BMW 326rb build thread...

[ctnewman]

I'll just keep updating this with pics (well, apparently, for now, i need to just link to the images... doh). I know you purists are going to hate on this... go ahead.

At the moment i still don't have the car, but i am going to need it very soon. I am just awaiting delivery... It's an 86 325e coupe.

I don't know much about BMW's. In fact I hate most euro cars. Especially VWs. No matter, it was a clean, available, RWD chassis. Plus, E30s are like the new civics. They are cheap, light, and have the added benefit of RWD.

I pulled it out of a skyline GTR that was recieving another RB26 that i sold the owner of the GTR. It has a few mods like splitfire coilpacks and a 3 puck clutch. It may have cams. We are not sure (note classic shocker pose, THIS IS A JOKE):

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f...rk/DSC01212.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f...rk/DSC01213.jpg


Now, the first step was to remove the oil pan. I could buy the RB25 pan, but i don't want to for the following reasons:

* it's 280 bucks
* the rb26 pan is cast aluminum, it's stronger and has better heat transfer.
* rb26 pan has sick baffling, as well as kickouts
* rb26 pan bolts to transmission. Rb25 does not
* rb25 pan needs to be modified to work with the rb26 oil pickup. A substantial amount of the rb25 windage tray needs to be removed to facilitate fitment.


This is what a stock unit looks like:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...n2/oilpan_7.jpg

Step one was to remove the differential and all the bearing races. A good portion of the remaining casting was removed with a sawzall.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v..._cut_oilpan.jpg

Then we took it to the mill. The remaining material was hogged out with a 2" 8 carbice face tool. This is a fringe benefit of my job...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...n2/oilpan_1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...n2/oilpan_2.jpg

The result:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...n2/oilpan_3.jpg

Then i used a sander and dynafile to smooth the sharp edges and blend some of the steps from machining:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...n2/oilpan_4.jpg

The result:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...n2/oilpan_5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...n2/oilpan_6.jpg

The final step will be to plug weld the two holes where the transaxle pierced the pan.

[drftmark]

is it just me or are there no pics.

[ctnewman]

yeah, i'm working on it...

i don't know what the problem is... they appear when i view the page sourse... perhaps my hosting is down...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/oilpan_7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/oilpan_6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/oilpan_5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/oilpan_4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/oilpan_3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/oilpan_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/oilpan_1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/rb26_cut_oilpan.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/Hybriddon/work/DSC01212.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/Hybriddon/work/DSC01213.jpg

[ctnewman]

ok, well, that's weird... use your imagination and put the pics with the text...

[weagle]

emo kids have all the fun

[mrmephistopheles]

nice...... hair...........???

[ctnewman]

iactually, i'm remarkably non-emo.

(don't they all say that?!)

[blackflag_Rms13]

Haha, well whatever the fuck you refer to yourself as ;)

Cool project dude, you have to throw this project up on a Bimmer forum, make them flip their shit, muahahahaha...

[GSXRJJordan]

I want the machine shop... Dammit Santa...

[ctnewman]

Haha, well whatever the fuck you refer to yourself as ;)

Cool project dude, you have to throw this project up on a Bimmer forum, make them flip their shit, muahahahaha...


yeah, i'm in the process of signing up. getting on that site is absurd. First you need to do the saftey code. That's fine. Then you need to do a math problem. (you think i'm joking?) Then you need to get an email and reply to that. Even then, you can't post anything that has a picture or a link in it.

Christ. I originally wrote that post for that forum. That's why i added the tidbit about E30s being the new civic. I love rustling feathers.

Also for Xmas, i ordered myself this little guy:
(stck photo, gt35r :) )
http://www.scoobymania.co.uk/prodimgs/114_full(1).gif

[projectRDM]

Our forum needs that type of filtering, keep all the fucking kids out. But then, we'd only have like a dozen members.

Project sounds cool, keep us posted.

[MELLO*SOS]

Pictures of the actual car? What are your plans for the '26..

GL and please update the thread when you have more pics/news.

[smelly240]

eeew- es100s - throw those out :P

my virtual car would so rock some A048's

[surge s14]

car pics! plz :)

[wootwoot]

I'm just curious what you are doing for suspension and all that hoohaa.

[JesusFreakDrifter]

fcuk you stole my idea but with a 5 series. oh well i wish you the best of luck, it aint easy, at all.

[Ninjabread]

Looks like it's going to be a fun project man... do you still have that red elise?

[ctnewman]

I'm just curious what you are doing for suspension and all that hoohaa.

Honestly, probably something shitty. Initially at least. The idea is to build this car, paint it, toss on some fender flares and wide rotas, then drive it to the carlisle car show and toss a FS sign on it. I got the motor for a little over 3000 bucks, so i don't think i can't make profit on the car.

car pics! plz :)

I picked up the car from rochester. I snapped a few pictures but i was so tired this AM i forgot to bring my camera to work. I will probably post them tonight.

eeew- es100s - throw those out :P

my virtual car would so rock some A048's


my elise has A048s. :)


Looks like it's going to be a fun project man... do you still have that red elise?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/deadend04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/deadend03.jpg



Here are some updates from yesterday:

Why buy roundstock for the plugs when you can just make it?

1.225" Round 6061 Aluminum cut from 4" square of Billet 6061 Aluminum on a wire EDM.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/edm1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/edm2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/edm3.jpg

cutting the plug on a bandsaw:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/plug.jpg

plugs inserted... i don't trust myself enough to weld this (can't warp + oil infused) so i'm going to have a pro do it today.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/plug1.jpg

[surge s14]

badass keep us posted on the awesome work

[ilia]

Cool! I've had 5 E30s now, so if you need some advice on anything E30 specific (wheel rates, roll moment location, suspension measurements, bla bla bla), PM me! Also check out www.realoem.com. It's got part numbers and diagrams.

I still think the hotness would be an SR swap into an E36 four door. I want it so!

[ctnewman]

This is what a 500 dollar BMW looks like. It's grey, not green. The sparco seat is not mine. It's grey, not green. There are a few small dents and a little bit of rust that I will take care of when i paint the car. Today I am removing the dash and all the underdash components. I am rewiring the car from the driver seat forward. Originally, I was going to keep a full interior. After examining the car, I've decided that I am probably going to do a gutted, or at least "semi gutted" interior. The fitment is going to be tight, but i took some basic measurements.

The frame rail width on the skyline and BMW is 27"
The distance from the firewall to the rear of the cross member/swaybar is ~8" on both cars
The distance from the firewall to the front of the cross member/swaybar is ~16" on both cars
This is the tight one: the Distance from the firewall to rad support on the GTR is 40", while the same distance on the E30 is 33". EEP.

However, the RB26 is 31" long, back of engine to front of crank pulley. The skyline radiator i have is 1.25 inches thick. This leaves 3/8 of clearance front and rear. Since the motor does not torque in this direction, I think it should be alright. If not, I can get a narrower rad and put it UNDER the rad support. (stock location is aft of it.)

The brake booster is definitely going to be a problem. To a lesser extent, so is the downpipe (damn LHD cars).

I've already stripped almost 100 lbs off of the chassis in the engine bay alone, and another 100 lbs+ off of the rb motor (PS,AC,Front dif, Twin turbos and cast manifolds)

This is my tentative plan for construction:

Strip Body
Mount Engine
Build Exhaust and IC plumbing
New brake booster or remote mount
Build/buy driveshaft
Remove engine and all components. Strip to roller.
Shave firewall and enginebay.
Body work, paint, wheels
Paint engine covers, replace timing belt, thermostat and water pump
Reinstall engine and all plumbing
Rewire front half of car. Gauges?
Install race buckets. Possible bolt in cage.
Tune.


Mods:
RB26
GT35R @ 18psi
38mm tial WG
FMIC
Tial 50mm BOV
PFC or AEM. Ew. $$$
Seats?
Cage?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmw5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmw4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmw3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmw2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmw1.jpg

[Slidin240Wayz]

Nice work. Keep it up. I love seeing this type of thread.

Carlos

[Ninjabread]

It's gonna be big pimpin man.

You need to make it look like:

*edit* sorry couldn't get the image to work...
http://www.m3e30.com/gallery/m3e30/tom_evo/DSCF1404.html

:D

[ilia]

Tube framing the front might help you with clearances. I've done it to a few of my cars, and it's worked great. Check out these pictures of a car by matthes racing:

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/files/974782_3dgmo/v8_7.jpg

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/files/974783_1nmio/matthesV8.jpg

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/files/974784_4gfqm/matthes_v8.jpg

[DoriftoPnoy]

i like the e30 generation. 2 of my homies have one. they just tell me how they are notorious for understeer. but other than that, there's nothing like dtm powuh.

hmmm by any chance is that wack forum you're talkin about revlimited? i wouldnt kno but that's where my 2 homie's go for their e30 needs and what not.

[ilia]

E30s are actually notorious for oversteer, your friends may not know much about their cars if they're telling you they're known for understeer. The front suspension geometry is reasonably grippy as far as road cars go, but the rear end has a semi trailing arm set up with bad camber and toe curves, and a bad wheel rate. It's also not particularly rigid.

The rear end is all over the place all the time... some people think it's "fun", but it's definitely not the fast way around a track.

[onefst240]

Newman you are the man. You come across so much stuff. First u had a older sti then u picked up a fastback made it rhd and put a rb26dett in it. THen u made it single turbo with a huge turbo. Then parted the motor out, sold the shell... Got a newer sti puta cage and such in it then got teh lotus turboed it then sold the turbo. You even got an interveiw in canada about your cars. Then ur starting this rb bmw project. I wish i were u lol. Hope to cruise with ya this summer.

