Progress on the bmw1602.com car ...** UPDATED 05/05/20 *

[bingbong]

F**K that car rolling looks INSANE, was the driver hurt?

[canadamatt]

Thank you, I used a punch and dimple "Dimple die" tool I bought from www.tricktools.com. I bought a 1/2 inch press model $40 and a bigger punch model that I used for the trailing arms....$90+

They have many a few different types. I bought the one that after drilling a pilot hole you bolt the two halves together and by using a air gun as it brings the two halves together it also punches the hole! You can also and preferable do this using a Press. You keep pressing the Die together until your gusset is nice and flat again. If you do it correctly you should end up with a nice flat gusset with dimples on it.

Hey Pedro, nice work man, wow! What did you mean 'preferable with a press'? If you could do it again, would you buy those same pilot hole style dimples? Or would you buy the ones that simply use a press? If so, why?

I want to buy some fairly soon...don't have the $$ for a complete set, so I think I may just get the 1" die for now..

You used this one, correct?

http://vansantent.com/sheet_metal_machines/punch_flare_tools.htm

thanks

Matt

[bmw1602.com]

yes that is the dimple die I used.

with the punch and flare it is good because it makes nice clean round holes for you. But doing 16ga you need a good air gun to screw the dies together.

The best way to do it is to get the punch and flare and use a press instead of the supplied screw method.

[bmw1602.com]

here is the SETUP thread on bimmerforums

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=942076

Here is my recap of the last episode.....

So here my complete recap of that day.....should help explain alot.

The day before in the garage me and my crew chief and I were at bit at odds. He wanted to make some drastic changes to try to improve the setup. Me and him used to road race motorcycles together and he was always making lots of changes and with enough testing time he would end up with some good setups! My style is always to make small changes and concentrate on riding/driving. I usually don't make larger changes until I feel confident I know the current setup well enough to really feel and understand any further changes I make. That takes time unfortunately, which we did not have on this show.....I wanted to just leave it be for the most part as me and Chris had been rockin with the setup we had. We reached a compromised and basically took some castor out of the front and some camber out as well as I was hoping to have a flatter contact patch to improve my braking. We could not agree on a tire pressure that day.

The next day in practice at the HTM he wanted to try an extreme tire pressure setup that I knew would not work so I told him a number I wanted. He ran the more extreme number anyway against my wishes and the car just sucked so I came in and he added some pressure back in and a finished of the the last few mins of practice. Basically In my mind we wasted half of the practice session trying out something I knew I would not like and would not work really well. Ow well.....we figured we could use the first race of the day to learn if the new setup was any good.

Well the first race that day skeen took off in the lead Earnesto was in second and I was in third. I was all over Ernesto and he was slower than me pretty much everywhere. Then coming down the hill in lap 4-5 I see him run a bit wide on the run down the hill then when he changed directions to go thru the S turn in front of the crews/water tower he basically had to add more steering since he was wide and when he transitioned and changed directions there was alot of weight transfer and he probably got on the gas a bit too soon for the amount of steering he had in the car at the time and the car got a bit sideways exiting the front S turns and he started a high speed oscillation and eventually as he was running out of track he locked them up missed the camera mand by a foot and went sailing off the track thru 2 fences and almost hit a on coming van on the access road below! So red flag came out.

They had to call the few laps we did a race since the track owners would not allow a race to be held with a hole in the fencing. So I effectively ended the race in 2nd place. So we all went to lunch while the track maintenance crew went to work fixing the fence. Unfortunately this meant we barely had a chance to get the tires up to temp and check out the changes we made on the car.

It would all come down to race 2 for me then.

I had a horrible start and was struggling with the car right away. I did my best to keep the car on track to avoid any stop and go penalties and was basically trying to figure out the car. I was struggling with the uphill chicane alot. My drive out of there and up the hill just sucked. The car was under steering alot in the slow chicane and was a bit tail happy when I layed the power down. It all honesty also could of been just me! I was a bit frustrated with my driving that day to be honest. I was just a bit off my mental game. I can definitely learn a thing or two from mr cool, calm and collected M. Skeen!

I was doing my best to salvage my race and not get passed, when I hear my crew cheif saying "they just told the stanley car (Larry canzone) that he had to pass you in the next 2 laps or he going to be off the show!" So I knew he was coming. He was in my rearview soon after. I got a suck ass drive off the chicane again and he got a run on me into the haripin at the top of the hill. He went by me but I got a great drive of the corner and repassed him in the next corner. We were both fighting for our lives. He did get by me again and right as I was pushing to stay in his bumper I made a big mistake.

For the record, yes I did basically go wide entering the chicane. I did not "overshoot" it like they said last night. If I had overshot the corner I would of gone thru the cones tires locked like many did that day and the previous day sending cones flying everywhere.

