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Thread: 95 325is HPDE Build

  1. #1
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    85 325e M52t - 06 330i

    95 325is HPDE Build

    Hey guys,

    I'm starting a build thread for my Daytona Violet 325is.

    A little background on me and then I'll get into it. I'm a BMW Certified Tech from Canada, who this year made the change to work for Porsche. Working at Porsche I'm working on a lot of GT car's for track prep and maintenance. I've always wanted a dedicated HPDE car with the idea of being able to drive to the track, put a few sessions in and drive home. I've had several BMW's including a E21 320i, M50 swapped E30 318is, M42 318is, 87 325e sedan, Turbo M52 87 325e, Turbo M20 325e, E46 325i that I lapped for a year, and currently own a E90 330i as a daily.

    I picked up my 95 325is for $3000. It was purchased off a friend of a friends husband who had it since new. He never drove it in the winter, which we all know in Canada is a big thing. He brought it by the dealership one day and I took a look. I saw the jack points were perfect and there was no rust to be found so it was a good candidate for a track car because I hate body work. The car was a bit rough mechanically, but I was going to either replace or remove those things anyways Other than that the car has 170,000km on it.

    I purchased the car about a year ago and stored it at a friends garage. I got married 2 months ago, so now I have the green light to go ahead with the build.

    vrgw6cggsotz.jpg

    A could things I noticed off the bat were;

    Suspension

    - The ride height was really low - I asked if it was lowered and he said no. He said he put rubber spacers in to keep it from going lower. Which I found out later were towing spacers for trucks.
    - The front end felt like it was going to fall out - Turns out that the front inner tie rods were gone. I replaced the inner and outers. The LCAB's are also shot

    Body

    - M badges...Everywhere - On the trunk, on the air bag covers, steering wheel, instrument cluster. I took them off except for the M3 door strips.
    - I think the car has been re painted partially at some point - It doesn't seem to have been hit structurally. I think it has had the bumper replaced. This is because I saw some Part number stickers on the splash shields. Which makes me think it might have been in a small front end collision.
    - Front is stone chipped bad - I'm replacing the nose panel and front bumper anyways to late model M3 so... Irrelevant.

    Interior

    - The door cards were separating. Surprise... I fixed them.
    - The seats suck - But thats an E36. I'm putting buckets in anyways
    - OBC is toast
    - ASC light was on - I scanned it with GT1 and it was a RF wheel speed sensor. I spent about 2 hours removing the seized sleeve out. Turns out it was pointless because I'm changing the front knuckles anyways.
    - Air bag light is on - Drivers belt buckle - I'll either remove them for harnesses or replace it.

    Engine

    - Clutch fan was seized - Removed it, swapped the thermostat, lower temp fan switch. S.O.P
    - It has ASC (No LSD)
    - Exhaust leak
    - I suspect the VANOS seal is worn. Light rattle at idle and the power is spontaneous at a higher RPM.
    - Other than that it's not really leaking anything. It runs fine, just a slow M50tu.
    - The starter solenoid sticks, so it requires persuasion with a pry bar to start. I'll have to remove it, clean it up and test it.

    The Plan

    What I've got so far

    - AKG 75d rear subframe and differential bushings
    - AKG 75D Engine and transmission mounts
    - BMW Rear subframe reinforcement plates
    - AKG Rear sway bar and trailing arm reinforcement plates
    - AKG Front adjustable LCABS (Rod end joints)
    - E36 M3 rear trailing arms and brakes
    - E36 M3 3.38 LSD (Stock open 3.15 in a 325is)
    - E36 M3 front knuckles
    - Neo Motorsports 330x32 4 piston front brake kit
    - E36 M3 front sway bar
    - BMW Motorsports front X-Brace (Cab brace)
    - Dinan front strut brace
    - Bimmerworld oil cooler cap and cooler
    - M3 rear bumper (not the greatest)

    For suspension, I spoke to Donovan at Ground Control and took advantage of their Black Friday sale. From them I have coming

    - Single adjustable Street/Track coil over set
    - Front 525lbs/in Rear 650lb/in springs
    - Rear weight jackers
    - Adjustable rear lower control arms
    - Spherical rear trailing arm bushings (Bearings)
    - Rear upper and lower inner bearings (Replaces the bushings)
    - Front adjustable sway bar links

