islandhopper : 1991 BMW 325i (E30)

[XCRN]

Cool stuff! I did not realize you had smileys on these. What kind of tinkering to the headlights will you be doing?

[islandhopper]

stuff happened..











Got the Luke-Box wired up and mounted. Tuned the amp and holy shit, it sounds amazing. The luke-box IS magic. I totally get why people say that now...i've had big 12's in ported boxes that made a lot of bass but clarity was poor to say the least. Very sloppy bass. That is NOT the case with the luke-box, it's tight and heavy. Plenty of boom when you want it. With premium speakers amp'd up and the luke-box dialed in it makes really great sound. Can't say enough good things about it. I love it. If you don't have one, get one.





Still working on a solution to clean up the wiring. Probably going to mount the amp differently and route them more discretely.

Moving on..here are some better shots of the Nardi Gara Type 3 and the new Condor "shorty" weighted shift-knob. Plus the custom aluminum cup/phone holder (http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=292015) i got from a local-ish member. It's pretty sweet...i really enjoy being able to place a drink down, go thru a corner at speed and not have to worry about orange soda all over my interior. And the phone holder is just plain convenient.

The Nardi is most excellent. Very supple leather, definitely 9.5/10 condition and the design is something i can't get over. I love the way it looks. Strongly considered a Nardi Classic with a lighter wood grain but im so glad i went with leather. Such good feel from this wheel. Love it.











Kinda diggin' the somewhat spartan interior. I'm putting together a black interior though so it won't be sparse for long. Just need a set of adjustable sport seats (OEM or aftermarket) and maybe black carpet or dye my old grey carpet...although i may just leave it out. It was surprisingly heavy.

Hey there..


My boy...caught him basking in the sun 8-)


Needs a wash and some TLC. Been considering a CF hood to be paint matched once i start the body-work. Wouldn't mind the weight savings but from what i hear the fit of most CF hoods is crap. Anyone know of any decent offerings?


Weird sky tonight...



That's the Sun. Was really cool looking. If i was gooder at taking pictures it would look way better, cuz these pics do it no justice.















Installed the Miller MAF+chip and 19# injectors. Used a K&N cone filter. Need to figure out an air-box/ram-air set up for this. Until then i've just used the lower half of the stock air-box/AFM underneath so hopefully it'll still scoop up some cool air from the headlight surrounds and keep it from getting splashed.
















Also got the exhaust system welded up...mostly. The long tube headers from topspeedauto on eBay don't fit, so i returned them. We chopped the stock down-pipes right after the o2 bung and merged everything into 2.5" all the way out the back. Not ideal but it'll do until i source a proper set of headers.

SUPER MELLOW tone. NO rasp at all. Even flat out at 7k..no rasp. A little drone on the freeway but really not bad. I'm actually very pleased with the sound, just wish i could have used the headers.

I'll get an exhaust clip up soon. Here's some pics for now.














Detailed the dash and center console. Also got my houndstooth shift-boot from stitched.











The throttle response from the MAF and the noise from the exhaust have made this car a lot more fun recently. Can't wait to install the cam and get it tuned.

Next up is suspension and diff. Then i get to tinker with the headlights.

[c91bse7]

That steering wheel looks very similar to the one i have in the cb!

[XCRN]

Yeah dude. pretty stoked about this summer. this car is going to come alive.

In previous posts i mentioned it having a 4.10 open but i was mistaken. it has a 3.73 open but i've got a S3.73 lsd waiting to swap in. Already with the 3.73 and the 5-speed it's way quicker and way more fun to drive.

Every now and then when I go pick up parts from my guy here we like to converse for a bit and during one of our talks he was saying how much of a difference the LSD will make when driving in the snow. Doubt you will really encounter that in the PNW, but he can get through 6" of snow no problem. And obviously better handling. The 4.10 LSD I have is incredible in these S turns just down the street from my place, mixed with the new tires I have it is incredible how fast it will take it. Makes having no 4th gear fun! But they have a recommended speed limit there of 30 and I can do 45-50 with out a sweat. You will love it with a car about 1000lbs lighter than mine.

