M30 NA power

[alpinacsi]

Take 400n to exit 16 (Pilgrim Mill) and take a left back across 400. N. GA Rad is about 1/2 mile on the right. Just imagine what an old radiator shop might look like and you cant miss it.

[xatlas0]

It's been a while, so I figured I'd post an update. Since last time, I haven't really done to much with the car. I have put in the new window seals, but now I can't get the damn window aligned right. Talk about aggravating! I put new channel felt, new lower window seal (which required me to remove the entire rear window assembly, then remove the rear window, change the seal which took about 10 seconds, then put it all back) and I adjusted the travel of the window. As it is, the thing leaks more than a 20 year old roof.

Still, I'm just glad I finally got the bloody charging issue sorted out. I'm not contantly running out of electricity any more.

So, as always, more to do...

[alpinacsi]

I know how time consumming it can be to adjust the windows on the e24 but we have excellent write-ups available; not sure if you are able to find that for the e9. Good luck.

Did you do anything about your tank scale issue?

[xatlas0]

Shockingly enough, I'm still working on this car.

I had a spare weekend back in December, so I decided to put a UUC Evo3 SSK on the coupe, as I had been given it as a gift. What was supposed to take 15 min ended up being finished last night.

The UUC guys were great all around. They get me the parts I needed quickly and understood my problem, even if it had never happened before.

I got the old shifter out after some major wrangling, lots of swearing, and using a prybar. The lower shifter rod just did not want to come out of the shifter bushing! Next came problem #1: I had been given the wrong bushing set! So, I called up UUC and they sent me the correct ball bushing set. The shifter in my coupe sits in a metal plate, rather than a rod like later cars. The kit came with the bushings for the rod, rather than the plate.

So a day or two goes by, I get the bushings, and install the shifter in about 2 min. Then comes problem #2: the metal bushings on the bottom of the shifter rod were too small to fit the connecting rod from the lower shifter! This caused a good bit of consternation at UUC, since they all were supposed to be 10mm. After some measuring, they sent me three seperate bushing sets of varying diameters. I got these two days ago.

Eagerly anticipating awesome shifting, I grabbed the middle sized bushing set, only to find that it didn't fit. The larger set didn't fit either. At this point, I figured enough was enough. I grabbed my Dremel and ground off some of the connecting rod. This finally did the trick.

I wasn't able to get the bushing at the transmission connection, so that one is still loose, but the rest of it is as stich as can be. I am very pleased with the kit and with my experience at UUC.

Now, I just have to fix the ruddy ignition switch, among other things.

[jbd5015]

Good to know about the kit from them being made up for the bar style shifter. So that is set-up for the 265 trans, and the 260/6. Im pretty sure the 260/5 had the plate style shifter that you have in your car.

I was thinking of looking around for a used UUC product, but it still may be out of the price range, your price of free probably also made it easier to want to mess with it to make it work rather than flip sh*t on UUC for not having the right stuff for $300.

What issues are you having with the ignition switch? Mine seems to be busted too, cant turn the key at all, and sounds like there are loose parts in the tumbler.

-Jeff

[xatlas0]

Good to know about the kit from them being made up for the bar style shifter. So that is set-up for the 265 trans, and the 260/6. Im pretty sure the 260/5 had the plate style shifter that you have in your car.

I was thinking of looking around for a used UUC product, but it still may be out of the price range, your price of free probably also made it easier to want to mess with it to make it work rather than flip sh*t on UUC for not having the right stuff for $300.

What issues are you having with the ignition switch? Mine seems to be busted too, cant turn the key at all, and sounds like there are loose parts in the tumbler.

-Jeff

Jeff-
Actually, both transmissions got the plate shifter, if I am not mistaken. The thing that determiens which you have is the year. It switched in 1985, if I recall right. Plus, it wasn't UUC's fault that the wrong things were in there, my GF just got slightly the wrong thing, which is easy to understand, given how convoluted the car is.

