** Acme [Akagi] bought a pink estate car - E30 325i project log! **

sigma said:
Surely this is not the most suitable car for 400bhp?

Are you going to track it? Is it going to get full suspension and brake upgrade too?

Edit - wait, what. Standard fuel pump is good for a turbo etc and 400bhp? Second hand turbo?? £100 for refurbed injectors?

I'm confused.
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Free injectors, £100 for a refurb. Yes second hand turbo, a Holset HX35 with a 12 or 14cm exhaust housing, usually found on diesel trucks/small lorry's, and popular for old BMW's. Yes standard fuel pump is fine for 400BHP, don't ask me how because I don't know, but if it keels over, a 255lph one is £130. Turbo manifold is £200 + a bit of time to double over the welds as a precautionary measure. Intercooler in a size that fits snugly is £150. K-Tec engine management (Megasquirt software) is £400. Etc etc.

Its going to have uprated shocks, lowering springs, brand new OE top mounts, drop links, etc. Brakes I'm not too sure on yet. I was going to do standard size with track pads and grooved disks but that might still be a bit hairy even for me. :p Being a 325i it already has front and rear ARB's which are reasonably decent, the bushes will need doing though.

No I'm not going to track it. It will be road use, show use, and occasional strip use.

E30's have excellent chassis dynamics (although admittedly the Touring slightly less so), they can be made to handle fantastically well with suspension, ARB's and bracing.

People are still skeptical despite the 350BHP tried and tested kit being linked above sans ECU which stands at £1800. That kit, with 350BHP, can also be used without even taking the top off of the engine to change the head bolts, and without even changing from a stock clutch... £1800, bosh the kit on, aftermarket ECU, 350BHP, just like that.

That might end up being what I do, but I have this mystical '400HP' figure stuck in my head and its staying there for now. :p

JOSH said:
Just please don't butcher the outside, so many E30s have chav tastic tat strapped to them now.
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Don't worry, anything I do visually will be OE or period correct. The only non OE visual aspects will be the ride height, wheels, and exhaust. See the on the previous page for a rough idea. :)
 
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sigma said:
Right. Still not convinced but look forward to seeing it.
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This is why these boards are **** for this kind of thing. Step outside of the box and you get pounced on. :p

Do you have experience with E30's and/or M20 engines? Know many people who have turbo converted them? Seen them? Spoken to them at length about all the parts that were used? Ridden in them?

If the answer to more of those questions is "No" than "Yes" you have to question why you are convinced I'm wrong? Probably just because its me. Or because it seems too cheap compared to turboing other cars. But ANYWAY

As I said, this is all in planning stages at the moment and there won't be any movement on this until next year, there is suspension and bits to do first, cooling system, paintwork, etc. And because its me, I'll probably have changed my mind about this several times before it happens...

Have a couple of pictures, one from the Santa Pod BMW Show official highlights video, and one at Ace Cafe.

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sigma said:
I'm not convinced about the concept, the pricing, well whatever it is it's still going to be a fairly reasonable amount. I don't see the point in second hand turbos personally and I've never heard of cheap manifolds being worth it, admittedly I know nothing about BMWs in this regard.

In my eyes BMWs are all about the 6cyl (and above) N/A engines. Slapping a turbo on is just against the ethos.

Also, having had powerful cars in the past I think the hassle and expense of high power is pointless unless you use it (which you can't really do on the roads for longer than a few seconds) but that's just a general point.

Put your toys back in the pram please :p
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You caught my post before I edited it, because I read your post originally, before you edited it. Toys are firmly in the pram again. :p :p

I was fully in agreement about the 6 cylinder N/A aspect of BMW's being what is so special about them, until I rode in one which had a turbo on it. Its totally different and ruins the linear N/A power, but my god its fantastic... :D

And yes I do sort of agree with your latter point as well, 400HP will be too much for road use in a light, old, RWD car, its just a figure that I have in my head and I want to achieve that figure. I would probably drive it on a low boost setting most of the time.

I might end up just using the 350BHP off-the-shelf kit linked above.
 
Diddums said:
I seem to recall another member on here doing similar with a Rover K series engine, used parts, free parts, eBay gaskets etc. Engjne was in a black Lotus, turbo something or other.

Whatever happened to that fella?
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You are getting a bit confused here now... This is a budget turbo build made with tried and tested parts, some of which may be second hand but that is because that is the only way to get them. I don't cheap out on things like gaskets and bushes and things, I use OE only. The only time I even uttered the word "free" is in reference to the injectors, and even then its only because I know people who break cars and have stock of this stuff, and they would be sent off to be refurbished/re-jetted. Rather refurbished second hand injectors than brand new chinese eBay tat. :o
 
I've been educated and apparently 400HP - 450HP on stock internals is fine IF you re-build the engine first... New rings, bearings, stem seals, quick hone, cut and lapped valves...

