.:Spring Swap:.

[sonomaGTLN2]

Go to the dealership and get several, they're probably 50 cents.

Nearest one is about 60mi away :-(. There's a fastener shop my dad told me about so maybe i'll check that out.

[Layne]

Its worth a shot, but you'll probably have to order a whole box. Its called a "low head socket head capscrew" and they aren't very common.

[superj]

is that an e30 valance on the front of your car? it looks great if it is. makes me want to put one on mine

[sonomaGTLN2]

is that an e30 valance on the front of your car? it looks great if it is. makes me want to put one on mine

Yes it is...not sure what year it came from, but with drilling out the bumper shocks and pushing them in all the way, everything lined up perfectly. I drilled holes through the diving board and bolted it to that. Thanks for the comment.

[sonomaGTLN2]

update:
Tore the dash out of the car last week and got most of the wiring sorted out. All the heater and A/C related stuff was already hacked up by the PO so I just tidied it up a bit. Then i went to working on the headlights and why they werent working properly and i got them all to work. <br>


Then today I talked to one of my friends who rally races and he was parting out one of his cars so i scored a momo corse seat w/ 5 pt harness for $75...I figured i'd jump on it now and put the seat in later or maybe just whenever i didnt have anything else to do on the car.


<br>hopefully the front subframe will be in this week and the front suspension will be put back together.

[sonomaGTLN2]

Over the course of the past few weeks i have completed both the front and rear suspension including brakes. New bushings all around, coupled with the DIY poly subframe bushings should account for pretty stout handling. The rear bushings were a B**** to get out, but other than that things went pretty smoothly. I recieved a PM from the guy with the M42 today, so I will be picking that up hopefully within the next week or so. All the brakes have been redone, including putting in rebuilt 4-pot volvo fronts. I am a little concerned about the rear brakes as i could only break the rearward eccentric adjuster bolts loose. Needless to say, I broke them loose then put the drums on and adjusted them tight...the rear brakes dont feel too bad, just a little more effort to turn than I usually like with drum brakes, however they turn pretty well. I also redid the rear E-brake cables and now i actually have an E-Brake that works . I am hoping by the end of this week I will have some hard line stock in my possession so I can get those fabbed up for the brakes. Not sure if i want to run the fuel lines yet, as I'd like to make them fit best with the M42. Here is an überscheiße-load of pictures of the recent progress:

Front suspension:
mmmmm GC coilovers+bilstein sports=makemyday

Volvo 4-pots



with a little more grinding, the turbines fit...though i am looking for some new wheels anyways.



Rear suspension:
Rusty non functional brakes:




Painted:

New brakes...I didnt bother cleaning out the unseen parts, but new pads and new e-Brake cables.

Back on 4 wheels!

[sonomaGTLN2]

Went down south to pick up the motor today! The rain really put a damper on things, but I got the motor back in good shape. The motor looked better than i thought it would be, aside from cracked hoses...those will have to be replaced. Still a long ways to go, but its good to have the motor and trans in my possession now




Great success!

[jjgbmw323]

Looks great. I really dig the coil overs with the volvo calipers..I cant wait to do the same thing. Props.

[wayfast]

where'd you get the engine up from?

yeah rain totally sucked today

[sonomaGTLN2]

Looks great. I really dig the coil overs with the volvo calipers..I cant wait to do the same thing. Props.

Thanks man...so far so good, but I still havent had a chance to run the hard lines yet...thats when I'll find out for sure how great they are!

where'd you get the engine up from?

yeah rain totally sucked today.

Picked it up from a guy near Dearborn...really nice guy, had 4 E30's in his driveway, one sweet 323iS. The M42 came out of a fender bender 318iS.

[wayfast]

pete? yeah his 323 is so nice

[sonomaGTLN2]

pete? yeah his 323 is so nice

Yeah man thats him. Maybe we should invite him to the vintage michigan meet-up (even if he does have an E30).

[wayfast]

what kind of time frame are you looking at to finish your car?

[sonomaGTLN2]

I'd really like to have it done by the end of june...I have a feeling putting the motor in will take longer than I expect, but I am getting everything planned out and chipping away at most of the stuff every night. With the weather being warmer too it makes it easy to work on the car more.

[sonomaGTLN2]

Motor is in now. Still waiting on a few parts to complete the transition. I ended up fabbing up some motor mount "converters" to use the M42 mounts. Thing couldn't have fit any better...exactly where I want it to be, though it might be a half inch or so high (hood should still fit).

