E30 superlite

[Jarno]

Hello everyone. I've got this E30 project that may or may not interest some people here. The car started life as a 1984 316.

Identity of the shell:

Because the car was first registered in '84 the emission limits aren't so strict, side indicator lights aren't mandatory, and I won't need ABS no matter what engine ends up in the car. The objective is to make a light-as-possible trackday car that's usable on the road and street legal here in Finland.

So, targets are
-drivability
-drivability
-over 150 hp
-less than 1000kg with fluids, half a tank & me onboard. Lack of power will be compensated by aggressive throttle use .

I've spent a really long time repairing the shell (rust, bad repairs by previous owners, dents.. you name it) and buying parts for it.


Parts bought for the project so far
-"M10B20" from a 1966 BMW 2000 (steel crank, steel flywheel + ofcourse the block is indestructible)
-1967 B20 block
-2x 121TI-cylinder heads
-318i cyl head (x2)
-Dbilas 300 deg camshaft
-1mm oversize 10:1 comp pistons, new.
-228mm clutch parts, lightened and balanced with the flywheel
-2x L-jetronic- parts
-421 steel header
-E30 318is radiator x2
-246 cc / min injectors (& ~380cc Volvo injectors)
-M20B25 throttle body
-Elring (90mm) head gasket
-Smaller crank pulley (will slow down the alternator and waterpump by 20%)
-Coolant-oil heat exchanger (helps raise oil temp on warm-up)
-Sport Getriebe (dogleg pattern and 1:1 V gear)
-E30 typ 188 diff
-new 3,46:1 pinion, ring gear & bearings
-E36 typ 188 diff cover
-LSD unit, used.
-325i brakes (several sets )
-VW Golf mk I brake booster (lighter )<-changed this to an even smaller &lighter VW mkII 1,3CL booster
-E28 brake master cyl (lighter than stock)
14x6" BBS RZ from an MX-5
-"New" front and rear subframes
-Hella H4 Front lights for single headlight conversion

-parts for camber & toe correction to rear axle
-many hoods, many trunk lids..
-A LOT of steel parts / body parts
-E28 sport seats
-3 cars for spare parts (2x 318i M10 and 318iS)
-51mm Koni Sports (front)
-Uniball hats for the fronts shocks
-14,5mm rear stabiliser x2

-Lots of other stuff I can't remember right now. I'll probably update this post as stuff comes to mind . Link to pictures: http://petrolhead.kuvat.fi/kuvat/1984BMW316projekti/ Notice the subfolders...

-Jarno

[Jarno]

Welded / glued / riveted / sandblasted / fixed so far..


-parts of the floor (front, rear , left, right.)
-replaced cross member between the rear spring mounting points. (made it my self)
-replaced the battery tray (new part self made)
-corner of the A-pillar near wind screen
-replaced rear spring mounting points
-rear towing "thing"
-deleted a lot of misc. mounting points which are for non existent accessories, saved a couple kg
-rear inner and outer wheel housings.
-replaced the rear valance
-replaced the trunk floor with a straight sheet metal (thinner than stock , saved ~4kg)
-Stronger mounting points rear sway bar.
-Mounting points for E36 diff cover.
-A lot of other small stuff welded I can't remember.
-Checked the body dimensions, pretty OK compared to factory numbers.
-Deleted ALL sound deadening.
-Engine supports (parts where front subframe is bolted on). replaced

[leeparkes]

Get some pics up.

[Jarno]

Get some pics up.

Well I did include a link to pics if you noticed. It's not pretty but here you go:

Modified the passenger side floor to make room for a muffler


Replaced the pipe for fuel tank breather hoses


This is still waiting to be replaced..



Rear driver side inner wheel housing had such ugly repairs i cut it out completely, repaired the chassis member and spring plate.


..then put everything back together and paint it.



Checked if everything fits together. Repaired that cross member, then made stiffer antiroll bar mounting points, mounting points for E36 diff cover and a thing to hang that filling up pipe in.


Overflow from collector tank goes to that filling up pipe. TIG welded.


M3 wind screen testing for fitment (window frame needs modification..)


Disassembled the diff, removed rust with acid & sandblasting.
I got maybe a half a kilo of weight away from it by cutting useless bits & corners


Primer painted:


..outer coating


Flywheel is ofcourse steel not cast iron on old M10:s. So I had it lightened & balanced together with 228mm pressure plate. 1 kg came off. Not much but every bit helps


I modified an E30 M10 oil filter head to accept a oil-coolant heat exchanger, "VW style". It helps getting oil up to temp on warm up and ofcourse does a bit of oil cooling when everything's hot. I'll get some more cooling efficiency out of it by raising pressure to 2 bar (those 18iS radiators have either 1,4 or 2 bar caps).

