KatoKid

Thanks John, Mike, Lurch et all. The kicker is that I really enjoy doing this....granted there are some things that are less enjoyable but the sense of satisfaction and knowing that you've done something to the best of your ability is what keeps us all going on our various projects. I have to say that having the right tools makes a big difference as well. I'm sick of doing things the hard way as it just kills the motivation so if I need to buy something that will get used enough to justify the expense than I just go and do it.......within reason of course.

Got started on the engine test stand today. A length of 50 x 50 x 2, 4 caster wheels and a couple of hours got the basic frame finished. Used the original M3 front crossmember and mounts cos I had them and it looked easier than any other way. Now comes crunch time ..... I need to set up cooling system, gauges and control panel, fuel system and exhaust so I will be buying radiator that will be used in the actual car, same with gauges and fuel pump. Will jury rig a full exhaust system as I want to be able to hear any noises from the engine and particularly the problematic Vanos system.

Good to see youre back on the horse Mike....too long between posts on your car!

Earlier B30 sump with ears and baffled.

I’ve pulled the engine from the car as my next priority is to get it running to confirm condition of the engine and also to prove to myself that the key, EWS II (security system) and ECU are “aligned” and the engine will actually start, if they aren’t I’m in a bit of strife! As I’ve touched on before the later Evo E36 M3 uses a pretty trick semi dry sump set up that splits the sump into two levels and has a scavenge pump at the front of the sump which delivers oil to the lower rear sump reservoir. Unfortunately I cant use this set up as the sump design is too deep at the front and will interfere with the steering rack so I’m forced to use the earlier M3 sump with wings and baffles and standard M50 oil pump and pick up. The front scavenge return line and pick up tube of the later M3 set up is secured by two brackets mounted to #3 and #5 main bearing caps, these need to be removed and replaced with a single bracket on #5 main cap to suit the M50 pump and pick up. I removed the main bolts and pulled the #3 and #5 caps to check out the bearings and main journals. I’ve always been a bit disillusioned with how dirty the engine is both externally and internally and suspected that the wrecker wasn’t honest with the mileage but was pleasantly surprised by how good the bearings looked, a bit of polishing in one area but otherwise looked very good. I’m sure the dirty engine exterior is due to the salted roads in the UK and I’m praying the dirty internals are due to short runs, cold temps, poor oil and or maintenance schedule. So everything went back together with new bracket on #5, M50 oil pump but with larger S50 pump drive gear, windage tray from the S50B30 (later B32 doesn’t use one due to the semi dry sump design) and the earlier M3 sump. Plan is to build a test stand with a proper cooling system and exhaust so I can run the engine properly to get a feel for how good a nick its in. Wet and dry comp test and listening and observing will give me a pretty solid idea of how good or not it is. If the engine comes up alright it will go back on the engine stand so I can remove all the corroded alloy parts for refurbishment and will replace front and rear main seals and most gaskets and paint it. I’ve already got a set of ARP rod bolts and will replace big end bearings at the same time, no point doing this now as if the engine needs serious work I’ve just wasted $160 worth of rod bolts.

With bells on!

They're here! Arrived yesterday. Very well packed in a large cardbox box and each piece individually wrapped and identified as a set. Mossy was the only one who ordered rubbers to be fitted the rest of us went the shiny nude look. Only problem is that the rubbers that we all ordered (except Mossy as his were installed) were missing. Will chase Harrington for them. Very pleased with the look, brackets and quality. Still to bolt them to a car but don't think my opinion will change. David

Good to see some movement at the station Simon!

Great work Matt. Love your can do attitude and I agree that the level of satisfaction is hard to beat. keep it up.

Good news, Melbourne ones shouldnt be to far off.

Dimitri where are you? Believe its for best orientation of the handbrake cable.

Last thing for the shifter was to fix the jagged hole in the front of the tunnel opening. Being an early 240 it came with a 71A gearbox, somewhere in the past someone has fitted a 71B box and very roughly cut the hole at the front of the tunnel opening to accommodate the different shifter location. I will make an aluminium plate to join the BMW rubber shifter boot to the tunnel but wanted to repair the butchered opening beforehand.

The shifter that came with the Getrag 6 speed from the UK is too short (distance from the back of the gearbox) so it wouldn't even reach the original hole in the tunnel, I want the interior to look stock and have the shifter in the original position so I found that a shifter from a E46 318i is the perfect length. The BMW shifters are remote mounted to the body using a rubber bush at the rear, there are different designs but the bush sizes are all the same. I chose an E30 bush and bracket as it was easiest to modify which entailed cutting off the original bracket adding a new section and drilling and tapping two holes. I kept this as high as possible in the tunnel so that when I add a short throw shifter (quick shift) later on I don't run into issues with the shifter hitting the tail shaft which is a common problem in BMW's. Although the whole drivetrain is significantly offset to the drivers side the remote mounting made it possible to position the shifter right in the middle of the tunnel hole.

In the BMW application the clutch MC is fed by a flexible line that runs through the firewall and connects to the brake MC reservoir for fluid supply. The reservoir hose clips into the top of the plastic clutch MC as does the pressure outlet line. I had the clip and hose for the reservoir but not the hard line or clip for the line that goes to the slave cylinder, as you can see from the pics there is nothing else (that I know of) like it so I had to get the hard line from a wrecker. With it all mounted to the pedal box its a tight fit for the reservoir line underneath my mounting bracket but the rubber grommet where the reservoir line goes through the firewall is a perfect fit for the hole were the Datsun clutch MC normally is ....perfect. I will use a Commondore remote reservoir or something similar in the engine bay. The hard line will run across to the passenger side of the car on the inside of the cabin and then join a flexible hose to the slave cylinder outside.

You are a confirmed tragic drifta....good to see!

There are some amazing build threads out there not just Z related so I thought I would start a thread for some of the most inspiring builds. I really admire the guys that tackle it themselves from front to back. So first up is this build http://www.s14.net/forums/showthread.php?t=37916 , Ive been exposed to a lot of BMW stuff as a result of my build and really like the effort and detail in the build as well as his posts. Some is a bit overboard (don't want or need to know how to rebuild and alternator) but some stuff we can all relate to. Please post good threads as you come across them as it helps with the inspiration when we all get in a slump!

Nice take on interior decoration PeterA!

Great stuff Gareth and Pete, wouldnt mind a ride once she's run in!

There are dedicated products designed specifically for this in the aviation industry. Engines are run for a few minutes in the aircraft or the test cell and removed and stored with desiccant tubes in place of spark plugs, they are specific MIL spec products but are hard to find and pretty expensive. Most agricultural products have VPI's (vapour phase inhibitors) as many pieces of farm equipment (harvesters) are used seasonally and then parked for the rest of the year. VPI's will provide reasonable protection against corrosion. Another alternative is 4 stroke outboard oils which are essential automotive grades with VPI added.

Happy Birthday Jane!

Sydney order went 2 days ago. Melbourne this week.

Hey, nice to have the old eloquent Simon back!

Auto's had smaller cv's as well?

Watching watching....... Very good so far John, nice to be able to use something locallly made.

Mmmmmm supercharged Jag 4.2 now youre talking Scoota!