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View Full Version : LeMons Race Update! (The UberBird)



MadScience
12-05-2009, 02:00 AM
So, the most recent LeMons was the weekend before Thanksgiving. Finally got around to compiling all the pictures and writing the whole thing up.

As a reminder, our theme was The UberBird. Basically a German spoof on the old Roadrunner Superbird that Richard Petty raced in NASCAR in '69 and '70. Thus: 2 feet of nosecone and 4 feet of wing was attached. The paintjob is Petty Blue house paint, applied with a roller (took 2 hours to do the whole car).

Mechanically speaking, we're rocking an early (e-12 based) 633 with a 3 speed auto. The engine's stock, breathing through a glasspack and not much else.

How'd we do? Rather than re-write it all, I'll point you over to my other (other, other) hobby:
http://hooniverse.com/blog/2009/12/02/the-saga-of-team-uberbird-part-i-saturday/
http://hooniverse.com/blog/2009/12/03/the-saga-of-team-uberbird-part-ii-sunday/

The net result: it drives way better now, to the point where we realize we need better tires.

We're still feeling the effects of a neglected 27 year old car in stuff like the tranny mount and ATF lines being totally crapped out.

Going forward, we're still gonna keep the automatic for now. o_0? Because it's not the AT that's holding us back, it's breakage (and mediocre driving). If I swapped in a MT, there'd be a million little things that could get missed that could kill us on-track. Not to mention, I see a *ton* of blown clutches and blown MTs from missed shifts.

Besides, the very 3-speed-auto sound of our car (with no exhaust) has become a bit of a trademark. :D

Given that the tranny mount was all effed up, it's not surprising we're eating guibos...but on the flipside I still don't like them. I know guibos can handle a bunch of torque (and we're not making that much power anyway). My problem's with how sensitive they are to misalignment. This is a crappy car that's getting banged up. There's a good chance things aren't going to be lined up *just right*.

I'm very seriously considering getting a u-jointed 1-piece driveshaft in there like, you know, the vast majority of RWD cars on earth.

I know there's another thread with some guy whos e24 doesn't have a guibo. (LINK (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1357485)) Can I swap in the tranny output from a CV shafted AT onto our our ZF 3-speed? I'm betting the spline count's the same.

One thing we're looking in to is dropping the rearend down some. At the end of the main straight, we were doing low 90s in 3rd at about 4500rpm. If that's as fast as we're ever gonna go, then we should be at or near redline, meaning we could easily go 20-20% lower in gearing...3.73:1 or 4.10:1.

...of course, that's only if we can get a 4.10 (hopefully LSD) side-loader for super cheap. (or "cheap" ;) ).

The other thing I'll be on the lookout for are e23 springs. Those cars use nearly identical suspension to the e12, and I'm willing to bet they've got stiffer springs for all of that weight.

Anyway, thanks for all the help from the board. It's because of you guys that we were able to take a near-junk 633 and turn it into something pretty entertaining.

Select Pictures:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2549/4150003733_438a6724b6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/godblessbotox/4150003733/in/set-72157622754501249)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2586/4150758680_927b5e87dc.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/godblessbotox/4150758680/in/set-72157622754501249)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2548/4136872308_5199fd01bd.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eode11/4136872308/)

BTW, that's a Buick V6 powered TR-7. The teams we found ourselves battling with the most were a late 60s full-size mopar, a Ford Ranger and a mid 80s Chevy Wagon. We're faster than the really awful cars, but nowhere near as fast as the really fast cars.

