Interior paint is as done as it's going to get, for a while at least. The main hoop/B-pillar forward is pretty good, but the back of the car only has one crappy coat on it. I ran out of time and paint.
I was able to unmask everything yesterday and get started on the harness install.
The plan for this evening is to finish the harness mounting and get the seat bolted back in, then move to mounting mirrors and roll bar padding.
collinskl1 said:
The car is coming along great! Any plans for door cards though? Looks like it's just begging for an arm to get close enough that it cuts you up.
artur1808 said:The car is coming along great! Any plans for door cards though? Looks like it's just begging for an arm to get close enough that it cuts you up.
Thanks! No plans for door cards, but they're not totally finished yet - they're just rough cut for now. I'll be cleaning up the edges and covering with panel edge trim. Eventually, they'll be painted white as well, but that's easy to do anytime.
Looking great. One thing for the door: On caged cars, we usually do away with the door release handle as well, and just run the pull cable to an anchor or rivit on the front edge of the door. That way, any spot on the wire can be pulled to release the door catch, which makes it easier when strapped in to a containment seat w/helmet/HANS etc. Also makes doing the panel edge trim much easier to put on, since you don't have to go around the latch. Sliding a piece of bike brake tube over the cable makes it easier to grab, as well.
ManhattanM (fka NY535iManual) said:Looking great. One thing for the door: On caged cars, we usually do away with the door release handle as well, and just run the pull cable to an anchor or rivit on the front edge of the door. That way, any spot on the wire can be pulled to release the door catch, which makes it easier when strapped in to a containment seat w/helmet/HANS etc. Also makes doing the panel edge trim much easier to put on, since you don't have to go around the latch. Sliding a piece of bike brake tube over the cable makes it easier to grab, as well.
That's the plan, glad to hear it's worked well for you.
In reply to collinskl1 :
Cool. In one of those "look back and laugh" moments, Im reminded that the first time I did this mod I had the cable too short, which made it a total hair trigger...and the first time on track the door popped pen when my hand accidentally swiped it, but I couldnt get a good enough hold of the door to pull it shut! Good times!!
Another good lesson learned on the tension - keep them coming!
Just wrapped up an hour in the garage, and got the mirrors installed, roll cage padding in, harness finished, and seat bolted back down.
The round convex mirrors are just within the window envelope, and give a good field of view, and the main rear view is also convex and shows a surprisingly wide picture.
Im impressed with the quality and ease of adjustment that this RaceQuip harness has - for $200 it's within 90-95% of the Schroth belts I've used in the past. This is the FIA HANS camlock version with 2" shoulder and lap belts.
I'm mildly concerned about the helmet to pad clearance here. 3 Kyle fingers converts to 2 inches. I have some room to move the seat inboard, and down some, but I really liked the driving position where it is. We'll see how I feel about moving it. If I want to have taller friends drive with me, I'll have to move it for sure.
I spent the afternoon yesterday working on the splitter. I made it all the way to plan c on the mounting, and I'm not thrilled with it, but it's on and seems reasonably stable. The front bumper comes off with 4 bolts, and the splitter is attached to it via the bumper beam and the two supports up front, as well as to the main chassis rails with two supports in the rear corners, which are held on with cotter pins. This was key for quick removal for trailer loading and unloading.
Yes, the radiator is slightly not centered in the car, which is why the hole in the airdam is as well.
The blade is 5/8 plywood, and still needs a little trim work, then paint. I've already realized that the outside supports to the bumper beam will probably interfere with my brake ducts through the fog light holes, which is a bummer. So we'll call this a proof of concept, and likely create a second version that is height adjustable and in a slightly different location.
Yesterday I changed the oil and bled the brakes. While I was warming up the oil, I drove around my complex and smelled something getting hot. When I pulled off the wheels, I could see they were rubbing on the strut bodies. Nothing used to rub, so this must be due to the camber shims I used. Now I need to scramble to either find some wheel spacers, or drill/slot my strut towers to achieve the same amount of camber and remove the shims before Saturday. Fun.
Well, slotting the strut towers didn't work.
1. There isn't much room to move inboard before the mounting nuts interfere with the raised centerhole in the strut tower
2. The strut mount interferes with the curvature of the strut tower before any significant movement can be had.
A set of the finest cast wheel spacers is on order to arrive today to at least see if that helps. If it doesn't, or I don't feel confident in the spacers, my camber shims will come out for Saturday (returning back to the configuration I ran all last year) and I'll have to deal with this issue later.
I got the graphics applied to the driver side, got the seat belt mounting clips safety wired, and got the dash switches for the defrost fan, wipers, and lights wired up.
I got the wheel spacers installed - they're universal and aren't hubcentric, so it took some doing to get them reasonably centered, but they're on. We'll see what they feel like on track tomorrow.
