1987 Diamond Schwartz 325i Sport - it works again woooo

[ImysE30]

Looking good Alex

Be a shame to have to sell it.

[lyricalnut02]

alex do bmw send sum sort of spacers with the 325i boot badge and how to correctly position them on the boot etc?

[CaesarBob]

This is the theory ...

[Rav335uk]

Well done Alex.

[Alex]

Well i think i might just hold onto the sport, realistically i cant afford to keep it but at the same time i dont want to sell it and miss driving it alot more than i thought.

Anyway, ive had a few running issues with it so bit the bullet and bought a full motronic 1.3 kit. i was originally going to take it to someone who could fit it but the other night i thought why not, its been quite enjoyable doing it, it takes time but is straight forward enough.

here are a few pics of the conversion











started putting it back together





i'am in the middle of putting it all back together now, think i'am missing a few clips etc but nothing that cant be added later on, i seem to have a few spare 3 pin plugs towards the diagnostic reset socket???????????????

ive got next week of work so hopefully on monday i will have it running again, then come payday iam insuring it again

need a new throttle body mind, as i had a leak on the water pipes, so orderd a new gasket and during removing the heater plate the bolts just snapped and heater plate just shatterd to pieces. for the time being i have joined the pipes together o i can get the car running.

the last loom didnt have these it had two different connectors what do i need to do?????? cut and join the wires

[Ollie_bwoii]

Didn;t realise this had aircon.

Nice to see your keeping it.

[Alex]

yup, it doesnt work though, going to try and get fan working then regas it to see if it has any life in it, although i left the aircon belt off as its gotta save fuel removing it.

[Ollie_bwoii]

Haha.

Might have a leak or something...? Get that dye thing done if the above don;t work.

[bss325i]

The last pic of a couple of plugs is where the later engine loom plugs into an A/C loom on cars with A/C.

You didn't need to remove the inlet manifold or the radiator to do the conversion unless there was another reason why you did?

Removing the air con compressor belt would not save you any fuel.

You have dealer fit A/C which you may as well throw in the bin apart from the heater box as it should be the same as a factory one and possibly the compressor and bracket. Everything else is different and scrap.

[Alex]

It just made it easier to remove the inlet manifold and rad barry, i thought i would need to remove the viscous however i managed without, just

I might remove the aircon as it doesnt work anyway

[RM2186]

Welcome back to the fold Alex, Gill and I are moving to a village near you soon

[bss325i]

If you want to retain the A/C then it could be revived on a budget possibly but first of all you would need to check if its a factory A/C spec heater box. Some pics of key areas would suffice to identify it without removing much trim/parts etc.

If the compressor is suitable (again some pics required) then it would be a case of,

New condenser form ECP £85
R134a kit from BMW £130
Maybe new expansion Valve from ECP £35
Some seals £10
Secondhand Air con wiring loom
Secondhand Air Con/M3 electric fan
Some second hand metal pipes that are not rusty internally

As you have the rad out now i would remove the old deavia condenser, all the pipe work to the bulkhead and bin it, seal the pipes here and then remove the compressor and bracket to check it and store it until your ready.

[powelly]

The ECP expansion valve doesn't fit, it has different size unions as we found out last weekend.

[clarko74]

I did the 1.3 motronic conversion on mine without removing the inlet manifold and found it really fiddly to get everything in place, smaller hands would be useful when doing this. If I did it again I would seriously consider taking the manifold off.

BTW lovely car Alex.

[e30topless]

the dealer fit A/C is a bit of butchery to say the least in any E30 I have come across, but if it works Alex then leave it be ?

gimme a bell if you get stuck with the 1.3 mate

[Alex]

the dealer fit A/C is a bit of butchery to say the least in any E30 I have come across, but if it works Alex then leave it be ?

gimme a bell if you get stuck with the 1.3 mate

i have gotta agree steve, looks very diy in places.

if would be awsome to get it working, doesnt seem bad barry might invest in that eventually

[Alex]

Welcome back to the fold Alex, Gill and I are moving to a village near you soon

Hurworth? thats where my touring is

[bss325i]

The ECP expansion valve doesn't fit, it has different size unions as we found out last weekend.

Thats interesting.

So its a BMW only £70 one then!

[RM2186]

Welcome back to the fold Alex, Gill and I are moving to a village near you soon

Hurworth? thats where my touring is

No, Sadberge mate

[pony]

nice car.......
when you cleaned the interior which product did you use to get it to clean well?
how did you rinse off the foam or get rid of the foam type liquid that was on the interior?

did you get a as new appearance?
as i want to get my e30 interior as close to as new as i can? any tips on the best procedure to follow to get a good finish to the interior would be much appreciated.

and what about the smell does your car have an old car smell?

in the past i just used interior wipes which you can buy from halfords and they do a decent enough job.

PS
i think the BMW M-Technic II steering wheel looks great on the Tech1 even though the M-Technic I steering wheel is alright.

