1985 BMW 318 Stage Rally Build - 1988 Porsche 924S Street Build - Sequoia Build

Too hot to do anything productive today so figured I'd roll down to Harbor Freight about 25 miles away and pick up an engine stand. Besides the annoyance of being stuck behind some A-hole in a Lexus on the twisty forest roads on the way there going 30mph, the annoyance doubled when HF only had the wimpy 750lb stand in stock. Screw that. I'm only gonna buy one of these once, so want the 2000lb fold-up one that's out of stock.

So.....the garage was only in the 80s today so do a bit of checking up on the engine either way.

First pulled the tranny off. There were only 3 bolts holding it on (guess the p/o kept them, lol), but they'd be replaced anyways so who cares. Everything looks ok I guess. Will open it up eventually and check everything out.

yep, looks like a transmission.

Then pulled the clutch and flywheel.

Clutch appears to be reasonably new. I'll have to see what the runout is to see how this one compares to a brand new one in terms of thickness.

Pressure plate and flywheel surfaces are smooth, but IDK if this discoloration is a problem. Any thoughts?

Also pulled the valve cover to get a look at the cams and timing sprockets.

Cam wear on the bearings looks ok I guess (again, any inputs welcome).

Timing sprockets are finito. Way sharp and way worn. yay, guess I'll be replacing those. Good thing they're pretty cheap.

I don't really plan to dig into this engine until the fall, but was bored so checked the easy stuff first. Doing a lot of reading on M42 stuff and looks like I have a good list of other things to check/replace while I'm at it. We'll see how that goes. I'm a little bit discomforted by the fact that the term "time bomb" seems to show up in a lot of threads about M42 engines though....especially since "bulletproof" is the terms that is in most of the M10 threads, lol.

since playing with the engine this weekend, but don't have any new parts or anything to put on it, spent the afternoon doing some general cleaning and cosmetic stuff on it. It's always nice to have a giant cabinet full of paints of all types and colors, and a big laundry sink stocked with all kinds of cleaning and degreasing stuff.

Doing this not because I need the engine to be pretty for rallycross (I don't, it will get very dirty very fast) but because as I'm refreshing things I'd rather work on clean parts than nasty, grimy stuff. Also cleaning and painting is a good reason to take everything apart and check its condition.

First spent some time cleaning up the valve cover. Someone previous either tried to paint it gold, or its the original clearcoat that has turned to a spotty gold-ish color. I have about 3 half-cans of VHT engine crinkle paint, so why not use them. I like the look of black BMW engines anyhow. I may sand off the lines so they're silver, or I may not....

Then the intake manifold and all the crap associated with it.

TB was pretty grimy

cleaned the TB up good inside and out, painted the IM with the same paint, and put back together.

nice and clean

you may notice that this is not fitted. It's the TB preheater or whatever its called. Used for preventing the TB from freezing in winter. NOt a concern of mine, so that's going bye-bye

this is part of the larger "MUTI" (mess under the intake) modification, which will get rid of a lot of the associated coolant and vac lines that aren't needed, in the interest of simplifying things. Here's most of the coolant hoses removed. Some of them seem to be in good shape and may be re-used

others, not so much (this one ripped off while trying to remove it

looking down the pipe....well, nothing terribly exciting there lol

injectors and IM are pretty nasty though.

where it stands at the moment

currently, the list of things to fix/replace on this engine: 1. all the timing stuff (sprockets, chain, tensioners, guides, etc) 2. most of the coolant hoses and vac hoses. Including the hard plastic coolant runner on this side of the block, which is brittle and broke right off when I tried to remove it. 3. remove the remnants of the clutch fan, since I'm running electric. 4. possibly Mustang injectors (or OEM ones, depending on what's cheaper). Or just rebuild the current injectors. 5. valve cover, IM, spark plug, and profile gaskets, at least. 6. other stuff, I'm sure....

Forgive me if you posted it earlier, but how many miles are on the engine?

Ian F wrote: Forgive me if you posted it earlier, but how many miles are on the engine?

to calculate that, it would require: 1. knowing when the original owner's odometer broke + 2. knowing when the second owner's odometer broke.

