Thad finally sold his turbo 540 to a guy in Las Vegas.
I met up with him yesterday for a buffalo wing and pint lunch at Two Fools Tavern in ABQ.
His turbo engine mod looks better in person than in the pics he posted.
So next was for him to check out my engine/juice setup.....the damn hood cable broke as I pulled the lever. Go figure.
Nice meeting up with you turbo Thad.
At least you still have the little RSB that you have dropped the LS engine into it. Spool that sucker up to 4 digit HP.
Have a good trip to the Grand Canyon and then to sin city.
I really enjoyed following the whole build. Can’t wait to see what’s next.
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Sorry to see this go Thad and I never saw it in person but respect for the build and all the info.
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1999 540 Auto with Eaton M112 supercharger
Airlift 3H/P management, M5 steering box, M5 LSD, Eibach/Dinan front and rear anti roll bars, PM Modifich door boards, 4 Eton 6.5s, Sound Magus VS3500.1, 2 x 10" Kove audio subs, Alpine ICS X7 Headunit, 19" BBS Hammer Sports RT245/RT246, Muffler delete, electric coolant fan.
Really awesome of Thad to drive the car down to the new owner. Glad you two got to meet and chat over food and beer...I'm jealous .
2003 M5 LSx l 6 Spd Manual l 4.10 LSD
Build Thread
The chassis must always be regarded as a means to an end and never as an end itself
Glad you guys got to meet up! Thad said there were no "test" runs due to bad gas. Was hoping to get your perspective on how it runs. Oh well.. Thads work is top notch for sure though. Sad to see a partner get out of the E39, but happy that he found a buyer. No pics?
98 540i 6, 525 whp, 120 mph 1/4, V3 Si S/C'er @16 psi, W/A I/C, Water/Meth, Supersprint Headers, HJS Cats, 3" Custom Exhaust, UUC Twin Disc, Wavetrac LSD, GC Coil Overs, Monoball TA, AEM FP, Aeromotive FPR, AEM Failsafe AFR/Boost, Style 65's w/275's, M5 Steering Box, Eibach Sways, M3 Shifter, Evans Coolant, 85 Deg Stat, PWM Fan, 10" Subs, B.A. speakers, Grom Aux/BT, Still Rolling as my DD!
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
Always nice to meet up with a fellow gear head.
He was driving it to LV mainly to make sure the buyer knew how to use the software to load in the different tunes for different fuel types.
Don't worry we had beers for all you guys too.
Thads540_1.JPG
Thads540_2a.JPG
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Yes, and thanks for giving Thad my contact info.
At 5K elevation and no good gas he'd have to come up with a different tune. Not worth chancing it, need to get it to the new owner.
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I'm hoping the new owner will joint the forum.
Hopefully Thad will drop in with a link to the LS RSB build.
He showed me a few pics, looked good.
Thanks guys!! My brain is a bit of an exhausted mess after this fantastic adventure, so I may have to respond back later when I have regained my composure a little bit.
In any event, meeting up with Jim was excellent, and I was very thankful that he took time out of his day on literally no notice to meet up and hang out. The buffalo wings, the chocolate shake stout, and the company were top notch. Thanks Jim!
By the time I reached my destination (home of the new owner) on Saturday night, I had covered about 2,500 miles (I think?? Memory is a bit hazy today) in a relatively short time considering the stop in ABQ to see Jim and hang out for a while. I will say that you never really know what you have built until you make a banzai blast across the country in it.
In this case, the car performed flawlessly, and I can say without any doubt that it was by far the most pleasant driving experience I have ever had in my many jaunts across large portions of the country. The car just puts the miles behind it with an ease and composure that I've never experienced before this trip.
You're close! It was actually like, "Well, because it will be difficult and expensive to get it shipped out there, how about I just bring it to you. I'm always looking for a little roadtripping adventure, and this seems like it should fall into that category. I can make sure the tune is good at elevation along the way, and also good in the heat of Vegas once I get there. AND, then I can show you how to use Tuner Studio, MegaLogViewer, and whatever else.
