Minerva: The S54 powered, better than new, E28

[nik77356]

I'm guessing those Engine Mounts worked ok?

[tig]

I'm guessing those Engine Mounts worked ok?

Yes, but now that I know how to weld, I'm quite unhappy with the quality. At the minimum I will be cleaning them up and getting them powder coated.

Just heard yesterday that the motor/trans are fitted and a mock trans-mount has been fabricated. I'm dropping a diff by the shop today so the drive-shaft can be appropriately shortened...

[bkbimmer]

Progress is nice.

[tig]

Moar progress. Feels like things are accelerating.

Kevin needed me to bring a diff by today so he could mount one up to figure out how much to shorten the driveshaft. This means they got the transmission tunnel tweaked to get he engine & tranny to fit right! I took him the 3.25S that I previously had in Maytag since I haven't sourced a 3.73S yet.

This pic doesn't really show where the metal had to be tweaked, but it's a little up at the seam behind where the heater core goes and on the sides just below the shifter. The car wasn't on the lift when I got there so I couldn't see underneath.


The E46 e-gas pedal is has been mounted. This is like reality man! Like details and shit. I'm kinda stunned.


We spent some time debating radiator fitment, oil cooler lines, and exhaust plans. We're optimistic that we'll have everything sorted by early January. Remember, in this case 'sorted' means the car starts and shifts. Just enough to prove that we won't have do do any more sheetmetal changes. Then I'll take the car back, take it down to bare metal and get it off to the body/paint guy.

Speaking of which, the guy who did Vlad for me now has a full time gig at a real shop. He's no longer available for projects like this. So I'm back in the hunt of a place that will do the quality I desire...

Finally, you'll note I changed the title of the thread to "Project Minerva". A while back I decided on the color of this car. I haven't really told anyone because I wanted to see as many cars in this color as possible before 'finally' deciding. I now have and I'm convinced:

Porsche Minerva Blue. The same color Bjørn Tønnesen's (Norway) M5 was painted by the BMW factory. IOW, my car will end up looking a lot like this:





This is what it looks like on a Porsche:

[T_C_D]

I had a euro 911SC that color. It wasn't as bright because it had 15-17 years of age on it.

[bkbimmer]

Exciting stuff, unfortunate about the color choice though.

[muleskinner]

While BMW has several sexy blue colors (see my suggestions on p. 3 of this thread, and those are just two of them) to choose from in some of their current late model cars, I think that's going to look awesome.

[Adam W in MN]

Exciting stuff, unfortunate about the color choice though.

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it.

I think it's a fantastic color choice.

[bkbimmer]

Exciting stuff, unfortunate about the color choice though.

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it.

I think it's a fantastic color choice.

I prefer white hoods but a certain group wouldn't allow me to join.

I love blue just not that one on an e28. Not that my opinion matters, I just figured I'd voice it since this is an open forum.

[leadphut]

Exciting stuff, unfortunate about the color choice though.

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it.

I think it's a fantastic color choice.

I prefer white hoods but a certain group wouldn't allow me to join.

I love blue just not that one on an e28. Not that my opinion matters, I just figured I'd voice it since this is an open forum.

i'd never join a group that'd accept me as a member.


Minerva was the roman goddess of wisdom.

[bkbimmer]

Exciting stuff, unfortunate about the color choice though.

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it.

I think it's a fantastic color choice.

I prefer white hoods but a certain group wouldn't allow me to join.

I love blue just not that one on an e28. Not that my opinion matters, I just figured I'd voice it since this is an open forum.

i'd never join a group that'd accept me as a member.


Minerva was the roman goddess of wisdom.

You joined this group, douche!

[leadphut]

Exciting stuff, unfortunate about the color choice though.

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it.

I think it's a fantastic color choice.

I prefer white hoods but a certain group wouldn't allow me to join.

I love blue just not that one on an e28. Not that my opinion matters, I just figured I'd voice it since this is an open forum.

i'd never join a group that'd accept me as a member.


Minerva was the roman goddess of wisdom.

You joined this group, douche!

you're assuming i've been accepted.

now that my secret is out, i won't believe anyone who says likewise.

[Karl Grau]

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it..

[bkbimmer]

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it..

I hate the black hood.

[tig]

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it..

I hate the black hood.

That's pretty racist, dude.

[bkbimmer]

If he kept the hood black I bet you'd like it..

I hate the black hood.

That's pretty racist, dude.

I'm just playing the role people expect from me, paps.

[KrautnotRice]

I like the Porsche Minerva Blue. A lot.
And I wouldn't kick any of the pictured Porsches out of my garage if they magically appeared... drool.

[tig]

Dropped by KD on Monday to discuss some details...

This is actually the first time I've seen this chassis from the underside. I never bothered to put it on my lift. Things look generally fine. As noted before everything will be removed from this chassis once the engine/transmission are fitted well enough to prove it all works (the car starts and can be put into gear). So the condition of all these parts is irrelevant:





Here's the temporary transmission mount. We'll use this as a template for a beefier concoction. This (and getting the diff mounted) lets us measure the driveshaft for shortening. That's all good to go as they were able to get the diff mounted after some drama. These are E30 guys and it's showing. Not a bad thing, just slows things down some.


