Bloody hell, Barry! What a story and what a find.E30 M3 number 2. 04/09/22 Engine build.
Moderator: martauto
Indeed! Maybe the M3 inspired his wide arch vision for styling?elan wrote:Interesting story behind the car. Good thing it doesnt have a zeemax type bodykit!
Interesting history, I see why you want to keep the plate now.
Is the aircon line wrapped in something, or just severely rotten ? Haven't seen an M3 with yellow caps on the TB's for a while too ! Looking forward to hearing more about the engine and what needs doing after a long period off the road.
Is the aircon line wrapped in something, or just severely rotten ? Haven't seen an M3 with yellow caps on the TB's for a while too ! Looking forward to hearing more about the engine and what needs doing after a long period off the road.
The air con pipe is wrapped some anti condensation tape which is normally wrapped arround the expansion valve near the evaporator. The pipe that it is wrapped arround is on the low pressure side so is cold and condensates in use but it's the first E30 I've seen wrapped with it. It will be coming off and the pipe underneath still looks to have that gold passivate finish.
With regards to the mechanicals, as said earlier on the car was mot'd which I assume was done to prepare it for selling and when I initially checked the car over i found that the fuel pump, fuel hoses, filter, injectors and brake hoses have been replaced.
All the suspension inc bushes at the front is now new from the work I did and at the rear only the diff, axle and trailing arm bushes remain but these are ok with no play so usuable for now but will obviously be done in the future when the rear is stripped and powder coated.
I have done an oil change with Castrol 10w60 and a genuine filter, the plugs were also new at the time of the fuel system parts so I've not had a huge amount to do from such a long period out of use.
With regards to the mechanicals, as said earlier on the car was mot'd which I assume was done to prepare it for selling and when I initially checked the car over i found that the fuel pump, fuel hoses, filter, injectors and brake hoses have been replaced.
All the suspension inc bushes at the front is now new from the work I did and at the rear only the diff, axle and trailing arm bushes remain but these are ok with no play so usuable for now but will obviously be done in the future when the rear is stripped and powder coated.
I have done an oil change with Castrol 10w60 and a genuine filter, the plugs were also new at the time of the fuel system parts so I've not had a huge amount to do from such a long period out of use.
You inspired me to find the previous owner of mine for some stories... turns out he's 106 years old if he's still alive 
Le Mans Classic 2006Thanks guys. I have no idea what car the interior came from Ash.
Perks of working at ML I suspect 
As with many things in life, right time right place!
I only found out the story on the car last week and I've had it a couple of months now.
I only found out the story on the car last week and I've had it a couple of months now.
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jimbom30cab
- Tech 1 freak
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- Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:00 pm
- Location: in the garage
Great story, a really interesting read.
Looking forward to more updates and pics
Well played sir !!
Looking forward to more updates and pics
Well played sir !!
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bmwe30mtech
- Engaged to the E30 Zone
- Posts: 5288
- Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 11:00 pm
Looking good Barry, I look forward to seeing this in person some time
1988 M3 EvoII, Macau Blue/EvoII trim
1989 325i Sport M Tech II, Diamond Black/Black leather
1989 325i Sport M Tech II, Diamond Black/Black leather
Thanks for the comments guys!
A recent pic of it parked up at work.
With the knowledge that the engine had been rebuilt and upgraded by BBR it was time to do some investigation as to what had exactly been done.
Firstly i removed the DME to find the correct bosch number but in black not the usual green or red and no VIN number label. Possibly a replacement?
Opening the DME up revealed that the eprom chip has been changed but I'm unable to identify it. I suspect its one of BBR's own chips as they built the engine and i know they offered chips for various cars.
Next up a compression test resulted in a healthy 210 PSI across all four cylinders.
Popping the cam cover off revealed a very clean cam box area of the engine which is always a good sign. I also checked the cam box and cylinder head parts numbers and the are just standard early 200bhp spec parts.
And the money shot!
A pair of early schrick cams which tallys up with what the original owner said about the engine built "with cams etc" by BBR!
I'm not sure what spec they are yet as the markings do not relate to anything I've seen in the schrick catalogue and i did not have the correct tool with me at the time to measure lift but i hope to get this done before the end of the week.
Valve clearances were checked and all were within spec implying a well maintained engine.
I have a run on the dyno at Surrey rolling road booked for saturday morning so we shall see what we have!
Any bets/guesses?
A recent pic of it parked up at work.
With the knowledge that the engine had been rebuilt and upgraded by BBR it was time to do some investigation as to what had exactly been done.
Firstly i removed the DME to find the correct bosch number but in black not the usual green or red and no VIN number label. Possibly a replacement?
Opening the DME up revealed that the eprom chip has been changed but I'm unable to identify it. I suspect its one of BBR's own chips as they built the engine and i know they offered chips for various cars.
Next up a compression test resulted in a healthy 210 PSI across all four cylinders.
Popping the cam cover off revealed a very clean cam box area of the engine which is always a good sign. I also checked the cam box and cylinder head parts numbers and the are just standard early 200bhp spec parts.
And the money shot!
A pair of early schrick cams which tallys up with what the original owner said about the engine built "with cams etc" by BBR!
I'm not sure what spec they are yet as the markings do not relate to anything I've seen in the schrick catalogue and i did not have the correct tool with me at the time to measure lift but i hope to get this done before the end of the week.
Valve clearances were checked and all were within spec implying a well maintained engine.
I have a run on the dyno at Surrey rolling road booked for saturday morning so we shall see what we have!
Any bets/guesses?
Last edited by bss325i on Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sounds good then Barry. Sometimes you never know what is bullshit from sellers and what is the truth. The normal one I hear is "got cams" in a single cam engine. 
