Yet another rescued E36 328i M Sport project...
Discussion
RickBristol said:
helix402 said:
On the E46 you have an upper ball joint on the rear susp and a solid lower one. The M3 E46 runs ball joints top and bottom, not sure if this works on the E36 but may be worth considering.
On any E46 you can run ball joints top and bottom.
Not bothered about that really. The lower and upper arm bushings are all Powerflex black series, so I'm sure the setup will be fine...On any E46 you can run ball joints top and bottom.
Got them fitted to the trailing arms.
However, when it came to fitting the upper, and especially the lower control arms, we decided that for better suspension movement, that it would be better to fit rose joints for the lower control arms too...
Once done, the difference in how the lower control arm moved, without any twisting of the separate control arm leafs, and how much easier they were to fit, made us feel a lot happier for going the extra mile.
If anyone wants a set of Powerflex black series lower control arm bushings, let me know...
Have a big update for the body shell rear suspension area clean-up, treating and suspension refit coming - maybe - tomorrow. Bit tpp tiered to do that tonight...
Sorry to butt in on this thread but I'm interested in the bushing fitment for my own 328. Is the lower control arm you refer to the camber control arm attached to the bottom of the hub assembly?
Also what is the rose joint part details you used to replace the original bushing?
I aim to gradually improve the suspension on my car as bits wear out.
Cheers
Ben
Also what is the rose joint part details you used to replace the original bushing?
I aim to gradually improve the suspension on my car as bits wear out.
Cheers
Ben
BGarside said:
Sorry to butt in on this thread but I'm interested in the bushing fitment for my own 328. Is the lower control arm you refer to the camber control arm attached to the bottom of the hub assembly?
Also what is the rose joint part details you used to replace the original bushing?
I aim to gradually improve the suspension on my car as bits wear out.
Cheers
Ben
Yes they are mate. Go to your local BTW dealer, give them your car's reg/VIN number and ask for the top mount rose joints. On the 328 it doesn't have bottom mount rose joints, but they fit. You need to do the tops too. They cost around £45 each.Also what is the rose joint part details you used to replace the original bushing?
I aim to gradually improve the suspension on my car as bits wear out.
Cheers
Ben
RickBristol said:
Got the new drop links for the front anti roll bar. They're meant for the track, I'm sure they'll just add to the ride 'stiffness'...
The next update will come next weekend, when the rear suspension unit and the brakes get reassembled and fitted to the car.
Those are thing of beauty! Where are they from? My standard ones never seem to last long on track.The next update will come next weekend, when the rear suspension unit and the brakes get reassembled and fitted to the car.
RickBristol said:
Time for the latest update. The old engine now needs to be removed from the car in preparation to get the engine bay sorted and ready before the rebuilt lump is installed.
First off, the front end lights and ancillaries - trim, lights, trim etc - are stripped from the front of the car.
Brilliant car. First off, the front end lights and ancillaries - trim, lights, trim etc - are stripped from the front of the car.
Thats my Santorini Blue 328 sport in the background. Built to a very high spec by Sam. Owned it for 3/4 months now and absoluetly love it. Have a thread on here.
SidewaysSi said:
Is that the work of Carpetsoiler? I need someone to sort out my 328 too - it needs a proper set up and some other bits.
Is there a website/number for him?
Not too sure if that’s aimed at me or RickBristol but yes mine was built by CarpetSoiler (Sam). Was a demo car for his garage JustDeutsch. Contact details are on his Facebook page. JustDeutsch Is there a website/number for him?
Well, I got a bit ahead of myself with my last post.
It was now time to clean up the underside of the bodywork where the rear suspension subframe mounts onto the car.
After removing the fuel tank, the bodywork was found to be on good condition, apart from some surface rust and a little flaky seam sealant.
Here you can see that the brake lines were almost rusted through. Why do BMW even use steel brake lines?
We are going to replace all the brake lines and fittings with cupra nickel (kunifer), which is guaranteed against weather and road salt, so will last the (remaining) life of the car. The cost against steel is negligible too...
Here I am using a needle gun to remove the worst of the rust from the trailing arm mounts.
And the result.
The result of my efforts...
We then applied two coats of Schutz to the area.
The result was very good.
The next job was to clean the fuel tank before fitting the new heat shield material.
The new heat shield material was bought from Agrimech, at a cost of £88!, and was used as the original heat shield was broken and beyond reasonable repair.
