BMW GTR e36 Build TT1

[braknl8]

Lookin' good. Keep at it, man! Can't wait to see this thing on track.

[BigHungry]

Here's another update....

 

I added a Part 5 video slideshow:

 

 

I also have an uneventful video of my first DE3 event at CMP.

 

This was first time at CMP and was the last event driving my 540i.

 

 

 

Passenger side floor board. Trans plate to cover/protect electrical, brake, and fire cables.

 

 

Driver side floorboard with dead pedal. Trans plate to give foot a place to slide/rest against and insulate.

 

 

Upper and rear bulkheads. Will seal around tubes during final install.

 

 

 

 

Used the strut brace from my now retired 540i. Filled firewall hole.

 

 

Seat harness double sheer brackets

 

 

 

 

Up next: Weld in harness bars, door bars, Install sunroof plug, Install suspension for a rolling chassis. Then prep engine bay/interior for painting.

[BigHungry]

Here's another update....

 

I have added a Part 6 video slideshow with a few more photos.

 

Front caliper brackets built. I have 2 sets of these m3 e46 345mm comp discs. Got them cheap but don't believe they will last too many weekends. RacingBrakes makes a very nice two piece direct replacement rotor (a proper racing rotor) and the rotor replacement is about the same price as the BMW rotor. I will replace when these wear out and be ready for TT in 2014. I feel these will be fine for getting up to speed with the car. I will using Toyo R888 anyway for the first few weekends and will switch to new rotors when I go to A6s later in the year.

 

 

 

Using e46 M3 325mm front rotor for the rear. No need for parking brake. Decided to put front rotors on the rear. This car will utilize more rear brake than most cars. I hope the stock one piece M3 frt rotor will be fine. If not, I will have to go with Racing Brakes std M3 frt two piece rotors for the rear. Based on the caliper piston size and rotor size torque, the brake bias will be around 67% with balanced and equal size MC, and equal size/compound pads. According to BMW, the GTR with this setup should be 65-70% bias. We will soon see.

 

 

Roll center corrected arms.

 

 

 

Extended the steering arm on the spindle for bump steer correction the same distance as I corrected the arms. Didn't like the extended ball joint shaft/alm tie rod bumpsteer setup offer for $300. Don't have any experience with that setup, but seems to be weak for a very, very high stress critical area. Seems it would be ok if replaced after every weekend, but I don't have the budget for that. I went for durability and inexpensive tie OEM rod replacement. $60/pr per year or maybe twice/yr

 

 

 

Rear subframe and suspension installed. Got a set junk hoosiers for almost nothing to use for body work fitment and break in testing with no worries about damaging a nice set of tires. The rears are 355. Just little wider and taller than what I will be using. The front are actual size(315) no chords but have 0 tread.

 

 

I've seen pictures, I've been looking at wheel/tires in the shop, I've been visualizing the chassis, I thought I knew what it would look like all together....but....

 

 

Rolling chassis. Cut out fenders. Definitely needs some bodywork. Almost an open wheel. Moved it to the paint shop from the fab shop. (moved 10ft near the basement garage door)

 

 

Added harness bars

 

 

Added door bars

 

 

Up Next: Engine bay and interior paint. Drysump pump bracket build and oil pan modification for drysump. Then installing engine/trans, driveshaft, headers/exhaust, oil/fuel plumbing, electrical.

[Cobra4B]

Very nice... why not tie the nascar bars to the door sill?

 

[BigHungry]

Very nice... why not tie the nascar bars to the door sill?

 

Thank you for reminding me. I knew I was forgetting something.

 

I had a nice 70 deg weather last Fri so I painted the interior. But no worries....nothing a grinder, plasma cutter and welder couldn't fix.

 

Fitted the bars to the sills this morning. I have to say it looks much better. I will post a couple of pics after welding and repainting the door bars and sills.

 

BTW...nice rebuild of the Panoz. I've enjoyed following along.

[Cobra4B]

Thanks... it's been more work than initially planned, but in the final stages finally.

[Boxer12]

Bring this bastard child to the track and I'm gonna run right over top of you!

 

 

Just messin..cool build

[BigHungry]

Bring this bastard child to the track and I'm gonna run right over top of you!

Hey....lets get something straight. What will be brought is a basement built, american muscle, euro chassis, jdm carbon wing, hybrid bastard child.

 

Just messin..cool build

Thanks....all in good fun.

