Minerva: The S54 powered, better than new, E28

[tig]

On my visit to Charlie's man palace of a garage, I took a whiff of his E28 interior as the door was no longer a door, it was ajar. And boy did it smell like a new car. And a good one. Car scent is possibly underappreciated. That fresh neutral scent plus nice leather has left an imprint on me. The rest of it, from my quick glance was spectacular. I'd love to get some good S54 experience!

Spen, I owe you big time for the strut mounts etc... thank you!!

[tig]

First, let's talk cooling. Not only is the Musimito radiator suspect (and going to be ejected in favor of a Ron Davis (probably)), but I now realize the oil cooler is mounted too high, and is blocking air flow to the radiator. When we were fitting the M5 valance we had a clearance issue with the oil cooler. I didn't really recognize this, but the fix was to mount the oil cooler higher up. In addition, I failed to remember that the M5 valance has provisions for cut-outs in the plastic for an oil cooler. So they were never cut out.



So new plan to address the cooling issues:

1) Replace the POS Musimoto radiator with something better. LIkely a Ron Davis. Key is that my overflow tank is on passenger side and so their standard M5 model would need to be modified.
2) Pop open those holes in the M5 valance.
3) Relocate the oil cooler down significantly so it's behind those holes and not in front of the radiator.

Still up for debate is going with all-electric cooling vs. fan clutch. Many opinions, lots of complexity, etc... I'd love THIS peanut gallery's thoughts. Seriously.

This is not urgent as long as I avoid driving the car in 85+ degree weather. I've not been able to reproduce the high temps on a cooler day even with driving the snot out of it.

Next, working on some little annoyances now that I have the car back in WA...

These zinc bolts have always annoyed me.


Much better.


Driver's window has never worked quite right. Slow, clunky, and sketcy. So I tore into it. Discovered a loose bolt, poor lubrication, and a few other things. All fixed now.


While I was tearing into all the doors to check the other regulators I decided to address a noise issue: The new door cards have half the weight/thickness of OE, esp. since the OE vinyl-backed-with-foam pieces are missing. So I went to Joanne's Fabric and bought some heavy-duty vinyl and made my own version.


@vinceg is probably rolling his eyes since he just did the same thing, except HE DID IT PROPERLY by actually replicating the OE foam on the back of the OE vinyl. Regardless, this all adds a bunch of bulk to the door cards and should reduce noise. I also put some more kil-a-mat in there.

Some dude is making billet aluminum door handles. I was like WTF? I've never had one break. So why? Well, I broke one yesterday. So there you go.


Y'all may recall that I upgraded Maytag's interior (Beige to Anthracite) while Minerva was in process. I used a bunch of the "tits" interior trim parts I had originally sourced for Minerva for Maytag. Oops. So now some stuff, like the upper door trim pieces are... not so good. Resulting in some of the rattles and squeaks driving me nuts. I was able to fix the front and rear passenger units...



But the driver's rear is beyond repair, realistically. Thus I'm now ISO one of those. Halp, please.

Some undercarriage sluehting showed me this, which is mildly disturbing for a 2000 mile car:


Finally, say hi to Remington and Marco. Marco is like 265lbs. Supposedly Remington has even bigger bones. Kohler, if you're reading this I've been told that you or your 'rents have photographed Marco.

[jayjaya29]

Having the oil cooler in front of the radiator does not affect radiator performance as much as one would think. A better performing radiator should solve the issue. My vote is for a typical fan clutch, they move a ton of air when needed and properly shrouded. But an electric fan will work fine too and it frees up a couple horsepowers.

As for the trans mounts cracking, you could try these:
https://www.rogueengineering.com/Rogue- ... p_137.html

I run them on my car with no NVH penalty.

[tig]

Having the oil cooler in front of the radiator does not affect radiator performance as much as one would think. A better performing radiator should solve the issue. My vote is for a typical fan clutch, they move a ton of air when needed and properly shrouded. But an electric fan will work fine too and it frees up a couple horsepowers.

As for the trans mounts cracking, you could try these:
https://www.rogueengineering.com/Rogue- ... p_137.html

I run them on my car with no NVH penalty.

Thanks! I've ordered a set!

[objectgroup]

1) Replace the POS Musimoto radiator with something better. LIkely a Ron Davis.