PO guesstimated 200k and was running it in his DD before he pulled it to do a turbo M20 swap. I can verify that it was running, since I see him all the time on my commute (hard to miss a white e30 with lime green wheels) :)

Ah... Ok. I would expect to replace the timing stuff at 200+k.

Amusing enough, I may be forced to fix the E30's a/c and press it in DD duty. The flywheel rattle in the TDi is getting worse. I shudder to think what a disintegrating flywheel would do to the transmission... Some investigating on tdiclub is required...

bit more cleanup and disassembly for a little while this evening while my wife watches something uninteresting on tv :D

Pulled the passenger side motor mount arm, alternator/bracket, and PS pump. All the components appear to be in good shape, but will clean them all up good. The belts look to be pretty new, and there is a spare one hanging over one of the pulleys not actually attached (possibly AC belt, even though AC is deleted)

Behind them is the big mess on here, which I noticed before and wanted to get a better look at. A LOT of gunk back there, much of it pretty fresh. From what I can see this appears to be an oil leak from the oil filter assembly, or just years of built up gunk from owners making a mess when changing the oil filter. I'm leaning toward the former, since the "freshest" gunk/oil appears to be around where the filter assembly attaches to the block, and it seems unlikely that this much oil could climb upward from the pan or from the front engine seal.

Other suggestions are welcome, though I guess it doesn't much matter since I'm going to replace all the gaskets and seals everywhere anyhow.

gunk!

a bit closer look.

block is looking a bit more bare, probably will stay like this until I get a stand and can drop the pan, filter assembly, etc and start on the timing case/front side.

the "auxiliary" workbench, though, is starting to get a bit crowded already

In other news, worked out a deal with Carlos from Condor Speed Shop where I'll be rocking some of his brand-new-made-for-me M10 UHMV motor mounts in the near future, as well as rocking some Condor artwork on the car :D

Some of you here probably know some of the e30s and other cars they've done for GRM challenge and also I think chumpcar and LeMons. I think they did a turbo e30 with GRM a while back.

They have some good stuff for sale, inlcuding UHMV motor and tranny mounts, SF mounts, offset bushings, and other stuff for most e30 setups (as well as some cool current and former projects), so check out their threads in the FS section on RevLimited or their ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Condor-Speed-Shop

Will have thoughts and review on the mounts once I get them here and installed. And, of course, more pics :)

By the way, you mentioned being able to autoX the E30, how is it on tarmac with the rally setup anyway? If I build mine for Rallycross, I'd still like to be able to have some fun on backroads without having to do a suspension swap.

Max_Archer wrote: By the way, you mentioned being able to autoX the E30, how is it on tarmac with the rally setup anyway? If I build mine for Rallycross, I'd still like to be able to have some fun on backroads without having to do a suspension swap.

I guess I'll find out, haha. That said, it's on stock springs with bilsteins and 325i swaybars (the 318i didn't even COME with a rear sway!). It has a good amount of lean, but probably no more than my WRX did stock. The car is light enough that it doesn't lean as much as a stock/fully accessoried e30 does.

I take it on the wooded/hilly backroads around here all the time and though it has some lean, it's a blast to drive quick in the twisties. Not as planted as the WRX (with AWD, bilsteins, 330# springs, sways, fat rubber, etc), but still sits nicely in the bends. The star specs simply won't let go on the curves :)

I'll also say that having the e36 steering rack (and the smaller momo wheel) are really the things that make it the most fun vs. stock (well, aside from the bilsteins).

I'd say that some bigger sways would be better for autocross, but I have other thigns to spend money on. If you got bigger sways, you could always just swap them out (or just unhook them and tie them up out of the way) for rallycross events.

irish44j wrote:

Max_Archer wrote: By the way, you mentioned being able to autoX the E30, how is it on tarmac with the rally setup anyway? If I build mine for Rallycross, I'd still like to be able to have some fun on backroads without having to do a suspension swap.

