My E30/S50 Turbo build

[matimus]

I acvtually started 2 months or so ago. but heres the details:
COMPLETE!! rebuild with:
-CP 8.5:1 forged pistons
-Eagle H-beam Rods
-ARP head studs
-MLS.70" head gasket
-ALL! new gaskets, seals, bearings, chains,rails, tensioners,etc,etc
-New VAC oilpump upgrade
-PWR 57mm ALUMINUM RAD
-Gt35r turbo
-UUC stgeel flywheel with M5 ultra smooth cerametalic clutch
-Full 3 angle valve job
-new valves
-port and poilish head
ARGGHH>>>>>>>> way to much to keep listing. i'll post a spread sheet at the end of alll the mods
VFE supercharger removed and ready to remove from chassis

engine out

intercooler almost mounted:

intercooler mounted and engine bay empty

disassembly continues:

and continues some more:

Head is off and inspecion looks good. all is well.

piston #5 was a little ruff, we'll fix that

block completely stripped and off to the machine shop

old pistons , rods, etc.

crank and olod spark plugs:

The secret to the power- GT35R .82A/R:

VAC MLS .70" head gasket and ARP head studs:

CP pistons. 8.5:1 CR

polished parts;

[matimus]

UUC stage 2 STEEL flywheel w/M5 ultrasmooth cerametalic clutch,
UUC tranny bushings(red), and UUC tranny enforcer cups, Eagle rods, VPD oil cooler cap, Guage pod

guage pod mounted with oil temp and oil press guages

PWR 57mm aluminum rad, manifold parts, genuine Hamann HM2's

block back from the machine shop. hot tanked, media blasted, bored to 87mm, decked,balenced etc. ready for p[aint;

finished painted, pistons installed.

head back from machine shop, AEM tru-boost and replica tial wastegatein the background.

view of the bottom with eagle rods and balenced rotating assembly:

partly assembled. eagerly awaiting install:

copper sealing sprayed gasket

head installed and all assembled readey to drop in to begin manifold mock-up:

SELF MADE manifold almost done(ran out of pipe) not bad for the first one ive ever made eh?





thats all for now.

[elsabor67]

Looks sweet. How much power are you guestimating at the wheels after all is installed?

[matimus]

i'll be running at 20psi so depending on the efficiency of my manifold it should be 530-550rwhp.

[c1apton]

"killer"project/pics. btw- great DIY (someone actually doing it the correct way not bolting kit onto a tired motor)

[scrichy84]

Sweet Pics. It looks like you had the patients to do it right and make it look good!!

[RSF5]

Ooooo good looking. That shouldn't be *too* costly of a project considering how much work your doing yourself. And specific problems or pluses you want to share about the manifold? I'm really interested in that.


edit: Sweet dog. What kind is it?

[Numark318i]

hawt.

E30..fast as shit ftw.

[dinan540]

How much of the work did you do yourself? Did you send it to machine shop for the port and polish?

What a awesome project. Congrats on the almost completion of the project.

[RSF5]

This pick give me more than a little bit of a hard on.

edit: *fap*fa- No I won't do it.

[matimus]

Originally Posted by c1apton

"killer"project/pics. btw- great DIY (someone actually doing it the correct way not bolting kit onto a tired motor)

thanks for your kind words. Everything is new on this engine. ALL seals, bearings, bolts, chains, tensioners, gaskets, o-rings, starter, etc , etc. I didnt want any problems.

Originally Posted by RSF5

Ooooo good looking. That shouldn't be *too* costly of a project considering how much work your doing yourself. And specific problems or pluses you want to share about the manifold? I'm really interested in that.


edit: Sweet dog. What kind is it?

I saved alot by doing the disassembly and assembly myself. aswell as the builiding of the manifold myself. but it has still been quite pricey.
The advantages of building you own custom manifold is that you get the turbo to sit exactly where YOU want it. For my application (s50 in an e30) my opotions were very limited in the availability of a manifold. I contacted many people in the custom turbo biz and no one had a manifold for this application. So basically i had no choice.
There are advantages and disadvantages to a bottom mount versus a top mount turbo but. they are minimal.
Top mount-
advantages- easy filter changes, easy servicing, no oil drain issues.
disadvantages- needs a custom manifold($$$$), ads more bends to the IC piping and usually two extra 90's in the exhuast down pipe (self explanitory), places weight up high,
bottom mount-
advantages- out of the way, keep weight down low, relatively straight exhuast, easy IC piping.
disadvantages - possibly oildrain issues, difficult filter changing, difficult servicing.

BTW my dog is a Boxer

Originally Posted by dinan540

How much of the work did you do yourself? Did you send it to machine shop for the port and polish?

What a awesome project. Congrats on the almost completion of the project.

thanks,
I did all the teardown myself, then i took the block and head seperatly to the machine shop. where they did all the porting,polishing, boring , balencing , etc.

Originally Posted by scrichy84

Sweet Pics. It looks like you had the patients to do it right and make it look good!!

thanks, thats what its all about.
Do it right the first time. right?

I kinda went a little far though i think. While the engine was at the machine shop i had a couple weeks to tinker in the garage so I polished all the covers to a mirror finish and all the bolt heads ( i know i know.....too far )so everything is shiny and new. Plus i bead blasted the valve cover and re-sprayed it black. mabey a bit excesive but whatever. i had time
I couldnt put dirty parts back on this new engine. I just couldnt.

thanks,
///MAT

[dinan540]

///Mat,

How much did the machine shop charge you to port and polish the block and head?

