Knocked out the passenger rear last night after turning the car around.
Laid down a lot of tape and marked where the fender will sit and so I can mark a cut line.
passenger rear 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Then cut away. This side wasnt as bad after cutting the driver side first. There is more metal like everyone says on the passenger side however. Peel that away and then I trimmed the inner panel shorter so I could hammer it up and flush with the outer skin.
passenger rear 2 by minthinrich, on Flickr
passenger rear 3 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Trimmed and ready for welding. Luckily the undercoating didnt burn as much on this side vs the driver side. Still took my time going back and forth. Doesnt look the best but you dont see it.
passenger rear 4 by minthinrich, on Flickr
passenger rear 5 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Hit it with seam sealer, and then undercoating which I will spray a few more times once I get a chance. Still need to do the driver side as well with the seam sealer and coating.
passenger rear 6 by minthinrich, on Flickr
passenger rear 8 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Riveted the fender on after trimming for the side trim, and its on for good. I noticed a lot of people use 2x as many rivets on theirs, but this amount held up on my friends car so I dont see needing more. Passenger front flare shows up tomorrow which shouldn't take long. Its already cut out so all I need to do is trim the flare and drill the holes into the fender. If we dont get the snow they are talking about, I will get some pics of it outside and complete, or I will load it up on the trailer and take it to work for a mini photo shoot.
passenger rear 7 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Excellent! Thanks for the details!
Finished my passenger fender install friday night, but still have a lot to trim on that one I think. I should have my replacement springs this friday, hopefully sooner and then I can loose the front spacers or drop to a 5mm from the 12.5mm. I currently hit the bumper while turning so I need to figure out where to cut that.
I rolled the car outside however over the weekend to see what it looks like all together. Rear 1/4s are in, and I am currently fighting with condor and ups since they lost my rear window.
DRIVER FRONT by minthinrich, on Flickr
DRIVER SIDE by minthinrich, on Flickr
SIDE-REAR by minthinrich, on Flickr
DRIVER CORNER by minthinrich, on Flickr
BOOTY SHOT by minthinrich, on Flickr
REAR MEAT by minthinrich, on Flick
Hmmm...so I just realized something about the rear flares. On my stock E36 M3, with 235 Toyo RR's (no spacers), I get slight rubbing right at the front most edge of the bumper. See my red arrow below. Yet, the HM flares don't go there. So I question how these rear flares help with 255 etc tires? Thoughts?
Screenshot from 2018-11-19 11-10-53.resized.png
Thanks, good to know.
Swapped springs, they are shorter, had to pull my lower shims however so not really sure what camber I am at now. Stupid wide ass tires. I will get some time soon to see what the camber is at and see if I need to get some new upper plates like my friend is running.
SPRINGS by minthinrich, on Flickr
Next up on the list was to swap the studs from whatever length they are...I think 75 or something to 90mm. I also ended up getting new longer nuts as well since I will be selling this setup to a friend since they seem to be new. Soo easy to install but such a pain using the 2 nuts to remove them correctly. 90mm were overkill, since I only run like a 5mm spacer now.
STUDS 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr4
STUDS 2 by minthinrich, on Flickr
STUDS 3 by minthinrich, on Flickr
After waitiing like a month or more since UPS lost my first window, and then re-ordering and waiting for it to be cut I got my condor rear window. Its pre drilled and thats it. I wish they would have cut a line in the masking like they do with their rear 1/4 windows for paint. Need to measure and mark that yet and then I will get it actually installed. I did get it slightly off center but whatever its a race car so I dont really care. Pulling the back window wasnt too bad by myself using a cheap tool, heat, screwdriver and a long knife. After test fitting with self tappers, I ordered some m6 rivnuts and started to get those in since I will be bolting the window down so I can remove it when needed (planning a cage next year or after)
WINDOW 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr
WINDOW 2 by minthinrich, on Flickr
WINDOW 3 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Also just ordered another set of tires today which will be my rain/street setup. I need to be able to drive the car once and a while on road and the slicks seem like a really bad idea. I did take it around the block a few times and it feels wild. Ended up getting 265/35/18 accelera 651s in 200 trw. Hard to pass up the price on sale with them for something I wont really use much. The big decision now is what wheel to get. I cant find anything at the price I want to spend in the same specs as my Enkei.
FYI, for wheel stud removal, I use an impact stud remover. Just slip it onto the bullet nose part of the stud (not the threads) and they come right out. And barely mar bullet nose.
71gsE3qkKQL._SL1500_.jpg
Some really boring updates....
Finally got the back window painted and installed with all the bolts. Only had to drill 4 rivnuts out (ended up using a bolt and washer method instead of a new tool cuz I cant decide which to get). Happy with the fitment. Also switched to black coated washers that were a smaller od and they look 10x better. The fitment is very good on the window, I just have it a little off center.
window 5 by minthinrich, on Flickr
window 6 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Switched out the hardware on the rear 1/4 windows as well, and added 2 more bolts to the front. 2 bolts were prolly enough, but I wanted the top to fit tighter and now they seem more secure. Cant wait to see how well these vents actually work. Hopefully since the car really isnt sealed, it wont fog up on me. I might add some vents to the bottom of the rear window as well, but not sure if thats needed yet.
1-4 window 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr
1-4 window 2 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Also pulled the wing so I can redo the tension rods, or sell it for a different wing I have my eye on. It sure makes the car look weird to me, but its way easier to walk around the car now in the garage. Also here is about what the front looks like now on the new springs and lowered down. I really need to make my camber gauge to see how much I lost from pulling the lower shims. Currently its 18x10 et 20 and I think sits perfectly. I will get better pics cuz I forgot to save the one from my story.
fitment 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr
fitment 2 by minthinrich, on Flickr
fitment 3 by minthinrich, on Flickr
how much do they weigh the windows?
