Frankenstien e36 project

[jakeE36325]

Hi Im Jake and I want to go sideways! Ill start off by saying I have always been competitive and for a long time was at or near the top of the leader boards in sailing during and for a while after high school. I went to tech school to become a Marine technician at about the time I stopped competing in sailing and picked up kiteboarding for fun. I have always liked the getting sideways and did a lot with my first car (93 pathfinder).

On to the car story. I was never really into cars growing up but after I finished school and had a some money in my bank I decided I was going to buy a new car. The '95 volvo 850 just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I ended up with a '95 325i which I bought not knowing anything about these cars or what it takes to maintain a reliable one. I have had it 2 years now and the only thing I really had to replace were the water pump and transmission (lost 2nd gear a week after buying it). With that said there are a ton of things that are worn out and need replacement. The car is sitting at 215k miles. I have always liked the getting sideways and did a lot with my first car (93 pathfinder).

Over the last year I have been stockpiling parts for this beater to turn it into a drift car. I have to say I haven't quite gone about this the right way. I kind of just buy what I think is a good deal and what I might need in the future. At this point I know I need help as to what I should do to get out on the track instead of trying to build a ridiculous car that I will end up wrecking. This car is also my daily driver but I only drive 4 miles round trip to work and have a 98' m3 to drive when it gets a little nicer out.

So far the parts on the car are:

AA track pipe
UUC rsc36 cat back (probably going to swap the m3 stock exhaust on for a while as to not irritate the neighbors further)
Depo projector HID's with AE (going on the m3 soon)
m3 front bumper
3.23 LSD with upgraded front bolt and Ireland engineering bushings
s50 cams
War chip
h&r rear spring+shocks (not sure what they really are, on the car when I bought it)
Vaders (up for sale)
Bav Auto coil packs

Now for the parts that are sitting in storage:

LC-2 Widband
Obd2 headers
ACT lightweight flywheel and clutch kit rated for 500ftlbs
X-brace
M50 stroker bottom end assembledish new rings and bearing
Resurfaced head with s50 springs and trays
Arp head studs
Arp main studs
Powerflex subframe bushings
s54 oil pan, pump and dipstick
Bottom end gasket kit
Misimoto radiator
16" electric fan
4 7.5" ds2's
Powerflex R-tabs slightly used
OE motor mounts slightly used
Poly trans mounts slightly used

Tons more odds and ends and probably some big things I'm forgetting as its been hiding from me for a few moths after I had to move and find new work. I now have some garage space and want to get going on this project. I have a bunch of good parts but also still need a lot of things. Right now I'm in the I just want to get out there mode and am okay with buy a parts that might need replacement.

I really want to get the engine going and build from there. I am going back and forth about adding boost later and am seriously considering the CES Cutring.

Share your thoughts and motivation please!!

[jalopi]

sup dude, you're starting with a good car. can't go into as much detail as i usually do but...

*if your neighbors get mad about your loud car, put the stock muffler back on and buy an electric cutout. i have one on my car, they're pretty sweet

*headlights aren't drift mods... lol

*consider buying a good spring/shock combo. h&r stuff is pretty soft compared to track-dedicated suspensions. most guys seem to be happy with 500#ish springs in the front and 700#ish springs in the rear

*leave it as-is for a year. you don't need a turbo as a new drifter, that's a good way to wreck quick

*angle mods are good for helping keep your car from spinning and then maybe wrecking, add that to the buy list

[Press22]

start off small and just get yourself as much track time as possible instead of being stuck at home with a turbo build.

basically do your suspension and bushings and angle mods, set the chassis up. when you feel good enough drifting it for a while, add power.

[jakeE36325]

sup dude, you're starting with a good car. can't go into as much detail as i usually do but...

