E36 328i Touring. When it breaks, upgrade it...
Discussion
Cheers geeks. Mini project tonight...
Got very bored of my saggy headlining. I'd been wanting to change it for ages, and it finally gave me a reason to get it sorted because the damn thing was pretty much touching my head.
Old headlining. Mucky, sagging, generally a bit sad and tired. Quite easy to strip out- mostly Philips screws hidden behind the Jesus handles, that kind of thing.
Stripped the fibreglass backing board, scrubbed off all the old foam. Easy peasy.
MAJESTIC. Test fit.
Dat paisley doe.
Used Trimfix to create a contact adhesive bond. Easy enough, frustrating to get wrinkles out of!
Devil is in the detail.
Fully trimmed, all holes cut. Time to re-install...
Fitted at the back.
Fitted at the front, all accessories on.
Fit and finish on the tricky bits- quite happy with it, to be honest.
Also changed the spacers- at the back there was nothing, which looked a bit pathetic with ET35 7.5J wheels (she was used to having ET20 8J/ET13 8.5J). I needed to reduce the size of the spacers up front due to catching issues, so bunged the 18mm spacers up front on the back, and chucked some new 12mm spacers on the front. Perfect!
Looks much more complete now. Still loads of room for the Brembos up front too. Happy days. Just got to get on with that engine build!
Got very bored of my saggy headlining. I'd been wanting to change it for ages, and it finally gave me a reason to get it sorted because the damn thing was pretty much touching my head.
Old headlining. Mucky, sagging, generally a bit sad and tired. Quite easy to strip out- mostly Philips screws hidden behind the Jesus handles, that kind of thing.
Stripped the fibreglass backing board, scrubbed off all the old foam. Easy peasy.
MAJESTIC. Test fit.
Dat paisley doe.
Used Trimfix to create a contact adhesive bond. Easy enough, frustrating to get wrinkles out of!
Devil is in the detail.
Fully trimmed, all holes cut. Time to re-install...
Fitted at the back.
Fitted at the front, all accessories on.
Fit and finish on the tricky bits- quite happy with it, to be honest.
Also changed the spacers- at the back there was nothing, which looked a bit pathetic with ET35 7.5J wheels (she was used to having ET20 8J/ET13 8.5J). I needed to reduce the size of the spacers up front due to catching issues, so bunged the 18mm spacers up front on the back, and chucked some new 12mm spacers on the front. Perfect!
Looks much more complete now. Still loads of room for the Brembos up front too. Happy days. Just got to get on with that engine build!
I've seen some questionable interior fittings in my time, but never anything quite like that! However... I rather like it 
it really is rather bold, but I'm in love with it.
Well, it has been a while. It's been a turbulent- but interesting- few months.
So. To business. I decided the M52B28 was a bit wet, and that I should really set about building a new engine. I sat down in a workshop with a couple of very buggered M54B30s, and relieved them of their internals. I also got given a set of M54B30 internals in exchange for the internals from the M50B25 from my breaker and the head, all of which were immaculate. I then purchased a potentially f
ked M52B28 from someone for a very low price so I had a spare head to hand.
The M54s really were goosed- one of them had a snapped intake cam due to oil starvation, and the other had been hydrolocked and had a piston that was bent like a banana.
so I used the ones I got given for the M50 bits instead. The M52, upon inspection, was actually in incredibly good condition- the head was pretty much untouched and the block had barely been used by the looks of it.
So... the start. M50B25 block. Cleaned up with a wire wheel, sprayed with WD40, and skimmed the mating surface down.
It came up really quite well. We were shocked.
Clean and shiny M54B30 piston and rod.
Lovely clean bores, ready for their new pistons...
Another boring shot. Lololololololol.
ARP main stud kit on the bottom end. Genuinely the worst service I've ever had from a company. Useless bunch of wkers.
Removed the washers in the end. Didn't like the fact some of the nuts barely bit on the thread.
Internals in and working:
How the valves looked...
Cleaning them up the old-fashioned way!
And a deeply satisfying end result. Look at that...
Supertech valve stem seals.
Sitting nice and pretty...
24 hydraulic lifter assemblies, sitting on the wall, 24 hydraulic lifter assemblies, sitting on the wall, and if one of those assemblies, should not-accidentally-be-split-down-and-cleaned, there'll be 23 hydraulic lifter assemblies, sitting on the wall, waiting to be cleaned.
Russian doll-style size comparisons of the components inside the lifters. Wow!
Lotta splitting down.
Bing. Head on.
