ROOOD's BMW E30 335I

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ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Wednesday 21st January 2009
quotequote all
Toby's a diamond bloke!
I keep in regular contact with him so he knows it's up and running, I'm sure he'd still like to see this thread though.
He has been very generous with his help and advice with me getting it set up, I've promised we will go for a blast in the car when we next meet up.

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Thursday 22nd January 2009
quotequote all
RobCrezz said:
Had it on the rolling road yet?
No.
Next month I've got road tax and the missus' birthday to wedge out for! frown

Maybe the month after if my wallet has recovered!

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Friday 22nd May 2009
quotequote all
Thanks Luke!

Unfortunately it has been riddled with electrical gremlins since I put it together.
In fact it's only managed about 650 mile in the last nine months and is currently off the road again with no spark or fuel! frown


My cage is only a bolt-in one, so I can't advise you on welding it in, sorry.

Apart from that the left hand rear fitting to the floor / sill will be just above the fuel pipes, so be careful of those!

A fitting kit would make the job much easier and and make the cage fit much better, so I would definately get that.

Also be aware that some manufacturers offer two different E30 cages, one for sunroof cars and one for those without.

Good luck!

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Sunday 18th October 2009
quotequote all
Thanks Paul, I'm quite chuffed with it! smile


Rich; All you need are the manual window mechanisms and the correct glass.
Depending what your car already has (there are two shapes of glass with different fixings at the bottom) you might be lucky like I was and just bolt it together with the manual stuff.

And you need to make a small hole in the door trim for the winder handle.

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Tuesday 5th January 2010
quotequote all
Hi John.
Thanks for your kind comments.

I think I know who it'll be who you contacted.
If it is him I'm surprised he hasn't responded, he's normally very helpful, we even helped each other fit our engines.

E30Zone is very useful for this, and for you this thread, to which I have contributed, in particular!

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name=Forums&amp...

To summarise it breifly you need to have:

Custom engine mounts - (Username 'Beefy' on E30Zone is cheapest and good)

Propshaft - E30 M3 or E36 328i manual with centre bearing turned 180 degrees or E30 rear section with shortened and balanced E34 535i front section

Radiator and hoses - E34 or E28 (preferred as it's narrower but larger surface so not so tight on space)

Gear linkage - E30 325i linkages on E32/E34 gearbox (good time to fit a Z3 1.9 gearlever too, a great little mod and about £30 from BMW)

Exhaust manifolds Downpipes - may need a bit of cutting and welding around the steering coupling, I found this the trickiest part of the conversion, but I think I just did it badly!
A popular choice for a system is a Powerflow E30 M3 system, suitable size and shape and noise!

Wiring - Very little needed on most cars (I started with 1988 325i).
Ignition coil wires may need lengthening or coil relocated.
One wire from the main body-engine plug (C101) needs grounding on the starter motor for the heater and electric windows to work (although they still work with the door open for some reason).
E32/E34 M30 ecu will plug straight into the E30 loom.

Depending how far back the engine sits (the mounts come with two sets of holes, and furthest back is better) a bit of 'massaging' of the bulkhead just behind the cylinder head with a club hammer may be required.

That's the basics anyway, if you need more info give me a shout here or on E30zone.
Where abouts in Kent are you?
I may be able to help out sometime.

Cheers,

Martin.

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2010
quotequote all
Thanks guys, most kind!

And eeerrrrmm, yes, there is a bit of news on the car.

Please don't shout at me, but it's being broken up for spares, and most of it has gone!

I was having real trouble with engine electrics, it needed a load of money spending on it to get it through the M.O.T., and I because of the continuous frustrations with it I decided to call it a day.

Besides, I wanted a car with a V8, so I've bought this...







It's technically a bit rubbish but it puts a big smile on my face!

It's been my daily driver for a couple of weeks now and I'm loving it, even though it's not as brutally quick as the E30.

I guess I'll start a new thread...

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2010
quotequote all
Hi Paul, hope you're ok..?

I know, it was hardly the most sensible choice, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend any more money on the BMW, it was getting silly!

I've already been spending a bit on the wedge, mostly just sorting out little niggles that I knew about when I bought it (speedo cable, headlamp switch for example) and giving it a good service and once-over.

I don't expect (I was going to say Toyota) super reliability but I wanted to get away from highly modified cars for a while!

How's your E30 going?

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2010
quotequote all
I'm ok too, thanks, busy with my own and other peoples' cars!

I seriously considered an 'S', I've always liked them, but I wanted a V8 and couldn't afford a V8S!

I was thinking Porsche 928 at first but I looked into the prices of parts.. eek ... then decided on a wedge, I've always quite liked those too!

The chassis does't look bad from what I've seen so far, but I might try tidying it up a bit when the weather is nicer anyway.

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2010
quotequote all
The 350i isn't that quick really, nowhere near the E30 or the RX&7 before that, but I didn't get it for outright speed, the smile a car puts on my face is more important to me at the moment!

ROOODBOY

Original Poster:

3,782 posts

197 months

Thursday 25th February 2010
quotequote all
I'm not sure Toby was known in motoring circles back then, I think that was around the time PPC Magazine started..?

Anyway, he is indeed a very nice chap!