Beardymats S50 into E30 M3
Moderator: martauto
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
probably but that would mean going through the main loom grommet again and there just isnt room to do it properly besides it would do my nut in knowing it wasnt right
plus doing it this way will thin down the loom enormously which should offset some of the weight of the S50 l0l.
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
I have herd bad things about that so called nice bloke on E30zone.DanThe wrote:Some lovely bodging going on there![]()
Are those the vanos seals you had from that nice bloke off E30Zone?

Co Founder of CR24vTM By Invitation Only. Absolutely no riff raff!!!
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The_Diddler
- Love it up the more door !
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- Location: Tamworth, Staffs Lovely!!!!!!
+1Dezzy wrote:I have herd bad things about that so called nice bloke on E30zone.DanThe wrote:Some lovely bodging going on there![]()
Are those the vanos seals you had from that nice bloke off E30Zone?
Great work Matt
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scott180gtb
- E30 Zone Camper

- Posts: 1251
- Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 11:00 pm
- Location: Yorkshire
Matt your a brave man tackling the loom. I totally understand you wanting looking OEM. There is just something about car electrics that give me a cold shiver.
This will be uber cool when done.
This will be uber cool when done.
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
Time for a little update, ive been ticking off the smaller boxes and have come up with solutions for all my small niggles i think. As things stand i have thinned down the loom somewhat but its still a little large to fit under the covers so i need to go a little further with that but heres as it stands at the moment more or less

I have also been tinkering with an exhaust i found hanging around on ebay, its a stainless system for the E30 M3 evo and is a twin pipe job with crossover made from pipe with an inside diameter of 55mm which just happens to be the same size as the S50 manifolds and from what i can gather also the size of the inside of an S50 exhaust. The system as it was pictured was single box and had DTM pipes but i called the guy up and it turns out he was an exhaust manufacturer so he said he would build it how i wanted it and also give me an extra flange to weld to my manifolds so it would all fit together.


One slight problem is that the tailpipes are a little long but since cutting metal is a bit of a hobby of mine its not a problem and as ive always said better too long than too short.

So its currently held in place with cable ties so i can mock up the manifolds to connect with this which is where the head ache began.




As im using S50 manifolds i have had to notch the subframe slightly to give good clearance but i was still left with no way of bolting up the anti roll bar as it was hard up on the manifold and nowhere near the link rods. What i have come up with is by removing the collectors and repositioning them and a little tweaking of the headers i have created room and by using the parts i have to hand i can also clear the lolipop, to this end i shouldnt have any unwanted noise transfer to the car under any conditions which is one of my main aims.
So its getting close to fire up time, i have to fit the radiator and fan and header tank which needs a little repositioning and also the oil cooler, then there is the exhaust to finish and wiring to cram in that tiny cover and i still have to plum in the ews, after that there are a few niggly little jobs to sort like airbox mounts and the coding plug for the ecu but nothing to stop it firing up. Getting a little giddy now.
In the meantime ive managed to get one of the most important jobs sorted

A bit of engine bay bling. Couldnt let it stay with that bland black rocker, just didnt look right.

I have also been tinkering with an exhaust i found hanging around on ebay, its a stainless system for the E30 M3 evo and is a twin pipe job with crossover made from pipe with an inside diameter of 55mm which just happens to be the same size as the S50 manifolds and from what i can gather also the size of the inside of an S50 exhaust. The system as it was pictured was single box and had DTM pipes but i called the guy up and it turns out he was an exhaust manufacturer so he said he would build it how i wanted it and also give me an extra flange to weld to my manifolds so it would all fit together.


One slight problem is that the tailpipes are a little long but since cutting metal is a bit of a hobby of mine its not a problem and as ive always said better too long than too short.

So its currently held in place with cable ties so i can mock up the manifolds to connect with this which is where the head ache began.




As im using S50 manifolds i have had to notch the subframe slightly to give good clearance but i was still left with no way of bolting up the anti roll bar as it was hard up on the manifold and nowhere near the link rods. What i have come up with is by removing the collectors and repositioning them and a little tweaking of the headers i have created room and by using the parts i have to hand i can also clear the lolipop, to this end i shouldnt have any unwanted noise transfer to the car under any conditions which is one of my main aims.
So its getting close to fire up time, i have to fit the radiator and fan and header tank which needs a little repositioning and also the oil cooler, then there is the exhaust to finish and wiring to cram in that tiny cover and i still have to plum in the ews, after that there are a few niggly little jobs to sort like airbox mounts and the coding plug for the ecu but nothing to stop it firing up. Getting a little giddy now.
In the meantime ive managed to get one of the most important jobs sorted

A bit of engine bay bling. Couldnt let it stay with that bland black rocker, just didnt look right.
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
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The_Diddler
- Love it up the more door !
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- Location: Tamworth, Staffs Lovely!!!!!!
Looks like fun
Nice rocker cover
Nice rocker cover
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e30topless
- E30 Zone Team Member

