Matty's Garage Projects (Aus)

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Finally got around to mounting the tool board for the lathe
Not sure why I bothered trying to use those plastic plugs to secure it, half an hour of swearing before i gave up! went down to bunnings and bought a box of dyna-bolts.

So my Mrs woke me up Saturday morning telling me she invited some friends over for dinner and promised them "fire" of some description.
After cleaning up our outdoor area I had formulated a little plan for "fire"

Old laundry sink

Welded on some legs, patched the hole in the bottom and wrapped part of an old set of metal shelves around the sides

Quick high temp paint and it made for a roaring fire pit

Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend

Lest we forget.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Thank you for the update, the lathe set up looks fantastic, done well.

I must say it is getting fire pit weather its a tad chilly of a night and just perfect for a fire.

Regards

 

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

About time for that monthly update

I've been crazy busy the past couple of weeks between renovating, cars and making a mess.

Feels like an episode of a hoarding show.

Time to get some functional tool storage on the walls...
Cut up some ply and a few dyna bolts (initially tried wall plugs, i admitted defeat very quickly.)

Getting there slowly...

Another project around the house i've been working on
One of our verandah posts at the back of my house was installed with nothing but dirt underneath it. Over the last 20+ years it's sunk and rotted the post to the point where it wasn't providing any support for the roof.

I decided instead of the old chisel and hammer or hiring a jack hammer i'd rather buy a cheapie.
Ozito Rotary Drill + Hammer
For the price it was well worth it! surprisingly well built considering the brand.

New stirrup in place, no concreting is not my forte....

Hopefully should get the new cypress post stained and installed soon.

So i was browsing gumtree the other weekend and ended up purchasing this compressor

As you can see some hack has removed the pressure switch and it definitely needs a good service. It seems to be leaking past the piston rings which isn't ideal, but I've already sourced replacement rings,valve body and a new pressure switch.
It's 240v 10amp, roughly 6-10cfm depending where you read, same pump as many other brands e.g. ironair,mcmillan,boss,quincy etc

Back to tool storage, today I made this out of some offcuts and mounted it to the wall next to my drop saw.

That's all for now folks

 

[TomcoPDR]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Awesome garage, keep up the updates with ur projects within the garage.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Matty, Nice score on the compressor, the ABAC pumps are pretty reliable and are a relatively easy fix.

The pressure switch will be a must and they are not all that expensive.

Thank you for the update.

Regards

 

[racingtadpole]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Those Ozito dill hammer rotors are surprisingly good for the cost. I have a couple of them that have worked pretty hard.

Just out of curiosity, how much concrete is actually holding that stirrup in? Depending on how much roof load it has on it, it should probably have a 300 round 600 deep pier under it as a minimum. Something to remember with roof support, is that a support is not always in compression, when the wind gets under it, it will be in tension (or uplift as roofers refer to it). If you don't have enough pier the stirrup will eventually crack the concrete and come loose.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

I don't know how I missed this thread but I just read it all and I like the way you work! I always seem to be impressed with you Australian's, if I ever leave canada it's my first stop!

 

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Wow that's a big pier! The hole is almost as big as the area I poured and about 250mm deep, I drilled into the slab around it and inserted rebar.
The post previously was just sitting in the hole and the roof hasn't flown off yet


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

I don't know how I missed this thread but I just read it all and I like the way you work! I always seem to be impressed with you Australian's, if I ever leave canada it's my first stop!

Thanks for stopping by Sean

Funny you say Au is your first stop, right now I'd love to be in Whistler

Hopefully some more updates coming in the next week or so, the Mrs has requested a new coffee table which is currently in progress.

 

[racingtadpole]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

.042 of a cubic metre to be exact, not really that big in the greater scheme of things.

Anything you've done is going to be an improvement over what was there originally

So now that you're done with your verandah, when are coming to fix the strutting beams in my roof Ive been putting off doing something about for the last 4 years

 

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Yeah no worries mate, maybe after the laundry (yep still not done) bathroom, ensuite, master BR, kitchen, living room, deck, front yard, backyard and back garage.

Couple of beams? Eeeasy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HOTFR8]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Some times I wonder how I miss a topic and this is one of them. Just read it from start to present. Some great things going on here.

 

[BBChevro]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Some times I wonder how I miss a topic and this is one of them. Just read it from start to present. Some great things going on here.

Me too.

Nice space Matty

 

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Hope everyone is having a good weekend, raining for the past 12 hours here in Melbourne

Good few hours in the shed today, decided to tear down the Air Compressor.

