VMSETHAN

Ok, long time overdue, but life happens.....some good progress to report. I finished the rear brakes a while back. The e-brake cables needed replaced, and I used an aircraft control cable clevis to tie into the calper lever. Engine has been re-assembled and dropped into place. During teardown the block and pistons all measured pretty nice so I decided to do a "refresh" rather than full rebuild. Replaced all seals, bearings, rings, chains, etc.... Had my cam reground to a 292 by Scneider. Port matched the intake/head and opened up the intake manifold carb side. I plan to run a pretty thorough guage set, so plugged/tapped holes for oil press/oil temp/water temp. Need to get a radiator and the IE silicone hose set. Any suggestions on a oil cooler??? I have a hill climb to run next weekend, so that is taking some 02 funding, but I can't sit idle all summer. Will try to update again soon.

My track car project does not require many parts. All items from 76 model. Partial list; fuel tank sender interior trim seats side glass sunroof assy/cables,etc... dash inst cluster stock front brake calipers/rotors etc stock rear brake drums etc headlight assys radiator weber 32/36 exhaust manifold etc..... Just ask. PayPal Cool

More progress pics for the spoiler and rear brakes. Spoiler is finally painted and installed. i am pretty happy fo the most part, but may do a few things different if doing it again. Decided to go with silver......... Rear brake plates are completed and bolted in place. Ordered caliper brackets and will get calipers next week. Hopefully this weekend I will get the front spindles/bearings brakes all assembled. Thinking WAAAAAY ahead about engine upgrades; I am currently building a mildly warmed-up M10 with Schneider cam, Weber 38, header, etc..... want to be on the track. I am still thinking a superchared M10 would be awesome, and "unique". A small charger like the Camden would be ideal. If i can find something workable it woul be fun to build as the next motor. I found these, http://superchargersunlimited.com/specs.html, but likely too small and not too sure about quality. Anybody have any experience? Drawing and modeling plates for the carb base and intake ports flange would not be too difficult, but I would accept charity there if someone had drawings/cad models. More to follow......

I have a tank and unit assy removed from a 76. Replaced with a fuel cell. Located Portland Oregon. 503-260-2657

I have cut out the first caliper plate. Wanted to check before making the second one or sharing the solid model and DXF. Blake, or anyone else, PM me and I will share these. Not much else to report, but hopefully this weekend I can get the front spoiler progressing. I am eager to get it final painted and mounted. Silver, blue, black?? not sure yet.

Time for an update on 2 fronts; The front spoiler is primed so I can start riveting it together. Still need to get the ends closed out, but looking OK so far. Secondly, I have bugun the rear disc swap to use VW rotors/calipers. I do not have a metal lathe, so I got a friend to turn them down for me to fit the rotors. I would like to go public and thank Larry for his help. To digress into the classic aircraft world, he is a wealth of knowledge and a welcome asset to both me personnaly and at work. I feel priveledged to call him a friend. For those of you interested, check out; http://www.heritagetrophy.org/sp_winners_circle_sp.php?circleid=6&type=1 This was his latest aircraft restoration, and is a testament to his craftmanship and attention to detail. It draws a crowd at each event he attends. I also need to thank another "experienced" friend, Oz, who has been helping with GREAT parts deals and a sounding board for ideas. He is a 200 MPH Club Bonneville racer and was brave enought to be my co-pilot when I ran the Mustang at SSCC. He is currently helping with a new land speed car project based nearby. Check out; http://target550.com/

Here are a couple pics of the small struts I am using to tie the lower spoiler to the frame. Fabbed from .375 O.D. SS thin-wall tubing about 8" long. Drilled a small hole next to the front strut bushing just below the sway bar mounts. Still need to do some detail work, but I am geting close.

Here are a few more pics of front spoiler progress. Lower lip spiltter is fomed at fit. I decided to box in the ends to give it a beefeir look. Those will go in just to the frame rail/strut rod mounts. Center area will probably just be extended back flat for some closure beneath the radiator area. This is the start of the box section. A little flange and shrink action to match the curve.

canadapierre; Sorry, I will not be able to make it to Mission Raceway this year. I will let everyone know my first track event. Even if not ready to drive, will probably go to the Portland Historic races again to watch and enjoy. Clownman; Another aviation nut; Very cool. Were you on a carrier or shore based? I would pay a lot to go on a Tiger Cruise and be up close to flight deck operations. My backgraound started in the Army as an Aircraft Structural Repairman, MOS 68G. Back in the late 80's. Mostly Cobras and Blackhawks, with the occasional Chinook and Apache. Kept it up afetrwards. I am an A&P mech. and run a Repair Station near Portland Or. We specialize in structures work, both metal and composite, focusing on business jets (Cessna, Lear, Gulfstream), big helicopters(civilian Chinooks and Skycranes) snd smaller regional airliners(Horizon Air Bombardier -8's). It definitely keeps me nimble, but most of my time is spent pushing the desk and papers, so it is nice to get dirty at home. Back to BMW's. I am going with the VW Golf rear disc brake mod as discussed on other threads. Todd21 posted a drawing of the bracket to be fabbed for the conversion. I have updated that for clarity and generated a DXF file to allow for laser cut or CNC machine. If anyone is interesed, I can attach it after a little fine tuning. Decided to use 5/16 thick plate, so that maths out to the 7.9mm.