[ctnewman]

xposting......
Alright. Another update. The chassis will be fine. Christ, I don't want to spend 1500 bucks on a car that i'm going to be cutting the transmission tunnel out of anyway (more on that later).

First off: the oil pan.

I used a roll form 1" NPT tap. This tap actually requires a larger hole because it actually forms the material vs cutting it. Since my holes were slightly large as it were, this worked out well. I purchased two 1" NPT socket head pipe plugs in t-356 aluminum. (the same material the pan is made from). I then coated the plugs in high temp, oil reisitant epoxy and threaded them into the holes. I tightened them with a 1/2" breaker bar. Since both items are of the same material, both will exhibit similar heat expansion.

Problem solved.

The pan with the plugs installed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_16.jpg

The pan on the engine:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_15.jpg

Next up, the body rot.

There appear to be four locations. They all seem like relatively easy fixes. Just need to cut out the bad parts and weld in new metal. I have acces to both metal and welders, should not be a big problem. The only portion of the rot the is structural is on the strut tower, shown here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_13.jpg

Here is the rust in the battery tray:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_12.jpg

Here is the rust under the carpet:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_11.jpg

I am not a body guy, but the rest of the car is pretty clean. Quite frankly, since no mater what shell i get i am painting, I don't see the point in spending another 500+ dollars when i can simply fix up the minor problems with this one... A week of diy chassis work > spending $500 that can be put toward management.

We pulled the dash out and the rest of the stuff from the enginebay. I will say this, the way this fucking car is put together is retarded. The wiring is absurd. Any Jap car i've worked on of the same era has always been much more organized and well-thought-out. Now i can have a better reason to hate on euros...

Looks pretty clean to me... aside from all the grease.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_14.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_10.jpg

Now here are the pictures of things to come...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_9.jpg

Don't get your hopes up, what we've done here is simply set the engine on the x-member and support it with a jack (yay for strong cast oil pan). The front of the motor is at the proper height. The rear of the engine will need to come up about 1/2". The shifter sits about 1.5" back from the center of the stock hole... Close enough for me.

More pictures:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_8.jpg

[ctnewman]

contined....
Hood still clears:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_7.jpg

Don's seal of approval:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_6.jpg

1/2 of the brains of the operation:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_5.jpg

Plenty of room for the GT35R. You can see the chassis mount and the engine mount. This is very similar to how an RB mounts in a 240. Making custom mounts is going to be simple. Probably going to use solid mounts.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_4.jpg

Christ, there's even plenty of room over here for another one. :snky: jk. :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_3.jpg

Well, i don't have a picture of it, but there is no way in hell that the downpipe is going to clear the steering shaft. Also, that's not the side of the car exhaust is meant to go down. The solution? Custom transmission tunnel/exhaust passage.

The rb26 transmission is definitely taller than the OEM unit, so the tunnel will need to be modified for that alone, well, we are also going to bring it up extra high across the firewall allowing us to route the exhaust over the transmission and down onto the right side of the car. We made a rough mockup of what this will look like with a piece of cardboard. You can imagine the downpipe on a topmount turbo going up and over the valve cover, over the transmission and out the rear of the car.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_2.jpg

From the inside, the modified tunnel should fit behind the dash where the heating unit used to reside:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_1.jpg

For mounting the IC, I am thinking about getting this body kit from BMPdesigns:
http://www.bmpdesign.com/images/products/143952_lg.jpg
http://www.bmpdesign.com/images/products/143952-1_lg.jpg
http://www.bmpdesign.com/images/products/126586_lg.jpg

the next step is going to be to just clean everything up, remove the seats and carpets and power wash it. Then I am going to california until the 9th, so work will resume then. After i get back, I hope to have the motor mounts done in a week.

That's all for now. Any questions?

[Edgar]

Ive heard of this mans work. Mad props!

EMO? I don't get it. STFU!!!

This shit looks like it would be fun to drive. For a bit there I was thinking of working on a E30 325i with a nice SR but that would take alot of work.
Man cant wait to see it done.

[ctnewman]

today's update.

Gutted the rest of the interior:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00079.jpg

There are some holes in the floorboards that will be simple to patch up. Removed a lot of sound deadening. Seats + carpet easily weight 200+ pounds, not to mention all the underdash stuff that's not going back in.

Cleaned the engine bay a bit with degreaser. Also cut off some unused bracketry for cleanliness.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00075.jpg

Next, I needed something that wouldn't take more than a day to do, so considering I am leaving on vacation tomorrow. Since there is no PS to be run on the car, we need to loop the PS lines. This is where the lines attached:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00084.jpg

With 2 banjo bolt style fittings like these:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00086.jpg
http://www.rennbay.com/images/pumpbanjo.jpg

They both appeared to be on the same plane, so this is what don and I came up with:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/ps_loop2.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/ps_loop1.gif

The 2 small ports on the end will be tacked closed with weld. We went to the machine shop at work and hammered it out in an hour or so...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00089.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00088.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00087.jpg

Temporarily installed (still needs to be welded):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00091.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00090.jpg



That's it for now. Expect the updates to resume on the 10th or 11th.

[Ninjabread]

Mmm lookin good man, can't wait to see the other updates, got me all excited!

[SimpleS14]

*subscribed*



Keep up the good work on this ongoing project.


The Elise is your personal ride?

[ctnewman]

*subscribed*



Keep up the good work on this ongoing project.


The Elise is your personal ride?


sti = daily

elise = weekend whore

BMW = car to beat up on unsuspecting domestics with.

[originalsin]

sti = daily

elise = weekend whore

BMW = car to beat up on unsuspecting domestics with.


your project would be much better if it involved a single cam engine with push rods





;)

nah this car will be bad ass, iv been helping him with it, he just better not lose motivation on this project

[LB.Motoring]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/ps_loop2.gif

inventor eh?

haha I know that thizz like the back of my hand :)

[chibo]

Goddamn dude, I'm teetering on the edge of either an E30 or 240 and you're tempting me to go your way :)

[Ameerov]

I agree with edgar. I have an e30 of my own and it is a great cruiser. Here is mine after I painted it in bodyshop.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d137/Ameeroff/Photo003.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d137/Ameeroff/Photo001.jpg

[jobestudios]

damn, im subscribed to this build now. What are you expecting for weight distribution?

[ctnewman]

damn, im subscribed to this build now. What are you expecting for weight distribution?


Something close to stock. Maybe shifted forward slightly... The motor is heavier, but we are losing a lot of fron end accessories... But we are also losing a lot of rear end weight as well... We'll have to see...


Two days of updates:


THURSDAY:
Ok, last night i got back into it, no pictures though, sorry.

We removed the fuel tank and stripped the sound deadening from the interior.

We decided that we are going to run a 10 Gallon-ish fuel cell in the spare tire well, with the sump mounted such that it hangs out of the well a bit.

My GT35R arrived, but had the wrong exhaust housing on it, so we sent it back. We also decided we are going to be making a new exhaust manifold. The old one i made was "suckier" than i remembered it being... Plus it gives us a chance to use Don's new, baller ass header modeling system.

The next step is going to be to mount the engine and transmission, as well as cut out the transmission tunnel. While we are welding in the new tunnel, I want to take care of the few rust holes in the chassis...

I'd really like to have someone knowledgeable with bodywork have a look at it and tell me how this should be addressed

So if you've got experience with this kind of thing... especially those people who restore old cars, let me know when you can have a look at it... maybe lend a hand... It's one of the few things that don and I know very little about.

I hope to have the motor mounting squared away before the following weekend...


SATURDAY:
OK.

Back in the shop today.the next step is mounting the engine and transmission. Since the transmission tunnel requires heavy modification to allow the transmission to fit, we are first going to mount the engine, then the transmission.

The major constraining body is the oilpan/crossmember interfaceto be safe, I decided that a minumum 3/4" of clearance will suffice. The motor is going to be solid mounted, so this shouldn't be a problem.

This is the shape of the oilpan:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00335.jpg

So i crafted up this shim out of 3/4" plywood:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00334.jpg

Then installed it with some mechanic's wire. (OK, I lied, I couldn't find any mechanic's wire, so I just jogged some welding wire out of the mig):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00336.jpg

This shim will allow us to set the motor right onto the crossmember, design and build the motor mounts, then the shims will be removed, allowing for the 3/4" of clearance.

So we set the motor in the car. We used mike's skyline to get some preliminary measurments and angles. I was really nervous about how the motor would fit, viewed from the rear, but i was quite pleased with the result. Some minor shimming and twisting, and i think we have a very close idea as to a final motor position. We are going to use something like this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/54000-54099/54050.gif

on the flywheel mounting flange to perfectly aim the engine at the rear dif.

Here are some pictures of the motor resting in the chassis:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00339.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00338.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00337.jpg

[ctnewman]

Sunday:

Got that laser level from harbor freight. They didn't have the 16 dollar one, so i had to buy the one that came with way more bullshit:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/90900-90999/90980.gif

It was 40 bucks. Meh, whatever.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/kevinwig-1.jpg


So i butted the end up against the crank snout. Like so:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/kevinwig1.jpg


Apparently my "eyecrometer" was right on... If you look carefully you can see the red dot right in the center of the diff flange.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/kevinwig2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/kevinwig3.jpg

Since i know the motor is more or less in an good position, I started mocking up TEMPORARY motor mounts out of some angle stock i had laying around. I will finish these and post pictures tommorow.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/kevinwig4.jpg



The bolt hole in the lower angle is actually a ball joint on the lower control arm. The actual motor mount bolt is about 3" forward of that. The final finished motor mount will utilize both bolt locations to account for the fact that the motor is creating such a large moment on the crossmember. I may also triangulate the motor mounts forward into the radiator support or simply tie into the "frame rail". Either option will help stiffen the front end up. Much like the nissan "power brace" does on S13s:
http://www.sillbeer.com/images/chassis/nismo-power-brace.jpg

[Slidin240Wayz]

Yes, very nice work so far. It does seem like alot of stress on the crossmember. What about extending the bottom portion all the way to the firewall just to have it supported by 2 points instead of one?

