VMSETHAN

Long time since an updae, but I finally have something worth posting. Monday was my PIR track day, first time out for the car. Happy to say it did well over all. Definiteley not the fastest machine there, but it handled real good. A few warm up laps, then let loose. Track was dry and warm and the Dunlops stuck real well. A few pics below, but I botched my video, so won't post that. Grass Valley is in a few weeks, so will do better then with a video to share.

The IE sway bars arrived last week. They are installed and looking good. With those done I was finally able to get my front towing eye located and mounted. Fabricated a hardpoint behind the spoiler and bolted it to the frame. Currently working on the Kirkey seat install. A couple brackets to fab and gusset for mounting to the rails. I had a good set of sliders removed from my Mutsang seats(Summits also)that are in place. I want some adjustability so a couple trusted friends and my son can get a little seat time when ready. Kirkey recommends a mounting point up near the top also. I'm going to fab that with a slider and pin setup to match the lower slide detent spacing. Will add pics of the upper mount when done...hopefully this weekend. Watching the weather for a decent day to load onto the trailer for a trip to work. We have a truck scale just down the road so I can weigh the car and check front/rear balance. Curious to see how that maths out. Planning 2 track days in June. PIR on the 5th with BMW club, then ORP on the 29th. More days in July & August as I can squeeze them into a busy summer.

I second that, pretty much what I did with my project. If original paint was in good shape then a good scuff and clean is adequate, especially for interior areas. I was a little more enthusiastic prepping the exterior.

Here is my setup. 15 x 6.5 et 35 Dunlop Direzza ZII 195/50-15 No spacer in back, 1/8 spacer in front. Could go a LITTLE lower but already did some work to drop a bit. Car sat too high with the IE stage 2 springs. Car has been stripped for track days and is light. After mulling it over the decision was made to lower by cutting coils. Started conservativly and took off 1/2 coil from the back, That was mostly the "flat" section of the sping. Afterward while putting them back in that end did not want to sit nice in the pads, eirther to or bottom. There was too much "ramp" and they looked unsecure to say the least. Did some brainstorming and decided a custom upper retainer would be best solution. I drew up a quick diagram for an aluminum doughnout to have machined. To capture and retain the spring properly I incorprated an outer lip and put in a sprial cut on the seat face to match the coil ramp angle. Kind of hard to see in the pics, but a 5/8 ball mill was used to match spring diameter and create a proper seat for the spring. It spirals up(down?) one revolution. Located some srcap aluminum from work, aprox 1.75 thick. One of my machining connections through work lives nearby and he has a few CNC mills in his home shop, so a deal was made.......This was more than I could hanlde with a manual machine. These could also be made from Delrin or UHMW plastic. Possibly lighter and quieter? We have the program saved for future use. Fronts were cut 1/4-1/3 with no problems.

My hood is on and things are wrapping up. IE sway bars are not here yet, getting impatient......... After mulling it over the decision was made to lower the car a bit by cutting coils. Going to the one dot pad in back was not going to do enough. Started conservativly and took off 1/2 coil from the back, That was mostly the "flat" section of the sping. Afterward while putting them back in that end did not want to sit nice in the pads, eirther to or bottom. There was too much "ramp" and they looked unsecure to say the least. Did some brainstorming and decided a custom upper retainer would be best solution. I drew up a quick diagram for an aluminum doughnout to have machined. To capture and retain the spring properly I incorprated an outer lip and put in a sprial cut on the seat face to match the coil ramp angle. Kind of hard to see in the pics, but a 5/8 ball mill was used to match spring diameter and create a proper seat for the spring. It spirals up(down?) one revolution. Located some srcap aluminum from work, aprox 1.75 thick. One of my machining connections through work lives nearby and he has a few CNC mills in his home shop, so a deal was made.......This was more than I could hanlde with a manual machine. These could also be made from Delrin or UHMW plastic. Possibly lighter and quieter? We have the program saved for future use. Kind of hard to see, but the spiraling ramp feature is visible if you look close. I had to do a little fine tuning of the ID to slip up snugly, and also placed a 1/8 rubber pad beteween it and the body. Made sure the machined spiral end matched the tail end of the spring. Since that worked out well the front springs were next. Only took of about 1/4-1/3 coil on those. The existing spring cups are holding those well, so no more parts to fab. Pretty happy with the stance. I will piggyback some of this into THE STANCE thread. Lastly, changed my tune a bit on the seat. I have a Kirkey race seat coming from Summit. I will put the existing seat on the passenger side for days when I have a track passeneger. My first trip to ORP I will want a co-pilot or instuctor for peace of mind. Looking at track day schedules for PIR and ORP.

