1986 316 M10 carb

[Automaton]

The week that followed was brake lines and suspension day.




New bushes went in. The rear beam bushes were in bad shape. DanThe didn't have the inserts so we put them in anyway.


The prop shaft was lowered for inspection and sure enough the coupling was cracked.




They sent it off to the local market and found a replacement.


The next couple of days, as the carpet fellows checked out, the engine team checked in.

Finally the new Weber was going to come out of the box.




New parts went into the engine bay.










There was a grinding noise while turning. They found that the steering rack that was refurbished earlier was leaking and they sent it for an overhaul again.



Now with all seals and bearings replaced, it turns beautifully.


Engine mounts in place.




Another cause for vibration was also sorted. With the new leads, it's firing a lot better.




Finally a filter that works. The purists will hate it. I hear it loud and clear while driving, but given the fact that the earlier owner had thrown away the black round carb cover, I have no option but to make do with this.



The modified air box from a Suzuki along with the Solex carb with a cap on top has been binned.

[hennared323i]

Such an epic journey - hats off to you sir

Soon be time for

[baggimodo]

Such determination! Can't wait to see the finished car

[Automaton]

I got the door cards out for a clearer shot for this blog and discovered a rookie mistake.



It's coming up for those who haven't yet spotted it in full glory.








The bridge holding the switches in place had been cut off.

At the rea of the door card, I discovered during fitting, that the clips should have been embedded into the fibreglass and we had forgotten about it.

Anything that I do from here is going to ruin the clean look and that makes me feel terrible.

[Automaton]

I was also told, very casually, and this makes me really upset, that 'the clip or screw holding the accelerator cable to the carb has fallen or was kept on a wheeled work tray and the guy who took it away cannot find it so we have fixed it with a nut.'






Is it possible to figure which clip is missing and order the same?

The new plastic bits for the door sills were fitted, 8 in total, four on the inside and 4 on the door sills.

Because of extra carpet spilling out, from the old carpet used as underlay, the trim keeps popping out in spite of proper clips, so we will have to cut the carpet eventually to make them fit better.

[Automaton]

It was the 1st week of August by the time we got to this stage.

The alloys were not sitting well on the hub, and rings had to be fabricated to get a proper fit. So the old steel wheels were on, and I thought this was a good time to get new shoes.

Loaded up the alloys with the 10 year old tyres and got Michelin Primacy all around, for all 5 alloys.

[Automaton]

I got a chance of a lifetime to accompany my friend on a driving trip across the US.

He had meetings in many cities and was planning to drive as that made more sense than flying between the short distances.
So when he asked me if I would join him in New Jersey I jumped at the chance. Having quit my job made things so much easier.

The US embassy staff, known to be rude and subjective in granting visas, must have been in good humour to have granted a 10 year multiple entry visa to a jobless man.

Got an upgrade to Business Class from Mumbai to Heathrow. Best 9 hours of my life.

While I was waiting for the connecting flight from LHR to Newark, wished I had time to dash across to a breaker yard and pick up the bits that were needed for my car.

After a day, I contacted Boomerm20 from whom I had bought Premium Speaker Shells earlier in the year, and we fixed up an appointment to meet at his place, and see what was available from my long list.

He is a great guy and won't mind putting it down again, because he went out of his way to source parts for me from another borough and when I met him again, he offered to let me check the parts and only then pay for them.

Bought rubber for all doors and windscreen as the one I have were split and pretty hard due to the sun.

A new centre console to replace the one with the cigarette burn. (Didn't realise that LHD consoles turn away so can't use it and will have to find a buyer for it here.)

Seatbelts and B Pillar trim that was in great condition.

Boot and bonnet logos.

He threw in a motor for the mirror.

And the rare coin box.

We packed it up and he realised that I had to take two trains to reach New Jersey so he drove me all the way to NY Penn Station in his 3er 'Vert to save me the trouble of carrying the heavy rubber and odd sized and delicate stuff, so that I had to catch just one train from NY Penn towards Edison/New Jersey.

