Page 1 of 9 123456789 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 219

Thread: Steven's 733i Turbo build thread

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL

    Steven's 733i Turbo build thread

    I debated whether I wanted to bother creating a build thread for my 84 733i Turbo and if I did, whether to post it here, or on mye28 where there is a lot more turbo build traffic. I decided on posting it here because I like the small community feel of this forum. I used to be super active on car forums and haven't been in recent years, but at the very least this will serve to document what I have been up to in case anyone needs to reference it.

    I used to own a 1985 745i turbo car that at some point I sold to a friend. While he owned it, I manual swapped it with a 265/6 transmission and new clutchmasters clutch he sourced. He drove the car for a few years before he stopped working on it and let it sit. I bought the car back this year as part of a deal that involved me selling my friend my E39 M5 and taking the 745i back as a partial credit on that sale. The 745i was coming back to me with some turbo upgrade parts my friend bought but never installed - including a T04e turbo, Tial waste gate, Cartech exhaust manifold, TCD w2a intercooler kit, and a front & rear Dinan lowering spring kit, sized for the large euro strut housings.

    When I went to pick the 745i up after not having seen it for a few years, I was shocked at how much it had rusted out - so much so that one of the lift points had collapsed. I decided as soon as I saw this that the 745 was getting parted out and I needed to search for a more rust free E23 to use as a platform to do a turbo build on.

    I found a 1984 733i automatic car on Ebay for $1599. The listing had terrible quality pictures but the car looked solid, and it was so cheap I figured I didn't have much to lose. The seller, who was located in Lake Placid, NY, insisted the car ran so well that it could be driven home (a 9 hour trip back to Virginia for me). I thought I had sworn off such foolish ideas at my old age of 35, but I have been watching too much Roadkill lately and decided a road trip was a fun idea.

    I had the seller drop the 733i off at my in-laws house in Albany, NY and I flew out to retrieve it on August 25 of this year. Upon arrival, the car looked good and started up and sounded good. A test drive around the block revealed this car was mechanically not as described though. It felt dangerous above 10 mph - one of the front tire was an octagon and had steel cords coming through the inside edge, and the power steering pump and brake accumulator had both failed, leaving me with no power steering or brakes below 15 mph, and erratic levels of assist above that speed.

    I was undeterred and put the spare tire (a snow tire on a 14" wheel) on the back and the 2 best tires on the front (15's), did an oil change, put a new set of V belts on the car, went to bed, woke up and got on the highway headed to VA.

    The car made it the 9 hour trip without getting me stranded. Driving highway speeds and in traffic w/o properly working power steering or brakes was terrifying. The car did not like to idle when it was warmed up either.

    When I got home I replaced the steering pump and brake bomb w/ good used parts off the 745i, and put new hydraulic hoses on the entire system. I put M parallel 18" wheels from the 745 on the car and also swapped all four brake calipers, rotors, and newer brake hoses off the 745. I found that the 733's poor hot idle was due to a .100" plug gap, bad cap and rotor, and questionable ignition coil. Replacing these parts resulted in a very good running car. This car now starts up and idles well dead cold, and can be driven away aggressively w/o any flat spots or hesitation. It's the best running and idling M30 I've had. Which is sort of too bad because I am going to be pulling the M30B32 engine and replacing it with a mildly built turbo M30B34/B35 as a winter project. In the mean time I putt around w/ the 733 and have taken it on some more 4-5 hour road trips. It is one of the slowest cars I've ever driven - I could not tolerate daily driving this car for long. But it does run smooth.

    I found the main vacuum line to the HVAC on the 733 was cracked and had fallen off the reservoir. Replacing it revealed working AC and fully working cowl and interior vacuum pods. I did not have to charge the AC - it had held charge and the operating pressures are normal. It blows nice and cold in summer heat.

    My initial plan was to swap the seemingly good running M106 engine from the 745 into the 733 and then to upgrade it w/ the aftermarket turbo parts, and convert to Megasquirt. I pulled the M106 and took the head off to start inspecting it and found the bores had old, heavy rust damage. I also found that the head was not a real M106 head, but a standard M30 head, and that it had an aftermarket replacement M30B32 cam in it - way smaller than stock. My new plan became sourcing a good, std bore block, std bore B35 pistons, and a B35 head.

    I found a good B35 head. I bought a std bore block from a BMW specialist in Philly, and I found nice B35 std pistons. However after I inspected the new std bore block more closely, I was unhappy with the bore condition - heavy skirt scuffing. I sold off the B35 std bore pistons and still needed a block.

    A friend who has a turbo e28 race car came through for me and sold me his freshly machined 92.5mm bore M30B34 block and JE 8.5:1 forged pistons. The block was machined by VAC and was torque plate bored and three stage honed, and decked for MLS head gasket.