    What I still need

    - Rear wheel bearings and hubs
    - Rear backing plates
    - Front backing plates
    - Rear braided brake line kit
    - Rear brake caliper bushings
    - DSSR and shifter (Looking at VALE, CAE, etc.)
    - Exhaust (I may make one. I have to do the pricing on it, also need to figure out what size)
    - Seats
    - Roll bar
    - Harnesses
    - Aluminum thermostat housing
    - Radiator? (Not sure if I'll need one yet, we'll see how the stock one does)
    - Wheels and tires
    - M3 front bumper
    - Late model nose panel

    The body stuff I'm not worried about until I get the car shaken down and good to go. I'm more focused on the mechanicals and safety components.

    The one thing I am concerned about is that the car has 3 channel ABS. I either want to find a way to disable it. Which shouldn't be hard, I could literally put it on a switch. Or do I live with it for now and then convert to MK60 4 channel when I actually need it?

    As for the M50. I want to keep it alive as long as possible, hence the oil cooler. I plan on dropping the oil pan and welding the oil pump nut. I also have an oil temp and pressure gauge to install. I want to put in an AIM Sport dash to set up alarms. I will do the basics like intake (ASC Delete), exhaust and maybe S50/52 cams if I can find them cheap, but I'm looking into an S54 swap in the future if all goes well.

    I removed the whole rear end yesterday in preparation for Powder coating, installing the bushings, suspension and reinforcement plates.

    IMG_0555.jpg


    47165647_366943614041974_3947590693286838272_n.jpg

    Prior to that, I borrowed the scaled from work and weighed the car as it sat. Fuel light on, but essentially a stock 325is. 3075lbs. As you can see the weight distribution is pretty good, hopefully can get that pretty dead on with the suspension adjustments but it may not be accurate as the car wasn't driven onto the scales.

    IMG_0540.jpg

    Tested my summer wheels off my E90. Offset is too low (They're 18x9 E60 M5 wheels) Maybe with some fender massaging and a lot of camber they would clear. But I think they're too heavy and I want 17" track wheels.

    47354944_507829553052853_3413008449099792384_n.jpg


    That's it for now. I will upload pictures as I find them.

    Sam
    Last edited by SamE30e; 12-01-2018 at 01:17 PM.

  2. #2
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    One question I have

    Screen Shot 2018-12-01 at 1.18.46 PM.png

    Can you replace #3 (Lower control arm outer bushing) With the ball joint from the upper?

    I was looking around for spherical bushings and Rogue Engineering lists theirs as the same PN for upper and lower. I believe they are the same O.D. I think just the width of the bushing/ball joint would be the issue if anything.

  3. #3
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    Answered my own question by looking at RealOEM.

    Turns out the M3 uses the ball joint upper and lower as opposed to the Non-M, which uses a bushing in the lower.

    I cleaned up the subframe, pressed out all the bushings and welded on the rear sway bar reinforcements from AKG (even thought I'm running no rear sway bar).

    I dropped all the rear suspension off at powder coating and it should be done end of next week.

  4. #4
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    Still waiting for the suspension to come from Ground Control, and the parts back from powder coating. In the mean time I sand blasted, rebuilt and refinished the rear brake calipers.

    I used some high temp paint and high temp clear which should hold up. I also sand blasted and painted the hats on the rotors black.

    I ordered a ASC delete intake elbow, brake lines, aluminum thermostat housing, drilled oil pump nut, clutch line and brass rear caliper bushings.

    47579003_218717942350131_7347928761230163968_n.jpg48369498_274593029923630_3628510730984095744_n.jpg47685720_215994299318715_7123075154426462208_n.jpg

  5. #5
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    Welded in the rear reinforcement plates this weekend, I'm not a welder by profession, but they are in there. Well... 3 of 4, they gave me 2 right side front plates. I have to wait to get the new left plate, and then I have POR-15 to coat them.

    48358544_275088849820172_1514974289743314944_n.jpg48368131_731842603868621_2997229982482169856_n.jpg48388900_265631460780229_7107307822676705280_n.jpg

    I removed the intake manifold to rebuild the starter. I forgot how shit they were to take out, it also doesn't help when whoever put the starter in it cranked on the bolts.