The car is all loaded up for the first outing of the year, and the first outing with the aero package. I'm on the fence about starting with a high wing angle and lowering it session by session until the back gets loose, or starting low and adding wing until the front starts to push, or the laptime gets slower from the drag.
Saturday at Nelson Ledges with Auto Interests was mostly a success. It rained all day and night on Friday, so the grounds were wet - and Nelson doesn't have any paved paddock space, so I was parked in the mud. It made the splitter a challenge, but I didn't rip it off (win).
The track was damp, cold, and green, as we were the first car group of the season. There was a bike group a week ago, apparently. A few mishaps were had by other cars before lunch (a car came back on the hook the first run group, a car slid into a tire barrier in the 2nd, I was in the third and watched a classic mustang ventilate the block and oil down half the track, and a miata went off the track, over the tire barriers, and flipped into the woods) which led to a come to Jesus 2nd drivers meeting, but after that everything was cool. There were the usual suspects of miatas, camaros, mustangs, porches, corvettes, bmws, etc - but there was also an ex-Rusty Wallace NASCAR running in the novice group, which was really cool to see.
I started with the wing fairly trimmed out at 7° angle of attack, and the rear of the car was definitely loose in some of the corners. At the next session, I changed to 10° and the oversteer was less, but still a little loose for my liking. The third session, I moved to 13° and the car was very balanced. According to the data, I picked up between 2.5 and 4.5 mph in all the corners, but lost 3.5 mph on the long back stretch through the kink. All in all, I dropped 2 seconds a lap vs last season with no aero (I didn't do a back to back A-B-A comparison on Saturday, so there is some uncertainty) and the car feels really good. I know I'm leaving some time on the table in the three braking zones and through the carousel, but it was a good shakedown day.
The wheel spacers didn't cause any issues, and I've ordered a set of hubcentric ones so I don't have to play the lugcentric mounting game.
That's supposed to be on the inside of the car!
Everything was going well, until the end of the day when I was loading the trailer. Apparently my lap belt eyebolts hung down too low, and I ripped one out of the floor. So now I get to fix that, in addition to the other little jobs I still have to do. Last season, I ripped the exhaust off at Mid Ohio, but fixed that problem by relocating it. I didn't have any problems at home loading the trailer, but apparently being in the grass increased the ramp angle just enough. I was fuming as I strapped the car down, but at least it happened at the end of the day. I'm going to order some race ramps to hopefully eliminate this problem for good - and per my calculations, I shouldn't have to take the bumper/splitter assembly off to load the car anymore either, which will be very nice.
A couple shots from the weekend, courtesy of Photos By Marty LLC:
I enjoy seeing updates on this, gives me ideas for mine when I can actually get it used for some track time (one day, eventually, when money allows..)
Odd request, would I be able to get photos of the drivers side lower fender mount? Mine is absolutely mangled and I need to plot a course to rebuild it, and the way you have cut your fenders would make it the easiest to see how its supposed to look. Thanks in advance if you can!
So the funny thing about your question, is that the reason I cut the fenders was primarily because they were rusty in that area. Also because of the aero benefits from venting the wheel well, and the ability to pull them wider for more tire coverage, but primarily because of the rust.
If I remember correctly, the bottom "flange" of the fender behind the wheel well bolted under the chassis, where my car is all crusty (and needs to be patched).
I added these simple aluminum bits to the mounting point behind the corner marker to hold the fender in place and push it out slightly.
Even that helps a bit, gives me a bit of idea how it's supposed to look.
I was back at Nelson Ledges with Auto Interests on Saturday. It was supposed to thunderstorm all day, so it was a pleasant surprise when it didn't rain at all. The track was wet to start the day, but was completely dry by my third session. The car ran great and I was able to consistently pop off laps in the 1:24 range.
Here is a video clip of a few laps in the afternoon.
I have a track day at Gingerman on Sunday, so I'll be giving the car a once over between now and then. I need to get my fire system completely installed and add a window net before the SCCA time trial national tour at Gingerman on the 17th and 18th.
Nice driving. Love that track. Headed there in July for the ChampCar race.
collinskl1 said:A couple shots from the weekend, courtesy of Photos By Marty LLC:
Is it just me or does it seem like the splitter is bending down in the middle?
In reply to artur1808 :
Ha - so it sat out in the rain the night before on the trailer and warped, since I hadn't painted it yet. It's better now, but still bows down a little there. I have another blade ready to go, but haven't gotten around to swapping them out yet.
The track day at Gingerman on Sunday went well, except that it was incredibly hot all day and my car wasn't as quick as I'd hoped it would be. The track went away pretty early into the day because of the heat, but I didn't have any real issues throughout the day. I developed a vibration in sweeping left turns that I think is front strut mounts being worn out (again) and have replacements on the way (again) to install before the SCCA time trial national tour event at Gingerman in a week and a half. I also need to finalize the fire extinguisher nozzle mounting and pull handle locations, as well as get my window net installed.