Have been considering a zionsville autosport rad/oil cooler for my s52 (with supercharger) build. Curious to see how the Ron Davis pans out.

[Tiit]

I don’t see any shrouding around the radiator. Properly shrouded cooling system is A LOT more efficient.

[tig]

I don’t see any shrouding around the radiator. Properly shrouded cooling system is A LOT more efficient.

There's a shroud. It's a modified E46 M3 shroud and it shrouds pretty properly.

[LeiseyJr]

Ah that's normal. I tear those in 2000 mile

Might be a good idea to refabricate that trans mount, angle looks wrong based on the picture shown. However the mount looks a bit wimpy, so maybe the Rouge mounts won't hurt.

I think a good OE, zionsville, or koyo radiator will help with the overheating issues.

Overall car looks like it's having pretty minor issues for completely redesigning it. Very cool to see!

[BDKawey]

Might be a good idea to refabricate that trans mount, angle looks wrong based on the picture shown.

id agree, the angle of the mount doesnt look parallel to the mounting ear of the transmission. but who knows how it was sitting since we're looking at a torn bushing anyway.

[tig]

Might be a good idea to refabricate that trans mount, angle looks wrong based on the picture shown.

id agree, the angle of the mount doesnt look parallel to the mounting ear of the transmission. but who knows how it was sitting since we're looking at a torn bushing anyway.

I agree it looks cockeyed. I'll take a closer look when the new bushings come and if it's wrong I'll make another mount.. because I can!

Overall car looks like it's having pretty minor issues for completely redesigning it. Very cool to see!

Thanks. I agree; while there is a long list of little things, they are all pretty little. I went for a spirited shake-down drive last night after butting up the interior and MY GOD IS THIS THING FUN TO DRIVE.

[Bonsaibacker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHSbiod9xFU

Was this posted somewhere else and I missed it? I was pleased to stumble on it as it popped into my feed. Nice shots and sounds.

Grateful for your diligent documentation and attention to detail.

[heyrr]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHSbiod9xFU

Was this posted somewhere else and I missed it? I was pleased to stumble on it as it popped into my feed. Nice shots and sounds.

Grateful for your diligent documentation and attention to detail.

I shot a handful of video segments (these obvi (plus the Charlie recording cameo)) next to the digital photos I captured that day, and it having a little bit less need for processing versus the photos (these will still take a few weeks as I get very granular with shots I car about), and having my 120 film shots already developed, I quick whipped up a video and uploaded just to Youtube and my Instagram immediately. All as a bit of a surprise but with no patience in waiting to get it out to the world; I was excited as a post 8,000 rpm redline and had to share.

Glad it popped into your feed, I don't have a large YT following so the possibility of its spread did make me wonder.

[objectgroup]

H&R Coilover 28808-9 kit
Front: HRF200060 springs (200mm length, 60N-Rate), ZF-100-12.5 tender springs
Rear: HRF250060 springs (250mm length, 60N rate) ZF060-025 tender springs

@cek how do you like this setup? Curious how the coilovers compare to Vlad's bilstein sport/h&r springs? Any thoughts on comfort? Did you source direct from H&R DE? Thx

[tig]

H&R Coilover 28808-9 kit
Front: HRF200060 springs (200mm length, 60N-Rate), ZF-100-12.5 tender springs
Rear: HRF250060 springs (250mm length, 60N rate) ZF060-025 tender springs

@cek how do you like this setup? Curious how the coilovers compare to Vlad's bilstein sport/h&r springs? Any thoughts on comfort? Did you source direct from H&R DE? Thx

From a ride, handling, and stance perspective they're great.

I have some weird binding noises from the upper mounts I need to diagnose.

Frankly, I'm not sure this setup is any better than the h&r+Billie setup I have on my other two cars.

[DM Clemmensen]

The lip spoiler would be perfect in the trash or you could affix it to your recycling bin. It screams eBay and muddies up one of the best lines on the car without adding any sort of flair. I think the paint sticker should go there too, with a proper sonderlackierung (490) sticker replacing it, but that’s me. :P

Do you have a pic of the sounderlakierung sticker?

Here you go. Zoooom in:


And with regards to appreciation of properly trained and disciplined suspension installer men and women:
https://www.bilstein.com/uk/en/blog/wat ... -mistakes/

[Foonfer]

OH NOES Charlie where's your cigarette lighter?

