'91 318iS minor resto.. ;-)

[Split_S]

kedge:
I put it off as long as was possible... but Im happy its done... next update will show how it turned out...

Jon_Bmw
Thanks for the nice comments sir..
Valid points regarding the painting of stuff but I'm none too worried about the headliner losing its color! The carpet was a no-brainer as its a million times better now and any fading will be handled with a quick spray. The paint for this is so good no one can tell its been painted. Apart from that I haven't really painted anything else so Im not sure what you worry would peel? I had thought of painting my two beige sport seats but they are going to an automobile upholstery expert whom, as luck would have it, I spoke to today for recoloring and renewing. For the very reasons you describe I had decided not to paint them. The rear seats are genuine black as they were swapped out of my parts car as are all the interior panels. The only thing I will have to paint are the two side mirrors and some of the shadowline trim.. There will be a bit of work involved in all of that as they aren't quite "pristine"...Honestly Im more worried about getting the engine back in and running...

[Jon_Bmw]

Split,

I thought you had coloured/painted the seats, but I must be thinking of someone else then. Sorry!

The dash looks painted, but again it is probably me being a 'tard. The side mirror and shadow line will be fine to paint with the right prep I would have thought .

I agree about the carpet, that was a minger!

Carry on, as you were

Jon

[Split_S]

hehe.. I had painted my original tan rear seats and door panels but those were installed in my parts car as I was selling it.. Ive kept it's original black interior but the front seats were from a 4 seater (no recline) and therefore useless for me. Hence their recoloring...

The dash is NOT painted - it sat in a basement, wrapped in a blanket for over 20 years. It's simply pristine!

[Brianmoooore]

but the front seats were from a 4 seater (no recline) and therefore useless for me.

They had the recline mechanism fitted - all E30 seats do. Just the levers and cables not fitted.

[Split_S]

Well having said that, they are both in my shed but I will be sticking with the original sports seats!

[Split_S]

Just before fitting the carpet I test fitted one of the wings.. I freely admit I was like a kid sneaking a peek at his presents the night before christmas.. it wasn't necessary to fit the wing at this point but I COULDN'T RESIST!!



Against all odds it actually fit perfectly. Encouraged, I've tried fitting the front end despite thinking it might be best to get the engine in first but seeing as I have no idea when the engine will be ready Im going for it..









Then I threw these on...





Then the Lord said (to me) "Let there be light"







jeez, Im starting to think I may just finish this thing....

[Pinchy_Larou]

echo all the other guys comments, great effort, looking the nuts....!!

[Split_S]

Thanks!

Carrying on...

Id been looking for the original tape to rewrap the loom but it is very pricey.. I opted instead for good old hockey tape: Exactly the same material except it sticks. Bonus! 5$ for 2 rolls.



I did a power on test and all the lights and horn were working. The fogs and the RH high beam were NOT working.. After much troubleshooting it was a section of rotted wire that was cut back and rewired new that solved the problem for the High beam. The fogs? The bulbs were shot...



With that done I prepared to rewrap the loom...

[Split_S]

[Split_S]

I also decided to refurb the horn after Id tested it and it worked..

I took it apart, ground off the rust and cleaned it and repainted it...






Beep Beep mofo's!!

[Split_S]

I also spent some quality time with my fog lights.. Have 4 of these now thanks to the sale of #2..



Took them apart and cleaned everything and polished the glass..







Installed.. Wish I had tested the bulbs first..now I have to take them out again.. Most things on this project have been done ATLEAST twice...

[Jesus325iTouring]

Certainly coming along nicely

[Split_S]

Thanks Jesus.. she will be done pretty soon!

Next up was the installation of my e36 steering rack Id taken from #2...



Serial number showed it could be from any number of models.. No difference, it will offer crisper steering than the 4 lock to lock of regular e30s...



First step was to remove the tie rods, which looked good but the rubber was cracked in a few places..



New ones ready to go..



A bit of leverage always helps...



Clean and painted...





Amazing how much hydraulic oil kept coming out.. Be ready for it!



Next step was to center the position of the rack.. I did this by measuring the lengths of shaft..



once done I screwed on the tie rods..



locked them in..



Sealed the boots...



