"michael bleggi" (mikalbleggi)
05/18/2015 at 12:34 • Filed to: None
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"michael bleggi" (mikalbleggi)
05/18/2015 at 12:34 • Filed to: None | 11
| 14 |
With high school winding down to a close, i’ve had a lot of time on my hands recently. I’ve been doing a lot of repairs on my e34, and overhauled the brakes system. It was only on the ground for 1 day after a loooong complete front suspension overhaul... But it’s okay, because the rear end refresh has been fun as well. This is how it sat for that one, short day...
However, i am almost finished with the rear end. Learning to flare, bend, and make my own brake lines took a long ass time, but it’s awesome having another great skill under my belt and a few new tools in my toolbox. All new stainless steel lines as well as a lot of new hardlines should feel excellent, paired with EBC redstuff that will be going in the front with some new calipers I found on the forums...
For those who are familiar with older BMWs, you’ll know that these are a sweet find. Manufactured by brembo, they were only available on a few years of the already rare 840i e31. Lightweight, fixed, rare, and having 4 pistons, these should be a great upgrade... possibly worth the $500 i paid for them. While a deal.... it was still steep. I fitted custom brass sliding pins in my rear calipers, which i also rebuilt... I used electrolysis to remove the rust, another fun DIY project! Here’s a little before and after..
As you can see, it was pretty successful at removing all of the rust and other brake related grime. I quickly honed the caliper cylinders and gave the pistons a nice polish. Sourcing the new piston seals was a tad annoying... I’m super stoked to see how the new brakes feel with the brass sliding pins as opposed to the stock rubber bushings which twist and isolate a lot of brake feel. If you’ve never heard of electrolysis before, it’s a super cool process that you should look into. It’s a little sketchy at first, hooking a battery charger up to parts in a tub of water..... But, i had no issues whatsoever. I have new Hawk 5.0 pads for the rear too, which should give me a good bias.
For all the e34/bmw nerds, with the rear end i have bilstein sport shocks, new upper strut mounts, vogtland springs, Lemforder pitman arms and sway bar links, brembo blank 300x10mm rotors, and hawks 5.0 pads, ECS stainless steel lines all around.
Front end is now KMAC camber plates, vogtland springs, koni adjustables, m5 control arm bushings, e32 thrust arms (they are longer and give a wider track, not many people know about this mod), lemforder tie rods and steering linkages. 324x30 brembo blanks, e31 brembo calipers, ebc rebstuff pads.
Next up is an engine swap... My e34 530i (luckily, for once) has the same ZF tranny out of an e36 m3. Thankfully, clutch kit selection is huge, and furthermore, are easy to mate up to various flywheels. My m60b30 3 liter v8 is at the bottom of the food chain, and identical in architecture to the m60b40 4 liter v8. Both being OBD1, it is a 6 hour plug and play swap. However, I have found an m62b44 4 liter v8 which was recently rebuilt, and I am talking to the seller now. Apparently, converting it to OBD1 is not overly difficult, and I think I am going to take it up as a summer project. I have gotten a little rose-colored and buoyant and have started to tear into my m60b30... but, need to get this thing on the ground and running first.
Aside from needing a break from wrenching, I wrote this to prove that if you really have an interest in cars, it’s not hard to get very involved on your own. I bought this car last year, not running, for $1400. After a radiator replacement and compression test, I was off. I had minimal tools, a very small garage, and 0 experience. I live with my parents who barely know the difference between a can of WD-40 and a screwdriver. After picking up a part-time job, i’ve been able to source used parts or good deals from forums. Sure, it took countless hours of reading, researching, and annoying those with more knowledge than I, but it has been a blast, and after only a year, I have found myself to be a pretty competent mechanic. I encourage everyone with an internet connection and a passion for cars to do the same!
Destructive Tester
> michael bleggi
05/18/2015 at 12:50 |
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Way to go!!!
Yesterday I was trying to explain to the fiancée that I just don’t understand people who are “afraid” to try to fix something that is broken. Do you have a web enabled device? You literally have all of humanity’s collective knowledge at your fingertips. Can you read? You can use said knowledge.
I fully understand and condone if somebody simply doesn’t have a desire to do something. Hell, there are lots of things I don't particularly like to do that literally aren’t worth my time. Just don't use the excuse of "I don't know how" to avoid doing it.
atfsgeoff
> michael bleggi
05/18/2015 at 12:51 |
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Good for you! The M60 engine can be a little intimidating to work on, so kudos for sticking with it. I’ve put almost 40,000 miles on my ‘95 530i (approaching 230k) and haven’t had to tear the engine further apart than replacing a valve cover gasket so far, but the passenger side upper timing cover is leaking a bit so I’m gonna have to have it apart at some point.
While these engines are fairly sensitive to vacuum and temperature gradients in terms of running perfectly smoothly, I am still very happy with it.
Sam
> michael bleggi
05/18/2015 at 12:54 |
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They actually make a supercharger kit for the M60B30 that gets you to 328hp and 308tq. It’s pretty steep at 6 grand, but it’s far easier than fabricating motor mounts for an engine swap. With a chip tune, you could probably push the engine well over 350hp. I’ve been considering it for this bad boy, but it’s worth more stock.
BKRM3
> michael bleggi
05/18/2015 at 12:58 |
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Cool project! We just installed the solid brass caliper guide pin bushings in our E46 330i race car build and I tested them out this weekend at the brand new Palmer Motorsports Park track with some PFC 08 endurance pads. Let me tell you, they’re wonderful. I’m sure you already picked up this tidbit, but it’s necessary to make sure the pins are lubed a couple times a year with high temp ceramic brake lubricant because you’ve replaced a vague rubber piece that can’t bind up with a solid brass awesome piece that can. We used the CRC Silaramic product. Permatex sells a similar one, but CRC is based in Warminster, PA so we used theirs =D
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michael bleggi
> Sam
05/18/2015 at 13:44 |
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the m62 will bolt right in! i was going to do the m62 with a wet shot if i wasn’t happy with the power, but i haven’t looked into supercharging! do you know the brand?
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michael bleggi
> atfsgeoff
05/18/2015 at 13:46 |
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i have an m60b40 manifold on it now, and I also took the weird cone off the front of the intake box, and it completely changed the m60b30! If you’re looking for more power in yours without really messing with anything major, i would strongly recommend these. there are dyno sheets out there that indicate a good 25hp increase iirc....
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Sam
> michael bleggi
05/18/2015 at 14:19 |
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It’s a modified Vortech V3Si centrifugal. So a pretty reputable one.
Since I can't paste links for some reason, here it is.
unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
> michael bleggi
05/18/2015 at 14:25 |
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I have a M60B40 laying around from a 95 e38 I parted out. Mileage is unknown but if you’re interested in engine parts from it let me know. I don’t want to scrap the engine.
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michael bleggi
> unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
05/18/2015 at 14:47 |
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location??
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unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
> michael bleggi
05/18/2015 at 15:25 |
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North Jersey
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michael bleggi
> unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
05/18/2015 at 15:44 |
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ooooh! that’s kinda close! how can i get in contact with you?
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unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
> michael bleggi
05/19/2015 at 01:04 |
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I’ll take some pictures of the engine soon. Does kinja allow to send you a pm by the way?
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michael bleggi
> unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
05/19/2015 at 10:24 |
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i doubt it, and if it does, i doubt it works.... email me mikebleggi@gmail.com
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unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
> michael bleggi
05/19/2015 at 10:47 |
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I have your email thanks, you now can edit the post so you don’t get spam.