Purist beware!

Here are some details of where I am going with the car. Lots of work to do. I also mounted my bench grinder on a little foldable table so I could grind my connecting rods down. 

Front Suspension

I am not a huge fan of the original clunky steering box and linkage setup. I have a BMW Z4 steering rack on my E30 and I absolutely love it! If you are unfamiliar with it, it is a 3.0 turns lock to lock manual steering rack (faster than the E36 racks, and maybe the E36 M, most E30 people love swapping in). The Z4 has electric steering assist built into the column so the splines are beefier than normal because it is a manual rack at that point. With the weight of my E30 the steering is quite easy going down the road, parking is a little harder but nothing that makes me not want to drive my car everywhere. With the lightness of the 2002, it should be even better. I am working on the front suspension set up. I want bigger brakes and bearings, but don't want to pay the price for tii struts. More on this as it develops...

Engine

4 cylinders are not for me. Plain and simple. I had an M20 kicking around and an idea of a real 3.2L stroker motor for a while and I think this would be perfect to test it out on. The plan is coming together and the engine block is coming back from the machine shop this week hopefully.I have most of the parts for the bottom end, just have to get a couple more odds and ends. 91mm stroke and 86mm bore... 3.172 L. Hopefully have enough money to get ITBs!

Rear suspension

I will be swapping the rear suspension for an E30 rear suspension. I have started to make a jig to build off of and pulled a rear suspension from a parts car I had laying around. I will probably end up with rear coilover suspension to keep it simple and clean. I am pondering buying the hub and bracket from SRS concepts that would accept the calipers and rotors from a E46. Anyone have any experience with them? It looks promising.