To make a 316i better

Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:06 am

Well here starts a new e30 build. I've bought a 316i with the thinking that aside from being cheap, it'll be a daily until the build gets serious. We needed a second car to go to work in while the wife studies so I sold my practical ute and bought an even more practical vehicle an 89 e30. The plan is to make it tidy, reliable (ish), and go for the factory plus look. It's wheels are currently too big, the paint is a bit rough and there is play everywhere. The first thing to do is making it road legal again after the previous owner neglected it for a while. Rust needs sorting. Steering is vague. Interior is loose. Rear brakes are drums..... Wish me luck

Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:09 am

A we project to start with was stripping the smilies of the weird yellow plastic that was covering them up and getting rid of the eyebrows.

Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:15 am

When discovering rust in my last e30, I was inexperienced and far too cavalier. Now that I'm older and only slightly wiser, I'm getting onto any rust I find immediately.

Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:17 am

Hey dude,

That's nice project, a good base to start with. So what's the history like? And what are the other bodges you have to address?!

Rich.

Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:21 am

boxclever1753 wrote: ↑
Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:17 am
Hey dude,

That's nice project, a good base to start with. So what's the history like? And what are the other bodges you have to address?!

Rich.

Cheers Rich

I like it as a base aside from living with a lil 4 cylinder currently. The interior has been neglecte, I've replaced the front seats with better e30 seats in the meantime. The underside is actually quite good. Someone has pulled the dash trim and centre console apart at some point and has literally broken every clip. I've spent some time on a buddies lathe turning down some aluminium to make some new backing nuts and I'm slowly sourcing little trim bits.
The brake fluid reservoir has been duct taped together for extra speed.
Al of the window winders have been... Chewed?
So lots of little things to slowly work away at. I do like that it's pretty functional and that it's not got countless electrical quirks or battery drain issues like my previous e30 experiences too.

Sat May 08, 2021 12:54 am

A bit of an update. I purchased a purple tag steering rack as the old manual rack was absolutely shot. New tie rods have gone in as well as new front ball joints and top hats for the Monroe shocks. According to the warrant officer, the front springs had been cut so the shocks were bottoming on the bump stops. I've ordered some new lowering springs to get her on the road and will eventually either got to coil-overs or Bilstein shocks with H&R springs once i'm ready to swap in the M54b30. There are some photos to follow of the progress to get the car road legal (in NZ).

Sat May 08, 2021 1:29 am

I purchased this rack from a wrecker, it had come out of an e46 Club Sport and came with power steering hoses. Because my car is a non power steer model I had a local brake and steering shop put in some lathed down bolts and crush washers. Once the M54 swap is complete I'm going power steer because it's bloody tough going as is. On the road however, the steering is precise and responsive so I'm pleased with what the rack has done thus far.

I purchased a Holden Barina (Corsa) link to join the e30 steering spline to the new rack's spline. This worked really well and I was pleased when the new coupling had the new bearings pressed in as this made me a tad nervous. The m40 exhaust needed some insane massaging to make it fit. I would have welded in a new bend to the exhaust runner, however I'm having a new exhaust made for the m54 too.

Sat May 08, 2021 1:33 am

I sprayed my replica IS lip to tidy up the front, I really liked the look of the black but couldn't get the paint to look quite right and it stuck out too much so I went with the matched Cirrusblau. I've also now welded a new plate in to where the rust hole was. This was then primed and painted, it's not the tidiest but it's the first time I've used a welder so somewhere to start. (Excuse the dust)

Sat May 08, 2021 9:28 am

Coming along great! I'm thinking of the purple rack install too, friends have done it and seriously rate it.

Tue May 11, 2021 12:05 pm

boxclever1753 wrote: ↑
Sat May 08, 2021 9:28 am
Coming along great! I'm thinking of the purple rack install too, friends have done it and seriously rate it.

Cheers matey. Yes so I've only been driving it with the purple tag for a couple of weeks. It's good on the open road, being non power steer it's pretty tough going backing out of a car park. When I go to m54 I'll be seriously investigating repowering the steering and I may have missed a trick not venting the inner tierods. Good fun though!

Fri Aug 06, 2021 4:39 am

I've been really lucky, a friend has recently purchased a mint 328i he plans to add a snail to it and has also purchased a 330i msport that was being wrecked to pilfer various bits.
He's a super generous chap and he's offered me the m54b30, ecu and pedal I need for my engine swap so I'm now collecting the necessary pieces to insert this over the summer.
I've also decided I'll be going to power steering as I've found that the purple tag rack is enlarging my biceps beyond what is natural without power assist.