nick496

So with the track day over, and Mega Meet just over a month away, better get that exhaust sorted. Just for reference this is what I was running: M52 headers (front modified), into a merge, then 2.5in through 2 coby's into a magnaflow muffler Went to TTT Auto Engineering off a recommendation from the forums to get a new exhaust made up. I ended up taking them another set of M52 headers, a mid section off a 135i, and a custom muffler that I had done by Manawatu Muffler Centre, and said make it fit, and specified where I'd like the V-bands. I think I've only got full photos while it was being tacked up: And here it is on the ground Back to the sump and the mid muffler being the lowest points on the car. Really impressed with the job on the exhaust. It is quieter across the board. Don't have the popping noises as I decelerate anymore (though I know some of you love those) But annoyingly, hasn't resolved my cabin resonance issue at 2000RPM. Put a new genuine IS lip on, as I smashed the fibreglass one I had over a year earlier reversing out of a driveway (Not mine) And sorted out my sunroof. This was inside the 'rust free' sunroof I purchased Mmm yummy. I split it at all the pinch welds, took it to a panel shop (Not the one that did my tailgate, though I did actually take it to them to be done with the car originally) Where it then got acid dipped, then rust protectent applied to the inside, and pinched back together and painted. This is what my old sunroof left in my drains: I then converted my sunroof to electric. There are a few ways to do this it turns out. But the easiest way is just to take the full electric system out of a working car, and swap it in. I tried the drill/cut method, but I just made a mess, and cross threaded the motor mounts. Only really need the brass rails and everything inside the cabin. You coupe/sedan people have it easy, as you don't have to pull your whole headlining out to do this. Purchased a recovered Tech 2 wheel a while back, so put that on as well. It is a larger 385mm, but I prefer it to a 370mm for cruising as I can actually see the speedo. Then went down to Megameet 2019. Had a couple of issues 1. My car decided that it didn't want to start during the whole weekend, after driving and then being parked up for say 20 minutes. Suspect either heatsoaked starter, or dying battery. This lead to me becoming a pro at push starting my own car. 2. The rear V-Band clamp fell off on the trip down after I gained some air. This was definitely on me, as I had removed the rear muffler to polish it up a little, and I didn't tighten it back up enough. So still needed the earplugs I had in the car. And it made GREAT noises driving through the tunnels. Fortunately managed to find a shop open on Saturday that had V-Band clamps in stock, so after that the earplugs were no longer required. Was great catching up with a bunch of enthusiasts. Especially @_BRS_ and @Olaf Compared my brakes with Olaf's as he reckoned the Hawk HPS pads were great for street use. So both cars Hawk HPS pads. (Though drums in the rear of the little 316i) Could lock Olaf's wheels up at 80km/h no worries when I slammed on the brakes. Mine, I slowed down, but couldn't lock up even when smashing the pedal. Suspect either cooked pads, or stuck caliper(s). So some progress there. When home via Taupo via Okau road. Google reckoned it was a faster route. What it didn't tell me, was that it was mostly gravel. Still, there was no one else on the road, and it was reassuring to have the LSD.

Well, as I said, had issues with the headers rubbing on the steering shaft on the track. But that wasn't my only issue with my exhaust system. This is my rear driveshaft hoop in the trans tunnel As you can see, a bit too much clearance. A 10mm socket can sit in there (10mm socket is 38mm high) So needless to say, my exhaust sits reasonably low. And it also rubs on my rear subframe. And it drones in the cabin at 2000rpm. So a new exhaust was on the cards. But the first step is to give it more clearance in the tunnel. Went to Mike at Euro turbo to get something inbetween my existing hoops, and his ones. Much better. My recommendation is definitely to get E30 hoops from Mike, as they fit really well, and hard to get something cheaper. I also recommend clarifying with your certifier how far back you need to have the hoops if you're unsure, as it turns out I'd put mine in less than ideal spots. I left the front hoop as is (even though it was also massive), as an exhaust is never going to go under it. I also installed the LSD unit. Interestingly there are 2 different plugs you can have on the speed sensors. I'm going to assume one is PFL and the other is FL. So swapped them over, and I was good to go. Unfortunately one of the previous owners wasn't that clever, and decided to crimp onto the loom the different plug Managed to disconnect this when pulling the diff, and had to crimp it back on. Another way you can tell an LSD from a non. The LSD weighs a lot more. The bug had well and truly bit. I went down to Taupo for another track day Managed to get a pair old R888's off @raewyn22, so chucked those on some weaves, and went down. Also replaced those tyres I scrubbed all the way down with some Michelin Sport 4's After a few laps, they were nice and dirty Shared a garage with a swift, who was managing about 5 seconds faster than me round the track Highlight of the day was a Porsche GT3 owner asking to borrow my Ryobi air compressor My best lap was 1:58.70, which was 7 second improvement on my last day. I'll put that mostly down to better driving, but having the better tyres might have made a small difference. Only faults this time: -I badly crimped the speed sensor back on, so it disconnected 2 laps in -My radiator started weeping very slowly -Exhaust still rubbing (but not a surprise this time)

