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Thread: Build Thread: 1991 325ic Restoration + engine swap

  1. #801
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    1991 325iC Project
    Close. Waiting for trim clips to install side and bottom sill plates. Also waiting for fog light plugs, and upper windshield trim caps. I am replacing the fog light switch and bezel too. Then comes the windshield and top. A couple of items are inbound to ECS so maybe I will be back on the road around the first or second week in August.

    Then ............ turbo, maybe??? I still have that brand new turbo manifold waiting!

  2. #802
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    Since this car is a convertible the battery was originally located in the engine compartment up front. I relocated it to the trunk as the chassis had the same battery well as the coupe and sedan models. So far the battery has just been sitting in the well with nothing to secure it but I finally got around to making a battery hold-down out of some threaded steel rod.



    The block on the far left is a 200A fusible link (giant fuse). The box on the right side of the battery is a "PriorityStart" device that senses battery voltage and if the voltage drops below a certain level an electro-mechanical switch disconnects the battery to prevent any further drain thereby saving enough power to start the car. I have ordered an OEM battery cover to finish the installation. I plan to go to the auto parts store today to get a battery terminal cover for that exposed terminal on the PriorityStart.

  3. #803
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    1989 Bmw325IC
    I'm curious as to why you moved the battery to the trunk. I like mine under the hood so interested as to why you moved yours. You are doing marvelous work!

  4. #804
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    Quote Originally Posted by aaverhulst View Post
    I'm curious as to why you moved the battery to the trunk. I like mine under the hood so interested as to why you moved yours. You are doing marvelous work!
    Thank you! I am using a Megasquirt ECU and I went with wasted-spark no distributor ignition. I used the original battery tray to mount the power pack and control modules for the ignition system.


  5. #805
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    No e30s, again :(
    holy crap! I didn't realize you had megasquirt on this. awesome
    No e30s again.

  6. #806
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    There is some discussion about the Megasquirt installation back on pp. 20-21 of this thread.

  7. #807
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    Murphy Lives!

    Things started out pretty good today. I finally got the correct plug housings and terminals for the new fog lights so I wired them up and the lights worked just like they are supposed to. The only things left in the immediate future are the new windshield and installing the convertible top so I thought I would take the car out and run it for a while and take some pictures while it was outside. It was on jack stands so I lowered it back on all fours, opened the garage, and got in to start it up. Key on, instrument panel comes alive, turn to start, and ........NOTHING! Not even a click. Print out wiring diagram, put car back on jack stands, remove lower driver's side dash panel, remove steering wheel, remove lower steering shaft cover, and start troubleshooting. To make a long story short(er), this was the culprit:



    This orange relay, located under the dash on the far left side is the safety interlock relay that prevents the car from starting unless the automatic transmission is either in Park or Neutral. But wait a minute! This car is a 5-speed straight shift. True, but it USED to be an automatic. When I did the transmission swap I just tied the two wires from the automatic transmission safety switch together so the relay would energize any time the ignition switch was turned to START.

    I removed the relay and made a jumper to bypass the relay switch contacts.



    Of course the car started right up. Obviously cars that came from the factory with manual transmissions did not have this relay setup and tomorrow mine ain't gonna have one either! I will be removing the relay socket and directly connecting the two switched wires together.

  8. #808
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    No e30s, again :(
    We did the plugs at the steering column when we swapped the 86 eta to a 5 speed.
    No e30s again.

  9. #809
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    Quote Originally Posted by superj View Post
    We did the plugs at the steering column when we swapped the 86 eta to a 5 speed.
    I should have done that too but I don't think I even looked at a wiring diagram when i did mine. I took the easy route but it caught up with me. On the factory cars with auto transmissions the wire from the start switch is black from the ignition switch to the relay and then becomes black/yellow to the starter solenoid. It was black/yellow all the way from the switch to the solenoid on the manual cars. Today I removed the relay receptacle and directly connected the black and black/yellow wires together and now I am good to go.

  10. #810
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    The top collected some dust and a few spiders while sitting in the shop so I decided to clean it up, check it over and get it ready to install back on the car.


    The previous owner said that the top was only a couple of years old when I bought the car so it is in very good condition. It cleaned up nice and still looks great. I will be putting it back on in the next day or so.

    Last edited by JimBobs 91E30; 11-17-2018 at 03:57 PM.

  11. #811
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    I did some more work on the trunk mounted battery today. I had bought an OEM battery cover normally used on sedans and coupes since their batteries came mounted in the trunk. The convertibles came with the battery mounted under the hood but they still had the well in the trunk where the battery went on coupes and sedans. Instead of the battery the convertibles had a 50# weight mounted there.



