BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      12-13-2016, 07:53 AM   #1
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e9x M3 front and rear end swap

Just in time for the long winter, I was able to source all the heavy components for an M3/1M swap from a local salvage guy.

Parts:
Front knuckles with brakes, steering rack (may or may not be used), brake booster and master cylinder, full rear end drop out, and driveshaft. I also bought Harold's 1M stock shocks and springs. (M3 springs are too long in the rear end and do transfer over). I'll be refreshing all bushings and links jut to make it extra tight.

Later on, I'll be doing a front widebody. Still doing homework on this but it looks like the N5tuner fenders and ******** bumper with Raze splitter.

Stay tuned for more......
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      12-13-2016, 07:54 AM   #2
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      12-13-2016, 08:00 AM   #3
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      12-13-2016, 02:44 PM   #4
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Look forward to more updates!

- curious as to why look-alike 1M with 135i track width over OEM 1M track width?
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      12-13-2016, 04:25 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yeineken View Post
Look forward to more updates!

- curious as to why look-alike 1M with 135i track width over OEM 1M track width?
My goal is not to build a 1M clone. What I'm after is a much better 135i by means of M3 suspension and differential. Stock rear fenders can handle 265 tires and I'm OK with that. At least for now

The front end can definitely use some widening to allow for more rubber. That's why I'm considering the N5 fender route.

1M width = M3 width = 135i width at the hub face. I know this sounds impossible but it is the wheel offset in the 1M and M3 that pushes the track wider. So, in the end, it is the fenders (bodywork) that allow the big tires to fit. That's why you can't come close to matching tire size with the 1M unless you do the front and rear fender swaps.

Another of my goals is to keep costs down by buying used parts off the forum. So far, I've purchased Performance exhaust, factory CF diffuser and mirror caps, JB4, AA FMIC, LED interior lights, BMS filter, second set of stock wheels, and 1M suspension all at drastically reduced pricing, usually 50% off. When I do upgrade the springs and shocks I'll be able to buy from the M3 forum since those cars have a lot of upgrade activity going on. This also includes rotors and brake pads. All of the parts in the pictures above cost me just under $3k. I'm not trying to go cheap, this is more like an experiment.

In the end, I'm not looking for a show car, either. I want a daily driver with great breaking and suspension, LSD, and, eventually, coil overs and adjustable shocks so that it can double as a track car. I've got a JB4 system in but will soon be adding FMIC and MHD to get the power side where I want it.

Last edited by drwillb; 12-14-2016 at 03:21 PM..
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      12-18-2016, 12:03 PM   #6
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Rear hubs are not in the same position, on the E82 they are 10mm more towards the outside.

*10mm on each side
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      12-18-2016, 02:03 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Traf View Post
Rear hubs are not in the same position, on the E82 they are 10mm more towards the outside.

*10mm on each side
Yup. 135i is actually wider.
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      12-18-2016, 03:19 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShocknAwe View Post
Yup. 135i is actually wider.
Yeah Non M version of course.
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      12-18-2016, 04:19 PM   #9
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Looks like a badass project.

I'm curious how big the difference actually is performance wise. I'd imagine it's incredibly small to non existent, with the extra front camber (obtainable with plates) and faster rack (for driver's comfort / pleasure mostly) making the biggest differences.
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      12-18-2016, 06:56 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes View Post
Looks like a badass project.

I'm curious how big the difference actually is performance wise. I'd imagine it's incredibly small to non existent, with the extra front camber (obtainable with plates) and faster rack (for driver's comfort / pleasure mostly) making the biggest differences.
Just another way to get better arms and dampers. I like the stock ///M suspension a lot.

Big element here is the ///M rear toe arm, which non-M 1ers can not fit without swapping in the subframe.
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      01-12-2017, 03:54 PM   #11
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I know this thread has not been active but being in NJ, we have a true ''off-season'' to contend with and I don't have a heated garage so my time is spent researching and gathering parts.

Someone needs to keep me off the internet. I ran across a sale on PS1 turbo and added that to the shopping cart. That will be Phase II, though: PS1, DV+, catted downpipe, ****** O2 sensor massager, back end flash (my 5/2012 build presents problems but MHD may be sorted by then, if not, Rogue Engineering has someone that can do the flash). I already have an AA FMIC but that will go in during the mechanicals upgrade since I've already signed up for Watkins Glen for June of this year and I'll need it there but I don't want to tackle the power side of things unless I have time to fine tune.