I think the push to get it back together was for an ex-collegue's 50th birthday. For this, he'd hired out the Taupo track and invited all the car enthusiasts he knew. I think I said last track day I needed to improve -Tyres - Swapped to a slightly newer set (compared to the MY02s) of Toyo T1R's in 225/45/R16 -Seat - Used a recaro bottom mount seat -Brakes - Still running hawk HPS pads with fresh fluid Sadly, not much footage again, but she went round beautifully. And was happy with all the changes since last track day. -Tyres were much better to drive on, and had very little squeal pushing at the limit -Less flopping around in the Recaro seat with the larger bolsters -Brakes were better than last time, but still need improvement Best lap time was 2:05.62 A couple of issues, with the E28 rubber mounts, my exhaust headers rubbed on the steering shaft in hard corners , and then at the end of the day, when we did drags I didn't realise where the 1/4 mile ended, slammed on my brakes, they locked up. And my fronts then were very sad. All the way down below the wear line. The drive home was very bumpy, as the rest of the tyre was about 6-7mm tread. This brings us to end of August 2019

So with the car back, need to piece it all back together. This took a while, as I first needed to paint some spots that were missed in the engine bay. Mainly under the battery tray (Not rusty). Sarge was good at supervising Managed to get some not completely dried up sound deadening from Mike of Euro Turbo. Then swapped in a purple tag rack while everything was out. Some side by side comparisons, E36 rack with E30 ends bottom, Purple tag with E46 inners, e36 outers top (I think) Got a new steering shaft put together by the local driveshaft shop (E30 end of steering column piece onto Barina shaft). All in Also did most of the front end rubber: -Mondeo drop links for the front sway bar -New front sway bar bushings -New lower control arms -New lollipop bushings (E36 M3 centered ones) And then put in the motor and all the rest. -Rebuilt brake master cylinder -Swapped to the Cylinder shape E28 M5 motor mounts, as I was getting a lot of noise in the cabin. -Swapped to a double cut front valance. More speed holes for the future AC retrofit, plus it looks better. Then gave her the first clean in over 12 months

Figured I'd not only get those lovely holes fixed up, but might as well attend to some of my other issues. Tailgate rust (Not nearly as bad as some I'd seen) Some rust in the door jab Got that all quoted up for a reasonable price. Now here is the real f**k up. Asked for some additional work to be done, but didn't get it quoted, and didn't get anything in writing. About 5 months later, I got the car back along with a massive bill to pay. Not happy. Some photos of the tailgate during the repair: Looking a bit better Don't have a decent after shot, but might add that later. During those 5 odd months I: Bought a TI to run about it: Got a 3.64 LSD to be installed later. Which brings us to end of April 2019.

Gee I haven't posted in here for ages. So yes, I pulled the motor out, and did the VANOS. In pulling the motor, I managed to rip a chunk out of my sound deadening on the firewall, and also snap off one of the little rods that the sound deadening screws onto. Figured that with megameet 2018 just around the corner, I'd get a mate to weld it back on, and I'd slap some decent deadening in, and away I would go. Oh sweet summer child. Was not the right welder for the job, and was turned up too high. Blew straight through. Note to anyone else wanting to do this. Just use liquid metal. For some reason I thought that after that ordeal, I should get him to weld up my front inner guard, as I'd made a bit of a mess pulling out the mounting for the airbox. Again, a bit nope. So with the damage done, I abandoned my hopes of going to mega meet in my car. And it went to a panel shop.

So funnily enough, I left my computer on the project page, and the wife saw the photo. I now have a dedicated pot to boil my parts in. Managed to avoid both the garden shed, the kennel, and the couch.