I was pushing my braking point a bit to deep got all locked up and right before I was going to go straight thru the cones I got it gathered up and turned the car and never went thru the cones and completed the chicane normally! As I was turning away to go thru the chicane I knocked over 1 single cone

I was hoping not to get a stop and go since I hadn't "blown" the chicane and gone straight thru it

yet I still got a stop and go..... for basically making a mistake and simply going wide in the corner. I never went thru the cones and bypassed the chicane like many had done. I ended up driving thru the chicane like normal after my lock up.

I pulled in the pits completely mad about the situation. I took off like a bat out of hell since I knew that I was now in the last place car on the track. I was struggling with car now more than ever seamed like our tire pressure gamble was getting worse as the laps wore on. I started to click laps away and started to try to close in on the next competitor.

This part was not shown on TV,

Then I get a radio call from my crew cheif " They want you to come in to serve a stop and go" I was like WHAT??? For what I replied. He said" they saying that you laying up"

LAYING UP? you got to be kidding me! Why would I be laying up if I'm in last place??????

It made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE.

I was SOO pissed. I followed ridiculous instructions and served a second stop and go penalty for basically doing NOTHING.

I came out of the pits and finished the few laps left in the race and I was completely dejected after. What BS. I have to say I was also disappointed I was not able to adapt to the new yet deficient setup on the car. As a driver if the setup is wrong it's up to you to make the most of it. I did fail at that.

We went home really bummed out. I still did not think I was going home since Technically speaking I was NOT last. Danon was.

Also accordingly to the rules we were given, if you cause an incident that causes the other car not to finish the race you are the one going home. Which would mean Mike Junior would be the one leaving. So we went to sleep with some hope of continuing on the show.

The next day in the shop we pretty much spent like 30mins standing around while the WOW crews got chewed up by scott about cheating. Eventually they told him to go home! Then he call me up and was like Pedro you were last your going home. Please leave. 3 secs. later he tells everyone to go back to work. They spent 30 mins. to eliminate the first crew and 3 second to send us home. I thought that was weird.

I didn't get a chance to voice my concerns about Danan and Mike situation and my displeasure with the second stop and go.

We had lunch then had our "exit interview". My crew chief admitted on camera to his fault regarding the setup on the car and that we should made less changes. I started to recap my race and as soon as I was about to begin to talk about the stop and go's and the Danan situation. Scott interrupted the interview and said "we don't want to hear about that so move on".

It was pretty clear to me that at this point in the show he wanted me off. There was nothing I could do about it. I guess my clean racing style didn't make for good tv. I wasn't cracking jokes or playing to the camera at all so I guess i do understand his decision from a director of a story point of view.

I don't like it but I get it. It's a TV show.

Me or Danan......I'd choose Danan. The guy is volatile, always having contact with someone and is kinda of a wild card. Me on the other hand just a a fast clean racer that kinda kept to myself and was not showboating like Piquet or making any drama like danan. So like I said, I understand his decision.

I do take responsibility for putting myself in a position (last across the line) to be sent home. In the end it was up to me to get the setup right and up to me to make it WORK! That specific day we were waaay off! On this show you can't have a bad day.

Your bad day is your last day on this show. In the real world it's a bit different. We have championship points so we can make up for a bad race.

What really makes me mad is that I never got a chance to race at Street of willow. HTM is challenging track, but it is a "constipated" track. You can never really get up to speed there and stretch the cars legs and you never get the chance to show your high speed talent. Streets is also wider and has rumble strips so passing is more doable.

On the other hand, I had a good run. I made it almost to the last episode and was able to hold my own and beat racers with much more experience than me. I was able to open gaps from racers with more experience from me and keep a fast race pace.

I did not make an ass of myself on national TV

I did not look like a rookie and total my car on national TV

I did not go out with my tail between my legs like Brian did.

I did not go out looking like fools like Ernesto and his crew cheif.

(Flying off the track is bad enough then not pulling the fire pin on the fire system is Ernesto AND his crew's fault. As a driver your safety is ultimately your responsibility)

I raced more than I had all year in just 3 weeks and it only cost me time off of work.

I gained some friends, meet some incredible people, gained an immense amount of experience from the driving and the off track situations. Not to mention being in front of a camera in a interview room with 4 cameras pointed in your face. I will never be nervous for a job interview again!

So all in all it was a good thing. I just wish I could of had a shot at showing my stuff at streets of willow and maybe been a position to capitalize and take the whole prize. I would of loved being able to give my crew chief Edward a nice check to for all his hard work.

I like to thank Scott, Elsa and all the crew for the opportunity of a lifetime.

I like to thank Reliable Carriers for getting us all there.

I like to thank my Crew chief Edward for making it possible and getting me in the game.

I like to thank my incredible team mate Chris Prey. I learned so much from you! He has a incredible talent and hope for the best for his racing future. Maybe some day we can share a race car again!

Finally I'd like to thank my Boss for giving the time off work and for not firing me during the show like so many bosses did. Thanks Todd!

Thats all folks!

Now I'm just a spectator on the couch just like the rest of you!

[70roundtail02]

Sucks about you had to go out, but congrats on all the success you did have.

[bmw1602.com]

We finally finished my friend Dimitri's '95 M3 NASA TT car. We put quite an extensive cage in it.