As you can see, I've been busy
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2012 135i Mods: air scoops, CP, K&N filter, PS1, ADE FMIC, BMW PE, JB4, 1M front body, full M3 suspension front and rear, M3 brakes front and rear, M3 rear subframe and LSD
Owned so far: 88 M3 x 2, 95 325is, 95 M3 x 2, 06 Mini Cooper S, 08 335 xi, 09 Z4 35i, 01 M3, 12 135i

Last edited by drwillb; 01-12-2017 at 04:40 PM..
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      01-31-2017, 05:40 PM   #12
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Quick update. Thanks to the warm weather in the northeast, I've been able to get out to the garage to begin disassembling the big parts in order to freshen up the suspension components.

That's the good news. However, there's a fair amount of bad news.

1. Both left and right inboard CV boots are torn. That's $100 per side for repair parts but the real bad news is that the halfshaft bolts are on TIGHT and I do not want to chew them up . So tight, in fact that my Torx impact socket split clean in half when I was trying to loosen the FIRST bolt and that was after soaking with PB Blaster a few times over a few days.

2. All four brake rotor retaining screws on the front end were frozen and the hex head on the bolts stripped right out. Even a brand new set of easy outs couldn't get them out. This one's not so bad since all I have to do is drill the head off the bolts and the rotors will no longer be retained. However, ......see #3 below.

3. All rotors are FROZEN onto the hubs. The rears took 5 doses of PB Blaster over a few days and then a 3lb mallet (not the dead blow type) and a piece of 2x4 before they decided to come loose. I'm sure I can expect the same with the fronts once the retaining screws are out.

4. Removal of one of the suspension arms from each of the front spindles has been CHALLENGING. Tie rods came out easy as well as one of the arms. The stuck ones are IN THERE. I tried a ball joint separator with an impact gun.....no good. I tried whacking the top of the ball joint screw, the sides of the screws, the sides of the knuckles where the ball joint seats, I even said screw it and broke out the pickle forks and BFH (3lb mallet, again), and NOTHING MOVES on the one arm. The pickle fork worked on the one side but the knuckle is made of aluminum and it definitely suffered from the pressure generated by forks.

So, I've actually learned a lot. Well, it's more like validation of my garage philosophy that got me through building out an e36 M3 and then two e30 M3s: do it right, do it once, do it with new parts.

My goal, at the onset, was to approach this project with some frugality and that's why I sourced out the salvage parts I've been beating on. Granted, my donor car must have spent all of its life in the northeast, bathed in salty road jizz for several years to end up in this condition. I was originally going to go with a California car and have the parts shipped but the allure of saving over $1k and going with locally sourced parts got the best of me.

I have not been beaten. I will persevere. But I will buy more new parts.

I just ordered/rented the HPA subframe bushing tool and just ordered a full set of front control arms and all 4 rotors......all new parts.

This weekend I'll head back into the garage, possibly with a 5lb mallet, I will beat it, and I WILL WIN. But I may need to buy more new parts. Hmm, new front hub carriers really aren't that expensive, and ..................


More to come.
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2012 135i Mods: air scoops, CP, K&N filter, PS1, ADE FMIC, BMW PE, JB4, 1M front body, full M3 suspension front and rear, M3 brakes front and rear, M3 rear subframe and LSD
Owned so far: 88 M3 x 2, 95 325is, 95 M3 x 2, 06 Mini Cooper S, 08 335 xi, 09 Z4 35i, 01 M3, 12 135i

Last edited by drwillb; 01-31-2017 at 06:23 PM..
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      01-31-2017, 08:19 PM   #13
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keep pluggin'! I like your spirit!

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      02-01-2017, 05:49 PM   #14
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Where in NJ are you at? Woulld love to come by and check it out (I'm from the area). I wonder if we dealt with the same local guy because I bought all my parts couple months back. I won't be putting them on until the spring hits.
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      02-01-2017, 08:05 PM   #15
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Lecaf, we're supposed to meet up this weekend anyway. I'm the guy that bought your front control arms.

