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Thread: 1996 328 HPDE Build on the Cheap

  1. #26
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    That's certainly the hope. Under full braking it's hard to keep the body still, and lift your left foot from the dead pedal and be smooth about it with the slippery old BMW stock seats.

  2. #27
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    Starting to make some progress towards the 2017 season. I installed a used UUC SSK / DSSR kit ($100 used :-) ), removed the cruise control, and the ASC throttle body on the intake. Just putzing around stuff. Got the 6 point harness eye bolts all installed.

    Since I couldn't find a sedan slick-top headliner I decided to make my own out of two scrap headliners. My fiberglass skills are about as poor as the last time I tried, but it will work, and clean up the inside of the car a bit. I test fit before covering and had to install a couple of pins to ensure that the headliner was absolutely flush against the roof to maximize headroom. A bit of black on the fasteners and I think they will not be too noticeable.

    After fiberglass:

    20170121_162150363_i_OS.jpg

    After covering, I've long discovered I'm not a professional automotive interior guy. It's not perfect but will work.

    20170121_172100124_i_OS.jpg

    Next up is some rear seat delete pieces covered in the same material. I ordered one of Ben's 4 point bolt-in bars with the cross brace. That should ship early next week!
    Last edited by wake74; 01-21-2017 at 01:49 PM.

  3. #28
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    This little cutie arrived today. A couple of evenings of painting, and she'll be ready to in this weekend.

    20170201_002317079_i_OS.jpg

    20170201_002336224_i_OS.jpg

  4. #29
    mslevin's Avatar
    mslevin is offline Have you checked RealOEM? BMW CCA Member
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    What rollbar is that? Looks good.

  5. #30
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    It's from Ben up in CT.

    https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...36-M3-Roll-Bar

    I think I paid for it mid-week, and it shipped the following Monday. Arrived at the Greyhound station 13 days later. I'm about finished shooting a few coats of primer and flat white rattle can paint on it. I hope to have it in this weekend. I'm guessing it is going to be a bit of a bear to install in a Sedan.

  6. #31
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    Roll-Bar Install

    My little build is pretty basic in comparison to the others going on, but for my purposes, it is moving forward and I'm happy with the result. I flailed at the roll-bar install for a couple of hours trying to get it in every possible way, only to realize it wouldn't go in without the car up on jack-stands. After that revelation, it went in pretty easily. Installing it in a coupe would have been easier.

    The headliner is in, with the filled in sunroof hole. In order to ensure it is flush to the roof, it is pinned to the roof in a couple of places near the old sunroof hole. It is now completely flush. Pushing the headliner all the way to the roof, makes it no longer fit perfect around the edges, but it's presentable.

    A bit of a gap on top of the bar, but that is due to the bar being designed for a coupe with a normal headliner. The sedan is a bit taller, and my headliner is much closer to the roof than normal.

    I then installed the rear seat delete pieces I had mocked up pre-bar install. They are headliner material over coroplast. I was hoping to have enough headliner left to cover the wheel arches, and I came VERY close. Needed about another 12" of material, as you can still see a bit of white between the rear seat delete pieces and the covering of the wheel wells. I'll fix that at some point with a bit of black paint to hide blend it in.






  7. #32
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    The local BMW FB group yielded four 17" Style 68 tires with Continental Wets for $100. Apparently the tires are IMSA take-offs, two appear to never have been run (still got the casting nubs in them), the other two show light use. Not exactly sure what I'll do with them, but for that price, you need to jump on them.


  8. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by wake74 View Post
    The local BMW FB group yielded four 17" Style 68 tires with Continental Wets for $100. Apparently the tires are IMSA take-offs, two appear to never have been run (still got the casting nubs in them), the other two show light use. Not exactly sure what I'll do with them, but for that price, you need to jump on them.

    You suck! Great deal there, if you decide not to use them keep me in mind. Would love these for my e46.

  9. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by MDGearhead View Post
    You suck! Great deal there, if you decide not to use them keep me in mind. Would love these for my e46.
    I'm definitely going to hold on to the rims, not sure what I'm going to do with the tires. I'd need to reconfigure my little tire trailer, if I was planning to bring two sets of tires to the track. I have been figuring if it was wet enough not to run my current track tires, I'd just run my cheap-o street tires that I use to drive to the track.

  10. #35
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    I might have to paint my bar after I hammer and fit it a bit considering how nice yours looks! Honestly surprised at how the color just pops out from the stock non-artistic black they send it with. Looks great!

  11. #36
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    Have been focused on safety equipment this winter and am pretty much ready for the first track weekend. Getting the seats to fit in a sedan keeping the B pillars is a major challenge. The Imola is a slightly different shape around the front of bottom than the Suzuka.

    I originally tried the Corbeau brackets and sliders but that was way too tall. They are now sitting on Bimmerworld floor mounts with VAC side mounts.