Here some pics of the cage/car we built....

We sprayed it avus blue like the car.....man painting a cage sucks!

We got the car all back together and it's almost ready for it's first test.

Now that we are finished with his car, he is going to help me with mine. Hopefully we can get my car done alot faster now!

Here is the celebratory 1st starting of the engine video....

[bmw1602.com]

So we started on my car this weekend...

I was able to resist the urge to attend the BMW wheel power meet then go to Long Beach Grand Prix and instead we worked on the car....

We broke out the sawzall and went nutz!!!

started to prep the engine bay by removing radiator support sheetmetal and the small firwall at the back of the engine bay thanks to a cool spotweld drill bit!

The radiator will be moved forward and lean a bit. the engine bay is now huge! You could fit a V8 in there! It will have a fan on the backside of it as well.

Began sanding/grinding down all the old crusty paint in the engine bay.

Removed dash support sheetmetal. This was done as I will be adding a dash bar to connect to my engine bay tubes. I will be fabricating a new dash.

So basically I will be adding to my cage alot.

X on the door bars

Bars and tie in to the subframe

rear strut towers ties to the diff mount

and finally extending the cage to the front shock towers

...also planed are Tilton pedal setup, mc with brake balance and bias control.

oh yeah rebuilding the engine! man...I think I bit off more than I can chew!

Hopefully my good friend Dimitri will lend me a hand and we can bust all this incredible amount of work!

all the pics here

http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/viewer.php?album=albums/Gallery/Roll%20Cage/Cage%20Modifications%202008&pn=1

[bmw1602.com]

more pics...

[H_Krix]

that is some sick work Pedro. You're freaking nuts - didn't you just paint the thing?!

Nice cagework too, your work is making me look into buying a TIG machine myself.

[bmw1602.com]

I never painted the engine bay.....

Actually I never touched the whole drive train and engine bay since I bought the car.

So I decided to tackle it all in what I'm calling "phase 2"

-painting engine bay

-reinfocing&restoring all suspension componets

-more extensive cage layout

-fresh motor

-new braking "system"

-New and improved dash and wiring.

[bmw1602.com]

HELP! From those with experience in this...

A few reasons have conspired to push me to finally get rid of the huge heavy non adjustable stock brake system (MC,brake booster & pedal box) on my racecar.

My car is currently in pieces undergoing a huge makeover so it the perfect timing to run new brake lines and "upgrade" the system.

Here is my shopping list so far...

Tilton's 600 series 3-Pedal Floor-mount pedal assembly $479

74-Series Master Cylinder $69 x3 = $207

Remote bias knob $66

90 degree balance bar coupler$ 87

and maybe

Floor mount throttle cable linkage $129

total-$968 ! ouch

+ new brake lines etc.... etc...

#1- Anybody know the difference between the 74 series 75 series master cylinders?

is it just that the 75 is smaller/lighter?

#2- I seen another race car with the brake balance knob and then also a brake bias adjustment lever? Don't they do the same thing? Is there a reason to run both? I don't think so.....

#3- Is the $129 throttle linkage necessary?

#4- How do I pick the bore size for the master cylinders?

.62

.70

.75

.81

.87

.94

1.0

For the clutch?

For my brakes....I have 2 piston calipers in the front and 320i drums in the rear?

If you have these in your race car what sizes are you running?

Is there some sort or chart or calculation so I can have an educated guess at the size?

------------

In an attempt at making things a bit less expensive, I was thinking about running a Tilton 600 Series dual pedal system and my stock throttle.

Surprisingly the 2 pedal system costs $229 a full $250 cheaper! Somehow they figure a throttle pedal gotta add $250 to the price......:mad

So if I did this it would bring the total down from $968 down to $589

http://www.tiltonracing.com/incs/proimage.php?sid=9&m=b

So I might just go this route....but my questions about MC bore size still remain......

[madjurgen]

Easiest thing to do is just call up Tilton (or maybe Bimmerworld). Tell them your piston diameters and theyll tell you exactly what you need.

[bmw1602.com]

I just found this page...... looks like they will be able to tell me....

http://www.tiltonracing.com/content.php?page=faq&view=9

[justinevert]

OK Pedro,

Put the sawzall down and slowly walk away...

Awesome work I must saw.

Planning to redo my front sub assembly and wanted to ask you how you did you weld on that end, was it TIG or MIG/WireFed.

If it was wire fed, what gauge wire did you use, .030 or .035?

BTW My wife thinks you look like Gil DeFerran, or at least his little brother.

Again, awesome work and great ideas.

Justin

'75 02 (Lola)

[bmw1602.com]

I Tig everything I can, as I enjoy the challenge. SO yes the sub frame and all my suspension parts were tig welded.

You can use .30 wire for most applications. It's what I have loaded in my mig. It will certainly work for the subframe welding for sure!

Gil de Ferran? cool...she has a good eye! ...or must watch alot of racing. Now that you mention it...I can see it too...! He's back racing this year with Acura LMP in ALMS he also owns the team. I wish he would give me a job!