BMW Compact Rally Car Build

[DaveKern]

Originally Posted by Will'sBimmer

Some Ti's did not come with a sunroof so maybe u could find one that is being parted out and get one for cheap to replace for yours.

Yep, I'm souring the local junk yard listings in hopes of finding one.

I figure I'll just take a sawzall to the pillars to grab it quickly, but has anyone figured out if there's a way to drill out spot welds or the like for removing the roof? Other huge benefit is that it makes welding the cage so much easier with the roof off:



Dave

[AquaCali]

REALOEM lists a roof covering without the lifting and sliding roof. The part # is 41318146222, it is the lowest priced roof covering. A bit pricy but if you want it right, the savings will show up in the labor costs.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...34&hg=41&fg=30

[DaveKern]

Originally Posted by PeterJ

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...34&hg=41&fg=30

Thanks for digging that up! For those prices it should be made of aluminum.

On the Evo that I built, plan steel roof was $400ish and the aluminum one was $700. A bit steep, but when you have the chance to shave 10# of the highest point of the car, you've got to take it. There were even lighter CF roofs available, but due to rally regulations, I couldn't use one...probably a good thing, since those were 2x the cost of aluminum.

Dave

[pdxmotorhead]

I highly recommend a bottle with "Cold Fire" for rally, slightly bigger but rechargeable for cheap and it works on grass and wood and fuel, its a water unit with additives dumped in.
It also covers way more ground than dry chem or gas. and at least if you are carrying weight in this form it can be put where needed...

Dave

[hatchgrafix]

There's a good chance after **we get done with our s13 rally car, that we might start a ti rally build, it all depends on if it fits in the budget, and how much the s13 costs when complete. Not to mention, what issues you run into that we can learn from etc. etc.

I look at your build and I think I'm looking at the 240 sitting in our shop. Seam welding, reinforcing the strut tops, good job. I respect the work that goes into it, lots of time.

Good Luck to you!

If you haven't already looked into chassis paint - check out por15 the s13 is getting it as we speak.

** we as in my Brother in law and the best man in my upcoming wedding. I'm just there to give a hand occasionally, for now. **

If you want to follow the build:

Nico Club - Let's go play in the Dirt

[DaveKern]

Originally Posted by hatchgrafix

I look at your build and I think I'm looking at the 240 sitting in our shop. Seam welding, reinforcing the strut tops, good job. I respect the work that goes into it, lots of time.[/URL]

Cool build! Luckily I've got a rust free car to start with so I'll probably be able to skip the POR. I did use that on problem areas of my rusty Mazda GTX and it seemed to work very well. BMW has been paint free in spots for 2 months now, and not a hint of rust showing. Living in dry Colorado has its benefits.

I think one of the great things about prepping the TI for rally is that its already been done, so its just a matter of asking the guys across the pond.

Dave

[DaveKern]

Got to work on the car a bit this afternoon. Not sure now when the car will go in for a cage, but there's still plenty of work to be done...and some playing.

We use stripper from the paint store to try and remove the tar residue from the interior. It worked reasonably well on small amounts of tar, but really didn't do much to remove chunks of the stuff. After having my arm get tired, we tried a different method.



Here's a shot of how it looked when I left for the day. Driver's side is now cleaned out, still need to work on the passenger's side.



Dave

[pdxmotorhead]

One advantage the POR has aside from rust is that its tough as all get out. Rocks won't chip it as fast. Also its a vicious adhesive, if you mop it into the seam real good it will glue the metal together.

Its a self leveling brush applied primer.

Don't get it on anything you want it off of later.... BTDT

Dave

[DaveKern]

Originally Posted by pdxmotorhead

One advantage the POR has aside from rust is that its tough as all get out. Rocks won't chip it as fast. Also its a vicious adhesive, if you mop it into the seam real good it will glue the metal together.

I used the POR stuff on my Mazda GTX as I had some rust I was trying to fix. I was certainly impressed with it, but after heating up the floor (above the cat), the nice shiny silver yellowed pretty badly.

A buddy of mine is using something called Macropoxy for his underbody & wheel wells. On my Evo build I applied kevlar to the bottom & wheel wells, but I don't think I'll have the budget to try that with the BMW.

Spent another few hours cleaning the remnants of the tar from the trunk area...and wondering if I could pull off a rear-mounted radiator setup but still leave room for a spare tire...

Dave

[ChItalian1027]

Dave this build is looking very nice!! Do you know what your going to do for an exhaust?

[DaveKern]

Originally Posted by ChItalian1027

Dave this build is looking very nice!! Do you know what your going to do for an exhaust?

Not 100% sure yet, but the guy I bought the engine from recommended the Raceland M3 headers (weight savings & some power) over the stock headers. The key thing for a rally exhaust is to get it tucked way up under the car to shield it from rocks, so an off-the-shelf exhaust from the header back probably isn't in the cards. Rules require that exit behind the rear axle, so no custom side exit, as cool as that would be.

Dave

[ChItalian1027]

Originally Posted by DaveKern

Not 100% sure yet, but the guy I bought the engine from recommended the Raceland M3 headers (weight savings & some power) over the stock headers. The key thing for a rally exhaust is to get it tucked way up under the car to shield it from rocks, so an off-the-shelf exhaust from the header back probably isn't in the cards. Rules require that exit behind the rear axle, so no custom side exit, as cool as that would be.

Dave

oh ok, does the rules allow for a custom fab'd exhaust?

[DaveKern]

Originally Posted by ChItalian1027

oh ok, does the rules allow for a custom fab'd exhaust?

The class I'll be racing in will either be Group2 or Group5. Both class rules sets are wide-open, but there are engine displacement/weight tables in G2 up to 3.0L naturally aspirated. G5 doesn't have the weight tables and also allows for forced induction up to 3.0L...traction is really what limits these cars, not your imagination.

Dave

[ChItalian1027]

Originally Posted by DaveKern

The class I'll be racing in will either be Group2 or Group5. Both class rules sets are wide-open, but there are engine displacement/weight tables in G2 up to 3.0L naturally aspirated. G5 doesn't have the weight tables and also allows for forced induction up to 3.0L...traction is really what limits these cars, not your imagination.

Dave

oh, i didn't know there were so many classes that you could run in.

[sokat1989]

I just went to the 100 Acre Wood rally in Missouri. It was awesome.
It would be even cooler to see a ti carving the dirt roads down there. Do you plan on doing 100 acre wood once you're done with the build?