10 Day Build! E21 S54 - Bertha

[frankm e30]

I did find out about that and decided to move it further back approximately 1/2" to have it more centered. That's the best I can do at this point. I think it will be enough!

[frankm e30]

Not too much progress. In fact, I realized that the sump on the S54 is rear and as a result I could barely install the subframe, let alone fit the steering rack. The result was to acquire an E34 525i M50 oil pan, which I then fitted and got a much more desirable result.



So today was a learning experience. I am at today where I thought I was yesterday, Now I need to acquire an E34 525i oil pump and pickup, probably going to mock additional front sump baffling and some pickup running to the rear of the pan as well. This prevents the engine from starving of oil during hard acceleration.

Other than that, just banged back the firewall a bit more to make the clearance I need to mate with the driveshaft. It's going to be tight - real tight.



I've been resting the drivetrain on the ground as I drop the car down on it, then bring the hoist to lift it INTO the engine bay, guiding it on the trans side by a floor jack. That helps me then position the subframe.


So the advantage is further back center of gravity and radiator clearance. For all I know I might be able to fit the radiator without a hiccup. Let's find out Friday!

Get the engine and trans brackets welded and it suspended on its own.

Slightly modify oil pan for steering rack clearance - easy.

Lower the car and start measuring for other items of concern!

[frankm e30]

Today I got a couple hours to work on her, but I did go a long way in establishing engine position. Using E36 Arms, I was able to get very close on both sides using Garagistic's M60 mounts. I might shave them down to get the right size, but the M20 ones might be more appropriate. I'll try it with that tomorrow

Drive side: No interference with Steering shaft


Passenger Side - No interference with Headers


Got the Transmission mounts in, This is just temporary and will EITHER be welded together and utilize 4 rail bolts, OR I'll adapt an E30 trans brace and extend the arms to install into the 4 rail bolts.



Again, this is temporary so I can get the proper driveshaft alignment. Need to beef these up to prevent twisting/sliding.



Before I get the engine arms in the final spot, I had to ensure that the radiator AND coolant reservoir fit. Everything fits perfectly. Upper and Lower hoses must be adapted to fit. This is no big deal. The thing that concerns me is that the alternator pulley comes very close to the coolant reservoir. I think I must shift the reservoir a bit to the driver side so that the clearance is adequate, regardless of the polyurethane mounts (which should, by the way, hold the engine very steady with minimal movement).




Things are looking grim to get this done in 10 days, but I keep making progress each day. Saturday should be a big day. Stay tuned.

Got a few things to solve in the short term including driveshaft being too short (might get custom length made) and Intake manifold interfering with brake booster (might go boosterless in short term to solve issue).

Garagistic has been helping a lot with the build, bailing me out of some of the technical issues I've had. 10 days is really tough, guys. But I'm doing my best and will continue trying to get it done by mid next week.
Lead time on parts (driveshaft, E34 oil pump) might push this out.

[frankm e30]

It may not look like it, but a lot of progress was made this Satuday, Day 7. I was able to effectively place Garagistic's M60 80A poly mounts in place on the modified/shortened E36 M50 Arms. The Arms bolted right to the S54 Block. The Driver side mount only has 2 bolts utilized, so I must add an adapter plate to adapt the 2 unused holes to the block's other holes. Not a big deal. More on that later this week. Here are some of the pics: Final pics will not be posted until later this week:

Passenger Side:


Drive Side:


I also took some time to update the subframe brackets. While Garagistic works hard at creating my custom offset rear subframe bushings, I am working on holdiong those bushings down by virtue of the modified brackets, now holding down on the OUTSIDE of the body as opposed to the inside. The reason for this is because of the wider E30 subframe would make contact with the weld nuts on the existing version E21 subframe bracket. So with some modifications of the bracket, weld bolts, we've got a pretty solid setup!
I also had a chance to shorten the shifter lever arm as well as the shift carrier, but I have not welded it yet. More on that this coming week.

Due to the final placement of the drivetrain, I had to modify the placement of the center bearing location and I decided to add rivet nuts as opposed to weld studs. This was actually pretty easy to implement.



Day 8 is Monday. I'm taking off this Sunday, so no work or progress is being made today. I want to accomplish the following:

Weld the entire Front Subframe complete - Paint it.
Side Radiator Clearance - Cut/Weld if necessary
Install rear subframe bushings - Weld Diff Mount to Frame
Measure rear driveshaft length - send out for lengthening
Weld downpipes.
A lot planned - Stay tuned!

[Jeroen]

Lots of progress, really impressed! It is clear that this is not your first conversion project! With the 10 days almost gone... already thinking about a new project?

[frankm e30]

I think that this project will be longer than 10 days. - more like 13-15 (done by this Saturday - Maybe get it to start, maybe not, but all "lift necessary items" will be completed).

Throughout this process, which has been quite stressful, although Garagistic has been a huge help, I think I would take my time and do it slower, enjoy it more - savor it more. Getting it done just to get it done is not the right way to do cool swaps like this. Next is to paint this and fine tune all the gremlins that I'm "letting go" for now.

[frankm e30]

It's clear that this will not be a 10 day build. More like 13-15 days. But I've done my best and Garagistic has been an excellent proponent. Today, I got the Differential reluctor ring installed. It involved contracting the carrier by freezing it overnight....



Putting the reluctor ring in the oven at 500 degrees F for 1hr....



