BMW Compact Rally Car Build

[DaveKern]

Made some good progress the last few days:

-picked up 328 gearbox and had TSB updates done
-re-attached throttle cable (now with more locktite)
-new stiffer bushings for diff (now big washers holding them in)
-swapped to backup 4.30 diff (bearings shot in 4.56 one?)
-drained Redline MTL & replaced with High Mileage ATF
-new banjo fittings on the brake lines to provide extra clearance between brake lines and shock collars
-adjusted ride height to be ~15" from wheel center to fender lip front & rear
-moved clutch 1" closer to firewall and set clutch pedal stop
-installed Porterfield R4 pads all around
-donuts in parking lot

Dave

[DaveKern]

Buddy of mine grabbed the GoPro's at the end of the day and whipped this up for us:



Video isn't in order timewise - by the time you see any snow on the ground the surface had turned to snot. Tires were packed in with mud and looked like 10" wide racing slicks...lots of fun, but not fast by any means.

Will try to get a few pics up tonight of the mess.

Dave

[Mr.Squeelerz]

Pretty awesome stuff Dave.

[tiFreak]

I'm sure you've been told this already but you should probably find a better way to attach the passenger airbag cover it's awesome to see how far it's come

[pdxmotorhead]

I think the passenger airbag hole is the coolest place to attach the Rally Clocks!

I think the really cool thing though would be a Turbo Diesel engine,, doubling the mileage would allow for a lower weight...

Dave T (PDX)

[DaveKern]

Slowly making more progress and addressing issues encountered during shakedown.

-Converted from wheel bolts to studs - 75mm ones up front, 90mm ones out back
-Picked up spacers for the rear wheels to move them further from the springs (would rub under compression).
-Wiper & Blinker stalks now installed and functioning correctly.
-Stared at doors and formulated ideas for door panels.
-Sent out my fire bottles and they just came back from being refilled/tagged.

Still need to:
-address tie rod issue (couldn't find anything in the catalog)
-find out what's causing the check engine light
-glue down the airbag cover
-make door panels
-install fire bottles
-navvie footrest
-rally odometer
-figure out OE speedometer
-gusset plates on A-pillar support bar where it connects to upper door X
-find the leaks (car got flooded when I was power washing the mud off of it)
-drive it more

Dave

[pdxmotorhead]

On my jeep I just put holes in the floor so the water can run out! LOL

Dave T

[DaveKern]

Went back to work on the car Friday night. Tried heating and bending the ABS for the door panels, and ended up messing up the first one. After careful measuring, we were 2" short to be able to make two more, so we just made a passenger one. Turned out pretty good I think:



Just need to incorporate a door pull for the passenger side...co-driver mandated, LOL.

Next up was to get the bolts through the new rear suspenders. Easy, right? Nope, turns out that those extra bars we welded on to make those mounts double-sheer got bent when we bottomed out the car. A little bit of cursing later and they fit. Time to figure out how to add some more reinforcements to those.

Guesstimated where the spring perches should be and set the car on the ground. Drove it around the parking lot to get the suspension to settle and took measurements. Ended up about 3/4" too low so set about raising it up. Since the battery seemed to need some charging time, I left the car running.

About two minutes in we start to hear a little lifter tick. No big deal, seems to be a bit common with this motor after a hard run, but after sitting at idle? So, finished up the coil adjustment and hopped into the driver's seat. Noticed the low oil pressure light was on. Shut it off right away and parked it for the night. Looks like the oil pump nut has reared its ugly head on another S50.

Yet another item to confirm driving to WA this weekend wasn't a good idea. Needs more shakedown.

Dave

[Jean H.318TI]

dude u should of, i was there at twin peaks it was sickkk, would of been nice too see a bmw racing in there too.

also would be possible that u can make some extra door panels for me or let me know how and what stuff did u use? thanks

[pdxmotorhead]

Looks very cool, but have you considered what happens if the ABS is in a fire?
I use aluminum in the drivers compartment of race cars for this reason.

I'd at least flame test a piece of the stock you using with a propane torch and see how bad it catches fire and smokes.

Just a thought! My sweep rig only has 2 halon bottles... LOL

Dave T (PDX)

[DaveKern]

Originally Posted by Jean H.318TI

dude u should of, i was there at twin peaks it was sickkk, would of been nice too see a bmw racing in there too.

also would be possible that u can make some extra door panels for me or let me know how and what stuff did u use? thanks

Really wanted to be out there for that an Olympus, but just not in the cards for us this year. Vacation days and $$ for $1000+ entry fees are scarce, so when we do plunk down the cash to race, we want to be sure the car is truely ready.

I have to buy material for another panel so I could possibly make a couple extras if you wanted. I'd leave the door handle opening for you to figure out, that's probably the thing I like least about how they turned out since we had to guesstimate on that cut. Oh well, not a show car.

Originally Posted by pdxmotorhead

I'd at least flame test a piece of the stock you using with a propane torch and see how bad it catches fire and smokes.

Hmm, good thought. I've always used ABS plastic for door panels, though in my other cars it was a combination of the OEM tops, and ABS below the "X" for clearance issues.

I used the blue torch bottle things from Home Depot to heat them up for bending and they didn't catch fire with 5-10 seconds of direct flame. Got hot and malleable for sure, but didn't see any flame transfer (we overheated the first one we tried...and were much more gradual with the second and used a proper bender.

The few aluminum ones I've seen were done poorly with sharp edges still present so I guess that colored my opinion about using them.

We've got a fire system that'll be going into the car which has nozzles pointed towards occupants so hopefully that'll give us time to get out.

Dave

[Jean H.318TI]

Originally Posted by DaveKern

Really wanted to be out there for that an Olympus, but just not in the cards for us this year. Vacation days and $$ for $1000+ entry fees are scarce, so when we do plunk down the cash to race, we want to be sure the car is truely ready.

I have to buy material for another panel so I could possibly make a couple extras if you wanted. I'd leave the door handle opening for you to figure out, that's probably the thing I like least about how they turned out since we had to guesstimate on that cut. Oh well, not a show car.

yeah i undestand, let me know when u come up here to WA i wanna see that TI running and yeah the door cards works for me ill figure something out

[pdxmotorhead]

If ya can't make it to WA there is always Oregon! LOL

Dave T.

[DaveKern]

Originally Posted by pdxmotorhead

If ya can't make it to WA there is always Oregon! LOL

Dave T.

Coming up too soon unfortunately. I've got to focus on getting our Evo ready for PPIHC and have just about 2 months to get it ready. I'll keep knocking out things as time and $ allows, but the pace is going to slow until late June most likely. We do have a good hillclimb series here in Colorado (all dirt), so we'll likely make a few of those races. Still planning on making the MaxAttack finale at LSPR in October.

Dave

[pdxmotorhead]

So many event so little time!

Dave T.