Hartge H36 Project (E30 M3 with S38 M5 engine)

[H35-24]

I was thinking of Continental would be suitable for a German speeddaemon, but then I saw, shock and horror, that their 17 inch sportcontact 3 tires don't have the Y rating.

[Theo]

The S14 went on friday, it's going to live on in a rally car so it should at least have a fun life!

Now that the engine is gone I can really get cracking with the conversion, which I've been itching to do for a long time.

I've started transfering over various clips and brackets from the H36 engine bay to the M3 - would have been a nightmare to do if I hadn't kept the bent old shell.

I compared the racks side by side the M3 rack is 3.5 turns lock to lock, the H36 rack is 3 turns - however it seems that this is down to the lock being limited rather than a different ratio. Was probably done to prevent the wheels hitting the arches or the ARB.

Another interesting comparison is the front brakes, on the left is the standard M3 setup and on the right is the H36 setup.



I'm still unsure of the best way of replicating the modified bulkhead, it certainly can't be hammered to shape! Any suggestions?

[toby]

Nice big discs aren't they? How was the existing bulkhead modified?

[Theo]

I'm not sure how Hartge did it originall, there's all sorts of heat protective crap on the bulkhead which I've yet to pull apart. I suppose I should do this and see what it looks like underneath.

[E30BeemerLad]

If the section on the scrap shell isn't full of cancer or too much of a bodge, would it be worth cutting it out and fitting it to your new shell?

At least you haven't got pedal box and steering column to contend with in that area. I had been tempted out of lazyness to give mine the good news with a lump hammer to get this S50 manifold to fit my turd and had a peep at the pics on this thread of yours, until I belatedly realised the LHD setup

[Theo]

Using the whole bulhead from Hettie is definitely an option, I need to find out whether it's all metal or whether there's glassfibre wrongness in there as well. I really want it made out of metal if possible! I was thinking of using a grinder to cut slots into the bulkhead then pushing the metal into the correct position and then welding it up again, like this:

[Simon13]

[ShepsEvo3]

Still not really intending on taking it to the Ring, I will take it on a derestricted part of the autobahn though, to see if it will hit 280km/h

It will!

[bss325i]

Still not really intending on taking it to the Ring, I will take it on a derestricted part of the autobahn though, to see if it will hit 280km/h

It will!

As will and S50, just.

[Theo]

Well, I peeled away all the heat protective sheeting, sealant, cow shit and various other substances that Hartge decided to plaster the bulkhead with, this is what lurked underneath!:





I'm going to cut it out and see if I can get a clever panel beater to replicate it in one sheet, failing that I'll have to do something similar to the the original patchwork

[bss325i]

[Simon13]

you cannot be serious

[Theo]

Pretty nasty isn't it? Hartge did some very strange things in the engine bay which I really don't want to replicate even though I want the end product as original as possible.

For example, when fitting the e28 M5 AFM airbox they opted to chop the nearside chassis rail at the front to accomodate it making it half it's original thickness in the process. Why didn't they just modify the airbox? There's a solution to this though, and it comes in the form of a carbon plenum - I'm seriously tempted!

[B7]

'kin 'ell theo. things are really moving now.

[Jon_Bmw]

Well, I peeled away all the heat protective sheeting, sealant, cow shit and various other substances that Hartge decided to plaster the bulkhead with

They did that so that the owner would never realise!

[brettski]

how much are you going to insure this for when its done theo its going to be hard to price what with all the work that your putting into it and the rare bits but it won't be an original cause of the shell. can't wait to see this finished though its going to be awesome!

[Simon13]

There was no option but to be reshelled it was fooked. It's going into another correct white shell. No one will remember in a few years!

[madaboutthe30]

No one will remember in a few years!

Lol

[Theo]

Not sure how much I'll insure it for, there are many more things to think about before I'm at that stage!

