i decided it was about time i made a build thread for my other side project

those of you who keep an eye on my polo saloon build thread will already know a little about this anyway

so i got this e30 316 touring for a steal at £300 in about september last year so that the polo could be off the road during the winter...

on the way home with it

first decent clean

then this happened...

i know it doesnt look amazingly low but 60mm is quite alot for e30's with the 1.6 engine as it has a notoriously low sump!

then it looked perfect when i bought a set of borbet c's!

its getting abit rusty now though so some work is required very soon!

then along came this

A genuine e34 535i sport, bought for just the engine/loom/gearbox and prop shaft

dont be fooled by the appearence, its foobard underneath, worn steering box and all suspension bushes are shot along with alot of other stuff, driving it back along the motorway wasnt fun with all that power and no way to go in a straight line!

work recently began

prop shaft still needs to come out and then i have everything i need from it, so i can then remove everything thats worth good money, ie LSD, full leather electric interior, wheels, sport exterior trim etc and whatever else anyone wants, then the shell will be weighed in for some monies to pay for the prop shaft alterations

so thats where i am so far :)

i shall update as often as needed so watch this space, heres a little video of what to expect!

Edited 10 January, 201313 yr by dubownerbilco

e30 316 touring.. i want one =][= alot of work needed should be great once finished

Oh this is gonna be good!

Wow...I will be keeping an eye on this

Edited 4 July, 201214 yr by haz911

E30 touring is my favourite car. Look mean on borbet a's

work has stopped for the moment until i can find somewhere to store all the parts i remove from the 5 series so that i can scrap it, then i can crack on with the 3 series!

so today this happened

which meant this could happen...at last!!

ready to be pulled out when i get my hoist back from a friend :)

Edited 4 November, 201213 yr by dubownerbilco

Awesomesauce!

Engine out

E46 clubsport quick rack

Fitted

Got some welding to do before the engine goes in!

3.5 next to the 1.6!

Edited 20 October, 201213 yr by dubownerbilco

I would have kept the 5 series tbh. Looked mint and proper mean.

Still, best of luck, seem to love tinkering with your cars

The size of that bastard engine!!! :lol:

Nice work!

I would have kept the 5 series tbh. Looked mint and proper mean.

Still, best of luck, seem to love tinkering with your cars

the 5 series was lots of fun, but it had too many creature comforts for me which meant it was about 500kg too heavy!

plus the fact it was pretty rotten!

the e30 is known for being a total animal with this engine fitted

The size of that bastard engine!!! :lol:

Nice work!

yes, its a monster!

Got on with the welding in the engine bay today, its the first time i have welded properly and i thought it went quite well :)

The best bit of welding I've done so far :) has to removed the subrame to repair the antil roll bar mount as it has rusted and snapped off!

Edited 22 October, 201213 yr by dubownerbilco

e30 316 rad compared to e28 535 rad, bit of a size difference eh...

fits like a glove though, old rad mounts just needed some 'light' persuasion

had the steering UJ shortened by an inch to fit the e46 clubsport rack, 2.7 turns lock to lock baby!

sweetness dude look forward to seeing it progress :p

so i have got all week off work to dedicate some time to getting it at-least running and hopefully driveable!

tight enough fit?

That is one big mother of an engine!

well thanks to the good old british weather i got about 2 hours of work done today...

basically just looked at the loom for a while, confused my self abit, then routed it and connected a few plugs :(

She is alive!!!

The engine roared into life for a few seconds, minus an exhaust manifold and radiator!

So i got on with swapping the diff and fitting the 325 prop this afternoon, tomorow i will be modding the manifold and making the exhaust :)

well today i took her for a drive! admittedly it was only around the block with light throttle :)

want to see a vid of a 3.5 striaght six with just an exhaust manifold...? by the way, this was how i drove it!

Video clicky!!

Leave it like that Sounds like a chevy small block drag car!

This is smart

You know these m30's turbo to 500bhp without opening up the engine

This is smart

You know these m30's turbo to 500bhp without opening up the engine

Yes i do know this theres plenty running 300+ with low boost!

This is smart

You know these m30's turbo to 500bhp without opening up the engine

Yes i do know this theres plenty running 300+ with low boost!

No excuse then

Are you going to fit all the 325i suspension stuff? 51mm struts, rear disc trailing arms etc. Id advise getting void fillers for the rear main bushes instead of polybushes, my old 325 was lethal in the wet