1986 BMW 326rb

[newman]

the car is being painted green.

Olive army super high gloss...

The cage and engine are being done a really dark bronze. MMMM...

This is what i did tonight... It's as far from the reservoir as i can get it. May need a heatshield. The DP and mani are getting coated with swaintech white lightning. The DP will be completely enclosed by the tunnel.












also, put my order in for these bad boys... 8-12 weeks.

17X10 & 17X8.5. Gold finish.

3.875 lip inna da rear

[newman]

Friday:

Originally Posted by ryanmcell

All this work Newman and you still plan to sell once it's done? If you do still plan to then you have to have a buyer lined up already right? If not, I'll make the first bid by offering up my first born.....

As it looks now, I'd probably sell the lotus and keep this, but chances are I will just keep all 3. :P

I'm still waiting on some exhaust parts, so in the meantime:

Yesterday, I removed 58 LBs of sound deadening from the trunk, as well as all the carpet. I put the 8 Gallon fuel cell into the spare tire well. The Summit 8 Gallon cell has no sending unit, so I can see myself running out of fuel once or twice. I may make a holder for an extra fuel can of Just In Case fuel.

I scored some strips of 16GA 304 that i will make hold down straps with. Today I also plan on mounting the WG. I am not doing a dump, I've decided i hate WG dumps, so i will try to tie it into the exhaust a ways downstream... probably at the second straight section.

If i still have time remaining, I am going to look into mounting the IC, while also performing a bumper tuck. (To do this you remove the pressure from the gas springs behind the bumper and press them in)

This is a pic of an aluminum bumpered car that's been tucked and painted, I think the only change needed is painting the door moulding black.



THIS IS THE COLOR I WANT + Fat gold wheels = sex:





it's BMW urban green. only came on a few Z4s



Saturday:
Got everything I planned for accomplished today.
First:
Fuel Cell




Next:
Wastegate mounted to manifold





Then:
Added some flex to the downpipe


After:
Connected the WG to the DO with some tube and a flex joint (minimize internal, thermally induced, stresses)





The completed Downpipe:

[newman]

Mounted the IC today, boy is it sturdy. Mounted in 3 locations. Two on the top sides, one on the bottom middle. Simply welded brackets to the frame and trimmed down existing brackets welded to the IC from when it was on the 240. You can see the brackets in this picture. Unfortunately, I had to trim a LOT of the bumper mounting brackets... In fact, almost all of them, so now i have to develop a new bumper mounting system, but i think i have a fairly decent way of doing that... it's just going to take some ingenuity.

The IC also sits very far forward because the radiator needs to reside behind the IC and in front of the stock radiator supports. I used 2X4s on edge (actually 3.5 inches) to simulate the radiator (3" end tanks + 1/2" of clearance). This leaves only about 1/2" of bumper material in front of the IC in spots, so i may need to reinforce that...

Here are the mounting brackets. They are painted black. There is an angle that goes back at the bottom, and two formed steel brackets on the right and left.


This Aluminum piece had already been welded to the IC, so i made use of it. The hole was off center slightly, but oh well. It bolts to an angle that is welded off the bottom of the radiator support. In this image, you can see the space between the IC and the frame is about 3.5" and will be home to the radiator.


Another shot of where the radiator will sit. Chances are, I will have to run a remote reservoir with a cap on that (like a subaru), because the radiator sits too low in the chassis. I may also be able to have the filler neck welded to the radiator on some sort of elbow, to get it out from under the uper radiator support.


Here she is mounted in the car. It's not crooked at all, the picture is just taken oddly...


All buttoned up for the evening. It looks like the IC sits WAYYYYYY forward, but what you need to keep in mind is that there is about 3-4" of bumper that goes in front of that... Though i think my bumper tucking idea has been significantly decreased...

[newman]

finished the IC piping. Welded two 90s on the I/O. Also Trimmed the bumper to fit. It's tight, but it fits. I need to trim a bit more in order for it to fit perfectly.

Tomorrow, hopefully completing the exhaust, then it's on to the tunnel.

[Bane]

Sweet... are you getting ready to fire the engine up?