I guess I'll find out, haha. That said, it's on stock springs with bilsteins and 325i swaybars (the 318i didn't even COME with a rear sway!). It has a good amount of lean, but probably no more than my WRX did stock. The car is light enough that it doesn't lean as much as a stock/fully accessoried e30 does. I take it on the wooded/hilly backroads around here all the time and though it has some lean, it's a blast to drive quick in the twisties. Not as planted as the WRX (with AWD, bilsteins, 330# springs, sways, fat rubber, etc), but still sits nicely in the bends. The star specs simply won't let go on the curves :) I'll also say that having the e36 steering rack (and the smaller momo wheel) are really the things that make it the most fun vs. stock (well, aside from the bilsteins). I'd say that some bigger sways would be better for autocross, but I have other thigns to spend money on. If you got bigger sways, you could always just swap them out (or just unhook them and tie them up out of the way) for rallycross events.

Oh, somehow I thought it was lifted or something. I think my 325, since it's an IS, already has a quicker steering rack, but I might be wrong about that. I really need to get my car straightened out and actually drive it, right now it's really only the broken seat (doesn't stay upright) that's keeping me from having some fun with it, even with the blown shocks. I need to just find a decent cheap-ish race seat and throw it in there.

Max_Archer wrote:

irish44j wrote:

Max_Archer wrote: By the way, you mentioned being able to autoX the E30, how is it on tarmac with the rally setup anyway? If I build mine for Rallycross, I'd still like to be able to have some fun on backroads without having to do a suspension swap.

I guess I'll find out, haha. That said, it's on stock springs with bilsteins and 325i swaybars (the 318i didn't even COME with a rear sway!). It has a good amount of lean, but probably no more than my WRX did stock. The car is light enough that it doesn't lean as much as a stock/fully accessoried e30 does. I take it on the wooded/hilly backroads around here all the time and though it has some lean, it's a blast to drive quick in the twisties. Not as planted as the WRX (with AWD, bilsteins, 330# springs, sways, fat rubber, etc), but still sits nicely in the bends. The star specs simply won't let go on the curves :) I'll also say that having the e36 steering rack (and the smaller momo wheel) are really the things that make it the most fun vs. stock (well, aside from the bilsteins). I'd say that some bigger sways would be better for autocross, but I have other thigns to spend money on. If you got bigger sways, you could always just swap them out (or just unhook them and tie them up out of the way) for rallycross events.

Oh, somehow I thought it was lifted or something. I think my 325, since it's an IS, already has a quicker steering rack, but I might be wrong about that. I really need to get my car straightened out and actually drive it, right now it's really only the broken seat (doesn't stay upright) that's keeping me from having some fun with it, even with the blown shocks. I need to just find a decent cheap-ish race seat and throw it in there.

nah, it just looks that way because I've taken a few hundred lbs out of it, and have the slightly stiffer IS springs on it, and early e30s had taller rear wheel wells, giving the appearance that it's sitting higher. The non-stripped '91 318is that runs with me sits considerably lower due to its weight and lower rear wheel arches.

your 325IS has the same rack as mine did. All e30s except the M3 had the same rack, IIRC. It's an easy swap to a Z3 or e36 rack though. All you need is some spacers (or use washers) for the rack and some spacers for the linkage. Check out the front page of e30tech.com, they sell a cheap kit with the right stuff.

Both the other 318IS and the 325e running locall had the broken seats like yours, lol. I drove one of them and felt like I was doing it gangsta' style, lol. I highly suggest the Porsche seats. you can find them cheap beat up from a 944 and just put a cover on them. They're not really any lighter than the e30 seats, but WAY more supportive and WAY stiffer (and more comfortable on long drives, oddly).....assuming you're not a mountain man.

irish44j wrote:

Max_Archer wrote:

irish44j wrote:

Max_Archer wrote: By the way, you mentioned being able to autoX the E30, how is it on tarmac with the rally setup anyway? If I build mine for Rallycross, I'd still like to be able to have some fun on backroads without having to do a suspension swap.