Weather has cooperated the last few days, some dry weather to get a few test runs in. No big issues, but items to tweak and adjust. Still thinking I need to drop 1/2"-3/4", but handles well (especially considereing my swaybars are not mounted yet). A few more runs in order to dial in my brake bias. I got the pedal reworked with a roller bearing and aluminum hinge stock. Hinge pin was TINY, so reamed it up to 5/32" to use a small piece of brass rod I had on the shelf. Hooked a small light tension spring to the arm keeping the pedal from flopping around when not engaged. During the test runs I was able see how well the inegral shift lights in the tach worked out. Factory settings were a bit low, but I was able to adjsut that easily. Net time I run it up the hill I'll try to get a video of that, pretty sweet. Things are looking good, so time to get the hood on and aligned.

My tires and wheels are mounted/balanced. Car is finally back on its feet after 2 years No wheel spacers in back, but fronts will need about 1/8" to keep comfortable clearance to the strut housing. Funny, I got used to it being so tall on the stands, It feels small now. Pretty happy with the stance, maybe a little too much wheel well gap...... but suspension is FIRM. Currently have the 2 dot rear coil insulators. May consider going to the one dot. My quick research shows about a 5MM difference. If anyone has a set please let me know! Happy to buy. If doing that I should also drop the front a bit, maybe cut 1/4-1/2 coil??? Comments please. Probaly a little ahead of myself there, so I need to toss it around a bit before dropping any. I am eager to drive, but need to get that distributor shaft swapped. THX to the members helping with donor parts. Final steps to complete...hood install, front end alignment, wiring TLC, gas pedal hinge...those stock pivot balls suck. I had to cave to vanity and get the carbon fiber look on the hood emblem to match my "grille"

Really hoping to do couple days in June. Kind of iffy weather-wise for the Portland track, but Grass Valley is east of the Cascades and should have dry days. A Go Pro is in my near future. STRUCK out at the local German wrecking yard for a points distributor to do a shaft swap. Ditto for EBay. Will post an add here and also Google west coast yards. Anyone have one laying around??????

I was able to get the secondary "bullet" muffler to fit behind the axle. It has definitely taken the harshness out ouf the sound. I will run this and see how it goes.....I like it. Did some more reading in the forums about the distributor oil leak. It is definitely coming from the upper dist. body. I had noticed the spiral cuts on the lower shaft while apart for cleaning. What I was not aware of is that BMW reversed the rotation of the M10 in 79/80. Evidently the newer style shafts have the spiral cut opposite to drive any seeping oil down. This makes sense since an earlier owner changed over to the E21/E30 dist. There is a local German auto salvage yard with a few 02's in the back. I will stop by and look around for an earlier points type distibutor and eyebal the spiral cut. Others have exchanged the lower shaft to fix the issue. Wost case I buy a new mech advance unit form IE, but trying this first.

So I finally had all needed items set to the point I could fire the engine. Took a little tweaking, but went well. I had primed the flywheel and forgot to spot the timing ball with a visible color. Had to roll it over slowly and find it for a dab of silver paint. Beyond that, nothing MAJOR. A couple small oil leaks, carb settings etc... Here it is the other day... Last leak to deal with was/is distributor oil seep. A quick post to the forums pointed me to the drain hole in the housing. Beyond that, I need to get my tires mounted and ready for a test drive. Have been holding back on sway bars to buy other items, but those are about all that is left. Likely going with the IE set. Exhaust does not sound bad, but is a little louder than hoped. I think I'll try a small bullet muffer behind the axle to moderate the sound. Jones Exhaust makes a cylyndrical "turbo" style that is pretty small and free flowing. Trying that first, simple and inexpendive.

