An e30 race car is born

[northloop]

Here's mine.




Guy at the ring does carbon door cars and also rear parcel shelf cover. I would give one of my balls for a set of them, but I think they will cost more than my car is worth. A couple of friends have them in their CSL's and they look

[JimmyC]

Here's mine.




Guy at the ring does carbon door cars and also rear parcel shelf cover. I would give one of my balls for a set of them, but I think they will cost more than my car is worth. A couple of friends have them in their CSL's and they look

Sweet, where did you get it done? and how much if you dont mind me asking

These door cards are just flat, not shaped £85 for a pair of fronts £155 for all 4 (2 door car)

[northloop]

Mine was done via the guy on here. He did a great job and even repaired a little transport damage in the price. I would highly recommend them.

http://www.suffolkflockingservices.co.uk/

£85 for 2 door cards isn't bad, shame they arent shaped though. From memory the ally sheet I used to cobble mine together should have cost about £40. Luckily i'm in the trade though, so it cost nothing

[325eye]

Looks fantastic!

[JimmyC]

Got a few little bits sorted last night

Shaped the dash nicely to go around the cage- I'd previously butchered it a bit so got the band sander out and got some nice tidy lines on it (pics to follow)

Stripped the dash down ready to get the flocking done (just need to get hold of the flocker now)

Also robbed a loom out of a breaker, so I know have a bog standard loom, and my butchered loom to make a good one from the 2 (this is the biggest job left on the rebuild now)

Away at Oulton this weekend for the last race of the season (so no work will get done this weekend), anyone fancy coming along PM me and i'll send you some tickets.

Just want to drive it now!! Target is MOT end October to run new engine in, then some track time in November

[tylerma]

looking great there Jimmy

[steerfromtherear]

Was gonna have a gander at the finished article Jimmy but all red crosses again

[JimmyC]

Oh cock! will sort tomorrow, way to shagged today

Good Laugh last night

[steerfromtherear]

Good Laugh last night

A little something to remember it by
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/ ... C02751.jpg

[JimmyC]

Good Laugh last night

A little something to remember it by
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v690/ ... C02751.jpg

Check out http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php?tid=137124 for some more embarasing photos, add yours up too

Tell me you got a curry shot :lol

[JimmyC]

Right back onto the car build, after a fantastic weekend at Oulton, the last race of the season! (next race i'll be out at) I was feeling tired, hungover when I got home yesterday but also slightly inspired so had a little tinker!

Last weekend I put the heater box, and pedal assembly back in



So what better hangover cure is there than emersing yourself in paint fumes :lol

I started on the bling:

Primered up all the bits the other weekend:



And top coated them yesterday:







Also started to primer a few other bits:



In between coats I decided to fit the shift light, I've fitted it in the instrument cluster, where the old check light would have been





Also chucked the headlights in:



and assembled a bit more bling:

[Jamese30]

Cars looking really good Jimmy. I can see I'll have to come up with something more innovative than the red cage! (All painted now!).

[JimmyC]

Good to meet you at last at the weekend, bet the cage looks better already!!!

I started work on the loom last night, 50% there I reckon, started at 9pm and finished at 1 am on the kitchen table :lol

Just got to rob all the window electrics and door electrics from the other loom

Stripped out all the check computer wiring, extended and tidied all the wiring going into the bonnet (fuse box will be in the car now as cage is where the fuse box used to be)

Finding myself looking at white dial sets on ebay now, and going to have to zero the milometer so it only has racing miles on it :lol Oh dear its becoming obsesive!!

[Jamese30]

Likewise Jimmy, great to finally meet you.
I had a brilliant time and thanks for helping me out with those bits.

Good luck with the loom, give me a shout if there is anything I can help out with.

... I haven't forgotten about the baffles


Here's the cage... the other bits were still drying when I took this! I took your advice on Halfords paint ... and used two stores worth of BMW Bright Red....



Easy on the white dials...!!...!!......

[DieselPower]

Looking good , doing some research so i can build my own e30 track car so i find these posts really helpful.

[chips]

Hi Jimmy. I was wondering if you could tell me how much it cost to have your roof reskinned?

