5.3 LS e36 sedan

A few more parts came in today. Got my -6AN Russel quick-connect fuel rail fittings meaning now the only part missing in my fuel system is some braided Fuel line and a handful of AN fittings.


I also received my EBC Yellowstuff brake pads and seeing as my good friend runs EBC Canada I was able to get a very good deal, and of course I’m always happy to run a product related to a friends business

 

Another day, another part acquisition! Today my Amazon radiator came in and I’m honestly rather impressed with the quality considering I paid 180$ CAD for this thing. Hopefully it does the job. I forget the exact dimensions but all I remember is that the core thickness is 2.5” which is what’s most important about it all.

 

Not much to report on lately, sent off my 6 wheels and both knuckles to be powder coated so those should be coming back to me next week. Other than that I pickup up a Ford Taurus fan to attach to my radiator. I’ve read that in “High” mode they’re rated at 2600 to 2800 cfm which is fantastic.


I also removed my old tie rod assembly and put together my e46 inner tie rods with my e34 outers. In the middle is what was on the car and to the left and right are the new ones. The tie rod on the left is to show how it looks stretched out a little, with yet still more room to thread out. Insane to see the extra length I gain from this simple setup! Really excited to test this whole diy angle kit.


The most exciting update is me finally getting the engine off the stand and the clutch kit+transmission bolted up for the first time in 2 years that I’ve been building this car. It’s a huge morale booster and It’s yet another step closer to completion.

 

Hard to believe it’s been three months since updating here so here’s a little update in chronological order of events to get up to speed.

I got my wheels back from powder coating and couldn’t be happier with the eggshell white finish. I’ve opted to run the full set of 18’s after seeing how they look on the car. I love my Style 32’s but I won’t mind having a pair of nice wheels as backup.


Then saw this pop up on a local BMW drift page on Facebook for sale. Ad essentially said, “Don’t know what car this comes from, likely fits an e36”. I am pleased to announce that this wing does indeed fit an e36 and I’m loving what it adds to the rear.


I then had a friend 3D print me vent delete plates for my kill switch and my switch panel. This was my friends first go at taking a “client” order and I was extremely happy with the results. I’ll have to get a separate shot of the plate he made to accept my switch panel as well.

Pictured is my driver side block-off plate with the kill switch.


For documenting purposes I was unfortunately at the stage of the build where I just rolled up my sleeves and finally stopped procrastinating (and by “I” it’s more my awesome friends who came through to help big time and I’m very appreciative). I FINALLY GOT THE ENGINE IN. It’s my first ever project of this sort of scale and man what a rush of joy and sense of accomplishment something like this gives people.

Even though he won’t see this I got to show off one of my best friends, Robert (on the right of this shot). He has helped make a lot my progress possible and has always been the voice of reason when necessary to help keep me on track with the build haha. I’m sure everyone here has their own Robert who always pulls through.


Pretty much the only shot I got of working on the car during the day. Everything fit up so perfectly it was satisfying to see how well the engine clearances all around. The perks of having a ready to-go swap kit I guess lol. Zero firewall hammering necessary so I’d call that a success.


Engine install day was not without its speed bumps though. In my previous photo you can see I have that diy angle kit I found out about through a YouTube video with my white cut knuckles strapped on. Well to make it quick and to the point: unfortunately the kit didn’t work out for me. I couldn’t figure it out at all after a week of searching for answers and in the end I found that answer.

I said screw trying to Frankenstein something together and saw someone local was selling an essentially brand new FDF angle kit that he had only installed and never run.


Here are a few shots of everything mounted up with my BC coilovers all installed.


Front end is 95% complete and I couldn’t be happier! So happy with overall progress. The car is a trans mount away front being dropped for the first time in two years and sent out for a new floor at my friends shop.


Finally got around to getting tires for my wheels as the car is ready to go back down soon. Bought two Hankook RS4’s for the front and some cheap 90$ tires to burn. Also my budget couldn’t take a full set of RS4’s lol.


Of course a fitment check was in order and it’s pretty tasty if I do say so. Waiting on spacers and fender flares to come in for the front before I can show some fitment shots of that.


To end this update off I found older shots of my first ever time working on a car when I had my first 318is coupe about 3-4 years ago. Embarrassingly it took me quite literally all afternoon, on to around 9:30-10pm to get all four corners done for my Raceland install day. Amazing to look back and see what you’re able to do now comparatively (as well as how much faster).

 

All four corners for breaks are taken care of and the sight of brand new rotors, calipers, and pads is very nice. Also managed to replace both front wheel bearings while I was there.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read! And yes extremely lucky to be in a place where you can go and find 10 at bare minimum in a junkyard

 

Well I FINALLY got my Nerptech e36 diff brace in after it being shipping out on April 4th. The timing of my order with everything going on couldn’t have been worse but happy to have the piece here now and extremely satisfied with it!

 

With shops having availabilities again I can finally expect my number to be called at a place that will take care of buttoning up my cooling system, brake lines, welding up my reinforcement plates for the rear subframe, as well as other little jobs that’s I simply don’t have the skills to complete myself.

