Wow! incredible transformation so far! Thanks for saving a C36! it looks so much better with the new wheels too.

 

Thank you. I'm really itching for paint, but I really want to make sure it mechanically sound first and I want to wait till I can afford to paint it right. I've also got a set of 2005-2006 w203 c230 Sport wheels that I might toss on there one day to see which I like better.

 

Replaced what was probably the original Fuel Pressure Regulator with a new Bosch unit. Made a big difference. It's much smoother now at speed, and even after only 60 miles, my fuel trims have crept back into the normal range! I love it when I get a problem solved.

I also did the trans mount because it was basically two pieces now, lol. Holy crap, what a change! I ordered the wrong one by mistake (ordered one for the later 722.6 rather than the 722.3) but luckily there is a CarQuest warehouse here in town and they had one for me.

Anyone want to buy a brand new Lemforder trans mount? Haha.

I may have also gone a little OCD on the exhaust tips....


I probably didn't need to do all that, but the paint is the very last thing that I will do on the car, so in the mean time, I want all the little things on the car to look perfect!

 

Not OCD at all. Stainless tips that look that good deserve to be clean. I'm curious to know what your trim numbers were/are. Your getting a solid 2 mph better economy at 23. Granted I have a vac leak some where I need to sort out.

It's a great feeling huh. When every part you replace just keeps making the car better and better.

 

When I first replaced the o2s, the MAF, and the coils/plugs/wires, my Long Term Fuel Trim hung out right at 0.0% for a while, then it crept it's way to -14.8% o_O I knew that the FPR wasn't doing so well, so I replaced it. After just about 60 miles of driving, it's made it's way back to -8.6%, which is in the normal range. (Normal range being considered 10% to -10%)

I would still be happier if it was closer to zero, but I'll see where it goes in the next week or so.

As a disclaimer, for my MPG, I am going off of what my scanner tells me, but it is fairly accurate. Last time I checked, the scanner was telling me 22.8 and my math gave me 22.4, and it's actually up from that now. With the new FPR, and the LTFT back on track, I am now getting a reading of 25.7. We'll see if that's accurate in a week when I fill up again, but I feel that it is; it's hard to describe the difference in the car from yesterday to today... That trans mount and FPR made all the difference in the world. It feels like driving my BMW now, which is saying a lot, because my BMW is one of the smoothest riding cars that I have ever driven.

I am curious to see if what my scanner is telling me in regards to MPG is accurate. I wasn't expecting to get anywhere close to that. I wasn't even expecting the 22.4 that I got on the last tank, but then again, practically everything on the car is brand new now, save for the air intake temp sensor, and the coolant sensor....

 

Gorgeous tips! Mind telling us what you did to them?

 

Have you changed the fuel filter? If not you'll very quickly feel and see the difference.

 

For the chrome parts, I used a cleaner and a mildly aggressive scotch brite pad and scrubbed for a very very long time, lol. For the inside where it was really built up, and not chrome plated, I used a wire brush attachment on a drill. Still took a while. Then, after it was all clean, I used chrome polish on it. All in, it took me about an hour.

You know, I keep forgetting about that....

 

My tips look awful and I was starting to think they were permanently dirty. Thanks for the tip

 

Those tips looks brand new! Gonna have to use your secret to polish mine.

 

Pun intended? Lol

I did the valve cover gasket today, I also wanted to visually inspect the lifters and cam lobes since I do have a very annoying lifter tap, and man was I surprised when I took of that nasty old beat up looking valve cover! Not too shabby for 186k miles on a neglected car. I can't imagine what it would look like if this car had always been well cared for.







While I had it off, I sprayed some throttle body cleaner, followed by penetrating oil on and around each lifter, in hopes that my lifter tap was being caused by a blocked oil passage. After I got it all back together, the lifter tap was still kind of there, but a lot quieter. I took it for a drive, and tap went away! And for the first time, the lifter tap has not come back! It usually goes away for a few seconds, then it comes back. I've restarted and driven the car a few times since then, and still no more embarrassing TAP TAP TAP TAPTAPATAPTAP TAP TAP. lol. I still need to change the oil, the PO used really thin oil, which I'm sure didn't help with the tapping, so I am going to run some thicker stuff in it for now. I'd rather sacrifice a little power and keep that tap away.

