Hey guys, so I need any sort of advice. I have been researching but I need opinions and more experienced people.

I currently drive a 1990 BMW 525i with 214k. its very very clean but the clutch is going and i dont have the drive to fix it.

My buddy has a 1994 miata running a 16g, megasquirt, 550ccs, straightpipe, some sort of wideband, vented BOV. has 119k and new turbo and intercooler setup. We talked about trading since he never drives it.

I checked it out the other day and its pretty rough. Needs a windsheild, paint, top, seats, and basic tlc. This dosnt bother me that much. However, it did fire right up after sitting, it still idles rough and wants to die. It drives alright, when transistioning into boost sort of stutters, but it pulls hard for what it is. its running 8psi.

It also will sometimes blow smoke when on WOT. White smoke. HE thinks its due to not having an oil restrictor on the feed line into the turbo. He just checked compression and it was great.

So do you guys think it just needs a tune? could i do it myself via megasquirt? I need thoughts, opinions, advice. It will be a daily driver and only car. Would it be solid with a tune?

Thanks in advance.

 

i would not trade a reliable vehicle for project if i was going to DD it. That's probably why he doesn't DD it now. It's a project.

 

Yeah. IMO I'd just do the clutch on the E34. That thing is reliable as all get out, thats probably the original factory clutch in it.

 

True, i just really want something fun. But i will do a lot more research

 

If you don't want to do a clutch on the BMW, I doubt you have the drive to do the massive amount of work it sounds like it will take to get this car running right.

There are a lot of unknowns as far as I can tell.

Any pictures of said engine bay?

 

+1, pics of said miata so we can help you. A "properly" setup turbo miata will be quite reliable. Just because it has a megasquirt, injectors, fmic, etc. does not make it reliable. You can't just throw parts at a car until it works, there has to be a method to the madness.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. i will post the link to the ad.

And as far as not wanting to do the clutch is just because i know if i want the e34 to be right ill have to throw in suspension setup, a chip, a rebuild probably among others. I dont mind dailying a really rough car and i enjoy doing small work to clean a car up along with paint and such. ill also post a link of my ad just for conparison.

 

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/3817570795.html

Miata link. Post my link in a sec.

 

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/3829223222.html

My bimmer.

 

That stuff isnt going to make it "right" thats just what you'd want to do to it. Put the clutch in the bimmer. Drive it. Its a nice comfortable daily driver. Save up your funds and then buy a miata you can turbo. It is so relieving to have a reliable daily and have a project car. If the project car doesnt get fixed by sunday night, you can still drive the daily to work. If the daily doesnt work by sunday night you stay up all night trying to make it work or you take the bus to work.

*Edit, no mention of needing a clutch in the craigslist ad, classy.

 

looks like one of those egay obx manifolds

 

Haha i threw that ad up before my clutch started slipping. When it started i gave up on selling.

 

Also guy that built miata is kibda ehhh

 

I thought that at first but if you look closely its not. It looks like a custom job with mild steel. Can't really tell how quality the welds are though.

 

Hmm, Ill ask him what manifold or who did it. If he did it then the welds will be good. What else do you guys see that can cause for possible problems? Is it possible for it to smoke due to not having an oil restrictor in the feed line? Also it common to have a rattling vibratey noise due to the downpipe being to big? Is clearance a common problem?

 

Lack of oil restrictor on a turbo can cause it to smoke, yes. However if he's run without one and just let it smoke for any period of time it may have fucked up the turbo seals, or hell it may be the motor smoking at that point.

There's plenty of clearance for a 3" downpipe.

 

The smoke and rattle are common problems, yes. But they could also mean a blown engine.

 

Hmm I don't think hes ran it to long without one. He hasnt daily drove it for a while. Also he recently checked compression and it wwas like 160 across the boards if I remember correctly.

 

And again thank you for everyones input, it is much appreciated.

 

Do a leakdown test and be done with it. If leakdown checks out, it probably just needs a restrictor or a new turbo. The downpipe vibration can probably be fixed by any competent fabricator. Sounds like a shittly designed ebay setup to me if it's rattling. My BEGI downpipe fit great.