New M52 "Restomod" E30 Project - SPANNER RASH

[AlexD911]

Hey mate, great progress you're really moving!

A question if i may?

How are you finding the Dinitrol Underseal? I used the Black one on my car, however i have not touched it for almost a year and recently started back at it again. I noticed the underseal has an almost Waxoil behaviour to it, its not ever fully cured how i hoped and seems to come off very easily if you knock or marr against it.

Cheers

Hey Alex, interesting what you're saying about the Dinitrol underseal, I did notice myself that there are a couple of areas that have remained tacky to the touch, mainly where I applied it thicker than I should have.

But it certainly doesnt appear like it'll ever come off mine. Maybe you've had some kind of paint reaction beneath causing it to not adhere correctly. If it comes off as easy as you say you might not have much choice but to wipe the bulk of it off and try again. Hopefully its not as bad as it sounds!

Oh it's bad dude haha, I got recommended the wrong stuff by the seller and I spent all of today stripping it back off lol

[spannerrash]

Hey mate, great progress you're really moving!

A question if i may?

How are you finding the Dinitrol Underseal? I used the Black one on my car, however i have not touched it for almost a year and recently started back at it again. I noticed the underseal has an almost Waxoil behaviour to it, its not ever fully cured how i hoped and seems to come off very easily if you knock or marr against it.

Cheers

Hey Alex, interesting what you're saying about the Dinitrol underseal, I did notice myself that there are a couple of areas that have remained tacky to the touch, mainly where I applied it thicker than I should have.

But it certainly doesnt appear like it'll ever come off mine. Maybe you've had some kind of paint reaction beneath causing it to not adhere correctly. If it comes off as easy as you say you might not have much choice but to wipe the bulk of it off and try again. Hopefully its not as bad as it sounds!

Oh it's bad dude haha, I got recommended the wrong stuff by the seller and I spent all of today stripping it back off lol

Oh damn, I bet you're fuming as it's no doubt leaving a right old mess!

Which Dinitrol product was it? Can't be the Dinitrol 447 stuff I used, surely.

[AlexD911]

Hey Alex, interesting what you're saying about the Dinitrol underseal, I did notice myself that there are a couple of areas that have remained tacky to the touch, mainly where I applied it thicker than I should have.

But it certainly doesnt appear like it'll ever come off mine. Maybe you've had some kind of paint reaction beneath causing it to not adhere correctly. If it comes off as easy as you say you might not have much choice but to wipe the bulk of it off and try again. Hopefully its not as bad as it sounds!

Oh it's bad dude haha, I got recommended the wrong stuff by the seller and I spent all of today stripping it back off lol

Oh damn, I bet you're fuming as it's no doubt leaving a right old mess!

Which Dinitrol product was it? Can't be the Dinitrol 447 stuff I used, surely.

It's the 4941 I think, it's basically Waxoyl and yeah it's leaving a right old mess haha. I should have checked myself instead of just going with it!

[spannerrash]

Back to finishing the suspension on the E30 build with the addition of an Eibach ARB kit.

I've had quite a few messages since doing the front and real 5-lug swap from people pointing out that I forgot to install sway bars. In truth I actually bought a sway bar kit from @rix313 (Vision Racing Developments) absolutely ages ago, before the project sprawled into what it is now. They've been sat on a shelf for something like 2 years in the shed, just waiting.

It's a particularly good kit from Eibach, code E2003-320 "Includes Fitting Kit" (20mm Front, 16mm Rear and adjustable). Absolutely ideal for my poverty spec 316i because I had absolutely no hardware for mounting a rear anti-roll bar so this saved me the inconvenience of sourcing it all individually.

I decided to film a little video guide on fitting it, I couldn't find a good and clear one when I was researching so figured it could be very helpful for those looking to do the same job:


I did have some trouble with the front polyubushings supplied with the kit so ended up sanding them down, which was a bit disconcerting. But they are still a ridiculously tight fit so I'm glad it worked out. I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this when installing front ARB polybushings?