    48379941_506466856515354_5001106017346387968_n.jpg

    I tested the starter on the bench and found that it works fine. I looked into the wiring and found what I think is the culprit. I think the wire is corroded causing a voltage drop and the starter not to engage. I'm going to fix the wire and check it before putting the intake back on.


    48397732_346701432795780_1295960133360156672_n.jpg


    Still waiting on powder coat and suspension, then I should be moving along.

  6. #6
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    Suspension showed up. I'm super excited to get it in the car, it all looks amazing.

    Turns out BMW Canada has the reinforcement plates packaged wrong. I ordered the correct PN and the right side plate showed up in a left side bag. I called Bimmerworld and they're sending me a left side plate.

    Slowly getting there... It's almost time to put things on the car.

    48388856_1752200224892255_8639246090777919488_n.jpg48418286_300669150573556_5747456971296997376_n.jpg

  7. #7
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    Awesome progress thus far! Two comments: 1) I wouldn't wait on the radiator, just do it now. You're doing so many other items right now it just makes sense to take care of it. I really enjoy the Z3M S54 radiator if you are not looking to sway away from OEM parts. 2) The four channel ABS swap and MK60 is apparently much more straightforward than you would think. There are a number of people/vendors that offer standalone harness' that really uncomplicate the wiring aspect as well. I would recommend putting your current ABS on a switch so you can disable it as needed/wanted.

  8. #8
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    Thanks,

    I was messing with the car today. Turns out I have a 4 channel ABS. I guess it's a MY95 split where they switched.

    As for the starter, I fixed the wires that were damaged. The solenoid clicks every time I turn the key to terminal 50 but not very strong and the starter doesn't always engage, it will for about 2-3 times then nothing. I figured it may be a bad brush on the armature or dirt inside the starter so I pulled it back out and disassembled it. Nothing that sticks out, no opens or shorts on the armature, so I put it back in after cleaning it all up and it worked about 5 times in a row, then nothing. I tried creating an artificial ground with some jumper cables to eliminate a voltage drop due to a bad ground strap and that did nothing. The ground strap does look crummy, so I'm going to replace it anyways.

    If the ground strap doesn't fix it, I'm going to toss a starter in it. I don't want to put it all back together to pull it back out. The intake manifold is a PITA.

    49046508_594298707687587_3246613762421030912_n.jpg

    I also put the BimmerWorld rear caliper bushings in. Pretty simple.

    48426062_2196034360662853_7376518331295072256_n.jpg

    The reinforcement plate showed up, so that is on the list for this weekend.

    I am refinishing the front spindles and installing the new hubs/bearings I picked up.

    Powder coating should be done next week, then I should be able to start on rear end assembly.

    And I also found the cylinder 1-3 knock sensor cracked. So I guess I need those too.
    Last edited by SamE30e; 12-26-2018 at 07:23 PM.

  9. #9
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    Is you battery fully charged? Are your battery terminals tight?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by jakermac View Post
    Is you battery fully charged? Are your battery terminals tight?
    Yes and Yes. First thing I checked. I even tried it with a big booster pack on directly to the starter and grounded to the block. That eliminated pretty much anything wiring and battery wise.

    I have a new starter and engine ground strap to put in tomorrow. If that doesn't fix it, then I'll eat my own shoe.

    As for tomorrow, I'm welding in the last reinforcement plate and putting on POR-15. Then I'll put the intake manifold back on, and get it back running again. If I have time I may start on the front suspension and brakes, but I'm not hopeful.

    Then all the rear end needs is the longer studs for the subframe from the motherland (Germany). Then onto rear end assembly!
    Last edited by SamE30e; 12-29-2018 at 10:47 PM.

  11. #11
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    Got lots done today.

    Welded in the last reinforcement plate and applied POR-15 to all 4 plates.

    49183569_1219827684859446_8015352179218972672_n.jpg49007496_1099235223588479_7725425127776583680_n.jpg


    Put the new starter in and made sure it was all good. Also replaced all the fuel line clamps and vacuum lines while I was in there. the PCV valve off the valve cover was leaking due to the O-ring being old. So I put a whole new one in and cleaned the leak up.

