Trying to keep updates at a minimal as I don't want to clog up OW with my car poop.
1.8 auto engine + gearbox removed and scrapped
Wizards of lock kit cancelled. SAS GB kit is a lot better and is on back-order due to the huge amount of orders they've recieved recently.
Subframes are ready to get sand blasted then powder coated in brilliant white.
M52B25 engine is ready for head teardown.
EWS system bridged.
Air con system removed.
Next to do:
Make room in the garage to fit the touring in.
Buy all new bushings/mounts for subframes, gearbox, diff, trailing arms and prop donut.
Dry-ice the inside of the touring shell to remove all sound-deadening.
Find a purple tag steering rack from a bmw e46.
Buy overfenders from Unique Customs UK.
Find a full 328 stainless exhaust system.
Strip wiring to minimal.
Buy bigger front brakes from a 330/335
My hope to have this done for the end of this year has faded. This will probably still be going in 2020 lol.
That's it for now.
UPDATE - So the bmw gurus over at e36kings explained a lot about my wiring. The only thing I need to change is the reverse lights as they are wired to the auto loom, manual are on a switch when reverse gear is selected.
With the angle kit, the purple tag steering rack is 100% necessary and will give even more lock with e90/e92 inner tie rods as they are longer than e36 rods. The steering rack responds to the turn of the wheel a lot faster than the stock rack. Basically it will take less turns of the steering wheel to turn the front wheels which is a huge benefit to transitions during a drift.
The EWS is simple but can only be explained via PM as it's basically a way of shutting off the vehicle's security system completely. Making this public is very frowned upon in the bmw community for obvious reasons. I already know how to bypass this system but someone explained a much easier solution to it.
Someone mentioned about trailing arm reinforcements which I never took any thought to. Where the arms bolt to the chassis are prone to corrosion and could potentially rip the entire mount from the chassis when under stress. To avoid this, I'll be welding new plates for the arms to bolt to. This should eliminate that problem from ever occuring.
Subframe reinforcements will come after. I'm still 50/50 on this as they're not really necessary unless you're running big lock and big power. I will only be running big lock, the 2.5 isn't capable of big power unless turbo'd which I'd never do because 1, I'm poor and 2, aluminium 2.5 + boost = rip bottom end. A standard 2.5 is 170bhp, add the m50 manifold, 190bhp, US M3 cams, 220bhp maybe. The mapped ecu probably adds about 15hp.
Engine mounts have played on my mind for a while. I want strong mounts that will handle the thrashing but don't want sold aluminium mounts due to the vibrations they send through the vehicle. Turns out e34 (5 series) engine mounts are the best for that. Solid hard rubber to eliminate those vibrations.
That's it for now.