Had some issues sourcing these parts, an ebay seller in italy came to the rescue because of course no local shops would even reply to my emails
New rings, valve body and pressure switch/reg/manifold
Yeah the pressure switch and reg aren't exactly top quality, but the switch at least is rated at 20A.
One thing i really like about this style of switch is being able to smack it down to turn it off.

Top end came off fairly easy

The reed valves in the valve body were definately shot, flapping around with no spring to them.

Bit ugly on the pressure side

Cylinders don't seem to be worn at all really, piston looks good too.

Didn't think it was worth it to replace the piston rings at this point, replaced the valve body and gaskets. Tested perfect no leaks all the way up to 130psi (Pressure side fittings need some thread locker)

Next I took a trip to the hardware store to find some adapters etc to get this regulator on.

It seems some compressor use NPT, some use BSP and to make things worse this regulator manifold is NPT and the air filter/reg i bought is BSP.

After a few different configurations this is what i came up with

I've lost track of what's 1/4BSP or 1/4NPT at this stage, but the only thing leaking after testing was the gauges which i haven't thread-locked yet.
Pressure switch needs a little adjustment since it's cutting out at around 130psi instead of 120.

What would a new post be without a new tool purchase to go along with it?
(seriously i think i have a problem )
Found this on gumtree from a deceased estate sale.
Early 2000's brand new in box ABAC Air tool kit.

Anybody know if they're cheap rebranded junk or half decent?

 

[Stevo67]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Great stuff Matty

Following and taking notes!
(The CCW wheels look mighty fine too)

 

[1/2 Cup]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Great score on the air tools Matty and great to see it was an easy fix on the pump.

Regards

 

[Grumblebum]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Good work with the compressor, I've no idea on the air tool brand but I do need to keep an eye out for something similar myself.

Cheers GB.

 

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Hey GB,

It took me a few months to come across one for the right price second hand, people seem to want 70% of retail for their 20year old flogged compressor.
Make sure before you buy anything that you can find a parts list and source spares.

Also definitely go belt drive or oil free/silent, direct drive will rattle your fillings loose



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Grumblebum]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Sorry mate I was a bit bland in that post, I'm good for the A/C. I picked up one of these second hand from an engineering firm near my work back in 2009 as they were upgrading to a much larger unit.
http://www.pilotair.com.au/site/Def...ocating_air_compressors/K25SDL-data-sheet.pdf

I was referring to the air tools as I don't have a set and always wanted to get a kit with a die grinder etc in it.

Cheers GB

 

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Sorry mate I was a bit bland in that post, I'm good for the A/C. I picked up one of these second hand from an engineering firm near my work back in 2009 as they were upgrading to a much larger unit.
http://www.pilotair.com.au/site/Def...ocating_air_compressors/K25SDL-data-sheet.pdf

I was referring to the air tools as I don't have a set and always wanted to get a kit with a die grinder etc in it.

Cheers GB

That's definitely a nice piece of kit GB!

I was considering a 15A unit but my electrician seemed worried when I was getting a quote for 2 x 15A points in my garage. Power feed to the house is a little too small. Hopefully someday i'll get it upgraded and possible even get 3phase

cheers

 

[kensbey]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Hi Matt,

Only just came across this thread, love what you are doing with the space. As a fellow e36 owner, love the cars! LS e36 is such a great combo. But I bet the s54 powered coupe is a blast too! Do you have a build thread or similar for the s54 swap?

kensbey

 

[octane_matty]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Thanks kensbey!

Sorry no build thread on the S54, I have plenty of rough pictures if you are considering it yourself. It's a fairly straight forward swap, everything is OEM parts except for the wiring,driveshaft (shortened 50mm from the stock 328i manual shaft) and exhaust (minor modification)

I'll see if I can dig up and consolidate the photos to post if I get a chance.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wde_bdy]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

I rate the Ozito power tools ,and especially like their 3 year warranty.
I have found though building your own trolleys can get expensive with the cost of wheels. Managed to get some wheel dollies for $80NZD a pair (half price) rated at 900kg from SuperCheap and bought a couple of movers dollies rated at 350kg for $38NZD each for way less that the wheels themselves were priced at.

Callum

 

[octane_matty]

4 car garage/workspace down-under

Yeah I was surprised by the drill/jack hammer. I wouldn't say all ozito tools are made equal though, I have an orbital sander and jigsaw that are rough as guts, for the price you can't complain considering the abuse I will put them through. For more dangerous tools like circular/drop saws I'd rather pay the extra money knowing I'll be able to get spare parts and know build quality and safety were considered when it was designed.