That being said, I finally threw on my front end and man did I fall in love. When I bought the shell 2 years ago it came with the front end stuffed inside the back of the car so to see it assembled for the first time ever was awesome.



Also on the list before getting the car sent out was to modify my trans mount. The Sikky trans mount I have was made for a T56 so a small extension had to be added on which one of my best friends took care of and I really couldn’t be happier with the V1 outcome. Time will tell if any design changes/improvements need to be made but I’m feeling confident that this will do the job

 

Mount got a nice coat of black, picking it up tonight and then I’ll be hoping to have it all bolted up within the next couple of days

 

Thank you! It’s definitely been fun seeing the car transform along with my skill set

 

Last week the car hit the deck for the first time in 2 years and it was such an awesome sight. out of the box the BC’s were sitting a little low for my liking so that’ll have to be adjusted. For now enjoy a few pictures of this (personal) historic night

A couple of days later the car was picked up to go have some work done. Most importantly subframe reinforcement plates welded in, subframe bushings, then some of the cooling to sort out, and get my driveshaft made up.


Felt strange seeing this place “empty”, but only for a little while


Happy to see she had a friend outside the shop


On Monday the shop started with welding in the plates and so far I’ve been told that things are going smooth with disassembly which makes me pretty relieved

 

An rx8 would’ve probably also made it on my list of shells to buy had i not found this one so quickly. Love the body style of them, good luck if ever you go through with it and hopefully we’ll see progress on forum posts of your own!

 

With the Condor rear subframe reinforcement plates welded in and the new power flex bushings installed, the rear end was ready to be put back together. More parts need to come in from BMW to make it all 100%, but in terms of drivetrain it might as well be considered complete which is another exciting step done.


Stock 318 diff and axles were swapped out for a 2.93 diff and 328 axles. Along my with my adjustable rear camber arms. Really loving the purple on bits of the rear end, makes me want to continue the trend little by little haha


Nerptech diff brace also made its way on after a quick re-seal of the diff casing and new fluids put in.


A wide shot of everything accomplished in the rear. A very unexpected surprise was finding out that the driveshaft ended up fitting perfectly without modification! Huge surprise as I guess I didn’t do enough research and was under the impression that the NV3500 pickup truck transmission I’m running would not be compatible with my Sikky driveshaft sold for a T56. In the end the Sikky slip yoke slid onto the tail shaft like a glove and the length ended up being spot on. Though I’m more happy about the fact that it saved me a nice chunk of budget since I now do not have to get a custom one made

 

Custom fuel cell cradle with vibration dampening mounts were all made up! Super happy with how it looks and even more excited to see it in the trunk when that part comes around


Along with the functional purpose of the vibration dampening mounts, it also allows me to bring the entire cradle and fuel cell ...*covers my car's ears and whispers*... to a new chassis IF ever that day should come


Finally, a little lesson that I was fortunate enough to learn the easy way. Mainly for my 4.8, 5.3, and 6.0 people out there who may be reading this and who are new to this LS+drift world like I am: If you think you heard a snapped piece of dip stick tube fall into your pan, that's because it probably did hahahaha. In all seriousness though, I wish this was something I was aware during my engine teardown or rebuild stage but apparently the dip stick tubes can be known to crack and leave this little piece you see in the photo stuck in the block while the rest of the tube comes out. As you can see the crack on mine was so clean I didn't suspect a thing when I took the old tube out! Went to install the brand new tube, everything felt as it should getting it to seat properly and then *DINK*, pushed the old snapped part to the bottom

 

Last week I got a call from the shop saying my car was ready and could be picked up ASAP. So naturally as any car guy would, I left school immediately and with the help of a friend and his truck we picked up the car.


She was gone for a little bit and I was getting eager to start working on it again so I was happy to see it back home.


CSF rad finally turned up after little good wait but it was so beautiful to unbox that all was forgiven haha.


Wish I had a chance to install it but I’m missing my driver side rad bracket on the frame rail so that’ll have to wait for another day


I previously had a DNA Motoring “eBay Special” radiator but after running into fitment issues I just ended up selling it to one of the guys at the shop who will be using it in this bad bitch. An 89’ 300zx with a Nissan Titan swap and the best part.... S T A C K S


The fuel cell fit super snug and required no bashing or cutting. I’d like to get on next with fuel plumbing so seeing as I have everything except fittings I began mocking up my external pump and filters (not in photo) to get an idea of what direction things want to go in so that I could order my fittings accordingly.


All the way across the other end of the car I have the issue of figuring out where the hell I’m going to route my fuel lines with good heat management in mind and without running line in the car preferably. With the headers in their final position you all can see I’m not very spoiled with space on driver or passenger side, but thinking maybe I can make something happen behind the engine to at least get the lines under the car rather than look to go along engine bay frame rail. I guess something’s gotta give when shoving a V8 in a little German sedan lol

 

Thank you very much for letting me know! As of now I’m running all truck accessories in the name of just running what I have but when I want to go to a car intake and accessories I’ll keep you in mind!