Late braking

We now have a brake system. It's not filled, but it's in there! As mentioned earlier, imagining the solution was harder than the fabricating. Our mechanic has come up with an elegant solution to the problem of how to fit the brake system into our reduced space under hood. The way he did it was to reduce the size of the brake parts. In this instance, the brake booster is a much smaller unit. How this will effect the brake pedal pressure is unknown at this point. Firmer is not necessarily bad. Having solid, reliable brakes is obviously the important point.

By using a smaller brake booster along with a matching master cylinder (non-BMW), the existing anti-lock brake components can stay in place. A modified bracket from our 540i parts donor car attaches everything firmly to the frame. Additional supports will be added.

Photos here.

The power steering pump reservoir also has a neat mounting on the bracket. The brake fluid reservoir will, as well. The linkage from the brake pedal will be routed through an expanded opening in the firewall. A slight s-shaped bend will be needed to make the connection. Heim joints will be used at both ends of the linkage.

The coolant expansion tank has been located on the firewall. There will be a bit of trimming to the engine cover. Thus far everything is looking very “factory”, even though none of the parts were ever used together and none in this chassis. There is still some painting work to be done on the new brake components.

The next biggest challenge will be hooking up the cooling system. There is not much room at the front of the engine. The radiator will need to be big enough to handle a large V8 engine. The radiator hoses will need to make some convoluted twists and turns. As with the brake system, nothing that is impossible, but it's just not easy.

We are also talking about re-programming the engine management system. There are several really cool options available to tune the engine’s performance. There are even devices that record engine and car performance while test driving that allow you to optimize the ignition and fuel injection with a new program or map. There may be more horsepower available via computer programming than any other modification!

Weekend update

A lot has happened over the past week. (It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon. Not.)

The cool part, at least visually, is that the big engine has been temporarily bolted into the car. This was done to check the clearances around the engine and the connections of the various hoses, linkages, wiring, etc.

Photos here.

There is not much room available! The engine sits back in close proximity to the firewall. The heater hoses and expansion tank hoses will be tight between the back of the engine and the firewall.

The passenger side of the engine has adequate room. The exhaust manifold on this side will probably not need to be modified. The new down pipe can be bolted directly to the manifold flange. The air conditioning compressor may need some adjustment to fit between the engine block and the frame.

The front of the engine will be tight when the radiator is installed. The radiator hoses will need to make some sharp turns. We had purchased an air filter box from an 840, but the installation is not obvious at this point. Not a big deal. We will work through this.

The driver’s side of the engine presents some real challenges, however. There is a lot of equipment to be squeezed into the space. The steering column has priority. It takes a straight shot from the steering wheel through the firewall and down to the steering rack. We had installed a Z3 steering rack a couple of years ago to provide a quicker steering ratio.

Also on the driver’s side is the brake system. The master cylinder and brake booster will be relocated from the firewall, due to lack of space there. The wide V8 engine takes up the face of the firewall. There is an option to mount the cylinder and booster at the front, just behind the headlights. On our car, a block that is the anti-lock brake controller takes this space. We are searching for a smaller booster to save some space. We are also designing a new linkage to transmit force from the brake pedal to the booster. There is much work to be done, although imagining a solution may be more difficult than fabricating it.

The transmission mount appears perfect. The new transmission is the same size as the original. The shift linkage has been cut to fit. We want the new shifter in exactly the same location in the car. The engine mounts we ordered from Germany appear to be perfect, as well.

We have a new differential, too. The original gear ratio was something like 4.10 to 1. This would not work for the new engine. In fact, it would mean the first two transmission gears would be useless. The new engine has so much torque that it would rev through the first two gears too quickly and probably melt the rear tires in the process. The engine would be screaming at highway speeds. Our five-speed transmission does not have an overdrive gear. The new differential came from an old BMW 325es. These cars were built with engines that were made to run at a lower speed. Therefore, the differential gear ratio is 2.93 to 1 (or 2.73, depending on date of manufacture). Limited slip, of course. This will allow us to use all five speeds of the transmission. The calculations show that the car should be doing 60 mph in second gear -- in less than 5 seconds. You don’t want to know what the calculated top speed in fifth gear is.

Help us OB1, you're our only hope!

Regarding the engine swap project, we are making progress. The mechanic is still trying to convert the later model engine (OBD 2) over to the early model (OBD 1) computer control. That has been a bit of a challenge. I did some research online and found a guy in England who had done it. Printed off the photos and descriptions and took them to the mechanic. It all makes sense. He has some machine shop work to do. We both want to get the new engine running before we begin taking my car apart. This could happen yet this week.

Here is a link to the latest photos of our project: http://gallery.me.com/robertdye#100321

Spring Break update

Here is a cool article about the BMW 318is.

I hope the Google translation works. You may need to scroll down the page a bit to the “BMW 318is E30 Story”, and then click on the "read more" arrow. Nice photos, too.

We are still researching our engine swap. The question of today is: can we convert a later model m62 engine to run with the earlier model OBD1 electronics? The older engine management system is much more "user friendly" and easier to tune. Since the engine is going to be operating in a vehicle of approximately half the weight it was designed for, being able to make tuning adjustments is necessary. It will take someone – our mechanic – with great knowledge of these systems to make this work.

The parts car is giving up quite a stack. The intake manifold, along with its connected wires, cables and hoses came off. The brake booster and alternator came off, too. All of this will be adapted to the engine going into our car. Perhaps we will need the engine timing covers, too.

