Touring 'clubsport' project - Back on the road after 4 years

[Lloydie38]

Time, money and family & friends really get in the way of E30 projects but they are only delaying the inevitable - E30's when running are a hoot

[winx]

Well finally got some more done. I steam cleaned the underneath yesterday. As the car has been on stands for 8 months I ended up having to dam round the car with sandbags and channel the water outside

Having measured, remeasured and then checked again I cut out some slots in the floor I cut into the cross member just infront of the spare wheel well and grafted in 2 new mounts for the e36 rear cover.

I have left a lot sticking into the boot area, I am going to double skin this area between the turrets with the mounts going through both skins, once this is done I will lop them off flush with the floor. I also spent a very enjoyable (difficult to convey sarcasm on here!) hour stripping out the sound deadening.


So from underneath you can now see this:



Once I have finished double skinning the boot floor I am going to brace between the shock towers and then bring that down to the rear diff mounts. Just got to work out how and where to attach the strut brace to...



Still loads to do obviously but it feels good to have done some cutting and welding!

[Theo]

Nice work, the underside looks to have responded well to steam cleaning.

You've neglected to tell us all what engine you're going for - please spill the beans!

[winx]

All I managed today was to finish welding the top of the mounts and plaster it in por15. Next time I work on the car I will put a plate on the top of the box section coming up through the floor with a captive nut underneath for the extra bracing.





I also need to borrow a step cutter from work so I can put back the holes above the original box section under the floor. I guess these were originally put there by the factory to coat the inside in waxoil or similar. I need 3 though now instead of 2 so I can get in between the 2 new bits of box section. (this is why you can see bung scrawled on the floor!

Theo - as in the above post I have spent money elsewhere getting on the housing ladder so toy fund has been depleted, however I sold the Discovery this morning so we are on the way to getting an engine fund once again. Still undecided if I am honest... I would really like to go for an LSx but there are many options to consider, I also need a ride at the ring please so I can see what the sr is like

[stbaz]

great project mate. i also have a 335i touring as my daily runner, away to chuck an m60 in it this month though.....

as for the poly rear bushes, i put them in mine and it totally tightened up the drive of the car!!! id say fit them

[winx]

Another small update from last weekend.
As per usual, having taken 2 days off work for a long weekend I only managed a few hours on the e30.

Double skinned the floor and welded in the strut brace. I am going to make it removable (not quite sure why really!) hence the rod ends and also the bolting method of fitting to the floor.



I need to get my hands on a tube notcher to finish the last part which is bracing from the diff mounts and up to the strut towers via the strut brace.

This is a close up of the strut mounting. I know the welding is crap but I was running out of gas and I need a new torch for the welder! I am also missing the half nut for the rod end, need to get another one...



Also put the slot in one side of the interior trim to make sure that it would all fit and still be removable with the trim in place.



So no doubt it will be months before the next update, bloody thing has been on axle stands for over a year now

[B7]

at least you are still chipping away though. still looking to go lairy v8?

[winx]

a running car that I can drive would be a start!
I have given up thinking about engines until the rest of it is done...

[winx]

Still no real progress, refurbed a few more bits and pieces but that is it really!

Next job will be to seal the underside of the car and I can then put it back together. One thing I have added to the build is a swirl pot as apparently the Euro's replacement tanks are even worse for surge than then oem ones!

The only thing I have done is buy myself a Christmas present, a Race Technology Dash2 and DL1 data logger. Still deciding on how to mount it but the first draft is:


I think probably another 18 months and I may be driving it again

[Simon13]

that was quick going! Or you already started on it before you picked the clocks up?

[winx]

stripped the clocks after I got back from picking them up from you, did the carbon at work the next lunch break Cheers for donating them to the cause, much appreciated.

Think how quickly I could get the car done if it was closer to me! On that note I am looking for a unit in the Woking ish area if anyone knows of one, will be posting up in pub chat at some point...

[Theo]

Sweet, space for a couple of extra 52mm gauges - An AFR gauge would be a good one to have.

[Simon13]

good stuff, a big lock up to store E30's!

[winx]

yeah can't decide on what to do with the extra space at the moment. I need 4 buttons to control the dash and logger but am thinking about putting those on a sparco or similar removable steering wheel... we shall see!

[winx]

good stuff, a big lock up to store E30's!

What I would really like is a decent sized place and share it with a few other peeps to keep the costs down a little. With a few others on board things like ramps and decent air compressors suddenly get much cheaper!

[Simon13]

indeed. I'd like somewhere to store cars, either mine or breakers or whatever. Shame the others aren't closer

Adapt one of those performance bmw steering wheels to fit?! tells you G-forces and other silly things i think.

[winx]

Had a day on the car today for a change whilst up at the farm!
I had planned to underseal the back end with the 3m 2 pack stuff. Having cleaned it pretty thoroughly a few months ago I started going over with thinners to get any remaining grease off:


Then I found some rust at the front of the osr arch. The underseal looked perfect but whilst cleaning it felt a little bubbled. I removed a part of the arch which was quite bad:


And then the other bit:


Made up some repair panels:


This one had a slight rebate (or whatever it's called) so I made sure to replicate it as best I could:


I am a bit out of practice welding, I sold my rusty land rover a year ago so not had as much to do as in years gone by!! So onwards with some pigeon sh***ing:


And the inner arch:


Slapped some zinc primer on and a bit of topcoat to seal it until I next get time to work on it:



So there ended a very enjoyable Sunday. I thought I would take a snap of my workspace, as I was leaving, looking like a bomb had gone off. It was neat and tidy with everything on the racking or in cupboards when I arrived




Realised I had got a few more bits and bobs compared to when I started on this car! This is the corner of the garage when I first bought the e30 2 years ago:

[B7]

Good work Henry. Be easier when it's nearer home.