Bing. Valve springs on. Tool for this job- £9.99 off eBay. That site really has revolutionised stuff like this.
Cam #1 in.
In very good condition...
Vanos assembly on.
Pretty rocker cover.
Judgement Day on July 30th. Pulling her old heart out.
Some good angles here.
Bing. Out.
This accurately reflects the mood of that day.
New engine's pulleys, all cleaned up...
Close-up of new rocker cover.
Bing. All together!
Sitting and waiting for her new heart. She looked like this for a while.
S50 manifolds on.
Cut down the Lambda bosses so 328 Lambdas would actually fit properly.
Genuinely spent 5 minutes debating whether it was worth sticking this clutch back in or not.
Clearly wasn't.
And it's in.
Snug fit... looks like it was always there!
New rear springs... that one snapped. Big bang. Terrifying. Amazing service from KW as usual- ordered on Wednesday at 1pm, showed up Thursday at 10am.
Shocks look in good nick for 12 years old.
New exhaust, courtesy of Ferrari's OEM manufacturer.
Then the issues started... it was pissing out coolant. Initially due to the fact that the M52 heater return pipe is notorious for not sealing properly. It's a pressure fitting with 2 O-rings, and the pipe bolts to the block to hold it in the right place. Naturally, the M50 block was missing one crucial bolt hole for the heater return pipe to bolt into. Cue three-four weeks of chasing coolant leaks in various places, starting with the heater return pipe, leading to the timing cover, then ultimately resulting in this...
I was far from amused. A new head gasket on a 13 fking mile old engine. Classic.
In other news, I did fix the heater pipe and timing cover issue resolutely.
Ghetto engine hoist so I could drop the sump and get the timing cover out...
Cleaned the mating surfaces.
New M50 timing cover.
My new heater pipe assembly. The top pipe is the M52 one. See how it's a solid pipe that plugs into the timing cover? That's what caused the issues. The M50 one has a flange that protrudes where the hole is- they're actually the same part number, just that the M50 timing cover has that flange which has a softpipe attaching to it. So I cut down a spare M52 heater return pipe at a suitable place, then cut the M50 softpipe, and slid it over the M52 one. The pressure fitting for that alone was genuinely tighter than the 2 O-rings provided for the M52 heater return pipe. Problem finally solved, 3 weeks later.
Looks OEM!
Would also like to point out that in between all this work, some penis in a Golf understeered into her on a roundabout.
I was far from amused, as you can expect.
I also took her to her final dyno day as a 2.8. She returned a very healthy 245bhp and 228lb/ft. Video below- worth it for the noise alone.
And finally, last night, after a good few months of hard graft, problem solving, missing taking her on a Nürburgring trip, blood, sweat, tears, and nearly breaking her for parts last week... here she sits. A living, breathing, E36 330i Touring. Happy reading folks.
So. To business. I decided the M52B28 was a bit wet, and that I should really set about building a new engine. I sat down in a workshop with a couple of very buggered M54B30s, and relieved them of their internals. I also got given a set of M54B30 internals in exchange for the internals from the M50B25 from my breaker and the head, all of which were immaculate. I then purchased a potentially f
ked M52B28 from someone for a very low price so I had a spare head to hand.The M54s really were goosed- one of them had a snapped intake cam due to oil starvation, and the other had been hydrolocked and had a piston that was bent like a banana.
so I used the ones I got given for the M50 bits instead. The M52, upon inspection, was actually in incredibly good condition- the head was pretty much untouched and the block had barely been used by the looks of it.So... the start. M50B25 block. Cleaned up with a wire wheel, sprayed with WD40, and skimmed the mating surface down.
It came up really quite well. We were shocked.
Clean and shiny M54B30 piston and rod.
Lovely clean bores, ready for their new pistons...
Another boring shot. Lololololololol.
ARP main stud kit on the bottom end. Genuinely the worst service I've ever had from a company. Useless bunch of w
kers.
Removed the washers in the end. Didn't like the fact some of the nuts barely bit on the thread.
Internals in and working:
How the valves looked...
Cleaning them up the old-fashioned way!
And a deeply satisfying end result. Look at that...
Supertech valve stem seals.
Sitting nice and pretty...
24 hydraulic lifter assemblies, sitting on the wall, 24 hydraulic lifter assemblies, sitting on the wall, and if one of those assemblies, should not-accidentally-be-split-down-and-cleaned, there'll be 23 hydraulic lifter assemblies, sitting on the wall, waiting to be cleaned.
Russian doll-style size comparisons of the components inside the lifters. Wow!
Lotta splitting down.
Bing. Head on.