Carlos

[ctnewman]

going to the firewall will interfere with some plans for the exhaust, but as i said, i may extend the mount forward, or simply weld a second bolting tab to the chassis...

[Slidin240Wayz]

What about a using two bolts on the crossmember? Or are you going to weld the bottom portion of the bracket to the crossmember?

Carlos

[ctnewman]

What about a using two bolts on the crossmember?

You can see what appears to be another hole about 3" forward of the ball joint bolt. That is actually a slot. Inboard of the slot is the OEM motor mount bolting location. The final mounts will use both bolts, as well as a potential 3rd mounting point, per side.

[wanganwonder]

funny, there's a dude down here doing a 1JZ

maybe you could be friends

[EJ253]

dude. we have the same haircut. im not emo tho

[los_inc]

this is fuckin trump tight.

[KA-T_240]

Looks like you have a awsome project that will be extremely unique when you are done.

[ctnewman]

Temporary motor mounts: COMPLETE
Finished up the temporary mounts. They are very secure, but obviously, there is some flexure from the length of the moment arm. Extending the mounts forward appears to be the most viable option, so i'll probably go that route for the final product. The final mounts will be laser cut and formed, not this hackneyed jumble of structural steel.

Next step: cut out tunnel/floor as needed and build transmission mount....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/mount3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/mount2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/mount1.jpg

[Slidin240Wayz]

Yea man, looks like alot of stress. What other specific support points are you looking to?

Carlos

[nevaland9]

props nice work ive always wanted to see a RB in a E30

[ctnewman]

Yea man, looks like alot of stress. What other specific support points are you looking to?

Carlos


It's not stress in though mounts, though, it's torsional stress caused by the huge moment arm. I am planning on extending the mount to the front radiator support, such that i convert a single cantilever support into a cantilever+pin beam or, even better, a dual cantilever...

I am not going to make the final mounts until after the charge piping, transmission mount and tunnel are complete. This will allow me to use the shortest OAL for the intake tract. As far as design considerations are concerned, the motor mount is VERY flexible.

[Slidin240Wayz]

Word, I don't know what you just said, but it sounds like you know what you are doing.

Here is another suggestion... what about using the frame rails like this...?

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/Cdoria/Mounts.jpg


This creates more of a 60 degree support compared the the reaching out support.


Carlos

[Chillaxed 240sx]

Are you planning on cleaning and repainting the gutted interior (if it stays gutted) to match the car? Paint the engine bay? That entire motor and engine bay could use a real cleaning and painting.

Car and project looks bitchin, though. Keep it up!!!

[sepulchral]

Word, I don't know what you just said, but it sounds like you know what you are doing.

Here is another suggestion... what about using the frame rails like this...?

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/Cdoria/Mounts.jpg


This creates more of a 60 degree support compared the the reaching out support.


Carlos


i think the crossmember is stronger than the frame rail on that car

[ctnewman]

i think the crossmember is stronger than the frame rail on that car


correct. If i use the frame rail for anything at all, it will be to tie into for additional support.


As far as cleaning the car, the whole car is going to be repainted, as is the motor. However, the flash on my camera makes it look WAY worse than it really is. When people come into the shop and see the car after seeing pictures online, they are shocked at how clean it ACTUALLY is. I have to figure out how to turn down the flash. :)

The final step for the car will be a cage, seats, new carpet, new dash, rotas :P and paint.

[Slidin240Wayz]

Then what about dispersing the weight along more of the rail?

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y264/Cdoria/Mounts-2.jpg

Carlos

[ctnewman]

Then what about dispersing the weight along more of the rail?Carlos


That's a good idea, but the frame rails' design isn't inherently strong torsionally. I need to transfer as much of the weight of the engine over the x-member as i can.

[Slidin240Wayz]

The final step for the car will be a cage, seats, new carpet, new dash, rotas :P and paint.

Friends don't let friends ride on Rotas.

Carlos

[Slidin240Wayz]

That's a good idea, but the frame rails' design isn't inherently strong torsionally. I need to transfer as much of the weight of the engine over the x-member as i can.

Haha, ok, I'll stop making the images.

Carlos

[ctnewman]

Friends don't let friends ride on Rotas.

Carlos


do i get points for having the real deals on my subaru?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/work_meister_s1.jpg

[remety]

I want those :yum:...Nice project good luck with it.

[sncs14]

inventor eh?

haha I know that thizz like the back of my hand :)

I knew instantly that was Invetor too. haha

Nice build, I've heard of SR's in E30's but never RB series engines. Can't wat to see to final product.

[steve shadows]

excellent attention to detail on this project, good luke and be sure to dyno and time the car as many ways as possible.

:)

[Maeda]

Looking at these pictures, i'm so glad I decided against RB in the e30.

Props to you boss. I couldn't go through the fabwork headache.

And for those of you that don't know... I parted my car and built this...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Maeda/e30/DSC03690.jpg

[ctnewman]

OK, worked on the tunnel today... well, removing it... We are going to make a custom tunnel for the transmission as well as the exhaust. Probably just formed mild stell. We may make it a removable doghouse kind of thing.

From engine bay:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00366.jpg


Yeah, you've stood in your engine bay, but have you ever done this?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00364.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00365.jpg

Needs a bit more trimming. Just a little bit...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00367.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00370.jpg

Tomorrow (or friday) I'll be finishing the trimming and building a transmission mount. We decided that since so much material was removed from the unibody, we are going to run some extra bolt-on stiffeners under the transmission.

Oh, and this came:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00372.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00373.jpg

[Kahl]

Are you leaving the center diff on the side of the gearbox? By looking at some of the fab stuff you have done so far I doubt it will be a big deal for you to remove it and patch the box housing back up again.

[HyperTek]

thanks for sharing this with us!! gonna be sick car for sure

[LB.Motoring]

Looking at these pictures, i'm so glad I decided against RB in the e30.

Props to you boss. I couldn't go through the fabwork headache.

And for those of you that don't know... I parted my car and built this...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Maeda/e30/DSC03690.jpg


what a Deal,

Damn that is so sick. I want to get a bmw, but its between yours, and a 99 e39 for DD

[ctnewman]

Are you leaving the center diff on the side of the gearbox? By looking at some of the fab stuff you have done so far I doubt it will be a big deal for you to remove it and patch the box housing back up again.


the logistics of removing it are actually rather intricate. the drive chain actually feeds an internal oil pump in the form of splash lubrication.


BUT, it's kind of in the way of the exhaust at the moment. i'm debating whether or not to remove it...


as seen below, the drive chain dumps oil into the strainer assembly which feeds the oil pump... I just don't know what the oil pump is feeding...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/transfercase.gif

[brent_strong]

My old ride is looking good and famous all over now. :D Nice work.

[Kahl]

I remember reading about a few people doing it on one of the skyline forums down here, i'll have a look around for you.

[PoorMans180SX]

I'm loving the high-mount shifter! seriously. Nice work in general.

[brewster240]

damn, you should have gotten an awd e30 for the swap.





or just get a rwd trans....

[ctnewman]

last night's progress...

Cut the rest of the tunnel out (another 1" from the rear) and was able to bolt up the transmission. It fits nicely, there is no need to remove or even move the engine to access the transmission bolts... That's a great feature. Especially for anyone who has ever tried to change the transmission on a 300ZX...

I made a temporary tranny mount out of this prybar:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00379.jpg

Here are a few shots of the trans in the car:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00375.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00374.jpg


Next, I began planning a transmission mount. The first step was to make bolting plates. You can see the two i made here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00377.jpg

The main transmission bolting plate is made from 7GA Mild steel. You can see it bolted to the rubber transmission mount. We decided on keeping the stock rubber trans mount, despite the fact that we are using solid engine mounts. Need to have some compliance somewhere!

The other bolting plate picks up the two bolts for the stock transmission mount. Notice the distance from the rubber trans mount to the stock location. Since the transmission utilizes the rubber mount, simply joining the rubber mount to the stock location would result in a point loaded cantilever beam. The chassis is not meant to maintain such loading especially at a point that has already been compromised by tunnel modifications, so an alternate solution, or a dual cantilever beam must be incorporated.

As I mentioned a few days ago, since so much material was removed from the tunnel, a support brace would be desired. This brace was to be located midway down the tunnel, underneath the transmission.

Since the forward face of the rubber mount on the transmission is about midway back on the tunnel, it was decided that a transmission mount/chassis brace "subframe" could be constructed. Bolting plates will be welded to the chassis floor, then the "subframe" will be bolted to that.

Here is an artist's rendition of the proposed solution:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00377_2.jpg

[ctnewman]

Alright, since don posted the pictures, i will explain them.

The first thing i did when i arrived was make the rest of the bolting tabs for the transmission mount. These were fabricated from 1/4 X 1 1/4 HRS flat stock. There were a total of four. The center plate is 10GA Mild steel. I obtained some 1 X 1 X 11GA square tube to use for the frame.

The next step was to fix the rear passenger transmission mount point. As you can see in this old picture, one of the mounting bolt holes (upper right) was removed to to allow for clearance of the differential.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00377.jpg

The manner in which the floor was cut allowed access to the area near where the nut had been, so i simply drilled a hole and tacked a nut in place. I then sprayed everything with primer to prevent rusting. Done.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01297.jpg


Next, I fabricated the front of the transmission support. This support is also an integral chassis member, as a substantial amount of rigidity has been lost when the formed tunnel was removed. Since there will be substantial stress on the member, it was important to have it bolt to a substantial support. The solution was to weld 7GA plate on the inside of the chassis. The location of the plates is such that the outside edge of the support is actually welded to the "frame rails" of the car. The steel is a pain in the ass to weld on, and welds like crap. I am not the best welder, or even decent, but there is something in the chassis that makes it very "spattery". I cleaned the metal VERY thoroughly.