*if your neighbors get mad about your loud car, put the stock muffler back on and buy an electric cutout. i have one on my car, they're pretty sweet

*headlights aren't drift mods... lol

*consider buying a good spring/shock combo. h&r stuff is pretty soft compared to track-dedicated suspensions. most guys seem to be happy with 500#ish springs in the front and 700#ish springs in the rear

*leave it as-is for a year. you don't need a turbo as a new drifter, that's a good way to wreck quick

*angle mods are good for helping keep your car from spinning and then maybe wrecking, add that to the buy list

I like the idea of a cutout. I'm going to just swap mufflers for now or until I get tired of it. I know they aren't but I couldn't stand the one piece lights that came with the car. Is there a good decent brand to get or what would be a good combo to piece together? Totally but I've been gettin lots in all the turbo build threads. Thanks for the reality check! For angle mods I am thinking e46 arms, knuckle adapters, and maybe rack spacers.

[jalopi]

one of these days, i swear i'm gonna finally kill this e46 control arm angle mod rumor

the e46 arms available for purchase today are not good for drifting

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=346988

the arms in that thread are current production arms

i'm convinced that the only good reviews about e46 arms online are either from people who have original early production arms (haven't been in production for a while) or don't get as much angle as they claim

find a competent welder in your area and have him extend the steel oem arms. the steel welds very well and will go through pretty much anything you can throw at them

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E36-TURN...FWgQRg&vxp=mtr

those angle blocks are a pretty shitty design, but they're dirt cheap and and will save you from nasty spins without spending the value of your car on a $10 block of aluminum

when i say they're a shitty design, i mean your bump steer will be slightly worse and the steering feedback might be a little weird due to the zero ackerman, but if you can live with that they're not too bad

rack spacers are unnecessary if you buy any sort of angle block, you'll wind up hitting the frame/body at full lock

[Mikestokman]

I run the wide e46 arms and angle kit+ rack spacers and I get a fuck load of angle and don't rub. Offset is important. Shit works.

[protomor]

E46 arms give clearance. not angle. They work for people on a budget or want *shudder* "wheel fitment"

[jakeE36325]

Okay so I'll stick with the stock lca's until I need something different. I have the rear part of the car mostly gutted. Still need remove more sound deadening and excess wiring. What do people do about the evap/charcol filter? Going to remove the front carpet and headliner.

Today was was the first time I was actually worried I wouldn't make it the 2 miles to work. I have long suspected a headhasket issue but never had any signs of it. Every time I slow to a stop and push the clutch in the engine rpm drops and it takes a while to regain steady idle. I really think it's the fuel pump and/or a vac leak. Might also get my other block home this weekend.

OE head gasket will be ordered shortly after its on a stand.

[jalopi]

are there actually other symptoms of a head gasket leak? because from the details you gave us it doesn't sound like a head gasket problem. have you done any real diag to this engine yet? i'd at least do a compression check and a combustion leak check before yanking the engine out to rebuild it, especially when your issue is probably something simple like an intake boot leak

[Mikestokman]

Keeping stock lca's won't work with any angle mod, I had to run a 22mm spacer to run stock wheels with just rack spacers when I still had e36 lca's.

Yeah that doesn't sound like a head gasket issue, more of a vacuum issue. Check the few lines under the intake, they're shitty to see but if anything came unplugged or cracked it could cause big problems.

if you're still daily driving it, why are you gutting it? You're just going to turn your daily into something that sucks to drive around.

[protomor]

Gutting my car is the biggest regret I have lol.

Do you have a lightweight flywheel perhaps? I have had a few motors that do that with super lightweight flywheels. Put dual masses back on, problem fixed.

[JesterMX6]

can confirm. daily driving a gutted car sucks, and i'm only back half gutted.

[jakeE36325]

It has odd misfires mostly when cold sometimes warmed up. It uses about a half resivour tank a month. The lifter aren't pumping up as well as they should and making noise. I have thicker oil in and have done multiple motor flushes. I haven't done any tested anything on the motor because I always was planning to get rid of it for something better. My other engine is doesn't have to far to go. Maybe I'll do at least a compression test this weekend. I don't have a lightweight flywheel on the car. It's almost like I am braking while still in gear but the clutch is pushed to the floor.

