My E36 328 Track Toy Build

[bulldog5046]

Hi Guys,

I've read alot of E36 build threads here so i'm sure your all sick of them but i wanted somewhere to keep a log of everything i've done to mine and its a good excuse to show it off

I had been out of the car modifying game for close to 2 years but after attending Castle Combe action day in April i got bitten with the bug for track action once again, the following day i went and bought an M3 replica 328.





it was a very tidy car with nice leather interior that i later sold on eBay for £53. The rear arches need some attention and will be repaired at some point. Importantly though, it was the right colour! i have wanted a white 328 for a few years but just never saw one and it seemed like a waste of money having another colour one resprayed.

The keypoints for my project are that it must be kept road legal as towing is not possible for me and the car must be a serious track car.

After making space on my drive for her i put in a large order with Demon Tweeks, of which i've received most of but still waiting on a steering wheel boss.

2x Sparco Rev Plus seats
2x Sparco 4-point harnesses
2x Seat mounts & runners
1x Momo Model 08 Suede wheel & Momo boss
4x Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 Alloys in White
4x Maxsport RB5 Semi-Slick tyres
Weitec Hicon TX adjustable height & dampening coilovers
Front and Rear powerflex bushes
OMP Front upper strutbrace
Polycarbonate window kit

Most of the parts have been fitted, just need to get round to doing the Bushes and as mentioned, still waiting on the boss.

Few pictures of the car being stripped and various parts fitted, in addition to the above i have also done the M50 manifold conversion.












Today is the first dat i've driven her with the new suspension and wheels/tyres and all i can say is that its phenominal, it has so much grip that i girled out of a few corners before the car showed any signs of beginning in slip, the only place i could induce a bit of understeer was circling a roundabout and the car remained very manageable, i'm really looking forward to getting out on a trackday with it!

The car is booked in with Huxley Motorsport to have a custom cage installed and the sunroof welded shut at the end of the month. Once its back i will be tidying up the interior and looking for a track event to take it to, hopefully Castle Combe as its local and a circuit i really like.

I will keep the thread updated with any progress as and when it happens.

Thanks,
Ry

[bulldog5046]

Unsure of the weight at the moment, until the cage has gone in there isnt much point in getting it weighed.

ultimately the goal is as light as possible, i have heard of others getting them down to 1100kg so i will see what i can do.

The only thing i did weigh was the sound deadening i've pulled up that totalled around 10kg!

[bulldog5046]

joe_90 said:

The sunroof weights a ton.. just remove the whole thing and seal+pop rivet a ally plate across it.

That is esentially whats being done. The whole unit is coming out and the panel that seals it now removed from the unit then welded in.

will save messing about wasting money on paint if i got just a plate put in.

[bulldog5046]

joe_90 said:

The problem is that its not a tight fit, it will have a gap around it.. i was temped to do the same.. then just thought fark it.

Do you mean its not a tight fit because you removed the seal?

Although a risk of it leaking at a later date my plan was to use this seal in addition to sealant and then for the panel to be welded to keep it in place firmly.

Someone else on here has done the same, i just cant remember who!

[bulldog5046]

V8mate said:

What are your plans for the brakes?

Only something i've just started looking into, ideally i'd like 4/6 piston calipers and 330mm disc's but the cost at the moment is looking a bit silly.

If i cant find anything reasonably priced i think i will leave the standard calipers and look at Pagid RS29 pads and Brembo disc's or similar.

I've ran the Pagid RS29's before and they are awesome pads.

Remind me, what have you put on yours? how are they?

[bulldog5046]

What size disc's do you run with the E46 calipers?

[bulldog5046]

I see.

Just having a bit more of a look around it looks like E46 330 calipers etc can be fitted to give 325mm, but still only single piston..

have seen some Big Brake Upgrade kits for sub £1k but they dont look great. I've never heard the name StopTech before, has anyone else?

[bulldog5046]

Not much going on this weekend really other than a bit more stripping of remaining sound deadening and other materials.

I removed the sunroof, the whole unit weighed 9.9kg's and the panel thats going back in weighed 6kg's so only a 3.9kg saving from the roof area...

I took a few pics of how she currently stands but its not that interesting to be honest






Car is off next weekend to have the cage installed

Cheers,
Ry

[bulldog5046]

Again not much to report unforuntely, i dropped the car off on Saturday for the rollcage install by Huxley Motorsport. Huxley has promised me he will be photographing the cage as its built/installed and posting them to facebook so i will pop them up here when i see them!

looking forward to getting the car back so i can finally take it on its first trackday! there is a day at the end of July at caslte combe i want to attend if funds will allow!

EDIT: Almost forgot, i have my eyes on a set of brembo's to go on the front

[bulldog5046]

I was bidding on eBay today on the previously mentioned Brembo calipers, unfortunately i lost out but the auction finished at just over £300, my maximum was £300, typical hey?

anyway, this sent me down a new path and i have finally chosen my brake upgrades as began ordering!

i have decided to fit a set of Porsche 996 4 pot Brembo's, this are some nice looking calipers capable of taking upto a 345mm M3 disc and should be plently capable of stopping the car, the question is, will with 345mm disc's the caliper clear the wheel? i will investigate when i have the car back.

in the mean time i've ordered the fitting bracket from the US: http://www.rallyroad.net/content/e36-and-e46-non-m...

i will get a set of calipers ordered, looking at paying £300ish for a set on ebay and then i will be able to see if i can run the larger 345mm disc's or if i will have to settle with 325mm

I also ordered a full sticker kit that i forgot to mention, as detailed here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

should be arriving in the next week or two

[bulldog5046]

I cant help but think taking the badge off will make the rear look too bare.

but yes, i know that badge doesnt belong there, maybe i'll take the one from my 318 and stick on

[bulldog5046]

Well, based on my previous experience of fitting 4pot brembos to my fiat ad changing to DOT5.1 there was no noticeable change to pedal travel.