Indeed castors cost heaps!
My smaller wheels are less than 10 bucks each but the larger 400kg rated stuff on the wheel dollies and engine crane were about $20 each.

Recently though I was offered the opportunity to buy a bulk lot of castors cheap, but ended up getting them for free!!
So right now I have 2 large boxes of brand new heavy duty castors sitting in the garage so stoked!
Everything will have wheels


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kensbey]

Re: 4 car garage/workspace down-under

Thanks kensbey!

Sorry no build thread on the S54, I have plenty of rough pictures if you are considering it yourself. It's a fairly straight forward swap, everything is OEM parts except for the wiring,driveshaft (shortened 50mm from the stock 328i manual shaft) and exhaust (minor modification)

I'll see if I can dig up and consolidate the photos to post if I get a chance.

Pics would be great, although don't feel obliged or rushed, it will be a while before my e36 gets that level of treatment. Its a 97 manual 323 that i couldn't pass up because it was super low kms and great condition. Its my only car at the moment and nearly all of my spare cash is going into paying off the house or into the shed being built. One day...

How do you rate the s54 powered e36? Given that the e46 m3 is on par with the euro/aus e36 m3 and much heavier, I imagine that the s54 in the e36 would surpass e36 M3 performance.

 

[octane_matty]

The S54 block is cast iron so it actually adds quite a bit of weight to the front end.
I have stock swaybars and Bilstein B12 pro-kit, it handles very well on the street.
The only thing I need is more camber to dial out some understeer.

It performs well and it's the right amount of power for the chassis.

I haven't had time to really fix lots of little issues I have. Being my first serious engine swap there are many things I'd redo given the time/money.

Word of caution though, my 6spd has 3rd gear synchro issues which makes it a pain to shift hard into third on spirited drives.
Costs 2k+ for a refurb box or 1k for a used one with probably the same problems. I've heard the Z4M's have less problems with their ZF.
Really something to consider if you want to abuse the car long term.
Hopefully someone creates a kit to swap newer 6spds onto s54's

I'm not sure if I would do it again. The e36 platform is old now and the suspension design isn't ideal. Not to mention the swap is expensive if done right.

 

[kensbey]

Yeah that's fair enough. There is a lot of pros for the LS swap in that regard, as all the supporting parts are cheap and proven. I didn't realise that the S52 was a lot heavier than the m52, or about the gearbox woes. Good info to know.

 

[octane_matty]

I tried to upload the S54 swap tonight but flickr has been giving me upload time-out errors

I'll try again tomorrow

 

[hewey]

Great shot

 

[octane_matty]

Alright so this is the build of my daily E36 with S54 transplant

I'll try to keep this brief, there are heeeeaps of photos, if you have any questions feel free to ask. Pictures will be high on quantity but not quality.

So i bought this E36 328i back in 2009
terrible interior and 20's
Stock M52B28 manual with lowered springs
Not long after this the car was keyed on every panel, so the honeymoon was over and it was time to mod and thrash it

Early 2010 attended the SAU Deca day

Over the next few years it visited Calder,Phillip Island, Haunted Hills along with many spirited drives and road-trips.

During this time a bit of a toll was taken on the old e36 chassis....

That was just the start; worn bushings, cracked front subframe, blown shocks and the M52B28 was ticking over 250 thou on the clock.
Compression was good but I was just getting bored of all the little things going wrong all at once.

Around early 2013 I was working on my career, moved jobs to hopefully gain much needed experience and challenge myself.
After moving jobs i was made redundant after 2 weeks (company was over a million in debt i found out later)
2 weeks after losing my job i was caught speeding in the Black Spur.
119km/h in an 80 zone while overtaking a 4wd with caravan on the only straight stretch of road for miles.
Cops hide in the bushes 30m up the hill in camouflage while they ping you form behind (you'd never see it coming)

at the time, 39km/h over in Victoria is a 6 month license suspension.

being unemployed and having no license gave me alot of time to think about the possibilities

The AUD was strong against the USD, pretty much at parity.

Few emails were sent, and before i knew it i was buying the S54B32 out of this car

The engine bay had a fire, so the wrecker put together a S54B32 with ITB's and intake from another engine that wasn't burnt. Then found me a 6spd gearbox from a slightly higher miles engine. Engine was 75k miles, gearbox 100k miles.