[markrutherford]

Looking good! I've always loved the old bmw's

[islandhopper]

recent-ish pics

[islandhopper]

Yeah dude. pretty stoked about this summer. this car is going to come alive.

In previous posts i mentioned it having a 4.10 open but i was mistaken. it has a 3.73 open but i've got a S3.73 lsd waiting to swap in. Already with the 3.73 and the 5-speed it's way quicker and way more fun to drive.

[XCRN]

Jeez! Looks like a fun time ahead and I love the steering wheel, I am hoping to find the OEM wheel that looks like that one. What is the stock diff for this?

[islandhopper]

Update

Time to get serious...






Parts List (some items not pictured):
-BimmerHeads 280/274 dual pattern cam
-"eBay special" SS long-tube headers
-Miller 3" MAF w/19# injector tune
-Bosch 19# injectors
-Bosch O2 sensor
-Gates Racing M20 Timing Belt
-Vibrant 1141 2.5" resonator (x2)
-Vibrant 1148 2.5" muffler (flat black, oval, dual tip)

-Ground Control coilover conversion kit
-'95 E36 M3 steering rack w/res. hoses and spacer kit
-Condor motor mounts
-Condor M3 offset CABs
-CATuned SS brake lines
-Lemforder control arms L/R
-Febi inner/outer tie-rods
-Z3 1.9 SSK (thanks blunt!)

-OE Spec Sachs clutch kit
-RHD 7lb flywheel
-Redline MTL and MT-90
-3.73 LSD

-Luke-Box
-10" Infinity Reference 1062W subwoofer
-Rockford Fosgate R600X5 5-channel amp
-Morimoto Mini H1 Projectors
-SquaredMotorworks Mini H1 conversion kit (for DEPO smileys)

Removed the trunk tar for the Luke-Box..


Also got a new steering wheel.. a Nardi Gara Type 3 which i love.





And the Condor shorty knob is very nice. Definitely improved the throw on this garbage eBay SSK that came with the trans i swapped in. The z3 1.9 SSK will be going in shortly...




Plans are to wire up some tunes and have the exhaust welded up. Then i'll tear into the motor and swap out the cam and injectors along with the gates belt. Then it's on to suspension and steering. After that is clutch, flywheel and LSD + Redline fluids in the trans and diff. Once the cam is broken in and im happy with how things are running i'll take her down to Lynwood to visit one of Millers tuning shops and have everything worked over till it's juuust right.

Future plans are adjustable sway bars, new wheels and tires and possibly paint and bodywork depending on funds. focusing on go parts before aesthetics. if i run outa money i'll do the prep work myself and drive to cali for one of those $800 paint jobs i've been hearing about.

super awesome crazy cool package coming from over-seas. stay tuned...

[islandhopper]

waiting on 5-speed parts...

[islandhopper]

you may be right about the flanges but the cases fit into the sub-frames either way and ratios are moot. if i need a flange i can source it pretty easily. shouldn't matter if i can get the S4.10.

[XCRN]

Really? I thought I saw it would be the same as E34s (M20 and M50) where the case is the same but the diff flanges and ratios are different from auto to manual.

[islandhopper]

Since i already have a flywheel and time is of the essence im just going to use what ive got. might have it shaved down a few lbs...

The differentials, whether in an auto or manual car, are interchangeable. im actually about to grab a 4.10lsd... The diff it has now is a 4.10 open (auto's came with a 4.10 standard to compensate for the 4-speed's SUPER tall gears).

EDIT: i should clarify that 325 diffs are interchangeable. 318 diffs are small case as opposed to the medium/large cases on 325's and 5 series cars.

[XCRN]

If you can you should get the flywheel from a 86 528e. I think it is 16lbs.

Wouldn't you also need a rear diff from a manual car?

[islandhopper]

Still gathering up parts. I have the Getrag 260, single-mass flywheel, clutch and pressure plate, trans mount, clutch pedal, shift arm and shift lever.

I need the drive-shaft, CSB, guibo, clutch slave w/lines and i think that's it....almost there.