Parts needed/work to be done:
AFM (pending from m42club.com)
O2 sensor
Radiator
Alternator
Setup shift linkage
Driveshaft dimensions
Gauges
Belts
Header studs
LSD or put the old diff back in
Re-bleed brakes (pedal feels kind of soft still).


Pictures:

Mockup of motor mount converters


In vehicle with M42 E30 mounts



Right where i want it!

Plenty of room for a rad and E-Fan

[wayfast]

[TheNeek]

Nice. Appears as though your motor is a smidge forward of where mine is. Funny. Good luck with the wiring. Let me know if you need help.

[sonomaGTLN2]

Nice. Appears as though your motor is a smidge forward of where mine is. Funny. Good luck with the wiring. Let me know if you need help.

Thanks man. I'm working with jakeb (m42 2002 guy) on getting that pinout for the E30 body side connector. About all I am going to splice in is the ignition key stuff then i'll be taking the signals for gauges directly off E30 connector into a custom gauge cluster, and maybe anything else I'd see neccessary with that connector. One thing i havent looked into yet is fuel pump control and fuel level output...I don't really know where the wires going to the E21 pump came from as the relays were on the M10 harness.

[Layne]

One thing i havent looked into yet is fuel pump control and fuel level output...I don't really know where the wires going to the E21 pump came from as the relays were on the M10 harness.

It's simple. One of the pins on the fusebox connector goes to the fuel pumps. Another pin is the power, so all you really have to do is hook a jumper between those 2 unless you want to wire in a relay. If the m42 has some kind of output that would trigger a relay, that would be easy too.

[TheNeek]

It's simple. One of the pins on the fusebox connector goes to the fuel pumps. Another pin is the power, so all you really have to do is hook a jumper between those 2 unless you want to wire in a relay. If the m42 has some kind of output that would trigger a relay, that would be easy too.

Layne is right. The engine harness (which I think you have) has 3 relays on it. One is for fuel and the others are fuel injection relays. I think I helped your M42 2002 buddy on his swap too. I just got an email from England today about it as well. I guess good things come in pairs!

[sonomaGTLN2]

Layne is right. The engine harness (which I think you have) has 3 relays on it. One is for fuel and the others are fuel injection relays. I think I helped your M42 2002 buddy on his swap too. I just got an email from England today about it as well. I guess good things come in pairs!

Haha yeah no doubt. The guy in England (if it's the same one) contacted me on M42club and he probably went to this thread and saw you. I dont have the relays, but i see the connectors and where they go. Shouldn't be too big of a deal then.

Last night I took the E30 shifter linkage and shortened it about 3/4" to line it up with the E21 hole in the floorboard. Then i took the E21 mounting plate and secured it to the floorboards. Not sure if it will flex enough to cause issues, but for the time being that's the best way I could mount it rigidly. This trans shifts very smoothly and there is very little play in the shifter (must be a newer bushing or just really light driving on the trans end). My driveshaft will probably be a few inches short, so I might have someone make it longer or make a spacer for the diff mount. Might even be able to find an E30 driveshaft to see if I can get that to work. I also lined up the stainless header i bought on Ebay and it couldnt fit any better, I am quite happy with how things are beginning to fall in to place.

[TheNeek]

Did you get the oilpan over the steering rack? or did you have to trim those sheetmetal mounts I was talking about? Motor looks good in there. Makes me want to get mine all cleaned up.

[opyner]

American beer is like making love in a canoe. "making love in a canoe?" "its fucking close to water"

lol!

[rob0r]

Haha yeah no doubt. The guy in England (if it's the same one) contacted me on M42club and he probably went to this thread and saw you.

Same one! I've known of Neek's M42 conversion for quite some time, but your build has encouraged me to get on with it and ask questions. I'm trying to gain as much knowledge as possible and hopefully the engine will be in within the next few weeks... fingers crossed. Thanks for your reply on M42club and keep up the good work

Rob (England)

[sonomaGTLN2]

Did you get the oilpan over the steering rack? or did you have to trim those sheetmetal mounts I was talking about? Motor looks good in there. Makes me want to get mine all cleaned up.

Yes i got it over the rack fine, but I did not use the E30 trans mount. If i do, it will probably move me down a little bit and it may hit on the oblong piece that goes over the rack. I dont like the idea of having only one rubber mount with the E21 crossmember, so im looking for the E30 one.

Apparently "white gas" or whatever its called cleans up the aluminum pretty good, i saw it in a thread on m42club. I havent really cleaned mine up yet, but i brushed off some varnish looking layer and it looks better now.