Project Ring-shed E36 325i
Discussion
Well those front bushes were a pain, had to cut them off the wishbone then press the remains out of the bush bracket. Also forgot about the eccentric bit so had to try and turn them round once I'd pressed them in. With a bit of persuasion they were in:
I then finished off fitting the rear braided hoses and cut as much of the backing plate off as I could (had to keep a bit behind the handbrake mechanism) this should get a bit more cool air to the caliper and disk, not really sure why they have backing plates as standard.
I also Loctited the wheel studs in place. Got a front splitter to fit tomorrow, and will try and clean up under the arches to find any areas of rust that can be treated when it goes to the paintshop.
I then finished off fitting the rear braided hoses and cut as much of the backing plate off as I could (had to keep a bit behind the handbrake mechanism) this should get a bit more cool air to the caliper and disk, not really sure why they have backing plates as standard.
I also Loctited the wheel studs in place. Got a front splitter to fit tomorrow, and will try and clean up under the arches to find any areas of rust that can be treated when it goes to the paintshop.
Cheers Dom, it's nice to look back myself to see how far it's come, and how much further there is to go untill it's done.
Just to show the rear backing plate before it was removed:
And how it looked after:
And the bit removed:
Still got no idea why cars have backing plates on as standard. Spent the rest of the day attempting to refurb the wheels I got last week. They're in a appalling condition but they were very cheap at only £75 for the 5. This is how they looked when I got them:
Spent a bit of time with a wire brush attachment on the end of the drill, see the difference:
Just going to spray them black and put a set of wets of them.
Just to show the rear backing plate before it was removed:
And how it looked after:
And the bit removed:
Still got no idea why cars have backing plates on as standard. Spent the rest of the day attempting to refurb the wheels I got last week. They're in a appalling condition but they were very cheap at only £75 for the 5. This is how they looked when I got them:
Spent a bit of time with a wire brush attachment on the end of the drill, see the difference:
Just going to spray them black and put a set of wets of them.
bulletproofbob said:
where were the wheel studs from, and how much?? 13's are fine to hold in the air lining up but 17's are a right pain.... so i think i need studs....
Got them from a bloke on Ebay together with the hubcentric spacers as I wouldn't like using spacers with wheel bolts. Cost £80 for the lot, but you can get just studs and nuts for about half that:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stud-conversion-kit-BMW-1-3-...
I'd had enough of the paint fumes from spraying the wheels yesterday so for a bit of a change I fitted the dash. First I had to rivet an aluminium panel to cover the hole where the heater matrix came through originally. Then I was able to start on the wiring, this is how much was left over after removing a lot of unnecessary stuff last summer:
I'm going to be mounting the fuses and relays on an aluminium panel on the dash where the glove-box used to be, for that race car look and to keep them in the dry as I don't think the fibreglass bonnet seals as well as the original. Plus it gives a bit more room in the engine bay for easier access
I'm going to be mounting the fuses and relays on an aluminium panel on the dash where the glove-box used to be, for that race car look and to keep them in the dry as I don't think the fibreglass bonnet seals as well as the original. Plus it gives a bit more room in the engine bay for easier access
bulletproofbob said:
ha ha, i decided to leave fuse box in... removed 16lbs of wire!!!!!!
I removed 2 bin bags of wiring last summer, plus all the brackets and fuse box etc. so should be a fair weight saving. Only things that don't work now are the rear lights (but bizarely the rear fogs and brake lights still work) and the wipers. I think I may aswell rewire them in rather than tracing what wire I'm removed that's caused them to stop working.minimatt1967 said:
Are you going for street legal Sniff? Or is to be purely for track use?
I'm aiming to keep it road legal, as it would be nice to go for the odd hoon, keep some miles on it to keep it ticking over between trackdays, and it would be a lot handier to just jump in it and drive it to my mate's workshop. I'd probably end up trailering it to trackdays though.bulletproofbob said:
i spent an age tracing a bust wire on one rear light... should have known it was corroded circuit on light!!! crap bmw's... got 2 8x17's for rear with e34 off set... i'l see if they fit tomorrow!!
5 series are a different offset, can't just remember if it's more or less.minimatt1967 said:
Sounds like a plan! Any thoughts towards power plant improvements?
Not for now, it's got an induction kit and a Peco exhaust with the cats removed so should breath a little better. I like the idea of being able to cane the crap out of the engine and if it did go pop I could get another from a scrapyard for a couple of hundred quid and replace it myself in a few days. With an M3 lump you're talking a couple of grand.Even with the standard engine it goes well now it's 1/4 a tonne lighter than before.
minimatt1967 said:
They're no slouch as standard so that should be reaching a very reasonable performance figures, looking forward to seeing the finished product.