    When I placed the battery on top of the weight it raised the battery too high for the new cover to fit.



    My first thought was to just remove the weight and then the battery would be low enough for the cover to fit. The battery weighed 36# so I was going to add 14# of lead in a space below the battery to make a total of 50#. Then I took a closer look at the 50# weight. It is not just dead weight but it has rubber shock mounts at each corner. The weight has nothing to do with compensating for the weight difference of front and rear mounted batteries. It is actually a harmonic vibration dampener that is only found on convertibles and it serves the purpose of counteracting some type of body vibrations inherent to the convertibles. After some thought I decided to keep the weight and modify the new cover.

    The new cover needed to be raised about 2 inches to cover the battery so I made an extension strip out of a piece of old door sill strip and riveted it to the new battery cover.



    I mounted it with sheet metal screws to check the fit but I am planning to replace the screws with some type of wing or thumb screws for easier access to the battery.


  12. #812
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    No e30s, again :(
    that looks fine. that's crazy about that harmonic balance in the battery blank area.
    No e30s again.

  13. #813
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    The trunk weight on the verts has been a bit of a mystery to many. I did some research a couple of years ago when I first thought about deleting the weight and came to the conclusion that it served a purpose and should be left in place, although many people reported that they removed theirs with no noticeable effects.

    I did finally install the convertible top.



    I also finished my battery cover installation by making some studs out of 1/4-20 SS screws.



    The cover is held in place by winged knobs.





    The car gets a little pampering while it sits in the garage waiting for the windshield installer to show up.


  14. #814
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    Today marks the end of a major stage in the build of this car. The windshield was installed today and now the car is ready to drive. All of the exterior trim is finished and the interior is basically complete too. I plan to enjoy driving it for a while before anymore major changes. In the future am considering replacing the black carpet for a light beige color. I am also thinking about changing the wheels from a bright polished set to a more subdued black center with bronze rims. I can purchase a new set like I already have in black/bronze for less than it would cost to have mine refinished. I may also replace the tan vert top to a black one.

    I had seriously considered installing the windshield myself after reading some DIY write-ups but I decided to let the pros do it after careful consideration. That turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. After watching the two installers work for two hours putting it in I know I would have met my match! The main rubber sealing gasket was very difficult to seat on the windshield frame flange because it was new and very tight and it took them a while to get that done.. The pros had the large suction pads to manipulate the windshield until it was seated properly inside the gasket and they accomplished that part without much difficulty. Then came the lock strip. I believe it was the most difficult part! The groove in the windshield sealing gasket looked way too narrow for the lock strip to fit into but they were both oem BMW parts so it was supposed to work. Again, because the lock strip and the gasket were both new the fit was tight, and even with the special installation tool and a lot of lube it took a lot of strength to make it happen. These guys install a lot of semi tractor windshields and most of them use a similar gasket and lock strip combination so they had plenty of experience, but, as they explained, the old sealing gasket is usually still good so they do not normally replace it, and as it is worn and soft it is normally quite easy to install the lock strip. Anyway, it is done and looks great!

    Here is how the car looks today:











    After the windshield was finished I drove up to Shane's Body Shop and let them see the final results of their work. They were very pleased!

    A bit of irony........as the installers were putting my windshield in I drove the family Grand Cherokee to school to pick up my grandson. On the way I took a hit to the windshield from a piece of gravel, putting a 12 inch crack in the center. I will be getting another windshield installation tomorrow, compliments of my insurance company!
    Last edited by JimBobs 91E30; 08-08-2018 at 07:41 PM.

  15. #815
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    No e30s, again :(
    wow!! that car looks amazing. if you do any local shows, I bet that wins some awards. that paint, wheeewwwwww, beautiful!!

    and the bronze wheels looks awesome on a red car. it really pops that way. I had the gold weaves on my 89 zinno 325i and it looked great!
    No e30s again.

  16. #816
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    Not done yet!

    One thing that still bothered me was the dash on my car. It was ALMOST perfect but there was one small crack just to the right of center about 1-1/2 inches long. It was repaired but still noticeable. I was going to just live with it but then I saw one on ebay advertised as "mint" and "perfect". The seller stated that it had been removed from a 1989 E30 M3 in 1993 and had been stored indoors since then. It was supposedly flawless with no fading, discoloration or cracks and was still supposed to be soft and supple. I decided to go for it and it arrived today. It was everything the seller said it was. I can't tell that it is even used except for a few marks on the mounting brackets.







