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Noticed from you signature you own an 02 M5? I also own an 01 M5 in Carbon Black..legend of a car You've got excellent taste sir! I really like my M5. LeMans blue over Caramel is easy on the eyes but the finish on the leather is a bit fragile. Got any photos of yours to share?
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Jul 31, 2018 17:30:25 GMT
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Beautiful example!
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Jul 23, 2018 20:34:10 GMT
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Big update! First, after a bit more deliberation I removed the engine and gearbox. Part of me was still considering leaving it alone, or at least doing the timing chain guides with the engine in situ, but the only way to really do it right was to take it all down. The leaks from the rear main seal and the transmission output seal were worse than I had originally thought, maybe as a result of sitting for so long, or maybe my drivetrain was assembled on a Friday afternoon. Pretty gross. Definitely best to pull it all out, clean it, re-seal it. Do it right. Drivetrain extracted: A strange artifact on the topside of the exhaust. I suppose Steven Dreifuss decided to autograph my car, whoever he may be. Dirty, but the documentation I have supports the mileage shown on the odometer. Lots of cleaning to do, especially under the brake booster area. Seems like all of the E24s and E28s I've had are always filthy in this area... Not sure yet what the solution might be. Before I removed the transmission, clutch and flywheel to get the engine ready to onto the stand, the front crank nut needed to be broken loose. In the past when I have had access to air tools it's been easy to zip it off with a 1/2 impact, but sadly my compressor is gone so I had to do it manually. This nut is torqued to around 320lb/ft on the M30 and S38 engines, and after being in place for so long they are usually not very willing to come loose. In this case I had to use a ratchet strap around the legs o the engine hoist to pull the engine down, wedge the crank holder tool between the floor and the leg of the hoist, and then put some tension on the boom to load the whole assembly and keep the engine from twisting. I bent my 1/2 breaker bar on my first attempt at breaking the nut loose. The 1" bar did the trick after hitting the nut with a torch for a bit longer. Time to remove the gearbox and see the severity of the rear main seal leak. The clutch pressure plate was very oily, as was the inside of the bellhousing. Won't be reusing these pieces anyhow. There was a very thick coating of grease on the front of the head and timing cover. I would later discover that the cam box wasn't sealed very well to the head and was likely the main source for this leak, and this is what prompted me to remove it for a re-seal. More on that later. A very special package arrived. I couldn't help myself... they had to be test fit. Waited six months for these and they did not disappoint.
Exciting! Stepped Supersprint headers and matching exhaust system. I decided to clean up the block and give it a fresh coat of black since it was looking kind of shabby. At this point I figured since it's a low mileage engine I'd just go ahead as planned with the timing chain guide job and the new task of re-sealing the cam box. But as I got deeper into it I started thinking that it would be a shame to be this far into it and not send the head out for a rebuild. One expert I talked to said these engines seem to need valve guides at around 100k miles and that was about all the convincing I needed to do it. Realizing later that it needs guides or seals and then having to pull the head with the engine in the car sounded awful. With the head on its way to the experts for their stage 1 performance rebuild I turned my attention to the front suspension and engine bay. Bilstein Sports have gotten hard to find for these cars but Alpina offers their FE-1 kit which includes custom valved Bilsteins with matching lowering springs, so I ordered the kit. I stripped and painted the strut tubes, subframe, dust shields and a few other parts with the same epoxy and 2k satin black I used on the fuel tank. I also cleaned up all of the aluminum heat shields and the cast aluminum parts from the engine. I nearly sent all of this to be vapor blasted but since I'm not repainting the engine or the rest of the car I was worried about giving the engine an over-restored look. New upper and lower Lemforder control arms came in and I finally got to use these spherical upper arm bearings I bought years ago. They are rebuildable and are not supposed to be too harsh. We'll see how they work out. Lots and lots of scrubbing later and the wheel wells look pretty respectable so it was time to bolt some pieces together. Every piece of hardware is new grade 10.9 with locking nuts and either loctite or anti-seize where necessary. The engine bay needs a little more work but it's cleaning up pretty well. Not sure if the inventor of this balljoint separator intended for it to be used this way, but it happens to be a great way to pull the tie rod ends into their taper and keep them from spinning while the nuts are tightened!