Spoiler update. It has been a cold few days, so limited time in the shop. I got the lower lip formed and general shape trimmed to size. Next is to do a reverse of this as a splitter and carry it aft a few inches. That will let me attach it to the frame with some small struts or rods for stiffness. Early on I asked if anyone had experience with Speedhut GPS speedos. still hoping for some feedback. http://www.speedhut.com/gauge/GR4-GPS-01T/1/GPS-Speedometer-Gauge-120mph--(w--turn-signal-and-high-beam)

Thanks for the positive feedback guys. As promised, here are a couple more progress pics. I got the RH angle formed and located. I have taken another pair of aluminum strips(.040) to start defining shape and length. Two halves set in place and drilled/clecoed. I will tie them together with a splice plate behind. Next task is to form a lower angle and lip section. Maybe employ a splitter also.

Started the next fabrication project, front spoiler. I have been looking at lots of threads regarding those. The Golf MK1 duckbill looks cool, but not quite what I want. I built my Mustang front spoiler a few years back, so something similar may do the job here. Broke out the sheetemetal shrinker and stretcher to get started. Material is .050 2024 T-3 aluminum. Cut 2 strips 1.5" x 40" and bent them about 45 deg. Forming it as one piece all accross the front is tricky. Doing it in 2 halves should be a bit easier. Looking good so far, on to side 2. Not sure yet how long/deep it will be, but time will tell. Will update as I progress. Here is a pic of the Mustang's, so it should be similar to this. Needs to be functional, but also look decent.

mlytle;THX! Great, I will omit the pads. Good idea with the rubber tubing. I will try that in the morning. It got me thinking outside the box....Maybe some heavy duty heat shrink tubing?? Gathering parts for the engine now. Decided to build the M10 now and get on the track ASAP. MANY options for more power, so I want to drive the car in order to decide what to upgrade option makes sense for me, M20, turbo, S.Charge........... I love the SC whine on my MINI:)

A few pics to update and answer your questions.... Spacers are drilled and painted. I was waiting for the arrival on my front coil spring pads(the thin rubber ones that go on top and bottom) but got an auto refund as my source had zero stock and no future availability. PN is 31 33 2 450 120 Does anyonre have a good source? Best I have seen is abot $13 each and local BMW dealer wants $21 ea!! Any other suggestions? Do I really need them?? Regarding the shrinker question, here are a couple pics. Craaaazy; The tool is avaialble from Eastwood and Harbor Freight. I would get a shrinker and a stretcher to prevent having to change jaws repatedly. I believe Eastwood has a good tutorial. These are pretty inexpensive versions of these tools and are definitely LIGHT duty, but work OK for occasional use on aluminum. I am happy to add more or help directly. Do you have material and or a template?? Here are pics of my Polycarbonate(Lexan) sunroof. There are acouple tapered nylon side spacers to keep a nice fit and a rear aluminum strap inside. Having touble with a PM? Not sure about etiquette regarding posting my contact here. Someone chimne in?? THX!!!

Time for an update. Weather has been chilly, but have made some progress. The front strut bar is painted. I felt the bar was a little too wiggly and fabbed a center support tied to the firewall. Steel sleeve with a tab riveted on the tube and that bolts to the brace. Much stiffer now:) My Stage 2 springs arrived with the camber plates frim IE. Hope to assemble this weekend. Had been looking into bump steer spacers also and I saw the IE's for $100. Pretty simple part, so I am building them now. Machined the spine and groove into a piece of 5/8 alum plate. Had to counterbore a relief for the lower ball joint stud. Cut to shape and ready to back drill. I have started to dwell on wheel and tire selection. Just for a reference, I bolted on my MINI Cooper S wheels to see how they fit.

Thanks again for the positive feedback. I DO get your point about safety. The track days I have done the last couple years have all had a policy of windows all the way up OR all down. That is my experience at least. Here are a few more pics of completed front strut. I decided to put a steel bushing into the brackets. After adjusting the rod ends for a nice snug fit, tightened the jam nuts and safety wired. A little paint and they will be done.