    So now my car looks like this:



    Before I install the new dash I plan to make a few wiring changes. I wanted to add an AFR gauge for real-time readings. I already had an Innovate LC-2 O2 sensor controller to supply AFR readings to the Megasquirt ECU but I had to use my laptop to observe the AFR readings. Then I found that Innovate makes AFR gauges with built-in controllers. It can feed the exhaust O2 sensor directly to the gauge which also has an output for the ECU. I will be removing the LC-2 controller since it is no longer needed.



    Innovate makes digital gauges too but I particularly wanted an analog one for a more retro look and to avoid having any distracting flashing lights while driving at night. I plan to mount it in the dash where the clock is mounted now. (The gauge is actually digital. It uses a stepper motor to drive an analog looking needle type display)
    Last edited by JimBobs 91E30; 10-05-2018 at 08:15 PM.

  17. #817
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    Dashboard removal and install tips

    I have removed and reinstalled several E30 dashes and there are several good write-ups about the procedure so I will not go into all of those details but there are a couple of observations I would like to share. A lot of "experts" recommend disengaging the dash sides from the A-pillar trim by pushing down on the dash to release the clips and then pulling the dash forward. I have found that it is almost impossible to slide the metal clips past the A-pillar trim without scratching it. Also, with the trim in place the dash is wedged tightly against it. I strongly recommend removing the A-pillar trim first. While there is some risk in breaking the clips on the trim, if done carefully it is not difficult at all.

    First, pull the door edge weatherstripping away from the A-pillar. It should just pull out as it is not supposed to be glued in.



    Then carefully pull the A-pillar trim loose by pulling the top snap-in retainer out and bending the trim just enough to release the top edge that is tucked in place. After that the trim piece will lift straight up. As you can see in the picture, the upper part of the trim is held in place with a snap-in retainer and the lower part is held in by a metal clip that just slides down into a slot.





    Installing the A-pillar trim is the reverse of removing it. The lower retaining clip is started in its slot first. The trim is pushed down in position next to the edge of the dash. Carefully bend the trim just enough to tuck in in place at the top and push the top snap in. Because of the age of the plastic the retainer for the lower metal clip sometimes breaks but that is not really a problem because the trim piece is wedged in tightly against the dash and the lower clip is not really needed.

    The rear skirting on the trim piece is simply held over the flange on the edge while the door edging weatherstrip is pushed back on.



    The steering wheel will be removed but you also must remove the steering column upper and lower cover.



    The upper and lower sections are held together with four screws. Once they are removed the lower half will simply drop down but the upper half can not be removed until the dash is loose. After all the dash mounting bracket screws are removed the dash can be lifted in place enough to slide the upper cover out. When reinstalling the dash, DO NOT FORGET to slide the upper cover back in place after the dash has been loosely positioned in place before the securing screws are installed. The upper cover cannot be removed or installed with the dash secured in place. It is most annoying to have the dash screws all tightened down and then realize you forgot to put the upper cover in position. Ask me how I know.

    A replacement HVAC control panel should arrive today so I can finish this particular project. The old one had a broken lower mounting tab.

    Last edited by JimBobs 91E30; 10-08-2018 at 09:16 PM.

  18. #818
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    Someone made some adapters to mount 2" gauges in the OBC/clock location using a 3-D printer. They were for sale on ebay so I bought one.



    The fit was excellent and made it simple to mount my new AFR gauge.



    I finished wiring the gauge and it works great. It reads max with the engine not running....all air and no fuel is about as lean as it gets!



    Next I will reinstall the glove box and associated parts.

  19. #819
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    The new, flawless dashboard is now installed and I am very pleased. It makes a huge difference to me.





    The new AFR gauge is also in place and working perfectly. Since the kit came with a new O2 sensor I went ahead and used it too, even though the old one only had about 3K miles on it. Since the internal controller in the gauge controls both the gauge itself and the output channel both the gauge and Megasquirt read exactly the same thing, which is great for AFR tuning purposes.



    Last edited by JimBobs 91E30; 10-12-2018 at 11:08 AM.

  20. #820
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    While browsing through some of my favorite E30 parts websites I came across a spark plug wire harness and housing for an M20 engine with wasted spark from Ireland Engineering.



    It turns out that all they did was to take a stock oem wire housing, flip it so the wires would exit at the opposite end, and leave the ends opposite the spark plugs uncut so they could be trimmed for a custom fit to the coil pack. That left the mounting tabs on top instead of on the bottom. There were no adapters or instructions with the kit so I took a couple of M6 hex extension bolts and stacked them to make a mounting point for the original tabs.