Fitted to the fuel tank.
I had enough of the material left to replace the knackered transmission tunnel heat shield too. This material also provides up to 50% sound proofing, so will help keep the noise down from the exhaust.
Here you can see the new kunifer brake lines that we are fitting to the car.
We then refitted the fuel tank.
Next up comes the suspension rebuild and refit.
It was now time to clean up the underside of the bodywork where the rear suspension subframe mounts onto the car.
After removing the fuel tank, the bodywork was found to be on good condition, apart from some surface rust and a little flaky seam sealant.
Here you can see that the brake lines were almost rusted through. Why do BMW even use steel brake lines?
We are going to replace all the brake lines and fittings with cupra nickel (kunifer), which is guaranteed against weather and road salt, so will last the (remaining) life of the car. The cost against steel is negligible too...
Here I am using a needle gun to remove the worst of the rust from the trailing arm mounts.
And the result.
The result of my efforts...
We then applied two coats of Schutz to the area.
The result was very good.
The next job was to clean the fuel tank before fitting the new heat shield material.
The new heat shield material was bought from Agrimech, at a cost of £88!, and was used as the original heat shield was broken and beyond reasonable repair.
Fitted to the fuel tank.
I had enough of the material left to replace the knackered transmission tunnel heat shield too. This material also provides up to 50% sound proofing, so will help keep the noise down from the exhaust.
Here you can see the new kunifer brake lines that we are fitting to the car.
We then refitted the fuel tank.
Next up comes the suspension rebuild and refit.
Edited by RickBristol on Sunday 4th February 14:46
The various parts that make up the rear suspension came back from the powder coater's.
The trailing arm brackets.
The upper control arm spring carriers - here with the new black series Powerflex bushings fitted.
The diff subframe - here with the new purple series Powerflex mounting bushes fitted.
The trailing arms with the new BMW rose joints (£45 each), new BMW main bearings (£53 each) and new black series Powerflex trailing arm bushings fitted.
And here all together with the rear lower control arms and front and back anti roll bars.
In order to fit the newly powder coated bushing sleeves into the rear lower control arms, I first had to remove the powder coating.
The bushing sleeves could then be fitted without damaging them. Here you can see that we used a couple of nuts to maintain the correct spacing when fitting the sleeves so that the ends of the arms were not distorted.
If you look back a couple of my posts ago, you'll notice that we made the decision to use rose joints for both top and bottom control arm suspension mounts - and why we did it...
A shot of the suspension parts being built up on the car.
The rear control arms connected to the trailing arm itself.
And the springs after fitting.
Next up will be fitting the new brake discs, calipers etc.
The trailing arm brackets.
The upper control arm spring carriers - here with the new black series Powerflex bushings fitted.
The diff subframe - here with the new purple series Powerflex mounting bushes fitted.
The trailing arms with the new BMW rose joints (£45 each), new BMW main bearings (£53 each) and new black series Powerflex trailing arm bushings fitted.
And here all together with the rear lower control arms and front and back anti roll bars.
In order to fit the newly powder coated bushing sleeves into the rear lower control arms, I first had to remove the powder coating.
The bushing sleeves could then be fitted without damaging them. Here you can see that we used a couple of nuts to maintain the correct spacing when fitting the sleeves so that the ends of the arms were not distorted.
If you look back a couple of my posts ago, you'll notice that we made the decision to use rose joints for both top and bottom control arm suspension mounts - and why we did it...
A shot of the suspension parts being built up on the car.
The rear control arms connected to the trailing arm itself.
And the springs after fitting.
Next up will be fitting the new brake discs, calipers etc.
Edited by RickBristol on Sunday 4th February 14:51
Leptons said:
RickBristol said:
Got the new drop links for the front anti roll bar. They're meant for the track, I'm sure they'll just add to the ride 'stiffness'...
The next update will come next weekend, when the rear suspension unit and the brakes get reassembled and fitted to the car.
Those are thing of beauty! Where are they from? My standard ones never seem to last long on track.The next update will come next weekend, when the rear suspension unit and the brakes get reassembled and fitted to the car.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E36-ARB-adjustable-...
They are £69 for the pair. Enjoy... 😊
I have another update (the third) in a little less than a week. After what felt like eons in the wilderness, over the last few months... 
Now it's time for the new brakes...
