Project e30: Entry #2

As I mentioned in the first post, this project car was to be a long-term project, with restoration and modifications coming at a slow, deliberate pace.

Phase one was to get the car in good running order, with OEM and aftermarket upgrades used when applicable if something needed to be replaced. Second part would be a simple resto-mod job - mostly in the form of a respray (perhaps even a color change) and with era-appropriate mods which would make the car unique. The last would be performance upgrades, meant to be done slowly, over a period of time. This was so that I could enjoy each tweak a little at a time, and truly appreciate the effect that each mod had on the overall package. In the meantime, I was doing a lot of treasure-hunting, looking for rare or interesting parts for my project car. Among the parts I've sourced:

- Alcantara 355mm diameter Mtech-2 steering wheel from the e30 M3 Evo

- Recaro N-Joy seats that I've reconditioned and updated with leather surrounds

- OEM M-Tech 2 kit (half of it, anyway)

- e46 ZHP weighted shift knob (to go with my Z3 shifter)

- OEM rearview mirror with maplights

- OEM battery cover

- OEM black leather door panels

- OEM 15" BBS "basketweave" rims

After Ondoy hit, the car spend a couple of months in the shop, getting it back to road-usable status. And it was usable... barely. The car had developed various problems:

1. The driver's side headlamp (my poor HIDs!) and fog lamp are dead. This may be corroded contacts, or at worst, an electrical wiring problem.

2. The central locking and driver's side door lock don't work properly. Same as the lighting, this is more electrical work.

3. When I step on the brakes, some lights on the dashboard come on. So there's definitely a lot of electrical work to be done in my future.

4. The headlights are still fogged up, but a bit of dryer work, and it should be as good as new.

5. The car idles pretty rough - once in a while, idling runs up to 2000rpm. A quick dab of the throttle and it normalizes, but it's still something to look into. It feels like the car has no low-end pull, either. Apparently the fuel tank still had a lot of residue, not from the flood, but buildup over its entire lifespan. Then the flood water loosened it up just enough for it to be sticky and clog up the fuel filter. We later found that the fuel pump was also affected, and i was running very lean. So a cleanup of the fuel tank is in order, and I'll need a new fuel pump.

6. The brakes were also non-responsive, and the ABS check light was on, so that has to be addressed as well. The brake pad wear sensor is also dead. The brakes may need to be bled, and the e30 is known to have long brake pedal travel, so perhaps an adjustment of the linkage will do. The ABS system needs checking, though, and there are

three possible ansers: the ABS sensor, the ABS relay, or the wheel speed sensor.

7. To add a little extra grief, there's a ding on the hood where some debris must have hit.

8. When I gave it a test drive, the car stalled on me. It appears as though a sensor that controls the ICV also needs replacing.

9. The aircon cuts in and out a lot, and I fear the worst - a new compressor may be needed.

10. The steering feel is off, being very loose in the middle and heavy when nearing full lock. Turns our that the power steering pump is leaking, so that has to be replaced.

There are probably more little things (and maybe even big things - but hopefully just little things) that need sorting out. But these alone were already worrying me. It was also very difficult to decide where to begin, since there was so much wrong, but eventually I decided to start with the heart of the e30 - it's M20 motor.

Since the engine was to be overhauled AGAIN, I decided that this time, I would not just do the standard maintenance, but do some real refurbishing, as well. I took the car back to Goodwrench, the shop in Bulacan where the car was flooded in the first place. The owner, Bernard Sy, is a whiz with e30s, and the m20 in particular. We discussed options for the car, many of which are upgrades that we can do while the engine is already opened up. I didn't realize it at the time, but this marked the beginning of a new direction for the car...

On the next chapter of Project e30: how plans can change...