OK, just ran out to the shop and checked. there was oil about 1/3 way up the housing shaft "well". Fished a wire and found the hole, Felt semi-open, but did get a couple small pieces of gasket material out of it. Maybe it was partially blocked.Oil drains quiclky now. THANKS Preyupy, hope that solves it. Will reinstall the distributor tomorrow. Took it apart some tonight for a good cleaning. Will look through forums for end play info, but any comments are helpfull there too.

I did not use any sealant when reassembling the the dist housing to block. Just a new gasket. Just to be sure of no blockage, is there a way to fish a wire down the housing with dist out?

I have an oil leak coming from my distributor body. it is dripping out of the vent holes in the lower surface of the main body. I do not have any leaks coming from the housing bolted to the block. I also replaced the o-ring on the distributor neck and have verified no leaks. Pulled the unit and the LOWER seal at the driven gear is very loose/worn. Looking for a source to buy a new seal, but all I have seen so far is a full Bosch rebuild kit (pn 1237010007). Any comments/advice on replacing just that lower seal? BTW... this is an electronic ignition dist from an E21. Runs real well, but the oil drips right onto the header

YES, I know about the fan direction and the motor being reversable. I will do that while having it out for a little paint work. I had looked at those batteries too. Was not sure about the CCA needs of the motor. 325 ssemend a litle small, but i was not sure. Has that not been a problem? I could always put the Optima in the Mustang, it's battery is about due for renewal.

Finally some good progress worth posting. I was trying to save some cash and reuse the old windshield. It was in pretty nice shape. Unfortunately during install it cracked out. After inspection I noticed a chip in the edge where it started. Either from my removal or original install. Oh well....made some calls around town and Safelight did me good. Came 20 miles to my house, installed new glass and even used my new seal. $294 done. Happy with that. Finally settled on my wheels. 15 x 6.5. et 35. Will fine tune with some spacers. My trial fits with steel wheel indicate 1/8 or 1/4 spacers should suffice. Once my tires are here I will get it sorted out. My Mustang has been running Dunlop Direzza Z-II's. Very happy with those on track days so planning on them for the 02 also. 195-50's from Tire Rack are my next purchase. Radiator and fan are installed. Purchased the rad from Top End performance in Calif. It is a Griffen and fits perfect. A 12" fan from Summit is in place. Fabbed a couple aluminum mount brackets. Also took the time to re-fab the engine vent line. Now is is 5/8 daiameter. Next week my header is ready to pick-up from ceramic coat and the Optima Redtop arrives. Work has an account at a local battery supplier. With that discount the Redtop is only $132. Best I had seen online was $140-ish, and a lot better that $169 from Summint or Jegs. With a litle luck I should be ready to fire it up next weekend. Will try to video it and upload if it sounds good for you Flowmaster fans. More to follow......

Yes I know there needs to be some provision for vibration and movement. The 2 hangars in the middle do have rubber flex tabs between the pipe clamp and body mount. Tail pipe mount will have a similar bolt/bushing setup.

I thought about the narrowness if the line aso. Keeping my eyes open for a 5/8 or 3/4 tube bender at a decent price. If I get one I will remake the hard line fron the cover nipple to the bulkhead fitting. Plenty of time until spring ...... Recently finished fabbing my exhaust system. I am sure there will be various comments regarding my choice of muffler. Have always been a fan of Flowmasters and this one fit real nice. It is the long 18" version. Not too worried about noise being a track car only. If for some reason I need or want to, can squeeze in a second 12"-er behind the rear end. Did some bends myself, but also purchased a few 45 mandrel bends and made a couple trips to my local muffler shop for a few tweaks. Painted the pipes/clamps with that VHT Silver header paint. Taking the header itself to a coating shop soon for ceramic coating. Looking forward to final install. Last item before I fire up is a radiator. Leaning towards a Kormann, but still looking around for other ideas. It has to be big and stout...expecting to run on some pretty warm days at the track next summer. Particularly if I get to Grass Valley (ORP).

OK, got a catch can sorted out. I think this will work well. The line is soft aluminum so it should take some engine vibe/movement without difficulty. Will leave the orange adell clamp on the large size to allow for some movement. It is all "downhill" and I was able to run a drain line to empty convenienty when needed. Can has a decent shutoff valve on the bottom, but I plugged the hose anyways to be safe as it is just fwd of the front tire. May do something a little more secure.

