General questions and discussion - '87 323 SL

[FE3-323]

regardless, im sure its better than factory

[JKuhn]

Good point.

I'll see what they want for it. I don't think I'll be able to buy it now, but who knows?

[JKuhn]

I bought the header. The scrapyard was willing to take the cluster I bought back, and gave me a straight exchange on that and a speedometer cable.

Having seen it again today, it's not a real equal length (a bit disappointed but I got it at a very good price), and it merges 1-3 2-4, so I got that one wrong. Now to clean it up, put some 1093°C paint on, and see when I can get it installed. This is actually the last piece that I had to spend on to get more power, considering it already has a 32/36 carb, ported head, 46mm exhaust (50mm OD) and will also get a 95RON tune soon.

[FE3-323]

Excellent!

[JKuhn]

Well, turns out the dipstick tube is in the way. Strange, as the BD 323s also had E series engines.

Anyway, I'll speak to the exhaust shop tomorrow morning. I was going to go there and have them modify/connect the rest of the exhaust, now I'll have them reweld the holes in the pipes that split while pulling the engine (still leaking a bit), and see if they have any advice apart from selling the header.

[FE3-323]

you should be able to bend that clear by hand.

[JKuhn]

Just put some more RTV on the cabin intake. I don't see any more spots of light getting through, but it was the same last time. Hopefully the water will stay out now, I'm really getting sick of that leak...

[FE3-323]

you should consider buying seam sealer. it will hold up better long term. I hated doing that repair work on my P5 so i have empathy for your situation

[JKuhn]

I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the suggestion.

[JKuhn]

It's been a while since my last post here, but I thought I should post it here as well.

The header isn't on yet, it appears the sump on my newer E5 is a bit lower and I haven't gotten around to modifying the header yet.

Since the rebuild I've also bought and fitted a knockoff 38 Weber (the only knockoffs that are said to be good). Almost everybody told me that a 38 can never work on a 4 cylinder (stating that a synchronous carb can only work on a V engine), but I decided to believe the people who actually work with carbs. And today I took it for a new dyno run to see what it's putting out.

[FE3-323]

Id say the carb change is a nice bump. good work!

[JKuhn]

Just keep in mind the old numbers are from before the rebuild. So apart from the carb change, it also got a rebuild (so good compression), a ported head, and even more aggressive timing (it was about 12 degrees at idle, now it's about 14-15 degrees).

That said, the car is definitely awake now. Such a light car doesn't need much power to get moving. I just need to put a spring on the throttle, since it doesn't always close all the way.

[JKuhn]

Does anybody here have any idea what could cause the engine to lock up in one direction? It ran fine when I parked it last week, and since Monday it refuses to turn forwards. It does however turn backwards. I already pulled the starter, petrol pump, distributor and plugs and loosened the fan belt. It's not a gearbox issue, as the car can be pushed in neutral or with the clutch depressed. The chain is not loose, and the tensioner and piston tops look good. This is not the first time it happened, last time it started again after pushing the car backwards in 4th gear (I was told that the starter was sticking in the flywheel). After that the engine ran perfectly.

The engine will be pulled soon, but I'm wondering what could have gone wrong.

[FE3-323]

almost sounds as if timing is somehow off, if the plugs are out does it spin forward?

[JKuhn]

Still locked with the plugs out.

I've also spoken to the shop that painted my Z3, if the damage to the engine is not too bad (I currently don't have a lot of money) I'm going to have them do a colour change in the engine bay while it's stripped anyway. And then I'll get the rest done properly once I have a good place to put the car. Going with soul red crystal, I reckon the candy will go nicely with those sharp BF lines. It's a shame that a colour change will mean having to reregister (and possibly go through the hassle of roadworthy testing), but I don't like the idea of spending this much on the car (getting it painted anyway, I'm not getting around to DIY painting anymore) to have just another white 323 (keep in mind the BF was sold here until '03).