I guess I'll find out, haha. That said, it's on stock springs with bilsteins and 325i swaybars (the 318i didn't even COME with a rear sway!). It has a good amount of lean, but probably no more than my WRX did stock. The car is light enough that it doesn't lean as much as a stock/fully accessoried e30 does. I take it on the wooded/hilly backroads around here all the time and though it has some lean, it's a blast to drive quick in the twisties. Not as planted as the WRX (with AWD, bilsteins, 330# springs, sways, fat rubber, etc), but still sits nicely in the bends. The star specs simply won't let go on the curves :) I'll also say that having the e36 steering rack (and the smaller momo wheel) are really the things that make it the most fun vs. stock (well, aside from the bilsteins). I'd say that some bigger sways would be better for autocross, but I have other thigns to spend money on. If you got bigger sways, you could always just swap them out (or just unhook them and tie them up out of the way) for rallycross events.

Oh, somehow I thought it was lifted or something. I think my 325, since it's an IS, already has a quicker steering rack, but I might be wrong about that. I really need to get my car straightened out and actually drive it, right now it's really only the broken seat (doesn't stay upright) that's keeping me from having some fun with it, even with the blown shocks. I need to just find a decent cheap-ish race seat and throw it in there.

nah, it just looks that way because I've taken a few hundred lbs out of it, and have the slightly stiffer IS springs on it, and early e30s had taller rear wheel wells, giving the appearance that it's sitting higher. The non-stripped '91 318is that runs with me sits considerably lower due to its weight and lower rear wheel arches. your 325IS has the same rack as mine did. All e30s except the M3 had the same rack, IIRC. It's an easy swap to a Z3 or e36 rack though. All you need is some spacers (or use washers) for the rack and some spacers for the linkage. Check out the front page of e30tech.com, they sell a cheap kit with the right stuff. Both the other 318IS and the 325e running locall had the broken seats like yours, lol. I drove one of them and felt like I was doing it gangsta' style, lol. I highly suggest the Porsche seats. you can find them cheap beat up from a 944 and just put a cover on them. They're not really any lighter than the e30 seats, but WAY more supportive and WAY stiffer (and more comfortable on long drives, oddly).....assuming you're not a mountain man.

Ah, I'll have to look into the E36/Z3 rack then. I need to swap to a Z3 shifter too, or at least do a shift kit, cause my shifter feels like a chicken leg in a bowl of mashed potatoes. Getting into reverse involves bending the trim around the shifter haha.

I'll see if I can track down some 944 seats too. I really wouldn't mind a race bucket though, they make you feel like you're really driving a race car, haha.

one note: you'll have to fab up some brackets for 944 seats, they don't bolt directly up. Not a big deal but thought I'd mention it just in case you didn't see that part in this long-ass thread.

irish44j wrote: one note: you'll have to fab up some brackets for 944 seats, they don't bolt directly up. Not a big deal but thought I'd mention it just in case you didn't see that part in this long-ass thread.

I figured that'd be the case. I've read the whole thread but most of it was a few months ago so I don't recall exactly what went into making the brackets. I can probably drill and bend, I've never welded though. It's part of why I'm inclined to just go for an aftermarket seat with an off-the-shelf bracket.

Why not use std e30 sport seats? Comfortable, supportive, fairly easy to get and bolt right in?

I have a set I originally bought to put in my 1800ES, but would sell now if needed.

I ran out this morning and picked up a 750lb engine stand at a local auto parts store. I wanted a heavier-duty foldable stand, but Harbor Freight didn't have it when I went down last weekend and I don't really feel like waiting, since the engine is annoying sitting on a dolly taking up way too much floor space and hard to get to.

So, after lugging the crane out of the shed out back (fun....in the deep grass and uphill, all the way around the house :( ), put the engine up on the stand. It didn't fall or anything, so I guess that's good, lol

Since I'm really tired of lugging the crane all the way around the house to use it, I cut down some of my "fluids" shelves so the crane can tuck in there in the last available piece of wall space in my garage. Yeah, I know it's really exciting to you, right? Well, it is to me!

ok, so on to some work. finished pulling apart the intake manifold and injector assembly. Cleaned up the IM good. The inside had...oh...about 27 years worth of gunk in there and took a lot of scrubbing and a lot of degreaser and Dawn.

