Project E36 - Track Day Car
Discussion
briSk said:
I was wondering - have you been tempted to 'add' a rear quarterlight using some vinyl (or a bit of electrcical tape or something)? 
Nah. Four door "coupes" are all the rage now if you listen to the crap that some car manufactures are spouting recently 
I hadn't thought about it TBH. I'll try it next week when the rest of the stickers are on and throw it open to the PH floor.
(improved by DIY British engineering crossie said:
mint job there
May I ask where you get the tyres from?
I got them off ebay but this guy usually has them in http://www.touringcarspares.com/May I ask where you get the tyres from?
briSk said:
i have just had a thought! what it needs is a north american spec front bump strip thing that goes where the numberplate holder is. they're embossed "BMW" and look cool!
Not seen one of them. Will have a look on the net sniff petrol said:
Well done Ben. I've been reading since the beginning and love it. Can't wait to see it at Oulton Park.
Yeah, can't wait to get up there. Was hoping to get to the BMW day on the 3rd June but Mike's getting married. I dunno....priorities 
Edited by benny.c on Wednesday 26th March 14:23
bigfatnick said:
i love this car, its inspiring me in a big a way! have you done anything to reinforce the weakpoints in the boot floor? i theres a kit from tms in america and i wanna know if its any good ;-)
Didn't know that the E36 was supposed to have a weak point in the floor TBH. As sniff says, the cage should keep it all together.sammysideways said:
awesome project. im currently building a 328 to roughly the same kinda spec. be pleased when ive finished.
where did you get the perspex windows from? im after a set especially the fronts with slidey window.
We just bought some perspex and cut them ourselves. XL raceparts do a kit though if you want off the peg ones http://www.xlraceparts.com/bmw-e36-perspex-windows...where did you get the perspex windows from? im after a set especially the fronts with slidey window.
Sliders were from Demon Tweeks.
sammysideways said:
cheers for info as regards to perspex, how much you pay? ta for the advice btw.
also where you get the parts to convert to wheel studs? i hate pissing around trying to put bolts on etc.
Can't remember how much much the perpex was. Only cheap, about £20 for a big sheet IIRC, from B&Q or similar. Wheel studs were from Demon Tweeks.also where you get the parts to convert to wheel studs? i hate pissing around trying to put bolts on etc.
Edited by benny.c on Monday 7th April 11:08
Open doors at the moment. At some point we may chop out most of the inner skin and replace it with a panel, but it's not really a priority. As you say, all the winder mechanism has been stripped from ours anyway. Have a look at some of the build diaries over at http://www.zonemotorsport.co.uk/forum/ There may be something in them.
Cheers guys. The next photos should hopefully be on track 
Last time we drove it was when we picked it up a year ago. Then it drove like a good, solid 325i with rather alarming brakes. Actually very good for a 16 year old car. Now it probably weighs 200 Kgs less, has race suspension and competition brakes. At the very least the suspension's going to give me back ache. Your guess is as good as mine but we'll find out at Oulton Park on Wednesday. 
We're expecting to do a lot of spanner work
john185k said:
Stunning, but what is the performance like?
Quite possibly appalling Last time we drove it was when we picked it up a year ago. Then it drove like a good, solid 325i with rather alarming brakes. Actually very good for a 16 year old car. Now it probably weighs 200 Kgs less, has race suspension and competition brakes. At the very least the suspension's going to give me back ache. Your guess is as good as mine but we'll find out at Oulton Park on Wednesday. We're expecting to do a lot of spanner work Night Flier said:
Any chance we are going to see some pictures of it lapping Oulton Park then?
Er...well, maybe not 
Had a f
king disaster last night. We finished all our bolt checking etc, and the last job was to fit the steering wheel on straight. We drove the car out and there was plumes of white smoke coming from the exhaust. First we thought it was just condensation in the exhaust but we left it running and it didn't disappear. Next thing the car starts overheating even with the fan on. So we turn it of and check the oil filler cap to find the old f
king mayonnaise effect in the oil 
Couldn't believe it. We've been moving the car round all year and it was fine when we picked it up (a good 8 hours driving). We've done nothing to the engine so we assume it's just bad luck. Got to be the head gasket or a warped head? Bit weird but I can't think what else it would be. So, last night we started to strip the engine down and find more mayo on the head cover over where the cam chain is. We're going to get a head gasket this morning and then see if we can get it rebuilt for tomorrow. It's not looking good but we'll have a good bash. If we can't get it done we'll be up there in an M5 so not a complete wash out, but annoying nonetheless. F
king cars 
Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 15th April 09:41
L100NYY said:
Sorry to hear that Benny, although if you do get it fixed in time it will be one of those challenges that you look back on in years to come with fond memories!
You can shove your fond memories I wanted to polish it tonight, not change the head gasket 
Remember the Top Gear lads trying to get their BMW ready for the 24 hour race they did? That's us that is
Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 15th April 09:54
Well, what a crazy 24 hours 
We picked up a head gasket at 3pm on Tueday and continued to strip the car. Finally got the head off around 9pm and took a look. There was no obvious signs of damage to the head or gasket but it doesn't take much more than a hairline split to allow the water to escape. With no time to do any real investigation we refitted the head and then reassembled the engine. By that time it was 2:30am Wednesday morning so we couldn't fire it up for fear of upsetting the neighbours.