Couple of months later and a new job later it arrived!

Old engine out!

Sprayed the water pipe to clean it up a bit

ITB's were a bit dirty

Head looked clean inside

Gearbox was filthy

amazing what a can of paint can and some elbow grease can do...

Then came the parts orders thick and fast!

Ebay Headers - NOPE they aren't even close to fitting
Scroll back a few pages to see what happened to these

BMA auto parts order (Thanks Patrick)

New OEM engine mounts/****** mount

E46 M3 coolant expansion tank

Summit racing bits

Plenty of other bits too
SPAL fan
Setrab oil cooler (Larger than stock)
New LUK Dual mass flywheel and OEM Clutch
BMW Flash + IPNA usb obd2 cable
Bilstein B12 Pro Kit
Polyurethane bushings
New diff bushings
UUC Dual shear selector rod
All new shifter bushing parts from euro E36 M3
ZHP 6spd shift knob
VAC remote oil cooler adapter
E46 M3 Euro Cats (mid section)
New Z3Mcoupe radiator
E39 M5 washer fluid reservoir (Still not fitted to this day)
E46 M3 euro headers (after the EBAY headers didn't fit)
Walbro 320LPM fuel pump
E46 M3 fuel filter and regulator
VAC E36 Reinforcement plates (Front + rear subframe)
new OEM FBW accelerator pedal
Early 325 clutch slave
Plenty of redline synchromax and diff fluid
E46 M3 rear shock mounts
E46 325i rear caliper mounts
Swaybar end links
Fresh gearbox bolts (never re-use BMW gearbox torx bolts)
SMG Block off plate
Used E36 Euro rear muffler
Used purple tag E46 steering rack (more linear and slightly less turns i think)
Used medium case LSD (e36 M3 auto 3.38 ratio)
Euro E36 m3 master cylinder + booster

Hope you enjoyed looking at my imported drugs?

setrab cooler

Let's get to business
Rear subframe was welded up (no pics sorry)
My second TIG welding adventure too, not ideal welding upside down.

Front subframe mount area welded (I've got much better at TIG since)

Jerry rig ECU up to an old laptop
BMW Flash to extract, some helpfull BMW forum members removed EWS,cat warmup, raised limiter to 8100

I bought this from Ireland engineering as a clutch pivot pin
See a problem?
Why the F... is there no hole? They didn't respond to my emails....

Boom

Ebay headers, see the flange i removed....definately wouldn't line up

New heatshielding + LUK DM flywheel

****** bolted up with new mounts+bolts

Euro headers + smog pump block off plate

Polished the Vanos for good Vanos luck (didnt work, replaced solenoid and seals few months later)

Putting together AN-16 lines for the oil cooler

my "wiring" diagram

B12's getting ready...new strut tops

Delicious yellow bits

Header clearance

3.38 medium case LSD arrived from USA

Oil cooler mounted

New RAD in plus fan

Refurbed my e36 328i manual shaft (shortened 50mm from memory)

Bought some exhaust tubing

E46 325i rear rotors + caliper bracket with stock caliper, I also have 330i front discs and calipers

Additional Mid section to mate E46 M3 cats to E36 M3 muffler (replaced flanges with V-bands later on)
First attempt at an X-pipe, yep terrible

******* clip, 6th cylinder fuel injector, took me 2 hours no joke
Tip: Use a spanner to hold the clip while you poke the clip onto the injector

You won't be needing this anymore...

Powerflex bushings in
Note: AKG poly bushings are better designed (Have recess for the funny shaped bolt)

Sadly i've run out of pictures at this point....I had to rush to get the car back together and complete which was just before i bought my first house.

It's been running relatively well the past 2 years but i'm sure i'll post some new pics of it soon when i clean a few things up.

Hope everyone has a good long W/E in Aus

 

[1/2 Cup]

Matty, wow, great work.

Ouch, getting pinged on the Spur, not good.

When you do an update you do it well and thanks for sharing.

Regards

 

[kensbey]

Great Pics, Thanks Matt!

I wish it was a long weekend up here. QLD government moved this holiday to later in the year for us. Very odd.

How do you find the Bilstein shocks on aussie roads? some have said they are too harsh, but most info i have is from the US.

 

[octane_matty]

Great Pics, Thanks Matt!

I wish it was a long weekend up here. QLD government moved this holiday to later in the year for us. Very odd.

How do you find the Bilstein shocks on aussie roads? some have said they are too harsh, but most info i have is from the US.