I'm running a 265, rather than a 260. The 265 is stronger and rebuildable. Plus, I like that it is seperable from the bellhousing. Made putting it in a snap.

My ignition switch is failing because when I crank the car, if the key lingers at all inbetween "start" and "on", it kills the power. I probably just have a loose or corroded contact.

[xatlas0]

Figured you guys would want an update.

The car, for all intents and purposes, is on hold due to me getting into (and therefore going to) graduate school. Given that I am paying for said school out of my own pocket, I don't exactly have the cash to keep fixing it.

So, in the meantime, since the body is in great shape, I dropped it off at a certain resto shop (http://www.flashbackmotorworks.com/home.html) so they can actually make the car not leak like a sieve when it gets wet. They will fit it in when they have time, and since I'll be gone for a good 2 years, it isn't like there is a rush.

So, for now, the car is surrounded by V12 E-type Jags and Austin-Healy 3000s.

For those that want to know, I got into Texas A&M for a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. So, we'll see how that turns out.

On the plus side of things, I finally fixed that damn charging problem by effectively re-wiring the alternator. However, the peak charging voltage is ~13.3, so I've still got issues somewhere. (given the state of my harness, I'd probably say more like everywhere)

The coupe shall rise again!

[clevertd]

Congrats on grad school! I've been thinkin about it myself. Cars can wait

[xatlas0]

Congrats on grad school! I've been thinkin about it myself. Cars can wait

With it costing 20k /year of my own cash (and even then, that's with a gift from the school of in-state tuition and a thousand bucks) it really has to. I've been saving for the last year or so, and most of the money that I haven't saved has gone to the 540, since it was rather neglected over the last 5 years.

Get a company to pay for it and do really, really well on the GRE. Also, unless you have a 3+ GPA, you may as well not bother. Pretty much every school had that requirement, and it was a hard-line one, meaning no exceptions. The only break is that some schools only measure the last 60 hours when they calculate this. So, if you suck eggs the first couple of years (like me) then start crushing your classes later, you can still pull it off.

[xatlas0]

Since it has been a year and change, I figured an update is in order.

As is expected, I haven't been able to do too much to the car, as it is in Alpharetta and I am in College Station. However, the car was worked on a bit by the now defunct Flashback Motorworks, then the ex-techs Shanghai-ed the car to their new place, down in Marietta, called CARS. There, they redid the fuel tank, as apparently the new fuel pump and filter I had put in before I left took a dump. I suppose it isn't all that unexpected, as it was a no-name pump off ebay.

Unfortunately, my folks tried to drive the car back to Alpharetta (about 30 miles) and did not check the coolant level before starting. As such, the car overheated a bit due to the system not being bled properly. It was towed home in shame.

Now, since it is home again after being away for about a year, there is some work to do, and little time to do it. I managed to snag another used radiator for a song, and it is supposedly leak-free, so I will hot-tank it and put that in to stop the cooling system problems, assuming the thermostat isn't stuck, considering the car has only warmed up about 10 times in the last three years or so.

Aside from a crunchy 2nd gear, that is the last mechanical problem the car has. The steeing works great, the brakes are awesome, the engine is running well, and the charging problem is under control. I will still likely need to re-do the chassis and engine harnesses due to my idiocy when changing the battery a few years ago.

In terms of parts to install, I currently have
1. A MAF conversion
2. A 3.45 LSD
3. An OEM AC system
4. New carpet

all waiting for an install. I just haven't been home to do any of it. The car does start and run reliably, however, which is very nice. I never want to have to push the dang thing ever again.

[Ol'6erGuy]

Glad to see you are still plugging away at it. As with me, you have other issues that are of a higher priority.
There is a nice twisty winding road out there just calling out to you. I know where mine is and I plan on running it this summer.
Bill

[xatlas0]

Glad to see you are still plugging away at it. As with me, you have other issues that are of a higher priority.
There is a nice twisty winding road out there just calling out to you. I know where mine is and I plan on running it this summer.
Bill

I know what you mean. There is a short, twisty, up/down, and wide side road back in Alpharetta. It is 4 lanes long, and is sort of like a mile of up and down chicanes. It is the road my Dad and I use to test drive cars, as it requires good power, braking, and chassis performance to really drive.

