Journal of a Peruvian Rookie

[M III Pilot]

Great detail, keep up the great work!!!

[Naka]

Out of curiosity, what is the size of your garage and what width doors do you have?

IIRC, 24' deep x 44' wide. The offset on one of the walls makes half of it 46' wide. 12' tall. Doors are 18'x8'.

[LUTFY]

Gary,

Why did you choose to strip the chassis down to the T? Given that you didnt s-weld or dip it? Rationale?

Lutfy

[bryanbmw]

Awesome build and write up! You have made great progress with the car, I can't wait to see the finished product. By the way im jealous of your lifestyle GOODLUCK with everything.

[OLD MAN]

Great work - this is coming along wonderfully! As others have said you are really getting everything down right with wonderful attention to detail.

[DrBobOh]

YES. Love this build! Paint looks VERY awesome. Can't wait for more. GET ON IT!

[brdhntr]

Wow, I just read the entire build process. You must be getting anxious to drive this thing on the track again. I've got a few years before I go through what you are going through now. The wiring looks like a PITA, but it must feel fulfilling to know that you don't have that extra 22lbs of extra wire in the car.

Why did you repaint the exterior of the car? Just because it was at the painter?

[Naka]

Gary,

Why did you choose to strip the chassis down to the T? Given that you didnt s-weld or dip it? Rationale?

Lutfy

You are kidding, right? There is NOTHING rational about building a race car! Or is it?

We always end up doing as we WANT. Never as we SHOULD.

Had I let rationality take over, I would've left a perfectly working road car intact, bought an smaller inexpensive house with a two car garage and enjoyed having some money in the bank.

Now, if the question was to find out the reason I chose to do so, then the answers are:

1) I always loved the look of WHITE race cars.

2) I wanted to build my first race car from the ground up.

3) I wanted to get rid of ALL non-esential elements on the car (dead weight).

Dipping it would've not offered me much of a performace advantage . For BMWCCA Prepared class, I will need to eventually put some of the removed weight back. The weight you would remove by dipping it is already at the lowest point of the car, nicely distributed. Not to mention that the rust-preventing properties of the stock paint job was something I wanted to keep. Also, I don't believe s-welding is legal in Prepared class.

[Naka]

September 09, Third Week

Brake booster, master cylinder, reservoir and ABS unit go back on.




And so do the the pedals




Rear tailights and rear wiring harness are also put back in place.







Then I plan to reinstall the brake lines. At least the front ones. The rear ones will need to wait until I can put the car on the lift. But when I go to the attic to retrieve them, I quickly remember that I had "minor" issues trying to remove them. The connecting nuts are all rounded. Ay-ay-ay, Mamá!




So I call the dealer and order them. Both front brake lines. Not in stock. In the whole continental US. I'll have to wait for them to come from Germany.

Nobody to be upset at, but myself. Had I ordered them when I messed them up, I would've had them ready by now.

But no reason to despair. There is soooo much to do still. So I just move on to something else.

Since I plan to upgrade to the self-bleeding Euro coolant reservoir, I start working on the engine side.

First, I remove the original engine coolant pipe...




... and then epoxy the male-to-male adaptor for the Euro coolant pipe.




I also remove the male adaptor for the coolant outlet to the water valve.




Since my car won't have a water valve anymore, this opening will need to be sealed. Bimmerworld sent me the plate to do so, but I find out that things are not as easy as they seem. The plate does not come with the needed hardware. Based on experience I have gained so far, I start to guess what the next step will be. I will need to order another part, and the dealer won't have it in stock.

First of all, when removing the male adaptor, I find that there is a gasket (#4) between the engine head and the adaptor (#3). So a new gasket will have to go between engine and blocking plate. I then search realoem.com to try to find the part number to order it.




Then I find out that the original bolt is too long to be reused with the blocking plate.




Luckily for me, I find extra bolts from the tray removed from the stock oil pan when upgrading to the E46 dual-pick up oil pump and pan. And they seem to fit perfectly.





September 09, Fourth Week


Gasket arrives. So I post it for future reference. I guess I could've used some form-a-gasket paste, but I'm so affraid that my ignorance will make do something stupid, that I decide to play safe and use what BMW originally considered appropriate.




Now I have all the harware ready. I wish Bimmerworld had sold this plate as a kit with all the hardware needed included. It would've saved me quite some time (4 days to be exact). I hope James reads this and considers it for future DIY customers.




All this time for just this little piece...




Now, the hose to the throttle body. I don't know what its function is, but at least I know it has to go.




Darn! Another hole to plug.... I just hope this one doesn't take me another 4 days.




Truth be told, I am ready for this one. Especially after what happened with the hole to the water valve. This time, I had already checked what hardware I needed and ordered it in advance. In this case, I found out that the original oil drain plug would fit perfectly. So I had one coming along with its ring gasket.




This one takes me less than 2 minutes. Most of that time, taking the pictures.




For the OBDI conversion, I remove the old knock sensors...




And replace them with the ones for the OBDI harness.




Back to the S54 oil pan, I remove the oil level sensor...




And in this case too, the S52 oil drain plug is a perfect fit.




This one also takes me less than 2 minutes.




I'm extremely busy at work, so most of my free time has to be spent with my kids. And recovering the lost sleep. And the only long weekend I get off a month, I spend it accompanying Bill to the track, to support him on his championship winning campaign.