Captain Bavaria
12-05-2009, 03:28 PM
Awesome. Wing. You think you can make one for me :)

87M6 Chris
12-05-2009, 07:46 PM
Ted, keep wringing it. So what are the really fast cars? What's keeping you back?
I'm sure we could put a collection together among the guys here to help you out.
$10 per member. Could we do that without breaking the rules?

stoner
12-05-2009, 07:55 PM
I understand the name "Uberbird" now.

dblsprt68
12-06-2009, 01:36 AM
Very COOL!!!!!!! I like it :D

Shipper
12-06-2009, 06:34 PM
That is a very good looking 633! I had my 33 year old 633 on Oran Park race track for my racing license some three weeks ago. I had it in 3rd gear at 6250rpm at 106mph with two gears to go. That's with an open sideloader 3.25. I held off a DTM Mercedes Cosworth with a V8 Lexus engine and overtook a tentative 1000kg 200hp 240z (I'm at around 1540kg and a stock 200hp engine, zero mods!). A new Golf GTi kept ahead of me and pulled away just so slightly, about a car length per lap.

I went through a set of pads and needed to replace the front pads at lunch. DB163's are the replacement pads for the early 633 as the DB161's were phased out.

I then boiled my brake fluid which is a bad thing as your foot goes to the floor. Boiling break fluid gets lots of air in the lines.

So, next time out I need race pads and race fluid. Amazingly enough the Racing CSL my business partner prepares uses the exact same front disks and calipers. It's all down to pads and fluid.

My car was an auto and swapped to the five speed overdrive by the last owner, a BMW mechanic who bought the car to work on with his son (who lost interest so dad sold it before it sat too long and died). Manual gearbox's are a great race swap. Straight in and out but expensive. dogleg box's go for up to $2500. Sideloader LSD's at 3.73 or 4.10 are rare to say the least. I've got two for our E9's coming from england and they were around 300 pounds each. I have no idea the condition (not refurbished) or ratio.

Again I love the car! Don't underestimate how far you can take a 633. With the BB=Throttle Body, good exhaust (3 inch single pipe all the way through) and 98 octane fuel you should be able to tickle 220 - 240hp out of her. Also, go a big front and rear swaybar! I need to get a photo of mine for you. Even with original springs it makes the car handle like a go cart.

Congratulations! Love these updates!!! when's the next race and can I buy one of those cool rear wings??!!

danny2010
12-06-2009, 09:19 PM
lol maybe i missed something. but how does that car get any air?

xing6666
12-06-2009, 09:32 PM
Wow... you're uberbird looks WAY better then our BMWTF!?!?!!

MadScience
12-07-2009, 12:55 AM
lol maybe i missed something. but how does that car get any air?

Runs nice and cool. Cold, in fact.

First, we installed a fan ($18 at the junkyard) b/c the factory fan ended up on the AC-condenser turned tranny cooler that's in the rear firewall.

2nd, the nosecone wraps around to the bottom of the bumper, with nothing under that. If you look at your car, that leaves like 1/2 of the radiator exposed. For good measure, I tacked on a sheetmetal scoop that catches a little extra air.

For an intake, there's dryer tubing running from the box intake thing down to one corner of the nosecone.


Ted, keep wringing it. So what are the really fast cars? What's keeping you back?
I'm sure we could put a collection together among the guys here to help you out.
$10 per member. Could we do that without breaking the rules?

Actually, I'm Tim. Ted's my dad (who's also on the team).

The fastest cars on the track (that actually stay together) are e30s, Miatas, (some) RX-7s, (some) Crown Vics, and (oddly enough) Nissan Sentras.

The e30s and Miatas are obvious (and everyone's getting sick of them). Despite being somewhat terrible cars in the real world, early RX7s tend to do really well at LeMons. Crown Vics benefit from having engines that are easy to get power out of for cheap, plus a chassis that shares parts with every Ford ever...meaning you can build a 300-350hp monster with mostly junkyard parts (and a little cheating). If you get stiff enough springs in them, they'll actually handle halfway decently. I have no explanation for the FWD Nissans (lots of Zs, but they always break).

Donated $$$ still counts in the $500 limit, but we could certainly use it when it comes to logistics. We burn a lot of gas hauling this thing 500 miles from LA to Willows, CA and back.

To be honest, the info and occasional good deals on parts have been lifesavers for us. If not for Bert, we'd still be trying to fix various things.

If anyone in Southern California is getting rid of parts, we're happy to have spares. A crappy worn-out part is 10000% better than no part when something explodes at the track.