    I put a newish knock sensor in, as mine was cracked. My buddy gave me the ones off his Turbo S52 318ti. He's going a different route engine wise, so parted it out. I wish I had know, I could have bought his S54 oil pump set up.

    Got the intake manifold back on and installed the Bimmerworld elbow to delete the ASC.
    Put some new fuel in it and fired it up. Obviously the ASC light is on, I just need to put the resistor in and clear the fault.

    Engine wise I need to install the oil cooler and thermostat housing. Debating waiting a bit and putting it all in when I get a Z3M rad.

    49023105_209347016672459_899333578750427136_n.jpg49248407_2229022954005040_3963688741813354496_n.jpg

    Basically waiting on a few small parts, got the word that Powder coating is done. Just got to press all the new bushing and ball joints in then onto assembly. Super excited to see the rear end come together.

    Sam
    Last edited by SamE30e; 01-01-2019 at 12:51 PM.

  12. #12
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    following along....

    if you are interested we have an S54 oil pan and pump set up, we are going with S54 swap and don't need this anymore.

    D
    bmwcca member 404029

    2008 E93 M3
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    1994 E36 325ish.....AER

  13. #13
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    Sooooo big update this weekend. I set a goal of getting the car back on its wheels and achieved it. I picked the suspension up from powder coating on Friday as I had the day off. They were having issues with the rear control arms Flash rusting after only an hour of sitting after media blasting. They had to redo them. Overall the I'm happy with how it looks.

    I went to work Saturday and pressed all the ball joints and bushings in. One of my buddies was working at the BMW dealer I used to work at and they had the super dooper special amazing wheel bearing tool I needed, as getting an E36 trailing arm in a press is not really possible. So I scooted over there and after about 10 minutes I had the hubs and bearings pressed in.

    49441996_285535625397521_7543539997299703808_n.jpg


    49897593_630968097320075_7102761947686240256_n.jpg49753027_539870069864811_7886655434109485056_n.jpg

    Sunday I went to my buddies place where I'm working on my car, we went and picked up a FG2 Civic SI as a parts car for his HPD Civic touring car. Then I picked away at my car.

    Friday the M3 rear subframe studs came in that were supposed to be longer, but I basically wasted time and money waiting for them to come fresh from the fatherland (Germany). They aren't and longer on the body side, but are longer on the subframe side. It makes no sense and has no purpose. But oh well, I put them in anyways.

    49721906_296279644565867_2560502134273474560_n.jpg

    I got the subframe in quickly and moved onto the trailing arms, and control arms. Overall it was fairly quick, aside from putting the Ground Control weight jackers in. I dicked around with them because they use a snap ring as a stop for where it bolts through the upper control arm, and I didn't have snap ring pliers. I got fed up and made some with a grinder and needle nose pliers.

  14. #14
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    Only 5 photos per, so 2 posts it is.

    Thankfully the rear brake lines weren't seized after 23 years. So I could reuse the intermediate hard line and bracket. I put the Bimmerworld rear kit in with the M3 rear calipers. Also put in new parking brake cables, shoes and hardware.

    After that it was pretty simple. Got the rear Koni shocks in and found a bit of bad news. I pulled the right side carpet back and saw a big washer on one of the shock mounts and immediately knew what was wrong. I took it off and saw the hole was a bit bigger than the nut and someone ghetto fixed it.

    It's not a huge deal as its not split anywhere beyond the stud hole to shock hole. Thankfully the GC rear shock mounts displace the load over a much larger area and you can't even see the split once the top plate is installed. I will monitor it, but I don't think it will be an issue unless I go true rear coil over. I knew the body being so clean was too good to be true, there had to be something lol.

    If you haven't seen the GC rear mount, it's a nice unit. Here's the ones I have, you actually bolt the mount from the wheel well.

    e46-rear-shock-mount-street_1024x1024.jpg

    49346093_342362733021524_7748433641243410432_n.jpg49900165_2486080571434631_5960241316272013312_n.jpg49948808_2190294647695825_3410053047743676416_n.jpg


    Next week the plan is to get the diff installed, I need to press the bushing into the cover. I'm still missing one axle and a wheel speed sensor . (I was able to salvage one from the 325i trailing arms).