Spoiler alert and apologies in advance JC, the guy LOVES the car.
I have to say that it is a pretty much ideal outcome. My intention has been to sell the car to someone who would enjoy it even more than I would, and I have to call it a mission accomplished, by a factor of many! The new owner is a really good guy in general, a good car guy, and a devoted lover of the E39. Now he has one of the most extreme versions of an E39 to tear around in to his heart's desire. Nothing more I could have asked for.
He's a member on here Jim, but I don't think he's sure if he wants to post much. Time will tell!
Thanks Jim! Not near as good as your current project, and I'm largely copying Schitzo wherever possible, but it should be a super dumb car when I get it running. As always, that is my primary goal. Lol.. I'm not sure where I will actually post up about that project, so possibly I'll just drop some content in this thread at some point.
For now, I have to get cracking on that build, and do some catching up on some other household projects I have been seriously neglecting, before my wife loses her sense of humor.
Thad, i am so sad to hear that you sell your car. Hope you will not stop and share with us new projects. Cheers.
e39 540i 6speed Supercharged,
E36 v8 m62 with m60 headers, Turbp HX-40 0.6-0.5bar or 9psi, custom exhaust & Turbo manifold, injectors 440cc, ECU Invent EMS-2, Mishimoto Intercooler and oilcooler, etc…
Thanks Dov! I've definitely got more shenanigans up my sleeve (bimmer, V8s, turbo, angle kit, etc.).
Not exactly sure what parts of the forthcoming nonsense will be relevant on this forum, but this is my favorite batch of internet dudes!
Don’t let us down Thad!!
You are the man!!
Nate J.
(oOO\ (|||)º(|||) /OOo)
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 198,000mi+. Increasing daily. Engine rebuild thread.
(eŌō\ (||||)º(||||) / ōŌe)
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 157,000+. Dead starter -_-
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
Thanks guys, you are WAAAAAAY too kind!
Nice to see you haven't bailed out.
Post a link to you LS RSB build, OK.
Replaced my broken hood cable today so you can high tail here again so I can pop the hood to show you the engine.
Don't tempt me Jim, I'll drive back down to ABQ to hang out and swill some more of that porter on a moment's notice! I just told my wife last night that I was needing another little jaunt across the country already... She looked at me rather strangely..
Anyway, since I've been back here from my last little drive, it has become clear to me just how much stuff I've been slacking on while I was just playing with the 540 all of the damn time. (part of the reason I felt that I should get rid of it, along with a daughter needing braces, home improvements needed, etc.) The SATM (sweetasstowminivan) needed a new muffler and a transmission solenoid pack for proper towing action, and there are a bunch of other things demanding my attention rather urgently.
For these reasons, I haven't even touched the LRS since I've been back, but I'm getting closer! Some pics of the nonsense coming soon. But I doubt that it will have its own build thread, since I don't feel much like putting it in the drifting based thread. We'll see..
Alright guys, I might as well throw a few pics of the LS/LRS project in here I suppose. Here is the basic underhood shot as I'm in the process of fabricating the exhaust/hotside turbo plumbing:
Basic underhood fabricating exhaust.jpg
I actually took care to make a semi-pretty looking weld on this expensive stainless exhaust bellows (Rut roh, someone call instagram and tell them some of their pretty weld colors escaped!):
Pretty colors on bellows welds.jpg
Here's some of the process of my attempt to use the truck manifolds in the E36 chassis, where the steering shaft is directly in the way of almost every attempt to run a semi-normal exhaust on the driver's side:
Driver's side cut.jpg
PVC Aided Design:
Driver's PVC Aided Design.jpg
And the sort of final result. I even set it up with a heat gun blowing into it after welding to slow cool it some. We shall see how well it works. If it doesn't hold, I know a guy who welds, soo.... Lol
Driver's side welded up.jpg
Here's the passenger side modified truck manifold being welded up and patched:
Passenger side patches.jpg
Pretty much done:
Passenger side done-ish.jpg
And in the car:
Passenger side clearance.jpg
Motor mounts being fabricated (big thanks to Schitzo for the inspiration on these!!):
Motor mounts fabrication.jpg
And then finished and painted. I did the driver's side center section in one piece, but it was a pain to get the angles at each end aligned and cut perfectly, so I made the passenger side center section in two pieces to allow for much easier axial alignment:
Motor mount done and painted.jpg
Holding up the engine:
Motor mounts holding engine.jpg
And a close up of the passenger side one in place:
Motor mounts detail shot.jpg
Looking great Thad!