I'll be running in Unlimited 2, severely outgunned in terms of power and tire, but it's just for fun. As of now, there is one other car in my class - an RX8 with tons of aero and big hoosiers. Per youtube, he's running a 1:38 around Gingerman, which seems really soft for that car. I ran a 1:55 in the hot afternoon on Sunday, with my best 4 segments adding up to a high 1:52.
Well, the weekend at Gingerman for the SCCA Time Trial National Tour was interesting. I knew that I had no real chance at competition, but set a goal to be better than the bottom 10% overall. I ended up 83rd of 99 cars, so in that sense it was a success.
The weather on Saturday was hot hot hot, and it stormed just about all day on Sunday. I was one of the slower cars in the advanced run group, and out lap spacing was an issue for us - so I didn't get much open track in the timed sessions, if any.
For kicks, heres a lap from the wet Sunday time attack session. The format was out lap and two fliers. I had yellows on both laps, so who knows what could have been, but it was certainly slick.
I've been picking away at race prep for the upcoming Lemons race at Gingerman in a couple weeks. After years of racing our SHO and never quite having the spare parts we needed, I've gone off the deep end making sure I have just about everything on the car duplicated - which after loading it all up in the truck should ensure that I need none of it once we're at the track. I'm a big fan of the "bin system" meaning like parts go together in labelled rubber bins of various sizes. I have new brake rotors, pads, and calipers in a box. Engine sensors and ignition coil. A clutch and throw out bearing and wheel bearings for each corner. A box full of spare cooling system hoses and gaskets. You get the idea - this matches the flavor of bins I have for electrical stuff (multimeter, strippers, crimper, terminals, heat shrink, tape, and misc wire) and fastening stuff (hose clamps, rivets and gun, duct tape, zip ties, safety wire and pliers) that ride in the bottom shelf of the 5 drawer service cart that holds all the tools.
I found a German specialist parts recycler about an hour from me that had two 318ti cars in various states of dissasembly. Because he wanted the parts gone, I got a pretty good deal on all the driveline components except a driveshaft, as well as front knuckles and rear subframe with trailing arms.
There are two differentials, one 3.45 with a worn out limited slip and one 4.10 open diff. The guy is getting out of re-building differentials, and threw in the clutch packs to re-build both this one and the 3:45 that's in my car currently. The plan is to build a 4.10 LSD over the winter and put it in the car for next season. I'll also go through the engine and trans and put them in the car when they're fresh. The front knuckles will get fresh wheel bearings and hubs and be ready to go as spares. The rear subframe will be built up with new bushings, trailing arms, bearings and hubs, then be assembled with a differential, axles, and brakes and be on a pallet ready to go into the car as an assembly if needed.
The first major maintenance order before this upcoming race was to diagnose a drivetrain vibration that the car had at certain speeds. I suspected the guibo, center support beraing, or worse - the u-joints. These driveshafts are thin on the ground, and new ones are almost $700. I was relieved when I got under the car and saw the guibo was about to let go. The new (OE from FCP Euro) part I had on hand was installed. The center support bearing was in good shape, as were the u-joints.
I changed the transmission fluid (Redline D4 ATF) and differential fluid (Redline 75W90). The differential had a lot of particles on the magnetic drain plug. I re-built this differential two summers ago, with all new bearings. I'm not sure where these particles came from, but there weren't any chunks, and the gear teeth all look fine. I'm hoping it will hold up for one race weekend before I can swap in a newly re-built unit.
I continued the interior cleanup by adding some panel edging to the sharp edges of the doors, which were left behind when I cut out the center portions. I didn't have time to really clean the inside or paint them, but that can come later, along with revised handle pulls (cables).
I installed Bimmerworld's non-M E36 brake duct kit and universal bumper ducts. I don't love the fit of the ducts with my airdam, but this will work for now. I'll probably re-do it at some point. The backing plates at the knuckle/brake are really nice. Hose routing is an issue though, as I can't turn to full lock without the tire rubbing the hose. It is fine at track steer angles, but paddock and trailer loading will be a concern. I should figure out some sort of rub shield for them.
All that really remains is draining the coolant and replacing with water, mounting tires, and loading up.
We finished 4th out of 90 cars in the debut at Gingerman!
The car ran great all race, and didn't require anything other than fuel, and a little splitter repair Saturday night. The ti was fairly outgunned in terms of horsepower/out and out laptime, but we ran a clean race with 2 pit stops each day, and somehow manged to finish one spot off the podium.
Pics and vids to follow in the coming days.
Fwiw, the car got a new driveshaft while it was in my care, so it should be good to go for awhile.
Congrats on 4th place, that’s a great result!
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