I also used some Ford Mondeo ARB links which seem to fit really nicely between the ARB and the E30's standard front control arm ARB link mounting point. Hopefully the sway bar will be nice and parallel when the car is back down on the ground, but the jury is out on that.

Please nail it down or my Boy`s will be on the way !!!

There's also a bit of bonus footage at the end, especially with @martauto in mind!

[spannerrash]

Got onto something a bit different with the spell of good weather we had recently. Just as well as its rained solidly since!

I got that pesky carpet and parcel shelf dyed black.



The carpet has been filling my shed for a long as I can remember, waiting for the opportune moment to be attended to. I'm glad I got stuck in as the result is really pleasing, it's an amazing transformation if I do say so myself.

Luckily I'd given it a good steam clean way back when, so I got away with just a good vacuum before dyeing it, but not before I gave it a hair cut to remove the frayed areas.

I put maybe a bit too much of the dye on, and since drying it does appear to be transferring a fine black dust, although much less so now I've vacuumed it over again. I suspect a few more vacs and it will be gone.

I'm really hoping it will last, I have a good feeling about it.

[martauto]

There's also a bit of bonus footage at the end, especially with @martauto in mind!

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Mart.

I'm glad you encouraged me to get on with it, far better now it's bolted down!

[martauto]

Mart.

I'm glad you encouraged me to get on with it, far better now it's bolted down!

The "Boys" have been recalled !!

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Another update on the E30 build, and hopefully this one will prove useful for many.

I tackled the brake booster swap and switched to an E90 brake servo and master cylinder which is around 5cm slimmer in diameter. This should mean my M52/M50 manifold doesn't contact it in the engine bay, once the 6-pot is in its new home.

To be honest, I got myself quite confused with this swap based on what I'd read online. I guess a considerable amount of the information on how to do the E90 servo swap is from across the pond in the US where they drive on the wrong side. So figuring it out for right-hand-drive threw me off a bit.



For once it was good news though. I was expecting to have difficulties with the clevis and need to weld on the E30's clevis onto the E90 brake booster. However, no such hackery was required for RHD!

Despite that, it was still pretty fiddly with many aspects to it. I did my best to show and explain it as clearly as possible. I'm very happy with the result on this one, but it took me a while to complete!

[martauto]

Spot on mate, a great amount of research went into this !!
Fantastic project and progress too.

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Cheers Mart! Yeah it really took some figuring out this one. And just when I thought I knew exactly what I was doing with the clevis, I discovered there's no welding required for RHD cars. Result!

[BenHar]

Very nice, detailed explanation.

But it's NOT a coupe. GRRRR! It's a two door saloon.

Ben

[spannerrash]

Thanks Ben, Haha I'm sure you're technically correct, but sometimes life is just easier when you use the common parlance.

[spannerrash]

I've been busy in the workshop delving into the M52B28 engine I've had on an engine stand for in excess of two years.

Every time I go in the garage this engine stares back at me, asking to move into its new home. Its time to crack on and make it actually happen.
Before I can go ahead and chuck it in though, I needed to decided whether it's even worth chucking in at all, so I decided to whip off the valve cover and the sump to see what lies beneath.

I also had a good look into the intake and exhaust ports at the valves, and a look down the spark plug holes at the top of the pistons with an old borescope.



To be honest, for an old engine which probably has over 100k miles on it, its looking pretty sweet! Sure the top and bottom ends look a bit varnished, like its skipped an oil change or two over the years. But nothing looks damaged or like its been abused. Mostly it looks like its never been messed with - which is a good thing in my opinion.

For an engine of this vintage, I'm actually really impressed with how clean the top of the pistons are. The spark plugs seems to indicate it was running nice before being pulled too. Although my expectations might be unaturally low having seen my old man strip down a knackered old Triumph engine or two in the past.

From what I can see, theres no reason why this M52 engine won't run well. So my plan now is to give it a fair start by replacing weare items, then give it a good cosmetic overhaul so it doesnt look out of place in my shiny engine bay, then get it settled into its new home in the E30.