As it sits now they recon it would be safe at 300HP and maybe 350HP if I want to push my luck, which I don't.

So yeah. :p

Acme dun been schooled by the boosted E30 club I went crying to hoping they would call you lot idiots. Nope... Sorry. :D

Still, 300HP makes a lot more sense hey. 400 was a bit silly, but its a NICE NUMBER!!
 
paradigm said:
On that note, how is the de-rust process going? I know you said you cheaped out a bit on the work, but is it pretty much solid now? What have you used to inhibit the reoccurrence? When's it getting it's single shade of hellrot blow over? :p
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Rot is all but gone aside from little spots on the bodywork which im going through.

Treated externally with seam zinc primer, then seam sealer, then stone chip, and internally with ditrinol cavity wax.

Supposedly going in for the spray soonish but I need to take it in to have a chat with them about exactly what I want doing first. Waiting on a date to be confirmed.

Will be done standard Brilliantrot but as a two stage, and I'm going to see if they will do my plastic trims for me as well. (Skim imperfections with plastic filler and paint them satin black)
 
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Lopéz said:
You talk about these things like they happen by accident and are out of your control. "Supposedly going in for a spray soonish" :p

Go and see them, book it, take the car in.
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Lol I put it like that because they keep pushing it back. But theyre doing me a favour by taking it in and doing it to a price for me in between other jobs so I'm not massively fussed.

Anyway, new shocks, springs, top mounts, and rear drop links today... :)

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One nut needed slight persuasion but everything it was attached to was going in the bin so... Fire! :D

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Assembled. Ideally would have liked to scrub up and paint the struts but we were running out of time because of a few setbacks. Doesn't matter really.

Checked all disks and pads while it was apart, they still look basically new so I'm guessing they were done just before I bought it, and I've only put 8000 miles or so on it. Theyre all Pagid.

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And back on the floor, sitting a fair bit lower than before. Took it out for a drive and while it isn't exactly a racecar now, it is soooo much better..... :D

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Happy! :)

Volume a bit low on this, but all my old shocks could be compressed with minimal effort, and had no rebound properties whatsoever... :p


Splashed the cash on some new goodies too. Early 885 head, ported and polished, re-built with new rockers, springs, guides, seals, valves lapped, Schrick 272 cam. Also a 64mm throttle body. :)

That will be another weekends work somewhen in the not too distant future. Will be overhauling the cooling system at the same time. Got a new Nissen radiator sitting here waiting, need to order some new coolant hoses, a water pump, timing belt kit, thermostat. Picking out a performance chip to tie it all in at the moment, slight tweaks to the ignition and fuelling maps, raised rev limiter, speed limiter removed etc etc.

Should pick up 20HP with that lot. But more importantly, improved throttle response, raised rev limiter (6500 to 7200), cam lope, and if I so desired it should be able to nudge 145MPH...... :D

Once thats all done, I'll inspect my spare bottom end I forgot I had... And see if its any good for re-building as a 2.8 stroker. I know a couple of the bores have some pitting, need to see if its hone-able, or if its scrap.
 
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Cookeh said:
Right, but have you sorted the brakes? :D Sits much better though, looks to be a good ride height to me.
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I have not sorted the ABS no, but I did give everything a good squiz with brake cleaner and cleaned the connections. One of the sensors must be faulty.
Lopéz said:
What happened to the 400bhp turbo?
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On the backburner until I can build the bottom end. Found out I could probably do 300HP without re-building it, or 400HP if I rebuild it. I would rather wait and play around with N/A mods for now, then go balls to the wall later! :)
 
Ah, there was actually a fire extinguisher behind the shot. ;)

I am, but at the same time I do wish I could get things done quicker :p

And yes I believe that is true, I also believe they used to urinate on the blocks to strengthen them or something... :p
 
Well, my screenwash pipes hit the strut brace when the bonnet is closed. As a result one of the T pieces has snapped so now I just wash my engine when I pull the stalk... Bah... :mad: :p

Handling is much improved with the suspension + strut. Piled it into a few bends the other night and the body roll has gone from SS Great Britian levels to near MX5 levels. :eek:

Looking forward to further improving that with new wheels and different tyres with a smaller sidewall... :)
 
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150 miles put on it after the suspension install, got the tracking done today. Wasn't actually too far out. :)

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Really happy with how it is sitting now!

Oh and I fixed the broken screenwash pipes.
 
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