Here I was at Metuchen Station, I think, waiting for my friend to pick me up.




The first thing my friend asked me was, How are you going to carry all this to Mumbai?

I didn't care, as I had the parts that I needed. Will cross the bridge when it comes, I told him, as it was 77 days away.

[N-Gen]

That work on the door cards though! Nice!

[Automaton]

Meanwhile back in India, the car had got some more work done.

They sent me pictures of the fibreglass boot spoiler to replace the rubber one that was warped.

After a couple of iterations, this was the best he could come up with.







So my bucket list, apart from an odd skydive, the northern lights, and checking out the chicks in Polynesia, now includes the original round air filter carb cover, a proper boot spoiler, and the trim that covers the sunroof switch and motor.

[Automaton]

The carpet and the roof liner got fitted out, the glass was cleaned and polished, the AC was recharged and was doing quite well according to my friend who was supervising the work, and it got a bath I guess, after 12 months!



But what a strange way to click a picture and send, with the roof cut from the frame.


Had spotted a complete, and when you see the picture, it has a couple of more things than most 'complete' tool kits that I have seen on ebay.

It was in California. I was scheduled to be there, so I waited to see if it didn't get sold by then, would make an offer to the $120 it was listed for.

After protracted negotiations that lasted a couple of emails, we settled at $110 including shipping, within California. Even though it was a bit steep, I didn't mind it, as I would not have got a better set anywhere else.




The garage asked my friend to take the car and use it to check for issues that might crop up.



It promptly died in the middle of evening traffic.
Battery wasn't getting charged, the AC was not working at idling speed.



He used it a bit every few days.

But the battery issue wouldn't go away.

The boot light was staying on so that got sorted, but still there is a leak somewhere.

Towards the end of October, I came back to India, with all odd sized packages, the B Pillar trim and centre console, all door rubber, etc.

Thoroughly checked by TSA:


Forget jet lag and a back log of work pending at home, was raring to go and drive it.

[Rich320I]

another interesting update..really do enjoy this thread

[Nobby_N]

More Pics please......of the wife

[Automaton]

Friend's wife, if you have managed to spot her

[Automaton]

After that fantastic trip to the US, landed and the next morning headed to pick up the car.

Here she is home.




The workshop had tidied up the engine bay. Put in missing bits and fitted some new things:








They had sprayed a matt black rubber coating to the underbody and the engine bay.

Cut out the battery tray that had become rusty again and fixed in a new one. Sorted some gaps and holes in the firewall, got the engine tuned to 750 rpm.

So I drove it the next morning.

The engine fired up, no issue with the battery.

But it just would go into gear. The garage had advised my friend to drive it regularly to loosen things but this was something weird.

It just about clunked into second gear. Managed to drop the missus without incident. The shifts were tough, and when I pushed it a bit on open stretches, there was a severe rattle and shake from the gear lever and the prop shaft below. It was hitting the floor

Drove it back to the workshop and described the noises. After being dismissed off saying that just use it, it will be a bit tight I asked them to have a look.

Waiting for its turn to get inspected.



So got the interior trim fitted, the logos I got from Amazon superglued to the wheel caps.



Needs detailing, but will keep that for later.


Inspection showed that the new rubber coupling was smashed into a dozen or more pieces.

And that the Clutch Slave cylinder had failed.
The pressure hose was on its way out too. Showed signs of old age that no Olay regenerist cream could have solved.

Off I went to the local spare parts market at Opera House/Lamington Road.

Turned out none of them had the slave cylinder or the pressure hose.




One shop offered to remake the pressure hose. And try to order the cylinder but would take 4 weeks.

Bought a new rubber coupling for the prop shaft.
Was informed that maybe the prop shaft was not fitted or aligned properly that's why it was in smithereens otherwise it is rare that it should fail within a short span of time.

The sample piece in the picture above that I carried to the shops was the original one, all 28 years old, with just a crack or two.

Looked like after a day on the road, it was going to stay in the workshop for another month till the slave cylinder and hose were sourced.

