Figured I'd do my quarterly update on the GMW.
I think last time I updated I was still having the engine noise from the cam phasers. I think that has fixed itself. I did put fresh oil in it but I don't think I changed the viscosity. But whatever, if it's fixed it's fixed.
In December I ordered some new front seat leathers from Lseat.com. There are a bunch of guys in the e30 group that used these guys with good success and the price was right at under $500. I upgraded to perforated leather so it looks more like the original.
I'm really happy with how they turned out. It was quite a bit more work than I expected. But I also have zero experience with upholstery work. The rear seat backs didn't turn out great because they require stretching, etc but I made them work. I probably have 6 hrs in each seat. Luckily the seats were in pretty good shape overall. The foam on the bottom seat bolster was worn so I repaired that with some foam tape I had.
This original leather doesn't look bad but it was the passenger side. The driver's side was shot.
I also "needed" a newer Bluetooth headunit so I found one of these continental units to install. Its nothing fancy but it looks period correct and it inexpensive.
With the new seats and radio I'd say I'm pretty much done with the interior. Its far from nice but it's complete and matching.
The last several months I've been back and forth with trying to work out a better braking solution. The booster delete Wildwood kit works ok but under panic braking it's less than ideal.
I was digging around and saw some guys were using Tesla iBooster setups. Basically electric boosters than can run in standalone mode with basic power and ground. There was a list of vehicles that use what look to be most identical setups. I ordered one from a late model Honda CR-V because it was like $180 versus $300-500 for the Tesla version.
These take very little modification to bolt into the car. I needed mine turned 45* so I modified the mounting plate and bolted it in. The clevis rid needed modified as well so I cut and welded it to length. The Honda uses a remote reservoir which was perfect because a normal reservoir wouldn't fit.
Once everything was plumbed and wired I tested it out. The pedal was very spongy and the unit pulsated at the bottom of travel. I kept thinking it was a bleeding issue because the master cylinder was upside down. No matter what I did the pedal never felt right.
Long story semi shorter, I bought a legit Tesla booster from a model Y I think. It looks very similar. Master is slightly different. Actual booster looks almost identical. I replumbed it the same way as the Honda booster. The pedal didn't feel spongy and didn't pulsate so I thought I was good.
The pedal was very hard during driving and would barely stop the car. I went though everything I had done several times. Rebleed the car a handful of times. Even reinstalled the Honda booster. I eventually realized I had hooked the front and rear lines up backwards at the MC. So I fixed that with the Honda booster still installed. Still spongy pedal, minimal brakes.
Last night for the final time I reinstalled the Tesla booster, plumbed the lines correctly and WHAT DO YA KNOW IT FREAKIN WORKS! I was so excited. I probably have 20 hrs or more fighting this thing.
It almost works too well. I didnt take the car up the road but in the driveway the boosted brakes stops the car in a HURRY. I might have to make some adjustments to the pedal travel to lengthen it but I'm super happy right now with it.
Anywho, I received rear LSD rebuild parts so I'll be doing that soon.
