What spring rates are you running on the e21? Wheel and tire sizes?
You mentioned the camber plates in another thread, and from what I can tell, the ones I got are probably not worth the hassle. I have a sneaky suspicion I'll need to replace the bearings after a few road miles.
Spring rates - no idea. This is something that one should probably know about the car they are racing but I haven't seen a lb marking on them (also haven't looked too closely). I seem to remember that they are H&R and they are red if that tells you but I'll check next time I'm with the car.
My focus on the suspension has been replacement of tired bushings thus far.
Wheels and tires:
Edit - Yeah, $35 seems a little too good to be true. I'd love to just replace the bearings on mine but I don't think they are replaceable.
Are you running a rear sway bar at all?
I plan to run 375-350# springs up front and 300# rear without a rear sway bar. Still figuring out which tires I want to use though as I have 14" weaves from an e30 or the 13" factory weaves.
In reply to captainawesome :
Last year I ran without the rear sway, this year I put it in. Personally, I like it better with. I'm running a 19mm bar.
I'd say the only downside to the 13s is the tire selection but I don't think there's a massive selection for a 14 either.
The previous owner of Elmore was a contractor. I believe the speakers he put in the doors were something out of a home system. They were 7.5" and I've never seen anything like them in an automotive application. They were also completely blown.
Pictures later but I needed to make adapters for the gigantic holes that are in the door so the smaller speakers I was given by a friend would fit. Yesterday I knocked those out. For some reason the passenger side isn't playing but I'm guessing it's that the 20 year old house speaker wire that the previous owner used is broken somewhere.
On another note, I finally got a chance to weigh all of the metal I removed/cut out from the doors, hood and trunk. 60 lbs!! I can't believe it's that much. This also does not include the glass so maybe add ~8-10lbs to that for a total(?). The stock tanks weigh somewhere around 10lbs each but I figure it's a wash with the cell and all of the metal I used to get it installed.
I'm curious what weight you are at currently. I'm hoping to get a little below 2k without cutting doors. My front fiberglass bumper is 7.5 lbs if I remember correctly, so I'll be losing a ton off the nose there.
I really want to know also. Apparently there will be scales at PittRace next month so I hope to find out then. Stay tuned.
I think the e21s I know of that have gotten under 2,000 have had some fiberglass replacement bits (hood, trunk, etc.). My best guess is it's about 2,100lbs maybe slightly less. I'll be surprised, but pumped, if I crack 2k. I've got a BMW book that tells me a 320i was 2380lbs from the factory so I guess it's possible.
My car still has a full dash, heater/blower, sunroof, rear bumper (and shocks and trim) and is obviously fuel injected. All of the interior is out of it along with the headliner and every bit of insulation but things have been added as well. The cage is the biggest addition.
I didn't weigh the parts individually but the guts of the doors; tracks, regulator and glass are definitely the heaviest parts, not the skin. So if you're trying to get down for the challenge, that would do the most help and is completely reversible.
I'm thinking plans for this winter are to remove the sunroof and rear bumper. The bumper and shocks might weigh 20-30lbs but the problem with removing it is that the US e21s look like they have a huge overbite with the rear bumper removed. I'm thinking I'll form a new valance out of stiff foam insulation and then use it as a mold for fiberglass.
Haven't been taking many pictures, mostly because I've been pouring sweat whenever I'm in the shop. Nonetheless, I took some time off after the PVGP but am back at it.
After adjusting the valves in the E21 and replacing the gasket, it leaked like a sieve out of the front where the head ends and the front cover begins. I've taken the valve cover back off and RTV'd both the top of the head (and front cover) and the bottom of the valve cover. Should be good.
I noticed a spot on the passenger front shock tower where the seam appeared to be separating. I cleaned out the sealer as best I could and welded it up. Not pretty but if there was a problem, there isn't anymore.
The stereo in Elmore is finished and I got the 7-pin wired up. The safety wire is temporary...but it's safe, right?
First things first - the car weighs 2136. Not terrible. Getting under 2k is definitely possible without anything crazy. Corner balance in the rear is almost dead on with me in the car but the front left is much heavier, I assume due to the weight of the CIS, intake, etc. all being over there. I raised the left rear just slightly in hopes of evening out the front a bit. It seemed better but it's hard to really say.
Keith Lawrence just finished an 02 and had this fantastic idea that I'll be stealing...
Last week consisted of minor prep items. Mostly trying to keep the oil leaks at bay and then close off the rear bulkhead as requested by tech at PVGP.
I started out with a really complicated box and then wisened up...
This.
Became this.