[Brianmoooore]

Prop shaft coupling has a series of triangular arrows on its outer edge, adjacent to each bolt hole.
Alternate arrows point in opposite directions, and the coupling must be fitted so that each arrow points towards the drive spider it is bolted to, otherwise the coupling's life will be severely shortened.

[Automaton]

Thanks, have emailed them the note.

[Automaton]

After Schmiedmann, Ebay and other places drew a blank, Pelican Parts, California confirmed the clutch slave cylinder, the pressure hose and accelerator cable in stock.

The cable I will buy off the zoner who may still have it.

Luckily for me the timing was great. A friend was travelling there for a meeting and managed to get the three parts delivered to his hotel just before he left on Thursday. Friday night I had them in hand in Mumbai, for just the cost of the parts. Ground shipping was free, no fedex charges and no customs duty for a change

Almost felt like the parts were free.



The workshop was prepared for a month long wait, and were surprised when I showed up Saturday morning (a week's time) with the parts.



The car was pushed out of the corner where they had parked it and it went up to fix the new prop shaft coupling, the clutch cylinder and pressure hose.

The 1946 Hudson (ex-Maharajah car from the State of Idar, present day Gujarat State) brought new respect for American steel. Body is rust free. Brought a tear to my eye

[pacerpete]

Alas, many of the replacement parts now available, do not have the 'fitter' proof arrows Logic should make the correct orientation obvious to the fitter but if he missed/ ignored the arrows...........

[Automaton]

As always, when you start a small job, it turns out to be a wallet draining experience.

They had removed the silencer and it was showing signs of age, a couple of small pin holes on the pipe, and the weld on the end can, see pic below, it had been hanging low, was gone too. While the can could be welded back to the pipe, it made sense to invest in a new exhaust system.






There was something rattling inside the end can, and when the mechanic shook it by one end, a pile of rusty dust poured out.

So after the new parts were fitted and I was given an assurance that the shaft was aligned and bolted properly this time, the car was delivered to a silencer specialist nearby.

[Automaton]

Was supposed to be a three day job, but was ready in a day and a half.

Caught some of the work on camera. The round 316 silencer has always looked ugly so we chose to do something that will not jut out and below as much.

There was a Mitsubishi in for a (loud) exhaust. And a Hyundai hatchback for a regular one. So we had to wait our turn to park inside the shop.




Various pieces for other customers.


Meanwhile the chaps started work on the various bits and pieces.
I chose a full stainless steel job. Rs17000. About £175 in all.


















Hammered in to check if it fits. Not the most prettiest of jobs.












Filling in glass wool.




Almost full






All packed in:



The next day, by the time I reached, it was all done.



The end part, pipe to can to cover plate is not exactly finished like I imagined it to be and without a crimping machine, that's the best they can do.


We drove it around a bit and nothing fell off and the sound was very normal. Thankfully it didn't sound racer boy.

Back at the workshop. Got a shot of it.




The store keeper finally found the rear view mirror and one of the triangular mirror trims, the other one is still missing. The passenger sun visor is still the old one with the crusty mirror.

[hennared323i]

This thread is brilliant

Hats off to you sir

[Nobby_N]

I love this thread! Hows that for a custom exhaust fit!

[sunnyr83]

[Automaton]

After a day or two of pottering around, sputtering around is more like it, I took off for New Mumbai, about 25km out.

As I neared the place, I decided to take a chance and drive it all the way to Punè (formerly Poona) about 155km away.

The exhaust was new, coupling sat well and the prop shaft wasn't making a racket. Just the rear parcel tray and sundry bits were creaking and making so much noise that I switched off the FM.

The speedo showed 150kmph, could be more or less as it's not correctly set.

The odo was dead. Where is the cable?

The temperature sat at half way mark and after about an hour stared creeping further so would like to know why.

The fuel gauge was swinging like the '60s. So had to keep an eye even though I had a full tank in the morning. The needle was doing a 45 degree arc and therefore can't be sure when I have to refill. Especially without a functioning odometer.

While going, I took the fast expressway. And the next day, took the old twisty road. Both were fun.



