jerry

i'm using the instructions from the FAQ on the E30 battery relocation procedure. however, it is unclear to me where to attach the small wire that runs parallel with the battery cable from the trunk to the engine bay.

i'm about to drill my holes to attach the distribution block to the firewall.

as i understand the instructions, the second section of thick wire goes from the distribution block directly to the starter motor. is this correct?

thanks in advance.

Brian, that's looking very nice. your interior should be a good match for that yellow, too. i look forward to seeing it in palo alto next to my Malaga.

a couple more photos.

the front suspension was recently removed, sand blasted and repainted. it's awaiting reassembly. i'll probably leave the 4spd transmission in the interest of ease of reassembly. i'm gonna bite the bullet and move the battery to the rear because i really like how it opens up the engine bay.

Update 9/25/12: the engine shown below has turned out to be in excellent condition with 175psi across all four pistons. i installed a Schrick 292 camshaft and new valve stem seals. it has a 1979 casting 121 Ti head. and the engine has high compression 'bath-tub' pistons. Absolutely no smoke on accel or decel. I'm very pleased.

i will keep the original number's matching engine block with this car, but i don't know whether i'll ever go through the time and expense to reinstall it. i'd be hard-pressed to match this engine!

Introduction/Explanation:

I know the danger of starting a new project in the middle of completing my on-going *late 71* Project, but the decision has been made that i will put my Malaga 71 up for sale when I complete it. Of course I will have to put some miles and smiles on before listing it.

anyhow, recent events at the homestead necessitate a paring down of cars so if i'm gonna try to sell my Malaga 71, I'll need another car to drive. I towed this non-running car home about 2 years ago with the intension of salvaging parts but i soon realized it was an unmolested, nearly original car and were it not for a lowlife, it almost arrived with its original 'blue plates'.

it was sold to me with original engine which apparently died. i have a very nice 'loaner' engine to install in the meantime, with 02ti spec bathtub pistons and 121T head.

i intend this car to be a ROLLING restoration/rehab. i will not likely do the complete bare-metal repaint. my intension is to repaint the engine bay, nose and front wheel wells while the engine and suspension is out. any surface rust will be addressed as necessary with no deadline to paint the whole car.

did, do you, use new head bolts?

the head bolts on the M10 engine are NOT stretched during the torqueing procedure. i cleaned and inspected them and decided to reuse as-is.

it's my understanding that some engines rely head bolts that will stretch during proper torque and these bolts should not be reused.

Anyone out there with a Tii or high compression set up use the standard off-the-shelf head gasket? There must be some of you out there. How do you deal with the situation meaning am I missing something obvious?

TIA

uh, i thought i answered this in my previous post.

the engine i recently cleaned up was found with the STANDARD-issue, plain-jane head gasket with no evidence of blowby or other issues. in fact, were it not for the fact that the head gasket broke at the junction between the timing cover cases i would have left it alone. it was not a 'cutting ring' gasket nor a special tii-spec gasket.

i did spray both sides of the new head gasket with hi-temp copper spray prior to installation and made sure the head bolt holes were absolutely clean, and retorqued in stages per the Haynes manual.

the compression was measured at 180psi which i would consider a high-compression engine.

i JUST did a gasket refresh on an engine i had lying around. this particular engine has a 121T (not 121ti) head with a casting date of 1979. the compression test on it prior to removal was 180 psi across all cylinders. i would characterize this as a high compression engine.

anyway, the head gasket that i removed was NO different than a standard head gasket i bought from the usual sources.

and yes, i was very pleased to see a set of very nice original, clean 02ti spec bathtub pistons in those bores. can't wait to install this engine.

liquid tungsten (element: W) sounds like 'snake-oil' to me. tungsten is typically associated with hardness and is an element added to steels and Ni-base superalloys to form carbide precipitates which affect hardness. to my knowledge, (which is admittedly, stretching somewhat here), tungsten is not typically associated with any additional lubricity.

molybdenum (element: Mo), on the other hand offers good lubricity when pulverized. i use moly powder (from Dow Corning, btw) mixed with motor oil, forming a paste, as an anti-seize compound. a trick i picked up in the aeroengine overhaul business.

molybdenum disulphide (MoS_2), is the form typically added to grease to yield exceptional lubricity. however, in high temperature environments, beyond normal automobile environments, btw, embrittlement issues have been noted and it is avoided in turbines.

back to the tungsten issue, i suspect it is playing on the public perception of hard, tough and strong. i do remember the old shick razor commercials on television that made a big deal about tungsten coating on the edges of the blades. they used that imagery for years.

fyi,

i added the original instructional thread on this topic to the FAQ Construction Zone Forum for easier recall.

i asked at the DMV if i could have the plate:

1TWO002

which, conceivably could be a standard-issue plate in california.

just think, there IS someone in california who will likely be assigned that plate at random and not even know its significance.