On the passenger's side, the floor was very solid. This is the plate i welded in:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01295.jpg

On the driver's side, the floor had been compromised a bit more by rust, so i used two plates. A slight bend was required and with no brake in sight, i used a seam as opposed to a bend. Before tacking these in place, I used a wire wheel to grind off ALL the rust underneath the plates. I still need grind off the undercoating before welding it. I started laying a bead and almost asphyxiated. Photo of the driver's side:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01294.jpg

Next, i simply just welded up the frame. Some slight changes had to be made from the initial plan. These changes allow for better clearance, both ground and transmission. I still need to weld on two more braces that tie the mounting points together fore and aft. Here are pictures:


Engine is nice and straight:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01293.jpg

View from the front:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01291.jpg

View from the rear:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01288.jpg

View from underneath:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01290.jpg


Some research yielded information about driveshaft angles. The motor was moved up slightly from it's original position to allow for a closer driveline angle. The rear differential may need some slight shimming so it points upwards slightly more, but all in all, it is very close to perfect.

Answers to questions:
not gonna be too much room for a passenger seat
Not true, you can see the front seat mounting stud is actually behind the differential

shifter looks like its going to be pretty far back
Shifter is about .75 to 1" back from stock location

why did you remove the steering wheel?
Steering wheel removal was required for dash removal. I kept hitting my head on it, so i took it off. It wasn't even bolted on, just placed on the spline to allow the car to be moved.

[brewster240]

seems like somemuch overengineering to fit a awd trans that you arent gonna use. i see no upside to this. you had to spend all this time, you had to cut up the floor more, you are loosing floor room for the poor passenger, and you have all th extra weight of the transfer case haning off there.

i understand you had this trans already, but i think it the long run it would have been better to just source a rwd trans.

[bardabe]

pictures no worky

[ctnewman]

seems like somemuch overengineering to fit a awd trans that you arent gonna use. i see no upside to this. you had to spend all this time, you had to cut up the floor more, you are loosing floor room for the poor passenger, and you have all th extra weight of the transfer case haning off there.

i understand you had this trans already, but i think it the long run it would have been better to just source a rwd trans.


An rb25 trans is over a grand, approaching 1500. The only thing would not have to be cut would be the floor, it's still the same height, the whole tunnel still would have to be cut out. the passenger won't even notice the transfer case there.


i see no upside to this.
upside #1: 1500 dollars???
upside #2: I know this transmission is good. I pulled it off of a GTR that I had driven
upside #3: Have you tried buying an RB25 trans? They are not easy to find.


you had to spend all this time
at this point, nothing I have done would have been any different than using a RWD transmission, with the exception of the 30 seconds it took with a sawzall to cut the extra bit of floor.

all th extra weight of the transfer case haning off there
In all reality, the transfer case weighs at most 40 extra pounds. Now that it's being gutted, expect that number to approach the weight of the RB25 tail section...

I'm just getting frustrated with everyone bitching about my use of the RB26 trans.

But, for all the haters, I am cutting the transfer case off today...

[ctnewman]

pictures no worky

really? maybe photobucket was down... they should be working now?

[brewster240]

im not a "hater" at all.

i like what you're doing, and you do quality fabwork from what i have seen so far.

im just saying what i would have done. carry on.

[yota man]

keep up the great work. This project is awesome

[ctnewman]

here's today and yesterday's updates. I apologize for typos. More on this later...

Yesterday:

Added another brace to the crossmember. This triangulates the subframe and i am convinced it is now strong enough. My welding leaves much to be desired... I need to work on this much more...

Next, pulled the transmission back out of the car and unbolted the transfer case. I took everything out of it. This is what was left.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00380.jpg

Then i went home.

Today:

Went to the shop after work. I taped off the bearings to avoid contamination and bolted the gutted transfer case back together. I then used the horizontal band saw and cut the output case off of the transfer case.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00381-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00382.jpg

This step went remarkably smoothly. The result:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00384.jpg

Next i mounted the transfer case on the milling table I was only able to get 2 mounting points, one of which was a bit "shady" but I hit it with a rubber mallet after i bolted it down, and it didn't budge. The tool in the mill is not the tool i used (i used a 2.5 inch facing tool) I used a level and shims to get the case mounted correctly. The location of the face didn't need to be that precise, so a level was fine:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00385.jpg

Next, i made pass after pass on the part, taking off about .100 per pass. About an hour later I had a flat surface, about an inch shorter than the above picture. (sorry, no pic)

At some point during this, the tape over the bearings gave way and a shit-ton of aluminum chips made their way into the front bearing. I will try my best to get them out of there with a parts washer/ air gun, but i may need to suck it up and buy a new bearing. Meh, live and learn, I should have taken it out first, instead of trying to take the easy way out and "cover" it.

Also at some point during this, i somehow managed to crush my hand between the workpiece and the tooling. I had to pick bits of fingernail off the tooling. EW.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00387.jpg


Now that the face was complete, i chucked up a drill and drilled (11) #21 holes X .9 deep along the perimeter of the face. Then using a hand tap, i tapped the holes to 10-32 thread. A hand tap was a bad idea, i should have used the mill to guide the tap, as one of the bolts went in slightly crooked, not a big deal, though. It is not terribly off. The hole that looks like it is "falling off" is intentionally placed there, as it was necessary to avoid an internal bolt.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00389.jpg


All that was left was too make a cover. Since i had written down the X,Y locations of all the holes i had drilled in the case, it was relatively easy. I used a belt sander and the mill to make the outside perimeter, then after the holes and perimeter were complete, i made a few facing passes on the mating surface of the cover. Due to the fact that the cover was no longer in square, there was a tiinny bit of chatter on the final face, but nothing that wont be sealed with RTV or hondabond.

The finished cover and assembly:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00391.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00392.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00393.jpg

Total time = 6 or 7 hours.
Dollar amount saved (vs buying rb25 transmission) = $1500
Weight difference = negligable

Now i just need to put it back together. Oh, I also plan on drilling a tapping a few holes on the cut-off portion of the tcase, then using a torque wrench to find out at what torque the threads strip, this will allow me to get a torque value to tighten the hardware to.

I will leave you with this picture:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00395.jpg

[GSXRJJordan]

Awesome job. Sounds like you've taken an engineering course or 10, which is decidedly rare in machine shops - more props. You're doing a great job with all the fab work, keep doing it right and whoever ends up with that car will thank you, hopefully with their checkbook :)

[ctnewman]

Alright, heres the update for the past few days...

Thursday: Begin assembling transfer case.
Friday: Complete transfer case and reassemble transmission. The total savings was a substantial amount of room and about 30lbs of ROTATING mass.

Here are pics of the completed transmission.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes3.jpg

Saturday I began trying to solve the next major hurdle... The brakes. I tried a few things, looked at various brake boosters and master cylinders... What i found to be the most space efficient was a civic master cylinder and booster. I feel confident that this setup will be fine for the street. The car weighs less than a civic EX in full trim, and had plenty of stopping power on layzie's turbo hatch. (In fact, it's layzie's old unit :bowdown:). While this setup isn't exactly track-able, it will do for now. I didn't want to blow hundreds of dollars on a tilton setup just yet, because I don't even know the fate of the car, as yet... but I digress.

Without modifying the civic brake booster at all, I probably could have fit it in place, but the clearance would have been tight. The bolt pattern on the civic unit is a wide rectangle. (3.5 inches wide X 2 inches tall). In order to get the mounting studs to clear the clutch pedal bracketry, I would have to cheat the master cylinder almost an inch TOWARD the motor. Also, the studs on the driver's side of the car would be floating in midair, as they passed through the center hole of the old unit. That's no good.
however, if I rotated the booster 90 degrees, the bolt pattern became a tall rectangle (2 wide X 3.5 tall). In this configuration, both of the above problems were solved. The new bolt holes required in the firewall landed on sheetmetal (albeit, not a lot) and not only was i able to "re-center" the booster, but was now able to cheat it about an inch AWAY from the motor. Holla.

The next step was to drill the new holes, and clearance the firewall for the snout of the booster. I'm a bit ashamed at how this turned out... I measured twice, carefully drilled the firewall, then tried to fit the booster. What I failed to notice was the clearance for the brake pedal mounting bracket interfered with the studs on the booster, so the whole assembly needed to be shifted around slightly. I was a bit frustrated at this pint, and probably should have called it a day, but i attacked the firewall with a die grinder until it fit.

Pic = YUCK!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes8.jpg


Sunday:
Well, now that we had fit the booster at 90 degrees, it was now necessary to rotate the master cylinder BACK 90 degrees. Since the booster is a sealed unit with a rubber diaphragm, welding and/or drilling it was out of the question. My answer to this problem was again the machine shop. Using some 3/8 6061, I fabbed up these brackets in about 3 hours. They allow the master to be mounted at exactly 90 degrees from it's original position.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes11.jpg

Still a bit embarrassed about my shitty firewall job, i fabbed up this closeoff plate out of 11GA 304SS. The picture is deceiving, but all the edges are perfectly square and all the holes are clean.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes9.jpg

Of course, even without the plate, when everything is installed, you can barely see any of the "hack job", but it's there for my personal peace of mind. As for structural integrity, the brake pedal support, which you cannot see, provides all of the support for the booster assembly. The firewall, even in stock form, provides very little support.

