Turbo e30 build

[ba114]

Been a year since the last update and well, progress has been slow to say the least.
So, what has been achieved...

After test fitting the turbo manifold on the old engine, i quickly discovered that the bank 2 wastegate location was in fact, not in the place requested (should have been the same as the old RSI manifold). This meant having to modify the manifold to make it fit.



I then was really unhappy with the finish on the mounting face of the manifold. I dont know what they did, but it was badly dented all over. So took it to the machine shop to have it skimmed. Lucky i did because it was also warped slightly.



It was then time to return to finish building the bottom end. When it came to fitting the windage tray, the main studs prevented it from fitting, so that had to be notched at both ends to clear. I had read about other people having clearance issues with rods hitting the windage tray when stroking with the b30 crank. Not sure how that possible as the windage tray is the same part number as the US S52 (same as the m54b30 crank). Anyway, no issues with clearance for me.



I then fitted the custom oil pump. This is an m54 oil pump (higher volume for dual vanos), modified to fit an m50/m52. It also uses a 6 bolt shaft to hopefully avoid any issues with it breaking. Oil pump chain tensioner also fitted with brand new crank sprocket and chain. I am using the m54 front mounted oil pickup from a 728i. to make sure i got it in the right position i made a basic jig for the m52 pump with e34 pickup, and then fitted the m54 setup and cut and welded the pickup to match the jig.









I then fitted the timing cover and e34 front sump to conclude the bottom end build.

[ba114]

It was then time to start assembling the rest of the motor.

I started by fitting the cutring gasket and bolting down the head with ARP studs, set the cam timing and fitted the dual vanos unit to the head.


I've read of all sorts of odd solutions to thermostats on these setups, with people often switching to m50 thermostats and welded housings. I didnt want to go down that path, i wanted to retain the stock m54 electric thermostat. Upon comparing the two, there was an obvious issue. The m54 bypass plate was approx 12 deeper into the head than the m50 version. This was pretty simple to resolve. Remove circlip holding bypass plate and spring in and remove the spring. Then in made a spacer from 10mm ID aluminium tube and put it between the bypass plate and the circlip at the tip. Problem solved. The mating surfaces for the housing gaskets are the same. I've since filled with coolant and got up to temp and there are no leaks. The solution works

M50 left - Modified M54 right:


Finally, the m54b30 has the CPS mounted in the block at the rear of the motor. My M50 block has no provisions for this, so i must use the original CPS position on the timing cover. Only issue is the M54 CPS is significantly longer than the M50 version. To resolve this i measured the gap between the CPS and toothed wheel with an M50 sensor (~1.1mm) and then 3d printed a spacer out of CF nylon to space the M54 CPS up enough to achieve the same gap.

[ba114]

With the engine now assembled and ready to install, i needed to get the brake setup done before fitting the engine.

I previously ran a renault clio booster with the stock 22/17 e30 master cylinder. I was never happy with the pedal feel. It just felt....OLD.

I'd seen that alot of people have started upgrading to the e90 booster and master (25/22). Most of these people were in the US and it meant the brake line ports came out the left side of the master. This meant having to make brake line extensions adapters etc that just looks.. messy.

Since i'm in Australia, our e8x/e9x cars come with the brake line ports coming out the RIGHT side of the master, just like the original e30. The e30 stock master had 1 port for rear brakes, and 2 for front brakes. The e8x/e9x cars only have a single port per axle.

The rear was easy. All that was needed was to bend the original line slightly and get an m12x1 male to m10x1 female bubble flare adapter.
The front lines were made by buying a stock 190mm brake line from an e60 that already had m12x1 male on one end and m10x1 male on the other end. I fed this into a T peice and bent the stock e30 front lines to fit.


The reservoir on the e8x/e9x unfortunately is tilted due to the firewall being angled. The e30 firewall is vertical so this meant the reservoir wouldnt work. Again, a quick look at the e60 catalog resulted in finding that the reservoir sits perfectly horizontal.


This booster and master will be paired with upgraded brakes in the future.
I've ordered a 310mm 6 pot setup for the front (1.12",1.0",1.0") which will be paired with z3 (34mm piston) calipers and e36 325i 280mm discs.
This should result in a fairly good bias, although slightly more forward biased than the stock setup.

[ba114]

April 4 2021 - Installation day:

Taking over the garage


Engine fitted, harness mounted and turbo test fit


Water feed for turbo


Hardline for turbo oil return


Painting the engine bay (yes why didnt i do it before fitting the engine?)


Radiator mounted, pipework attached

[ba114]

Couple of other items made for the install.
Special tool to hold the crank in place while tightening to the required torque of 400nm:


Cutting the shift linkage down. Ended up taking 20mm off:


Fabricated a transmission mount out of 5mm steel for use with the e28 transmission mounts and aluminium cups:


And an RTD shifter for all that notchy short throw goodness:

[ba114]

Fitted a HVAC panel from a LHD e30 so the radio would be moved to the left side. It needed a few mods, doesn't fit perfectly, but pretty close.


This was done to provide more visibility, and enable the fold out screen to NOT hit the indicator stalk. Why do i want more visibility? for the JB4 mobile app of course


Those of you with a keen eye will notice the 2nd image has a different headunit. I had to return the first one because of a horrendously loud white noise issue that was persistent unless you muted the sound.

[ba114]

8 August 2021 - First start:

[ba114]

...Why do i want more visibility? for the JB4 mobile app of course

For @Terry@BMS - i got it working

[ba114]

@Sticky nobody cares that its finally running

[lurre_01]

Hi good work here,how much boost do you going to run,or whats your goal.

Peter Sweden

[ba114]

Hi good work here,how much boost do you going to run,or whats your goal.

Peter Sweden

Goal is for 700+hp

[ba114]

Purchased a new brake setup:

IE 310mm, 6 pot wilwood caliper front brake setup.