The Butterstick Build Thread v1.8

[PabloM]

This is the new build thread since the last one is no longer relevant.

The story: My friend decided to sell his complete engine so I sold the parts I had collected for the past half year for my build to buy his. These are the specs:

I will get more pictures of everything when I work on it next.

Mechanicals

-E21 1.8L m10

completely rebuilt 18,000 miles ago with new pistons, rods, bearings etc.

-stock internals in block and head

-ARP head studs

-MLS headgasket

-Good&Tight aka Otis manifold

-Garrett T3 .42 A/R turbo off Saab

-27"x7"x2.5" delta fin intercooler

-HKS SSQV blow off valve

-318i intake manifold

-M52 throttle body

-318i fuel rail

-Getrag 240 5 speed

Electrics

-Megasquirt II v3.57

-Ford EDIS

-Wideband o2

-Glowshift oil temperature gauge

-Glowshift oil pressure gauge

-Glowshift volts gauge

-Glowshift boost gauge

-AEM wideband o2 gauge

-Bosch 42 lb/hr Greentop injectors

Here is what I have completed so far or am in the process of making:

-Engine bolted in

-5 speed mounting bracket

-Mounted EDIS brain and coilpack

-Mounted Intercooler

to do this the horn brackets must be cut off. I drilled out the 4 welds

on top and used an angle grinder to do the bottom welds.

-Shortened the shift platform for 5 speed

I used the e21 platform. All I did was cut off the length needed from the mounting place on the tranny and drilled 2 new holes.

-Shortened shift linkage

Here I cut out a section of the linkage and welded 2 nuts on each side. I put a threaded rod inside so I can adjust it to be exactly in the center. While the shifter was out I had my friend weld a small piece of metal between the ball and the bottom of the shifter to make the throws shorter. This also means the center would have been off a bit so the adjustability will account for this.

-Console

It's the original console but I took out the ash tray piece and the radio piece and made my own out of wood to house 3 gauges and my radio. I have the outline of the piece on paper if anyone wants to duplicate it. I wrapped it in vinyl I got from Jo-Ann fabrics. It was cheap and matches the pattern pretty well.

Last step I still have to do is to dye everything because as you can see some pieces are pretty faded. To do this I found this guide online:

1. Clean panels thoroughly with warm soapy water. Do not soak the panels rather dampen a rag and wipe them until they are very clean. This will not be done quickly.

2. Remove any soap residue using another rag with clean warm water using the same method as above.

3. Spray the part you plan on dying with SEM brand vinyl prep which can be found at any paint store. Once you spray it, let it sit for about 5 minutes and wipe any remaining residue away.

4. Spray water from a water bottle in a mist in the area you are going to dye and if water beads and runs move on to step 5. If water streams or soaks go back to step 3.

5. Apply a product called bulldog plastic prep. This will help seal cracks in the surface. Yes it will work on your vinyl. Apply as if you are painting the piece you plan on dyeing. I may not fill the crack completely and cracked leather/vinyl is still cracked, but this product acts as a bit of a primer and your dye will adhere to it like nothing else on the market.

I put 2 layers of this since the vinyl absorbed it completely the first time. Let each layer dry for about 15 min.

6. Apply chosen color SEM dye. Someone above mentioned satin black as a perfect match for OEM black, that is incorrect information. The exact black interior color match is called Landau Black. Its between satin and semi gloss.

I sprayed everyone once, let it sit for about 10 minutes and then sprayed everything a second time.

7. Let the panels sit in a warm environment for at least 24 hours before thinking of attempting to reinstall them. Then spend another 24 hours thinking about installing them. Then go ahead and install them. (48 hrs. to completely cure).

To do list:

-battery box

-mount battery cable with plastic cover

-cut nose to fit turbo and wastegate

-throttle cable

-mount radiator and fan

-put trans back in

-shorten driveshaft

-downpipe + exhaust

-fuel pump + sender

-second gauge mount

-2 more intercooler brackets for the bottom

-wire it all up

If I can find my pictures from when I did my coil-overs and seat brackets I will post and do a write-up for those as well.