Then immediately, after install it. Within 10 seconds, it will have contracted enough to stay on. Then after 1hr, almost impossible to remove without a press. Very easy way to install!



Got some front subframe work done today. It's not pretty, but it works, and now the S54 sits on its own weight in the car. Nice an aligned!!



For the driver side mount, using the E36 Arms, I found out that I was only able to utilize 2 of the bolts. So I had Garagistic cut me a custom piece that adapted 2 other holes, thereby allowing me the use of at least 3 holes in the assembly.



Had to shave off the Aluminum arm to make room for the 11ga bracket.



I might end up utilizing an additional hole. Not sure yet.



Shortened the shifter mechanism. Just need to weld it up!



After final alignment of the drivetrain, I couldn't push the engine back any further. Disappointing because now the driveshaft is just too short to feel comfortable. Therefore, I'm having the rear half lengthened and re balanced professionally.

Stay tuned for tomorrow - no welding work, but a lot of ancillary tasks like intake, brakes,

[Jeroen]

Still there's enough progress made, but always somethings to slow you down. Any new detailed pics of the engine fitted after all adjustments?

[frankm e30]

Engine is now fitted - Driveshaft is getting lengthened by about 2" to have enough spline engagement. I am trying to figure out a solution for the brakes. I think that in the short term, I might cut the existing booster to clear the intake manifold. Replace with another booster later. That and go boosterless.

Day 9, A good amount of progress today. I sorted out many of the nuisance things that were bothering me. I accomplished a lot on my plate. I now know where I stand with brakes. And there is a lot of work to do there.

You can see below that after fitting the intake manifold



Need a new upper radiator hose. Based on the position of the radiator and the low position of the engine, I need a custom hose. Easy.



Pressed Garagistic's 95A differential Mount in the rear carrier!




Relocated the battery in the rear. And no, I didn't just throw it back there. There's a battery hold-down mechanism there that will hold it in nice and tight. You can see the ground lug to the right there. This will help offset the front-heavy weight distribution.



Got my Walbro 255lph pump in. No issues getting it to fit. Re-used some of the stock hardware, but other than that, it's tight in there with no interference. Just need to add an in-line filter somewhere. !



No intereferences anymore (about 1/2" of clearance) between the overflow tank and the alternator Pulley. It's important that I make sure the radiator is married to the body with minimal movement so that this does not move anywhere.



So 9 days down, and an estimated 4 days to go. I've put in a total of 50hours into this build since September 10th. I estimate I have another 30 to finalize it.

So tomorrow I'll need to weld the shifters, engine ground, and a big one......Rear Subframe Bushings. They should be completed tomorrow at which point I can re-focus on the rear end and getting the subframe, trailing arms, and suspension installed.


Almost there - Getting very tired.

[Jeroen]

[E21noob]

Good work. Great reading. Stay focussed!

[gerrit323]

Nice project .. looking forward on the progress

[frankm e30]

So here we are, Day 10. And I'm about 3/4 the way done. But the hard part is really over. The last 10 days have been very taxing on me - Very stressful. But I've learned a lot about my capabilities, my problem solving abilities, and how simple it really is when you have a lift.
While I might be relenquishing the Lift shortly, and temporarily, I will still be able to completemore tasks. Here's what I have 100% completed:

Coolant System
Fuel System
Electrical Thought - Not yet implemented
Steering (no change)
Need to complete the following

Brakes - Need to re-install booster - I will modify the S54 Intake to clear the booster for now.
Oil
Pump - Going E34 M50 pump/sprocket/chain,
Pan - VAC Baffle
Tap Oil Drain for 5/16 Hose
Exhaust - Need to completely weld
Rear Suspension. Need TA welded, Diff Mount,
Receive Elongated Driveshaft
Assemble Diff
Many of these tasks are relatively simple installation tasks, so they should take no more than an afternoon to complete.

Now here are some pictures of some of my accomplishments today. I do not plan to update daily anymore. My next update will likely be Saturday Night or Sunday. Thanks again for tuning in...

[frankm e30]

So 10 days is over. Now I'm posting in checkpoints. Every few days I post updates. I won't be working on it as much, so daily updates might not be worth the post, so I'll have probably 3 of these checkpoint postings until I'm done with the car. Some of the things I was going to do if I had the time is - Paint red, Euro Bumper Shortening. I must wait for that for a while.

I've made some progress since day 10. I managed to use the MSS5X binary tool to re-flash my MSS52HP to the specifications below. Remove Post O2 Cats, Remove Secondary Air Pump, Remove EWS, Increase rev limiter, sport mode, changed sport mode settings for my accelerator pedal.

First, I got my license!









Then I completed the shifter assembly using Garagistics bushings!



Wired up the battery cable from the trunk to the starter. I added power wiring to the Fuse Box as well as power to the ECU as well.





Upper Radiator Hose Mocked up.




Then I went into the details of replacing the oil pump chain and E34 M50 Oil Pump








Drilled out the oil pan, tapped with 9/16-18 thread for an O-Ring fitting allowing a barbed hose to drain from the head. I used a 9/16-18 nut just in case the thinner walled oil pan didn't take the threading.









Finally I started doing some other preparations, like rebuild the rear calipers and exhaust work.







My next post will be in another few days. If I'm lucky, I'll have this thing running and driving by week's end!

[Jeroen]

Fingers crossed then, thanks for another detailed update!