[Jarno]

Before anyone asks, why M10?

It's the lightest engine in E30 that gets me my power target. And as weight & weight distribution are priorities, that helps. And that engine is absolutely bomb proof if you ask me. That 26X close ratio box that I have bolts right up. It gives noticeably less rev drop on upshift than others. Should make downshifting a bit easier also when speed difference between gears is less.

[Speedtouch]

Interesting project. May I ask why you bought four cylinder heads for one engine?

[Jarno]

Interesting project. May I ask why you bought four cylinder heads for one engine?

Come to think of it I think there are 6 heads. And two blocks

One of the 121Ti heads came with the 1966 engine. So I bought +1 mm Tii pistons. Then I decided the head needed too much work and €€€, so I bought another from ebay.de. Turned out it's camshaft line was bored out to fit a doomsday cam, so can't use that either without extensive mods. One of the 18i heads I got when buying a (badly-) modded inlet manifold+ injectors+ 292 cam. Well, that head had damage on cam bearing surfaces. Plus that Schrick is all but scrap metal. Latest head I got for 10€ when buying that 1967 block, so it was a must-buy. Also that block was so cheap I just had to have it.

Thing about those blocks is that they're becoming rare. As some might know, old M10's can handle big oversizes + big boost without cracking. Not so with 80's M10 blocks. Anyhow.. If I ever decide NA isn't enough, I have an engine + drivetrain that can handle boost.


Don't hold your breath waiting to see this one ready. It's being built with no skill, shoestring budget and no deadline...

[Rallyprep_UK]

I love this build. Why an m3 screen ?

[Willeh]

It's being built with no skill, shoestring budget and no deadline...

I wouldn't say that mate, the work is excellent so far and it sounds like you've got a solid plan. I'll be following your updates for sure.

[Jarno]

Why an m3 screen ?

M3 screen is bonded to the frame which makes it a structural part of the chassis. So, hoping it'll make the shell a bit stiffer. Firewall and A-pillars' area is really the only "weak" part of a 2d E30 shell if you ask me.

Edges of the window frame need to be widened to have enough contact surface, and the frame needs a bit of beating. Curvature in corners is a bit off.


Middle section of driver side floor looked like THIS<-click. Boxed section underneath it was gone also.

So, cut a piece from a surplus 18iS.. :

[Jarno]

After some sandblasting, acid, wire brush, paint, beating & cutting, repair piece looks about OK, ready to be fitted.


Plan is to MIG weld the floor seams. And bond+rivet it where it goes over that chassis member & tranny mounting point, and where floor meets the side member. Or what ever the inner part of rocker panel is called.



Oh, seems one has to double click the pictures to see full size image. Sorry about the pic quality. My Canon died.

[Jarno]

More random pics..
Digital angle gauge. I'll need it when welding on camber/toe adjustment parts to rear axle. With that I'll be able to set up everything so that adjustments are at "zero" when alignment is at my target values. Bit hard to explain


That 300 deg. Dbilas fits STD size holes on cylinder head, and has STD size base circle.


Floor under construction..



Mounting points for E36 diff cover (one of them visible-), tank pipe equipped with collector overflow, and "box" for the collector above it. Everything will look nicer once tidied up and in one color..



DIY collector under leak testing at petrolhead labs . Not pretty but will do the job:

Volume is something close to 1,7 liters.

M3 style eccentric bushes. They're more eccentric than, say, Powerflex bushes.


DIY support for rear shock tower


Replacing the front chassis members looked something like this..

Plus ofcourse removing a lot of rust that was hiding behind/under those parts.


L-jetronic manifold needs quite a lot of modding/grinding/fiddling to accept an M20B25 throttle body.

[Jarno]

Undersize crank pulley. That piece of aluminum will be the crank sensor mounting point.



TIG-welded:


I was concerned that welding might distort that crank hole and after that the crank shaft seal would always leak :/. Quick measurements after welding say everythings OK though .

[si911t]

[Jarno]

I test fitted the fueltank to see what kind of Sound System I can fit in to that space (between right rear floor and tank):



Left side floor repairs finally done, under 2 layers of epoxy paint. Paint work is not pretty I know. Well, once all floor/bottom repairs are done I'll spray it with sealing stuff.




Repairs hidden under paint. Driver footwell area was one of the first jobs I did so it's not very nicely welded. Well, you live and you learn..

[e30Passion]

It's being built with no skill, shoestring budget and no deadline...

I wouldn't say that mate, the work is excellent so far and it sounds like you've got a solid plan. I'll be following your updates for sure.

Make that 2, great threat! Very informative which is always a good read. Subscribed!

Good luck and keep it coming

[Jarno]

Trunk corner needs work. Rust, dents, bad welding..


Making a piece (or trying) to that hole..