    The expired belts I picked up cheap have 3" shoulder belts that don't work well with my old Defender neck restraint, so I am on the look-out for another set of expired belts.

    No too many real performance upgrades this winter. I did get the UUC SSK and DSSR installed. I pulled out the secondary throttle body if that counts :-)

    Back at VIR again next weekend for an HPDE with the BMWCCA




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  12. #37
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    Nice thread! Have a 328 that I built into a pretty formidable track car. Little things I did moved the driver seat inboard about an inch. Got it down as low as I could. With harnesses you should be running a HANS device or wearing a collar at the least. If you need custom brackets for side mounts you can have Kirkey fab them for you pretty inexpensively. I measured up a template using a manila folder and sent it off to them. Got great brackets. You can go nuts. My windows come out and I can put them in when I leave the car out and still lock them. As for the dif....if you can't get to the chip on the back straight at VIR you can go with a bigger number. I started with the 3.15 and will end with a 3.64. Not that good looking but it goes like crazy! Keep it going. Hope to see you at an event at VIR.
    Jay

  13. #38
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    Any pictures of how you attached the anchor points for the waist belts on your harnesses?

  14. #39
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    IMG_0137[1].jpg

    I have metal plates that bolt in where the oem seats did. Think flat stock, 3/16 inch thick. 2 by @16 inches. Then the custom Kirkey or any other side mount gets bolted to that. Belts are on eyes and hardware from Wesco. The sub belt is mounted to the cross brace. Simple to do.
    http://www.wescoperformance.com/anglebracket.html

    Forgot to mention that if you go this route you will need a longer bolt than the oem one as you are going through some extra thickness
    Last edited by Cobra1956; 03-29-2017 at 08:13 PM.

  15. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cobra1956 View Post
    Nice thread! Have a 328 that I built into a pretty formidable track car. Little things I did moved the driver seat inboard about an inch. Got it down as low as I could. With harnesses you should be running a HANS device or wearing a collar at the least. If you need custom brackets for side mounts you can have Kirkey fab them for you pretty inexpensively. I measured up a template using a manila folder and sent it off to them. Got great brackets. You can go nuts. My windows come out and I can put them in when I leave the car out and still lock them. As for the dif....if you can't get to the chip on the back straight at VIR you can go with a bigger number. I started with the 3.15 and will end with a 3.64. Not that good looking but it goes like crazy! Keep it going. Hope to see you at an event at VIR.
    Jay
    Jay - Not currently planning to go full on track car. I've got a Defender neck restraint from my Club Ford days, that I'll run this year. It would work better with a HANS compatible harness or at least a 2" shoulder belt but I will make due until I find a deal on another set of expired harnesses. After putting my Reynard hard into the tire wall on the inside of the down-hill chute at Summit Point (ambulance ride back to pits for me, the hook for the car), I swore I wouldn't go back on track without one. My neck was pretty sore after that incident.

    I have a long ways to go before I worry about bouncing off the red-line at VIR. I'm still not leaving 4th :-) I'm confident I will get to needing 5th on my next weekend of the front straight, as I was maxing out 4th, just before hitting the breaks last time out. I'm in the slow but consistent category, no different than in my old FF. An LSD is on the summer project list, probably just going to start with the standard M3 LSD for now.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Bm6w View Post
    Any pictures of how you attached the anchor points for the waist belts on your harnesses?
    No pictures, but after messing around with a few options, I currently have them mounted to eye-bolts (HMS Motorsports) through-bolted in the rear hole of the Bimmerworld floor mounts. They are clip-in style harnesses, so they clip into the eye bolts. That would not be an option if I moved the seats back any further, but I don't need to do that. I'm only about 5'10".
    Last edited by wake74; 03-29-2017 at 08:23 PM.

  16. #41
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    Did they tap right into the bimmerworld floor mounts ? M8 metric I think....or did you drill through the floor mounts? I bought the HMS bendable brackets but have not installed yet....was going to put them on the bolts coming out of the floor of the car and under bimmerworld floor mounts .

    btw I'm installing same roll bar next week...and I want to do exactly the same thing you did on your interior.....great job!

  17. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bm6w View Post
    Did they tap right into the bimmerworld floor mounts ? M8 metric I think....or did you drill through the floor mounts? I bought the HMS bendable brackets but have not installed yet....was going to put them on the bolts coming out of the floor of the car and under bimmerworld floor mounts .

    btw I'm installing same roll bar next week...and I want to do exactly the same thing you did on your interior.....great job!
    Thanks! The bimmerworld mounts are configured to fit on either side, so you end up with a spare mounting hole on the very back of the mounts. I just bolted the eye-bolt through that spare mounting hole. It the right size for the standard schroth eye bolts.

  18. #43
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    Ok I get what you mean....I'm installing next week so we'll see how it goes...I'm 6'1 and like the seat back a bit so I need all the clearance I can get.