98 540i 6, 525 whp, 120 mph 1/4, V3 Si S/C'er @16 psi, W/A I/C, Water/Meth, Supersprint Headers, HJS Cats, 3" Custom Exhaust, UUC Twin Disc, Wavetrac LSD, GC Coil Overs, Monoball TA, AEM FP, Aeromotive FPR, AEM Failsafe AFR/Boost, Style 65's w/275's, M5 Steering Box, Eibach Sways, M3 Shifter, Evans Coolant, 85 Deg Stat, PWM Fan, 10" Subs, B.A. speakers, Grom Aux/BT, Still Rolling as my DD!
Thanks Chris!! I need to make faster progress or I'm going to miss out on doing dumb things for the entire rest of the season! Lol
I still have to finish this up too... :
MS3X for LRS.jpg
You've been busy Thad, looks great.
Your engine looks new.
Where'd ya get that intake manifold, I'm liking it. Might have to get one for my ride too.
Nate J.
(oOO\ (|||)º(|||) /OOo)
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 198,000mi+. Increasing daily. Engine rebuild thread.
(eŌō\ (||||)º(||||) / ōŌe)
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 157,000+. Dead starter -_-
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
Thanks Jim! I agree 100% that this intake manifold would look killer in your hotrod. This is one I got off eBay for a ridiculous price, and the quality appears to be pretty amazing at that price point. The welds look fantastic and everything seems right.
This one has the shortest runners I could find, and it has a slightly downward cant to the throttle body, which gives me more than ample room under the hood. Of course, the shorter the runners, the more you kill torque production and enhance top end. I don't think I will mind it since I have a topendy cam too, but if you have the hood clearance, you could go with a longer runner, and they have them in black also if that would fit your color scheme. Here are some manifolds like mine:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_n...72.m2749.l2658
And some throttle bodies like mine (I ended up cheaper this way than buying them together):
https://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_n...72.m2749.l2658
Thanks, that's a cool looking video series! And interesting that the dude prefers 316 stainless filler. Maybe he was welding 304 stainless parts to his cast manifold. I used regular old ER70-S2 filler on this manifold, but I used 309 on the other side. I think maybe the 309 might have seemed like it worked out better? Time will tell.
As for the supplementary heating, what the guy in the video says is definitely regarded as the "right way" to do stuff (and I love the "gloven"). A lot of people say to stick the part in a bucket of sand to make it cool slowly.
I've also seen some people use a heat gun pointed into the part to make for a relatively slow cool, which is what I did. If these welds cool too rapidly you hear the "clink, clink" crackly sound of cracks forming from metals shrinking at different rates as they cool off fast. Using the heat gun method, I didn't get any of that.
What I still don't understand, but may at some point in the future, is the need for pre-heating. There is so much additional heat put into the part when you weld it, it seems to me like the pre-heating is useless. But one thing I know is that my best bet to understand why something is validly the right way to do it is to do it wrong and experience the problem that is caused by doing it wrong. Lol
On the other hand, some people do absolutely disgusting, globby, chewing gum looking, flux core welds on these things, without any pre-heat or slow cool, and report that they work fine. So I will see...
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Jim, after writing that it occurred to me that you are running the throttle by wire, so I guess you can skip the throttle body altogether unless you want a larger throttle by wire one.
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