Words: René Vermeer Photos: Richard Opie
Jayden, Jayden, Jayden — what on earth have you done this time! Jayden Broad is a name you’ll no doubt be familiar with if you’ve got anything to do with the New Zealand car scene. Notably, you’ll likely know him for hustling K24 engines on Marketplace, 16-inch Japanese wheels, or complete part-outs, from K24-based vehicles he’s nicked the engines from. Given the chance, we’re confident Jayden could almost pull a K24 in under half an hour, and have another lighter chassis K-swapped within a week with that motor if everything was teed up and ready to go. Wanting a challenge this time around, though, Jayden decided to test his skills against an entirely new platform, one where the rear wheels do the talking, instead of the front and four-wheel drive Hondas he’s used to building. For those that remember his all-wheel drive K24 turbo Orthia, you’ll know the kind of madness we’re talking about. This time, though, it’s not a Honda — it’s a German icon: the BMW E30, with Jayden’s signature K24 twist.
“I’ve always admired the E30 shape,” Jayden says. “My mates had them — but the BMW engines were a bit disappointing. I had one swapped with an M50B25 a few years back, and I loved the car, but the engine performance was underwhelming. I’m very familiar with the K24 engine, so I thought I’d give it a try.”
After already giving the BMW E30 game a crack a few years back, Jayden yearned for more of a blank canvas to work with. After spotting a silver 320i sedan down in Tauranga with a blown head gasket for sale, it was all go. After road-tripping with his partner and daughter, Jayden collected the E30 and got it home, into his shed. “After I got it home, it did sit there for a bit as I was busy pulling apart my Integra Type R,” Jayden continues. “Then this black one pops up for sale as a rolling body. It had Wilwoods, some ugly as bucket seats, and some ugly as wheels, and some other goodies I could sell off. I sold that silver one for the same price as the black rolling body that popped up. It’s funny, because it was also down in Tauranga. So, I hooked the trailer back up and picked that one up.”
With the new black E30 home, it was time to see where the K24 would sit with the TF Works mount kit that Jayden already had on hand. After seeing just how close the engine was to the firewall, Jayden didn’t like that at all, so he enlisted his brother-in-law and engineer Rhys, to fabricate some engine mounts that would bring the K24 around 50–60mm further forward. “I definitely prefer where the engine sits now, more in-line with the strut towers,” Jayden told us.
With the mounts fabricated, it was time to dial in the engine bay. This is where Jayden admits to spending a huge amount of time, welding holes, smoothing things out and relocating things, before finally painting the engine bay. Painstakingly, the fusebox was also relocated, but the results are definitely worth it. “Once the gearbox and motor were in, the car went straight to Juhan. Juhan did his magic on the fab. He did the gearbox mounts, exhaust, downpipe — basically all of the fabrication I wanted.” With the E30 fresh back from Juhan, Jayden had the task of stripping anything that had just been fabricated back off the vehicles, so it could all be sent down to RKM Motorsport down in Cambridge to be polished, or to Arkro Powder Coating to be powder coated and HPC coated where needed.
“I initially bought a wiring loom from Wiring Specialists in the States, but yeah, I got a bit f#cked over with that with duty, but that was a full plug-and-play loom. I told them everything I wanted and basically it came exactly how I needed.” However, after it arrived, Jayden realised he needed a few loom changes, and he wasn’t a fan of how the headlight wiring was still visible. Shyam from Get Grounded sorted the wiring task with ease and even wired in the electronic power steering pump, the fans, and the fuel pumps in the boot to finish off the wiring entirely. “He got it to the point where we were ready for the first start, so I got it back so I could do a fluid check and a bolt check,” Jayden told us.
With everything mechanically dialled in, polished, and fitted, Jayden’s final hurdle was the panel and paint, with the E30’s exterior definitely needing some attention. Initially, Jayden was to prep the E30’s body for paint over a couple of weeks, prior to Dominic at domUNIQUE laying down the paint, however, he had other ideas. Jayden explains, “We initially wanted to go the OEM colour. Initially I was meant to be doing the panelling and he was meant to do the painting, but since he’s very very very kind, he came over basically every night for two weeks. We prepped the car, then painted it, and spent endless hours on the paint together.” With the Sprint Hart CP-R wheels dialled in with perfect fitment and offset, we can’t help but think that they’re the ultimate Japanese nod to what’s lurking under the bonnet.