[polsta]

nice car.......
when you cleaned the interior which product did you use to get it to clean well?
how did you rinse off the foam or get rid of the foam type liquid that was on the interior?

did you get a as new appearance?
as i want to get my e30 interior as close to as new as i can? any tips on the best procedure to follow to get a good finish to the interior would be much appreciated.

and what about the smell does your car have an old car smell?

in the past i just used interior wipes which you can buy from halfords and they do a decent enough job.

PS
i think the BMW M-Technic II steering wheel looks great on the Tech1 even though the M-Technic I steering wheel is alright.

ive tried a few things, best way to clean an interior and make look like new is...

give the car a good hoover out, get every bit of dust and dirt from carpets,and use a soft brust attachment on the hoover to hoover head lining, all the dash and door cards,vents etc

if its really dirty, soapy water with a cloth, wipe all vinyl etc just to make a clean surface, also clean the seat belt clips and red logo part

then use a (carplan is good ) foaming upholstry cleaner ,on all seats and carpet- spray a bit on, work in with the brush onthe lid, and wipe with a damp cloth, go over a few times in stained areas

let dry and hoover

and/ or

then use autogylm interior shampoo ...spray it on, wipe off with damp cloth,, let dry and hoover

this will make cloth seats look like new, also do door card fabric

next step.. auto glym vinyl and rubber car, spray this over all interior head lining, door card vinyl, dash, all center console, sport seat backs,seat belt clip holders,seat base plastics,sterring wheel middles, basicly every bit of interior plastic and vinly , it looks "milky" let it dry for 5-10 mine, and buff off with a clean microfibre cloth, this is excellent, it comes up like new and looks and feels super ,and lasts months, just buff up with a microfibre cloth quick evry few days, TRY IT !!!

then use spray window cleaner, and clean all windows inside, give it a good clean around the window rubbers etc, i sue a household spray glass cleaner and kitchen roll

then treat any leather gear knob/steering wheel ,i use leather furniture wipes and give it a good clean up

then a final quick hoover all round again just to get dust out that always seems to gather whilst your doing that

and stand back and admire !!

a couple of hours work for such good results

[Kedge]

Alex, just a quick question about the Montronic upgrade. On the 1.3 loom, how do you connect the header tank sender unit?

Cheers
Dave

[Alex]

thats not part of the loom

[Dezzy]

How's thing Alex.

[magpie]

i'm ready to do some work on the touring when you are Alex.

[Alex]

Time to get this sorted first mick

New donk being picked up on thursday, original engine went pop 2 weeks ago

Just orderd a new cambelt kit, service items etc and some black engine enamel for the new donk, the new donk has done 130k and has come from another sport.

gear linkage will all be replaced while all out and poss might fit a new clutch.

Get this mechanical disaster back to being a gem that can be enjoyed by its next owner.

once this is sold, iam getting stuck well into the touring, all ready got a mate lined up to give it a full respray mates rates and all that, its hard to refuse at the price hes quoted

Keep tuned for the updates

[Kedge]

thats not part of the loom

How do you wire it in then

[capri_rob]

Blimey mate you havent had much luck with this - you're not feeling the love for Tech1's any more then ?

Tourings are where its at anyway - you know this

[Alex]

Blimey mate you havent had much luck with this - you're not feeling the love for Tech1's any more then ?

Tourings are where its at anyway - you know this

yer love the tech 1 but its cost me sooo much, and the new owner will get all the enjoyment

once its gone i can get the touring in for a full respray, and a manual box fitted

[Cook318IS]

If you sell this i can guarantee you that 6 months down the line you will be kicking yourself. You've done all the hard work, don't sell it to somebody else to enjoy!

[Alex]

If you sell this i can guarantee you that 6 months down the line you will be kicking yourself. You've done all the hard work, don't sell it to somebody else to enjoy!

i cant afford to keep paying over a hundred pound a month to my mother for it ecpecially when ive got a golf thats over £100 too

[Cook318IS]

If you sell this i can guarantee you that 6 months down the line you will be kicking yourself. You've done all the hard work, don't sell it to somebody else to enjoy!

i cant afford to keep paying over a hundred pound a month to my mother for it ecpecially when ive got a golf thats over £100 too

Sell the golf - problem solved

[Alex]

If you sell this i can guarantee you that 6 months down the line you will be kicking yourself. You've done all the hard work, don't sell it to somebody else to enjoy!

i cant afford to keep paying over a hundred pound a month to my mother for it ecpecially when ive got a golf thats over £100 too

Sell the golf - problem solved

cannot afford to run a b25. ecpecially when iam going to start doing 70 miles a day

[e30topless]

Alex, just a quick question about the Montronic upgrade. On the 1.3 loom, how do you connect the header tank sender unit?

Cheers
Dave

does yours have the check control Dave ?

[Cook318IS]

Thats savage I feel you're pain though after buying, building and running a 24ver on apprentice wages. Luckily i dont live that far from work!