I guess too much work is a bless in times like this when so many people are losing their jobs. Therefore, I am grateful for it. But the time available for car work is very limited. So the progress I make every week is close to none. Most of my car time is spent researching, as all these things are so new to me.

Hopefully I'll get faster as I move on.

[SiGmA]

I love reading your journey sir. Its truly awesome.

[TOOLEAN]

So....is it because of the OBDI conversion that you can't use the oil level sensor? or is there another reason? Thanks! Great build!

[Naka]

So....is it because of the OBDI conversion that you can't use the oil level sensor? or is there another reason?

Honest answer? I am not really sure. I know that on Bill's car (built by Bimmerworld), that opening is plugged.

I also believe that the OBD I harness doesn't have a connector for oil level. From what I can recall, my S52 pan didn't have an oil level sender either.

The oil pan i have now, comes from an E46 M3, so that car's wiring harness must have the connector for it.

Anyways, I will be doing away with the stock instrument cluster, and use a Stack display. So I won't be monitoring the oil LEVEL. Instead, I'll be keeping track of the oil PRESSURE.

[vinnymac]

Here's some advice on the coolant block-off plate on the back of the cylinder head.

Don't trust the OEM paper gasket. I used the same exact kit you used and I had a coolant leak. I would highly recommend you use some silicone gasket sealer (a generous amount) and get rid of the paper gasket.

[Naka]

Here's some advice on the coolant block-off plate on the back of the cylinder head.

Don't trust the OEM paper gasket. I used the same exact kit you used and I had a coolant leak. I would highly recommend you use some silicone gasket sealer (a generous amount) and get rid of the paper gasket.

Thanks a lot. The issue will certainly be addressed.

What is the recommended "silicone gasket sealer" for parts like this, exposed to coolant and engine heat? There are so many out there, I wouldn't know what to use.

[ImPwrdByM]

I saw your pics and thought you had this kit for a second...

http://www.akgmotorsport.com/catalog...e%2FDrivetrain

...but then I read and realized you didn't receive a complete kit.

live and learn haha

Car is beeeeeeutiful btw cant wait to see it done!

[bpeters]

Beautiful Car and amazing attention to detail. I just read the the whole thread in the last hour. Keep up the good work.

[Naka]

I saw your pics and thought you had this kit for a second...

I wish I knew in advance it was going to be such a hassle. But thanks for bringing that up! I really like that PLUG. I've looking for something to block one of the unused terminals on the Euro coolant pipe. That's perfect!! Thanks again for the lead.

Don't trust the OEM paper gasket.

I was just wondering... BMW uses that "asbestos-free gasket" and it's been problem free for the almost 10 years my car was driven in stock condition. So my question is, did you re-use the old gasket or put a new one in? And, how much torque did you apply to tighten the bolts for the plate? I was just considering the possibility that installation could've played a role, unless it is a recurrent event on race prepared S50-S52 engines.

Thanks again for your input. Hopefully we all can benefit from your experience.

[jfrankE21]

I used a 3/4" brass plug found in the plumbing section of Lowe's to block the unused terminal on the Euro coolant pipe. Works great- no leaks.

[brdhntr]

I am constantly amazed and confused everytime you add a new post. It really just shows me how little I actually know. I guess that's why I didn't better at Macro Economics than Micro Econ in high school. I do concepts well, but when I see these little gaskets and screws I think "oh dear". I guess that it's a good thing my uncle was a BMW and Porsche mechanic, and that my father build a factory five cobra. At least they can help me.

[Naka]

I am constantly amazed and confused everytime you add a new post. It really just shows me how little I actually know...when I see these little gaskets and screws I think "oh dear".

It is not that hard really. It's normal human nature to be affraid or intimidated by the unknow. But once confronted with it, you will be amazed how well you can handle these things.

If you read from the beginning of my story, I was at a total loss on how to do mechanical work. Changing oil and brake pads were as far as I've ever ventured to go.

It takes time to learn, of course. And understand things too. But once you know the basics, it's easier to take in more knowledge as you move along.

That's one of the reasons why I'm trying to be as graphic as possible with my build, so people can benefit from the time I spent researching everything out. It may not make much sense to you now, but once you are inside of a project yourself, things will make more sense.

So don't be timid at attacking your own projects. Start with easy things first. If an idiot like me can do it, I'm quite sure 99.9% of you guys can do it too. Just don't ever be affraid to ask.

Always remember: There is no such a thing as a stupid question. Just stupid answers.

[scottbm3]

Gary,

The car is really starting to come around. It looks great and you are doing an excellent job. Come a long way since the first time I watched you trying to change brake pads in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express...



Cheers, Scott B.

[bpeters]

Gary,

The car is really starting to come around. It looks great and you are doing an excellent job. Come a long way since the first time I watched you trying to change brake pads in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express...

[e32 735il]

my new desktop background!

[RacerX]

As usual, outstanding work Gary! So do you have a new planned first event or shakedown date? I look forward to seeing the car on track next year!

Funny on the rear head block plate, I had my own little adventure with one of those once. Mine was much worse that missing part though, one of the bolts sheared off during removal. D'oh! Fortunately there was enough left that I was able to use a stud remover to get it out but man, scrary.

It's definitely nice to switch to the M20/euro coolant reservoir though, a much cleaner system fer sher! Keep up the good work man.

Cheers.

[ImPwrdByM]

OP, Quick question...

...will this car be ran with NASA Great Lakes/Midwest????