If you’re not up with the K24 lingo, there are a few variants out there, with some better than others. Jayden opted for the K24A3, which is commonly found in the Accord Euro S platform from 2006–2008 and features larger intake valves, more cam lift, 12-degrees more duration, and the throttle body has been increased from factory from 60mm to 64mm. They’re also known to have stronger con-rods, and under-piston oil squirters. Thankfully too, as Jayden decided that not only was he going to turbocharge the K24 (obviously), but also that he’d choose a Garrett G35-1050 – yes, that’s a turbocharger rated to 1050hp at the engine. Although the K24A3’s block and internals remain factory, it’ll produce an easy 300–340kW at the wheels on pump fuel with plenty more in the tank should the engine be forged in the future. Complete with T51R mod, we sure as hell can’t wait to hear the K24 under load!
Although the K24 hasn’t been tuned, we’re confident Brian at NDT Developments will coax as much as possible out of the K24 when he gets his hands on it. And with Jayden wanting to use the E30 to take his friends and family out on the weekends, we can’t wait to see it put through its paces!
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This article originally appeared in New Zealand Performance Car issue 312
SPEC LIST
1990 BMW 318I (E30)
Heart
ENGINE: K24A3, 2400cc four-cylinder
BLOCK: Factory
HEAD: 50 deg VTC
INTAKE: CNC Innovations billet intake manifold, 74mm Bosch drive by wire throttle body
EXHAUST: ARTEC RWD turbo manifold, three-inch stainless downpipe and exhaust system
TURBO: Garrett G35-1050, T51R mod
WASTEGATE: GenV CompGate40
BOV: What’s that?
FUEL: Bosch 1000cc injectors, twin Walbro 350 in-tank surge tank setup
IGNITION: Factory
ECU: Haltech 1500, Haltech WB1
COOLING: Koyorad radiator, Fenix front mount intercooler kit, SPAL 12-inch fan
EXTRA: Custom oil catch can and swirl pot, custom engine mounts, Wiring Specialists engine harness, Get Grounded body harness, relocated fuse box, Mercedes electric power steering pump, Touge Factory Works oil pump, Touge Factory Works sump, shaved and tucked bay
Drive
GEARBOX: Six-speed ZF M57-53DZ
CLUTCH: Advanced Clutch Technology six puk
FLYWHEEL: Touge Factory Works billet K-swap flywheel
DIFF: Medium case LSD
EXTRA: Touge Factory Works gearbox adapter, reinforced subframes and bushings
Support
STRUTS: XYZ adjustable coilovers with custom spring rate (F) 14kg (R) 12kg springs
BRAKES: (F) Wilwood Dynapro front callipers, Brembo rotors, Hawk pads, (R) Factory callipers, Brembo rotors
ARMS/KNUCKLES: Factory, 5×114.3 converted
Shoes
WHEELS: (F) 16×8-inch (+30), (R) 16×8-inch (+18) SSR Sprint Hart CP-R
TYRES: (F) 205/45R16 Bridgestone RE003 (R) 205/45R16 Bridgestone RE003
Exterior
PAINT: Diamantschwarz Metallic
ENHANCEMENTS: M-Tech 2 complete body kit, Garagistic tail lights
Interior
SEATS: Recaro LX Fishnets
STEERING WHEEL: MOMO Prototipo
INSTRUMENTATION: Haltech iC-7 Digital Dash
Performance
POWER: 330kW
TORQUE: 510Nm
BOOST: 15psi
FUEL TYPE: 98 Octane
TUNER: Brian at NDT developments
Driver Profile:
DRIVER/OWNER: Jayden Broad
AGE: 29
LOCATION: Auckland
OCCUPATION: Storage fitter and marketplace enthusiast
BUILD TIME: One year
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: One year
THANKS: A huge thank you to my fiancée Georgia, Mum and Dad, Mikey Ngo, Dominic Madrid, Suhail Khan, Rhys Slater, Daniel Smith, Harry Clark, Brian Ingham, Juhan Lee, Corey Worthington, Steve Carter, Shyam Mehta, Neshan Pavaday, Bernard Lim, David Miller, Jon-Paul Ferguson, and all the DRUCES boys.
Another big thanks to Mikey at Backyard Developments for being there through every step, from sourcing parts to putting in endless hours of help. Massive shout-out to Rhys and the team at West Engineering for handling all the machining, and to Juhan Lee, who transformed my ideas into reality with his fabrication skills. Big appreciation for JP at TPD for the advice and supplying some key parts, and to Steve Carter from Arkro Powder Coating for his work on all the cerakote and powder coating. Dominic at domUNIQUE went above and beyond, putting in countless hours on the panelling, painting, and kit install. Brian from NDT Developments had my back with Haltech parts, answering calls even on Sundays, and dialling in the tune. Last but not least, thanks to Shyam from Get Grounded for sorting the wiring.