Eddie's E21 316

[Eddie.]

Thanks guys

It must go in circles, because pretty much all I do is read thread after thread on here, taking inspiration from various builds.

[Eddie.]

So my new brake lines arrived yesterday.

They're custom lines from HEL.

The quality of them is sublime, they really do look and feel like a very premium product.









Hopefully get them fitted this weekend.

[Jeroen]

They look great indeed, good and durable solution!

[Eddie.]

Today was supposed to be another mega productive day, get loads done and get the car close to being finished.

I came home this morning and was nearly sick when I saw this:





It had collapsed during some storms last night. By what I can only describe as a miracle, the car is completely unscathed. The BMW gods were feeling kind it would seem.









So the car is now open to the elements, a good test for those seals.

We did still get a few bits done, I've not quite finished a few jobs though, so will update when they're done.

The braided lines are now on though, just need to bleed the system:





Will get some more done this week.

[Jeroen]

Pfew, glad the car escaped unharmed!

[nas80]

You need to have them lines in the inner wing holder mate. The mot man won't like that. Where you have a flexi join you have to have it held secure using proper clips and according to him tie wraps don't count as secure either lol.



The same thing happened to me with a gazebo. It luckily flew away clear from the car and bent itself to bits in the back garden. Count your lucky stars mate. It would have been upsetting if it scratched your mint paint.

[Eddie.]

So some updates.

Tonight was a mixed bag really, but in all it's left me feeling rather fed up with the car and the project as a whole, but more on that later.

The car itself is looking so good, it sits really nicely, and although the heights need a bit of tinkering with, I'm happy for now.





The rear camber is laughable!



Got a fair amount of the interior done over the weekend just gone:





New rev counter, thanks to Jamie who dropped it off one morning, out of the blue



It might be childish, but I love that just the rev counter has a red needle

So onto the less happy stuff.

The drivers carpet is drenched, literally full of water. I'm gutted to say the least as I put a lot of time and effort getting the carpet looking nice, and I fear it may be damaged by the water. Hopefully I will be able to dry it out once the leak is fixed, which appears to be coming from the back of the heater box. A new seal should hopefully see things right.

As we know, the brakes are not working, due to a suspected master cylinder failure.

I have managed to source a rebuild kit from a local company, fingers crossed it will sort the issues out.

That said, actually removing the master cylinder has proven tricky. The pushrod on the brake pedal is attached to the master cylinder and I can't figure out how it comes apart. Some research might give me the answer.

The master cylinder can be seen here:



Also, my dual booster setup can be seen over on the passenger side:





I'm hoping they won't need rebuilding.

So delays, problems and just generally a crappy night on the car. It's walking on thin ice, I'm not far off throwing it in the classifieds at the moment!

[Jeroen]

Hey man the car is looking great, it's always the last bits 'n bobs that take more time than expected. The carpet qwill survive the leak, just make sure to find the source. There's supposed to be a rubber o-ring where the wiring from the door enters the a-pillar, make sure that o-ring is there. It leaves an open hole but at least any water running along the a-pillar won't get in, it will be directed around the hole. You can also have water coming in through the door, make sure the plastic covers the open space real good.

Almost there mate!

[polov8]

The car looks great at that ride height, i REALLY need to lower mine asap! The rear camber doesn't look too bad, but I can imagine with wider wheels it would destroy the inner edge and leave the outer alone.

As for the leak, don't sweat it, the carpet will be fine, just make sure to dry out all the soundproofing too!

[nas80]

Yea for this reason I fitted adjustable camber plates on my car. It made a big improvement to how much grip I had.

Your nearly there man. I think your far ahead of me. I still don't have a running engine no brakes and there's no wheels on my car yet!

[Peter V.]

Nice looking car indeed.

I am still surpriced about the strange placement of your brakecylinder. I know with the steering at the rightside it must go that way but i am glad i drive a left steering car. (for repairs it is even easier then).

[Eddie.]

So, tonight I managed to remove the brake master cylinder and strip it down.



Pushrod removed:



Circlip removed (it came off at about Mach 3 tbh, nearly took my eye out.

First piston removed:



Second piston removed:



Rubber inlets and washers removed:



All stripped down and ready to be cleaned up and rebuilt:

[Jeroen]

Finally!

Please use a small and simple honing tool on the inside before re assembly to get the rust out

[Eddie.]

Finally!

Please use a small and simple honing tool on the inside before re assembly to get the rust out

I'll get one ordered.

You just run it down the cylinder with a drill, right?

[polov8]

I was curious so I looked it up.



I don't see why that couldn't be done with a drill and the cylinder in a vice. The tools are cheap enough too.