The x5 exhaust manifolds arrived via FedEx. They are much smaller than the ones on our m62 engine. The driver and passenger side are different in configuration (beyond just right and left), but they both take four cylinders and merge them into a single exhaust pipe. There will be more “tailoring” required, but these are a big step in the right direction.

The little 318is is still waiting untouched. It took longer to find and ship the parts for the engine than we anticipated. Until we are ready to actually prepare for the new engine installation, there is no need to begin the disassembly.

Which brings to mind, there will be a running drive train from a 318is with only 140k miles for sale soon. If you know someone with an interest in a very nice upgrade to an e30 or maybe a 2002 BMW, let us know.

Where to begin?

Okay, how do you put a V8 engine into a car that never had one? Or, as our mechanic would say, “you want me to put the wrong engine in the wrong car?”

In the great tradition of hot rodding, there is always someone who wants a bigger engine than the manufacturer gave them. In the case of the venerable BMW e30 model, there are lots of fans. There are also a few people trying to figure a way to upgrade the engine options.

Our criteria included several things beside whether the engine would physically fit into the space available. To the extent possible, we wanted to use BMW parts. We wanted the installation to look professional, as if BMW had installed it at the factory. We wanted a high level of performance, but also required a high level of drivability. That is, it had to be docile enough for stop and go driving and not overheat in the scorching summer heat. We preferred to keep all the factory accessories, including power steering and air conditioning. We also prefer a manual transmission – it is fun to operate and gives us control of the level of performance.

We did some online research to see who else had considered our idea. Turns out that there are some enthusiasts in Germany who, among other things, have done the engine swap. Not only that, but they had engineered and were producing engine mounts. These are brackets that fit between the engine and the car frame. The German website was written in German, of course. Google language tools to the rescue! Although some words don’t translate literally, the ideas come through.

Here is a (partial) list of parts we needed:

Engine: m62 540i
Transmission and flywheel: e34 530i m60 5 Speed
Motor mounts: Custom made in Germany
Radiator: e28 535i, or similar
Expansion Tank: e34 540i
Brake Booster: e34 540i
Differential: e34 524tds, which we never got here
Exhaust manifolds: e53

Note: The "m" prefix is used for engine naming and the "e" prefix is used for chassis naming. The three numbers followed by letters is the advertised car model.

There are several parts sets that will need to be shop fabricated. The brake booster will now be located alongside the radiator and behind the headlights. An actuation rod will need to be made to transmit the force from the brake pedal to the booster. Although the exhaust manifolds from the e53 X5 should fit, the rest of the exhaust system will be custom fabricated. The larger 4.4 liter m62 engine from the BMW 540i came with a computer control system that is known to be very difficult to re-program or tune. It would be better to remove this system and go with an earlier version that is more adaptable.

The driveshaft may need to be fabricated to length. This is not as difficult as it may seem. There are companies that specialize in re-welding and balancing driveshafts.

Of course, besides having the components and the willingness to design/adapt/construct the parts, the biggest factor in the success of this endevour is an experienced mechanic. We are lucky to have a long-term working relationship with just such a mechanic with his own shop.

It's been a long winter. . .

Sometimes being stuck indoors gives you time to think. Sometimes you think of something cool. Sometimes you don't. But at least you have plenty of time to think.

Over the winter of 2009-10 we've definitely had plenty of indoor (thinking) time! The weather has been as cold as the nights are long. It's too cold to even go to the garage and work on the car. So, what to do, but dream big dreams?

I have a 1991 BMW 318is. BMW produced these cars from the 1980s into the early 1990s. The company designation for this car was the BMW e30. It was a lucky find, this car. I bought it from its original owner, who bought it in Germany. It is a US-spec car. With only 140k miles, it has not been abused. The car is light and quick. I think the car us just the right size. Perfect for commuting or taking the dog to the park. The little 1.8-liter engine revs freely and gives good performance once it is wound up. It is rated at 134 horsepower by BMW.

Over the years I have made a few upgrades. A Dinan chip. A shortened gear shift linkage. A set of BMW M3 leather sport seats. Nice wheels and tires for summer. A BMW Z3 steering rack for quicker steering. New shocks/struts and springs for better handling. For this winter, I bought a set of 4 Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires. Very timely. This car used to be a handful in the snow. With these tires, it is on rails! Amazing!

At some point over the winter, we began discussing the eventual engine rebuild or replacement that is inevitable. Should we rebuild it ourselves? Should we exchange for a rebuilt engine? Should we upgrade to get more performance?

As I mentioned, the engine in this car is willing, but it is small. It takes a lot of revs to feel much response to the throttle. Taking off from a stop sign is not one of this engine’s strengths. Once out on the open highway, it is fun. The time to get to highway speed is long.

Looking through some websites, we see that it is very popular to upgrade the BMW e30 with a later model BMW M3 engine. The inline six-cylinder engine fits into the engine bay, since the e30 chassis was designed to accommodate both 4 and 6 cylinder engines. We actually looked at bidding on an M3 engine on eBay. It would take a lot of work to adapt the engine to the car, but again it is a very popular swap and there are plenty of how-to resources available.

Without finding a suitable M3 engine to transplant, our thinking turned to bigger dreams. What if we could put the 4.4-liter V8 from the BMW X5 in our e30? We also have an X5, so we know what a beautiful engine this is. All aluminum, it doesn’t weigh much. Its horsepower and torque figures are excellent, again considering its displacement and weight. In fact, these ratings are over twice those found in our little 318is engine!

Now there’s a thought.