This is a good time to mention that of the 10 types of degreasers I have here at the house that can be used in the basement shop sink without killing everyone from fumes.....none of them is half as good as Dawn dishwashing soap at degreasing nasty engine stuff. Most of you probably know this already, but in case you didn't....

Two of the injectors must have been leaking and some brilliant previous owner used something or other (JB weld? who knows) to seal it. Nice.

Injectors out. One has a slightly broken cap. I'll either rebuild them or get some Mustang injectors, whatever is cheaper :)

Then the mail came! My new motor mounts from Condor Speed Shop. These are the prototype M10 mounts (for the few of us on this planet who want solid motor mounts for an M10?) so I'll be installing tomorrow. They're UHMW polyethyline....so they're solid, but should absorb more vibration than aluminum mounts. Not that NVH really matters on this car.'

Putting those aside until tomorrow or Sunday, getting back to the M42. Now that it's on a stand I can start taking more stuff off. I already knew that the guy I got the engine from had cracked the oil pan at the plug and it has some JB weld there in what appears to be a functional repair. But for peace of mind I'll source another and save this one as a spare I think.

SO first the lower oil pan. Was expecting, as all M42s seem to have, for there to be an upper pan bolt sitting in the pan. There wasn't, so that's good. Unfortunately, one was simply missing. I guess a previous owner found it and took it out. The rest of the bolts up there were extremely loose (like, I took them all out with my fingers and didn't need a socket!). Again, I kind of expected that. When they go back in they'll be torqued correctly with some threadlocker for sure.

you can see the missing bolt is at the top right up inside. Just an empty hole there.

Then took the upper pan off mostly just to make it easier to clean it all up. The crank looks fine I suppose (though I am far from an engine internals guru, so not really sure what to check while I'm in here.....suggestions welcome.)

Then I spent about an hour over the big shop sink cleaning both oil pans. These things literally had 1/2" of oily gunk buildup in certain areas, so required a lot of scrubbing, wire brush, scotchbrite, etc....They don't need to look pretty, but I like working on things that aren't coated in layers of crap....

so, that's clean enough

Also started my long list of gaskets and seals to order (basically.....all of them except the head gasket, since I'm not planning to pull the head).

Next week the plan will be to pull the timing cover and figure out what else I need there (I'm going to guess "everything.")

My nickel is on you having to pull the head now that you've mentioned you aren't doing it.

In reply to DoctorBlade:

lol.....the only way that will happen is if it goes after the engine is in the car. Since I have no reason to think the HG is bad, I have no reason to do it :)

A bit of work today - installed the motor mounts. Keep in mind that these are the prototypes for the M10, based on measurements I took off of an old stock mount. Even then, the fit is very close, but Condor will be making a few small changes to them based on my suggestions. All of these things were little changes and adjustments I was able to do to them myself, so nothing too big.

The main one is to move the locating pin about 6mm. Easy enough to do at home, but they'll make the change before they make more of these for sale. Carlos called me today and we discussed a few other little tweaks that will make installation and fit a bit better.

looks like a big vanilla candle in there, lol

from underneath. Note on the passenger side I trimmed down the studs a bit since they were a tad longer than stock and I was having trouble getting the engine up high enough on that side for them to clear. No big deal, and again that will be changed on the next set they make.

Driving impression: Once I got everything installed correctly (PITA to get to the driver's side mount on an M10), the feel was as expected: a bit more rumble at ignition and idle, but smooths out once moving and just a bit more NVH than stock setup. In terms of throttle response, it is apparent, even with a wimpy M10. You can feel the "kick" a bit harder on shifts and the response is just better. As expected, like I said.

Also spent some time cleaning stuff up, more M42 components, etc.

And FedEx came by and delivered my $30 exhaust manifold from a Rev member. Which, I might add, was the best packing job I think I've ever seen. Wish I took of pic of it, ,lol. Header is in good shape and I'll clean it up. It does need 1 or maybe both studs replaced, but I already knew that and it's not an issue.

now, out to get some drinks :)

Ian F wrote: Why not use std e30 sport seats? Comfortable, supportive, fairly easy to get and bolt right in? I have a set I originally bought to put in my 1800ES, but would sell now if needed.