- Posts: 13598
- Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:00 pm
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Matt, stop bodging FFS, buy my S14 donk and make this Turd OEM ,
btw I will take that shoddy looking S50 in part ex
btw I will take that shoddy looking S50 in part ex
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
I was hoping this nice lad I know called Matt might bring me some when I've got his is lips painted.appletree wrote:Nive work Matt any luck with finding some seats?
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
I like your manifold!
Was looking to do the same but have cut and moved the fire wall to give room for the stock header and water pipe. Needed welding anyway and that felt more easy to do than welding the manifold. (and finding a "donor" manifold for little £££'s)
Was looking to do the same but have cut and moved the fire wall to give room for the stock header and water pipe. Needed welding anyway and that felt more easy to do than welding the manifold. (and finding a "donor" manifold for little £££'s)
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
That manifold took a while to sort and i was surrounded by many cast aside parts of the doner manifold before i came up with the right parts, I didnt want to do the bulkhead for three reasons 1) Im a complete nutter 2) I wanted to use a stock sound deadening pad and didnt want to risk it touching the manifold and catching fire 3) ive got this thing about modifying the parts around the shell so i feel better about bastardising the hallowed M3.
Im a little closer now to getting the wiring into that box which is nowhere near as big as it appears when you see it all closed up, after that the next major hurdle will be getting the exhaust hooked up mainly because each time i have to do a cut it uses a blade for the airsaw as that stainless is tough stuff. Was hoping to get it fired up this weekend but i think it may be next weekend realisticly. Ill be happy if i can get a weeks running out of it before santa pod as a bit of a shakedown.
Does anyone have any advice on whether its best to do away with the pump under the car and use the e36 one in place of the lift pump or just buy a high pressure replacement for the under car pump?
Im a little closer now to getting the wiring into that box which is nowhere near as big as it appears when you see it all closed up, after that the next major hurdle will be getting the exhaust hooked up mainly because each time i have to do a cut it uses a blade for the airsaw as that stainless is tough stuff. Was hoping to get it fired up this weekend but i think it may be next weekend realisticly. Ill be happy if i can get a weeks running out of it before santa pod as a bit of a shakedown.
Does anyone have any advice on whether its best to do away with the pump under the car and use the e36 one in place of the lift pump or just buy a high pressure replacement for the under car pump?
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
1mm slitting discs in a angle grinder will piss stainless pipe use them all the time at work even up to 3mm will still fly through exhaust pipe.
As for the seats Matt you are more than welcome to borrow them for for santa pod mate or till you get yours sorted.
As much as i would like the money i cant bring myself to sell them as i never sell anything if there the slightest chance i might need them again, and i might just.... you never know!
Dont know if it would work for you but i'll be coming past yours on the 11th of sept so could drop the seats off and pick up the spoilers at the same time either that or i could drop them off on sunday for you and pick the spoilers up on the 11th up to you, just drop me a text
As for the seats Matt you are more than welcome to borrow them for for santa pod mate or till you get yours sorted.
As much as i would like the money i cant bring myself to sell them as i never sell anything if there the slightest chance i might need them again, and i might just.... you never know!
Dont know if it would work for you but i'll be coming past yours on the 11th of sept so could drop the seats off and pick up the spoilers at the same time either that or i could drop them off on sunday for you and pick the spoilers up on the 11th up to you, just drop me a text

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity
M42 Supercharged 285bhp + M3 6speed box
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MrBenn
- E30 Zone Regular

- Posts: 672
- Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:00 pm
- Location: Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire
Much easier with the 5 speed, no need for custom prop or gearbox mounting. Also less weight and cheaper to replace when it goes wrong.M3Jimbo wrote:Just a quick question what gearbox/prop combo have you used? I'm putting one in my e30 m3, 3.2 evo with the six speed. Just wondering if its easier with the 5 speed! Also hoping to be ready for the pod but think its gonna be a long shot .
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
Well she lives
been hard at it this week with every job being a complete beeatch for one reason or another and ive still got a lot to do before its MOT worthy but i turned the key this morning and it fired, not without a little drama though as first off it would turn over on position two which caught me by surprise but luckily i had the forsight to do the fluids before finally hooking everything up, Cue first call to Danthe (legend). This turned out to be a missing connection for the unloader relays on pin 15 of the C101, its a black/green but my car being an 87 it doesnt have it, open fuse box and there is a yellow/black coming from beneath k5 and k7 relays which disapears into the car, trace into the car, snip and pull it back and then feed it to the C101 and connect to pin 15 job done. Now the car wouldnt turn over at all
remembered the alarm, dissarmed it now it turns
Next up it was time to connect the ecu and try it for real, turned the key and nothing
it turned but nothing else, thought i may have mixed up the fuel supply and return but when i took the lines off to swap them i found them dry, come to think about it i hadnt heard the fuel pump, More calls to Dan who astounded me with his knowledge of the looms and the C101 even when he was obviously busy at his end, we found the pump connections were good and when i bridged the relay it squirted a couple of quids worth on the floor which answered my question of which way round the pipes should go
I found that there was no power to the low side of the relays which run red/white wires which i thought were missing a connection on the C101 position 20 as this was missing from my C101, Dan put me right on this as the engine loom actually supplys the car through this pin for later ABS equiped cars. I then checked the ecu was receiving the signal from the ews which comes through like morse code using my snap on power probe so i was confident that was ok. Dan finally pointed me towards an ignition live connection to the ecu but when i checked that it was ok but i noticed a red power connection to the ecu and thought id check that too, nothing there so after checking the wiring diagram i got from Ian Hayes it turned out it should be a direct power from the battery, I fed a power into it with the ignition on and the fuel pump buzzed into life, turned the key and off she went
Now i just need to find the rogue connection in my neatly wrapped loom and correct it.