I drive 4 miles a day so I really don't care much about my car being loud and hearing all the road noise. If I go anywhere on the weekends it's in my girlfriends car plus I have an m3 to drive far distances. After all that I took out of the back my cars about an 1 1/2" higher in the rear.

[Mikestokman]

Sounds like your struts are blown then...

[jalopi]

blown struts?

[Mikestokman]

There's not a whole lot of shit in the trunk of an e36, if you gain an inch and a half of ride height from removing a spare tire and some carpet, you've got a problem.

[jakeE36325]

Your probably right but the half the carpet was soaked also that didn't help. I've known I needed me struts/shocks just haven't figured out what to get yet.

[jalopi]

OPs' ride height gain was probably eyeballed, so 1.5" might be an exaggeration. but even still, his mystery springs are probably something in the ballpark of 300lbs/in, which is more like an effective spring rate of maybe 180lbs due to the e36 cantilever trailing arm design

that's a ride height gain of .5" per 90lbs removed, 90lbs is pretty easy to do with the removal of the seats, carpet and spare tire/jack stuff, if not more, so it'd be a very noticeable increase in ride height

[jakeE36325]

I measured from the fender lip to the wheel lip and it did indeed raise over an inch. I pulled out the front carpet and I really like how much more room I have in the foot well. Put my rubber mats over the wiring trays and it looks decent for now. I also pulled out everything AC related in the engine bay. Also was able to get my block on a stand and after some close inspection I'm going to get it decked so I'm not questioning it.

After dding the car for a week I think I actually like it more then with all the interior bits inside. I can tell the cars much lighter and it accelerates much easier now. Going to get a mishimoto expansion tank because mines looking very questionable. There's also oil in my resivour.

image.jpg

[autowa]

I measured from the fender lip to the wheel lip and it did indeed raise over an inch. I pulled out the front carpet and I really like how much more room I have in the foot well. Put my rubber mats over the wiring trays and it looks decent for now. I also pulled out everything AC related in the engine bay. Also was able to get my block on a stand and after some close inspection I'm going to get it decked so I'm not questioning it.

After dding the car for a week I think I actually like it more then with all the interior bits inside. I can tell the cars much lighter and it accelerates much easier now. Going to get a mishimoto expansion tank because mines looking very questionable. There's also oil in my resivour.

<img src="http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=568174"/>

Make sure you bolt the timing chain cover to the block when you have It decked.!!! You will deal will a never ending oil leak if you don't

[jalopi]

he's decking it, which means he's probably doing a MLS, which pretty much means it's gonna leak eventually anyway

probably won't be that much more expensive to just plan for a copper spacer + cutring instead, seems to be the way to go

[autowa]

he's decking it, which means he's probably doing a MLS, which pretty much means it's gonna leak eventually anyway

probably won't be that much more expensive to just plan for a copper spacer + cutring instead, seems to be the way to go

Still need to have the timing cover bolted when having it decked no matter what head gasket you use.. Also if done properly a MLS won't leak. BMW uses them as stock head gaskets so I dont know what the fuss is about.

[jalopi]

no need to deck the block if you're doing a copper spacer or even just a cutring

very seldom do iron block deck surfaces warp, based on OPs description it doesn't really sound like he checked the surface with a straight edge before deciding it needs to be decked

[jakeE36325]

I did check the block surface and it is pretty straight but there is some pitting around the coolant passages and i just feel like its worth doing. I know about sending the timing cover with the block. I am really hoping to run a cutting without spacer but if I can't afford it I'll go oem. No MLS!

Also just bought GC coils with vorshlang camber plates, 600# springs all around. It'll at least get me started.

[trev dogg]

I did check the block surface and it is pretty straight but there is some pitting around the coolant passages and i just feel like its worth doing. I know about sending the timing cover with the block. I am really hoping to run a cutting without spacer but if I can't afford it I'll go oem. No MLS!

Also just bought GC coils with vorshlang camber plates, 600# springs all around. It'll at least get me started.

is this an e30, z3 or ti? if not, you're gonna have a bad time with those rear springs rates.