New hub bearing assemblies and E32 V8 / V12 front brakes. Zimmerman rotors, ATE hoses, Jurid pads. Rears will be vented brakes from an E34 540i / M5 done with the same components.
The next jobs will be the rear suspension and brakes (SLS delete), reinstalling the fuel tank and soon, hopefully, putting the rebuilt head back on the block and putting the engine back together.
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Last Edit: Jul 28, 2018 16:22:24 GMT by euroshark
'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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As always the car looks amazing! I hope to get mine this well sorted and get it out to the track. Decided I'm going 5 pot 20v turbo audi engine. Just parts sourcing atm. I have a non turbo 7a 5 pot engine and quite a bit of the bits to convert it already. Still waiting for a date to go and collect the car as its about 6hrs away from where I live. Very interested in seeing this develop. There are very few engines I like the sound of more than a 20v 5 cylinder Audi!
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Mar 29, 2018 12:52:29 GMT
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I have harbored an irrational love for these cars for a very long time. Excited to see what you do with it!
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Thanks guys! Really excited to keep moving on this one.
bmgm3 - The solution they use doesn't seem to bother rubber, plastic, etc. The in and out ports were capped to keep the inside dry and I think the electrical connection is sealed pretty well too. We've done a number of fuel pressure regulators and dampers without issue so I didn't really think twice about this purge valve. It was zinc plated originally so I suppose maybe they dunked the whole thing after it was assembled?
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Mar 13, 2018 12:58:50 GMT
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I love it! Great idea, beautiful execution.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Mar 11, 2018 20:18:54 GMT
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This is a long shot for sure, but I am looking to buy an Alpina turbo intake manifold from an E24 or E28 B7 / B7S. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Mar 11, 2018 18:32:39 GMT
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Last Edit: Mar 11, 2018 18:33:16 GMT by euroshark
'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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I had to pull the rack one more time to replace the high pressure line from the power steering pump. I'm getting pretty quick at this. In retrospect I should have just replaced everything the first time rather than gambling on original 200,000 mile parts... I'll do my best not to duplicate these mistakes with the E28 M5. That car has less than half the mileage of this one but they are just about the same age so I have just about as much faith in the plumbing on that car. Anyway, to celebrate the Porsche's new-found continence I put the "bat wing" and other belly pans back on it and drove it to work. The guys were shocked to see that it didn't leave a puddle. Things are looking up! I have faith that this time around it'll be happy to let me put some miles on it.
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Last Edit: Mar 11, 2018 1:17:59 GMT by euroshark
'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Feb 23, 2018 17:14:21 GMT
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A little update. Fixed a few things... finally hitting the point where a step forward isn't always accompanied by two steps back. First, the cam seal leak. This is embarrassing. The camshaft and balance shaft seals all seal against metal collars that fit over the nose of the shaft. The inside diameter of these collars are all identical, but the outside varies slightly on the collar for the camshaft. I thought I remembered buying brand new collars for both balance shafts and the camshaft, but after replacing the seal on the cam twice with no success I wasn't sure what was going on. I bought what I thought was a second new collar for the camshaft in preparation for doing the job again and noticed something when the new one was put up next to the old one. 1mm difference in OD on the sealing surface. Enough to notice here but not enough for me to notice when I was installing the previous seal. Now we're good and the cam seal is sealing properly. Before I put it all back together I decided to grab a 4° offset woodruff key for the cam gear. Since the head and block were machined I knew my cam timing was retarded a bit. I never put a degree wheel on it so I don't know if I've ended up back at the standard timing or slightly advanced but it feels good now and is a bit stronger on the low end. Second problem, melted reference sensors. I used the BMW reference sensors since they are inexpensive and we stock them at work. The only difference between these and the original sensors used on the 944 is the length of the leads. Unfortunately for me I think they were routed too close to the downpipe (too close = resting on it... unintentionally of course) and they were burnt to a crisp. This lead to a rather disappointing Saturday afternoon when they gave out as I was on the highway heading home. The car lost power, then power came back just long enough for me to find an off ramp. Then it totally died as I coasted into a parking lot in a cloud of smoke. At the time I didn't realize the smoke was from oil (leaking cam seal) and burning wire insulation. I thought the engine had jumped time due to an oil soaked cam belt but the timing was spot on. Had I thought to check the sensor leads I would have been able to swap them and drive back to the shop, but it never occurred to me that my brand new sensors could be a problem, so I ended up towing it back. New reference sensors are in, air gaps have been double checked, leads have been shrouded in high-heat sleeving and routed more carefully to keep them a safe distance from the downpipe. Third problem, leaking power steering rack. I sourced a second hand rack that was sold as a non-leaker. Fully expecting to have to re-seal it, I picked up rebuild kits for the pump and the rack just in case. The pump was easy to rebuild so I did that and decided to try the rack as-is. To my surprise it does not leak! So now we have functioning power steering and less fluids being dripped on the floor. Things are looking up. I worked a little more on tidying up vacuum lines and the wiring along the firewall. It's getting better and I'm looking forward to putting more miles on it once the weather gets better.