If you're a bit of an engine guru and beg to differ, please do chime in though as I'm no expert!

[DanThe]

Personally id want some more baffling in that shallow sump, but it would come down to what your intended use of the car is.
If in doubt fit an oil pressure gauge, I wouldnt want to drive it around without one

[spannerrash]

Hi Dan, yeah I agree on the baffling. It's not going to be a race car but I absolutely do want to be able to give it a good thrashing without worrying about oil stavration.

Oil pressure gauge is a very good suggestion. I guess I'd see it fluctuating if there was a problem. Thanks!

[spannerrash]

I've got an extremely satisfying vid to share with you this time. I spent some time refreshing my M52B28 engine.



It took some serious graft to get all the filth off the block and out of all the corners, but I knew it was going to be my one an only chance to do it right so there was no stopping me.

Really happy with how the engine enamel went on, and pleased with my nod to motorsports engines of old with the gold head.

Glad to have it finally buttoned up and ready to fit, only negative was some light scoring I found on the bores which I'd rather have remained ignorant to. But you can't win them all!

I wouldn't expect it to be an issue but we'll find out in the future.

[BenHar]

I can't wait to hear it start up!

Well done.

Ben

[chatstar123]

That engine will look great in the bay. Have you got a time frame in mind for when the car will be on the road?

[spannerrash]

I can't wait to hear it start up!

Well done.

Ben

You and me both, Ben! Cheers

[spannerrash]

That engine will look great in the bay. Have you got a time frame in mind for when the car will be on the road?

Thank you, I think so too. I'm well pleased with it!

Tough to say on timeframe. I had visions of it being a running and driving car again this summer, but I'd have to have a heck of a September for that to be possible and with work commitments it's seeming a bit unlikely.

A surprising number of things still to work out, and some of the fiddliest bits such as wiring. I reckon we're a few months out yet at the steady pace of momentum. Really wish I had more time to throw at it each week.

[spannerrash]

Another E30 build update today, I got my flywheel, clutch and gearbox mounted up and in the process got the egine hanging from the crane ready for fitting.



This was another vid I spent quite a bit of time researching. I wanted to cover the common combos for gearboxes, clutches and flywheels which also meant touching on prop shafts and diffs.

I've settled for an E30 318is Getrag 240 box combined with a lightened M20 flywheel and clutch combo. The longer nose output shaft on it versus a normal g240 should mean I can simply use a manual 325i prop shaft which I will hopefully be able to confirm down the line.

I'd have really liked to go with the proper 5-speed ZF box that would have come on a manual E36 328i for example (and the M3 I believe), but they're like hens teeth because everyone trying to fit S50 or S54 engines in snaps them up. At least this way I should have an easier time sourcing an appropriate diff.

But on the topic of differentials, I suspect I'm going to find the 4.27 I've got will be savagely short and I'll be revving the nuts off the M52 engine cruising at 70. But equally it should feel like a stabbed rat with such a short final drive down a B-road. We'll see how that works out!

If I've got anything wrong in this vid, please do feel free to correct me by the way. Hoping to make these vids a useful resource for people!

[AlexD911]

Nice work mate some good info there! Interested to see how the 4.27 Diff goes, i got a 3.64 and was worried that might be too short haha

[spannerrash]

Nice work mate some good info there! Interested to see how the 4.27 Diff goes, i got a 3.64 and was worried that might be too short haha

Thanks man, yeah it will be interesting, it'll probably make 1st gear pointless but I guess we'll see!

[spannerrash]

A huge milestone on the E30 build this time! The M52B28 engine is now in the engine bay:


It was one of those days where everything falls into place and works out beautifully. Which is a very rare thing, and to be cherished. Days like it are few and far between, but it's a good time when it does happen.

The old man came round to help me get the engine in, and between us it turned out to be a breeze really. I started off by getting the starter motor, clutch slave cylinder and engine arms on which are very straight forward to do while the engine hangs off a crane. I then introduce the Condor Speed Shop M50/M52 engine mounts which I opted to import from the US.