It sounded nice through my exhaust but had a bit of a rattle which i hoped was the vanos getting up to pressure but i havnt had time today to run it for longer than a couple of minutes, had an oil leak from the vanos which turned out to be a loose filter screw so maybe it didnt get up enough pressure, it could however be ive managed to mix up a couple of the cam followers, hope not.
jobs left:-
Bend brake pipes for N/S/F and rear connections (already done the hard one round the back of the engine)
Bleed brakes and clutch
Final fit ecu and ews controller
Find a better pipe for header tank to water pipe
Fill with anti freeze instead of just plain water
Check fan operation
Make up mounts for airbox and slightly repositioned header tank
Refit front bumper bonnet and grilles
Refit interior
MOT and tax and we`re off
so many people took a look at the car earlier this week and said there is no way its going to the pod next saturday, got to prove them wrong so there may be a couple more late nights this week.
Next up it was time to connect the ecu and try it for real, turned the key and nothing
Now i just need to find the rogue connection in my neatly wrapped loom and correct it.

It sounded nice through my exhaust but had a bit of a rattle which i hoped was the vanos getting up to pressure but i havnt had time today to run it for longer than a couple of minutes, had an oil leak from the vanos which turned out to be a loose filter screw so maybe it didnt get up enough pressure, it could however be ive managed to mix up a couple of the cam followers, hope not.
jobs left:-
Bend brake pipes for N/S/F and rear connections (already done the hard one round the back of the engine)
Bleed brakes and clutch
Final fit ecu and ews controller
Find a better pipe for header tank to water pipe
Fill with anti freeze instead of just plain water
Check fan operation
Make up mounts for airbox and slightly repositioned header tank
Refit front bumper bonnet and grilles
Refit interior
MOT and tax and we`re off
so many people took a look at the car earlier this week and said there is no way its going to the pod next saturday, got to prove them wrong so there may be a couple more late nights this week.
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
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The_Diddler
- Love it up the more door !
- Posts: 3619
- Joined: Tue May 27, 2008 11:00 pm
- Location: Tamworth, Staffs Lovely!!!!!!
woohoo she lives

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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
Did I make it quite clear Dan is an absolute legend? think i may have mentioned it but thought id reiterate the point.

No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
Stellas on me Dan.
Took her for a little drive round the yard tonight after getting the brakes sorted and the clutch kind of bled, got a dead spot at the top of the travel which puts the biting point right on the floor. Any tips for getting a proper pedal appreciated.
got the front seats in which are on loan from appletree (thanks matt) only to find they didnt have seat belt stalks on them so i went to take them off some comforts i have and managed to jab my thumb onto the ground so hard i thought the bone had come out of the end, i now have a very sore thumb with a black nail, luckily a friend came round tonight to give me a hand which was good as there is no way i could have bent the brake pipes up with only one thumb, come to think about it theres not much you can do at all, button up your jeans - nope, open a bottle of pop - nope, tie a shoe lace - nope, you get the idea.
cured a couple of minor leaks and found the fan only works on full speed so ordered a resistor, also started trying to get the airbox to fit a little better but didnt get too far with that. still a long way to go but i need to concentrate on the mot stuff first.
Oh and I think the rattle is mixed up cam followers
Took her for a little drive round the yard tonight after getting the brakes sorted and the clutch kind of bled, got a dead spot at the top of the travel which puts the biting point right on the floor. Any tips for getting a proper pedal appreciated.
got the front seats in which are on loan from appletree (thanks matt) only to find they didnt have seat belt stalks on them so i went to take them off some comforts i have and managed to jab my thumb onto the ground so hard i thought the bone had come out of the end, i now have a very sore thumb with a black nail, luckily a friend came round tonight to give me a hand which was good as there is no way i could have bent the brake pipes up with only one thumb, come to think about it theres not much you can do at all, button up your jeans - nope, open a bottle of pop - nope, tie a shoe lace - nope, you get the idea.
cured a couple of minor leaks and found the fan only works on full speed so ordered a resistor, also started trying to get the airbox to fit a little better but didnt get too far with that. still a long way to go but i need to concentrate on the mot stuff first.
Oh and I think the rattle is mixed up cam followers
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
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e30topless
- E30 Zone Team Member

