BMW Project Car #323

[Protege2886]

Interesting feedback Arek. Thanks!

If that's the case, I think I'll try my hand at the E28 mounts and see how they fair. Like I said, at 44$ a pair, I can afford a little trial and error.

[Protege2886]

All my orders have been placed!

Bimmerworld - Short Shift Kit, Front Suspension overhaul kit: Control arms with new balljoints and BWSport TrackCABs (solid front control arm bushings)

AKG Motorsports - Engine mount and subframe reinforcement panels, front swaybar reinforcement panels, rear swaybar reinforcement plates, rear trailing arm reinforcement plates, 75D rear subframe, trailing arm, and diff mounts, 75D transmission mounts.

Pelican Parts - E28 535i solid rubber engine mounts, OEM 318is front lip (mine is missing), OEM clips for front lip.


Next stop: Perry Performance for some suspension mods and brake parts.

[-Ferdinand-]

Regarding the shifter, I put in a short throw shift lever from (UUC?) into my old black 86 325e and regretted it. The shorter throw is nice, I guess, but it takes more effort due to less leverage.

The biggest improvement to shift 'feel' comes from replacing the bushings in the shift linkage. That takes all the slop out of the shift lever.

Given the choice again, I'd only replace the bushings and keep the stock shift lever length.

Of course the red 90 325i that I have now, came with a short throw lever already in it. So I'm stuck with that now, and I'm used to that now.

[CulRidr]

Is it the throw you aren't happy with or the rod height? Shifter extenders could also work?

[-Ferdinand-]

Is it the throw you aren't happy with or the rod height? Shifter extenders could also work?

Both, sort of. I guess it's just a matter of what you are used to.

When I first got my 86 325e, the stock shift mechanism had all sorts of sloppy play in it. I bought all new linkage bushings and a new short shift lever. The new bushings certainly fixed the loose play, but the shorter shift lever completely changed the "feel" of shifting gears.

It takes a certain amount of force to rotate and move the selection rod sticking out of the back of the transmission, either to push it in or pull it out, until it clicks past the detente to hold in the next gear. The force required in the transmission to overcome the detente is the same regardless of the length of the shift lever. But by lengthening or shortening the relative lengths of the shift lever, either above or below the pivot ball, not only does it proportionally affect how big of an arc you need to move the lever through (the throw) when changing gears, but it also affects how much force you need to apply to the lever to overcome that detente click inside the transmission.

I noticed a significant difference with the new short throw lever. The original stock shifter, ya it was all floppy, but when lined up correctly it would slide into gear like butter. The new short shifter had no more slop, due to the new bushings, but also required noticeably more force to slot into gear. It felt very notchy in comparison.

It's all about leverage. If you change it so you only need to swing the lever half as far to shift gears, it means you now have half the leverage, i.e. it requires twice the force.

Stock E30 lever ratio = 7.23:1.
Z3-1.9 lever ratio = 5.13:1. ~30% less than stock.
Z4-3.0 lever ratio = 3.28:1. ~55% less than stock.

[Chris.B]

We're march, where are the updates BRO!

[sb_600]

He's out east skiing, and I'm jealous

[Protege2886]

Update:

1) Condo Community Board complained that my car hadn't moved spots in a long time (I'm not even kidding) and that if I didn't move it I'd be towed.
I've now moved my car to my driveway.

Woo!

Gotta check the budget right now and see if I can swing the full GC kit and swaybarbarians this year or just go with swaybars for now.

[Aero]

Wow, what a lovely Condo Board.

[Protege2886]

Seriously!
I'm sure it's one of the old ladies across the street who just complains all the time. There's no way anyone else would be able to complain that often about the cars in the lot or the work in our garage.

The funny part is that it's not "oh you can't park here" it's "oh you can't park in the same spot all the time and make it look like your cars are stored - please move them from time to time and keep them clean." If that's all it takes to make the problem go away, is the problem really that big of a deal in the first place?

*Sigh - ANYWAYS - does anyone have some spare hubcaps that I can use to make ornaments for the tree in my front yard?

[Jon]

Is it explicitly stated in your HOA bylaws? They would have to state how long a car can be parked before needing to be moved. And if you clear the snow off it and shovel around it, there's not much they can say about it. I hate HOAs with a passion. They're controlled, not by the homeowners, but by the complainers who know the charter word for word, and make a sport of reporting infractions by neighbours they don't like.

My (inflammatory) suggestion: clear the car off really well, shovel around it, and then ask them to prove the car hasn't been moved. If they start chalking your tires, you've got a floor jack, right? Spin spin spin!

[Protege2886]

Is it explicitly stated in your HOA bylaws? They would have to state how long a car can be parked before needing to be moved. And if you clear the snow off it and shovel around it, there's not much they can say about it. I hate HOAs with a passion. They're controlled, not by the homeowners, but by the complainers who know the charter word for word, and make a sport of reporting infractions by neighbours they don't like.