That's what's actually in there now. Fabric ones, with the adjustable under-thigh piece and stuff. The ratchet is broken, and what I should really do is have a welding shop fix it, but I want race seats eventually anyway so it seems kind of like a waste.

no real updates so far this week. Been spending a lot of time by the work sink and out in the garage scrubbing various engine parts (basically everything that bolts onto the block is getting a thorough cleaning and painting), as well as the block and head.

Also just ordered about a hundred bucks worth of gaskets and stuff....basically every gasket, o-ring, and seal for the engine and everything attached to it (other than HG). So hopefully this weekend can put most of the stuff back on and then think about tackling the timing components, etc.

Also pretty excited that some guys I used to autocross with (who I've been bugging to get an e30 rallycrosser to join the 3 of us already out here), just picked up an e28 superETA that they plan to do rallycross, lemons, and other crap with. The car is already gutted and caged so it will be in my class (MR). It'll be cool to have them out there since I used to autocross with Nick back in the Maxima days when we both ran our land-yachts in DSP/EP :) That said, not terribly worried about them, at least this season. I've been consistently getting faster and am generally beating the guys running the e30 ETA who are experienced, so it will be impressive if an e28 with similar power and way more weight is faster than that......but we'll see I guess, never know! :)

oh, and painted the block in "Chrysler Red." Because I'm never going to use this old-ass can of paint for anything else, I'm betting....

wasn't expecting any stuff to get here until Monday, but Pelican Parts as usual shipped faster than I was expecting....2 days from California (and I got free shipping). Soo......got all the gaskets and other random stuff I ordered for the M42. Still a few things on my list to get in the future, but wanted to get all the gaskets at the same time so I can put some things back on the engine to clear workbench space.

So put some stuff back on. The lower IM is only loosely bolted up, since I have to pull it off to put new injectors and the fuel rail back on once I get them, but it's off the bench so that's good.

I am, however, having a hell of a time getting 2 things off:

1. The water pump/pulley. It is either rusted on there or too tight for any tools I have here. The fan is already busted up, and after I couldn't get the fan bolt off, thought maybe I'd unbolt the pulley and just pull the water pump with the stuff still attached, and then use a vise. Got the water pump bolts off but the pump is stuck in there good and I can't get it to budge. Only 4 bolts holding it on, right?

2. The main crank bolt. I was hoping my uber-powerful SnapOn impact could bust it loose, but no dice. Guess I'll have to rig something up - but harder since the engine is on a stand, and it's only a tripod stand so I don't much like the idea of putting 400lb-ft of breaker bar/cheater pipe weight on it......so may put it on the ground and give it a go this weekend.

Thanks to a member on Rev, who suggested to use the two little counter-screw holes in the pump to "press" it off, I got it off pretty easily doing it that way. This is the kind of thing that would be in the e36 Bentley, I'm guessing. And the M42 stuff isn't in the e30 Bentley I have, dammit. I totally missed those little screw holes when I looked before.

So related, once I got the pump out found that the impeller had part of it broken off, so it's a good thing I did it. Will be going with a metal impeller on the new one.

also it's pretty clear that water pump has been removed at least 2 or 3 times before....time will tell once i get the timing case open whether some of that stuff was replaced at some point.

Took a break from my own stuff today to go out and check out an '87 325 that my buddies Jason and Pat (phenryvi on here) ended up buying for rallycross. That now makes BMWs now the second most-numerous marque running locally (behind subaru, of course).

Spencer & Stuart in the M42 318is me in the M10 318i Crowner/Nichols/Helgeson/et al in their ETA Nick/Bobby/3rd driver in their e28 ETA and now Pat and Jason.

so that's 12 BMW drivers running locally in the RWD classes (as well as 5-6 RX-7 drivers).

Here's the ride they picked up, which I'm sure Pat will do a build thread of his own for.

We met up with Pat there (since he's coming from WV) in a pair of WRXs :)

please move to the build thread section!

Also, please change the title of the thread to "Mein 1985 BMW 318i Rallycross Build and Competition Thread With Many Many Many Photos"

thx.