Welded & glued to place


Random picture of the under side


A while ago there were S14 inlet side parts for sale just about everywhere. Now that I would be buying, they're nowhere to be found.. God damn it.

[bmwsean]

wow really interesting build you have here, I like your plan with the m10 engine, theyre are fantastic and soo strong, keep up the good work, will be following this closely....also like your shock tower supports, nice fab work

[mcbonio]

Enjoying this thread, some good ideas here with a clear goal. Just don't forget to scrape off that sound deadening off the drivers floor.!

[Jarno]

wow really interesting build you have here, I like your plan with the m10 engine, theyre are fantastic and soo strong, keep up the good work, will be following this closely....also like your shock tower supports, nice fab work

Thanks.

Making that kind of support doesn't require any special tooling. Straight bends to sheet metal, drill a few holes. Then a hydraulic press that you use to press oversize round pipe through the hole.

That piece was made from 0,75mm sheet metal, but bends and those trick holes make it stiff as hell . End weight 348 grams.

Enjoying this thread, some good ideas here with a clear goal. Just don't forget to scrape off that sound deadening off the drivers floor.!

That's just what remains of sound deadening's glue or what ever. Here's a tip for removing that kind of stuff. Heat it with a hot air blower, then wipe off with a turpentine rag or something. Very effective, though the fumes are BAD and you need to be careful not set everything on fire
EDIT: That comment started to bother me so much I had to go and start scrubbing/scraping the stuff off.


"Some good ideas", yeah, they're all stolen from other peoples projects.

Trunk corner finished


EDIT: Scrubbing continues..





..reveals annoying small spots of rust here and there. Well, all over the floor:

I use a wire brush for those, then wipe some acid on them and leave it on to eat the rust till the next time I'm at the garage. Then repeat if needed. Sandblasting is the last option but I try to avoid it.

[G-Bear]

Some excellent work.. Enjoying it so far

[Jarno]

Corner of A-pillar/fire wall..


Work in progress.. Innocent looking rust in propshaft tunnel/firewall seam caused a lot of work. Sealed it with panel bonding adhesive after welding..

[Jarno]

Now, something completely different. Old random photos.

Real high end tooling for measuring springs


Quite useable for weighing these also


Re routed the pipe for fuel tank breather hoses. It now support the shock mounting point.


Pretty much everything cut away from trunk, repairing and painting that chassis member (<-is that a word?)


Attempted fabrications..


Diff test fitment.


50% mismatch between oilways in M10 block, at the same spot as the oilway turns 90 degrees. I read it may restric oil flow/pressure..


The other E30 I had and sold. Why oh why....

[S38B38]

What a fantastic build

[Jarno]

This is how I checked prop shaft line when I made new diff mounting

Picture is crude.. but the fuel lines will probably go something like this:



When welding, I to use a copper plate behind the seam. Less chance of melting holes. And the plate helps fit the pieces so that they're flush. Not a good pic but:




S14B20 throttle bodies etc. arrived. It'll take a lot of modding to fit everything together. Perhaps an adapter plate would be the way to go. Apart from not-matching bolt holes there's that coolant outlet in the head, that wants to occupy the same spce as throttle position sensor.

[Jarno]

I just came to tell you, no progress what so ever. I've been repairing a friend's 316i so we'd have something to drive to the E30-meet @ Muurame, Finland . Oh and welding a 1967 Monaco :O

Pics of the 316i reviving if anyone's interested.. http://petrolhead.kuvat.fi/kuvat/BMW+316i+4d/

Well I did touch my own project a bit.. I checked to see if the throttles collide with something when head is mounted to block.

Alternator must be turned all the way down so it doesn't touch the TPS. I'll get a shorter belt and save weight .
And I bought S14 fuel rail and injectors. I tested a 318i (M10) old 'n used stock fuel pump. It produces ~160 litres per hour against 3,7 bar pressure. With my power targets maximum fuel consumption will be something like 72 litres per hour.

..Aand I bought supplies for an adapter plate.

[Jarno]

Nothing big..
I bought a Bosch TPS, 0280122001 (potentiometer type, not a swhitch like original). And I bought S14 fuel rail with injectors.

Adapter for throttles is proving to be a headache..

I've continued tidying up and painting whatever has been repaired of the shell.


I did this, just to see if I can.

Original rear anti roll bar modified so that I can use droplinks with ball joints. If it doesn't work I'll throw it away and buy a 16mm adjustable one.

[Jarno]

Bought an E36 325i filter box. I don't like cone filters that don't really filter, take hot air from engine bay, and look too "tuning" for my taste . Anyway that part is used in M models also so it shouldn't be restrictive.