Guys, thx for the info on the catch can. Was not aware that much oil would be coming out. I'll get someting sorterd out and update.

Chipping away on more items.... Carb linkage is done and final mounted. My header came in and is temporarily in place for fitiing exhaust. I did not like the OEM hangar at back of the tranny, so I made a new one. I got a free wheel from local tire shop to do some back space measurements. Need to deicde the whole tire wheel thing soon. Have been running Dunlop Direzza Sport Star Specs on the Mustang and like them a lot. Rather than run a PCV valve into the intake I fabbed a vent breather. Many opinions out there about "dirty" air into the intake vs. the benefit of venting the engine internals. For now this is fine. If someone can convince me of PCV benefits it can be changed over to a valve. Had to make a custom tube for the install due to hose sizes and space limitations. Again had our welder at work do these due to aluminum material and delicacy. To form a bead at each end I used one of our cool tools to accomplish. The kit costs close to $900, so this one one item I will borrow over and over.

Time to update... Planning to order the IE Stage 2 header in a few days. I fabbed a heat shield from some scrap titanium sheet to protect my new wires. A little final trim when header goes on, but looks good. My Weber 38 came in. The stock pedal linkage did not please me so decided to upgrade that. I purchased a metric threaded rod end for the vetical pedal link. The firewall mount does not line up well with the carb pivot, so I want a joint to allow for engine movement. I had an old Cessna control yoke u-joint that was sized aout right. A little trimming to meet the needs, but otherwise pretty simple. This was a little small for my liking to weld with my MIG machine at home. Took it to work for our welder to TIG. A very nice job as usual. Just need to fab the little tab to attach the rod end and a secondary return spring.

More progress during a busy summer. Engine assy and wiring/plumbing is moving along. I need to pony up a buy a radiator. Either the IE or Kormann. Bought the IE silicone hoses and spliced 2 together since I do not have a heater core. Also got my Weber 38 bolted on. Need to get the linkage and fuel line finalized. decided against the Painless wiring system. I decided it was not value added as I only have 8-10 circuits and all are very basic. Purchased a generic fuse block with grounds and mounted under the dash. Started to run wires. My guages arrived also. Running Auto Meter for the std 4 info guages, but VERY happy with my Speedhut GPS speedo and Tach.

With the engine in place I am able to locate the oil cooler and get it plumbed. Decided the only good way to get airflow was to cut a second nostril into the LH carbon panel. I built a small sheetmetal duct/baffle to keep the airflow on target. Luckily i have a good selection of AN hose fittings, so just had to buy some hose. went with AN-10, braided stainless with teflon tube. Jegs sells it as air condioning line, so price was pretty good.

Yes, the red is fuel line. AN6 line and fittings. Wraped the section near exhaust with an insulated silicone fire sleeve. You can just see that as it tucks underneath the firewall. A propotioning valve for the rear circuit is mounted just in front the the brake MC, bolted to inner fender panel. Silver with black knob, purchased from Summit. THX

Tommy, thanks for the complement. Now that the engine is in, lots of detail work to do installing sytems and pieces. The car came with an electronic ignition. It looked factory when I bought it, but doing a little research, it appears someone installed an electronic system from an E21 or E30. From the pics, it can be seen there are 2 wires that had been snipped off and unused. I found a wiring diagram for a early 3-series that kind of matches. Looks like these were for fuel pump relay or tach??????. Not too sure. Car currently has ZERO wiring and I am planning to install a simple harness and fuse/relay box. Probably a Painless 12 circuit to start the system. Does anyone have any feed back on this OEM ignition? If decent i would like to use it. Probably replace the plug wires and the coil with a new Bosch red or blue. I have been reading up on the coils and their individual needs for resistence wire/blocks or not. On KEY questuion I have is about the ignition module. It was taking power directly from the coil when disassembled, but not sure if it was getting (or reqiires) full 12 volts. Do the late 02's have a built in resistence wire? Does anyone recognioze these parts from another year and know if the the module needs resistence or a full 12V? I do not want to fry it if needing less than system voltage.