- Posts: 13598
- Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:00 pm
- Location: surrounded by scrap
so you are walking about with untied shoe laces, thirsty and your jeans are hanging off your ass ?beardymat wrote:with only one thumb, come to think about it theres not much you can do at all, button up your jeans - nope, open a bottle of pop - nope, tie a shoe lace
I bet that's a sight !
great Progress Matt ,it's come a long way in a short time,
is there an easy fix for mixed up followers ? I wouldn't have thought they would make much difference on Hydraulic lifters ? give me a set of feeler guages anyday
looking forward to seeing this turd this weekend
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DanThe
- E30 Zone Team Member

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Persistent rattle then eh, I find it easier to bleed the clutch with the slave out of the box so you can position it with the bleeder at the highest point, you can also get rid of that last little bit of air by pushing in the rod by hand with the bleeder open
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ian332isport
- E30 Zone Team Member

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Solid lifters & shims on these babies.is there an easy fix for mixed up followers ? I wouldn't have thought they would make much difference on Hydraulic lifters ? give me a set of feeler guages anyday
If it aint broke - Modify it...
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
That was what i was going to try next Dan, a bit tight in the tunnel for spanners mind.
still cant believe i mixed up the clearly marked lifters, proper banging my head on a brick wall moment when i sussed it wasnt the vanos, i would gladly pay for a replacement vanos instead of swapping the lifters, its going to be a pig of a job and there might not be time before the weekend but i dont want the rattle to detract from the howl of the exhaust.
are you just down on the sunday Steve?
still cant believe i mixed up the clearly marked lifters, proper banging my head on a brick wall moment when i sussed it wasnt the vanos, i would gladly pay for a replacement vanos instead of swapping the lifters, its going to be a pig of a job and there might not be time before the weekend but i dont want the rattle to detract from the howl of the exhaust.
are you just down on the sunday Steve?
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
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e30topless
- E30 Zone Team Member

- Posts: 13598
- Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2006 11:00 pm
- Location: surrounded by scrap
damn, i would never have thought that , buckets and shims on a S50 ?ian332isport wrote:Solid lifters & shims on these babies.is there an easy fix for mixed up followers ? I wouldn't have thought they would make much difference on Hydraulic lifters ? give me a set of feeler guages anyday
not sure Matt, I might not make it sunday ?
i am in scotland at the moment working away on a massive job, I also have a lot to do on my own car before friday
I really want to make it down saturday and camp, will see how this week goes ...
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
Well if you make it saturday ill be travelling down earlyish to give the ball a good kick if you want to meet up, picking up diddler on the way too. should be pissed by 2pm depending on how long it takes to get the tent up 
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
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billgatese30
- E30 Zone Team Member

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Can't wait to see this thing in person Matt, its going to be epic. I take it you'll still be bringing it rattle or no rattle.
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beardymat
- E30 Zone Squatter

- Posts: 1979
- Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: sheffield, city of steel, and rust apparently
I will, it goes against everything i stand for to have a rattle on a car but since i know what it is and it wont harm anything short term i can live with it, havnt been anywhere since the little guy was born so im very much looking forward to this.
still time to do the rattle mind but it comes after one or two other jobs.
still time to do the rattle mind but it comes after one or two other jobs.
No longer self employed but still available for welding duties.
Oops sorry Matt, forgot i'd taken them off to fit to my evo seatsbeardymat wrote: got the front seats in which are on loan from appletree (thanks matt) only to find they didnt have seat belt stalks on them so i went to take them off some comforts i have and managed to jab my thumb onto the ground so hard i thought the bone had come out of the end, i now have a very sore thumb with a black nail, luckily a friend came round tonight to give me a hand which was good as there is no way i could have bent the brake pipes up with only one thumb, come to think about it theres not much you can do at all, button up your jeans - nope, open a bottle of pop - nope, tie a shoe lace - nope, you get the idea.
Last edited by appletree on Tue Sep 14, 2010 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity
M42 Supercharged 285bhp + M3 6speed box
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ian332isport
- E30 Zone Team Member

- Posts: 5380
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I believe all BMW S** (M power engines) use solid lifters.DanThe wrote:Yep, maximum valve lift at high revs, I want some to fit my M52B30e30topless wrote:
damn, i would never have thought that , buckets and shims on a S50 ?
Ian
If it aint broke - Modify it...