That took forever so I went back to the drawing board.
I then taped up all the seams and holes in the rear shelf. For the first time I was the first guy through tech for the weekend.
Loading up on Thursday was a bit of a pain. The trailer I borrow from a friend was about 30 min away and the race car was at the shop. If anyone knows Little Italy in Cleveland, pulling a trailer through there is not fun. So I got a ride over there and drove the E21 back to my house in the pouring rain. I then got even more wet getting it on the trailer etc, etc. By the time I got to PittRace though it was a beautiful day and I got a killer spot.
I ran three sessions on Friday. The track is fantastic, this was my first time driving it. I ended up with a warped rotor in the third so I missed the last one of the day. Saturday morning consisted of a soaking wet rotor installation after picking a set up from the closest parts store and then one session before lunch. When I got back, I noticed a pretty significant leak. Becuase it was raining and the ground was soaked I didn't climb under the car but from where it was leaking slightly before the weekend I knew I wasn't going to get it fixed at the track. So - I called it. The weekend ended a bit early for me but, in reality, I got just as much track time as at Schenley even with the early dismissal. On a plus, I ended 1st in class (out of 2 mind you) and 8th overall but a bunch of drivers left Saturday morning with the expectation of 3-4 inches of rain today.
After this weekend I have fullfilled the requirements to apply for my full competition SCCA license so I'll be sending that off soon. I may wait until after October in case I do another track day or two so that I can include that in the "other section".
It appears my 2k range aspirations are a bit out of reach judging by your numbers. With my plans to stay in SM class I'm restricted on items that can be removed, so I'm guessing I'll end up around 2200 if I spring for some fiberglass bits. I weighed the front bumper, shocks, hardware, etc. and it all totals around 34 lbs. so the rear will be pretty similar in weight possibly getting you below the 2100 mark. If you are still running all of the sunroof guts there's probably 40-50 pounds that can be dropped as well.
Yeah, removing the rear bumper and struts would get me sub-2100 but then something has to be added to get rid of the overbite. Sunroof is definitely coming out this winter along with the wiper motor/mechanism and the cover in the engine bay along with the unused battery tray. I'm also considering removing the chunky crash bars built into the doors. They look like they are at least 3-5 lbs a piece.
That combined with replacing all of the glass with plexi I think will get me under 2k. I'm also considering cutting out the whole of the rear bulkhead and replacing with a thin sheet of aluminum. This would save weight and also put the shock towers in the cabin meaning no removal of those pieces I just made to access bolts.
In reply to AxeHealey :
I think there are quite a few guys removing the rear bulkhead. Since you are caged, I doubt there will be any chassis rigidity loss in the process.
I have a fiberglass replica of the euro bumpers that are only 3.25 lbs roughly. It doesn't fix the overbite issue 100%, but it certainly helps it look less "special".
In reply to captainawesome :
Agreed. There's a cross bar welded in between the shock towers too. I don't see a problem with stiffness.
Any chance you'd be willing to make a mold of that rear bumper?? 
AxeHealey said:In reply to captainawesome :
Agreed. There's a cross bar welded in between the shock towers too. I don't see a problem with stiffness.
Any chance you'd be willing to make a mold of that rear bumper??
I wouldn't even know where to start. All of my previous attempts at fiberglass have been extremely frustrating and virtually useless abominations. With that said, I will see if time allows an attempt or two. I believe I can manage to make lighter ones for myself as well, possibly half the weight? These are way thicker than I think necessary for race application or even street use.
In reply to captainawesome :
Really? That would be awesome. If you were closer I'd come by and give you a hand.
I'd think coating the inside with some sort of release agent and then filling with expandable foam would get you really close. After it cures, I'd remove the foam and then bondo overtop to make it smooth. Bam - mold made (I guess that would be more of a buck). Probably easier said than done, however...
Worse case scenario I manage to make a decent mold that I can send over to make your own final product. It's in three pieces, but I wonder if they could be cast/glassed as one? Either way, I'll give it a go in a month or so when I get moved into the new place. If it all goes well, maybe I could make my own hood and trunk lid to help shed some weight?
AxeHealey said:In reply to captainawesome :
Really? That would be awesome. If you were closer I'd come by and give you a hand.
I'd think coating the inside with some sort of release agent and then filling with expandable foam would get you really close. After it cures, I'd remove the foam and then bondo overtop to make it smooth. Bam - mold made (I guess that would be more of a buck). Probably easier said than done, however...
Waaaaaaaaaaaait a cotton picking minute......... you're an Ohioan? How in the hell did I miss that?! Lol You're maybe an hour away from where I live in Madison.... I've only gone to Little Italy once in my life, maybe twice. And yeah it's not easy through there even with a regular car let alone a big ol dually F-350 and a trailer haha
In reply to captainawesome :
I'd think you could tape them together and then make the mold, yeah. Only problem would be that the seams would be more difficult to make right. Do you know who produced the piece you have?
I would think you could probably make a hood and a trunk. In that case maybe make a fiberglass mold of the top, then fair the inside of the fiberglass mold, then make the actual piece?
In reply to Bill Mesker :
Yep! Cleveland Heights. Good to come across another Clevelander (ish).
The garage space is awesome but yeah, it's a serious pain with a trailer.
AxeHealey said:In reply to captainawesome :
I'd think you could tape them together and then make the mold, yeah. Only problem would be that the seams would be more difficult to make right. Do you know who produced the piece you have?
I would think you could probably make a hood and a trunk. In that case maybe make a fiberglass mold of the top, then fair the inside of the fiberglass mold, then make the actual piece?
Classic Europarts out of Latvia. I paid no where near the price they are asking now.
https://www.classiceuroparts.com/product/bmw-e21-315-316-320-323-rear-euro-bumper-apron-spoiler-valance/
There's a place in the Czech Republic that makes fenders, hood, trunk lid, and other fancy stuff. If I understand the pricing correctly, I could get all of those items for around $500 possibly less depending on whether I want the framework. Not sure if that includes shipping, but from previous experience it's not too bad. That's a way down the road for me option at this point though.
http://www.pesch.cz/en/category/bmw/bmw-e21
Figured it had to be one of those, thanks.
https://dtmfiberwerkz.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=206
That's the other one I've seen. I at first thought the price wasn't too bad but then I saw shipping(!). And they're in CA.
Since the E21 is still at my house and I needed a break from work this morning, I took care of something that's been bugging me for a while.
No more rusty streaks! At least not as bad.
I've been using this stuff since I started detailing cars at 13. The jug might be older than I am but still works great. That being said, I think I'm going to need to do some work this winter putting the rust at bay. It's pretty much all superficial but I can't let it get much worse and look myself in the mirror.
One of my brother-in-laws live in the middle of nowhere. We were there last weekend. What to do with nothing to do?? - Dream about fitting more crap in the shop so that my daily can live in the garage at home over the winter! Operation fit-all-the-things commenced last night before the Brown's game.
All the shelving and what-not used to be along the right-hand wall (to the rear of the Healey and E21). I got all of them moved to the back wall. You may notice that the race car is on dollies. This is a necessity to get it positioned sideways in the garage because of an area my landlord blocked off for himself. Eventually, I'll put the jack stands for the Healey on rollers as well. The cars will just need to be pushed one way or another to give me enough space to work on them.
Where the yellow tape ends is approximately where Elmore will terminate in the garage. It's a little close but workable. There is obviously a lot of tidying up to be done.
I'm calling it a huge success. Once everything is back on shelves, I'll have an even better idea of the space I have to work with. I have no question in my mind though that once both cars are on dollies, I'll have plenty of space. It certainly isn't what I'm used to but as the Healey gets closer and closer to finished, I'll need less and less space to work on and store it.
In my imaginary shopping cart are dollies and more lights. I'm tired of the shop being so dark.
No automotive progress but I gained myself a bit more floor space. Every little bit counts.
No, it's not level, it's some of the worst work I've ever done and it was a serious berkeleying pain to put it up by myself but it functions. Note the extra 2x4 that allows it to actually work because numb nuts over here measured once and cut once.
I'm finally back to a point where cars will get attention again. Putting in a new (circular) paver patio and cutting all those bricks to fit with an angle grinder took up a lot of the late summer and fall weekends.
Garage progress - my janky tire rack collapsed. They are now stacked in a corner next to my new-to-me-and-free work bench.
Even cooler than the workbench is the FREE Boice Crane Helmet Head drill press that I got. Can't find a picture anywhere but it's old, awesome looking and works!
My measurements for fitting Elmore in the garage were spot on. It's even a little better than I thought it would be. Pulling it in was a serious struggle though with useless mirrors, a bent rear bumper, no spotters and extra weatherstripping on the garage door frame. Some weatherstripping was harmed.
Plenty of room to slide the E21 towards Elmore for space to work on the Healey.
My daughter's name is Kendall so I found a couple vintage Kendall Oil stickers to throw on the E21.
With endless family activities this weekend I don't have time to spend on the cars but Healey door fitting will resume next week.
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