I had a pair which I believe to be E28 engine mounts, which is a more old-school way of mounting one of these, but I decided to do it right and do it once by getting proper mounts. With the final fitment I'm glad I did.

The removable front core support really came in clutch too. With that off, rolling the M52 engine into it's new home was about as easy as it sounds. Really happy with the result, it's the culmination of a lot of hard work to get to this point. Let's hope things continue to go this smoothly as I work toward getting it running!

[martauto]

Are you sure you are not a Toolmaker ???
Forward thought,
Preparation,
Loads of planning,
And above all, cleaner than your mums toilet !!!
Are you really sure ??

First dibs if you ever get rid mate

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Haha! I'm flattered Mart. But I'm probably more of a tool than a toolmaker.

With any luck I'll never need to sell this E30, but noted on the dibs.

[spannerrash]

Well, I finally took on the daunting task of wiring up my M52 swap. To be honest, it's looking very promising, and maybe a bit easier than I'd built it up to be in my mind.



I was considering going for an adapter for some time, to avoid having to figure anything out, but I'd been put off by the bulk of it and people having issues making the wiring look neat. I then looked into re-pinning the C101 plug with the right tools. But I then reined it in to a simple splice job. Why make it harder and more expensive than it has to be?

A bit of trouble was had in knowing which wire on the M52 engine harness corresponded to which wire on the E30's body harness, I found a few pinout tables online but none of them quite matched what I had in my hands. I resorted to a process of elimination in matching them up, cross-referencing as much as possible to make my own table. I suspect the wiring in E30's varies somewhat based on what I've seen. I suspect they're all a bit different depending on the year, model, which market it was sold in, and what equipment it came with.

I was a bit worried about soldering the wires, it's been a long time since I've soldered and I do recall making a pigs ear of some electrics in the past, so I decided to have a practice, but my old man insisted I gave his solder sleeve connectors a try. I thought these things were just a gimmick, but they really do seem great and I had an easy time thanks to using them.

I chopped off the C101 from the engine side of the E30 harness, and the X20 plug from the body side of the E36 harness and spliced them as per my table. Most of the wire colours ended up matching which surprised me. But if you're doing this yourself, avoid trusting the colours alone.

As the car now cranks on the key, I'm feeling quietly optimistic that a first start is a when rather than an if!
I'm going to have my work cut out sorting out the rats nest though, but I must hold off for now as I'll only need to mess with it again.

[martauto]

At 64 , I should not be excited about a lot of things but waiting for this to turn over was brilliant !!!

I know it`s very early days but what a milestone,
Well done Alex

Mart.

[spannerrash]

Haha, cheers Mart!
It surprised me that the starter burst into life so readily. It's looking pretty positive currently, not far off a fire-up now I don't think.

[spannerrash]

Another good update on the E30 project to share. I've got myself sorted out with an exhaust for the M52 swap and I'm very pleased with how it's turned out!



I'd picked up a stainless 325i Scorpion exhaust system a while back, but after umming and ahhing for a while, I concluded that connecting it to the M52B28 manifolds was above my current level.

I could anticipate spending a lot of time trying to chop and weld the exhaust manifold through trial and error, and never ending up happy with the result.
And I didn't want to introduce an eyesore to the build which is actually starting to look like it's going to be a nicely sorted E30.

After a bit of research, I got in touch with BMConversions (AKA "Danthe" on here) to acquire one of his custom manifold kits which are always highly regarded.
As you can probably tell by the video, I'm glad I did. The fitment and finish is absolutely spot on, plenty of clearance between the pipes and the steering linkage which is what I was hoping for.

I went ahead and did a DIY Cerakote job on them too, to keep them protected and hopefully knock a few degrees off engine bay temps down the line.

Since filming I got clamps installed on the slip joints and I've also been able to sort the hangers for the massive Scorpion backbox, so it's perfect. I'll probably include some clips to show that on an up-coming episode.

As a final note, Dan has been kind enough to offer 10% off his custom manifolds to Spanner Rash subscribers.
Check the details out in the video description on YT, or click this direct link to get the offer.