How did you make the custom manifold? What materials did you use and any sources, books, pictures, etc? Are the headers all of same length?

[nick_318is]

Very Cool project, the only thing I would change are your Dash Dials and move the A Pilar Gaugues into one of the pods that goes in the ash tray.

[2002guy]

lookin good...cant wait to see more... and nice choice of pictures on your wall

[matimus]

Originally Posted by dinan540

///Mat,

How much did the machine shop charge you to port and polish the block and head?

How did you make the custom manifold? What materials did you use and any sources, books, pictures, etc? Are the headers all of same length?

All the machine work,
install cams----------------------------------donated
Cylinder bore x 6 --------------------------$168
Crank polish--------------------------------$63
3 angle Valve grind------------------------$431
Valve guides R&R--------------------------$156
Clean block---------------------------------$81
Crankshaft balancing---------------------$290
Assemble short block (basic)------------$366
Resurface block to 16rl-------------------$102
Main bearing set---------------------------$209
Rod bearing set----------------------------$89
Cam chain tensioner----------------------$141
Resurface cylinder head to ~16rl-------$60
timing chains-------------------------------$170
port and polish head---------------------$ donated
Total-----------------------------------------$2326

As for the manifold, i ordered all my parts from 666fab.com (aka jon Volk) he is a legent, if you will, on manifold designs and fabrication. 1 of the best for sure. It is made from t304 stainless steel , the flanges are 1/2 thick stainless steel waterjet cut.
It is not equal length though. it utilizes as short as possible individual runners to keep heat loss at a minimum, which helps spool. equal length is not necessary unless it is a full blown drag car. Egual length usually yeilds a later/slower spool while giving more top end hp and flow capabilities. A simple "log style" as in the spa manifold is a great design due to its short runners and thick cast iron construction( keeps heat in) and has been proven to work well for up to around 650whp . The "log" or "tubular" (what mine is) Is better for street applications because of its faster spooling and easy construction. tubulars flow more and can produce higher hp. cast logs will last longer than tubulars. I will also be ceramic coating it inside and out . to keep the heat inside.
Basically, nice easy sweeping bends and short runners will work the best.

I'll gather up some more info i have and pm it too you.

Originally Posted by nick_318is

Very Cool project, the only thing I would change are your Dash Dials and move the A Pilar Gaugues into one of the pods that goes in the ash tray.

why is that (currious) oil pres. and temp on the A pilar, with the Boost controller, Wideband 02 and water temp by the ashtray works best for me.
My tuner sits in the passenger seat, he only needs to play with the boost controller and Air/fuel guage. hence why they are mounted closest to him.

Originally Posted by 2002guy

lookin good...cant wait to see more... and nice choice of pictures on your wall

haha , thanks

[dinan540]

Thanks Matimus. I have some E39 M5 headers which are essentially the same as the e39 540 headers and I want to use them and mod them to make them flow better. I have never done it and I don't know if it is worth my time to try. Basically the V8 headers made by supersprint are several thousand and the dinan headers are even more than that. I don't want to spend the money on them at this time.


Thanks for the price breakdown. Did you have to ship your head and block or was it a local place?

Paul

[nick_318is]

Originally Posted by matimus

why is that (currious) oil pres. and temp on the A pilar, with the Boost controller, Wideband 02 and water temp by the ashtray works best for me.

I didn't realize you had more down there, i have never been a big fan of gauges on the a-pilar, and I don't like the white gauges for the spedo/tach, thats all. Other than that it looks sweet.

[matimus]

Heres some misc parts, B&M oil cooler with -8 lines and fittings, Aeromotive A1000-6 Fuel pressure regulator, silver Vacume lines( gotta stick with the theme), HKS SSQ BOV, -6 SS fuel lines and fittings.



Here i got the UUC moderate wieght Steel flywheel mounted with the modified M5 pressure plate and Ultra-smooth cerametallic clutch disc, good for 650 wtrq.



heres a pic of the solid tranny bushings eith the enforcers on them. This tranny/ engine aint moving anywhere!!!!



While i was doing the engine build i decided to get rid of the crappy suspension that this thing had before, so i got all new bushings, control arms that include new ball joints, new steering arms, bilistien sport shocks all around, new "offset" upperstrut bearings (to correct the camber a bit).
Its the boring part of this build so i only took one pic of it.
here it is:



hope you guys like it so far.
more to come tommorrow when i get the engine in.

[matimus]

ok, ive been woring pretty hard this weekend
heres some updates, I got the engine in yesterday and started hookin stuff up.
Heres the engine on its way in



Engines half way in. Man its a litle tough doing this by yourself. but it went smoothly.



There we go, got it in there, now to start hooking things up



i got the spark plugs in and the coils in. Notice my sweet custom manifold, made by yours truly



here i got some of the covers on and some of the wiring



Heres a nice front view showing the intercooler, aluminum rad, next is to mount the high output dual fans.



Today i'll start wiring the boost controller, gauges, NGK AFX, and some other misc. things.
This week my driveshaft should be finished being built. some i can throw that on, then its off to AFI for the intercooler pipes and 3.5" SS exhuast.