Kato Kids BMW M3 powered 71' 240Z

[KatoKid]

Dave have you done a mock up with your front sway bar in. You might find your P/S cooler is in the way? Just a thought.

 

Geeze Craig, you gave me a heart attack. Ive been OS for work for a couple of weeks and only just got, first thing I did was head for the shed to check...and yes its all good. Plenty of clearance and thanks for the suggestion as I wouldn't have thought to check otherwise.

[KatoKid]

Where did you get your fittings and hose from?

With a build like yours it would pay to find a cheap dealer such as those through ebay and it could save you hundreds.

I know I used a guy with an ebay business, who was at least $5-10 cheaper/per fitting than most local stores.

 

Hi Tim.

 

I used Summit for the coolers and the Russell EFI adapter fittings.

 

For the rest I went to Motorsport Connections as I wanted somewhere local where I could exchange items (which I had to in the end) if they didn't fit as I wanted. Motorsport Connections certainly aren't the cheapest compared to eBay sellers but they had everything in stock and provided invaluable advice on how best to make some of the connections. They are Sydney based but they set up in Melbourne two years ago and Mark Hiinchelwood the owner was actually running the Melbourne store while their normal guy was on holidays. I was very impressed with his knowledge and all fittings are Speedflow not cheap Chinese stuff. I'm happy with the choice and would recommend them for their excellent service.

 

If I had bought off eBay I would have ended up with fittings I couldn't use and would have had to onsell at a lower cost, so how much would you really save in the end. If you did this sort of work all the time and knew exactly what you needed then eBay would be good but for a novice I reckon this is a good way to go.

 

David

[KatoKid]

Plumbing at the back of the car is nearly finished....new brake lines on both sides and new T piece from the front line.

 

I'm using a Russell inline fuel filter where the braided line from the tank meets the hard line going forward. The filter is small and light weight but I didn't want to leave it just hanging off the hardline so I made a bracket to support it. The clamp will be insulated with some 3mm nitrile rubber to protect the filter. Second hard line is the return from the pressure reg and will connect with braided line to the tank.

 

 

 

[KatoKid]

Time to run the engine oil cooler lines....

 

The factory oil cooler lines use a unique O ring set up which cant easily be modified, plus the factory cooler and lines wont fit anyway so Ive used an adapter made by VAC Motorsport that allows -10 AN lines to be plumbed from the factory oil filter housing.

 

[KatoKid]

Getting the cooler lines through the radiator support was a bit of a mission. Had to keep the lines from rubbing on the inner guard, rad support and have the right angle for them to join the cooler so I made a bracket which bolts to the lower radiator attachment hole and used an overly expensive "billet" double hose clamp (which worked perfectly).

 

I'm sure that as soon as the word billet is in a part description the price automatically triples!

[George]

It's the little things like that cooler line bracket that make this build top quality. Enjoying your project. Keep it up.

[KatoKid]

Thanks George.

 

....and its the little things that take the most time, making brackets is incredibly time consuming and bending and running hard lines even more so. I couldn't tell you how many times I removed and refitted those fuel and brake lines!

[luvemfast]

Will make it even more worthwhile once it hits the road.

Just in time for your retirement! 

You could have had it finished aaaggess ago, but nowhere near the quality it's going to be.

[Riceburner]

So much thought and detail on this build, it's gunna be crazy good!

[620Z]

Hi Dave,

Those brake and fuel lines look great. I hope you did the fuel lines a descent dia. You know you never know you might need more than standard later on. 

I like the oil cooler bracke. I have printed a copy just in case I have to copy. Ha Ha

I do have one question re the oil cooler. When you change the engine oil. How do you empty out the oil cooler? Does it have a drain plug at the bottom. Or do you have to take the oil cooler out every time to turn it upside down everytime you do an oil change? If that's the case it could be a pain in the butt once all the front is on the car for access etc.

[KatoKid]

Hi Craig.

 

Cooler doesn't have a drain. I'm guessing the lines and cooler combined could hold up to a litre of oil and while you could drain it each time by removing it, it would be a massive pain and its just not required. Bear in mind that the oil passages, lifters etc in the engine wont drain completely and will also hold a reasonable amount of oil when you do an oil change.

