Check it out!
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This is the first time it's sat on the new suspension, and that was just yesterday! There's still quite a lot of work before I can race it, or even drive it, but this is the biggest milestone so far! Here's a brief photo dump and summary of what I've done so far:
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Here is the completed rear subframe. I finished welding all of the Garagistic subframe reinforcements I needed. I didn't use a few of them, however. The trailing arm reinforcements only work on the smaller E30 trailing arms, as the Z3 ones are already heavier duty. I did some measuring on the area that looked like it was bent, and it looks like it will be fine. It bolted up to the car fine, anyways, so I guess time will tell. Next I swapped out all the old rubber bushings with 95A polyurethane bushings, and finished the subframe off with a brushed on coat of chassis paint. Just before bolting it up, I swapped out the middle rubber brake lines on the car for braided SS, as well as the rear brake lines at the calipers. I did find out that the hard brake lines on the trailing arms were slightly different than the E30 ones. At the top of the arms, they make a 90 degree turn to the rear, while the E30 lines point to the front of the car. Didn't take much to fix, once I unbolted the Z3 brake line bracket, the factory E30 bracket is still there. So I cut and flared the lines, and we are ready to rock!
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So this is the inside of the E30 differential, and I am blown away at how good of condition it is in. It is the original LSD from 1989, with 276,000 miles on it. It still has decent lockup, the gears don't look worn hardly at all, and the fluid looks clear, and doesn't have a burnt smell at all. I should also mention that the diff has never been serviced, in the time that my dad and I have owned it. That's more than 150,000 miles. So I just emptied it, cleaned, painted, and sealed the diff, swapped the output flanges over to the Z3 flanges, and put some Royal Purple 75w140 in.
Now for the two problems I came across:
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I knew about this one going in. I definitely have a width problem. What I didn't anticipate is the scale of the problem. These are the stand-in wheels and tires, which have a bigger offset, and slightly narrower tires. I'm going to need 3-4" of fender flare to fit the actual wheels and tires. I did also find a supplier that sells all sorts of sizes of universal bolt-on flares, made out of ABS plastic, that have pretty good reviews. Once I actually mount the new tires, which I just picked up on Thursday, I can tell how wide of flares I need.
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When I was bleeding brakes yesterday, I noticed that the pedal wasn't holding pressure. I guess thinking back, that had always been a problem, but now I made the connection of what the problem might be. Sure enough, the factory master cylinder is leaking badly. That does mean I have an excuse to upgrade. I was worried anyway that the stock cylinder wouldn't be quite enough for the bigger brakes. And, continuing with the theme of factory upgrades, the master cylinder off of an E32 chassis 750il is a perfect bolt-in, with a couple millimeters more of diameter. about $160 on Rock Auto. Going to pick one of those up here, pretty soon.
This week I'm going to try and start on the ECU wiring. The biggest challenge I think I am facing is fabricating an intake where I can install the IAT sensor. Never made an intake, and I'm not really sure where to buy the materials for it. But I'm sure the Googler can help me with that! I'm more motivated than ever on the E30, and I can't wait to drive!
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), and maybe see how bad it actually is to shorten them.
