Riddleyo's Autocross 318ti
The Car: 1997 BMW 318ti
BLACK The Goals: Ultra Grip!
Autocross!
The Background: I race with a club in Xenia, Ohio called the
Miami Valley Sports Car Club. I will be racing this BMW starting in the 2016 season. If you are interested in coming to see the car, go to our website and show up to an event or two. This BMW is my 4th autocross project and have had countless Toyota projects in the past. This is my first foray into BMW - but I have no fear because I remembered to
bring my wallet. I will document the work I do to the car and I welcome my competitors here, no secrets to hide!
The Story: Picked this car up in early 2016 to replace my previous autocross car. Here it is the day I towed it home. I needed a change from the underpowered Toyotas of my past and I'm ready for some German muscle:
The Good: The car came with plenty of goodies including a Downing Atlanta Supercharger and polyurethane bushings throughout. M-sport aerodynamic exterior bits and good looking paint.
The Bad: Disconnected sunroof drains had to be fixed. It also needs a suspension refresh as the rear suspension bushings are toast. Perfect starting platform for an autocross car!
The Build: The first thing that needs to be done is to fix the suspension. Without further ado, it begins:
Subframe has been dropped. No pics, I was too busy cursing and wrestling with the weight of the assembly. Top it off with bent and corroded subframe bolts which made removal very difficult.
Some shots of the undercarriage post subframe-ectomy:
Bare rusty salty subframe:
