The N2

[NoahTeates]

We're finally getting around to installing the new brakes. These are the newest kit avalailable from Massive Brakes (www.massivebrakes.com) up in Toronto, built around Wilwood calipers and floating 320mm rotors. They require at least 15" wheels, which we alredy have, and with the backspacing required to (almost) fill out the flares I think clearance will be a breeze. That leaves the question: what do we do out back? Graft a set of E30 arms onto the stock E10 bar, which come with stock discs and improve suspension geometry? Bolt on some huge floaters to match the fronts?

Both...?

Note: Lee at Massive Brakes threw in one of his custom Massive dead pedals on the house for ordering one of the first of the new kits, visible in the top of this picture. Nice looking kit Lee.

Update: they fit like a glove. Thanks again Lee.

[NoahTeates]

When we left off, the question was what to do out back. Stock drums were not going to cut it, but it felt silly spending $1200 on big Wilwoods to bolt onto the stock diff and axles: given the expected output of the engine and my plans for keeping it mostly on the street, the odds of blowing the diff or snapping an axle are a lot higher than the odds of me overheating the brakes.

Then last week our new one-piece driveshaft arrived, complete with custom adapters to mate our Nissan powerplant to a BMW rear differential, and we realized that it was too big to fit through the center opening on the 2002 beam. This meant we were going to have to drop the rear subframe and spend some time and materials clearancing the 02 beam, which just didn't seem like a good investment.

Solution: graft in the entire rear subframe, LSD, swing-arms, hubs, and suspension from an E30. Browse what's left of it here:

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,50/page,viewtopic/t,331487/

The E30 has a much beefier (and unfortunately, heavier) rear differential, disc brakes, and improved suspension geometry. Given the sheer range of race series that support the E30 in addition to the range of hobbyists and enthusiasts who keep them around for off-track use, this gives us a huge range of brake pad options as well as upgrade options in the event that I need a BBK out back someday. Stay tuned: I dropped off yet another donor car at MA Motorsports (www.ma-motorsports.com) yesterday afternoon; I will be back in a week or two to see what Brian and Ray have come up with.

Up front, things are looking cleaner and cleaner. We're using as much of the space behind the headlights as possible: on the driver's side we've built a custom airbox, and the passenger side may hold the battery. We're still looking at places along the firewall to mount the battery, but it's small enough that the weight would not be a dealbreaker if the best place to mount it turns out to be the nose. Note that the air box is cleanly sealed off from the engine bay. On the passenger side, we now have the HKS BOV mounted on the cold side of the IC plumbing, and Brian welded up a custom overflow can. The photo here does not do it justice: Brian contoured it to mount upright and perpendicular to the ground, and contoured it to fit flush against the inner fenderwell all the way down.

The other thing you can't really see is the work done to clean up the heater hoses: they've been pulled between the firewall and the windsheild wherever possible, almost completely out of sight in the engine bay. And everything has been put together with nut-serts and hex bolts, meaning service and disassembly will require a minimum of effort: no reaching around blind with a box wrench when you need to pull a bolt. Build quality here borders on fanatical.

Up next: finishing the wiring, running new brake lines, and grafting in the rear. Stay tuned.

[pureaudio]

Wow..this build is amazing. Congrats on being so close to done, your gonna have to put up some videos of this thing in action.

[bugtustlebub]

Noah,

Do you have any recent updates?

I realize that winter has set you back, some.

You are planning to drive it to Vintage, aren't you?

Regards,

Randy Bryant

Elkton, VA[/i]

[NoahTeates]

Hey Randy! Great to hear from you. Sorry it's been a while--after being snowed in, I landed under a proposal that delivers tomorrow, and haven't seen daylight in a few weeks.

I was going to wait til I could get up there and take pictures, but long story short, we hit a snag: the input on the E30 diff is offset, so the driveshaft from the SR20, which sits upright, would have zigged a bit to connect the two. After a lot of headscratching and a few well-placed phone calls, we decided to build a custom beam and order some unequal length axles (the builder, who built the custom driveshaft in this thread, swears his axles are twist-proof, and thus immune to torque steer). When it's all sewn back up, it will have the E30 swing arms, hubs, and brakes, and we'll have to find some creative way to mount the Bilsteins back up in the rear. Stay tuned.