It's not far off the PWR of my old 964C4 (250bhp/1450kgs) if I can shave another 25-30 kgs off the E36 it will have matched it. The beauty of this car is I'm not scared to use all the performance either.Coskev said:
Looking good Rich.
Hell of a cage!!!!!!!!!
Didn't know you were on here.Hell of a cage!!!!!!!!!
Cheers Kev, progress is still plodding along. Just sorting out the electrics has taken several days. It should be going for a respray towards the end of the month, then it'll be nice to get the poly windows, seats and harnesses in then it should be pretty much ready for this season.
BTW who did you use for your powder coating? I'm thinking of having some of my wheels done.
dan101smith said:
markbmw]You've got the easiest of the BM lumps to get more power from [relatively said:
cheaply. They were originally built using restricted air intakes to keep BHP down to comply with German insurance groupings.
Along with filter & exhaust, a big-bore throttle body from 'Alpina527' is the way to go. http://www.bmwe36coupe.plus.com/
323i or 328i, but not 325i.Along with filter & exhaust, a big-bore throttle body from 'Alpina527' is the way to go. http://www.bmwe36coupe.plus.com/
Unless Sniff's done an engine swap and I've missed it.
Mark must be thinking of the later alloy block M52 engines.
Been delayed on the respray, it was meant to go in on the 16th March but it's looking like next week now. In the mean time I've spent a bit of time tidying up the electrics. Used a piece of left over aluminium to fix the fuse holders to temporarily as I've got a piece of carbon fibre to fill all the openings in the dash eventually.
Dominic H said:
I can't believe that after all the work you've done to reduce the weight, you're keeping the cigarette lighter. They're gonna kill you, you know....
LOL, it's only a tiny bit of cable, a 30 amp fuse and the socket - doubt it weighs more than 100grammes. Should come in handy to plug a satnav unit, phone charger or speed camera detector in when on the road.Just called in at the paint shop on my way home from work today, they've made some good progress and it should be ready by the end of the week. The car's prepped ready for paint, the sunroof has been welded in place and filled round the gap, the arches have been smoothed over, the couple of bits of rust have been treated and filled.
Here's how she looks now (sorry for the poor quality camera phone pics):
The bumpers, spoiler and mirrors have already been painted off the car. The pictures don't do justice as to how bright a white they are (think Audi R8 white):
Can't wait to see the whole thing done.
Here's how she looks now (sorry for the poor quality camera phone pics):
The bumpers, spoiler and mirrors have already been painted off the car. The pictures don't do justice as to how bright a white they are (think Audi R8 white):
Can't wait to see the whole thing done.
6 weeks! Suppose I can't moan about 3 weeks all in then.
I've got all these boxes of bits (headlights, indicators, rear lights, door trims, door seals etc.)
Not sure about what to do with the seats. I've got a pair of SH Corbeau fixed buckets, but they don't fit the base mounts I've got (they're OMP ones specifically for an E36) I don't really want to be drilling extra holes in the mounts.
I think I may have to get rid of the lot and get some side mounted seats, then I've got more scope to fine tune the seating position to suit. I'm not sure I'll be able to get the base mounted seats low enough for me.
I've got all these boxes of bits (headlights, indicators, rear lights, door trims, door seals etc.)
Not sure about what to do with the seats. I've got a pair of SH Corbeau fixed buckets, but they don't fit the base mounts I've got (they're OMP ones specifically for an E36) I don't really want to be drilling extra holes in the mounts.
I think I may have to get rid of the lot and get some side mounted seats, then I've got more scope to fine tune the seating position to suit. I'm not sure I'll be able to get the base mounted seats low enough for me.
Picked it up this morning, even if I do say so myself I think it looks great - so clean and bright, exactly as I hoped.
A rare shot of all my E36's in the same place at the same time (well technically the green saloon at the front is my GF's):
I love the way the flared arches have turned out:
Had them weld the sunroof panel back in place and fill the gap, looks just like a closed sunroof now. At one point I had planned to just rivet a sheet of aluminium over the hole but some race series specify an all steel roof (just in case I ever decide to use the car for racing in the future
)
Maybe someone can spot what's missing from here:
A rare shot of all my E36's in the same place at the same time (well technically the green saloon at the front is my GF's):
I love the way the flared arches have turned out:
Had them weld the sunroof panel back in place and fill the gap, looks just like a closed sunroof now. At one point I had planned to just rivet a sheet of aluminium over the hole but some race series specify an all steel roof (just in case I ever decide to use the car for racing in the future
)Maybe someone can spot what's missing from here:
bulletproofbob said:
thats now looking the mutts nuts mate, i'm still a good way off running with mine still... and the 999 is only a month off!!!
Cheers Bob. It may look alright but the dam thing won't start ATM (it's turning over but I can't hear the fuel pump whiring away)Going to leave the paint harden for a few days before fitting stuff.
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