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Last Edit: Feb 23, 2018 18:22:38 GMT by euroshark
'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Thanks guys, I appreciate it. tristanh - The E39 is an M5. Always wanted one and buying it earlier this year almost tanked the deal for this car. I hadn't heard from the seller all winter so I went ahead and got the E39 and then maybe a week later he called and asked if I was ready to make a deal. Of course, right after I had blown the cash I was saving for the E28! I absolutely want to convert to Euro bumpers but to do it right there's some metal work to do on the rear end, otherwise you're left with a couple of visible holes below the rear bumper. I've got a set that needs some work that should be good place holders until a mint set comes along and I'm ready to attach the euro tail panel. Plenty to do before I get to that though. Looks like the fuel system is going to be the first major project. I suspected that things in the tank might be ugly judging by the fuzz on the inside of the gas cap. I'd never seen anything like it, but I've also never had a car that sat for over a decade with ethanol gasoline in the tank. After draining the tank and taking a quick look with a cheapo endoscope my fears were confirmed. The tank is fairly rusty with a layer of slimy crud at the bottom, so now it's got to come out. A few years ago a standard E24 / E28 tank was around $300. Now it's over $700 even with a wholesale discount, so I decided to clean up a spare I kept from a car I scrapped years ago and take it to get boiled out by a local radiator shop. I'll send the injectors out to get cleaned and replace all of the soft fuel lines. Not sure what to do with the hard lines. They are available from BMW and aren't very expensive but I'm thinking that they might clean up well enough just by running some solvent through them. Both pumps are frozen, probably just from sitting with fuel in them. They might come back to life but in the event that they don't I may convert from the twin pump setup to a more modern single submerged pump. On the upside everything under the carpet looks excellent. The battery box doesn't have a speck of rust on it and the (presumably) original spare and clamp and cover are all looking good.
Everything up top came apart easily enough despite being pretty crusty.
I wasn't thrilled to see this but I was also not shocked. I suppose this is why you store a car with a full tank and fuel stabilizer.
It doesn't look all that bad here but with the scope inside the tank I saw many terrible things.
The spare tank from a late 635CSi. It was probably clean enough to get by with just a thorough rinse but I'll feel better having it boiled out properly.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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In August of last year I heard that the father of an acquaintance was thinking about selling his E28 M5. I wasn't exactly in the market for another project at the time, being that I was knee deep in the 951 rebuild and had just bought an E39 M5 a few months earlier. I decided to check it out anyway figuring that maybe I could help him find a buyer for the car. Upon inspecting it I could see that it was in great condition underneath the years of dust. Turns out the car had been parked in 1998 due to a problem with the self-leveling suspension, and had last been on the road some time in 2006 to have the fuel tank topped off. Since then the owner would start it every so often and move it to the end of the driveway, but nothing more. With just over 89,000 miles showing on the odometer, beautiful interior and a very straight body I decided I should try to make a deal. September of last year we started talking about a price. For months we went back and forth until early this year when we settled on a number. From that point it took about ten months to finally exchange money for the title, and then a few additional weeks to arrange the pick up. All told it was about 14.5 months from start to finish. I had my doubts during the long quiet periods but now that it’s done I am sure I made the right decision. Here it is the morning I picked it up. Filthy from years of neglect with mostly flat tires. The fog lights were secured to the nose when the air dam was removed to be resprayed years ago. To make it easier to load onto the trailer I swapped out the flat tires for something a little bit rounder. Then towed it the ~10 miles back to my garage. 14.5 months to move it 10 miles... Once it was home I took a few photos to document the "barn find" condition and then happily started cleaning the grime off of it. After a quick rinseless wash: Then out came the buffer to see how the paint might clean up. I'm feeling good about it. The scratches on the hood (probably from boxes being slid across it) were fairly deep but they nearly disappeared with just a couple of passes of fairly mild polish. There's still work to do but I am very happy at the improvement from a quick buff. More passes will remove most of the pitts that are still visible. The engine compartment should clean up well. I don't want to take too big of a bite just yet but I see lots of pieces that I'd like to have re-plated. Excuse the wood, the struts have had it. A little about the car: It’s one of 1340 E28 M5s built for North America. 