Monday:
The last step, since the booster (and thus, the actuation shaft) moved OUTBOARD 1", the pedal needed to be modified. I don't have a before picture, but perfectly enough, the OEM pedal actually had a 1" extension INBOARD. I simply cut this off and welded it back on @ 0" extension.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes6.jpg

After i bolted everything back together, i tested for smooth feel and travel. Success!

We spent the time afterwards relaxing, chilling out and just talking about our feelings.

I also performed some preliminary radiator and intercooler fitment analysis...

The entertainment of the night was watching Gary (deviousTSi) manhandle his 1G DSM with 4 seized brakes into the shop. It was manly as fuck.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/brakes2.jpg

[jdizzy204]

lovin the progress man. great work and good luck with the project.:bigok:

[onesicklambo]

LOVE the build. Must be nice to have access to a machine shop like that.

We spent the time afterwards relaxing, chilling out and just talking about our feelings.
OT...lol but you sure your not emo?:ghey:

[bardabe]

wow that is insane dude. loving it. =] keep up the good work. you are starting to remind me of the crazy Ausies with the RB30.

[ctnewman]

OT...lol but you sure your not emo?:ghey:


hahaha, youtube search these words: "adventure time"

make sure you watch to the end...

[ctnewman]

Pretty simple yet a bit time consuming.

Yesterday I wire wheeled and sanded the driver's side floor pan making sure to get all of the rust off. Most of it was actually just rust dust from a few problem spots:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/patch1.jpg

Then, using some 16GA plates, I tacked the plates over the rust from the inside:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/patch2.jpg

Next, I will fill in the seams with seam sealant and then paint the floorpan with rust inhibiting paint. This is a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

[MELLO*SOS]

This build is turning into one of my favorite threads on here. Keep the updates coming!

[onesicklambo]

hahaha, youtube search these words: "adventure time"

make sure you watch to the end...

HAHAHA okay princess bubblegum what ever floats your boat. But seriously that crap scares me and dont see how its legal to be aired on national Television. :tweak: WTF X1000000

[Neejay]

Nice, nice. That's a shitload of fab work. Good job.

[ctnewman]

not a lot to report, just ground out some more rust. I'll probably be doing that today and tomorrow, don't expect a lot before then...

[ctnewman]

yesterday, tonight, and tomorrow all look like they will be spent grinding rust and welding. Not a lot to report on that front.

However...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/flanges.jpg

2 sets one for mockup/jig one for the final product.

1/4 Mild steel

1/2" 304SS

Compliments of Derrick Corporation. Holla.

[ctnewman]

Ok, here's some body shots...

Before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_13.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_11.jpg

After:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00419.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00421.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00424.jpg

A few blow holes, nothing that won't be taken care of with seam sealer, but all in all a good solid repair.

The last shot is a good comparison for everyone who thinks the shell is beat... See the rust at the bottom? That's one day of surface rust on 100% new metal... The camera REALLY makes it apparent... It's almost invisible to the naked eye... Same goes for a lot of the "rust" on the car...

[Ninjabread]

You should really hit it down with some rustoleum primer so it doesn't start rusting like that.

Nice work though, I'm gonna have to fix the floors in my 240 up (although they are not as bad) and this gave me a good idea of how to go about it. Just a quick question... did you make the replacement sheet of metal fit INTO the hole, then spot welded it, or did you make it bigger than the hole?

[ctnewman]

You should really hit it down with some rustoleum primer so it doesn't start rusting like that.

Nice work though, I'm gonna have to fix the floors in my 240 up (although they are not as bad) and this gave me a good idea of how to go about it. Just a quick question... did you make the replacement sheet of metal fit INTO the hole, then spot welded it, or did you make it bigger than the hole?


it's bigger than the hole. I am holding off on primer because i am waiting to get seam sealant first. I can just knock all that surface rust out with a wire wheel or sandblaster in a few minutes...

[Ninjabread]

Yea just as long as you dont leave it for weeks.

[ctnewman]

Sunday...
Before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_12.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_2.jpg

After:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/BATTERYTRAY.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/BATTERYTRAY2.jpg

Only one more rust spot remains, then it's on to the manifold!

[GSXRJJordan]

Beautiful job getting the rust out. Definitely want to get some seam sealer since you're tacking those plates on, but that's no big deal - seems like you're making great time on it!

[punxva]

damn man keep up the good work on this unique swap bro

[ctnewman]

just ordered up some big wheels and fender flares...

http://www.styling-tech.no/BrockB2.gif

17X10 and 17X8.5

[ctnewman]

just dicking around, not the actual dimensions... yet:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/manifold1.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/manifold2.jpg

ok, for real......i tried doing a collector like that a while back with CAD and couldnt do it.......how did you do that?


That part actually only took about 20 minutes. It took me an hour or so to figure out the best way to constrain the elbows...

The way i set it up, I can simply enter a few constraints to my browser bar to adjust the runner length, until they are all equal, then I can actually drag the tubing around on the screen until it is packaged properly, all the while maintaining 100% tangential fitment. :)

[Slidin240Wayz]

I want that program!

Carlos

[ctnewman]

I want that program!

Carlos


it's just autocad inventor. You can DL it anywhere... But learning to use it well... another story...

[DoriftoPnoy]

yea autocad. i remember helping my friend in highskool with that. your design reminds me of that old skool game pipedreams. haha. your build is looking good so far. keep it up. can't wait for the end result.

[ctnewman]

Ok, so... I finished all the tack welding on the floor... I received an offer from a guy at work to do the whole car, so as soon as i have it soda blasted, he is going to seam weld the chassis...

So, in the meantime, i picked up a can of this (ted nugent approved!):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00442-1.jpg

It was 30 bucks a quart, I hope it works well...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00441.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00438-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00439.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00437-1.jpg

I am just going to leave it like this until the underbody/bay/interior has been blasted...

Next, I built a jig to mount the turbo... Yes, i know what you are thinking about turbo inlets... the answer is MAYBE...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00436-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00435-1.jpg

I included some frame reference planes and a motor mount clearance simulator, so that When i start drawing this in CAD, I will know what i need to avoid, without having to keep taking measurements on the car...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00446.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00447.jpg

[projekt_s13]

nice

"Soda blasted"??? Was that a typo?

[chibo]

nice

"Soda blasted"??? Was that a typo?
No typo, similar to bead blasting :)
http://www.sodaworks.com/

God, still following this thing :)

[projekt_s13]

oh haha
I learned something new. Yea me too, this is a great build thread with my fav "PICS"!

[bardabe]

nice
msglngth

[ctnewman]

HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR FRIDAY NIGHT? (5 hours work)

Schedule 10 304 SS.

Weight = 30.74 LBS...

Too bad I'm not baller enough to afford 321 thin wall... At 80 dollars for 180*, that's $1040 in tubing alone!!!! Yikes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/manifold6.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/manifold5.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/manifold4.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/manifold3.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/manifold2.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/manifold1.gif

The green parts are constraints from the car itself. Here are the listings of the length of the runners:

Runner 1: 20.790
Runner 2: 20.861
Runner 3: 20.794
Runner 4: 20.759
Runner 5: 20.801
Runner 6: 20.786

Standard deviation: .033 (1/32)

Wastegate will probably be added after the fact...

[kouki_s14]

that shit would take me weeks to mock up in solidworks, props for that

[sbanzer123]

wow good build newman. cant wait to see this thing out in the summer.

[lazierhobo]

how many times did all the pieces explode while you were building that in solid works?

great job! cant wait to see this stuff built.

[ctnewman]

how many times did all the pieces explode while you were building that in solid works?

great job! cant wait to see this stuff built.


it's autodesk inventor. It actually went very smoothly. About 50% of the time was spent adjusting the runner length... As long as everything is well constrained, it's not bad...

I learned a lot of tricks, i could probably do another in about half the time...

[TheWolf]

tightening the nuts for the exhaust studs above the green hump is going to be fun.

[ctnewman]

tightening the nuts for the exhaust studs above the green hump is going to be fun.


yeah, but that's what ratcheting wrenches are for...





I took a few minutes and made the collector pipes into flat patterns which i can print out on paper, wrap around a piece of straight pipe, then cut and grind:


QTY 2 up, QTY 2 down
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/collector3.gif

QTY 2
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/collector2.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/collector1.gif

[wannabe-silvia]

wow guy amzing build, where u go to school and learn all this shit form??

[ctnewman]

i'm a mechanical engineer.

I went to University at buffalo (though all my cad was learned on my own/at work...)

[sepulchral]

m.e. in the making WVU right here

[ctnewman]

So i took the patterns i made, cut them out, wrapped them around the pipe (1 1/2 sch 10 304SS) took them to a bandsaw, then a massive belt sander, tacked them all together with a mig (309SS wire) and here is the result. I also drilled and tapped my 1/2 T3 Flange (will be studded)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00449.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00450.jpg

[Ninjabread]

Nice clean merge. Is it just me or does the flange looks bent on the first picture?

[projekt_s13]

wow nice, wish i could weld :(

[ctnewman]

Nice clean merge. Is it just me or does the flange looks bent on the first picture?


it's warped about 1/32, i don't know why it looks so bowed, But, i made it out of 1/2 304SS, so i can just mill it flat once it's all welded.

[fromxtor]

Awesome build dude, I found a few pics from a shops Z32 RB26 build.
http://www.jdmfresh.com/gallery/RBZ32/images/dsc_0004.jpg
http://jdmfresh.com/gallery/RBZ32/images/dsc_0108.jpg
http://jdmfresh.com/gallery/RBZ32/images/dsc_0107.jpg
http://jdmfresh.com/gallery/RBZ32/images/dsc_0006.jpg
^^ Hope these help in your manifold making.