DIY thin wall 80mm pipe to replace AFM


Higher pressure cap (2bar) for expansion tank. Regular is 1,4bar. Raising the coolant system pressure gives a bit more cooling efficiency. And locking nuts for 51mm struts. Fuel filter is going to my daily driver E46 320i touring. I suspect the pressure regulator in it is faulty.


Throttle body adapter...
I cut the corner of cyl 1 flange so it won't collide with water outlet. That outlet is shortened so it won't touch TPS. It'll be TIGged to the adapter plate.



Then I unbolted "big" front struts off of a 318iS that I'm breaking for parts. They had some POS height adjustable loweirng set on. Aluminium parts had corroded tight with struts. Had to grind/break them off. And ofcourse we saved the rear axle.. Around here every E30 doesn't have discs at the rear, so worth saving them.

[Jarno]

Old reinforcement welds that I'd forgotten to paint. Now rusty as hell. Nice job scrubbing them. Now painted


Attempted body repairs under attempted paint job.. Well nobodys ever going to see them.




Cylinder head coolant outlet has a mismatch at the same spot where it makes a sharp 90 degree turn.. Did some grinding to it. Can't hurt coolant flow can it?
CLICK <-

A weekends worth of work in the trunk. Tidying up old welds, cutting useless bits off, removing rust, sanding. Then a coat of primer.









Replacing this in itself would be a quick job. However, every point where it's welded on, is RUSTED.




...Fast forward to many hours of work later: Checking with fenders If everything is about where they should..




Then put it on with panel adhesive and a few welds.

Took apart the diff. Clutch plates, dog plates, etc all surfaces seemed to be in order:






Thinking of ditching this shim and getting a third friction plate-dog plate pair to replace it:

[Jarno]

I bought an E36 rack. I did purchase an E30 assisted rack believing it was quicker than unassisted. Which it was, 36,5mm/rev, vs. 35mm for the unassisted. yay, a whole 4% quicker. Anyway, E36 rack is 45mm/rev with even ratio. I'll be using it with all assist parts deleted.


Jarno vs. 51mm struts: 2-0. Finally got that last aluminium nut out of there. I put a pair of adjustable short Konis inside and threw them on the shelf.


There are many other things on my worklist before the following, but I felt like doing it.. I drilled couple of holes to the shell:



In short: It's a seamless 22mm OD pipe, that'll be attached to A-pillar corner, firewall, rear inner wheel housing and the chassis rail close to where rear axle is bolted on. Via plates it'll be connected to floor edge and sill. It fits nice and snug inside a cabrio sill covering.






Floor lining has a triangle shaped filling under the foot rest/deadpedal, whatdoyoucallit. I replaced it with this:

I'll weld it on, it'll stiffen the footwell/A-pillar corner a bit. And the sill reinforcement will run through it.

[Jarno]

Bump.

Some sell me E30 steering axle swivel joints. Haven't been lucky puttind up WTB ads.
Huge update, I got myself a support for the sport Getrag . Mounting points on the box are a bit special and so are the required support bushes. Pretty much only M3 type items will do.


^Disregard the first sentence. I found one and in excellent condition. Steering axle needed to be shortened a bit, as the E36 pinion axle is a bit taller, but it really can't be cut. So..


Extra support for steering done:


Test fitting dashboard to se that it fits with the support:


Sill reinforcement and covering fitting done. Needs small adjustment to sit in nicer but.. Nobodys going to really see it once everything's put together.

[Jarno]

Building windscreen washer system.. I'm going to make the hood detachable so I can't run hoses & spray jets there..


-That bent pipe is a support that goes from A-pillar through firewall corner to the shock tower bottom.




..another crappy pic of the support..


Wheel with max camber, fully compressed. I needed to see what the "worst case scenario" is so the support pipes don't interfere with the tires.


Completely unrelated, building camber & toe adjustments for friend's E30

http://petrolhead.kuvat.fi/kuvat/BMW+31 ... 185412.3gp

Before sandblasting parts and welding..


make sure everything's level and re-check while working..


Digital angle gauge comes in handy..

http://petrolhead.kuvat.fi/kuvat/E30-ta ... 184408.3gp

[Jarno]

The shell saw daylight today. Took it out for a bit of sandblasting here and there.









Some spots I'll have to do later. My target is to get it ready for paint shop by the end of the year. Color? Google "Mclaren F1 LM" . Color will be something like that.

[povertyspec]

nice work. my rear wheel arch repair doesnt seem so scarey now. everythread on here gives great problems and solutions to every bodyshell damage.

[Jarno]

nice work. my rear wheel arch r

pair doesnt seem so scarey now. everythread on here gives great problems and solutions to every bodyshell damage.

Thank you. Complements give motivation .

Hopefully the last hole I've had to cut to the shell:



-Done!



...not entirely true what I wrote above, I still need to replace driver side rocker panel: