Will Frost's E30 Rally car build

[Rallyprep_UK]

Ok, I havent updated for a little while because I have been reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally busy with other things going on !.

So I will just put up the pics - I am sure its simple to see whats happening !

Will







































































phew !

[Rallyprep_UK]

[rix313]

How are you bringing the gearbox and throttle bodies so niiiice?

[Rallyprep_UK]

First scrape all of the grime off, then use a paintbrush and chemical, rinse, repeat, make a coffee, wave a sandblaster over it (not too close), and finally spray with some tough high temp silver paint !



Lots of patience is required and it's a very messy job, but I think the end result is worth it.

The throttle bodies were a bit harder because they need dismantling first and the butterflies and shafts require care and polishing not blasting etc.

The gearbox took half a day and the bodies took about three times that !.

Will

[Demlotcrew]

Im not a fan of painting gearboxes, unless you are running a GB cooler of course, but even then, best practice is to soda blast.

Shame you didn't knife edge the butterflies while they were out.

Andrew

[Rallyprep_UK]

Im not a fan of painting gearboxes, unless you are running a GB cooler of course, but even then, best practice is to soda blast.

I am sure that the "fraction of a mm" of silver spray is nothing compared to the 20 years of road grime which I removed. Also bear in mind that it is a rally car which will get covered in mud underneath anyway, so I dont see it being a problem to be honest.

In fact I think with some paint it will be easier to clean between uses and easier to spot any leaks/cracks or problems at the same time. But to be fair I dont think there is an issue either way (I imagine many a track day m3 gearbox to be thick with oil/dust and not give and trouble, and thats a lot worse than a little spray paint in my opinion !).

Dont get me wrong - I did think about this prior to cleaning/painting, but the small amount of thermal disadvantage for me is outweighed by the benefits listed above. However (as usual !) your theory is correct and input appreciated regardless !!

Shame you didn't knife edge the butterflies while they were out.

Andrew

Good idea...

This is simply the clean up and mock build, once it is up and running the engine will be pulled and worked on properly - the final spec depends on how much money is left in the pot at that point ! Knife edging the butterflies had not crossed my mind but like I say, we have not got a final spec for the engine yet.

Anyway, it's easy to pull them out and do it later, thanks for the idea.

Will

[Rallyprep_UK]

E34 525i engine having it's sump stolen !



Thank you !


A whole load of cleaning later...


Drying out...

[Rallyprep_UK]

Experimental steering coupling works !! (being tested on my 24v car in the picture).

[WEEMANDANBRITTON]

whats the coupling from will??

[PazzaAE86]

Column looks cool as. Any Info?

Cheers

[Demlotcrew]

To me the coupling looks unfinished, it needs an e30 uj at the bottom like it had done at the top.

[Rallyprep_UK]

Spot on Andrew

I just have to put the bottom uj on now, This one fits on, but I had to open it to slide it onto the rack which I am not happy about.

I am not sure where it came from - I found it lying around in a friends workshop and he said I could have it. I thought I may be able to do something with it, looks like it works !

I was hoping to retain the original lower uj as it is slimmer externally, but unfortunately not. The linkage is telescopic too and allows for any difference in length.

I have been working on the car a bit, the dash is now out, more metal work is going on and we are getting ever closer to the cage and paint stage.

[Demlotcrew]

Topic moved in here