    Then I will install the front suspension and brakes. And if I have time, the Rivnuts for the front X-Brace in the subframe.

    Till next time,

    Sam
    Last edited by SamE30e; 01-06-2019 at 10:16 PM.

  15. #15
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    mslevin is offline Have you checked RealOEM? BMW CCA Member
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    Making great progress! Love a build thread with constant updates

    Also....techno violet 325is? Or is it Daytona? Either way, never seen that on a non-M before.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by mslevin View Post
    Making great progress! Love a build thread with constant updates

    Also....techno violet 325is? Or is it Daytona? Either way, never seen that on a non-M before.
    Thanks. I figure I can take 15 minutes to keep record and share, after working on the car for hours on end.

    It is Daytona Violet, it's an individual colour for the 325is. I haven't either, wish it was an M, but I guess I didn't pay the M-tax on it lol.

    Work was a bit slow today, so I took some time to cleaned up the rear diff cover, press out the old bushings and press in the new AKG ones. Slightly sketchy but a 34mm socket fit about right, and one of the jigs fit pretty well underneath, so I didn't snap the ear off. Next, I need to figure out how to press the front one into the subframe in the car... I'm sure it's not hard.

    49633954_1234151123405294_2173500944971464704_n.jpg50265754_1031478060369561_5629587946114908160_n.jpg

    I also have a buddy shipping me up an axle from Florida. I'm sick of people around here saying they have one, and then flaking on me. I'm paying a bit more for it, considering its a used axle, but whatever. At least I can finish the rear end.

    I also ordered a rear wheel speed sensor to top it off.

    I was browsing the interwebs today and saw that T1Race made a fitting for a new Bosch Motorsports sensor, the Bosch PTS-1, it's a 10bar 140 degree c sensor. Which is perfect for oil. It's a M10x1 thread, so you'd need a adaptor to M12x1.5 to replace the factory pressure switch (EFI solutions makes one). Just running it would be an issue, you would need an AIM, RacePak or a standalone ECU. I want to add oil temp and pressure to my friends FG2 race car, it currently has an AIM MXL which has the ability to run this sensor with a 5v output and customizable input. Every other gauge I have seen uses 2 sensors, like the Innovate Motorsports. I wish Innovate used this sensor and their LCD display screen showing both at once, as opposed to one digitally and one analog.

    Heres the sensor: https://www.efisolutions.com.au/bosc...erature-sensor

    And the Innovate gauge: https://www.innovatemotorsports.com/.../MTXD.php#3852

    I want to run 2 gauges on the steering column. Ideally it would be WB02 and an Oil pressure/Temp combo with an alarm feature. Or just an AIM with alarms set up.


    Till next time!!

    Sam
    Last edited by SamE30e; 01-08-2019 at 10:33 AM.

  17. #17
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    UPDATE!!!!!!

    I'd been busy after the holidays, so I didn't get a chance to work on the car. But yesterday I spent the better part putting in the front suspension.

    I quickly sealed the rear diff up and put it in the car. Took only about 20 minutes, I'm still missing an axle and am having trouble finding once. I really don't want to resort to Rock Auto.

    50530169_978997735619509_2503159411724255232_n.jpg

    I then chipped away at the front suspension and brakes. It was pretty simple, just a bit time consuming. The Neomotorsports kid needs to be shimmed from the carrier to the bracket, so I was measuring those to centre the rotor in the caliper. The ball joints were a bit of a pain, and I anticipated that, so I bought a ball joint removal tool to pop them out of the spindle which was nice. Scared the shit out of you when it lets go lol. When I was taking the factory struts out, I found that the studs wouldn't drop out of the holes easily, turns out they were starting to balloon (E36 thing). I tried putting the factory reinforcement plates in and found that there was a gap between the centre hole and the plate. Basically confirming they were ballooned. I also found that I can't run those plates with the Camber plates because they have a ridge that will limit the amount of camber. I didn't see any cracks so, Iput the GC front strut in with the Dinan strut bar and found that it actually pulled the strut tower back straight which is good. I'll see if I can cut the ridge off those plates and get them in. (Yes I know I need fender liners)

    50297811_584132598724578_6789024735721160704_n.jpg50610803_862236560775115_8347087812415193088_n.jpg

    You can see the studs angle outwards in the photo.

