Off to the dyno

"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw) 10/21/2015 at 14:55 • Filed to: BMW, E12

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The ridiculous E12 is finally off to the dyno, towed by the tech who built it and the Motec engineer in a 330,000 mile Duramax. This day has been a long time coming. We’ll see what breaks, because if there’s any guarantee in a project like this, it’s that something will. It’ll take development to reach the final product.

MonkeePuzzle > RallyWrench 10/21/2015 at 15:01

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my word this is beautiful. I love raw engineering on display

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > RallyWrench 10/21/2015 at 15:02

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That looks like a fun project! Are there details about the build somewhere?

RallyWrench > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! 10/21/2015 at 15:13

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Not yet, there will be. It’s ostensibly a ‘79 528i, but literally everything on the car is custom. The shell is seam-welded, suspension reinforced, poly-bushed and powder coated, handmade exhaust and intercooler plumbing, M5 ITBs on a single-cam M30 built for high boost, for-real Motec engine management and dash, completely custom wiring harnesses, custom R-134a AC system, Wilwood brakes all around, made to spec Fikse wheels, several little tweaks to the bodywork and underside, and on and on. It’s just nuts. After getting the mechanicals sorted, it’s off to have the body finished (that’s a 40th Anniversary Corvette color with some blue added), then a fully bespoke interior. The power goal is reliable mid-400s, which it will theoretically do all day. We’ll see how this goes.

iSureWilll > RallyWrench 10/21/2015 at 15:58

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Turbo M30’s will run mid 400’s hp all day long with zero problems. I’ve heard of guys with M30 swapped e30’s with over 600hp on stock internals!

Opposite Locksmith > RallyWrench 10/21/2015 at 16:04

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Music do my ears

Opposite Locksmith > RallyWrench 10/21/2015 at 16:04

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To* but do is close

RallyWrench > iSureWilll 10/21/2015 at 16:05

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I know they will, but it hasn’t been tested yet, and the engine is the only part of the car we didn’t build and hasn’t been without issue. The owner wants to crank the boost for 600, which it should also do easily in theory, but we’ll leave that to him.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > RallyWrench 10/21/2015 at 20:23

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This looks sweet. I can’t wait to read more details about it.

Years ago I found a sweet deal on a clean E12, but it was a 530i. My plan was to do a little engine work, with one of the first things being the removal of the thermal reactors and adding a decent pair of catalytic converters in their place. But the state of California had other ideas, first by removing the rolling 25-year exemption on emissions testing and secondly by mandating the use of only original emissions equipment.

The people I spoke to didn’t seem to understand that my planned modifications were actually going to make it run cleaner than stock, and rather than continue to fight the bureaucratic nightmare that is the CARB I threw in the towel. Chances are that car didn’t pass a smog test, and rather than fixing it, the owner probably scrapped it instead.

RallyWrench > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 10/21/2015 at 20:25

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We’re in CA. I feel that pain. No amount of reasoned explanation will allow you to remove the cylinder-head cooking reactors, 2.7L Porsche 911s had them too.

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench 10/23/2015 at 20:30

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Congrats!!!