A sorry sight the day before your first trackday :
Head off
And back on
Good old Haynes - "refitting is simply the reverse of removal"
And so to Wednesday morning...We rolled the car onto the trailer and drove to Oulton. With no time to test the car we did our installation laps in the M5. Very nice and we could have happily spent the day in that, but that wasn't why we were here. We rolled the E36 into the pits and started it up. It sounded like a bag of spanners and Mike and I looked at each other in a "what have we done" kind of way
After a moments thought we realised that the head would have no oil in, and sure enough after 20 seconds or so it smoothed and sounded better than it had ever done. No plumes of white smoke either
Next problem...over heating. This would ultimately keep us off the track for most of the day but after changing the water pump (bought just in case) and removing the thermostat, we finally got 5 or 6 laps in. Driving through the paddock it felt dreadful but on the track the car is frankly stunning. It's like driving a 1300Kg go cart and like no road car I have ever driven. It can be thrown into a corner without a hint of underssteer or body roll, and the grip from the slicks is amazing. The handling is so neutral and controllable, to say it inspires confidence is an understatement. Being a 325, traction out of the corner was never going to be an issue but it did pull far better than I was expecting in it's lightened state...and that was with 2 in the car so 100Kg of ballast in my case. We can have plenty of fun as it is for now, an M3 engine can wait for a bit. The AP brakes are also stunning. Slowing from 100+ MPH into lodge corner the car pulled up straight with no drama or vibration, and that was only 50% pressure as the brakes need to be bedded a little. There's plenty more to come from them I'm sure. We followed a couple of vauxhall cavalier race cars for a few laps, it was just like being involved in a 90's touring car race
The fun was short lived though as we started to overheat again. After much head scratching and help from passing strangers, we figured that there must have been an air block in the system somewhere. We poured water into the rad with the bottom hose off, and the water wouldn't flow through and out. Blowing into the rad would force the water round and seemed to cure the problem and allow us to get a decent amount of water into the system. Did another lap and steam was pouring form the engine so back into the pits again. The thermostat housing was leaking so off it came and it was refitted with some borrowed "instant gasket". Then back out for four more fun laps and no overheating, but the day was over
Overall then, a great day despite our problems and at least in the end we had it sorted. My first trackday has been a real learning curve but at least I know the E36 pretty well. It's a fantastic car and only going to get better Thanks have to go to Mike's dad and everyone else who gave us help and moral support over the last "testing" 24 hours 
We spent most of the day in here
Getting ready to go out at last
Proof. Slightly blurry but proof nonetheless. I'm going to have a word with trackphoto.co.uk and see if they got any shots of us. We were pretty illusive on the day
We picked up a head gasket at 3pm on Tueday and continued to strip the car. Finally got the head off around 9pm and took a look. There was no obvious signs of damage to the head or gasket but it doesn't take much more than a hairline split to allow the water to escape. With no time to do any real investigation we refitted the head and then reassembled the engine. By that time it was 2:30am Wednesday morning so we couldn't fire it up for fear of upsetting the neighbours.A sorry sight the day before your first trackday :
Head off
And back on
Good old Haynes - "refitting is simply the reverse of removal"
And so to Wednesday morning...We rolled the car onto the trailer and drove to Oulton. With no time to test the car we did our installation laps in the M5. Very nice and we could have happily spent the day in that, but that wasn't why we were here. We rolled the E36 into the pits and started it up. It sounded like a bag of spanners and Mike and I looked at each other in a "what have we done" kind of way
After a moments thought we realised that the head would have no oil in, and sure enough after 20 seconds or so it smoothed and sounded better than it had ever done. No plumes of white smoke either Next problem...over heating. This would ultimately keep us off the track for most of the day but after changing the water pump (bought just in case) and removing the thermostat, we finally got 5 or 6 laps in. Driving through the paddock it felt dreadful but on the track the car is frankly stunning. It's like driving a 1300Kg go cart and like no road car I have ever driven. It can be thrown into a corner without a hint of underssteer or body roll, and the grip from the slicks is amazing. The handling is so neutral and controllable, to say it inspires confidence is an understatement. Being a 325, traction out of the corner was never going to be an issue but it did pull far better than I was expecting in it's lightened state...and that was with 2 in the car so 100Kg of ballast in my case. We can have plenty of fun as it is for now, an M3 engine can wait for a bit. The AP brakes are also stunning. Slowing from 100+ MPH into lodge corner the car pulled up straight with no drama or vibration, and that was only 50% pressure as the brakes need to be bedded a little. There's plenty more to come from them I'm sure. We followed a couple of vauxhall cavalier race cars for a few laps, it was just like being involved in a 90's touring car race
The fun was short lived though as we started to overheat again. After much head scratching and help from passing strangers, we figured that there must have been an air block in the system somewhere. We poured water into the rad with the bottom hose off, and the water wouldn't flow through and out. Blowing into the rad would force the water round and seemed to cure the problem and allow us to get a decent amount of water into the system. Did another lap and steam was pouring form the engine so back into the pits again. The thermostat housing was leaking so off it came and it was refitted with some borrowed "instant gasket". Then back out for four more fun laps and no overheating, but the day was over
Overall then, a great day despite our problems and at least in the end we had it sorted. My first trackday has been a real learning curve but at least I know the E36 pretty well. It's a fantastic car and only going to get better
Thanks have to go to Mike's dad and everyone else who gave us help and moral support over the last "testing" 24 hours We spent most of the day in here
Getting ready to go out at last
Proof. Slightly blurry but proof nonetheless. I'm going to have a word with trackphoto.co.uk and see if they got any shots of us. We were pretty illusive on the day
Edited by benny.c on Thursday 17th April 13:57
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