After all the time and effort on the rear suspension, we eventually managed to get the new M-Tech drilled and grooved brakes fitted to the car. I bought new E46 330 front discs and Mintex pads, and also bought a set of second hand E46 330 front calipers and carriers, which I got sand blasted, powder coated and had rebuilt with new seals and pistons.
They look amazing on the car - a shot from underneath - with the new Lemforder E30 wishbones, Myle HD track rod ends and purple tag rack... Back plate delete for extra cooling.
They pretty much fill the 17" RC041 wheels...
I also did the same for the rears, with E46 330 M-Tech drilled and grooved discs, refurbed E46 330 calipers, carriers, back plates and Mintex pads. BUT... They wouldn't fit as the rear trailing arm casting prevented the correct fitment of the hand brake cable, shoes and back plates.... Massive bummer!
Take this as good advice if you are thinking of the big brake upgrade for your E36 328 - E46 330 = fronts ONLY.
However, I bit the bullet and bought a set of new M-Tech drilled and grooved E36 328 discs, new back plates, powder coated the original calipers and carriers and rebuilt them with new seals and pistons.
Having then spoken to a local BMW performance specialist about brake imbalance, was informed that if I fitted a set of medium grade disc pads for the rear brakes, that this would help balance things out.
And here they are fitted to the car. A little less impressive/satisfying to look at as the E46 330 brakes but...
A shot from underneath - with the newly powder coated suspension components, new hand brake cables and wheels.
A nice shot of the rebuilt rear suspension, brakes and wheels.
And finally, for this installment, a shot of the underside of the car.
At least the car is now back on all four wheels and can now be shipped off to the paint shop to finish the bodywork....
After what felt like eons in the wilderness, over the last few months... Now it's time for the new brakes...
After all the time and effort on the rear suspension, we eventually managed to get the new M-Tech drilled and grooved brakes fitted to the car. I bought new E46 330 front discs and Mintex pads, and also bought a set of second hand E46 330 front calipers and carriers, which I got sand blasted, powder coated and had rebuilt with new seals and pistons.
They look amazing on the car - a shot from underneath - with the new Lemforder E30 wishbones, Myle HD track rod ends and purple tag rack... Back plate delete for extra cooling.
They pretty much fill the 17" RC041 wheels...
I also did the same for the rears, with E46 330 M-Tech drilled and grooved discs, refurbed E46 330 calipers, carriers, back plates and Mintex pads. BUT... They wouldn't fit as the rear trailing arm casting prevented the correct fitment of the hand brake cable, shoes and back plates.... Massive bummer!
Take this as good advice if you are thinking of the big brake upgrade for your E36 328 - E46 330 = fronts ONLY.However, I bit the bullet and bought a set of new M-Tech drilled and grooved E36 328 discs, new back plates, powder coated the original calipers and carriers and rebuilt them with new seals and pistons.
Having then spoken to a local BMW performance specialist about brake imbalance, was informed that if I fitted a set of medium grade disc pads for the rear brakes, that this would help balance things out.
And here they are fitted to the car. A little less impressive/satisfying to look at as the E46 330 brakes but...
A shot from underneath - with the newly powder coated suspension components, new hand brake cables and wheels.
A nice shot of the rebuilt rear suspension, brakes and wheels.
And finally, for this installment, a shot of the underside of the car.
At least the car is now back on all four wheels and can now be shipped off to the paint shop to finish the bodywork....
Edited by RickBristol on Monday 5th February 22:55
skylarking808 said:
Great build as always.
Really itching for that first road test now.
Hope the last hurdles are as smooth as those six cylinders!
You and me both mate. Next hurdle will be the interior refit. I'm doing that myself, so should be done quite quickly, once the car comes back from the paint shop. Really itching for that first road test now.
Hope the last hurdles are as smooth as those six cylinders!
Mini update teaser...
The car is now - at effing last - in the spray shop.....
The new front wings are being prepped ready for two part priming before the car gets painted.
The insides of the wings have been stone chipped for extra protection and longevity.
And the bonnet has been prepped, including sorting a couple of minor dents, ready for priming.
Can at last start getting excited about this car being finished and back on the road....
The car is now - at effing last - in the spray shop.....
The new front wings are being prepped ready for two part priming before the car gets painted.
The insides of the wings have been stone chipped for extra protection and longevity.
And the bonnet has been prepped, including sorting a couple of minor dents, ready for priming.
Can at last start getting excited about this car being finished and back on the road....
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