I also rebuilt the Vanos with new seals and installed.
Engine built and newly painted valve cover installed:
Below is a picture of the QCP (Quality Control Plan) I made and followed for the build. From the ring gap actual measurements, my measurements are slightly above the allowable tolerance. However, the Hastings manual allows for between 0.25mm and 0.5mm for the compression rings, so I would say the measured ring gap for the compression rings are acceptable.
My next challenge was to find a shell to put the engine into, I wanted something clean, without rust with minimal body work required as I do not do any panel beating myself, very hard to find. So I decided to change my approach, rather consider something that is running, which is neat, strip and sell the parts I don’t need to get some money back. This approach probably works out to the same cost as building from scratch if not cheaper. So the hunt began, after viewing many e30’s, I found the following for the project:
A 1988 BMW 318i manual, in good condition, and no visible rust, the car wasn’t running when I bought it, previous owner said it had a coil issue, but upon viewing I could hear a problem with the starter Bendix.
The first thing that was required was to get the engine started to ensure I am confident in selling a running motor. A new starter and fuel pump later and she was running. Next was to remove m40B18 engine, gearbox, wiring and ECU, and sell it as I would no longer require it:
Upon removing the engine, battery and cleaning the engine bay, I found some bad news, rust. Fortunately, it was only at the battery tray and did not spread much further.
At this stage I knew the best thing to do was put the conversion on hold and get the rusted battery tray replaced and engine bay re-sprayed whilst the engine was out. After discussing with the panelbeater, we agreed it would be nice to do something different and do a semi-shaved engine bay. The pics below are from the panelbeater during his progress:
Since the crossmember looked a bit out of place, while the vehicle was at the panelbeater, he got it sandblasted and resprayed it like new. I purchased new control arms, as well as new suspension bushes before re-fitting.
NBN said:
Thanks NBN :ty:
Once the engine bay was done I could continue with the build, I then moved onto the brake booster. My intent was to use original e36 engine mount arms and e34 535i rubber engine mounts. With this arrangement the intake manifold would clash with the brake booster therefore a smaller brake booster is required. Most people opt for the Golf 1 brake booster, but I wanted to keep everything BMW and improve where possible, so I opted to utilize an e90 brake booster. The e90 brake booster is a direct bolt on. Only the Hydraulic brake lines need modification to connect as they have different size connections.
The next thing to do whilst the engine was out was the steering rack. The original steering rack in the car was a non-power steering rack and I wanted power steering. Instead of finding e30 power steering rack, I opted to find and install an e46 power steering rack as an upgrade. I installed this as a direct bolt on with new e46 inner tie-rods and e36 outer tie-rods. You also require spacers (or washers) between the top of the rack and the top subframe tab. I got custom 14mm thick spacers made and installed the E46 Steering Rack. I also had to modify the steering column linkage, I did this by measuring and cutting both E30 and E46 columns and welding them together as the attachment spines are different. Picture of the final column linkage can be seen below:
Before installing the engine I decided to install a new clutch kit and slave cylinder as well:
When installing the engine I had fitted the standard exhaust manifolds, however I ran into a problem:
The outlet clashes with the steering column, and would not be easy to modify so I decided I will get custom branches built together with the Stainless Steel Free flow Exhaust System. I then removed the manifolds, installed the engine on the new 535i mounts and new e30 gearbox mounts.
I then decided to start with the wiring:
I had opted to retain the original ECU, however I knew I would run into EWS issues so instead of changing the complete lockset I ordered a chipped ECU online with EWS delete, as well as a tune for my setup, I installed the ECU in the stock E30 ECU location. I also retained the diagnostic connector for diagnostics later on if required.
Below is a picture of the engine bay wiring complete:
I decided to then take the car for exhaust as I did not want to do a first start without an exhaust manifold, especially after the engine rebuild, as I would not be able to hear if there are any irregularities with the engine. So, loaded the car on the trailer, and off we went. Below is a pic of the completed branches:
I then topped up all fluids, started the car, made sure everything was running smooth, and bled the cooling system, listening for any irregularities. All was fine, however exhaust branch had a leak, so had to take the car back to the exhaust shop. Once I brought the car back home, I decided to complete the suspension part of the build. I had previously ordered a complete set of new rear suspension bushes and links online, and then stripped and replaced all bushes. I also replaced the 318i diff with a e30 325is Limited Slip diff, 3.64 ratio and sent the sideshafts in to replace the CV boots. I then re-installed everything and replaced the springs with new 35mm lowered springs as well as new shocks and shock mounts.
I then built a mount to mount the air filter:
As you can see, the brake fluid reservoir clashes with the air intake boot, to resolve this I had ordered a reservoir from a BMW 2002 and new grommets to fit it. It is also a direct fit on the e90 master cylinder. I also ordered a new fuse box cover from BMW.
I also installed a Sound system consisting of a Pioneer Multimedia Bluetooth Head Unit, Alpine Spit system in front (installed the tweeters in the doors behind mirrors), rear Alpine Mids, Alpine subwoofer and PowerBass 4 channel amp.
At this stage the car is running well, there is a slight leak in the existing radiator which I will replace. My initial plan was to do a photo shoot of the car as a summary of the build, however due to the Lock Down this is delayed. Once I am able to do the photo shoot I will update this thread. Hope you found this thread interesting.