I used OEM clips which are easy to seal with one of these...


Because its an e36 rack its not a straight swap.. Kits are available but basically you need spacers and you'll need to shorten your steering linkage (not shown because it had already been done on the linkage I swapped out of my other iS)




















With the rack in and centered I connected up the tie rods..


Then I had to figure a way to center the steering to put on my steering wheel.. I used the frame as a point of reference and measured to the backplate. A few minor adjustments on either side and there was less than one mm difference..


Happy, I put on the steering wheel!!


Almost done!!

[bimanut]

Excellent work as always,but youve missed the dust cover off the top of the racks input shaft

[Split_S]

Hmm.. It never had one.. You're talking about here:



I will have to look into this...

Thanks!!

[Split_S]

The engine is FINALLY done!

Pics... no words required...























Before anyone chimes in:

1) Yes I know the valve cover and intake were originally silver.. I never liked it. So its black.

2) Rebuild was totally OEM.
.50 oversize on the OEM pistons.
Injectors were cleaned and tuned.
Single mass flywheel, standard clutch.
Timing parts were all new, crank was mint and the camshafts were within 1/1000th of new spec. AND they are the originals. Incredible.

3) M3 is the reason for not modifying the engine for more power...

4) Throttle plate delete will be first on the list as I get her prepared for the installation.

5) Keeping the engine driven fan. I dont know why.. I just like it...

[knob]

Looking good Norm, that's a beautiful engine and I like the black cam covers.
good luck with the fitting.
Jim

[hennared323i]

Hnnnnngggggg!!

This thread just keep giving

[BMG]

Coming together very nicely.

[Split_S]

Thanks for the replies gents - having this thread stickied completely killed off the comments!! Nice to know you guys are still checking in on it once in a while!

Still quite a bit to post but Im hoping to have the car done by mid-May...

Hopefully...

[daboy3000]

Wow, just wow!

What an epic thread. You are very brave and slightly mad. I take my hat off to you.

And I thought the bits i'm doing to mine without any mechanical experience was brave but i just pale into insignificance by comparison.

You have inspired me to do more to mine and less to to mine at the same time.

[Split_S]

Thanks! You're probably right about being a touch mad - like a lot of restorations it becomes an all or nothing thing. Kind of like an avalanche - its starts small and tends to gather steam as it progresses. The worse thing about all this is the M3 is looking pretty ragged parked beside the iS.. Once the iS is done I just know the M3's niggles will drive me mad...and so another restoration will begin eventually...

[MouseRat]

This is incredible work... I've never seen a cleaner M42 ever.

Just curious, how many miles did the engine have that the crank and cam came out of?

[Split_S]

Thanks! The engine is beautiful isn't it? She had 235 000kms on her and only the pistons needed changing. I'm debating resetting the odometer to zero considering she will be "new". Then again, she earned her 235000kms...

I've been working on the car and am a bit behind on updates! Coming soon!

[MouseRat]

I'd personally set it at 235k again. It keeps the same VIN and the body has physically moved 235000 Kilometres. She's earned it for sure!

I'm looking forward to some juicy updates

[Split_S]

It has been very handy having a second M42 engine sitting in my garage.. Ive elected to steal tasty bits from it for my rebuilt M42.

My original power steering pump looked like it was pulled from a tar pit it was so covered in oil and gunk. So I pulled the slightly cleaner one off of my spare..











I spent a good long time cleaning it up... Pics of that later...

One big issue with the M42 is the spaghetti factory of coolant hoses running under the intake manifold due to the need for a throttle heater plate BMW realized they needed after design work had finished.. So they came up with this:





You can see it here just behind the throttle..



The problem was ice forming due to the low pressure created in the intake/throttle at high RPMs in humid conditions. The solution was to bypass hot coolant thru that plate and thereby warm the throttle. The same problem afflicts aircraft piston engines and the solution is the same (albeit with hot air). Its called Carb Heat.
I fly jets for a living (no carb heat required!) so the whole setup just HAS to go in the iS....

[Split_S]

If you haven't seen an M42's cooling system its quite impressive. But not in a good way.. Here is some of it..

in place..


removed..




So what you want is the following..