[spannerrash]

It's been a few weeks since the last update, but here it is; I got the gear linkage in to suit an E30 M52 using Getrag g240 gearbox. As a sweetener I also fitted a nice little upgrade in the form of the Z3 1.9 shift lever.



I'd been weighing up my options for a gear linkage for some time. Sadly the original one that came on this 316i was way too long, thanks to the fact the g240 gearbox is now pushed deeper into the transmission tunnel thanks to being bolted up to a longer 6-pot M52 engine. It turned out to be about 6cm too long in my case.

My initial thought was to chop 6cm out of the original gear linkage and shift arm, and go with it. But I just couldnt work out how I was going to reconnect the cast aluminium in a solid satisfactory way. The shift arm wouldnt be such a big deal due to it being steel and perfectly weldable.

From some research, I discovered that an E30 320i gear linkage and shift arm should be a perfect fit. In this case it would be an M20 6-cyl engine with a g240 mounted to it, so BMW already solved the problem in-house. I managed to pick one of these up on Ebay which is lucky, I imagine they aren't all that common. But the price the seller was asking for made me wince.

However, being the keen-eyed E30 nerd I am, I spotted that the gear lever included with this 320i shift linkage was not a typical E30 item, it was in fact a Z3 1.9 shift lever, another of the OEM+ mods I had on my hit list for this car. The seller made no mention of it in their description, I don't think they knew what they had there and others would have been put off by the price.

These Z3 shifters are becoming more expensive and harder to find in their own right, so with that factored in the price was pretty reasonable so I pulled the trigger.

Fitting these components up is always really fiddly, I remember having a mare doing it on my E46. But it's not too bad on an E30 without a prop shaft fitted so I got there in the end. The great news is the components fit up a treat and I'm extremely satisfied with the result. Very glad I didnt Frankenstien my original shift arm into a monstrosity.

[spannerrash]

Another E30 build update here, I figured out my prop shaft situation and got one mounted up.

I ended up making a vid explaining my thought process and covering off some of the potential prop shaft options you can use on an E30 M52 engine conversion, depending on the gearbox you've mated to the engine.



Originally I was planning to use the original gearbox that came with my 1990 316i manual E30, this is a getrag g240 box and in theory should pose no problem. The trouble however was the limiting of prop shaft options if I took this route.

After a fair amount of reading I concluded that potentially an E30 320i prop could be used. These cars came equipped with an M20 6-pot engine along with the g240 gearbox, much like the shifter linkage this should in theory make the prop shaft the correct length for a swapped car. But the problem is there are limited sources confirming this, and finding a manual 320i prop shaft for sale seemed like an impossible task as that's quite a specific thing.

I managed to purchase what I believed was a 320i prop shaft a while back, but it was a prefacelift and not a certainty.

What is confirmed by many sources however is that using the Getrag g240 gearbox from an E30 318is means you can use an E30 325i prop shaft and get a perfect fit every time. So when a 318is gearbox popped up for sale at a good price I decided to snap it up opening my options. A 325i prop shaft is a more common part to source and I was able to buy one of those straight away.

This combo is what I decided to go with in the end, and I can confirm a perfect fit. I even had the 325i prop shaft's joints replaced as they felt a bit notchy.

I think I will put the 316i g240 and the 320i prop shaft on the shelf for now and use them as a backup if I have any problems with this setup. From the measurements, it does look like it would have worked great.

The only thing I failed to cover in the video which I shouldnt have was the preloading of the centre support bearing.

There seems to be some debate online about whether this needs doing, I fitted mine in the original position on the chassis which I believe added a touch of preload towards the front of the E30 chassis. Hopefully I won't need to revisit that. If anyone has any specific knowledge/experience on preloading E30 CSBs, please do share it.

[martauto]

This is one of the best build threads going, informative and very well shot too.
The guy from Ukraine (the glory) could do with a video but I guess he has a few "issues" at the moment.
Thanks to both of you .

Mart.

[chatstar123]

On the road by Christmas?