And finally, I couldn't leave that nasty looking valve cover looking like it did. My plan was to sand blast it and give it a quality paint job, but when I started stripping it, I discovered that it is made of magnesium, rather than aluminum. Because the mag is so soft, it was already very pitted under the paint, and I didn't want to risk sand blasting it, since that could possibly make it BURST INTO FLAMES!!! So for now, I just got the paint off, scuffed it, and rattle canned it. I'm going to go to the junk yard and look for an aluminum valve cover, and THAT one will get the full treatment. But here is another before and after anyway.

 

great thread - need a video of this saved c36 running!

 

Now that it doesn't sound like a tap dancer, I probably will..... I just need a camera first.... Lol

 

great desk chair in the background

 

Thanks. I have two of them actually. They are cloth seats out of a euro w124 that my friend and I bought for parts to use the 5 speed bits out of for his W201 Sportline. I have the back seat too, it gets used as a couch in the garage, haha.

 

I am happy to report after less than a week on the new fuel pressure regulator, my LTFT has returned to 0.0%! The lifter tap has not come back at all and the car has really become enjoyable to drive.

I am actually running out of things to do on the car, so today was clean the wheels day, haha

 

Sweet man.. Car looks great. Thanks for the heads up on the fuel pressure reg. I pulled a vac on it after you said something and tasted like gas too so got a fella wondering.

So what's next?

 

It still needs brakes. I tossed some cheapo pads on it for now, just so I know that I wont die, haha. I'm going to do flex discs soon too, as they don't look too hot. I also have a new trans filter and gasket waiting to go in, but I need to get another pan from the junk yard first because the PO stripped out the drain plug. After all that, it's pretty much done on maintenance... not much left. Then I can move on to mods and cosmetic stuff.

I'll be getting a custom tune done. He thinks that he can get it up to the 300HP mark on a tune alone. I want different wheels. I like these ones ok, but they're not doing it for me. They're fine for now though. I'd like to lower it a bit, I'll be building some adjustable rear links for it at the same time. I'm not planning on touching the intake or exhaust.

Eventually a 5 speed will be in order. And finally, paint. (it's really killing me that the paint will be the last thing, but I want this car to be perfect first)

Honestly this car as come a lot farther that I thought it would in such a short amount of time. I haven't even had it a month yet.

Of course I am always open to suggestions on some things I could do to it in the modification/cosmetic departments.

 

Oh, and I also appear to have an oil leak in the front of the motor from the timing cover (of course...) but i'll probably put that off till its time to do the cooling system

 

Sounds like you still have enough to keep you busy. On the list of must have mods a new head unit for the stereo is a super nice upgrade. The Bose speakers are really nice the amp is soso. But if you still have the factory tape player that's got to go.

But yeah you got some stuff done with a quickness.

 

I do still have the tape player, but I think I am going to keep it for now. The sound isn't bad, I already replaced the factory amp (was bad when I got the car). I don't really listen to the radio anyway, I mostly just use my phone or an iPod. I am using a crappy cassette tape adapter for now, but I plan on adding an AUX input to the factory head unit later down the road. If I do change it out, I would go with a Blaupunkt or something that would keep that factory look to the radio.

 

As requested, only a short little clip. Please excuse the quality though, this was shot with a broken Galaxy S3 attached to the trunk via a suction cup mount, lol.

 

yeah man! inline 6 with a little tire chirp from the torque!!!

 

Gas mileage reports are in! If I drive conservatively, I am averaging close to 23mpg. If I drive how the car wants to be driven, it's more like 19... which actually isn't too bad for what it is. And that is 100% in town driving, so I am satisfied.

Found my next project on the car, which my friends have named "Amgie". I thought it was funny, so it stuck. Well, Amgie needs a new transmission harness. I knew there were going to be issues there, because when I got the car, it had to be started in neutral, there was a plug disconnected. When I reconnected it, I noticed some issues with the wiring then. The engine harness has previously been replaced, and the TB has been rebuilt at some point. Why someone would do all that and not do the trans harness too? I have no idea, especially since you have to move the trans harness plug out of the way to plug in the upper harness...



There is no way I am going to pay the dealer $520 for a new one. I am going to check the junk yards for a car that has already had the harness replaced, and if I can't find one, I will rebuild it my self. How hard can it really be? It's only 6 wires!

My other project that I am planning is for the crossover pipe. Mine has been destroyed and cobbled back together, and it looks like crap. So I think I am going to make a mold of it, make a few little changes, and then reproduce it in carbon fiber. If I do, and IF it comes out well, I might make a few extras to sell.

 

you sir, are a saint. Thank you for rescuing a gorgeous C36. If I had the space, money, and forgiveness from my wife I'd have a pair of C36's too.