So I bought an E30.

[CaptainHenreh]

What fan parts did you get, and do they bolt up? I currently have the mechanical fan still on there, but I'm debating switching.

The fan parts are what channing sent to me. Basically, they take the fan that's already attached to the a/c condenser and mount it differently...it's the parts that came on (apparently) a fairly rare non-ac E30:

Click for RealOEM page

I bought parts 5, 6, 11, 12, & 13, PN#'s:
17401372828
17401372829
17401373069
17111150984
17111150983

I called BMW of Fairfax and rattled off those numbers...they seemed very helpful, and were happy to go ahead and order them for me. I'm not really worried about having a converted rack vs. a native manual rack...I think I'll be alright, and if I'm not...well I'm at square one anyway, right? I'd still need to buy an M50 pump, reservoir, and lines. And as far as the "deadly cooling parts"...I could barely afford not too! 70 bucks shipped for both pieces, gaskets included. Can't argue with that.

I still don't know what I'm going to do for an exhaust. I'll have to be creative. I've got the stock shorty pipes, but no downpipes. I might just haul it to an exhaust shop, hand them a cat, a muffler, and the Visa, although SS Autochrome has got some XS power knockoff headers and downpipes that might be worth looking into...very reasonably priced.

I realize this swap has taken a long time, but I promised Julie I'd do it in cash...and that takes some time. And it'll be pretty wicked when it's finished, and I basically have all winter to do it. So, I'm not worried. Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy the build, study, and mental exercises almost as much as the finished product. Then, once it's finished, I'll drive it until I'm faster than the car, and go looking for some power adders. I'll probably start with the M3 cams and a chip, should net me 200whp...if that's still not enough, I'll start a 2.8 forced induction build.