-60 but u can get em cheap at auctions cos the power of the engine pulling the huge weight actually starts to pull the front end away from the chassis causeing them to never go straight again, thats y the police got rid of them

my mate just recently sold his saloon T5-R, what a fantastic beast it was. Nice choice, should make for an interesting project, certainly something different. Good luck...

a great project !
i'll look forward to keeping my eye on this one aramil.

casper8r wrote:Out of curiosity - why a Volvo lump, why not SAAB 2.3 turbo lump? It's all hearsay but aren't they supposed to be able to take around 400-500hp with factory internals? As for gearbox it's supposed to be compatible with lots of GM boxes.

In any case - good luck, looks like a fantastic project!

I want a 5 cylinder! (Thats the only real reason!)

Simon wrote:

Aramil wrote:
I know they are all M3's, and they are a lot of money,

Not all actually, the black one isn't, so shows what can be done with a standard E30.

Welcome, and sounds like you have some wicked plans.

Ah yes! I hadn't noticed that! That looks good with those arches though, not weird as I would have expected...

scottiemorris wrote:i just sold my 1994 volvo t-5 aswell mate, went cheap mostly cos it was auto and turbo smoked constantly, u will pay alot more for a manual than auto as there alot faster 0-60 but u can get em cheap at auctions cos the power of the engine pulling the huge weight actually starts to pull the front end away from the chassis causeing them to never go straight again, thats y the police got rid of them

Ah fair does! I am going to try and just buy the engine on its own though, as there are often ones popping up on ebay that sell for daft money... (Cheap)

Ajay325 wrote:my mate just recently sold his saloon T5-R, what a fantastic beast it was. Nice choice, should make for an interesting project, certainly something different. Good luck...

Thanks mate!

glenn wrote:a great project !
i'll look forward to keeping my eye on this one aramil.

Cheers! Looking forward to cracking on with it!

Rob.

I agree with the 5 cylinder
listen to this

Savage!!!!!!!!

darren_1984 wrote:I agree with the 5 cylinder
listen to this

Savage!!!!!!!!

Enough said.

im now thinking about Audi quattro engines becouse of this thread

Ooo that does sound good!

Looking forward to the whine of the 5 cylinder!

Love the sound of this too -

And can't beat the old 5 cylind SWB quattro - &

The quattro is one of the main reasons I came up with the idea of using a 5 cylinder engine... As I said, was toying with building a replica SWB quattro, but I can't justify buying a nice quattro and then cutting it in half!!

good plan you have there and it sounds like you have thought it through well. interseting choice for a conversion and i look farward to seeing a progress report soon.
dont worry to much about upsetting the purists as theres always a couple of doubters but most will be interested in your plans.
have you considered using a touring as your base model as well speced 325's come with the mtec suspension,rear brakes,lsd that will handle your power levels with off the shelf upgrades.

fuzzy wrote:good plan you have there and it sounds like you have thought it through well. interseting choice for a conversion and i look farward to seeing a progress report soon.
dont worry to much about upsetting the purists as theres always a couple of doubters but most will be interested in your plans.
have you considered using a touring as your base model as well speced 325's come with the mtec suspension,rear brakes,lsd that will handle your power levels with off the shelf upgrades.

Thank you!

The touring is mint, but I prefer the 2 door saloon, and I would have thought there is a weight difference to consider, as I'm aiming for uber 'light-weight-ness' !

Sounds like a good project. The engine from the T5 is an excellent choice, brilliant engines and underrated imo.

This will be the first T5 engine in an E30 that I have seen.

Cough /Audi 5 pot 20v turbo\ Cough

/\ Use that instead

Sounds like a cool project but if you are after serious, serious power the audi has more tuning options I guess?

I'm loving your knowledge on the volvo gearboxs' I often wondered if you could make a high power t5 engine rear wheel drive...it seems you can

I'm pretty sure 5 cylinder volvo lumps were developed with Audi / VW and have plenty of similarities Golf GTI engines of the era.

Volvo ones I assume would be designed for more torque. They also have ancient ignition control, which is well know to be un-reliable. Mine used die every so often - then come back to life. There have been a few cases of them dieing on the fast last of a motorway:x

I just sold my 850 20v - the noise its truly immense! especially near the red line. It is however deceptive, because it makes you think you speeding up a lot quicker than you are!

Nice project.

I have been in a T5 volvo estate with the 2.3 turbo engine, the guy had it mildy tuned and the shopping trolley wanted to just launch. Neck breaking acceleration! especially in a e30. Also a 2.3/2.5 turbo lump is powerfull as a m30 and its lighter.

Using a T5 lump will give you a good "power gains" to "money" ratio. Unlike a m30 which i will have to remortgage my house to make it turbo

Good luck with the project should be good fun!

Great choice of engine, I love 5 pots too. I very nearly bought an S2 coupe last year.
As said i'd probably look at the Audi engine instead, tuning potential is huge. You would have thought it would be an easier fit too, as it was designed to sit longitudinally in the first place, unlike the Volvo.

Sound pretty damn good when they're nasp and revving to 8500 too.
I miss the old Volvo touring cars!

This sounds brilliant. Get on with it then!!

Im looking forward to seeing this project happen
Ive not read the whole thread, just your first bit about your previous car [nova] and your plans when you get your hands on the e30

Ive no doubt that some people on here will have a winge but i say go for it.

Btw, Nowt wrong with Novas, my first car was a mint 1 owner petrol blue 1.2i on a K plate......Only 34,000 miles when i got my hands on it

Welcome to the zone and good luck with the project...................keep us all posted

Nice project something ive been considering/thinking about because I work at a volvo specialist, see how the m30 goes first, next thursday fingers crossed

Actually someone came in the garage the other day and they were convinced A T5 lump bolted up to a 535 gearbox

what would you go with a stand alone ecu or volvo loom?

E30drifto

If you do it to yours... I want the same to replace the M20

I wonder what a subaru engine would be like in an E30. It would be a pig to awd it, but fun when it was done no doubt.