I will play it by ear, see how it is after the change on standard servo but if an upgrade is needed it will probably be the M3.

Calipers have been ordered now

Ry

[bulldog5046]

right, all priced up and in the processing of ordering the items. This upgrade path really is quite a cost effective option, i just hope it performs as well as i'm hoping!

Brackets - £120
Porsche 996.351.425/6 calipers - £347
Pagid RS29 Pads & Brembo Race Fluid - £263
BMW E46 M3 325x28mm Disc's - £200

All in £930 which is very reasonable for a big brake upgrade IMO.

I have heard the M3 disc's tend to overheat but keeping in mind the weight difference between the cars i'm hoping it will be able to cope.

[bulldog5046]

Came home from work to find my calipers had been delivered, i hope you'll agree, they look awesome!



Should be able to provide plenty of stopping power! Disc's and pads should be delivered later this week.

I will be dropping these off at the machine shop tomorrow to have 12mm shaved off of the mounting face to mate the caliper with the 325mm disc rather than trying to squeeze 345mm discs on and worrying about the wheels not fitting.

I have a bit of a question regarding brake bias, if you fit larger front calipers this must move the break bias backward, is that correct? if so, i assume i could compensate if nessesary with one of the willwood adjustable valves?

[bulldog5046]

The calipers are at the machine shop to get 12mm shaved from the mounting face in preperation for fitting. Hope to have them back tomorrow but i was warned the guy had been out sick when i dropped them in.

I've had a few other goodies arrive



Still waiting on the mounting brackets and for some pictures of the work on the rollcage, still hoping to collect the car this weekend if the cage is done.

Ry

[bulldog5046]

Finally something interesting!

I got the calipers back from the machine shop, i was charged a rather eye watering £134.40 to have 12mm removed from the mounting faces, i will be looking for another machine shop next time as myself and others believe the price was way over the top for a small job.




Note: The pads in the calipers are not the RS29's, and there will be no pad wear sensor fitted.

And! i finally have photos of the cage i was promised!
















I've been told i can collect the car on sunday and i'm so excited! i cant wait to crack on with painting the cage and tidying everything up

More pics to follow when i collect the car

[bulldog5046]

Picked the car up this morning and i'm very happy with the cage, it looks fantastic.

I have started to paint it but i can see its going to be a very long boring job as i'm having to apply it a thin coat at the time to get a reasonable finish, the rear of the car is nearly done i think




The only thing i'm really disappointed about is the sunroof, its been welded in from the top and had some filler thrown over it, it looks awful and is going to cost me alot to get sorted as now the whole roof needs respraying as for some reason it was nesseccary to sand paper alot of the roof for no reason over then to remove some bird poo.



the only other thing i'm annoyed about is that it appears a crowbar was used to get my driver seat subframe back into the car as it is now damaged along with central tunnel in the car.

I dont know why i wasnt just asked how i got the subframe in without damaging it or left for me to refit.

Ry

[bulldog5046]

The machine shop i took it to have been good in the past when i've had them skim heads, pressure test, and helicoiled a caliper before.

They wouldnt give me a price as they said it depended on time but i wasnt expecting to get screwed for that much!

Cage was £950 basic, +£50 for the harness bars and +£50 for having an X in the rear rather than just a single cross bar.

I think i'm going to have a go with a rattle can on the roof before forking out more cash, i cant really make it any worse can i?!

Calipers, all pistons are free moving and the seals look in good order, at the moment i feel it would be a waste of time/money to rebuild them. Being a track car, its not going to hurt having it off the road while the work is done when needed.

[bulldog5046]

Windymiller said:

Fair point on the brakes. Not too bad a price on the cage — was that based on supplying the car stripped of sound deadening, trim and glass?

Suppled the car stripped and i had removed the sound deadening but glass was still in place, electric windows were still operational.

once all of the messy painting is done i'll set about fitting my poly window kit

[bulldog5046]

crossie said:

Have you fitted these?

Do they fit well?

Unfortunately i'm still waiting on the brackets, i was hoping they would arrive this week but i've still not seen them

andygtt said:

i like the porsche conversion... did you use the E46 discs, were did you get them and how much... would like to fit these to my M3.. wonder if the CSL ones may fit in std M3 wheels?

Yes, i'm using E46 M3 Discs (325x28mm).

You can use the CSL 345mm discs and it even saves you having to machine the calipers which is nice, but you need atleast 18" rims to clear the calipers..

benny.c said:

We have an AP Racing "formula" set up on our E36, fronts only. They have awesome stopping power and we still run the standard 325 rear calipers. The car feels really nicely balanced under braking in the dry although the rear does get a little squirmy in the wet. Nothing horrendous but adjustable brake bias is on the list of things to do at some point.

Thanks Benny!

These are probably a little bigger then your AP setup but its good to year yours wasnt too affected by the change, hopefully it will be okay!