unfortunately, as i was told, each region/area is given a stack of plates and it's up to chance as to what 3 letter sequence is on it.

of course, i could always ask for a vanity plate of that, but to me, that defeats the fun of having that license sequence, plus i'm a cheapskate.

one vanity plate is enough for me and i begrudge the $30/yearly surcharge.

just a bit of BMW trivia,

bolinas ridge is the site of the ORIGINAL TV advertisement where BMW used a 320i (i believe) driving on a curvy road and coined the term "the ultimate driving machine", back in the 70's.

this road has showcased MANY other brands of cars since then. at one point, it was even completely repaved for a commercial. very nice road.

all those back roads are good. the fireroad down to bolinas is especially twisty and fairly unpopulated. however, times are a-changing and marin has been populated significantly in the past 20 years, SIGH....

what baffled me was that i was reusing the rubber inserts so i thought they'd be already preformed. my difficulty was not getting the bolts installed but rather the lip at the bottom fully seated within the slit. i don't understand it. seems so straight-forward, which is why i didn't install it beforehand. i'll know next time.

esty, i see i'm not alone on this....

i will use screws next time too. much better idea

The other issue is what to use as a replacement for the clips to hold it in place.

those clips are still available new. i was unable to salvage mine as i mangled them removing that board. i've tried everything to try to remove them gently. i hate them and dealing with them is one of the few things on these cars that make me swear.

installing them was not trivial either. i tell you, i hate them.....

top notch work. your website is a real asset to this community. it takes the mystery out of the work.

now, if only reading your website would take the EFFORT out of the work too...

i dread having to deal with some of those issues on my next project.

i once paid to have an old truck painted by Miracle Auto in San Rafael.

at the time of the sale i was given verbal assurances that 'this and that' would be done and of course the shop would take special care on my truck, as it was my father's and he had just passed away at the time.

anyhow, as i recall, a week or so later i got a cheapo paintjob with none of the promises kept.

Lesson I learned:

GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. in minute, boring detail. specify everything you expect and assume nothing.

having your car stripped and painted for $2000 is wishful thinking.

i reinstalled the oem rear sway bar on my project this afternoon and i had a heck of a time dealing with the metal brackets. i was able to install one side okay, but on the other side i can not get the bracket to seat properly in the slit that holds the bottom end in place. i can't get a C-clamp to stay in place to coax it into position.

i'm now wishing i had installed this while the subframe was on the workbench...

that looks great. that is on my 'next-to-do' list. in fact i just cleaned the grime off this evening in preparation.

did you do anything other than replace seals? and paint?

any suggestions? i was planning on merely unbolting everything and having a look-see and clean the casting.

i used plain 90 weight gear oil on my other standard diff with no problems.

this is encouraging news, indeed.

now the question is: how does one identify which year corresponds to what 3-letter sequence

after that's answered, i suppose the hunt can start.

the year restriction certainly narrows the available pool.

this was a topic of a week or so.

the information you were given by the local DMV contradicts what i was told and what i believe was the ultimate conclusion from the previous thread.

in summary: unless the car is pre-1963 (or 64?), you can not swap plates like that.

if you have new credible information, please share.

Hey Jerry, nice work!

What headlining are you using?

Todd

i used the ones from Goliners on ePay. i'm pleased with it so far and it was easy to stretch into position. i bought a pair of headliners from them and have yet to install the other one.

wow, with a car as UNMOLESTED as what you found, it'd be a pity to mess with it.

but if you do, consider this:

when surveying the high-dollar, non-tii 02's that have sold on ebay, the one thing they all had in common was that they were 'original', and unmolested.

in fact, the loss-leaders tend to be the over-modded cars that the poor seller spent a fortune on flares, tires, coil-overs etc only to get ten cents on the dollar.

hold onto ALL the bits you change out so that the next in line will have them available.

of course, it's your car to do as you please. just makes any other unaltered car that much more elusive.

i broke one of those trying to reinstall my rearmost bow. fortunately, i had a parts car in back to steal another.

if i didn't have that available i probably would have improvised by wrapping the end in cloth tape, electrical tape or something similar. it's not about the cost of replacement, but rather the inconvenience of having to stop the project once you get in the 'mindset' to do it.

headliner is perfect fit. you really did a great job.

did you pull out that motor from your sis car yet?

i haven't touched the automatic since last week. i'm prepping its replacement engine as well as this car's engine prior to installation. i have an opportunity to strip parts where i work, so i'm taking advantage of the opportunity. it affects my progress but there is no substitute for cleaned, blasted and repainted parts. this chance only comes twice a year, (while the night shift supervisor's on vacation...). a case of RedBull caffienated drink to the cleaning department and i'm good to go.

gotta buy four/car. sold individually.

they're not cheap and the last set i bought from Blunt was of a different/new design from what i was familiar with.

the new configuration is a metal tube insert sorta thing. i have not installed them yet.