    After I got both sides done I installed my Bimmerworld CDV delete clutch line and bled the brakes. I spend $40 on a vacuum bleeder from Amazon. Its essentially a Mityvac. I use them at world to installed Motul and Pagid RBF in GT cars. It worked amazing, and the pedal is solid. As for using it to bleed the clutch, not so much. I ended up having to manually bleed it. After it all, I don't like how the delete valve feels, the clutch is too light. Oh well, it's in there now.

    50820929_310560872899621_899054654984290304_n.jpg50414341_2013574758712244_7036370768426434560_n.jpg

    x
    Last edited by SamE30e; 01-20-2019 at 10:05 AM.

  18. #18
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    I moved onto installed the RivNuts/Blind nuts for the X-Brace, I only grabbed 4 instead of 6 because I can't count. And after 10 hours my math sucked and I drilled the first hole too big. So I need to fix one hole somehow, and install 2 more.

    50889862_505226016667998_2870594220379340800_n.jpg

    I got the strut brace installed after that, so the engine bay looks a bit prettier. You can see the strut tower sits flush on the camber plate, before I tightened it down, there was a roughly 5mm gap.

    50485359_292562718115113_5989119155951894528_n.jpg50227092_2178613649069447_167671223973576704_n.jpg

    I installed the M3 front sway bar also. It doesn't look thicker than the 325is one. I quickly read that the Non-M bar is 24mm and the M is 23mm. Weird.

    Next on the list is;

    Find an Axle and put fluid in the Diff, then the rear end is done.
    Lift the engine up and put the AKG engine and trans mounts in.
    Get a DSSR and shift knob till I can afford one of dem fancy shifters.
    Get a 5mm spacer so I can put the front wheels on and roll the car around (I forgot to mention they hit the caliper, but just barely)
    Install the Oil cooler
    Install the metal thermostat housing
    And while I lift the engine up, I guess I should drop the oil pan and secure the pump nut.

    Sam
    Last edited by SamE30e; 01-20-2019 at 10:06 AM.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by SamE30e View Post
    I
    I installed the M3 front sway bar also. It doesn't look thicker than the 325is one. I quickly read that the Non-M bar is 24mm and the M is 23mm. Weird.
    The M3 bar end link attaches at the strut, which applies less leverage to the bar, making a thinner bar more effective. The non-M bar end link attaches at the lower control arm, producing more leverage, hence the need for a thicker bar to provide sufficient roll resistance.

  20. #20
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    My Cars
    85 325e M52t - 06 330i
    Quote Originally Posted by jakermac View Post
    The M3 bar end link attaches at the strut, which applies less leverage to the bar, making a thinner bar more effective. The non-M bar end link attaches at the lower control arm, producing more leverage, hence the need for a thicker bar to provide sufficient roll resistance.
    Ahhh, I didn't put too much thought into it. But it makes sense, thanks!

    I ordered some cheap 5mm spacers for the front wheels so I can get it back on the ground. Also ordered a set of axles from a member on here, which should be here next week. Then the car is back mobile.

    I think I'm going to install the rest of the parts I have now, regenerate some funding as it's been pricey so far, then find some wheels, tires and front seats.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    78
    My Cars
    85 325e M52t - 06 330i
    Sorry for the delay in updates. Haven't had much time to work on the car, let alone update the thread.

    I ended up having to get a set of axles out of the US and they ended up costing a kidney. Shipping, duties and the price to get the rebuild kit added up. Oh well, I needed them.

    51968948_402885810478670_8600313015398563840_n.jpg

    I'm an idiot and knew the bolts were the same, but didn't think the plates for the output on the diff were different. So the axles are in without them till I order them.

    I scored a AKG Stage II Shifter locally and installed that with new plastic washers on the selector rod. I'm not too crazy about it, it's a nice throw, and in a great position, but it's super notchy. The price was right, so it will do.