Likewise Dave. Good to put a face to the name. I took it out on my normal backroads, and it certainly felt a lot nicer than the E30 around all the corners, and the power delivery was surprisingly different with the auto box. Felt like it pulled more at the top end, but that's probably because it was slower at the bottom end haha. Well as we all know, manual conversions aren't normally cheap, so figured if I could get it from pick a part, that would be the way to go. So might as well bail on my Sunday plans to fix up the 318ti so I can sell it, and get a manual conversion instead (No real loss) Cheers on the wheels. Love me some ACS wheels.

On a whim I checked pick a part's website on Saturday night. There was a 318i manual over in Tauranga. So a trip over there Sunday morning, arriving just after opening, was greeted with the whole thing still being there (even with the car being in the yard for a few days). With some help from @alisterh (who I had picked the wheels off from in Auckland only the day before) managed to get the whole lot out in about 2 hours. I know the Getrag 220's aren't quite as good as the ZF boxes, but for 1/6 the price of a conversion kit for one, I'll give this a go. So that will go in once I've gotten rid of the 318ti.

Well I figured I'd carry on the legacy, and keep a project thread for this car that I bought off M3AN. Old Project thread: http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/56912-another-e36-my-328-beauty-sold/ I purchased the car wanting to turn it into a track hack, as I've taken the E30 touring out to a few track days. It's performed well but would eventually like a rollcage for safety, and also some larger brakes. Both of which aren't something I would to do to my touring, so here we are. Same motor, but I think it will easily be able to beat the tourings time around the track without stripping it for weight savings. So picked up the car on the original 16s yesterday. Got her home, and on went the ACS type 2's (17x8 ET38) Initial impressions -Handles really well -Not a fan of the aftermarket alarm (had to get M3an to show me the trick to be able to leave his driveway) -The Auto box needs to go. It's really lets down all the suspension work done on the car, as it likes to hunt around and jerk. In comparison the E36 318ti I've been dailying is much nicer drive around town, and feels the same power wise ? -I did say to M3an that I didn't think there was much difference between the stock E36 rack and a purple tag after having both in my E30 (admittedly I drove it a year apart). But after driving this and the E30 back to back, there is definitely a difference. Purple tag is just tighter, and doesn't have the dead zone in the middle. -Sunroofs are not my friend. Hair rubs on the roof with the seat as low as it goes. Might have to change my seating position. Things to do -Value cover seal replacement (weeping a bit from the front) -Fix weird idle issue (hunts around a bit there) -Manual conversion -Bucket seat -Boss kit -Brake upgrade (Need to find some 330i fronts) -Purple tag rack swap -Have all the barrels work off 1 key -Remove the aftermarket immobiliser -Find a replacement front guard -Poly bushings -Rollcage -Put the AC back in (I'd rather be cool driving too and from the track, rather than have weight savings) -VANOS rebuild -Fix drivers window (Seems to detect too much pressure going up, and then retracts slightly)

What's it like for rust? Any reason it's been off the road if it runs and drives?

They look great. What did you do to repair the foam?

I would think any independent bmw mechanic would be able to sort you out, and there are a number up in Auckland. These days though, it's less about the mechanical bits, and more any rust that I'd be concerned about.

Did it sort the issue?

I knew I wouldn't be the only one. Next time get 5l of IPA Olaf. You might need it doing the rear end.

You're right. It's worth more ?

Got a single vanos set which should work for you in Hamilton.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/2248256074

I sold my rotating assembly a few months ago.

I don't believe they do as the ends have venting grooves. There weren't any locking tabs on mine when I was replacing the inners.

Mines stalled currently. But it is the next item on the list.

Whilst I haven't done it, it looks like it can be done with the z4 disks. https://srs-concept.com/product/e36-318ti-big-brake-adapter-kit/

https://www.trademe.co.nz/2055597600

I found the hardest part was putting the door lock back in. Once you have it out of the table, the only thing to go wrong is having the tumblers out of order, but you can swap them around pretty easily. In your case, it will depend on if you can figure out the numbers from the drivers door alone, or if you have to pull the passengers side to figure it out. Providing you are comfortable will pulling out the door lock, you shouldn't have too much trouble. Olaf has all the details you'll need in that post. Very helpful.

No, that's why she's requesting a dog kennel this year for "the dog to sleep in"