[BigHungry]

Update time.....starting to get things together.

 

 

Primer white

 

 

Base coat black

 

 

Cast Aluminum

 

 

Added door sill bars and repainted.

 

 

 

Made some brake duct plates from leftover diamond plate.

 

 

 

 

Engine, trans, driveshaft, headers, exhaust put back in.

 

 

[Cobra4B]

Extra style points awarded for diamond plate brake ducts Did you rattle can it with the cast aluminum stuff or paint via a gun? I used the cast aluminum 2000 degree rattle can on the Panoz's front suspension components. Couldn't imagine rattle canning an entire cage.

[BigHungry]

I used the high temp rattle can engine paint for the engine bay. For the interior I used industrial rustoleum aluminum but it was too bright when I test sprayed it. So I mixed a quart of gloss black and retested against black primer. It now matched the cast alm from the can.

 

So, a gallon of rustoleum ($30) , a quart of black ($6), HF $12 spray gun ($10), a nice 70 deg day. Already had the primer and flat black from some other project. Ended up using about 2 qts of each to get good coverage in and around all the corners. I think half of it sprayed out on the drive way. It actually looks darker in sunlight than pics show. Give it about a week to completely cure and that industrial paint is very durable.

 

I would have liked to acid dip the chassis and have it powder coated, but just not in the budget.

 

I think it will all have a nice contrast to the black and blue interior bits going back in.

[UnsafeAtAnySpd]

Great thread. Keep posting. There aren't a lot of people posting but probably quite a few more lurking like I have been.

[BigHungry]

I added a Part 7 Slideshow to the archive. http://youtu.be/Uj2YejSj--Y

 

I'm taking off this week from work. (Apr1-5) I'm hoping to have a drivable car by Sat the 6th. 2 days plumbing, 3 days bodywork, 2 days electrical. All this detailed finishing work has taking a bit longer but I knew it would. I only have 46 days til it needs to be loaded on the trailer heading for Putnam Park.

 

Here's a few pics from last week.

 

I welded in 3 pickup points. 2 in the rear left/right and one in the front left. I cut and welded an extension to the oil pump pickup with a female threaded fitting then threaded a male fitting thru the side of the pan and sealed it. Leak checked all welds...no leaks. Protective caps on while I was installing engine.

 

 

 

Built the shifter. 3/4" alm rod. UHMW knob

 

 

 

Installed rear and upper bulkheads

 

 

 

Re-installed fuel cell, surge tank, fuel pumps and filters. mounted oil tank vent catch can.

 

 

Installed scavenge pump and belts.

 

 

Main belt with manual tensioner. Installed breather catch can plumbed to each valve cover. Plumbed in power steering.

 

 

Overflow and expansion tank in place and installed hoses.

 

 

Stay tuned.... next update should be a good one.

[Cobra4B]

Dang... nice work. That's a bunch of AN going on in the trunk!

[BigHungry]

Dang... nice work. That's a bunch of AN going on in the trunk!

 

Thanks.

 

It looks like a bunch cos the entire fuel system is in the trunk. There is one 8an supply line and 6an return running to fuel rails otherwise its all in the trunk. 100 micron filter, 10 micron filter, 5 psi pump, 80psi hi vol pump, 2 liter surge tank, fuel reg.

 

I thought about not using a surge tank, but I didn't want to take the chance of it "lifting" as I was going through a high g corner.

[BigHungry]

Thought I would be getting more done this week but that's how these crazy projects go.

 

Got the plumbing done except for the radiator. I figure it can wait until I get the bodywork, paint, and electrical done.

 

Working on the bodywork now. It will probably take the rest of the week. I really really dislike bodywork. I've never done it on this scale. I'm sure bodyshop guys will be at the next update. Lets just say it will be more function than form.

 

Electrical, brakes and startup will have to wait til next weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moved the oil filter from outside frame rail to the inside. Better protection than being near fender well. Fits nicely between the engine and where the radiator will be. Added free protective sleeves around the hoses. Not heat protective but couldn't beat the price.

 

 

Hooked up all the oil lines from pan to scavenge pump. Wrapped oil filter lines in heat shield bc they were a few inches from the header.

 

 

All 3 pick ups have a screen filter. This one I will have to move to get the starter in.

 

[topmover1]

It is really impressive what guys like you Brian and others do. Not that I have the time but even if I did I'd still lack the skills. Nice work.