[ctnewman]

^^, thanks, i think mine is more or less set. Nice clutch on that. I had a exedy triple plate for my last R32 RB, but never installed it then sold the whole thing. wish i hadn't, sold a brand new 1300 dollar clutch for 400 bucks.

[fromxtor]

I mainly posted those pics becuase I didnt see a wastegate port on yours. Looks awesome keep on keepin on. :rawk:

[swiin2]

m.e. in the making WVU right here
yeah me too :):hsdance:

[drifts135]

http://www.jdmfresh.com/gallery/RBZ32/images/dsc_0004.jpg

Hey! It's the infamous Brian W. !

[jobestudios]

damn dude, I did 4 years of cad/cam design with cnc machining in high school, but I've never seen any private party do something this awesome. Good work man!

[ctnewman]

valentine's and a few other things slowed me up...

Here is what i did tonight:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/0216072301.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/0216072258.jpg

[Ninjabread]

That manifold is pretty donkin!

[ctnewman]

That manifold is pretty donkin!


is that a compliment?

[Ninjabread]

yea i meant it in a good way.

[bardabe]

fuckin eh. nice work man keep the eye candy coming!!!! h ha looks dope!

[chibo]

Awesome build dude, I found a few pics from a shops Z32 RB26 build.
http://jdmfresh.com/gallery/RBZ32/images/dsc_0006.jpg
^^ Hope these help in your manifold making.
Won't that manifold boost creep? It doesn't look like it promotes easy gas flow to the wastegate.

[ctnewman]

Won't that manifold boost creep? It doesn't look like it promotes easy gas flow to the wastegate.

It isn't bad, really, most of the time the WG is mounted perpendicular to the collector center plane, they have done this, but in 2 locations. In fact, I am willing to bet it does not boost creep at all...

http://jdmfresh.com/gallery/RBZ32/images/dsc_0108.jpg

This picture shows it a little better...

I may have boost creep at lower boost levels... I plan on running a 38MM WG, but i am running 20 psi... I may use a larger pipe and neck it down so that in case it creeps, I can purchase a 44mm and just weld on a new flange...

[ctnewman]

mmm, sexy.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00459.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00458.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00457.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00456.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00455.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00454.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00453.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00452.jpg


That looks huge, what are the external dimensions high point to high point, front back side to side

about 24 X 11

hwo do you plan to doo all the finsh welds?

weld what's visible, cut runners off the collector and flange. weld runners on bench. weld pipes back on. All whilst backpurging with argon.

[bardabe]

man that looks nice bro. keep up the good work!

[chibo]

Holy shit, that thing is art. :)

[Reos77]

Are you planning to tig weld those pipes? From the pic it looks like you tacked it all with a mig. There is also product named por 15 used to fix rust. It is a little expensive but many car builders recommend it. I don't know if you answerd this question already, but are you going to weld in those patch panels or just leave them tacked in? I suggest that you use some weld through primer for corrosion protection on the bare metal. I think the project looks great, keep up the good work.

[ctnewman]

Are you planning to tig weld those pipes? From the pic it looks like you tacked it all with a mig. There is also product named por 15 used to fix rust. It is a little expensive but many car builders recommend it. I don't know if you answerd this question already, but are you going to weld in those patch panels or just leave them tacked in? I suggest that you use some weld through primer for corrosion protection on the bare metal. I think the project looks great, keep up the good work.

Pipes will be tig welded. You can see that the collector already has been.

I used a comparable product to por15, there are a few pics of it about a page back.

I am only leaving the panels tacked in, because the car is getting a 10+ point cage that ties to the main frame in 6 locations and to all 4 strut towers. I will seam fill them to prevent any water intrusion.

[SimpleS14]

Damn that is some awesome work, you should have a side job custom fabbing parts.

[ctnewman]

put the tranny back in and test fit the exhaust. Fit perfectly.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01386.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01385.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01384.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01383.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01382.jpg

[sliEighty]

just spent 30 min of my time looking at this thread thanks man haha looks sick

[PoorMans180SX]

I've been lurking on this thread for weeks. Uber cool man, love the idea and the work.

[Slidin240Wayz]

Is that a turbo that helps prevent surge?

Carlos

[bardabe]

Is that a turbo that helps prevent surge?

Carlos
i think so it really looks like it. (larger turbo inlet, holes in the inlet as well kind of liket he To4Z and the SPL T51R Kai

[S13FREEAAK]

Is that a turbo that helps prevent surge?

Carlos

Yep, those housings are referred to as "Anti-surge housings".

[MeSs]

This is the wildest project ive ever seen.. Lots of them in Norway (VW caddy with rwd and CA18det, or VW golf 2 with rwd), but this beats it..

[Dream240]

I'm just curous, maybe I missed the post where you mentioned it but how are you gonna cover up the tranny now that you've made room for it in the tunnel? Also what's the black plate for under the brake reseviour in the last set of pics?

project looks great BTW. keep it up.

[rubberbiscuitt]

it's awesome to see self done projects. and so good.

[ctnewman]

I'm just curous, maybe I missed the post where you mentioned it but how are you gonna cover up the tranny now that you've made room for it in the tunnel? Also what's the black plate for under the brake reseviour in the last set of pics?

project looks great BTW. keep it up.


The plate is just a backing plate because i moved it away from the centerline and the new holes were exposed.


the tunnel is going to be fabbed from aluminum, removeable with zues fasteners...

[240sx2jz]

hey ctnewman make sure to allow for enough driveshaft angle, i made the mistake of not having enough angle i was thinkin that the minimum working angle would be the best and it was not (ie i had a working angle of 1.5-1.0 degrees) so and cause intense vibration.

[ctnewman]

hey ctnewman make sure to allow for enough driveshaft angle, i made the mistake of not having enough angle i was thinkin that the minimum working angle would be the best and it was not (ie i had a working angle of 1.5-1.0 degrees) so and cause intense vibration.


it's not that you need to minimize the working angle, you just need to have equal working area +/- .5 degrees between the two joints.

[240sx2jz]

you also want a certain amount of angle on the u joits to make sure that they wear evenly, but that alo depends on how fast your driveshaft will get up to.

[Happy240sx]

Newman for fu#$ing Prez!!

[ctnewman]

the car is being painted green. :)

Olive army super high gloss...

The cage and engine are being done a really dark bronze. MMMM...

This is what i did tonight... It's as far from the reservoir as i can get it. May need a heatshield. The DP and mani are getting coated with swaintech white lightning. The DP will be completely enclosed by the tunnel.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01413.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01412.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01411.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01409.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01408.jpg


also, put my order in for these bad boys... 8-12 weeks. :(

17X10 & 17X8.5. Gold finish.

3.875 lip inna da rear

http://www.mg-tuning.com/imagenes/llantas/work/vs-xx-gold.jpg

[lazierhobo]

those are some of the sickest wheels ever. exactly what that car wants.

i really like the out of the box exhaust solution.
keep up the good work man.

[Neejay]

Nice piping and all...but dude, will that coating decrease the heat THAT much to be in the cabin?

EDIT: Ohhhh, I get it now. The tunnel is removable, so you're gonna put it back on top. Gotcha.

[ctnewman]

yeah, the piping won't be visible except from under the car, and if you remove the tunnel.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/bmwa_1.jpg

[cmcdougle]

that's a weak looking steering column.

This is a crazzyyyyy build though. I wish I would have kept up with this more.

['90RPS13]

^~~Haha, I had to read all the pages today. VERY interesting build up. Props to you Newman.

[bing]

gawd i fucking love you man...

i am coming to see this on monday.

also... you gotta see some of the pics i have of chris's VH45DETT S13 build... it's moving along just as well as yours.. two of the craziest projects in the out there are right here in the north east.. fuck

[ctnewman]

that's a weak looking steering column.


good, that way when i crash, it won't stab through my body...

[Neejay]

gawd i fucking love you man...

i am coming to see this on monday.

also... you gotta see some of the pics i have of chris's VH45DETT S13 build... it's moving along just as well as yours.. two of the craziest projects in the out there are right here in the north east.. fuck
You should make a thread and post some of those pics.

[BLITZZZ]

i liked everything you did up until the downpipe, just seems kind of power robbing, all the bends and such, you couldnt fit it under/over the steering column and position the exhaust to the left side of the vehicle?

If you leave it like that i'd recommend cerramic painting/coating the whole downpipe and heatwraping it, overall the downpipe looks great though

[ctnewman]

i liked everything you did up until the downpipe, just seems kind of power robbing, all the bends and such, you couldnt fit it under/over the steering column and position the exhaust to the left side of the vehicle?

If you leave it like that i'd recommend cerramic painting/coating the whole downpipe and heatwraping it, overall the downpipe looks great though


it will actually flow a lot better than most downpipes, because it doesn't go right into a 90 bend down. It is important to normalize the gas flow early on. Also, there is less than 270 degrees of total bend. Most Downpipes have 2 quick 90 degree bends that are 100% opposed. This is a much greater air turbulator than what I have, which is a smooth, nearly straight section for a solid few feet downstream of the turbo.

The DP will be swaintech coated. If i ran it down the left side of the vehicle, it would intrude on to the driver's side, which i do not want, while i have some flexibility with the passenger seat location, I need the driver's seat to be placed perfectly, you dig?

[SimpleSexy180]

OMG. This is one sexy build. cant wait to see this finished.

[BLITZZZ]

yeah, i dig, good explanation

[ctnewman]

Friday:
All this work Newman and you still plan to sell once it's done? If you do still plan to then you have to have a buyer lined up already right? If not, I'll make the first bid by offering up my first born.....


