Cooks m52 316i - going S54!

[Cook318IS]

Right... start from the beginning all the way back in january / february time!

I was offered an m50 engine off benjy on here, that basically made up my decision on either doing an m50 or buying a 325i cab instead! After chatting with a mate of mine, he said to me that his brother-in-law has a red 316i that he has been thinking about selling. Went to see it and ended up buying it. Its a facelift brilliant red 316i lux, A few dents here and there but not alot of rust at all, lowered by 40mm, 15" bbs's, and two ignition barrels But luckily my grandma was more willing to let it sit on her drive than my mum was!

pictures when i first got it in need of a wash:






butchered stereo wiring + mutilated panel

The 2nd ignition barrel disconnected it, wired the wires together and the car started... (with the keys obviously!)


One nice day i gave it a quick wash and a polish. When its actually on the road, i'll be taking it over to my mates to mop it

Looking into a spoilerless boot eventually anyway




Spot the iS




I've bought a hell of alot of parts for it, i've spent a fortune in bmw and its being built to last! Pretty much everything you can think of is being replaced.


Sprayed the exhaust system up

My £7.50 genuine iS front splitter on my rotary open aired paint booth:p (note the 15" bbs's + 1 14" that has been sat there for over a year since i bought the 15"s off eko

Got a quote of £70 for powdercoating the rocker cover... out came the rattle cans again!


This project has had its downsides though (obviously money being a main one - im only an apprentice and ALL my money has been going into this and running my iS.) I bought a 3.73 lsd off ebay... when it arrived it was a 3.64 and some of the diff "fans" on the cover had snapped becuase it was poorly packaged. Im still using it becuase it'll be more economical driving to college
Also my recaros that i bought turned up "not quite as described" A few knicks in the leather and one of the brackets which bolts the back to the subframe had snapped. Also bought an audi quattro master cylinder but it is too long

That is up to about last week in really REALLY short terms!

I dont really have the expertise to do this... Luckily the e30 zone has some utter legends like eko. He is essentially doing the conversion for me with me getting in the way

The 316i had a broken power steering rack... this was all the fluid left in the system!


Engine stripped with some bits to flog on



And these have been sent to me tonight:



Using the 320i linkage, mount + z3 shortshift:




Now for some quick thankyous Obviously a big thanks to eko - this man is an utter legend (no other word compares!), Benjy for helping out and suppling the main part! daimlerman for his m40 set up help, spadge, adit, danthe, bbb, bob_s for the support (should be read "abuse"), everybody else who has supplied me with parts or given me advice and OBs... its his fault for letting me have a go in his in the first place

I'll probably update this tommorow when i remember more!

[ImysE30]

project, should look good when it's all done

[don2009]

AWESOME...Looks like you know what your doing fella! Im so TEMPTED of doing a conversion on my e30 but dont have the funds yet

Hopefully one day. Anyway good luck and keep us posted!

[eko]

Good write Paul

[Pal318is]

Excellant write up dude
The whole thing will spot on, once done..

Have to agree, Tony you are a Legend mate...truely

[ricey46]

Looking good mate, should be sweet when it's finished!

[Cook318IS]

Cheers guys

In the long run i want to get a lowering kit (probably a 35/35 h&r cup kit)
Smoke the front headlights + fit hids,
A few touch ups on the bodywork,
Toying with the idea of ac shnitzer wheels (or refurb the 15" bbs's ive already got and sell the 15" bbs's that are already on there.)
Full fritzs bits s50 exhaust system,
And a faster ratio lsd too

[daimlerman]

Looking very good,pleased to see the progress!
Gearlever sitting in the middle of the hole,very nice!
What electric fan did you use?
Exhaust manifold?
Mine continues to be fun,gave a Volvo T5 a nasty suprise going to work the other afternoon!

[Cook318IS]

The fan is off a 328i iirc, it only *just* fits! The exhaust manifold is the m52 item, benjy and eko are sorting it out as i speak (only popped on to get some part numbers - need some new rear topmounts too )
I can't wait to get it on the road, im leaving the 316i badge on too I'm tempted to get a sticker made to put next to the 316i badge, either or

[Cook318IS]

Right, another update!

Exhaust system is pretty much done, the engine is all wired in, got the e36 powersteering hoses for the e36 rack, horn wiring has been lengthend becuase you need to relocate the horn, the rear beam and trailing arms are off the car and is part of the way through having the new bushes put in. My 325i shocks arrived yesterday morning too... they're alright, could be better though really but they'll do until i get a lowering kit. Braided flexi brake hoses are on now too! The top mounts were shagged on the shocks so a quick trip up to westerly bmw and i now have a pair of e46 m3 rear top mounts The only standard parts really are the prop bearing, prop guibo bush and front topmounts (got my eyes on some adjustable jobbers )

Full spec list as far as i can remember now...

m50b25 non vanos engine,
New sump gasket,
New rocker cover + spark plug gaskets,
88*c thermostat
m20b25 clutch,
m52 tubular exhaust manifolds to m20b25 3 piece exhaust system,
M40 gearbox + prop,
e30 320i gear linkage set up with Z3 shortshift
Ripspeed induction kit (because im a cool kid)
318iS front splitter,
Genuine leather recaros and m3 rear bench, both from an m3 evo ohmy.gif
e36 power steering rack,
e36 engine arms,
e34 steering uj's
E36 328i electric fan + radiator,
New front wishbones,
M3 eccentric front control arms bushes,
E46 m3 convertible rear topmounts,
Z3m diff bush,
New gearbox mounts,
New rear beam bushes,
E28 m5 engine mounts
3.64 LSD,
Braided flexi brake hoses,
325i front brakes + suspension,
Rear brake disc conversion,
New brembo discs + textar pads all round with new handbrake shoes,
Fully serviced,
Battery has been relocated to the boot,
Clio Brake sevo,
Ultra racing front strut brace,
"Brown" temperature sensor changed for e30 one,


I think thats everything!