[braknl8]

It is really impressive what guys like you Brian and others do. Not that I have the time but even if I did I'd still lack the skills. Nice work.

 

You should have a conversation with him about it. ...one of the most comprehensively thought out builds I've recently heard of.

[Cobra4B]

Thought I would be getting more done this week but that's how these crazy projects go.

Very true... tearing stuff down and planning is the easy part. Putting it back together, especially when you get to the finishing details like pluming and wiring, gets tedious and time consuming.

 

Any reason for using a mix of "normal" AN hose ends and hose barb where you push it on and clamp?

[Maynor]

..

 

 

Mark, what is the wire in the oil cap for?

 

Nice work though.. Wish I had 1/4 your fabrication skills.

[BigHungry]

Any reason for using a mix of "normal" AN hose ends and hose barb where you push it on and clamp?

 

It was a matter of cost and reliability. The first few 90deg fittings I got were cheap. They were swivel kind and had an o-ring sealing fitting to the hose end and were very loose. There is no way these are not going to leak. So, I looked up high end swivel and non-swivel 90's with "normal" hose ends. They were $25-$50 each and I needed alot of these. The straight and 45deg are normal it's just the 90deg I have issue with.

 

The barbed 90deg fittings were all solid between the hose end and fitting end. The barb fitting have 2 failure points instead of 3 like with swivel 90deg. All lines that carry pressurized fluid have solid fittings. I used some of the oring swivel fittings for things like oil tank and fuel cell vents. We use these barb fittings with a hose clamp at work all the time. They last for years even on moving machinery with 100psi+ air and fluids. Of course, all our fittings at work are steal and brass.

 

I was able to pick up lots of 6-10 fittings in an8,10,12 sizes on ebay here and there for $30-$40. The an16 fittings were from old race cars. usually 20-30 bucks for 2 fittings with hose between them. Just remove from hose and reuse the fitting.

 

I really would have liked to use all high end normal non-swivel fittings but I thought I might like buy....uummm....say an engine instead.

[BigHungry]

Mark, what is the wire in the oil cap for?

 

I was wondering if someone was going ask about that.

 

It is a oil level sensor. It is a simple stainless steal float ($10 ebay) set at about the 8qt level. (12qt tank) So if the oil level drops 3-4qts a big red light comes on which is right next to the 20psi oil pressure warning light. It will let me know if I'm losing oil or if I have lost the scavenge pump belt or even broke the pump itself. I figure it would give me a chance to shut it down before sump tank empties and fills up the oil pan or worse.

[Cobra4B]

Hmmm... I bought all Summit labeled fittings (private labeled by some more expensive company) and they were all very nice and tight. Either way... I understand... I spent $300 on a tiny amount of stuff!

[BigHungry]

Update....added a Part 8 slideshow to the archive. http://youtu.be/QCUpJgbGNwI

 

I know it's a bit rough but nothing a little seam filler and sanding won't fix. I'm not a plastics/fiberglass guy so I used sheet metal. Not too bad for a $50 sheet of 20 gauge sheet metal, a plasma cutter, and a welder vs a $1500-$3000 body kit. All the outside edges are double rolled to add strength and a smooth edge.

 

 

The front plate looks a bit large. Once the exhaust heat shield plate is in place and edges smoothed out, it will look much better.

 

 

Built a new chassis cross bar and built a protective plate for the oil pan and hoses. The front of the plate and rear of splitter bolts to the subframe.

 

 

The splitter has a 2 deg down angle but had a little bit of flex so I added a couple of adjustable struts.

 

 

 

 

 

We got our yearly bonus at work so I went ahead and upgraded the brake rotors. I will use the OEM rotors as backups at the track. Using racingbrake slotted front rotor and stoptech slotted for the rear.

 

 

I didn't have any spare plug wires so upgraded to 10mm wire and added heat shields.

 

 

Looked at many types of material to make the splitter. Looked at weight, strength, cost and decide with 1/2" ABS then looked up cost for a sheet of 1/2" . I knew that abs can be glued together with acetone. I was able to get smaller pieces of 1/4" and glue a 6ftx1ft across the front. I was able to get enough abs for splitter, rear diffuser, dash panels for half the price of a full sheet of 1/2"

 

 

The leading edge sticking out past the bumper is 1/2" thick and the rest is 1/4". I figure the splitter will take a lot of abuse so I made two. I even thought about using birch plywood. but it was just as expensive as abs.

 

[Cobra4B]

Dang