Got the rear bar all welded and ready to paint. Started thinking about a front bar next. Regarding the windows, here a few more pics. I did not by a KIT. The Lexan is 3/16 thick and fits real nice into the front channel. The lower support is an alum. channel with tabs welded on that get bolted to the door structure. Lexan is glued/sealed into the channel. After drying, I drilled a couple small holes for #8 screws/nuts. Slider rails are 1/4 in thick strips . I routered one edge for the slide window. Assembled with #8 stainless flush screws. The back edge needed some curve to fit the B-pillar better. I used a section of alum. angle and "shrunk' one flange to induce the curve. As I said before, I am an aircraft sheet metal/structures guy, so hat helps:). As far as track suitability: I have NO intention of racing SCCA or other similarly regulated events. I get all the regulation and Big Brother oversight I can stand at work dealing with FAA stuff. There are 2 tracks nearby( PIR and ORP) that have numerous track days open to club events or pay by the day options. That is my goal. If I eat crow later, then the windows can come out by removing 3 bolts in 10 minutes. One of my perks at work is availability of scrapped or worn airplane parts. I had this control rod on the shelf and it is pretty stout. It should work fine for a front strut support. Cut out rings and brackets to fab each end. I will have to bolt or rivet them together as the bracket extrusion is 2024-T3511 alum (not 6061) and that is not a wieldable alloy. I have some cool hardware and it will allow me to change just the bracket in the future if a different rod is warranted. More to follow................

After looking thorough the posts for a rear strut bar/battery mounts, I decided to make my own. Going with an aluminum assy with attached battery tray for an Optima Redtop. Should have it welded up and bolted in this weekend.

I have not had a lot of time to work on the car or update this, but I did get some parts goodies in the mail. The drivers sliding window is done and partially mounted. Eager to get my springs installed and put the back window in. In response to your request, here are a few more pics of the Mustang. Had a couple track days last summer. These are my You Tube links for SSCC and PIR.

I am strongly considering the same swap for my project. When you cut out the front for engine acces... is that required for the engine iteslf, or mostly a radiator thing? THX Mike

THX for the complements:) Yeah, the pedal thing seemed goofy. After seeing that thread link, I am kicking myself. Now I will do that and use a roller bearing. Cool. Curent seat is temporary(hopefully). Needed something to position roll bar, dash stuff, etc. M/C is the original style, but I am going discs at all corners, so that needs to change. Booster? i need some education on those options. Still need to upload a few pics of suspension stuff. Every bushing is urethane, new links, ball jionts, etc.....Have Bilstiens for both ends and IE stage 2 springs on the way. Rear strut brace for battery mount too. Went with the front brake upgrade using stock struts and the e21 hub/rotor/Girling calipers. Still debating which rear disc setup to use. I have a line on a good M20/trans from an 89 e30. That decison may happen soon. Reverting back to my muscle car genome "Thers's no substitute for cubic inches". More research.

I decided it was time to start a blog on my project. Over the past year I have gleaned much valuable information from others, so felt it was due. I have always been a musclecar guy, but held a sweet spot for BMW’s in general. Particularly 02’s and the E9 CS series. In 2010 I ran my 67 Mustang in the Silver State Challenge. It was a blast and made me finally get serious about building a dedicated car for local track days. The list was short, and quickly focused on an 02 that I had been keeping my eye on. It had been sitting next to a neighbor's barn since I moved into our current home 9 years ago. After a few friendly drop in visits, it was mine. It would not drive due to a siezed cluch, but a little TLC and it ran pretty nicely. My initial plan was to do a quick and simple strip down and run the slightly freshened M10 while building a second motor with serious upgrades. I hate to do thing twice, so the plan has eveolved. I will probably be hard pressed to be ready for next track season anyhow, so I am leaning heavily towards an M20 swap NOW and be ready the next year. As things progress I’ll update and ask questions as needed. All the previous M20 swap stuff is very appreciated. Feel free to throw out comments/opinions. Pics and info below……..TIA. This picture was taken as i blasted throught the "Narrows" section of the 93 mile course. This is the 02 as purchased. $400 and I was happy. Car was mostly rust free, except this area. I am an aircraft mechanic/sheetmetal guy, no sweat. Began dissassy for paint and put my son to work. The sunroof was removed and I put in a piece of tinted Lexan. Much lighter. Also doing plastic side windows. Driver door will have a slider. Being a track car, weight is the enemy. I could not see putting back in the side glass and door guts. Also fabbed a new dash and instrunt cluster. Anyone runing a Speedhut GPS speedo?? I am thinking of that. Ready to paint. I have booth acces at work, so another "perk". Re-assy begins, still not sure about a few things, but pushing ahead. No need for lights, so I smoothed the front with carbon fiber panel and kept one big nostril for the radiator. Also decided on a foam filled fuel cell. Had to do a roll bar and 5 pt harness of course. They will keep me safe and the very supportive wife happy! Will add more soon…. Thx for any feedback.