Lots of discussion & debate around the radiator. I've always asserted I wanted an aftermarket aluminum E36 radiator with the overflow inlet moved to the passenger side as ChuckNe did on his swap:


Kevin really wanted to try to use an E46 rad in order to minimize custom hoses. I let him go down that path a bit, but he's finally realized I had done my homework. He bought an Baer E28 rad to test fit, but will be returning it since I'm insisting on something literally cooler.

I don't want to use an E28 M20 overflow tank, but instead an E39 540i tank like I've seen others who've done M5x/S5x swaps use. So I bought one and here's basically where it will go:


Still debating/working out what oil cooler to use. My instincts tell me to just go with an E28 M5 cooler and call it a day...

Note the new Z3M wiring harness in this photo. No mods required to fit the ECU in the glovebox with this baby. And I have a custom made S54->E28 adapter that Andrew, the S54 swap specialist fabricated for me that will be completely plug and play with an E28 C101...


Some Pr0n:

[Hffvdbl]

Thanks for sharing! Coming along nicely!

[leadphut]

Great progress Charlie. This will be a great toy to drive.

[scarey013]

I used an aluminum Z3M radiator and massaged a standard e36 coolant tank and shroud to fit. I made my own radiator mounts and hold downs. Looks relatively factory.. Minus good paint, of course.

Your project looks good.

[Adam W in MN]

I love engine swaps and creative builds, keep up the great progress.

[Philo]

Hi Cek, just thought I'd join the party. Like you I followed Chuck's build. I started in the fall of 2014 and finished all the major stuff by the end of 2015. I read through your build and the only part I think you should consider a change is with the 944 vacuum brake booster. I couldn't get my 944 booster to give enough assist. Pedal was vert hard, car was hard to stop.., not good considering the speed range you will be living in with that S54 I ended up working with Coast Motor Work in Huntington Beach, CA and Ron wanted to play around and try the booster from the 528e.

The combination works well and now have good, not great, but good safe brakes so i can keep from killing myself. Soon I will consider putting in a dual diaphragm booster from a standard E90 3 series. The master mount location will need to be moved to the left a bit to clear the airbox, but that's a small price to pay to have awesome brakes.

I also had issues with the clutch, fuel pump, fuel pressure reg/filter, OBDII port, and a bunch of other stuff that I didn't anticipate and is why it took so long to get the car back on the road.

As for my setup....
* 2006 S54 from a Z3M.
* Beisan vanos upgrade.
* E46 M3 6 sp.
* 3.64 diff.. Car is very quick..
* Stock harness and ECU.
* E36 radiator with electric fan.
* Modified E46 M3 Ebay headers to get around the E28 steering.
* VSR SS high flow cat.
* Stock M5 exhaust.
* Stock M5 air filter box with 4" intake tract.
* Ground control all around.
* BBS RC 302s with pilot sports.
* Porsche 996 front calipers-custom brakets-E31 rotors, E34 M5 rears calipers.

There's still a ton of work I need to do to, all in good time. Let me know if I can be of any help. Looking forward to seeing your project come alive !!

Philo.
________

[tig]

Awesome! Mind if I get your email address so I can ask you direct questions if I have them? If so, email me at ckindel(at)gmail.com.

I'm especially interested in talking brakes.

Also, since you started with a Z3M motor you had more adaptation that M3 swaps require, from what I've read... Would love to get more details on the challenges you faced.

[scarey013]

Another option to consider is an Audi booster. I think mine came from an A4/A6 and is a dual diaphragm unit that fits very well. It doesn't allow the option of using the heater valve in the stock location. Great time to swap to an e46 unit. If you grab the MC, I think that it is 23mm. But all in all, it is not plug and play and I ended up going with a 944 booster. I think at one time I had five different boosters I was considering.

That all being said, mine is an S50 and is still sitting in the garage waiting to button up the small bits after three years. YMMV.

[leadphut]

this s54 build is more popular than i had imagined.

[dcains]

Deservedly so. It ticks off all the right boxes, and it's done with great attention to detail.

[delvin]

If this is going to be a secondary car and you don't want to work around that big ol' airbox these guys have had excellent results with velocity stacks. They also come with the added bonus of an amazing induction sound


I think they would look great in there painted to match the car.

http://www.psdesignsglobal.com/velocity ... nversions/

Oh and while you are in there maybe some 288/280 cams

[leadphut]

don't mean to litter your thread Charlie, but couldn't help myself.



https://youtu.be/5juLthAPtnQ

[tig]

If this is going to be a secondary car and you don't want to work around that big ol' airbox these guys have had excellent results with velocity stacks. They also come with the added bonus of an amazing induction sound


I think they would look great in there painted to match the car.

http://www.psdesignsglobal.com/velocity ... nversions/

Oh and while you are in there maybe some 288/280 cams

It's not.