Bing. Valve springs on. Tool for this job- £9.99 off eBay. That site really has revolutionised stuff like this.
Cam #1 in.
In very good condition...
Vanos assembly on.
Pretty rocker cover.
Judgement Day on July 30th. Pulling her old heart out.
Some good angles here.
Bing. Out.
This accurately reflects the mood of that day.
New engine's pulleys, all cleaned up...
Close-up of new rocker cover.
Bing. All together!
Sitting and waiting for her new heart. She looked like this for a while.
S50 manifolds on.
Cut down the Lambda bosses so 328 Lambdas would actually fit properly.
Genuinely spent 5 minutes debating whether it was worth sticking this clutch back in or not.
Clearly wasn't.
And it's in.
Snug fit... looks like it was always there!
New rear springs... that one snapped. Big bang. Terrifying. Amazing service from KW as usual- ordered on Wednesday at 1pm, showed up Thursday at 10am.
Shocks look in good nick for 12 years old.
New exhaust, courtesy of Ferrari's OEM manufacturer.
Then the issues started... it was pissing out coolant. Initially due to the fact that the M52 heater return pipe is notorious for not sealing properly. It's a pressure fitting with 2 O-rings, and the pipe bolts to the block to hold it in the right place. Naturally, the M50 block was missing one crucial bolt hole for the heater return pipe to bolt into. Cue three-four weeks of chasing coolant leaks in various places, starting with the heater return pipe, leading to the timing cover, then ultimately resulting in this...
I was far from amused. A new head gasket on a 13 f
king mile old engine. Classic.In other news, I did fix the heater pipe and timing cover issue resolutely.
Ghetto engine hoist so I could drop the sump and get the timing cover out...
Cleaned the mating surfaces.
New M50 timing cover.
My new heater pipe assembly. The top pipe is the M52 one. See how it's a solid pipe that plugs into the timing cover? That's what caused the issues. The M50 one has a flange that protrudes where the hole is- they're actually the same part number, just that the M50 timing cover has that flange which has a softpipe attaching to it. So I cut down a spare M52 heater return pipe at a suitable place, then cut the M50 softpipe, and slid it over the M52 one. The pressure fitting for that alone was genuinely tighter than the 2 O-rings provided for the M52 heater return pipe. Problem finally solved, 3 weeks later.
Looks OEM!
Would also like to point out that in between all this work, some penis in a Golf understeered into her on a roundabout.
I was far from amused, as you can expect.
I also took her to her final dyno day as a 2.8. She returned a very healthy 245bhp and 228lb/ft. Video below- worth it for the noise alone.
And finally, last night, after a good few months of hard graft, problem solving, missing taking her on a Nürburgring trip, blood, sweat, tears, and nearly breaking her for parts last week... here she sits. A living, breathing, E36 330i Touring. Happy reading folks.
Edited by carpetsoiler on Wednesday 9th September 01:07
Thanks guys. It's been a real labour of love, and I came so close to snapping quite a few times!
Helix- yes mate, 13 miles old and we had to pull the head off. Hilarious.
Chunky- get one before they all disappear. There's a lovely Atlantis Blue one on eBay at the moment. And yes, this one is quite mad.
Manta- next trip is already booked for April 15th-18th. See you there??
Matt- of course you can have a drive. Just give me a few hundred miles!!
Helix- yes mate, 13 miles old and we had to pull the head off. Hilarious.
Chunky- get one before they all disappear. There's a lovely Atlantis Blue one on eBay at the moment. And yes, this one is quite mad.
Manta- next trip is already booked for April 15th-18th. See you there??
Matt- of course you can have a drive. Just give me a few hundred miles!!
iacabu said:
Not as keen on the Dymags as some of your previous wheels but still looking great!
Big YES to the headlining though
It's more 'form over function' these days... and those Dymags are awesome! Magnesium road race wheels... for rarity value they're pretty much off the charts too!Big YES to the headlining though
The headlining is being redone soon- I was a bit too slow last time and the adhesive had started going off before I'd stuck down precious paisley. So I've gone for something a little more psychedelic...
carpetsoiler said:
iacabu said:
Not as keen on the Dymags as some of your previous wheels but still looking great!
Big YES to the headlining though
It's more 'form over function' these days... and those Dymags are awesome! Magnesium road race wheels... for rarity value they're pretty much off the charts too!Big YES to the headlining though
The headlining is being redone soon- I was a bit too slow last time and the adhesive had started going off before I'd stuck down precious paisley. So I've gone for something a little more psychedelic...
Looking forward to seeing the new headlining
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