Thanks for that tool part number the other day. That number went straight in and arrived the next day. Fortunately I have got shim kit (£200 +?) as it was lying around at work, totally unused! You can guess what job I have coming up!
My guess is 218bhp.
Thanks for that tool part number the other day. That number went straight in and arrived the next day. Fortunately I have got shim kit (£200 +?) as it was lying around at work, totally unused! You can guess what job I have coming up!
My guess is 218bhp.
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Pinchy_Larou
- E30 Zone Newbie
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Great thread and motor...... 
What a great transformation, looks alot better.
89 BMW E30 325i Sport
93 BMW E30 325i Cabriolet
89 Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Cosworth
86 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth
96 Mercedes E320 CE Sportline
88 Nissan Bluebird ZX Turbo
89 Nissan Bluebird Executive Turbo
93 BMW E30 325i Cabriolet
89 Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Cosworth
86 Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth
96 Mercedes E320 CE Sportline
88 Nissan Bluebird ZX Turbo
89 Nissan Bluebird Executive Turbo
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jimbom30cab
- Tech 1 freak
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:00 pm
- Location: in the garage
All the twos for me
222bhp
222bhp
BEN WINS!BenHar wrote:I thought we won the car?BMG wrote: We do win a prize for the closest guess, right ?
205BHP
Ben
But not the car!
So yesterdays trip down to SRR resulted in a not to shabby 203 bhp, 170 odd lbft and most importantly ok AFR's. I was happy with anything over 200bhp and as i have a track day and ring trip looming i wanted to know the AFR's were good.
Ive noticed the oil level has been dropping and engine oil was spotting on the ground plus the coolant level has dropped a touch since I've been using it everyday for the last few weeks so today was time to start to tackle these issues.
Upper and lower sump gaskets clearly leaking and also the water pump shaft seal leaking.
The oily mess removed to be cleaned up.
Last edited by bss325i on Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Looks like you need to pay ol' Jon down at MJK a visit 
No time for that!
Besides, IF i go all out peado on the car then ill do it in on hit.
Besides, IF i go all out peado on the car then ill do it in on hit.
Unfortunately i did not have time to order a baffle this time round but i will be sure to have one fitted before the next track time.
Sump parts cleaned up before being fitted.
New vs old water pump.
Some brake upgrades were needed as well so some Pagid RS29's, new front discs, goodridge braided hoses and bled through with ATE type 200 fluid saw to that.
As you can see the rear axle beam bushes were totally shot and upon removal the date stamp was 6 so one can assume they were the original 1986 ones!
Out with the old and in with some new Lemforder ones.
The diff oil was in a sorry state!
No untoward noises though and seems to lock up ok. Some fresh castor SAF-XJ went in.
Four wheel alignment done at a mates garage after......
... four new Yokohama Neova AD08R tyres
https://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/deta ... ova_ad08_r
A lucky find on a 5 series forum were these Recaro SRD's for a bargain price. I wanted some more supportive seats as the standard ones are useless on track and even hard road use to be honest and it also means i can keep the original ones nice with minimal use.
I will get these trimmed in black leather to match at some point.
A couple of pairs of theses were ordered from Germany, correct Recaro E30 brackets to mount the SRD's.
Just enough time the night before the track day to get the drivers one bolted in with a 4 point harness i had.
Sump parts cleaned up before being fitted.
New vs old water pump.
Some brake upgrades were needed as well so some Pagid RS29's, new front discs, goodridge braided hoses and bled through with ATE type 200 fluid saw to that.
As you can see the rear axle beam bushes were totally shot and upon removal the date stamp was 6 so one can assume they were the original 1986 ones!
Out with the old and in with some new Lemforder ones.
The diff oil was in a sorry state!
No untoward noises though and seems to lock up ok. Some fresh castor SAF-XJ went in.Four wheel alignment done at a mates garage after......
... four new Yokohama Neova AD08R tyres
https://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/deta ... ova_ad08_r
A lucky find on a 5 series forum were these Recaro SRD's for a bargain price. I wanted some more supportive seats as the standard ones are useless on track and even hard road use to be honest and it also means i can keep the original ones nice with minimal use.
I will get these trimmed in black leather to match at some point.
A couple of pairs of theses were ordered from Germany, correct Recaro E30 brackets to mount the SRD's.
Just enough time the night before the track day to get the drivers one bolted in with a 4 point harness i had.
Last edited by bss325i on Sun Nov 26, 2017 11:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Looking good Barry I have the silimar evo 8 SRD style ones fitted in mine and was rightly or wrongly told that although they have harness holes in that harnesses should not be fitted to them as in an accident as you are thrown forward they can recline forward or backwards which will change the tension on the harness which will not give you any support / on the rebound or on the way forward if you where in an accident or crashed it into an amco.
As I say only what I was told so happy to be advised otherwise.
As I say only what I was told so happy to be advised otherwise.
You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity
M42 Supercharged 285bhp + M3 6speed box
Thanks!appletree wrote:Looking good Barry I have the silimar evo 8 SRD style ones fitted in mine and was rightly or wrongly told that although they have harness holes in that harnesses should not be fitted to them as in an accident as you are thrown forward they can recline forward or backwards which will change the tension on the harness which will not give you any support / on the rebound or on the way forward if you where in an accident or crashed it into an amco.
As I say only what I was told so happy to be advised otherwise.
Yes I have also heard that theory about harness and recliners but the recaro SRD/speed is designed to work with a 4 point harness as long as the harness is mounted in accordance with the manufactures guidelines.
https://www.recaro-automotive.com/en/pr ... speed.html
Also, the on the older SRD's, you had the option of an extra hole in the base of the seat so a 5 point harness could be used.