Got some bad news, though, and I just realized this. In my state of frustration (see a couple posts up) I forgot I told you I'd buy your control arms and went ahead and bought a set from a vendor on the internet along with new rotors.

Very sorry, man but I don't think you'll have a problem selling BNIB control arms.

As for the salvage parts, if you bought them from a couple of guys in Piscataway, then that's where I got mine. Not only that, but you've got the parts I was supposed to get: super clean 23k mile car. He sold those out from under me after we already had a deal done and spoke on the phone 3 times. I'd be in a different place right now if I had those parts. Nothing against you. It's the seller's fault.
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      02-01-2017, 08:17 PM   #16
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I made some progress tonight by figuring out how to loosen the halfshaft screws. Seems some good old slow and steady, long torque bar pressure is the way to go. I used a pry bar to keep the shaft from turning then put my floor jack handle on my long socket bar to get leverage. In total, close to a 3 foot bar and it still took a little effort.

You'd think that the impact gun would've knocked them loose.
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2012 135i Mods: air scoops, CP, K&N filter, PS1, ADE FMIC, BMW PE, JB4, 1M front body, full M3 suspension front and rear, M3 brakes front and rear, M3 rear subframe and LSD
Owned so far: 88 M3 x 2, 95 325is, 95 M3 x 2, 06 Mini Cooper S, 08 335 xi, 09 Z4 35i, 01 M3, 12 135i

Last edited by drwillb; 02-01-2017 at 08:30 PM..
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      02-06-2017, 03:41 PM   #17
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More progress:

1. diff is out- very easy once I switched to the slow leverage method as above.

2. old bushings out, new bushings in- extremely easy thanks to the HPA bushing tool. I don't have a lot of time to waste tinkering in the garage (although I seem to do a lot of that) so being able to swap all four bushings in a matter of minutes was a huge bonus and worth the rental fee of approx. $100 after adding shipping. Picked up some O ring lube at home depot, plumbing department, and installation was a breeze.

3. sway bar and links out- seems like crazy engineering to have a screw at the bottom end of the link that is so long that it bumps into the casing for the CV joint when you try to back the screw out. I searched the net for an hour trying to find some secret but it seems that just cutting then end that protrudes from the hub carrier and then the actual screw head is the only way to get the thing out.

No progress: that one stinkin' ball joint on the front end just won't let go. I may have to concede that one.

One more thing: I've been keeping a spreadsheet on parts, part numbers, and cost. After adding the latest round of parts bought, it seems I am somewhat, extremely overbudget. I think I can attribute that realizing that the donor car lead a hard life and it's visible in some of the parts. Also, my mantra of "do it once, do it right, do it with new parts" can always be heard repeating itself in the background noise inside my head. My goal of doing a budget based conversion is gone, far gone.

I have given in to my inner OCD and will end up purchasing all lower arm joints, inner and outer, for the rear end. That includes purchasing the special tool for compressing the bushings for insertion. I'll probably end up getting new front bearing/hub carriers since one of mine is not playing along. However, I'll reuse the hubs from what I've already got.

In the end, the front end will be full M3 with only the sway bar and hub/bearings being salvage parts. The rear end will only have the two lower links re-used but their bushings will be all new and the three upper links will be all new. Diff and subframe bushings are also all new. All nuts, bolts, and screws will be new.

There's also a Dinan Stage 2 tune going in two days from now and an ER Competition oil cooler is on order.

Yeah, over budget.

In the end, it's all peace of mind. This will be a mixed use track car for the next year or two and then will become a dedicated track car. By using new bushings and arms I know that risk of failure is drastically reduced and it also resets the clock on maintenance/replacement intervals for these parts. In 60 track days I've never missed a single session due to mechanical issues and I like to think it's because of my methodical (OCD) approach.
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2012 135i Mods: air scoops, CP, K&N filter, PS1, ADE FMIC, BMW PE, JB4, 1M front body, full M3 suspension front and rear, M3 brakes front and rear, M3 rear subframe and LSD
Owned so far: 88 M3 x 2, 95 325is, 95 M3 x 2, 06 Mini Cooper S, 08 335 xi, 09 Z4 35i, 01 M3, 12 135i

Last edited by drwillb; 02-06-2017 at 04:25 PM..
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      02-23-2017, 09:25 AM   #18
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      02-26-2017, 01:07 PM   #19
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Thanks to a string of warm weekends (for NJ) and a couple of days off last week, I was able to finish breaking down all the front end bits ---- I told you I was going to win that battle. I also received the last of all my parts, including new front hub carriers. Man, those things are a beautiful piece of cast/milled aluminum.