My (inflammatory) suggestion: clear the car off really well, shovel around it, and then ask them to prove the car hasn't been moved. If they start chalking your tires, you've got a floor jack, right? Spin spin spin!

That's a good point about checking whether the regs specify how long a car can be in a given spot. Thanks Jon!

[Protege2886]

Finally some updates. I took advantage of the nice weather (and loopholes in my home owners agreement) to "clean" the car.

I "cleaned" the back end of the car and got rid of the:
- Dirty seats
- Dirty seat belts
- Dirty rear parcel shelf, speakers, and sunshades (I actually kind of wanted to keep those )
- Dirty carpet
- Dirty trunk liner
- Dirty spare rim
- Dirty OEM jack

All in all i managed to "clean" 86 lbs. out of the car

I figure the sound deadening and the door cards should be good for another 15 lbs. total so I should easily be able to remove ~100 lbs from the car

YAY!

Gutted back seat

gutted back seat small.JPG (119.1 KiB) Viewed 663 times

Gutted trunk

Gutted Trunk small.JPG (121.81 KiB) Viewed 662 times

[Aero]

Good cleaning! When's the front half getting cleaned?

[Protege2886]

Soon

[Chris.B]

Lol hey the ski bag pass-through was actually used on yours!

[Protege2886]

Lol hey the ski bag pass-through was actually used on yours!

Hahaha yah I guess so!

--

Rules for modding cars:
1) Save piles of money
2) Set fire to piles of money
3) Convince yourself it's ok
4) Repeat

Placed a BIG order today:
1) Ground Control Coilovers with GC top plates
2) Hawk HP+ pads for all four corners, blank rotors, and RBF (w/e that motul stuff is called) brake fluid
3) UUC Swaybarbarians
4) UUC SS brake lines
5) New front calipers.

Big thanks to Carl at Perry Performance for items 1 & 2 !!
Once I get the calipers replaced, all I have to do is get the wipers working and I should be able to get the car on the road! !

[Aero]

Did you get the Motul RBF600 or PBR BF600 brake fluid?

What spring rates and dampers did you go with for the GC kit? Shaping up to be a fun car!

[Protege2886]

Did you get the Motul RBF600 or PBR BF600 brake fluid?

What spring rates and dampers did you go with for the GC kit? Shaping up to be a fun car!

I got the PBR600. Carl recommended it - he can be pretty convincing

I got the same springs as Chris 550 Front 750 Rear. I didn't specify dampers. We both agreed that we'd just order the same thing as Chris. I guess I'll see what comes back on the quote .

My intention is to get the 1-way adjustable dampers.

[Aero]

Should be a fun setup!

[schmoo]

The trick with Jeff is whether the parts ever actually make it on to the car.

[Protege2886]

I do have an impressive collection

The BMW doesn't leave me much choice though.
The only way I could get away with keeping the suspension stock is if I changed my last name to Schettino and let that thing lean over (too soon?)

[Protege2886]

Updates from last week - I'm still waiting for some misc parts to come in so most of the work to date has been cosmetic. Yes I know it's a race car, but I'd still like it to look good

- Removed the kidneys and painted them badass black..

Removing Front Grill.jpeg (93.03 KiB) Viewed 301 times

Painting Kidneys.jpeg (134.98 KiB) Viewed 298 times

Painted Kidneys.jpeg (121.31 KiB) Viewed 296 times

[Protege2886]

I'm replacing the front calipers so I took the opportunity to paint them

Painting Calipers.jpeg (131.5 KiB) Viewed 298 times

Painted Calipers.jpeg (133.07 KiB) Viewed 296 times

(caliper paint is totally worth 5hp - ask our QC members )

Also removed all the chipped and cracked paint from the spoiler and wet sanded it. I'm going to reshoot it white.

Prepping Spoiler.jpeg (100.79 KiB) Viewed 293 times

I also removed the rust bubble on the trunk.

[Protege2886]

Last night I removed the rest of the front grill / light shrouds

Light Shrouds Removed.jpeg (111.6 KiB) Viewed 291 times

I also stripped the loose/cracked/chipped paint off the front grill

Stripped Front Grill.jpeg (109.13 KiB) Viewed 290 times

The wipers are seized so I removed the motor to debug that and to gain more access to coat the linkage assembly with breakaway spray.
Removing that motor is a PITA and you end up mostly working upside down and backwards. Sometimes you just need to get in there and have a closer look.

Removing Wiper Motor.jpeg (133.96 KiB) Viewed 288 times

After talking to Ralf today, I'm going to plug the motor back in and try to work the linkage loose. Hopefully it works out.
Aside from the wipers, the brakes are the only thing keeping me from a safety. Once that's done, I'll be booking some (very limited) time with Chris to put in my coilovers !