[JimmyC]

Hi PZero

The roof reskining is a hardone to price up tbh, I did all the removal of the old roof- which is the bulk of the hours in a reskin. I bought 5 roof skins at a VERY chep price (try zimmerbimmer for a price on here). And the labour to put it back on was all part of the bodywork price.

If your localish to essex call Dave Kear- number in my sig, he's done untold numbers of these on all the race cars he looks after and will give you a price for the whole lot, tell him I sent you

Jimmy

[JimmyC]

Well another nice weekends weather, which means only one thing at the the moment 2 solid days on the car

Got alot done this weekend, although not a massive amount to physically show for it.

In the week I have been splicing the wiring loom from my car, getting rid off all the check computer wires, and adding in all the bits i had missing. Electric windows and mirrors now work on the proper BMW loom rather than a botched load of speaker wire that the previous owner had slung in. I have rear fogs working again, and a heated rear screen again.

This took me around 8 hours in the week, un picking 2 looms, and removing all the stuff, and putting back together.

So yesterday I slung it in the car,it still needs to be wrapped and tidied, but though best to just tape evey foot with a band of tape for easy maintanence incase I made a mistake or 2.

Once in I tested everything, and blimey most of it worked first time. Had cut a wire that powers the electric windows so replaced that, also done the same on the mirrors. That sorted and everythiing was working-well almost!!

Filled the car with some coolant and went to try and start it, nothing after much head scratching I realised I'd put the little wire that triggers the starter motor onto the wrong terminal- pillock!! That swapped and it was ready to try again, this time turning over but not sparking- DOH!!

At this point i'm getting cold and tired so decided to try the usual, but no joy (so having another go tonight with a little help from a friend).

So not 100% there but 99% there- and still pretty pleased with that

Soo what else did I get done:

Well saturday was spend blingingup and fitting some bits on the interior.

Put the blinged up, handbrake, fuel hatch, seat mounts in (only temp though as need the proper nut and bolts), and my harnesses.





Also prepped and painted the panel that goes over the heater in the engine bay, theres never too much bling in the world:



Also fitted the blinged up rear view mirror (forgot to get a pic of that though)

Also spent a bit of time with the seam sealer making the car as watertight and rust repelant as possible

Then was the biggest and most important of mod of all, after a good wash (it was covered in road grim from the journey home from wales and my greasy prints all over it)



Thats right the zone sticker landed

and another clean and shiny pic

[chips]

Thanks for the advice Jimmy.

The cars looking great! I can't wait to get started on mine now. Although I'm starting to question whether I can have it ready for the beginning of next trackday season.

Keep up the good work.

[JimmyC]

VROOM! VROOM!! Shrek lives!!

The prat that put the fuel tank in had crushed the main pipe from the tank to the pump- Oh that would be me :lol

[agreen]

james e30 what cage i that how much was it if ou dont mind was it new ???

[JimmyC]

It was a second hand SD cage out of an old PBMW car, he got it for £200 second hand

Niel from Automac (think he posts on here but not sure on his username) does the SD cages at a good price but its ALOT more than £200, more like £700 from memory, he also sells OMP ones which are ALOT cheaper.

I'll PM you his number if you want it

I think that the Sparco cages are the cheapest

[agreen]

cheers cheapest nprmall means pooyist sd cages are the tits i want one as my next thing but its not just 700 fittingon a bolt in cage is god knows how much even if you bolt it together yourself cheers fella

[JimmyC]

fitting shouldn't be much at all, its very little and un complicated welding for the plates? How much you being quoted?

[agreen]

dunno i expected loads so aint bothered getting a quote dont want to waist peeps time do you think a sd cage is the one to go for i mean its no m3 but i dont know

[Tom944]

That's a great looking car Jimmy!

[JimmyC]

Cheers Tom

Just realised I've done the bandwidth again this month and thats after I upgraded to the biggest one

Busy weekend on the car again this weekend, will report back later but should be driving and stopping up and down the drive today (fingers crossed)

[JimmyC]

Well what a weekend, i'm absolutely shattered!

Got loads done though, and with any luck should be ready to get the MOT sorted by the end of next weekend

Managed to cross 10 items of my list of 35, so all good stuff

Job number 1 was to get the loom back in for the second time in a week, after prefitting and testing it last weekend, I ripped it all out again to wrap and finish of. Then back into the car permantly saturday morning, routed and clipped down the centre tunnel and looking as lovely as a loom can look

Whilst I had things off the front end to run the loom behind the valance, I ran the ducting for the induction from the valance into the engine bay- its damn tight getting it between the alternator and chasis rail!!