The bilsteins are great, probably a little bumpy at low speed (under 60km/h) but really they feel the best around 80-120km/h

A mate of mine has Koni FSD's/eibach which seem a little more supple if you're after something softer.

 

[octane_matty]

About time for that monthly update, sadly not too productive due to being sick the past 2 weeks.

My Mrs came across a coffee table she liked on pinterest a few weeks ago, I quite liked it too, looked up a price; almost $1300AUD!
I like having nice 'stuff' but i'd rather spend that kind of money on car parts

Considering our existing coffee table is 3 melamine offcuts from the construction of our pantry. Anything is an upgrade really so im going to have a crack at making the coffee table myself.

Materials cost will be approx $200 (Could be done for much less depending on wood choice)

Started building the steel frame, keeping the frame straight was a real pain.
I really wish i had a ground flat fixture table to weld on.


Many adjustments were made to straighten the tubing, make angles almost perfectly square.
quick primer then bog to fill in some holes around the welds


Rustoleum semi gloss black, starting to look half decent




In other project news, V8 teardown continues!
Pulled the bottom end and cam out over the past week.


Pistons are disgusting, heaps of carbon buildup. the engine must have got some water in it while it was being stored or when the car was written off.
The rings have developed some surface rust which is causing me all sorts of issues getting the rings off.

For anyone else removing carbon from aluminium parts i'd recommend a mix of WD40 and carby cleaner. The carbon softens and will brush off easy.

Cam bearings look trashed


Bottom end bearings, pretty good, i'm going to re-use the bottom end bearings but replace the piston rings/cam bearings




Block came back from the machine shop
surfaces decked 6 thou, bore's flex honed, hot tanked and new cam bearings.

Still needs a good pressure wash to clean out the debris.

Hope everyone is having a productive weekend!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Matty, great job on the coffee table.

I would be inclined to replace your bottom end bearings while you are on the go as well. It would give me a some piece of mind..

How do they measure up??

Regards

 

[octane_matty]

It's been a fairly productive weekend

Saturday I went into the city to have a look around some timber shops.

Delta (Whelans), Urban Salvage and Nullabour timbers

Ahhh stacks and stacks of beautiful timber....

If only i had the space for one of these dining tables...

See the size of that table saw...

I ended up taking home a few bits of 170x20 DAR Messmate from Urban Salvage

Looks pretty mint on the coffee table!

These pieces are incredibly well dressed that I barely needed to touch them before glue up. 100% clamp usage

I decided to invest in a new circular saw blade to cover future rip cut needs.

Thinner design and the larger gaps between teeth should aid in long rips

First cut, 100% perfect!

Purchase no.2 this week, new digital calipers.
My previous set are no longer accurate, possibly 10 years + old and unknown accuracy.

I couldn't justify the price of Mitutoyo or negligible accuracy differences.
Bought a Kinchrome set at less than half the price of Mitutoyo's.

Good to know they are accurate to .01-.0.2"mm

Initial quick measure of the L98 cylinder bores seem excellent!

 

[hewey]

Coffee table project looks great. Looking forward to seeing the finished project.

 

[Giddyup]

Others have said it, how did I miss this.... no matter I am going to keep watching now.

Good job on getting the garage cleaned up and back in use...

I am not a Bimmer guy, not yet anyway. The info on your engine swaps is great. I am looking for an older Bimmer for my son, he is keen on one for his first car ...

So I said ok, and learn some maintenance skills

The new coffee table should come up a treat....

Keep the posts coming..

 

[1/2 Cup]

matty, they stock some nice timber there and your selection looks great.

Your table is coming along nicely.

Regards

 

[octane_matty]

Others have said it, how did I miss this.... no matter I am going to keep watching now.



Good job on getting the garage cleaned up and back in use...



I am not a Bimmer guy, not yet anyway. The info on your engine swaps is great. I am looking for an older Bimmer for my son, he is keen on one for his first car ...



So I said ok, and learn some maintenance skills



The new coffee table should come up a treat....



Keep the posts coming..

Sure I'm a little bias here but the best thing about Beamers is the documentation...check realoem.com and google 'Bmw ETK'.
Realoem has complete part diagrams for each model, every nut,bolt and obscure clip has a part number.
ETK is a complete wiring diagram, wire colours, pinouts etc
Pretty much everything you need to work on these cars making parts hunting ridiculously easy.

I wish I could say the same for my LS swap, can't find the Holden part numbers for parts and might have to gamble on buying some GM LS3 parts which might or might not work.

Thanks for visiting