With a pretty picture and nice colours I figured I had a half-assed chance of getting this right..

I removed the throttle plate heater (both bits).. and reinstalled a new gasket before reinstalling the throttle body..



i then ordered an e36 hose part number 11511739245 and cut off a 90 degree bend. The reason for using this hose is that it changes diameter. One end fits on the plastic fitting and the other on the brass fitting just above. The hose has the blue lettering on it. This simple hose bypasses all the throttle heat plate tubing. Nice eh?

[jimbom30cab]

Pure inspiration !! Loving the work there, engine looks really smart. Nice job!!!

[Brianmoooore]

Removal of the throttle heater is pretty much standard practice in the UK. It has absolutely no purpose whatsoever in the UK, even in the more remote, less civilised parts.

[Split_S]

Thanks jimbom.. Work continues...

Brian... you're a funny guy!


The next step was to reroute the tubing from the ICV (idle control valve). Instead of connecting it to the mess of tubing running to the now deleted throttle heater, I rerouted it into the intake boot..

Shown here..


You'll need to ensure the other hole in the intake boot is plugged if it isn't already.

You can see it below.. That hose clamp was already on from the PO and was removed and replaced with an OEM BMW one... They dont have holes in them that can bite into the rubber and damage it over time...



With that done I now rerouted the valve cover vent to an oil catch can...



Where's the oil catch can? Somewhere between here and China...

One more thing on the "TO DO" list...

[Split_S]

Last step was to cap the brass fitting on the throttle as I will be rerouting the crank fumes to a catch can and I don't want any suction happening...

There's probably a dozen ways of doing this but I opted for brass on brass action.. hehe...

A little tap...


And I capped it like-so...


Done.

[Split_S]

I then prepped the rest of the cooling system which thank the sweet lord I had another M42 beside me for reference because I did NOT take enough pics when I was taking things apart!

You dont know what you will need to know later on and the pics you happen to take have an annoying habit of just NOT having the info you seek...

Murphy's law I guess...

Heater hose safety valve all polished...


New tubing figuring out and installed...


Yes, it got worse..


Vacuum line to charcoal filter...


I restored the fan clutch and even the fan blades off my spare M42... Im sure it wont work!!

Installed.. I also installed my refurbished steering pump..


I also installed the crank and cam sensors which you can see on the timing case..


Engine mounts were installed as well as some heat wrap for the exhaust tubing.. When I get more money I'll do #1 and #2...hehehe...



The next few give a clear view of what the simplified cooling system layout looks like..











Damn, that's a good-looking engine!!

[hennared323i]

Man this thread just keeps giving - cap doffed sir, you clearly have more patience than me

Shame about the rest of the site....

[Brianmoooore]

Your coolant system is even more complicated than the one you have in the UK - we don't have the extra 'safety recall' thermostat in the heater hoses.
If I read this right, you are planing to not run the crankcase under negative pressure? This is not a good idea, and will cost you a small amount of power, as well as making the crankcase more
prone to oil leaks. Fit an oil catch can if you want, but it should be plumbed into a vacuum source, as on the original engine.
On an engine in good condition, the oil that ends up in the inlet system doesn't do any harm, other than marginally increase emissions, but if you really want to get rid of it, you could possibly adapt the cyclone oil separator as fitted to M52 engines, etc.
If your regulations allow it, another couple of bits that can be binned with no ill effects are the charcoal canister, its solenoid valve, and hoses. UK cars were supplied with the open end of the rubber hose from the rear of the car tucked into a hole in the reinforcement for the front suspension towers, the cable and plug to the solenoid valve clipped to the underside of the big air hose, and the connection to the throttle body blanked off.

[Split_S]

Man this thread just keeps giving - cap doffed sir, you clearly have more patience than me

Shame about the rest of the site....

Thanks henna! Nice to hear from you again! I told you I would finish the iS didn't I? We are getting pretty close I think!

Brian,
You bring up an excellent point. I ordered the catch can a few weeks ago and I forgot that it has a second line to run a vacuum. I had completely forgotten and just thought of capping that brass intake under the throttle. I will remove the fitting this morning and *HOPE* that damn catch can arrives before the second coming!! Thank-you sir!