101 were destined for Canada and 1239 came to the US. All were painted black and all but 30 came with Natur beige interior. This one is a Colorado car since the beginning, which is great because of our dry climate. As expected there is no rust to deal with. What usually takes a toll on cars here is the UV since we are at such a high elevation, but since this car lived in a garage that isn’t an issue either. Mechanically there are many unknowns. The brakes feel solid and the clutch seems to be releasing so I'll start with a fluid flush. Engine, transmission and differential oils will be changed. It's a bit of a gamble buying a car like this without ever hearing it run, but considering the condition of the rest of the car I am confident that it'll be fine after a gentle revival. The valve train looks bone dry so before I even turn the engine over by hand I'm going to pull the valve cover to inspect the timing chain guides and give the cams and chain a nice oil bath. I've already drained the fuel tank and will move on to testing the fuel pumps and injectors next. Cosmetically I will mostly be dealing with minor scratches and dings from it being inside the garage for so long. The interior is excellent and will require only cleaning and a minor repair to the drivers seat. I am thrilled to have this car finally, and excited to clean it up and get it back on the road. The E28 M5 has always been one of the legends that I never expected to find in my garage but somehow here we are!
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Last Edit: Mar 7, 2019 22:11:06 GMT by euroshark
'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Dec 10, 2017 18:40:39 GMT
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Awesome, love the attention to detail. 2002s are so cool!
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Thanks guys, it's been going alright so far. I did run into a couple of issues. First was a coolant fitting that gave up after a 40 mile drive. Luckily it didn't become a problem until I pulled up to my garage and noticed a little dribble of coolant under the car. I popped the hood and saw steam spewing from the base of the fitting. As soon as I touched the clamp with a screwdriver it popped open and sprayed coolant all over the engine. $10 later and we've got a nice new fitting and fiber sealing washer. The second issue is an oil leak. I reused a handful of original items including the oil cooler lines (expensive) and oil pressure sender so I was afraid that it might be one of them. Turns out that the new cam seal was the culprit and it had been leaking down the right front area of the engine and into the timing belt cover. Luckily the belts stayed dry but it will be annoying to clean up. Oil dye and a black light were helpful in tracking this one down since the oil is so clean I couldn't tell where it was originating from. The engine will be buttoned up this week and we'll be back on the road for more break-in miles. In other news the E28 M5 deal is finally finished and the car will be coming home this upcoming weekend. I'll start a new thread for that one.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Oct 25, 2017 22:26:10 GMT
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It's been a while with no updates but there has been significant progress. A couple of weeks ago after redoing the oil feed line yet again to re-route it under the manifold rather than over and around the booster area, I decided to get some oil in the sump and test for oil pressure. I've heard horror stories of the main bearing girdle and block not sealing properly so I figured that it would be good to identify any issues early in case the engine needed to come back out. To my surprise after just a little bit of cranking I saw over 4 bar of oil pressure on the gauge and verified flow through the turbo feed line. This motivated me to stop playing with the other cars and get this one on the road. The reference and speed sensors were a question mark so I decided to play it safe and replace them. I used an old sensor with the lead cut off and a 0.8mm washer glued to the tip to set the gap. I'd never had to do this before because in the old Bimmers the sensors just bolt into the bellhousing and the gap isn't really adjustable other than by using shims. Fitted the adapter plates to the Tial wastegate. For whatever reason the manufacturer of the plates tapped them for 5/16-18 bolts instead of M8x1.25 like the wastegate was tapped for. I think this explains why they were sold to me at a discount. I ended up drilling the threads out of the wastegate and everything fit together beautifully. I hooked up the wastegate in a single port arrangement and used the original cycling valve and plumbing with a 7lb spring. This will all be changed soon enough when I decide on a boost controller. After the exhaust was installed I changed out the fuel filter, which had been on the car for around 90,000 miles according to the note written on the canister. Then I changed out the soft fuel lines in the engine compartment with new ethanol resistant hose. This is probably also not a permanent solution but it'll work for the break-in period. At this point