 

Good oil doesn't "wear out" either, primary reason for changing is to drain out the combustion byproducts and other contaminants so the best solution is to buy good oil and change regularly (5,000km max) and there will be little contamination and thus no need to worry about residual oil in the cooler and passageways.

[luvemfast]

What would you know about oil..... 

Good point that people overlook.

[620Z]

Hmmm interesting.

When I come to do mine I might try to invert the cooler with some sort of easy access to undo one line and drain it. I am pretty fussy about trying to get every last drop of old oil out when I do a change which is every 3-5K.

[d3c0y]

Just start 'er up and pump it dry!

[620Z]

Hi Dave,

I did a bit of home work and will most likely mount my cooler the same way as you.

Now I was not aware but the remote alloy oil filter brackets now come with a thermostat to close the oil off from going through the cooler in case your engine gets to cold. I was not aware these were available. Reasonably new thing I think. So I will be putting one of those in as well. Did you do the same?

Basically the oil just goes to the remote filter and straight back into the engine if it is running to cold. Obviously it opens up when hot to release the oil into the cooling radiator at a preset temp. Just a thought.

Mine is getting done next week. 

[NZeder]

There is one issue I see with that.....oil in the cooler will be well cool. So thing is closed no oil into the cooler from the engine....then temp comes up...engine gets all the cool oil that had been sitting in the cooler yet the engine and oil in the engine has been warm....is that a good thing to get a in rush of cool oil x degrees lower than what is in there already?

[KatoKid]

Craig, the M3 comes factory with an oil cooler and the filter housing has a thermostat built into it so I don't need to add anything.

 

Mike, valid point but since many cars have engine oil coolers from the factory these days I would doubt it would be an issue. Accusump would also be the same on the first discharge.

[620Z]

Do it one. Do it properly. Sounds like you are on the road to saving cash in the long run by doing things once Dave.

Good point Mike. But I am thinking the built in thermostat is the way to go. Nothing like a shot of cold oil to cool the engine in a hurry.

Dave I think you might have to put your car on a trailer and bring it out to Gordon's place for a viewing at the Xmas BBQ. We are all keen to see your handy work. 

[KatoKid]

Dave I think you might have to put your car on a trailer and bring it out to Gordon's place for a viewing at the Xmas BBQ.

 

 

Mmmmmmm........

[Zedman240®]

Dave I think you might have to put your car on a trailer and bring it out to Gordon's place for a viewing at the Xmas BBQ. We are all keen to see your handy work. 

 

I'm sure it would be a +35

[KatoKid]

I'm slowly working away on all the little things before I disassemble the shell and send it to off for final paint.....getting closer.... just the exhaust as the last major piece.

 

The BMW shifter has an inner and outer seal. The inner seals on the base of the shifter fulcrum and the outer seals on the gear lever and to the body by means of a recessed flange in the boot. No bolts or screws....the boot just pulls through the tunnel and seals very tightly on the recessed groove. Fortunately the original hole in the Z tunnel is exactly the right width for the correct diameter of the round hole that the boot requires so I just had to add a bit at the front and the rear.

 

[dat240z]

I love this car, getting close now mate! Well done

[Riceburner]

What sort of welder do you use Dave? Wish I had those skills!

 

If that shifter is rubber bonded you can separate it, then re-weld it in one solid piece, it'll improve the shift feel by a mile. My R32 shifter was the same style, initially it was a little dull, afterwards it has a very firm/direct feel.

[mossy]

Beautiful welding mate....again!

[KatoKid]

Hi Gareth.

 

I just use a MIG but have experimented a lot to get the right settings. You need to use a higher power setting than you would expect so that you get good penetration and a weld that is relatively flat, too low power and the weld just sits on top, looks hideous and you need to do a lot of grinding....but this means you can blow through the weld very easily unless there is very little to no gap in the butt join, wire feed needs to be backed off too so you aren't supplying too much filler. Its all a balancing act and requires a lot of trial fitting to get the gaps to a minimum on the butt join before welding....... and you need to manage the heat and warping.

 

Yep, shifter is rubber bonded. You can buy a bizillion different aftermarket shifters for BMW's for exactly that reason. Ive got the lever out of the Z3 which is the shortest throw factory setup, I will leave this standard for now and once its driving will make a call on which way to go but suggest I will probably do the same as yours. How did you "de-bond" yours without destroying it?

 

David