As it looks now, I'd probably sell the lotus and keep this, but chances are I will just keep all 3. :P

I'm still waiting on some exhaust parts, so in the meantime:

Yesterday, I removed 58 LBs of sound deadening from the trunk, as well as all the carpet. I put the 8 Gallon fuel cell into the spare tire well. The Summit 8 Gallon cell has no sending unit, so I can see myself running out of fuel once or twice. I may make a holder for an extra fuel can of Just In Case fuel.

I scored some strips of 16GA 304 that i will make hold down straps with. Today I also plan on mounting the WG. I am not doing a dump, I've decided i hate WG dumps, so i will try to tie it into the exhaust a ways downstream... probably at the second straight section.

If i still have time remaining, I am going to look into mounting the IC, while also performing a bumper tuck. (To do this you remove the pressure from the gas springs behind the bumper and press them in)

This is a pic of an aluminum bumpered car that's been tucked and painted, I think the only change needed is painting the door moulding black.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/paintedtucked.jpg


THIS IS THE COLOR I WANT + Fat gold wheels = sex:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/0601ht_13z1997_Honda_Civic_Hatchbac.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/0601ht_01z1997_Honda_Civic_Hatchbac.jpg


it's BMW urban green. only came on a few Z4s
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/4/9191943_b9f57f9abf_b.jpg


Saturday:
Got everything I planned for accomplished today.
First:
Fuel Cell
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01456.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01457.jpg

Next:
Wastegate mounted to manifold
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01455.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01454.jpg


Then:
Added some flex to the downpipe
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01460.jpg

After:
Connected the WG to the DO with some tube and a flex joint (minimize internal, thermally induced, stresses)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01459.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01458.jpg


The completed Downpipe:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01453.jpg

[Ninjabread]

Shit is rad. I talked to Bing yesterday at a local meet and we were discussing your build. Keep on truckin!

[Nachtmensch]

i hate you.

i want an E30 :(

[Indolent]

The completed Downpipe:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01453.jpg
that mini flex pipe on the dump tube is cute

[Bryants95240sx]

Nice work man, cant wait to see it finished.

[drftwerks]

any cover fro the brake mc and booster?
or floor mounted pedals?

[ctnewman]

any cover fro the brake mc and booster?
or floor mounted pedals?


I think i am going to remote mount the reservoir. That's really all I'd need, the MC itself is pretty far away from the DP. 4 inches or so. Only the res was close.

[Dream240]

I think i am going to remote mount the reservoir. That's really all I'd need, the MC itself is pretty far away from the DP. 4 inches or so. Only the res was close.

Judging by the pics, seems like the small area in the top left (driver's side) corner of the firewall would be a good place. Just a suggestion, unless you're gonna mount something like an MSD there..... :)

[ctnewman]

Judging by the pics, seems like the small area in the top left (driver's side) corner of the firewall would be a good place. Just a suggestion, unless you're gonna mount something like an MSD there..... :)


that's where it would go... The cage will be poking through near there, but i think there is room for both...

[SC_S13]

this is awesome. no other words to describe it. plumbing is going to be annoying, but keep up the extreme work, your an inspiration.

[ctnewman]

this is awesome. no other words to describe it. plumbing is going to be annoying, but keep up the extreme work, your an inspiration.

plumbing is going to be a bitch. I looked into fitting my intercooler yesterday. Christ it's going to be a bitch. It's like 3/8 too wide to fir between the bumper supports, and modifying them is something I don't feel like becoming involved with...

Also, The BMW bumper is held on in such a stupid manner. Nissan is a much better design.

[BLITZZZ]

saab fmic is pretty thin man

[ctnewman]

saab fmic is pretty thin man

yeah, it's not so much the thickness as the width... I'm sure i will figure something out...

[forum04pl]

i dont know if this was said already, i kinda just browsed the thread, but if you seem to run into any hiccups you should contact dentsport garage. they did a 3 series but with an sr a few years back. everything completely fabbed in house like yourself. it put down some crazy numbers, i was sad to see that thing get sold.

either way it looks like you are doing a great job, keep up the good work and i cant wait to see some more progress pictures.

[prang11]

Wow, very creative build. I cant wait for the next update.

[rossfashow]

that is just insane nice build. good luck. cant wait to see it done.

[ctnewman]

Mounted the IC today, boy is it sturdy. Mounted in 3 locations. Two on the top sides, one on the bottom middle. Simply welded brackets to the frame and trimmed down existing brackets welded to the IC from when it was on the 240. You can see the brackets in this picture. Unfortunately, I had to trim a LOT of the bumper mounting brackets... In fact, almost all of them, so now i have to develop a new bumper mounting system, but i think i have a fairly decent way of doing that... it's just going to take some ingenuity.

The IC also sits very far forward because the radiator needs to reside behind the IC and in front of the stock radiator supports. I used 2X4s on edge (actually 3.5 inches) to simulate the radiator (3" end tanks + 1/2" of clearance). This leaves only about 1/2" of bumper material in front of the IC in spots, so i may need to reinforce that...

Here are the mounting brackets. They are painted black. There is an angle that goes back at the bottom, and two formed steel brackets on the right and left.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01461.jpg

This Aluminum piece had already been welded to the IC, so i made use of it. The hole was off center slightly, but oh well. It bolts to an angle that is welded off the bottom of the radiator support. In this image, you can see the space between the IC and the frame is about 3.5" and will be home to the radiator.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01466.jpg

Another shot of where the radiator will sit. Chances are, I will have to run a remote reservoir with a cap on that (like a subaru), because the radiator sits too low in the chassis. I may also be able to have the filler neck welded to the radiator on some sort of elbow, to get it out from under the uper radiator support.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01467.jpg

Here she is mounted in the car. It's not crooked at all, the picture is just taken oddly...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01468.jpg

All buttoned up for the evening. It looks like the IC sits WAYYYYYY forward, but what you need to keep in mind is that there is about 3-4" of bumper that goes in front of that... Though i think my bumper tucking idea has been significantly decreased...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01469.jpg

[forum04pl]

pretty big frontmount, have you tried testfitting the bumper with it yet? i cant wait to see it look like a complete car, its going to be insane

[ctnewman]

pretty big frontmount, have you tried testfitting the bumper with it yet? i cant wait to see it look like a complete car, its going to be insane


that's tomorrows challenge...

[kouki_s14]

looks good but seems like it sits pretty dam far under the frame. Since it's a track car it wont have to go up crazy driveways, so i guess it doesnt matter too much

[UfoZ8myCow]

Sweet Jesus... That is freakin AWESOME!!!

[ctnewman]

looks good but seems like it sits pretty dam far under the frame. Since it's a track car it wont have to go up crazy driveways, so i guess it doesnt matter too much

it will be a street car, but it is flush with the bottom of the front bumper. I don't think it will be a problem.

[s13silvia123]

this is one of the nicest buildup's i've ever seen really nice. and unbelievable.

mind if i ask what kind of turbo is that going to the RB

[MeSs]

this is one of the nicest buildup's i've ever seen really nice. and unbelievable.

mind if i ask what kind of turbo is that going to the RB

Posted earlier in the thread :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC00454.jpg
.
:2f2f:

[ctnewman]

Posted earlier in the thread :)

:2f2f:

yep.

GT3582R

[twofourzerosx]

I
WANT
MORE
ASAP

[ctnewman]

I've been slacking this past week, my band had 3 shows and a whole shit ton of practices, I'm back in action, tho!

finished the IC piping. Welded two 90s on the I/O. Also Trimmed the bumper to fit. It's tight, but it fits. I need to trim a bit more in order for it to fit perfectly.

Tomorrow, hopefully completing the exhaust, then it's on to the tunnel.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01512.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01511.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01508.jpg

[ctnewman]

Well... I haven't had time to work on the bimmer much. The exhaust is done, but i don't have any pictures. I pulled the exhaust, IC plumbing and manifold off the car, and gave it to my buddy to tig. He's a wonderful welder, so I am certain it will be awesome.


I am going out of town for a few days, so don't expect much before monday. In the mean time, heres a few pics of the new wheels and lip i got for my STi...

I have to run a LOT of camber to not rub, but i have 2 other summer cars, so it's not like this will see too many miles.

Anyway... on to the pics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0009.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0008.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0003-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/puke0002-1.jpg

[PoorMans180SX]

Holy crap! Wish I had the bills for something like that. I like the newface Sti's and with that lip and those wheels...hot stuff.

[Neejay]

Now you're just teasing! I've wanted a rex for about 5 years now. :(

['90RPS13]

^~~Me too. Oh how I dream.

[Daniel.]

size, offset and tire size on the package? :D

[bardabe]

damn........

[sbanzer123]

newman how bout some pics of your other car lol.

[ctnewman]

size, offset and tire size on the package? :D


18X9 ET+42 w/ sp9000 255/35/18

(barely fits with D2 Coilovers)

[ctnewman]

Alright, First is some crappy pics of the exhaust. I couldn't get on a lift today, so this will have to do for now... Matt (lowly oil burner) @ hybrid (hybridconnection.com) welded the whole thing (eviljay helped), the welds look wonderful. 100% stainless, with a stealth black stainless vibrant performance muffler. Yes, it's pretty low, but the springs I got for the rear are stiff as hell, so i doubt there will be any issues with it bottoming out. My subaru exhaust is lower, anyway, and i have no problems with that...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01516.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01518.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01519.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01521.jpg


Next, i mocked up the tunnel with cardboard. I will begin fabrication on this tomorrow...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01515.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01517.jpg

[wannabe_drifter]

Couldn't the brake oil tend to boil since the master cylinder is so close to the exhaust ???

[ctnewman]

it's about 3" away, some heat sheilding and ceramic coating and it will be fine...