Honestly no real idea. They dont seem a lot lighter than the stock glass, but I am sure they are.
No real updates for this, its been just sitting and getting dusty. I did however finally order another set of wheels for the "Street" tires. Went with matte black ARC8 in the same 18x10 et25
Wheels were delivered yesterday around lunch time, so I went to get them and loaded up the truck so I could take them over to my friends shop bn-imports who stayed late to get them mounted up. Wasnt planning on getting them done right away but glad I did so I can maybe drive the car on the street soon. Still need an alignment tho which might take some time since my friend who did it last time moved to a now shop further away. I guess its time to really figure it out myself.
truck loaded by minthinrich, on Flickr
Of course had to get a shot with one wheel on the stack of tires. Kinda funny how different they fit in the truck vs the slicks (slicks dont fit 4 across)
bn imports by minthinrich, on Flickr
Was nervous at first watching a new tech they have mounting some truck wheels/tires but my friend ended up mounting them instead. Was nice to see him since I had to chat about the other wheels and slicks since I need to swap the spare set on for this year to start out. So happy once I saw the tire mounted.
mounted 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Took them home and threw them on the dirty ass car. Wanted to see the size difference. It looks like a lot in this picture, but in person it seems like maybe 1" width difference.
mounted 2 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Rear went on first, and it needs to be spaced out a little I feel. I have a 12.5 I might throw on top of the 5mm that I always run.
rear 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Then went to the front which fits perfectly with just the 5mm spacer.
front 12 by minthinrich, on Flickr
font 2 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Here is a crappy pic of the side, the car is filthy and there isnt much room around it. I will try and get it out this weekend if the weather holds up and get some better pictures.
side shot by minthinrich, on Flickr
Had some decent weather and decided to pull the car out of the garage. Drove it over to a friends house which was nice to stretch its legs a little bit. It was still cold but not too bad without heat since it was a short trip.
side 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr
side 2 by minthinrich, on Flickr
side 3 by minthinrich, on Flickr
side 4 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Also had an idea, and needed to redo my business logo anyway. So I figure try something like hard motorsport sells, and after a little weeding and figuring out placement. I ended up with this. I am planning on doing the rear, leaving the front alone (other than removing the roll call stickers). I might do something on the hood but not really sure yet.
ys logo 1 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Moved the trailer which I still need to find a better spot for, and took the car for a drive over the past weekend since it was kinda warm. Running perfect again after an oil change. Rubbing in the back somewhere which I need to figure out still.
IMG_4738 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG_4740 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Anyone have advice on a good gear ratio? I am sure my diff is stock but I want to get some better acceleration. I thought about going forced induction but that would bump me into a different class for time trials. I keep thinking about finding a 3.91 but I just cant make up my mind. I wish I knew what my old red car had in it, cuz I swear it was 10x faster off the line than this one.
I will look into that ratio more. Its hard since most recommendations are for track use, not so much strictly hill climbing. Most of our runs are about a mile long, longest around 2.5 which is the one of few thats real high speed at the end (fastest was 167 from a trans am spec ctsv)
Whatever worked for me on a track has usually worked for me at hills. What I usually do is gear the car to be able to run 2nd between T3/T4 at Duryea. May change a bit for you but I wouldn't overthink it too much. I think I was 118 over the finish when I ran my stockish '95 M3 there way back in '08, so the fastest you will ever see at your power level is likely 120s.
Love the livery with the logo. Funny as I was/am considering doing the same thing once I saw the Hard Motorsport kit but obviously am not looking to have someone else's brand all over my car!
Did you end up removing the sound deadening from the rear window deck? Seems a little ironic to replace the glass with plexi but not remove the sound deadening that weighs a ton!
I havent had a chance yet to get the the upper trunk or rear window deck deadening off yet. Window isnt sealed so I can just unbolt it if I need to for that. Since its finally starting to get warmer outside I will get back to stripping it. Really dont think it even weighs that much but I will do it. I am glad you like the "livery". I feel it turned out decent except no one knows what its for lol.
Had the car out over the weekend enjoying some of the warmth. Still rubs really bad which I need to figure out. Maybe ill bump up the stiffness more from the lower middle that I have the coils set to now. Really need to figure it out since its rubbing with the smaller tires.
Last edited by Hinrichs; 03-26-2019 at 09:39 AM.
Pulled off the roll call stickers, needed to change them anyway since I sold some parts but prolly wont put it back on. Also wing went back on. Its dirty. Rubs with the smaller tires, stiffened it up a lot, but need to figure out why its rubbing....esp since I know the 285s will be a lot worse.
IMG_4959 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG_4960 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG_4961 by minthinrich, on Flickr
Next up for this year is on board fire supression, just need to decide which one when I hit the shop. Also want to get a suede steering wheel since I dont feel like I get good grip out of the current momo installed.
Last edited by Hinrichs; 04-02-2019 at 04:46 PM.
Weighed the car...its still kinda heavy at 2820. This was a full tank of gas tho.
weight by minthinrich, on Flickr
Cut some material out of the doors....it was kinda pointless. Still need to do the driver side.
door gutting by minthinrich, on Flickr
Played with the fender flares a little, trimmed them. Pulled one of the backs off to seam seal it which I never did over the winter. Figured id throw one of the slicks back on since its been a while seeing the silver wheels. (trying to decide if I want to get them coated). Also wanted to see how wide the slicks were compared to the street tires.
IMG_4995 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG_4994 by minthinrich, on Flickr
tires by minthinrich, on Flickr
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