[euan]

going to be amazing !!

[winx]

Got a little more done today, Oz wanted to see what I was up to so said I would chuck some more pics up:

Undersealed the repair in the arch:


Started to build up the other arch and fuel breather system. The filler neck seemed to be touching the body in the middle of the picture so had a spare bit of rubber and put it over to stop it rubbing. The rubber hasn't taken the shape of the bend very well so I think I will fill the ends with hot glue to stop them getting full of crap:



Like a magpie I saw shiny bits so ended up buying more bits new this was supposed to be a cheap freshen up as a track car


RealOEM said I needed this bracket but not sure how it fitted and I didn't use it?


Started to test fit the tank and rear beam to see where I could run fuel lines to the swirl pot in the spare wheel well. I don't want to run the fuel lines inside the car so needed to work out how to run them around the diff etc:


Some more bits put back on. I am sticking with a standard rear arb for now as I am going full coil-over at the rear so should not need a massive arb:

You can see that I ran out of underseal for that n/s/r arch; as there is nothing to be bolted in apart from the coil over unit it can wait for a while.

Annoyingly I must have ordered wrong for the nuts that keep the back box heat shield up. The thread is far too small, the new ones are normal nuts where as the thread is more like a self tapper
Old:


New:



Can any one give me the proper part number? For now I have had to hold it up with the plastic ones but obviously need to replace these as they wont manage the heat!: I am pretty sure I ordered number 9 on the following page:http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/T ... nsulation/





So all in all a good day, I feel like I am finally making some progress!

[bss325i]

Most excellent!

[e30topless]

what did you use as underseal ? it looks great !

[B7]

Henry, When I ordered the new spire nuts for my heat shield they sold me the same ones. Vines couldn't find the originals.

[oguz327]

Top job Henry, puting all the shiny bit on is the best bit

[winx]

what did you use as underseal ? it looks great !

Cheers - I used 3M underseal part number 08800. You also need a special gun to put it on, but I think that was only about £30. The underseal itself comes in a small bag with the 2 parts, you have to mix it before spraying it.
1 bag does 1 arch if you are mean with it, I managed about 2/3rds of an arch with one bag on mine. Each bag is around £13.

[winx]

Henry, When I ordered the new spire nuts for my heat shield they sold me the same ones. Vines couldn't find the originals.

Buggeration! Is this what you used rivnuts for in the end then?

[DanThe]

Ive bought those before without problems, check out number 9 in the link -

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/2 ... nsulation/

[winx]

cheers for that. That is the part number I asked for last time and ended up with what is in the bag... I shall order again and see if I have any luck

[Jozi]

cheers for that. That is the part number I asked for last time and ended up with what is in the bag... I shall order again and see if I have any luck

Will be interested to hear how you get on with them as I need a few as well.

Some nice shiney bits in your last pics post, all new?

[winx]

where I have remembered to buy new I am using it, I have spent far more than I meant to... stuff like the filler neck was pretty much perfect and just needed a paint. I want the underneath of this car to be enjoyable to work on rather than the mess it used to be...

[Simon13]

hang on! i have a load of the proper "speed clips" in bmw talk for that heat sheild. The resident hero at Barons who was sacked/laid off found them for me years ago. You want a few? i''ve loads i'm sure had to buy a big bag and all that.

[Jozi]

I wish I could do the same with my car. I'll be trying to cleanup everything as best I can, I have 2 tourings to pick parts from hopefully I can manage. I've been dipping into the fund for paint way to much in March

[powelly]

Henry, are those nuts the kind of pressed metal affair, I seem to remember they are, from memory these are the same as what hold the quarter panel trims on in a VW Golf, if you're at the pub next week I can show you.

[winx]

Had a shopping spree last week on a whim and came home with a few more toys for the touring:

Plumbed in fire extinguisher system:


And a hand held for smaller stuff or other peoples cars:


Some harnesses to keep me in place:

Now I am not completely sure about using these at the moment. Although I have fixed back carbon buckets I don't have a cage...


Also managed to spend a little time in the garage doing some sub assembly
Painted brake disks to stop the hubs going rusty: (only had their first dusting coat in this picture)


Forgot to buy new handbrake pads but got a new fitting kit, the adjusters cleaned up ok so were re-used:


Handbrake adjusted as best I could off the car and then fitted disc and caliper with new yellow stuffs:


I already had some stainless hoses but my old ones didn't have stainless fittings and were scabby so to make working on it in future more pleasant bought a new pair for the calipers, not bad at £15 all in, gotta love a 50% discount at Earls!
You can also see the reinforcement to the rear arms, not sure if it will make a difference or not tbh but thought I would whilst I was there! Forgot to buy new bolts for the caliper mount as well do another item added to the shopping list
Not sure if the brake pipe bending/routing is correct as I have lost the old ones but they seem to fit ok. Thanks for the clips Mr 13


I did the other side as well but having put it all together there was play in the new bearing; I must have damaged it somehow putting it in So it is all pulled apart again waiting for another new bearing.

It does seem like a very long haul this but it is great to finally be putting stuff back together and it is nice to be doing it with such clean parts

[B7]

Epic Henry. Nice work.