What and when is the Vintage? I'm not familiar with the event.

Take care,

Noah

PS: the M10/4-speed is still in the garage waiting for you. Make it happy and take it home! 8^)

[bugtustlebub]

noah,

i can relate to the snow delays.

here's the info on Vintage:http://vintageatthevineyards.com/

hope that the driveline challenges are solved successfully.

it's gonna be a great ride.

i'll keep the M10 in mind

Regards,

Randy Bryant

Elkton, VA

[NoahTeates]

Since last we left our heroes:

1 - We got the rear suspension installed and sewn up.

2 - We got the wiring tucked away under the hood and a Stack Dash installed.

3 - We got it on the dyno, conservatively turning just under 300whp.

4 - I finally got a tags for it, and we're starting to dial it in.

First impressions:

1 - Power is not our biggest problem. Between the twin plate clutch and a gas pedal that's still a shade closer to the seat than the brake, it's nearly impossible to launch with out tireslip.

2 - The old suspension (Bilsteins of indeterminate vintage and springs of unknown origin) is not up to the task. We're getting a good bit of wheel hop.

3 - Eyeballing the alignment when you've custom fabbed the entire suspension is an act of faith.

4 - A twin-plate clutch is probably overkill for a 2200# car.

5 - Power brakes might have been a good idea, even in a 2200# car.

That said, this car is *silly* fun to drive. Once it gets the right springs and we figure out how to get a sway bar under it, maybe add a set of cheap sticky tires (Falken Azenzis RT615s come first to mind), it will be a holy terror. I don't know that I'll ever volunteer to drive it in traffic, but it will be hard to drive it slowly.

Stay tuned...

Noah

[jgerock]

I've heard about your car but never seen it. Where are you in Alexandria? Did you purchase Marshall's Malaga 73?

[NoahTeates]

It's actually never been on the road, at least on this coast--it went straight from CA to the operating table in Baltimore. Once it's up and running, we'll have to catch up.

I did indeed buy Marshall's malaga shell, as I had a spare engine and driveline in the floor and couldn't bear to see it go to waste. I think I have a home for it, but it's still up in Baltimore too. It's a throttle linkage away from driving with the M10 from my 76.

[M3M3]

bring it down to Grice's bbq next weekend! all us earthly 02 guys can drewl on it....!

[NoahTeates]

Thanks for the invite Marshall! Unfortunately, the only difference between me and the mere mortals is that you guys have cars you can drive: I'm going to leave mine with the experts til we get the suspension sorted and find master/slave combos that let you shift and stop without standing up in your seat. Is there an Easter barbecue on the books...?

[M3M3]

easter bbq will be at VIR...the vintage event in april...at the VIR racetrack. you should target that event for an N2 coming out party! we will get a convoy together to go down!

come on down to grices, with or without the N2!

[NoahTeates]

Not much new to report, but we do have an extremely stiff strut brace. We've also added some adjustment points to the rear subframe to enable a better alignment, but no pictures yet. Stay tuned...

Best,

Noah

[jgerock]

Noah brought his car over to Marshall's today while we were trying to install brakes and I was messing with my front subframe.

Marshall got to drive it first, then I had my chance.

Way too much fun in this beast! Thank you Noah for making me appreciate another powerful and lightweight vehicle.

Work on this is amazing. E21 Rack and pinion, E30 rear diff with custom fabricated rear subframe, transmission mount, intercooler, turbo system, Wilwood hanging brakes, custom oval and round exhaust..etc.

Click on these pictures for the video links (car is idling)

I'm spoiled now - thank you Noah![/i]

[M3M3]

not much new my ass!

Noah stopped by the shop today...in the N2 on his maiden voyage around the beltway.

he forced Jim and I to drive it.

2002 + 320 turbocharged rear wheel horsepower = OMG!

yes...that's three hundred and twenty HP....at the wheels.

i didn't even really get into the throttle on the local roads on 10 year old tires, but holy crap is that thing fast. what a beast. race clutch is binary. wilwood brake system works great. some seriously nice suspension fabrication under the car, including a completely custom rear subframe that supports all e30 325 rear parts (ta's, diff, etc.) all STACK guages.

some pics.