Looking forward to begin assembly soon. The plan is to do the front end in one weekend then review all my parts including nuts and bolts to make sure the rear end goes togethe smoothly. I still need measurements for the driveshaft so I can have that done ahead of time.
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2012 135i Mods: air scoops, CP, K&N filter, PS1, ADE FMIC, BMW PE, JB4, 1M front body, full M3 suspension front and rear, M3 brakes front and rear, M3 rear subframe and LSD
Owned so far: 88 M3 x 2, 95 325is, 95 M3 x 2, 06 Mini Cooper S, 08 335 xi, 09 Z4 35i, 01 M3, 12 135i

Last edited by drwillb; 03-17-2017 at 04:02 PM..
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      02-26-2017, 01:25 PM   #20
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So, I mentioned I won the battle with the stubborn ball joint. I had tried everything I could think of, as noted in a post above, and then decided to just soak the joint with PB Blaster and let it sit for a week with the ball joint separator tool in place. I then came back and decided it was going to be all or nothing. I just started turning the screw on the separator by hand, slowly, and after a few turns it was all done. There was quite a loud pop when it let go. My son heard it inside the house.

Anyway, I had gone ahead and purchased new hub carriers but just want to put another point on my win column.

Below you can see my method for separating the rotors from the hub and also the hub from the carrier: put all four bolts in place then tap on the bolt heads, going around in a circle and tapping harder with each revolution.

You can see my new favorite tool at work: Thor's Hammer

The plan is to put the old hub/bearings on the new carriers.
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Owned so far: 88 M3 x 2, 95 325is, 95 M3 x 2, 06 Mini Cooper S, 08 335 xi, 09 Z4 35i, 01 M3, 12 135i
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      03-17-2017, 03:13 PM   #21
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The spend never ends.....

Ordered one set of ARC 8 wheels through the group buy, all 18 x 9.5 et22. That's what I'll run in the end but, for now, I'll also need 18 x 9.5 et58 +10mm spacer to work with the M3 rear suspension under 135i bodywork. Add another set of ARC 8s to spend: 4 x et58 so I end up with a street set and a track set.

I already had Conti DW 255/35-18 in the rear so just need two of those finish off a square setup for the street. Good thing I looked into this today, seems that the DW is being phased out. 245 and 255 18s are no longer available on Tirerack site. I did source the 255s elsewhere.

Front fenders, bumper, etc. arrived today at my local dealer. Now have to send those out for paint.

Rear end is problematic. I had some long text messages and a couple of calls with the guys that sold me the parts. I am not happy at all with what they sold me. They've agreed to make good with parts from another car but who knows how long that will take. In the meantime, the clock keeps ticking, the weather has not been helping, and my garage is a mess from some home improvement projects.

I need a green beer (for future reader's: it's St. Patty's Day today)
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2012 135i Mods: air scoops, CP, K&N filter, PS1, ADE FMIC, BMW PE, JB4, 1M front body, full M3 suspension front and rear, M3 brakes front and rear, M3 rear subframe and LSD
Owned so far: 88 M3 x 2, 95 325is, 95 M3 x 2, 06 Mini Cooper S, 08 335 xi, 09 Z4 35i, 01 M3, 12 135i

Last edited by drwillb; 03-17-2017 at 04:04 PM..
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      03-17-2017, 03:48 PM   #22
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MODS, please move to Photos and Videos folder along with other build threads. I no longer feel I will have adequate time to fully document my process but I will keep this thread going as a blog of my challenges and victories.
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Owned so far: 88 M3 x 2, 95 325is, 95 M3 x 2, 06 Mini Cooper S, 08 335 xi, 09 Z4 35i, 01 M3, 12 135i
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