    For what a new wire harness and housing cover cost I could not have made my own any cheaper than Ireland sold these for and they use high quality parts. I do like the red wires and the more oem look.


  21. #821
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    No e30s, again :(
    cool
    No e30s again.

  22. #822
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    While driving around doing a little tuning on the Megasquirt ecu I suddenly lost spark on cylinders 3 & 4. Since they both fire at the same time using wasted spark ignition it seemed obvious that one of the three coil pack pairs had failed. The MS ecu sends the coil firing signal to the Quadspark amplifier which then sends the amplified signal to the coil pack, so the problem could be any one of those three components. The signal tested good from Megasquirt and the coil pack primary and secondary resistances were within specs so that left the Quadspark module. Quadspark has four I/O channels but only three are used to drive the coil pack, leaving a spare unused channel. I simply swapped that unused channel with the channel wired to drive the coil section driving cylinders 3 and 4 and that fixed the problem. The Quadspark module gets pretty warm and is supposed to be mounted to the firewall to use it as a heat sink but mine only had limited contact with the firewall, so I added a separate large aluminum heat sink to dissipate more heat.



    While driving around yesterday doing more tuning the car developed a very noticeable rattle underneath the car. It sounded like the exhaust pipe was vibrating against something metal. After some investigation it turned out that the ceramic core inside the catalytic converter had come loose and was rattling around inside the stainless steel case. When the cat was manufactured there was some sort of soft packing stuffed between the core and the case but it had disintegrated allowing the core to become loose. This particular cat has a single inlet and dual outlets so by-passing the cat was not a good option because I would have to fabricate a "Y" pipe. I decided that the best option would be to gut the cat, which was a first for me.

    Fortunately I had put a ball and flange pipe connector between the cat and the front exhaust pipe so it was fairly easy to remove the rear part of the exhaust.



    The core of the cat was some type of brittle ceramic material so it was not too difficult to use a steel rod and hammer to break up the core and then shake it out of the end of the cat. Another problem solved.

    Last edited by JimBobs 91E30; 11-19-2018 at 09:41 AM.

  23. #823
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    Like a lot of y'all I use Flickr to host many of my pictures on this site. Flickr recently sold to another company which has decided to make some major changes. Under the old Flickr users were given up to 1TB of storage for photos at no charge. The new company has decided that users will only be allowed to store up to 1K photos free. Any more than that requires that you purchase an annual membership They want you to believe that paying for their service will attract more "professional users" which will "bring the service up to the standards for which it was originally designed." I had over 2K photos stored so I had to delete all photos that I was not actually using in this thread. That was quite an undertaking since I had to check each photo against the link address in the thread.

    I have been using the car with the oil filter directly on the engine block with the oil cooler removed since I was not pushing the engine hard and keeping an eye on the oil temperature but I decided to reinstall the cooler. Instead of using the original cooler lines I wanted to go with -10AN braided stainless steel lines to allow flexibility in case I decide to go the turbo route in the future.

    I used AN fittings to connect the cooler lines at each end. At the cooler ends I used 22mm to flared -10AN adapters. (Silver fitting) The female end has an O-ring inside.





    At the oem filter housing I used male -22mm to -10AN flare fittings.



    Using -10AN flexible hose allows different hose routing options which can be easily changed by making up new connecting hoses. The hose ends are reusable so the only expense to change length is the hose itself.







    The silver 22m to -10AN adapters came from Orme Brothers, Inc. https://3312a5fd-7411-11e5-8198-14fe...store.com/cart The hose and the rest of the fittings came from Summit Racing. The zip ties will be replaced with more substantial hose clamps soon.

  24. #824
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    No e30s, again :(
    that looks real good.

    I like doing custom hoses like that for lots of stuff. when a buddy and I did out v8 swaps in our cj and wrangler, we made all the lines custom, ac, power steering, oil cooler, trans, everything. we did it with the ends that aren't reusable though, since another buddy had purchased the crimping tool and there is a local hose place to get hose for cheap. it was super nice being able to run everything where you need it instead of trying to fit it where the hoses reached. we did a 360 in his cj, since they were an option back in those days for jeeps and a 302 in my wrangler. not an option but sure seems like jeep made their stuff right next to the ford stuff because it was all basically bolt in.
    No e30s again.

  25. #825
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    I like the braided hoses too. They are durable, attractive, and very easy to make up. To keep the steel braid from fraying when I cut it I put tape around the hose where it is to be cut, then cut all the way around the braid with a Dremel tool cut-off wheel. It makes for a very neat installation.

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