Things that i still want to do (i've remembered more ):

*cough* Put the 318iS up for sale so i can fund some of this list!
Fit the tech 2 steering wheel, single piece gearknob and handsfree kit from the iS.
Lowering kit : either 35/35 or 40/00
Few bodywork bits,
refurb the wheels,
Different ratio diff when i can afford to run it more!
Bodge an airbox on,
Buy a rear strut brace,
Adjustable front top mounts,
Tint the headlights, front + side indicators,
Fit some HIDs
Rewire the speakers with oxygen free stuff! Change the front and rear speakers,
Parcel shelf with rear blind,
Spoilerless boot,
Fritzs bits full s50 exhaust system,
Fit the oil temperature, oil pressure + volt gauges

[denzil318]

is your 15" bbs up for sle brother????

[Cook318IS]

Only a quick update because i've got to nip out again in a minute!

Fail!

The m40 prop doesnt fit How did you manage to get yours to fit daimlerman?


Big thanks to Glenn for sorting me out with a new one.

M52 manifolds cut down and rewelded with a bit of paint.


Better picture of the front brakes


Rear beam is all fully rebushed, and back on the car. Fitted the rear shocks and the e46 m3 cabby rear topmounts too,

Denzil: I'll try and send you a PM in a minute, if you dont get one tonight - i'll send you one in the morning

[E30BeemerLad]

you need an M20 prop my friend

[Cook318IS]

you need an M20 prop my friend

Exactly what glenn has sorted me out with. Cheers fella

[denzil318]

what a guy cheers matey

[denzil318]

what a guy cheers matey

[Cook318IS]

what a guy cheers matey

Just got back in, you've got a PM

[SLIMADI]

Looking good fella,top job so far

[Cook318IS]

All credit to eko:



e34 ecu box, chopped down to fit - need an m3 wiring cover to fit over the relays still.



And in eko's words:
Wiring all done under the bonnet and covers fabbed up and fitted.
Oil and filter now done,antifreeze done.PAS pipes are done now which was a dirty mission.Dipstick with new O ring now fitted.
Manifolds are back on awaiting the exhaust.
Front wishbones removed ready for the new bushes to be fitted to the new ones.

[daimlerman]

The m40 prop doesnt fit How did you manage to get yours to fit daimlerman?

I just offered up the one I had sat on the garage floor....
But my starting point was a 320i...

[SteSE]

Mmmm, this looks rather tasty!

Should have some fun in that fella!

[Cook318IS]

ITS ALIVE!
VV
[youtube][/youtube]
Need a new rear caliper though
Lambda needs sorting, fan needs finishing off, exhaust needs connecting, all the fluids will then be rechecked

[eko]

Sounds rough as a dogs arse in the video mate although the exhaust was bloody loud wasnt it
Dropping the coupling off at Chris`s work in the morning,probably get him to weld the Lambda nut on too to be honest.
Fan is almost wired in,just got to finish running the wires through.
Coding plug is fitted.

[Cook318IS]

Sweet!
I thought that when i was re-watching it on the digi camera! It was soooo much louder in real life!!

I only got in a 10 after playing about with the elises brakes
I'll see you tommorow at some point

[Daf318is]

Looking good 24valves rule

When you drive them they are worth all the effort and money

[E30BeemerLad]

Nice Work Tony.

Did you make the heat shield for the cone filter or buy that in?

[eko]

Nice Work Tony.

Did you make the heat shield for the cone filter or buy that in?

Made it but dont think the local tax payer would be happy if I said what it was made out of

[Alex]

just shows how lazy e30beemerlad, lee is

[monkey]

looks very good cook . would be hard to tell the differance between it and mine . are you going to take it to the german meet tomorrow ?

[Cook318IS]

It wont be going unfortunately it needs a new rear caliper and needs a mot too... and the iS needs to be sold before getting this insured ideally too. Which is a bit of a kick in the nads too really considering i was hoping to get the m50 on a rolling road on the 26th.

Just uploading more pictures as i speak too

[Cook318IS]

The car is basically finished now Just need a new rear caliper, bleed the brakes and possibly a bit of fiddling with the brake servo. The lambda is in the exhaust, the exhaust is all connected up, the steering joint is all done too. All in all, its only taken about 5 days in total with most of the car now new. Completely rebushed and rear discs conversion too :p

The car sounds fecking awesome now A mate of mine popped around too to have a ganders and have a listen to it. All he keep saying was how "factory it looks, like its supposed to be there" and "jesus that sounds nice!"

A few more photos that i took yesterday and this afternoon:



Recaros

(messing about with the settings of the camera)


And a shameless pic of my iS which will be *cough* up for sale within the next few weeks

[eko]

Sounds lovely now doesnt it Paul
Put the wheels back on after you went and turned the car round(on the handbrake).
All seems well although it does sit like a 4x4,should settle a little over the next couple of days though.
Keep me informed of the caliper progress.

[Cook318IS]

Its ride height wont be brilliant though becuase of the standard springs. Still better than having its arse scratching the floor and the fronts on standard ride height though!
I'll give you a shout about the caliper as soon as i manage to sort it out

[OBs]

Looks top dollar mate

Amazing what that bloke can do on his driveway

Well done Tony, yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet another fine conversion, and Paul enjoy

OBs

[Cook318IS]

It really has come along way since last week! I can't wait to get it on the road now!
I may have made a purchase last night that i wasn't intially going to buy... but i thought it would go nicely with the seats so i bought it