The M3 is all stripped down now and I've had a quote from a bodyshop for spraying the bumpers, bonnet, chin spoiler, brake ducts, scuttle replacement, bulkhead fabrication and fitting, engine bay strip down and respray, tidy up of numberplate light and also a tidy up of a little spot of rust on a rear outer arch which was concealed by the sideskirt. I'm thinking of getting the square factory lifting points done as well whilst it's all stripped down as they're not perfect. It's all rather costly, but once the bodyshop has done these jobs it's just a matter of bolting everything back together....

[madaboutthe30]

How much did the bodyshop quote you?

[Theo]

How much did the bodyshop quote you?

Marginally more than I had anticipated.

Interestingly the guy who gave the quote had driven the car several years ago prior to it being smashed. It's quite rapid apparently.

[evosport1990]

Theo, have you sign latest issue of Performance BMW mag, might be of interest.

[Theo]

Someone mentioned to me that there is an H36 featured, does the registration end LFC? If so I think it's actually the H35-24, rather than H36.

[Theo]

Been a distinct lack of action on this recently - but the car is booked in for the bodyshop and should be returned to me in early May with minty new paint, nicely modified bulkhead and any rusty bits dealt with.

I've done a couple of changes to the instruments to make it look a bit better inside. Previously the instrument cluster had a 0-7000rpm tacho with no econometer and no oil temp gauge, just a blank space. Not only did this look crap, it also meant that the needle on the rev counter would be off the scale before it reaches it's 7200rpm rev limit.

What I've done is fit an 0-8000 rpm e30 m3 rev counter with integrated oil temperature gauge, and then fitted an e28 m5 coding plug to the cluster so that the rev counter operates accurately.

This meant that I now had a redundant 52mm VDO oil temp gauge in the Hartge gauge pod, so I swapped this for a matching VDO voltmeter of the same age which I bought off ebay.

If you haven't fallen asleep, here are a couple of pictures:

[madaboutthe30]

Sounds good, cant wait to see pictures once its out the bodyshop!

[H35-24]

And the last temperature gauge in the centerconsole is for the rear axle?

Does that M3 revcounter/oil temperature gauge have extra plugs on the back?

[Theo]

Yes, the temperature guage in the centre console is for the differential.

The M3 rev counter has a three pin connector on the back of it for the oil temperature gauge.

[gareth]

analness at it's finest! i salute you sir!
that rev counter would have wound me right up, nice solution

[Theo]

Hettie was collected this morning and taken to the bodyshop, took a few snaps just prior to collect - nice positive camber on the front wheels!

The car should be back with me in a couple of weeks and then the refit starts.

[dips346]

Someone mentioned to me that there is an H36 featured, does the registration end LFC? If so I think it's actually the H35-24, rather than H36.

that one is a mate of kos

[dips346]

Someone mentioned to me that there is an H36 featured, does the registration end LFC? If so I think it's actually the H35-24, rather than H36.

that one is a mate of kos

[capri_rob]

That pod for extra dials is exactly what I want for my car - bet they're as rare as rocking horse poo

[TheMoose]

I want that Hartge 280 km/h maximum speed counter. Willing to pay exorbitant import tariffs. Where can I get, even if it's OEM??? PLEEEEEEEEEESE.
Your cluster is WICKED bro' it rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jonsku]

Looking good, this one will be really cool car when finished.
Not too many of those on the roads..

Is this original add-on fuel tank (alpina / hartge) .. ?

[Theo]

Capri Rob, thanks mate - the guage pod is rather lovely isn't it? Is your car RHD? It's quite likely that Hartge only made those gauge pods for LHD cars, but that's only a guess. It wouldn't be hard to make something similar IMO.

TheMoose, I have no idea where you could get a speedo face like that, probably nowhere! I'm assuming the speedo unit must have been recalibrated to account for the different face, otherwise it will give rather optimistic readings.

Jonksu, that's the original Hartge auxilliary tank with 50 litre capacity, the car has a 105 litre total capacity. Probably a good thing, I doubt it will return much over 20mpg!