A small victory drive after many months of watching it on a ramp or on the roadside.

[Speedtouch]

Congratulations, and well done on resurrecting it - a brave restoration.

I notice also, that the hands on the clock need re-aligning, since with the minute hand at 12 o'clock, the hour hand is pointing in between the hour markers.

[Automaton]

I feel like buying a correct spec but unopened console

Don't have the heart to open it as the transparent plate has a small chip off in one corner.
Let's see.


Anyway, thanks for enjoying the rusty ride so far.

Next up:

1. Fix the idle and AC connection. No AC when in traffic.
2. Door pads have not been made to accommodate clips, and the gap near electric window switch on rear door pads that I missed earlier.

3. Sunroof needs a few lusty blows to align properly a˜€ it's been taped up.

4. Need to redo the fiber glass trim that has been made in place of the warped trim around the sun visor.
5. Get mirrors to work again
6. Order accelerator cable, mirror cover, plate under speedo console.
7. Get radio to work clearly, it's not tuning properly. Front speakers are not connected?

8. Figure how to refurbish the main beams. Can't see anything at night.

9. Side trim on seats is missing!
10. Seat back mechanism falls when you pull the adjustment lever
11. Sort out creaks and rattling all over.

[Demlotcrew]

Nice thread, something very endearing about your updates

Fitment pony can only dream of

[Automaton]

The last couple of weeks, I was a bit distracted. The 190E came up for sale and on a whim bought it.





Thankfully, it just needs new fuel lines and shocks and top mounts. Not in a buggered state as was the E30.

Got back to the E30.

Managed to meet the current owner of an original 325i, this car was the inspiration for me to find an E30 for myself after having seen this picture in a magazine in 1988.



This was owned and driven by the then Mayor of Bombay, Jehangir Nicholson, and he used to drive its socks off in local races, a 70 year old man competing with 20 year olds.

The colour is Malachite Green, but looks blue in the picture.

Back to my jalopy, the RPM had been set at 900 to compensate for a thermostat and vacuum device to trigger the compressor at low speeds or at idle.

So took it to the chap who had fitted my AC system.

He found that there was too much gas in the lines and blew some off.




He ordered an FICD device, the vacuum, T-joints, lines, and fabricated a plate to hold the vacuum tight to the carburettor.










RPM is now at a sensible 750-800 (need to get it checked) a lot of noise is gone.

While the glove box was out, discovered bare metal behind, the workshop has not put any sound deadening foam against the inner bulkhead.

[bab-91]

Jehangir Nicholson sounds like quite the chap!




190's are solid as tanks. I have a 2.5 petrol auto 190... the kick down is hilarious. More noise but no extra go/speed!

[hennared323i]

Excellent

[Automaton]

Jehangir Nicholson sounds like quite the chap!




190's are solid as tanks. I have a 2.5 petrol auto 190... the kick down is hilarious. More noise but no extra go/speed!

Mr. Nicholson is no more. The 325i had been handed down to the Indian editor of Autocar and he in turn has passed it on to another chap, who is bringing it back to speed.
Nothing much is required for a car that is mostly intact.

It doesn't even have a radio.

But the new owner is one of those who will just keep it tucked away and not drive it, in an effort to 'preserve' it.

It's like deciding to be celibate. Don't see the point of the sacrifice.

[DanThe]

Nice to see it shiny and driving

The propshaft coupling bought at the market, was it a Q-drive part?

[Automaton]

Must have been Q-drive or equally bad. Or just the fitment, as suspected.

The joy of the AC working is something else in 37 deg C with some humidity thrown in for good measure.

The Sunday that went by, saw some BMW boys deciding to do a short drive.

The 316 was the odd one out in a sea of E36, E46, E34, E90, etc., in 330i, M3 and 328i, garb. The country bumpkin that the 400 bhp types just humoured for old time's sake.

Since they had politely invited, more out of curiosity than anything, I joined in and had fun since it was a slowish drive and not a track day.

[Speedtouch]

Smart. Looks every bit as executive as the modern stuff.