    New plan is to use the M106 crank and rods and have a local machine shop balance the rotating assembly.

    Here is an overview of the 733 build if you're still reading this hopefully-comprehensible rant:

    1984 733i

    M30B34 block, 2nd oversize (92.5mm)
    JE 8.5:1 M30B35 pistons
    Total Seal rings
    M30B35 cylinder head. 5 angle Serdi valve job. New valve guides. New double race valve springs. Ported. Milled for MLS head gasket. Rocker locks to replace the spring loaded factory setup.
    M30B35 camshaft
    Stock M106 crank and rods, balanced
    ARP head studs
    Cartech exhaust manifold
    Water to air intercooler w/ Ford GT500 coolant pump
    T04e hybrid turbo
    Tial Waste Gate
    3" down pipe, 3" spun metallic matrix cat converter
    Rebuild front suspension
    745 steering gear (heavier effort torsion bar)
    Rebuild rear suspension, adding 745i trailing arms and rear sway bar
    large case 210mm ring gear differential w/ limited slip and 3.07 axle ratio
    Revalve existing Bilstein HD shocks to Sport configuration
    Dinan lowering springs
    18x8 front, 18x9.5 style 37 wheels w/ General Gmax summer tires
    265/6 Transmission. Clutch masters single disc clutch. Reground single mass flywheel
    Buffalo interior (from my 745i)
    MSPNP2 Gen 2 B8793 Megasquirt - this is a direct plug in DME for a 1.3 Motronic Harness
    I sourced a 1.3 Motronic harness and trigger wheel and sensors and will rewire the engine w/ this harness and then plug the Megasquirt into it.

    Tuning:
    I am planning on having Peter Florance dyno tune this car once it's ready. I am hoping it will be driving by the spring.

    Goal/Expectations:
    Based on similar builds, this car should make around 400 rwhp @ 15-16 psi. Will I crank the boost up more than that? Possibly. MLS head gasket, head studs and aftermarket double valve springs making sure the intake valves aren't held open under boost should support more boost than this.
    Last edited by BONDOSPECIAL; 10-19-2018 at 02:02 PM.
    Steve H.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    A few photos:

    The 84 733 in as-purchased condition the moment I got home with it from my 9 hour road trip:







    So dumpy-looking w/ the US bumpers on it and tiny wheels, but overall a clean car with an OK quality repaint on it.

    Stripping down the 745i (right) and starting to swap some parts onto the 733 - I put the large euro fuel tank in the 733 while I had the rear US bumper off to do a euro bumper swap;





    Test fitting style 37s

    Replacing all rubber hoses under the car, including the evap lines to the trunk tank



    Walbro 255 pump from the 745i swapped onto the 733



    A few photos w/ the style 37's on the car and a rear euro bumper. Still wearing the front US bumper though





    - - - Updated - - -

    I bought and installed a Challenger LE10 10k lb symmetric/asymmetric 2 post lift, which took longer than I wanted because I had to have the floor cut and a pier poured on one side due to the slab being uneven and insufficient thickness.





    The 745 is on wheel dollies now so I can still park 3 cars in here pulled straight in plus have the 745i in the back accessible to keep pulling parts off it.

    I have since ordered and received under-hoist transmission jack and jack stands to facilitate further work on the 733.

    I am going to be doing the 265/6 swap on the 733 while it's still running its M30B32 engine so I can shake down the manual swap while I'm building the new engine
    Last edited by BONDOSPECIAL; 10-18-2018 at 05:56 PM.
    Steve H.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    Here are some pictures removing the M106 from the 745 parts car and tearing it down to find out how crappy it really was inside (the lift was only partially installed in these pictures as I was waiting for the new concrete pier to cure)





    The clutch masters clutch and flywheel look almost like new. I'm glad to see my friend drove a manual transmission properly.



    M106 on the stand



    The M106 bores are junk! This car didn't blow smoke or burn oil, which is hard to believe. You can feel the deep rust pits w/ your finger. The rings aren't even touching these areas. There are deep ring-stick marks w/ metal missing from the cylinders too from the prolonged periods over which this car sat



    A couple pictures of the new block and used 92.51mm JE pistons that it was sized for:





    Here are some of the turbo upgrade parts for this build:





    Here is my cleaned and reconditioned Buffalo interior swapped from the 745 into the 733. Including the 745's sport steering wheel. I used Leather Honey cleaner and many coats of their conditioner, applied with a paint brush in the basement while the seats were out of the car. These are some of the nicest original condition Buffalo seats I have come across. I am going to finish putting the anthracite door pockets on the other 3 doors and keep the interior 2 tone for now. I have a new OE anthracite carpet I will eventually swap in here.







    I had a pair of premium sound rear speakers and a sun shade rear parcel shelf I threw in here while I was installing the seats. I haven't had a chance to add the rear headrests - the 733 didn't originally have them so I have to punch the holes through the sound deadening.