    51944588_433240043882896_2933539233844953088_n.jpg52345656_2132601966820459_7954920224132694016_n.jpg

    The exhaust bolts fought me for a good hour. I needed to change the mid-pipe to rear section gaskets and ended up splitting one of the plates in half. But it's back on and not leaking. I feel like after some serious track use the muffler is going to blow all the packing out. So a new exhaust will come eventually.

    But for the first time in 5ish months, it moved under it's own power. It drives and stops off the hoist, so that's a good thing. I had to put 5mm spacers in the front to clear the calipers till I get new wheels, but didn't have longer wheel bolts, and didn't want to waste money as I'm getting studs anyways. That being said I don't want to drive it too far because theres only about 3 threads holding each front wheel bolt on. Plus, theres about 2 feet of snow outside the shop door. So it wouldn't go far.

    I have an ABS light on. So scanned it with ISTA/D/ GT1 emulator and turns out the one wheel speed sensor I didn't replace because it looked good.... Isn't. So I need a one of those. I also need to pull the cluster and take out the ASC bulb, because well... That's non existent now.

    51996501_2339127482778632_2433141068158468096_n.jpg

    Overall I'm happy with how it's going. A little slower than I anticipated, but I should have it on the track in the spring. I need to get the oil cooler in, but I want to put a Z3M rad in while I'm there and while I have the coolant drained for the thermostat housing. I also want to drop the pan and secure the oil pump nut while I change the engine mounts. I was thinking I should put a Achilles motorsport baffle in, but also don't know if it's necessary.

    I think to make it track ready I need:
    - Alignment
    - Corner balance
    - Seat (I think Sparco Pro2000 - A client had one in his race car I was working on and I felt comfortable in it)
    - Wheels and tires (Apex Arc-8 17x9.5 Concave)
    - Wheel studs
    - Cooling system
    - Oil cooler
    - Valve cover gasket (Found the back leaking a bit today)
    - Spark plugs
    - Serp Belt (I have one from my M52 turbo E30)
    - Oil change (Can't find a solid answer, but what is everyone running for oil)

    52315683_2342008855831061_4754753170058510336_n.jpg


    Till next time,

    Sam

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    78
    My Cars
    85 325e M52t - 06 330i
    Heelllllooooo

    Small update. I have a friend with a NC Miata, whom of which had a Haltech Elite 1500 put in by a shop. Basically they butchered it and it need to be redone. So I've been messing with that for a bit.

    While I was near my car, I tossed in the plates I ordered for the axles, installed a new wheel speed sensor and put in my AKG front lower control arm brackets. I forgot my puller so I had to improvise.


    53006132_330597694230939_200846036699185152_n.jpg

    53074157_403739063520545_2748685232994516992_n.jpg

    Pretty straight forward install. Like the instructions said, the control arm needed to be sanded as the fit is quite snug. Now when braking I can't feel the front wheels move.

    I tried to connect to the car and clear the ABS faults from the wheel speed sensor. I was having trouble with KL15 at the round connector. For those of you who don't know KL15 is the 'Run' position in the key. ISTA/D requires it to identify the cars VIN. Turns out one of the fuses was blown that supplies that to the immobilizer. Which is weird because the car ran. I replaced it and all was well. I just need to pull the bulb for ASC and either plug the throttle motor for ASC back in or put in a resistor.

    I got an oil pan gasket, so that means engine mounts and oil pump nut are next. Hopefully going to order wheels soon and a Z3M rad.

    Sam
    Last edited by SamE30e; 03-04-2019 at 08:22 PM.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Vancouver, BC Ca
    Posts
    3,255
    My Cars
    1993 325is
    Quote Originally Posted by SamE30e View Post
    Hopefully going to order wheels soon and a Z3M rad.

    Sam
    Want a used Koyo Racing aluminum rad for a good price?

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    78
    My Cars
    85 325e M52t - 06 330i
    Hmmm, the problem is my Oil cooler mounts below the rad.

    PM me some info.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    78
    My Cars
    85 325e M52t - 06 330i
    Got my wheel studs and titan nuts from Motorsports Hardware.

    May order wheels and tires soon, also need seats and a cage.

    What is everyone running for bolt-in cages?

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