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New to BMW's

88K views 356 replies 43 participants last post by  ForcedFirebird 
#1 ·
New to the site and BMW's although I am an avid car enthusiast. Just picked up this 1986 325es with just over 75k miles as an anneversary gift to my wife for $3500 (a little over book, bit worth it IMHO). The only rust found throughout the car is on the corners of the differential case and the inside corners of the exhaust bends. The only mechanical problem seen so far is the fan clutch which I picked up yesterday and will be installed soon.
The bimmer was added to the collection (my friends call my driveway a "used car lot,lol) which contains a mint 1990 Firebird w/88k mi (in the process of being turbo'd), 1998 F150 (work truck), 2000 Excursion w/80k miles (for the four kids), and the 2002 Lincoln Navigator (the only one for sale).
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I'm just curious if there are any inherent problems to look for in these cars (aside from the timing belt). I am very mechanically inclined, have lots of tools/equipment, and have no problem doing the work myself (jeeze the parts are expensive enough).
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So enjoy the pics, hopefully I will be an asset to your site and look forward to corresponding with other enthusiasts.
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Bmw 3 series (e30) Personal luxury car
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#251 ·
Pulled the top end off. The head is still within BMW spec, but not perfectly flat. Has a little fallout near the front most oil passage. BMW says the head can be within .1mm transverse and .05mm longitudinally, so chocking the oil drip (common corner on the head to leak) to the combination of the VR gasket and the slight fallout. The block is perfectly flat to my surprise, but good for the MLS gasket. I have the old race car head that will go on it for now, had it shaved with a 30ra finish, well within the 50ra needed for a metal gasket. It needs new guides but will only be on temporarily so that we can do some flow research on another head to compare ported to stock on the dyno at a later date.

Will post some pics later.
 
#254 ·
Who said anything about N/A besides building some N/A headers for fun and to see what happens. The gasket is .020" thinner, bringing the stock CR back to the b25 standard.

8mmx1.25x40mm set screws and stover nuts (like what's on the driveshaft and guibo), no more spring washers to deal with. Also got new studs for the center of the intake and t-stat housing, they are all available at any wholesale fastener supply.
 
#257 ·
My manifold and valve cover are powder-coated matte black and then the raised fins were machined for a uniform look. The hardware is black oxide and zinc plated for the nuts. The studs will eventually rust, but it will take a while, probably be changed again before then. Got a new motor I will be building to swap in the future.

Thanks! Not sure how much longer. Changed the shocks/dampers to Bilstein and one of the rear shock mounts were trashed :( Ordering a new one. Have to still put the accy's on, TB and harness as far as the engine goes. For the exterior, still have to tighten up the bumpers/trim and replace the rear window spline.

It's tough, though, we will be at the Grassroots Motorsports Challenge Oct. 7th with a new car that's just a shell right now, plus regular shop business is doing good.

Forced,
Have really enjoyed watching the progress with your car, sir.

Good stuff.
Thanks!
 
#265 · (Edited)
For the record I like what I see. For me it goes deeper than the wheels, eye lids, etc.

I've stated it and stand behind it.

There is some serious craftsmanship going into this project....and I LIKE IT.

As Forced said, they're wheels, held on by four lug nuts, they can be changed.
That aint what this car is ALL about, not by my estimation.

I envy the ability to do the stuff Forced firebird does. Grew up around people like that...never really had those skills myself,,,but I marvel at the talent level.

Truly do.

And I'm a noob too,,,big whoop.
 
#273 ·
Thanks :)

Just did a carfax on it. Thought I was 2nd owner, but am 3rd. 2nd owner bought it in 1999 with 46k miles and from 05-07 (when I bought it) it only saw 1100 miles! Came back clean overall, though - 2nd owner brought it to CT and it failed one emissions test (only tick mark on the report), then passed the next day. Ended up in my hands back down in FL 1/07 (74k miles). It had an engraving on the underside of the valve cover "Vista BMW 9/89 lash" guessing that was a valve adjustment and is the local BMW dealership. Must have been stored away for some time for it to have 46k miles in 99 lol.
 
#274 ·
Scored a spoiler finally. Still has the OEM sticker on it :) Can't wait to install it. Never been painted and has perfect studs.

Haven't been driving it much, got an adjustable cam gear from the kids for Christmas and the Delphin car has been parked in the garage. Been busy repairing e30 24v swaps lately, and have a new project car but will post about that later.
 
#277 ·
Well, the "budget stroker" is getting boring. Even with the 2.93, it pulls great for an m20 after the compression raise. It's about 9:1 now, only slightly higher than a stock b25, soooo.

I picked up a seta m20 and used the head for the casting on a jobber. Also have a nice low mileage head that will get rebuilt and shaved, but since the head is going to the machine shop, figured the block might as well too. So, took apart 2 m20's to get the eta rods/crank and i pistons. The block is going to get decked 2.5mm or so depending on the height of the head after it's cleaned up. This will give about 10:1 or so depending on what's taken off the head vs block since the block machining raises the CR higher than machining the head, the chamber gets smaller as the head height is decreased. Cam is yet to be decided, but this is a common setup with good results, should be close to 200 at the crank, it's been proven to yield 175-ish WHP with the stock software and 288.

This will happen over time, haven't ordered the rings, bearings, cam etc until all the cleaning/machining is done. We also have another e30 sedan being built that's priority over the Delphin car (24v swap for the sedan), as the Delphin car runs great as it sits. Just have a bad feeling about the block surface since it's developed yet another oil leak between the head and block. The new block will have a fresh deck surface to eliminate this (not just the head this round). Since the new car is getting boost, the Delphin car will stay N/A m20-powered.

Anyways, obligatory pics. Nothing pretty yet, spending time on personal cars at the shop is limited. Customers generally don't like seeing you work on your own stuff lol. seta block was completely torn down and the b25 had the pistons pulled. Hopefully the seta block will pass for tolerances and the b25 block doesn't have to come apart to replace it.



 
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