Bob's Design edition Neongreen 318 Cab

[BobIzYaUncle]

Well, the head is off.
Judging by how oily the exhaust valves are on cylinder 1, 2 and 3 I'm guessing the valve stem oil seals are shot. Next step is to disassemble the head to check for cam and valve wear, and check condition of the lifters, I suspect theres going to be a few dead ones from the tapping I was getting. Here some images for now, I will update again once I have the head stripped

[BobIzYaUncle]

More images

[BobIzYaUncle]

It's been a while since I've updated here, AS I've said before, my Instagram is always most upto date. Go follow @doomgess_e30

Firstly, as suspected, my camshaft is shot. All the cam lobes are worn flat on the open stroke, this is most probably due to worn lifters. There is also signs of were on the cam followers. I've found a good deal on a INA camshaft and lifters but I've had to source the followers from autodoc. I'm now around £750 in just on parts! Hopefully I won't run into any problems or find more issues

[BobIzYaUncle]

Whilst waiting for parts to arrive, I getting everything cleaned and prepped, including a bit of paint on some bits

Firstly, bumper and headlights removed along with front wiring harness for a thorough cleaning

[BobIzYaUncle]

In the cleaned product

[BobIzYaUncle]

Battery tray will be dealt with later, for now though, a couple of before and afters

[BobIzYaUncle]

And whilst the headlights are out, they get a cleaning too. Photos show one I've cleaned compared to the other one still to be cleaned

[BobIzYaUncle]

That's all for now, next update will included the headlamp bezels repainted black, the headlamp loom gets removed for cleaning and rewrapping, all the electrical connectors removed for cleaning, battery tray dealt with, starter motor and alternator given so paint plus a few other bits. And maybe just maybe, the head can start being reassembled

[Cloggy Saint]

Looking good. Are you going to paint the brake servo? They're always scabby and let down otherwise clean engine bays.

[Tzantushka]

Excellent work!
As part of this ritual you get to see any potential problems.

[BobIzYaUncle]

Looking good. Are you going to paint the brake servo? They're always scabby and let down otherwise clean engine bays.

Yeah, for now it's had a quick sand down and a blast of black just to neaten it up, but will be removed in future when the braking system is overhauled and done properly

[BobIzYaUncle]

Excellent work!
As part of this ritual you get to see any potential problems.

Cheers mate, it's turned out to be a much bigger project than original planned. But I'm happy with how things are looking and I'm glad I've done it

[Grepot]

Great thread. Funny seeing this since I saw this car listed when I was looking out for an E30 and really fell in love with the colour and the matching upholstery piping. Good to see it's well taken care of. Also slightly puts me to shame since you seem to be far more thorough than I was with my 318.

I've also had trouble with my camshaft and ended up replacing it. With mine the cam was apparently worn quite badly, you could feel the engine bogging down after a certain amount of revs and missing loads when shifting with the throttle wide open.

Good luck with your project, it's really good to see someone doing the work that I should probably also be doing lol.

[BobIzYaUncle]

Great thread. Funny seeing this since I saw this car listed when I was looking out for an E30 and really fell in love with the colour and the matching upholstery piping. Good to see it's well taken care of. Also slightly puts me to shame since you seem to be far more thorough than I was with my 318.

I've also had trouble with my camshaft and ended up replacing it. With mine the cam was apparently worn quite badly, you could feel the engine bogging down after a certain amount of revs and missing loads when shifting with the throttle wide open.

Good luck with your project, it's really good to see someone doing the work that I should probably also be doing lol.

Cheers mate, appreciate the comments. It's tough because it's would make sense to just 2.5 it rather than chucking over £800 in parts at it as I have but I'm trying me best to keep it original as possible. I plan on overhauling the suspension next winter and maybe retrim some of the interior but I need to clear my credit card first

[BobIzYaUncle]

Firstly, I'm sorry I've not kept this updated.
Here's where I'm at, but for a more in depth look, please check out my Instagram @doomgess_e30 which has all images, full story updates and more detail.

So, following on from before. Well, I'll cut to the chase. It's all back and running.
I think it looks amazing and I'm more than happy with how it's turned out.

[BobIzYaUncle]

New cams, followers, lifters and spray bar. Castrol magnatec to suit

[BobIzYaUncle]

Valvetrain installed, head on, new water pump, timing belt gaskets and all new sensors including, cam pulse, crank, lambda/O2 and coolant temp sensors

[BobIzYaUncle]

I got really excited at this point. Looking great

[BobIzYaUncle]

Getting closer to the finish

[BobIzYaUncle]

And finally, bumper and grill back on

[BobIzYaUncle]

Some shots from my first road test after finishing the engine... Don't panic, the marks on the ground were there already

[BobIzYaUncle]

Some more images after a great drive out to matlock

[BobIzYaUncle]

And that's it, your pretty much upto date. Oh, almost forgot, also replace the clutch slave cylinder as that decided to start leaking.
Really happy with it. It's took 5 months and near £1000 in parts overall. I'm going to enjoy it this summer and save some cash ready to bring the interior upto standard over the winter. Drivers seat bolsters need reupholstering. Would like to dye the carpet black and sort a few bits of trim. Might actually strip and referb the front seat frames.

Or, could overhaul the suspension

[ah]

VERY NICE !

[martauto]

Brian , where are you ?? Lol

Mart.

[ocde30]

I have followed your posts on this car - great job and fantastic result! Enjoy the car and all the attention it is bound to generate wherever you go. Nice one.

[BobIzYaUncle]

Cheers for the comments, appreciate it