As you may imagine, I have yet to take the E9 up there. It is simply not ready for the prime time.

Grad school continues to take my time, money, and will to live. Once I am free, work will resume.

[xatlas0]

I almost forgot; when I was at home, I replaced the radiator, fixed a fuel leak, changed fluids, and clayed/waxed the car. Here are some pics.





In the second pic, the stripe isn't aligned because the door isn't closed all the way. Also, the hood isn't closed in either of them.

[e24mpwr]

That makes my heart beat very hard...

[Seeker]

http://5247849788958726227-a-1802744...attredirects=0

http://5247849788958726227-a-1802744...attredirects=0






I couldnt see the pics, so I reposted the links... evidently google forces you to a redirect to download the pic

nice!

[xatlas0]

http://5247849788958726227-a-1802744...attredirects=0

http://5247849788958726227-a-1802744...attredirects=0




I couldnt see the pics, so I reposted the links... evidently google forces you to a redirect to download the pic

nice!

Really? I see them direct, without links. Very strange.

[Layne]

Is that a German diplomat license plate? I've seen one like it a guy found on a Mercedes in a junkyard in Waco, TX.

[clevertd]

Glad to see the project is still moving along. Hang in there for grad school, I've thought about it but at this point I'm just ready to get out of school mode.

[xatlas0]

Is that a German diplomat license plate? I've seen one like it a guy found on a Mercedes in a junkyard in Waco, TX.

Diplomat plate? I thought it was just a regular German plate of the period.

EDIT:
Looked it up. It is an exportation plate.
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Germany[/ame]

I've still got quite a bit of the German documentation, as it is an actual German-market car.

[Layne]

Diplomat plate? I thought it was just a regular German plate of the period.

EDIT:
Looked it up. It is an exportation plate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle...tes_of_Germany

I've still got quite a bit of the German documentation, as it is an actual German-market car.

Ahh, ok. Looks like the guy was wrong about it. Looks way cool either way.

[xatlas0]

OK gents, got a bit of an issue. The car is in GA, I am in TX, and my Dad tried to use it a bit today. I say "tried" because after about 10 min of flawless operation, the car started to sputter and die. It could not be re-started until some time had passed, and even then it could not stay on for long. It would idle fine, but as soon as any throttle was given, it would struggle and die. While messing with it, he broke the throttle cable, so that's got to get fixed, but I am at a loss as to why the car would be doing this.

The fuel filter is new.
The O2 sensors have less than 2k on them.
The battery was new.
Topped off tank.
Plugs have less than 2k on them.
Plug wires have less than 2k on them.
ICV had been cleaned previously.
Coil is new.
Cap and rotor are new.

My main guess is the fuel pressure regulator, as there was apparently a significant gas smell when my Dad checked the plugs. I do not know if it fails closed or fails open, though.

Any guesses?

[Taylor Marshall]

Couple of thoughts / ideas:
1) agree with you, broken membrane in the FPR allowing fuel to be sucked back into the air intake by the vacuum hose
2) AFM flapper door sticking open sending wildly incorrect fuel needs message to the DME

[dm635]

I would also check the ECU. Sounds like the issue I had before. Would idle fine, but would not drive. Easy check if you have a spare. There can be bad solder joints in the ECU.

[xatlas0]

I would also check the ECU. Sounds like the issue I had before. Would idle fine, but would not drive. Easy check if you have a spare. There can be bad solder joints in the ECU.

I thought that was mainly a problem with the 059's, not the 179s? I've got the coupe running Motronic 1.3.

[e24mpwr]

The AFM door on my car has been occasionally sticky. I'd start there since it is easy...