  19. #44
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    I had them just bolted through the floor with the schroth backer plates when I was test fitting with the corbeau mounts. However, I found that the bimmerworld mounts got in the way of the belts with my seat position. With the seats further back, that would have worked just fine. Of course, now I have an extra set of small holes in the floor boards :-)
    Last edited by wake74; 04-07-2017 at 11:45 PM.

  20. #45
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    Understand on the measured progress. Took me a few years of hit and miss as the car went from daily to full track. Once you get the bug it's gravity feed and from your posts and pics....you got it. As you confidence grows you will want more of something and gearing is a great way to work on the quickness so the rev limiter test is a great one. Of course you loose a bit on the street but it's worth it. Like previously said great score on the rain tires. Rear seat delete looked nice also. Keep it up

  21. #46
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    Forgot to mention on the wide harnesses, I saw somewhere where the width was dealt with by folding in part of them and sewing it to make the belt thinner where you need it. Think it was a belt being sold for use with a restraint system. Memory is good just really short.

  22. #47
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    Another great weekend at VIR, perfect upper 60s-to-70 sunny weather. Doesn't really get any better than that. Continue to prove one does not have to spend lots of money to have a great time on track.

    Other than a bit of a wild ride through the grass on the outside of Hogpen on the very first session, the weekend went great. It poured all day Friday, and the grass was very slick. I was doing fine with steering wheel straight after the off, but unfortunately touched the brakes, after I slowed down to 50 or so. Big mistake, as that obviously kicked the rear end around, the last 50 yards or so of the slide was spent facing the front stretch. Luckily, we didn't hit a soft spot when moving sideways. No harm, but it took the rest of the weekend for me to get back all the way to track-out at Hogpen.

    Car ran great all weekend, and seems to be holding her own in C group. Towards the end i passed about as often as I was being passed. The group had a WIDE mix, lots of E46 M3s, a slug of newer BMWs (M2, M3, 135s), a Miata, a Mini Cooper S, an MGBGT with a V8 conversion (lots of go, not so much whoa), and a Lambo Hurican. Everyone seemed to play nicely with each other, and I never had any problem getting a point by, even from cars with more HP, and much more valuable.

    I continue to struggle passing after the point by on the back-stretch. I come up on them through the Uphill Esses, and into Oak Tree. I get the point by, but they have to lift a bit to let me by. That's not such an issue on Bridge Straight as I can time the pass a bit better.

    Having the race seats and proper harnesses were a huge help with managing steering, brake and clutch input. I'm learning to heal-toe shift, but that is a work in progress. I need to drive a stick more than a few weekends per year.

    I was able to get the same instructor I had the first session last year (the so much track guy in one of the earlier videos). It makes such a difference when you click with your instructor.



    On the to do list before the June event:

    1. Mess with the settings of the ReplayXD to spot meter the center, as much of my video is over-exposed. And get it so I can start / stop the camera from seat. Instructor thinks with my analytical personality, it would be helpful for me to watch me drive.
    2. Look for another set of expired harnesses for my instructor. The ones I bought used just don't work well as mounted. They have pull-up lap belts, and the tail piece on the adjuster can't be reached from the seat (it's too short), and I still have the B pillar covers in place.
    3. Practice my heal-toe shifting.
    3. Figure out what's next for upgrades. I'm not out braking my brakes yet. I'm not out-driving my tires. Safety wise, I'm happy with where I'm at. S52 cams?

  23. #48
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    Here is a video from Sunday afternoon. Definitely not what I call fast, but getting better. As you can see Matt (instructor) worked on getting me back to track-out in Hogpen all weekend. If you watch it to the end, you can hear him laughing at me for missing the braking zone in by a bit on Turn 1. He tries to keep it light enough so I don't overly focus on the mistakes. Thinking too much slows down my driving and just screws up the next corner :-)


  24. #49
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    If possible, set your camera to spot metering to keep it from washing out the view in front of the windshield. And lower it a couple inches, the rear view mirror is blocking exactly where i want to look.

    It'll come with time, but it many turns you can carry a lot more speed and let the car track itself out. I see you're sometimes either steering the car to track out or not tracking out at all. I'd recommend picking one turn at a time and slowly upping the speed through it until the car tracks itself fully out.

    Looks like a heck of a nice day, indeed. I still trips me out to not see Oak Tree there. I haven't driven VIR since it fell down.

  25. #50
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    I've been messing with the camera a bit and reading the manual since I got back from the last weekend. Obviously should have read the Replay manual earlier, didn't realize it had a spot mode. I bought it when I had the Club Formula Ford, and just had it mounted to the roll-hoop. Wasn't really a need for spot metering :-) Yeah, the camera needs to be lowered about 8" or so. I need to work on that one a bit.

    Yup, lots and lots of work still needed on my driving. I'm still pretty painfully slow, but I don't much worry about it. For me, it's a relaxing stress relief from work. I suck, but I know I suck, and try to suck a bit less each time I go out :-)

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