Just kidding. Just came to say that Minerva looks fantastic on the Alpinas. Also, isn't it weird that US E28s came without rear headrests? Once you add them, they elevate the car to a whole other level... glad you had yours sorted out.

[jdp530]

Beautiful E28 you have!

I have owned an E12 for many years and built it up for aggressive driving, track events, and autocrossing. I have a 304 Schrick and sidedrafts, etc.

Now I am on to another project after spending the last couple of years working on an 850i that I own.

I have an '84 E24, S54, and a 420G to build. I looked through this thread but I didn't get through all 29 pages and search function wasn't much help. So I am wondering how much work was required to fit the 420G into the E28?

And, has anyone modified the stock S54 pan to work with these chassis?

Thanks,
JP

[muleskinner]

Haven't seen any postings from @cek Charlie for some time. Hoping all is well. Anyone heard from him?

[Ju@n]

Haven't seen any postings from @cek Charlie for some time. Hoping all is well. Anyone heard from him?

I think he (was at least) traveling in a sort of RV sprinter (according to his IG posts haha)

[vinceg101]

Haven't seen any postings from @cek Charlie for some time. Hoping all is well. Anyone heard from him?

I think he (was at least) traveling in a sort of RV sprinter (according to his IG posts haha)

Yeah he's been on a bit of a "walk-about" this winter.

[Dale3783]

He also announced on his IG that he's stepping away from all social media for a while. Hope that doesn't mean mye28.com but seems like that could be the case....

[tig]

I'm not dead yet.

Thanks for all the kind words folks. Lots going on in my life in the past year or so. I'll post a full update soon. All is good. Hugs.

[objectgroup]

I have an '84 E24, S54, and a 420G to build. I looked through this thread but I didn't get through all 29 pages and search function wasn't much help. So I am wondering how much work was required to fit the 420G into the E28?

JP, see below:

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.

[tig]

Hey team, Minerva is back.

Long story short: The Carbahn-built S54 failed driving to / from the Reno event last year. On the way back to Seattle I was burning a quart of oil every 200 miles or so.

The car has been at Carbahn since October of last year. I did not push hard to get it done because of all the other stuff going on in my life and the fact I had no place to store the car anyway. So, I considered it free storage.

I'm not going to go into the details of what failed and why. It just hurts too much to discuss. But in the end I feel "fine" about how Carbahn treated me and I am cautiously optimistic that "MINERVA IS BACK!". The S54 was compeltely re-built, the transmission mounts were fixed, better ducting for the oil cooler was installed (but I mounted the aftermarket cooler too high and it's still blocking airflow to radiator so she likes to get a bit hot). A bunch of other things too. They didn't cause any dents or scratches, and when I picked the car up she was freshly detailed.





After 5erFest in Reno I needed to drive back to Durango (about 1500 miles). Kohler and I drove together to Vegas and then I headed to St George. The next day I headed to "Goosenecks" to E28 camp. I almost blew off the edge into the San Juan River in the middle of the night. But didn't.







Was going to camp one more night in the woods on Tuesday, but changed my mind and slept in my own bed instead...


I had real difficulty on the drive not going 130mph. This car is just so composed and balanced...while being stupidly powerful and fast.

Comfortable too. A bit noisier than I had planned, so someday I'm going to pull the dash and re-do the sound insulation there because I think I left some key stuff out. The wiper washers still don't work, my tow hook covers need repainting, and I gotta fix the aforementioned cooling issue by relocating the oil cooler. I'm worried the E28 CSB isn't strong enough. And I still have tire rub (on the right rear, which is just weird).

Oh, and I'm going to replace the prototype Holy Grail Labs blade-fuse upgrade kit with a new production unit.

Hugs to all!

[1st 5er]

Excellent news.
Keep up the good work.

[Ju@n]

Nice to hear from you! Sorry about the engine, but now it's better than ever it seems

[Onbird]

Truly awesome build, man!

[jc72]

. I'm worried the E28 CSB isn't strong enough.

E34 Csb fits and is beefier.

[Philo]

CSB ??

[harrypalmer]

CSB ??

Hey Philo,

Asked myself the same: WTF is a CSB?

Driveshaft Center Support Bearing I’ve found.