I felt confident the car would start so I quickly threw the smaller vacuum lines on, turned the key and it came to life! A couple of minutes around 2000-2500rpm got some heat into the oil and pumped up the lifters enough for them to quiet down. There was a bit of a power steering leak but otherwise the engine was holding it's fluids so I pulled it out of the garage and went for a drive. During the first ~24 mile drive I was pretty careful to avoid idling or cruising at a steady engine speed. My shop is in a pretty hilly area and it was late in the day so I was able to load up the rings while accelerating and engine braking. After the first ten miles or so I noticed a pretty substantial difference in power. By the end of the drive it was starting to feel fast. The next night I took it out for another 30 miles and it felt even better. I'm still observing a 5000rpm red line for now but I'm surprised at how much power it is making and how responsive this hybrid turbo is. The chassis feels great for a car with nearly 200,000 miles. I'm not sure if the suspension has ever been rebuilt but the shocks seem to be in pretty good shape. The ride is very firm but at speed its smooth and stable. The brakes are something else... I've never had a car with brakes that come close. Just amazing. After this second break-in run I pulled it into the shop and drained the 30wt oil out and replaced it with a conventional 5w30 and some break in additive. This should do for the next 1500 miles or so. The front sway bar needs to be installed and all of the under body panels are still off of the car. There's a leak from the steering rack so that'll have to be addressed soon. Overall I'm pleased with how the engine runs and relieved that the initial break-in has gone so well.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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This is brilliant. If you end up making a few of these I bet you could sell them. I'd gladly buy one! Wow, those are NICE! Makes me think I should try rebuilding the engine myself so I can afford such things of majesty! What sort of Cam is needed to pair up with them? Managed to get another 10mins playing with my shift top today. I so wanted to say knob there... Finished it up and sent it off to be made in stainless. I'm guessing the first version will be iffy, but hopefully by the second, I'll have something usable.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Jul 26, 2017 22:05:32 GMT
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Looking forward to seeing the 9000 get some love. My mom drove a few of these when my sisters and I were growing up and they always did well. Some decent Turbos pop up occasionally but seem to sell quickly.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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Jun 12, 2017 15:40:07 GMT
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Absolutely stunning. The right colors, the right engine and gearbox combination. Amazing car! Can't wait to see more.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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May 25, 2017 22:47:16 GMT
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Thank you, I really appreciate it. It's taking longer than I hoped it would because I keep getting side tracked by little things that I blow out of proportion. Prime example: the new turbocharger oil feed line. I heard from a few people that the teflon liner in the original lines can crack and make a huge mess so I decided to make my own. Oil line number one was constructed from braided stainless hose and standard aluminum ends. I decided maybe an inline filter would be slick just as an extra safety measure. Once it was assembled and mocked up I had a few problems with it. First, the filter mesh was super coarse. It would be effective for large particles, but nothing that is likely to get past the engine oil filter. My mistake for ordering the wrong one. Second, the stainless braiding looked silly and was very abrasive. So I decided to build a second line out of nicer materials. Full teflon liner with Aramid covering for a very lightweight and flexible hose. Assembly was much easier than the standard hoses with AN fittings so I think I'll use this stuff again when I get to the point of refreshing the fuel system. I think it also looks much more period correct which is a plus. Popped the intake manifold on again to see if everything is going to play nice. I'll devise something to make sure that the cable and oil feed hose don't interfere but clearance is adequate as it sits. The new alternator and battery leads have been run so the next major jobs are to mount the battery and finish the small bus block near the battery, run the vacuum tree under the manifold, finalize the cooling and vacuum system plumbing, bolt the nose panel back on over the intercooler, hang the exhaust and about a hundred other small things. I'll be ready to fill the sump with oil and verify oil pressure shortly though and that excites me even though the first run is still a little while away.
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'84 308 GTS /// '88 528e /// '88 M5 /// '89 944 Turbo /// '98 E430
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