[GSXRJJordan]

That exhaust is NOT low ~ looks great! Shouldn't have any problems with any of it... I love following threads like this, the work's done right and it's turning out great :)

[240sx_sr20det]

Wow! Great project, I just spent about an hour and 15 reading this whole thread, now I can't wait to see the car finished! Update soon!!!

[ctnewman]

yeah, this thread is only 8 pages. the one on my local forum is almost 40...

[240sx_sr20det]

damnn .. they better not be getting more pics than us :keke: ..keep up the good work :bigok:

[ctnewman]

I test fit some of the trans tunnel parts. The mild steel will actually be to the inside with nuts welded on the backside, so i can bolt the tunnel on with button head screws.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01524.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01523.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01522.jpg

[Ninjabread]

You work at a demonic speed.

[ctnewman]

4X4 Jimmy did a nice job welding up my transmission tunnel. Huge thanks to him. Here is is installed. I wish the hole for the shifter was about 3/8" more forward, but i think this will do just fine :D :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01529.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01528.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01527.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01526.jpg


Then i got to work removing the sunroof mechanism so it can be welded shut. Making a new headliner is going to be a small PITA, but i have to get it done before the cage goes in (about 12 days):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01550.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01552.jpg

[ctnewman]

Also, threw a little cad dwg together so they know what kind of radiator to make me @ moxies (props to tom marks for helping me out with that!)

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/radiator.gif

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b63/ctnewman3/radiator2.jpg

[sepulchral]

everything looks awesome man, but does the tranny tunnel in that car add to its structural integrity or will the cage make up for everything? Also, i want to remove my sunroof from my hatchback, you should get plenty of pics of that sunroof removal... are you going to replace the entire roof or just a big patch?

[ctnewman]

everything looks awesome man, but does the tranny tunnel in that car add to its structural integrity or will the cage make up for everything? Also, i want to remove my sunroof from my hatchback, you should get plenty of pics of that sunroof removal... are you going to replace the entire roof or just a big patch?


The tunnel is removing strength from the car, but the cage will more than make up for it. The transmission xmember that i built also helps to counteract the material I removed.

The BMW actually had a metal moonroof, not a sunroof... or vice versa, i can't remember which is which, but all i will be doing is simply welding the sliding piece in place, then filling the rest with body filler.

[sepulchral]

where do you work in NY btw? and whats the link to your thread on your local forum?

[Slidin240Wayz]

Are you going to connect the cage to the transmission tunnel?

Carlos

[ctnewman]

Are you going to connect the cage to the transmission tunnel?

Carlos

Well, i might throw in a dash bar, but there really isn't anywhere good to tie into the tunnel. As mentioned above, the tranny support ties the undercar together, the cage will tie the car together above the tunnel.


where do you work in NY btw? and whats the link to your thread on your local forum?

I work for a company called Derrick Corporation.

The local thread is here, but there is no more informationand you will need to register (use "newman" as your referal), just a lot of banter. Anything of real value I Xpost on this forum.

http://www.nyspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23157

[ctnewman]

OK, tonight i welded in the sunroof.

Step One - Remove all paint from sunroof edges:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01553.jpg

Step Two - Remove all paint from sunroof hole in body:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01554.jpg

Step Three - Cut metal to fill gap where rubber sunroof seal was:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01555.jpg

Step Four - Weld the strips to the body around the perimeter of the roof:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01556.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01557.jpg

Step 5 - Place sunroof in hole. Shim up the bottom with wood until it is aligned properly.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01558.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01559.jpg

Step 6 - Apply approximately sixty 1/4" welds to connecting the sunroof to the strips and the body:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01560.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01562.jpg

Step Seven - Apply primer:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01564.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01565.jpg

The crack will be filled and blended with body filler. The idea is to attach the roof strongly enough such that is doesn't flex and crack the filler. This should be plenty.

[twofourzerosx]

i recomend you fiberglass that before using bondo... or ATLEAST use kittyhair before bondo. Its never good to use body filler to fill such a large gap. I fiberglassed sum rust holes around my sunroof on my first s13.. worked great.

[ctnewman]

i recomend you fiberglass that before using bondo... or ATLEAST use kittyhair before bondo. Its never good to use body filler to fill such a large gap. I fiberglassed sum rust holes around my sunroof on my first s13.. worked great.

yeah, i'm not a body guy, but some friends are doing it for me. They both know what they are doing. I'm just a laborer. :)

[byebye_sti]

looking good, keep updating! I love seeing the progess of this thing! :)

[comeonkip]

wow. congratulations on such a clean project, you really R&D'd everything that went into this car.

P.S. just an opinion but your STi needs 04-05 tails!

[ctnewman]

wow. congratulations on such a clean project, you really R&D'd everything that went into this car.

P.S. just an opinion but your STi needs 04-05 tails!


yeah, i know... i'll get em eventually...

[QuicksilverFX]

amazing thread, i spent at least 45 mins just looking at pictures. i guess it really does pay to go to college.

would it have been harder to do a 325iX and keep AWD?

[ctnewman]

would it have been harder to do a 325iX and keep AWD?

haha, in short, yes. Besides, i really wanted a RWD car.

[ctnewman]

Headliner:
First i had to remover the rear windo, this was surprisingly easy, as the windshield and rear windows on the bmw are held in with press molding, no glue... It's about the only thing in the whole car that isn't glued.

Then I screwed pressboard into the ceiling of the car with short sheet metal screws... in hindsight, probably should have been flatheads, but it's too late... I had to make a wooden subframe in a few locations, but it's not like the headliner really adds any strength.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01593.jpg

The gap in the front is actually entirely covered by a trim panel, which is convenient.

Next, I cut foam to fit on my new headliner, and affixed it with spray adhesive... It's definitely NEVER coming off...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01596.jpg

Tomorrow I hope to get the fabric laid out. Also, does anyone know a good dye that could be used to dye my rear deck black? It's carpeted.

Thanks.

All buttoned up in case she has to go in the snow...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01594.jpg

[ctnewman]

upholstery is not my thing, but i think it came out alright...

for my first time, anyway...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/headliner0001.jpg

[bardabe]

looks good to me man.

[twofourzerosx]

stop slacking.. more engine work!

jk jk

[ctnewman]

stop slacking.. more engine work!

jk jk


i'm only doing these things because it's going for a cage on the 18th, and i can't do it after that.

[ctnewman]

well, i just got some bad news... the wheels i ordered may not arrive until september... wtf.

[ctnewman]

Rubber mounts are for pussies.

ok, i welded up some motor mounts today. the pics look like crap because i took them about 2 seconds after liberally dousing them with flat black spray paint.


I basically welded them right to the frame rails of the car. There is a relatively large backing plate of 1/4" mild steel solid welded to the frame rail, then gussets made of 1/4" and 7ga mild steel holding the motor.

Compared to the stock mounts, this would probably hold a bridge.

Front Driver
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01639.jpg

Front Passenger
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01636.jpg

Back Driver. (you can see the backing plate in this pic)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01643.jpg

[byebye_sti]

awesome job, I'm always checking out this build!

[trybal]

so you did end up using that other dudes idea for the engine mount :-D

[Slidin240Wayz]

Rubber mounts are for pussies.

ok, i welded up some motor mounts today. the pics look like crap because i took them about 2 seconds after liberally dousing them with flat black spray paint.


I basically welded them right to the frame rails of the car. There is a relatively large backing plate of 1/4" mild steel solid welded to the frame rail, then gussets made of 1/4" and 7ga mild steel holding the motor.

Compared to the stock mounts, this would probably hold a bridge.

Front Driver
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01639.jpg

Front Passenger
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01636.jpg

Back Driver. (you can see the backing plate in this pic)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/ctnewman2/DSC01643.jpg



Hmmm, who would have thought...

I hope the theory works well in practice.

[Ronald_Mcdonald]

Those "motor mounts" are going to blow a huge donkey cock in anything other than track use.

I hope you aren't planning on ever taking that thing on a public road that has a 1% chance of seeing anything remotely considered traffic.

I'm drunk, and figured I would let you know that I am praying for you tonight.

<3

[ctnewman]

Hmmm, who would have thought...

I hope the theory works well in practice.

when i was doing them, i kind of forgot that anyone had suggested anything, it was so long ago. lol. thanks for putting the thought into my subconscious?

Those "motor mounts" are going to blow a huge donkey cock in anything other than track use.

I hope you aren't planning on ever taking that thing on a public road that has a 1% chance of seeing anything remotely considered traffic.

I'm drunk, and figured I would let you know that I am praying for you tonight.

<3


haha, what?


the rb is a VERY low vibration motor. plus, the mckinney mounts have very very little rubber on them and they didn't vibrate my rb26 240 AT ALL.

[Ronald_Mcdonald]

when i was doing them, i kind of forgot that anyone had suggested anything, it was so long ago. lol. thanks for putting the thought into my subconscious?




haha, what?


the rb is a VERY low vibration motor. plus, the mckinney mounts have very very little rubber on them and they didn't vibrate my rb26 240 AT ALL.


I don't remember typing it. I guess I did though.

Project is looking awesome man, can't wait to see it complete.:boink:

[bardabe]

the rb is a VERY low vibration motor. plus, the mckinney mounts have very very little rubber on them and they didn't vibrate my rb26 240 AT ALL.
yeah he is right the RB is very low vibration mine dosent vibrate at all with teh tophat motormounts.

[fastasssr20]

We need more!!!! Where have you been man :aw:

[twofourzerosx]

agreed, wtf. lol

[originalsin]

hes in germany, car is currently getting caged.

[ctnewman]

hes in germany, car is currently getting caged.

yeah. im in houston, TX right now, just got in from Munich. I'll be home on Weds. My radiator is done, and the cage should be done when i get back.