Then once that was all back on, the job i'd been dreading Exhaust and prop off AGAIN! then drop the petrol tank down so I could free the damn pipe I'd trapped- thankfully managed to do this without disconnecting all the pipe work.

The job was made alot easier with the helping hands of Dave, many thanks Dave!!

Once all that was back in, I bled the clutch through as i'd just put a new master cylinder on.

Whilst the car was all up in the air, I put my new brake pads and discs on Mintex grooved and dimpled disks, and Mintex 1155's and 1144s.

Then a few bits of fiddling, adjusted a wing that i'd stuffed up the alignment on, sorted out the bonnet alignment, and a few bits and bobs like that.

Then spent the remaining hours of daylight/twilight driving up and down the drive with a massive grin on my face!!!

Very nearly there now, Dash is back from the flockers on tuesday so looking forward to seeing that!!

[Jamese30]

agreen, Jimmy
Sorry for the delayed response, been very busy at work last week so working late so thanks for responding on my behalf Jimmy.

A bit more info from my investigation work on cage prices: -

Neil @ Automac for PBMW will do a safety devices cage for 700GBP plus VAT and delivery (powder coated with bolt on door bars), OMP for 350GBP plus VAT and delivery (unpainted with weld on door bars) and crucially this will have the cross over brace on the back required for PBMW that ordinary OMP cages are missing.

Demon Tweeks do the OMP cage for 333.90 plus VAT but this will not have the cross over brace required for PBMW.

Hope this is of some help.

My cage, as Jimmy said was 200GBP secondhand, (THANKS AGAIN Jimmy - much appreciated mate). It came white but I re-prepped it and painted it to match the car.

It is half in now...!!!

[agreen]

the sd cage seems very nice but what would you go for there is alot of diffrence between the prices if neil can do a omp for 350 is this good you say it comes witht the cross in the rear yes what would you go for i am asking for you advise here as i know nothing if you say sd cage then i will save and then geta sd cage later on i am open to ideas fella cheers

[chips]

agreen takes a large inward breath

I too am swithering about this. Its a while until I have to make a decision, but if theres not much difference in quality and performance in an accident between the two then I'll probably go for OMP.

[agreen]

yes, me to i think esspecially with the weld in door bars and crooss over in the rear, thanks any more views on what to do i will no0t be racing, just track days occasionally, what neils contact details anyone know? thanks

pzero note the , , , , , , lmao

[JimmyC]

Ah the million Dollar cage question

When I started my car I went down the custom cage route as SD couldn't supply cages, I looked at various others and decided they weren't what I wanted, I wanted to build the safest and stiffest car I could- but it was not a cheap option!

If I were doing it all again from scratch i'd probably get a SD cages with the front and rear turret tie ins and be happy with that- remember my opinion here is based on a race car not trackday car, and personally I think there is a difference in the spec kit you need- sure people will disagree with that.

In a trackday car your in a relatively safe environment (safer than racing as far as limit pushing goes), contact is a lot less likely, and should never happen, any incident is normally down to driver error, and big smacks are a rarity with the decent trackday companies. Not to say they dont happen!!

I did 4 years of track days in various Lotus elises and exiges- none of them caged, and the majority of track day toys are not caged, so whatever you go for will a) improve your safety and b) improve the cars stiffness (I say!!) from nothing

Personally I think the OMP one from Niel will be plenty good enough, it will also allow you to mount harnesses safely and correctly.

I have heard in the past that the SD cages are a better fit, but that may have changed.

I'd recommend giving Niel a call, as he knows more on fitment etc on the 2 cages than most of us on here

HTH a bit anyway???

[JimmyC]

Automac Ltd
www.automacgb.co.uk automacgb@yahoo.co.uk
F: 0208 449 8999
T: 0208 440 8700
M: 07767 688233

[northloop]

I wonder how much the custom cage weighs Jimmy. I didnt bother to weigh mine before I fitted it, but wish I had.


Have you had yours on the scales yet, I would be interested in what it comes in at. I would like to be under 1000kg's with mine, but I dont think I will make it, too much scaffolding on there I think