Good choice on the coatings BTW I used Swain before and they are top notch.

[P90Puma]

Updates?

[newman]

Alright, First is some crappy pics of the exhaust. I couldn't get on a lift today, so this will have to do for now... Matt (lowly oil burner) @ hybrid (hybridconnection.com) welded the whole thing (eviljay helped), the welds look wonderful. 100% stainless, with a stealth black stainless vibrant performance muffler. Yes, it's pretty low, but the springs I got for the rear are stiff as hell, so i doubt there will be any issues with it bottoming out. My subaru exhaust is lower, anyway, and i have no problems with that...











Next, i mocked up the tunnel with cardboard. I will begin fabrication on this tomorrow...

[newman]

I test fit some of the trans tunnel parts. The mild steel will actually be to the inside with nuts welded on the backside, so i can bolt the tunnel on with button head screws.

[Andrikos]

Man you're good. Any interest in becoming a car designer?

[newman]

Originally Posted by Andrikos

Man you're good. Any interest in becoming a car designer?

While i think it would be cool, I find it imperative to keep my hobbies and employment on two separate planes...

[newman]

4X4 Jimmy did a nice job welding up my transmission tunnel. Huge thanks to him. Here is is installed. I wish the hole for the shifter was about 3/8" more forward, but i think this will do just fine :










Then i got to work removing the sunroof mechanism so it can be welded shut. Making a new headliner is going to be a small PITA, but i have to get it done before the cage goes in (about 12 days):

[Andrikos]

Newman,
Are you also lightening the car?

You could hack off the roof sheetmetal and perhaps add something lightweight like a smoked Lexan "panorama roof".
Whatcha think?
Too much hustle?

[newman]

Originally Posted by Andrikos

Newman,
Are you also lightening the car?

You could hack off the roof sheetmetal and perhaps add something lightweight like a smoked Lexan "panorama roof".
Whatcha think?
Too much hustle?

It's not a bad idea, but i am welding the sunroof closed to help stiffen the car. Even though it's getting a cage, every little bit helps. This car has a LOT of chassis flex...

[Andrikos]

You have it all figured out.
Rock on!

[newman]

Originally Posted by Andrikos

You have it all figured out.
Rock on!

Thanks,

Welding the sunroof closed is going to be a pain though, I wish i didn't have to do it, but... do what you gotta...

[newman]

Also, threw a little cad dwg together so they know what kind of radiator to make me @ moxies (props to tom marks for helping me out with that!)

[newman]

OK, tonight i welded in the sunroof.

Step One - Remove all paint from sunroof edges:


Step Two - Remove all paint from sunroof hole in body:


Step Three - Cut metal to fill gap where rubber sunroof seal was:


Step Four - Weld the strips to the body around the perimeter of the roof:




Step 5 - Place sunroof in hole. Shim up the bottom with wood until it is aligned properly.




Step 6 - Apply approximately sixty 1/4" welds to connecting the sunroof to the strips and the body:





Step Seven - Apply primer:





The crack will be filled and blended with body filler. The idea is to attach the roof strongly enough such that is doesn't flex and crack the filler. This should be plenty.

[newman]

Headliner:
First i had to remover the rear windo, this was surprisingly easy, as the windshield and rear windows on the bmw are held in with press molding, no glue... It's about the only thing in the whole car that isn't glued.

Then I screwed pressboard into the ceiling of the car with short sheet metal screws... in hindsight, probably should have been flatheads, but it's too late... I had to make a wooden subframe in a few locations, but it's not like the headliner really adds any strength.



The gap in the front is actually entirely covered by a trim panel, which is convenient.

Next, I cut foam to fit on my new headliner, and affixed it with spray adhesive... It's definitely NEVER coming off...



Tomorrow I hope to get the fabric laid out. Also, does anyone know a good dye that could be used to dye my rear deck black? It's carpeted.

Thanks.

All buttoned up in case she has to go in the snow...

[newman]

upholstery is not my thing, but i think it came out alright...

for my first time, anyway...

[Bane]

Wouldn't the Bavarian flag be more appropriate?



After all the BMW logo is modeled after it