[harrym2]

did you not wont to go with the 2.3 turbo ?

sounds like you have a good engine and a good starting point for your project

Harry

[PabloM]

The way the PO of the s14 stuff set everything up it was only going to be a 2.1 since he bought stock bore pistons. I also ran out of money due to being laid off 6 months ago. Now I got a new job and am actually making progress. I got the new 5 speed bracket today so as soon as I have time and good weather the tranny is going in. Pictures on their way!

[ifayeoh]

Looks like you have a nice set up going, i am looking forward to seeing the linkage set up for the throttle and gauges installed, have fun

[PabloM]

Finished the console:

I followed the steps on the online guide I posted and the dye worked very well. I did however run into one problem. The shifter base platform was extremely faded where some parts were turning white, as you can see in the pictures. This meant that when I applied the "landau black" dye, it had absolutely no shininess and looked like flat black. To add a little shine so it would match the rest of the panels I bought some SEM gloss black dye as well. They did not have anything in between. I sprayed a layer over the landau black and let it dry. It turned out TOO shiny so I put a final very thin layer of landau over it again and it turned out a perfect match. By the way, the radio and the gauges both light up in a subtle green color so it doesn't look all riced out.

Here is how I attached my faceplate to the console. I screwed some aluminum angles into the existing holes. Then to keep the faceplate from moving around I got a threaded rod with matching screws and sort of clamped everything together. This means no visible screws in the front of the vinyl (yay) and it makes it possible to remove the faceplate without taking out the entire console (double yay).

Lastly, my friend made me a trans mount bracket for the shorter 240 Getrag transmission. I gave him a jakeb bracket I had as a template and he made a duplicate, just shorter.

Next I have to figure out a way to move the turbo away from the fender a little to clear the wastegate. I'll probably modify or remake this adapter I have:

[Colin]

Hey dude. Console and tranny bracket look great. Do you think you could send my your template for your tranny bracket? I have a 240 also. I'm also in your area, actually.

[PabloM]

Sure, send me an email. I haven't checked to make sure it fits though. I sent my friend an image of the bracket I needed but in my picture I did not tell him to cut out the two oval holes that bolt to the body but he ended up cutting them out in the same spot as the bigger bracket anyways. I hope it works the way it is now because the sliders in the trans tunnel are pretty long.

[PabloM]

Made a PDF of the bracket. If anyone else needs it let me know!

[PabloM]

Update: got the transmission back in this weekend. Also received some more goodies namely a megasquirt relay board, the relay cable, and some new wires to redo the wiring. Next week I should be receiving the best part so far. =) Pictures coming soon.

Hopefully my work and school schedules ease up a bit soon so I can do more work and get ready for Bimmerfest!

(See my WTB thread for things I still need!)

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,338533/

[PabloM]

Update after a Sunday of work

-Got the old wiring out and started working on the new one.

-Relay board is setup ready to bolt in and then I just have to run the individual wires to their respective components.

-Also made my throttle cable bracket and mounted that up with the cable. -Started prepping the inside for the new carpet by removing some more of the tar and the rest of the old carpet.

-Rigged up the speed cable to the 5-speed.

-Ran the battery cable from the trunk into the engine bay

Hopefully Tuesday and I can finish a lot of the little stuff I started.

Onto the pictures:

The Throttle cable bracket

Mounted

MS II Box

Relay board(almost done in the picture)

The old wiring

Engine bay (everything will be cleaned and painted when I'm done)

the turbo in the pictures is getting replaced by a Garrett dual ball-bearing GT2860r next weekend. Good for 360hp =) Also getting a new turbo style front spoiler soon.

Still need a '91 318i fuel pump and sender.

Also always looking for 15" BBS RS or RM or 16" CCW Classic

[harrym2]

looking good, did you make the ms yourself or was it prebuilt .

I like the bbs more than the CCW, just my opinion .

Harry

[PabloM]

The ms ecu was I think built by my friend. I agree, BBS would be ideal but they are getting harder and harder to find if you don't want to shell out $1.5k or more

[Hammer03]

How much are you looking to spend? I have a friend selling some RS with good sticky autox tires (re11's in 205-50-15).

[PabloM]

Depends on the size of the wheels. What size and offset are they?

I think I've seen those on craigslist. If they are the exact size I want I'd be willing to negotiate with his listed price.

[Hammer03]

They're these: http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/pts/1645649175.html

But they all have the tires mounted on them now, the pictures are from when he refinished them.

Pretty sure he's negotiable on price, just shoot him an offer.