    Last edited by BONDOSPECIAL; 10-18-2018 at 05:48 PM.
    Steve H.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Posts
    140
    My Cars
    1981 Euro 732i
    Awesome read and build. I need more! I'm digging the Cartech stuff. I've seen more of these pop up FS lately.

    Is the US to Euro bumper a direct swap on both ends?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    For the rear, I had to grind off a small bracket on each lower quarter panel that BMW had originally added to mount the US bumpers to the body. Then the bumper and bracket were a bolt on. And I had to swap the quarter panel rub strips from the euro car, which also bolted on. I have not tackled the front bumper yet - my car is still wearing the US front bumper. I have to have the euro air dam painted body color since it was previously painted Cosmos blue, and I haven't felt like dealing with a body shop lately.
    Last edited by BONDOSPECIAL; 10-19-2018 at 01:32 PM.
    Steve H.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    The 1990 M30B35 head I bought off Ebay has 190,xxx miles on it and was sent to me in parts-washed, beautifully clean condition. I expected the cam was going to be usable until I took the rockers and shafts out. The apexes on this cam are junk. I was surprised to find that Febi sells a new B35 264 duration grind cam. Bimmerworld had it for $144. I bought a set of 12 Febi rockers also for around $140, FCP had the best price on those. I know some people claim the Febi rockers are weaker than OE but whenever people break rockers it seems the cause is the rocker shaft springs failing to hold a rocker over a valve stem @ high rpm and the rocker walking off the stem and breaking. The locks in place of springs should prevent this.

    Junk cam



    This is missing some lift



    I had hoped I was never going to own a vehicle with a flat tappet cam again, but here I am.
    Last edited by BONDOSPECIAL; 10-19-2018 at 03:05 PM.
    Steve H.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    A bunch of engine parts came in today from various places.



    6 42 lb flow matched injectors I bought a few weeks ago for this build



    DIYPNP 1.3 motronic type Megasquirt also came in



    The garage scene today after moving some things around. Looks like I will be able to use the lift w/ the parts car still tucked in the back. Although I do hope I get the parts car gone soon. I am going to keep all the body panels that are removable and put them in the garage loft in case I need window regulators, or a whole door, later on

    Steve H.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    La Habra, Ca OrangeCouny
    Posts
    141
    My Cars
    02' e46 //M , 84' 745i
    Pretty stoked on this thread. Keep Bimemrforums alive

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    The Febi rockers just came in as well. They are actually thicker than the stock 1990 rocker arms



    Steve H.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    TX
    Posts
    4,487
    My Cars
    1983/84/85 745i
    Excellent work, Steve. Keep it up!
    I make E23 parts.
    09/1983 745i (stolen spring '13 around Houston, TX Achatgruen on nutria buffalo. 8481080)
    10/1984 745i
    11/1984 745i
    11/1984 735i (10:1-265/6)
    Ford, MB, and GM round out the pack.



  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Leland, NC
    Posts
    828
    My Cars
    85 €735i 08 550i/6
    Hey Steve, what is the length of your cross member for the 265/6? I'm trying to see what I need. I'm hoping the e28 one will be close.

    Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    Approx 18” c-c on the mount holes

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Leland, NC
    Posts
    828
    My Cars
    85 €735i 08 550i/6
    Thank you sir. I need to fabricate a crossmember.

    Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    TX
    Posts
    4,487
    My Cars
    1983/84/85 745i

    Thumbs up

    From wut I recall a 3HP22 driveshaft works with the 265/6 manual box. Not correct length, but really close.

    Spring for a UUC shifter, huge difference. Same with solid mounts!
    I make E23 parts.
    09/1983 745i (stolen spring '13 around Houston, TX Achatgruen on nutria buffalo. 8481080)
    10/1984 745i
    11/1984 745i
    11/1984 735i (10:1-265/6)
    Ford, MB, and GM round out the pack.



  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    las vegas
    Posts
    338
    My Cars
    85 745
    GOOD WORK! That's a great space for car projects.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    Refacing valves from the B35 head in my basement. I have a collet chuck on my ancient valve refacer and it holds better runout than the shop's refacer.







    The head will go to the shop on Monday where they will replace the guides and cut the seats on a Serdi. Then I will drop it off with my friend who is porting it.
    Steve H.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    The rocker locks from the BMW speed parts places looked to be industrial shaft collar locks. Someone in another thread on this board reported that 5/8" SAE collar locks fit the rocker shafts well. I got a set on Ebay far cheaper than the speed shops sell these for and they fit well

    Steve H.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Leland, NC
    Posts
    828
    My Cars
    85 €735i 08 550i/6
    Those are . How many more RPMs do you think it'll be good for?

    Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

  19. #19
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    No idea. The M30 head is so limiting I don’t think this is going to turn a lot of rpms. I just wanted the extra safety

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    TX
    Posts
    4,487
    My Cars
    1983/84/85 745i

    Thumbs up

    Ah, finally someone else realizes the head flows poor!



    In any event, very interesting the Febi rockers are thicker than OE BMW.
    I make E23 parts.
    09/1983 745i (stolen spring '13 around Houston, TX Achatgruen on nutria buffalo. 8481080)
    10/1984 745i
    11/1984 745i
    11/1984 735i (10:1-265/6)
    Ford, MB, and GM round out the pack.



  21. #21
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Posts
    140
    My Cars
    1981 Euro 732i
    Quote Originally Posted by BONDOSPECIAL View Post
    For the rear, I had to grind off a small bracket on each lower quarter panel that BMW had originally added to mount the US bumpers to the body. Then the bumper and bracket were a bolt on. And I had to swap the quarter panel rub strips from the euro car, which also bolted on. I have not tackled the front bumper yet - my car is still wearing the US front bumper. I have to have the euro air dam painted body color since it was previously painted Cosmos blue, and I haven't felt like dealing with a body shop lately.
    Found good information on the front bumper. http://www.stlbmwcca.org/wwwboard/vi...php?f=6&t=8470

  22. #22
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Tangent Oregon
    Posts
    450
    My Cars
    79' 320i 84' 733i
    Nice looking car, I am interested to see where this project goes! I am doing something similar, taking a crapped out grey market 745 and swapping the good stuff over to a cleaner US example.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    California
    Posts
    122
    My Cars
    84 733, 90 535i
    Great read good build, nice

  24. #24
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Killingworth, CT
    Posts
    562
    My Cars
    '84 733i, 01 X5 00 750iL
    I found a solution to the problematic in-gear slop that 265/6 transmissions usually have - a CAE adjustable DSSR (dual shear selector rod) that also includes a more robust, redesigned swivel joint. I already had a UUC shifter on this 265 transmission when it was in the car I pulled it from. The UUC shifter is a piece of crap, by the way, and I already had to rebuild it after only a few thousand miles, but it should be okay for now (I would never buy another one though). There was over an inch of in-gear slop measured at the shifter w/ the UUC before I installed this CAE DSSR, now there is probably about a half inch, and the action is firmed up without rubber bushings and o rings being a part of the shift rod now. This CAE was expensive at $209 and took two months to get (was made to order in Germany) but was worth it.

    For anyone who is wondering, this is the "short" model of this DSSR - it comes in several lengths based on the range of adjustment it allows. This "short" spans 160-220mm which allows you to make it the same length as the stock shift rod used with the sheet metal style shift carrier (pre 1986 e23 I think). I was not aware this DSSR was an option for our cars and have never seen someone use it. I found it at Hard Motorsports. I didn't see any reason why it wouldn't work so I took a chance ordering it, and am glad I did. I determined this selector rod should work based on the published fork spacing (20mm), pin diameter (10mm) and the length I measured c-c on the original selector rod (about 165mm).

    A link to where I found it. I had a good experience with this vendor, who kept me updated regularly regarding the status of this back-ordered part without me having to initiate communications.

    http://www.hardmotorsport.com/cae-ds...tor-joint-bmw/



    A short video showing the in-gear play now. This is acceptable. I might be able to tolerate the 265 shift action now.

    https://photos.smugmug.com/1984-BMW-..._0929-1280.mp4
    Last edited by BONDOSPECIAL; 10-26-2018 at 08:14 PM.
    Steve H.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    TX
    Posts
    4,487
    My Cars
    1983/84/85 745i
    Nice! That is the piece I could never find for the E23.
    I make E23 parts.
    09/1983 745i (stolen spring '13 around Houston, TX Achatgruen on nutria buffalo. 8481080)
    10/1984 745i
    11/1984 745i
    11/1984 735i (10:1-265/6)
    Ford, MB, and GM round out the pack.



Page 1 of 9 123456789 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Daytona Violet E36 - Turbo Build Thread.
    By a32guy in forum Forced Induction
    Replies: 212
    Last Post: 05-22-2014, 04:57 PM
  2. Tchao's E30 Turbo Build thread
    By Tchao in forum Forced Induction
    Replies: 55
    Last Post: 11-01-2008, 01:42 AM
  3. M50B25 tu 2.8l turbo build thread. (e36 4/dr.)
    By northeaste36 in forum Forced Induction
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 09-08-2007, 11:21 AM
  4. turbo build thread
    By euroNOOB in forum Hawaii & Other Islands
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 08-12-2007, 08:33 AM
  5. My S38B36 Turbo Build Thread
    By MPD47 in forum Forced Induction
    Replies: 46
    Last Post: 01-15-2007, 12:59 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •