e36 M3 - IP Build Chronicles

[TIATO]

so with this beautiful new trailer, are you going to add pacific raceways to your new track list?;-)

LOL. I wish....Ill just come with my gear and co drive with you

I hear you are doing some truck work these days.

[seatown88]

LOL. I wish....Ill just come with my gear and co drive with you

I hear you are doing some truck work these days.

okay that sounds good! haha. yeah I got the chance to work on the nakanishi's old truck rebuilding the engine. it was my summer "job".

[skippystahl]

I am in the middle of doing alot of these things myself and have two questions for you. In the picture where you used the road sign to cover the hole in the firewall, what did you do with the solenoid and the three hoses that use to run to the heater core. I could understand if there were two, I could just connect the two and be done. I am not sure what the third one is for.

Second, could you post any additional pictures and information about your footwell covers. They appear to be just aluminum sheet with some form of grip tape on them but I was curious how you mounted them and any specifics you could offer.

Thanks for the help and for an amazing write up of all the work you have done.

[TIATO]

I am in the middle of doing alot of these things myself and have two questions for you. In the picture where you used the road sign to cover the hole in the firewall, what did you do with the solenoid and the three hoses that use to run to the heater core. I could understand if there were two, I could just connect the two and be done. I am not sure what the third one is for.

Second, could you post any additional pictures and information about your footwell covers. They appear to be just aluminum sheet with some form of grip tape on them but I was curious how you mounted them and any specifics you could offer.

Thanks for the help and for an amazing write up of all the work you have done.

Thanks for the kind words.

Since the car no longer has a heater core, the solenoid was removed, weighed and dispatched. On the metal tube (keep in mind I converted to the euro cooling set up) I cut a 3" length of rubber hose and plugged it. The coolant port at the back of the head was blocked by a plate from bimmerworld.

As far as the floor boards are concerned, The flat parts I just screwed into the floor with sheet metal screws. Be carefull where you drill them into though as right under the driver side you have the fuel and brake lines to contend with. For the edges, I just screwed some 1/2" angle aluminum, determined the proper height so the floor board is flat and screwed them to the rocker panel.

HTH

[///M3Augy]

Did you get my PM?

[TIATO]

Did you get my PM?

Marc. Received and replied.

[wrcdave]

Hey Mario. One quick question for you. How did you cut your dashboard? I am thinking of using a sharp utility knife since it's a rather soft material but I wanted to get another opinion. Thanks.

[TIATO]

I used an air reciprocating saw. IIRC the surface under the soft stuff is harder plastic.

[tuckersmg]

Mario is right about the hard plastic, I tried to cut it with a razor knife and it was a lot harder then I thought.

[TIATO]

Im so far behind updating this thread that I will start with the current happenings first.

Nov. to Feb. is my traditional hiatus from all things race related in order to catch up on other "life" stuff. 2010 will definately be an interesting year. As great as 2009 was, it is ending with a lot of transition, a family tragedy, future uncertainty and a settled debt.

Transition:

Leann and I had finally had it with our ignorant neighbors and association in the neighborhood we currently live in. They know what I do for a hobby, yet they complain (annonymously). Come one, if you have a problem with me, talk to me rather than be cowards and hide behind the association.

So....

My house is for sale and at the same time, Leann and I are looking for a new home local to Flemington, NJ. Obviously this new dwelling needs to meet many different criteria pertaining to bedrooms, property and space (family, stuff, garage, trailer, etc) and allow for future shop expansion.

Thankfully the car is nearing the end of its mechanical development. The one last big thing to do is to install the s54 oil pump/pan combo.

Need to fix the race damage (still) and re-livery the car. We'll see how I will get that work done since life will revolve around house hunting/packing/moving.


Tragedy:
A little over 2 weeks ago my aunt and uncle and two of their best friends were killed by a 27 year old drunk driver near Marysville, WA. Thankfully their death was instant and they didnt have to suffer. The driver is being held on 1,000,000 bail and is facing 4 counts of vehicular homocide. Their loss is hard for my family to accept. I love seeing my family (and Seatown88 who is dating a cousin) but not under these circumstances.

Uncertainty:
So, selling, moving and restarting a house hold and those asociated expenses will make the spring interesting and will most likely postpone any events until mid year. Goal is to do at least 2 club races to maintain my liscense and perhaps instruct more to keep expenses down. Heck, I almost forgot, I also need to find a new tow vehicle. While my f150 gets the job done, I need more powa.

A settled debt:
For 10 years Leann has put up with my car passion. 8 different cars before I settled down with 818. 10 years worth of DEs and now racing. Parts, trailer, hotels (a few interesting nights at the Seneca), etc. etc.

The untimely passing of my aunt and uncle also lead us to re-evaluate our car situation. My son will no longer get our friends galant. He will be buying Leanns older '98 328. I of course will stay with a truck and Leann's Honda Oddyssey will go to my in-laws.

So with the purchase of a CPO 2008 x5 4.8i (sport package) I settled my debt and bought my wife and myself peace of mind.

[tammer]

Mario,

Really sorry to hear about your relatives. That's just awful, and if they were anything as friendly as you and Leann then it's a loss for everyone.

Otherwise, good for telling the HOA to eff off. I can't believe how nosy and petty those busybodies get when you give them a shred of authority.

Keep us posted on progress!
-tammer

[dbbmwm3]

Otherwise, good for telling the HOA to eff off. I can't believe how nosy and petty those busybodies get when you give them a shred of authority.

Or you can become the president of the HOA and shape the board conversations to favor those with race cars. Not that I know anyone who's done that

[flink]

Actually, the x5 is a surprisingly good tow vehicle.



Good stout suspension, self-leveling air-ride rear susp, very short rear towing overhang, so it doesn't need a long wheelbase like a pickup truck.

It struggles a bit with hills - 55mph on the Hwy 152 mountain climb, but apart from that, no probs.

[99MPower]

bumping this up. Just re-read a LOT of what you've done (I think this is the 3rd/4th time I've read it from beginning to end) and sent you a PM with some questions.

Another question though involved the solenoid for the evap system in the engine bay. I've removed the charcoal canister in the trunk, and will be doing the filter/plug treatment on those, but what did u do with the solenoid in the engine bay?

Also, did u remove the SRS system in the vehicle, if so, did u remove the wiring, and how did u go about doing so? I'm working on trying to seperate all the wires in the driver side loom, and they are all mixed in. (have a feeling, I'm just going to have to cut them out, instead of the easy OEM stereo harness removal)

looking good, and can't wait to meet up eventually somewhere in the future

[TIATO]

bumping this up. Just re-read a LOT of what you've done (I think this is the 3rd/4th time I've read it from beginning to end) and sent you a PM with some questions.

Another question though involved the solenoid for the evap system in the engine bay. I've removed the charcoal canister in the trunk, and will be doing the filter/plug treatment on those, but what did u do with the solenoid in the engine bay?

Also, did u remove the SRS system in the vehicle, if so, did u remove the wiring, and how did u go about doing so? I'm working on trying to seperate all the wires in the driver side loom, and they are all mixed in. (have a feeling, I'm just going to have to cut them out, instead of the easy OEM stereo harness removal)

looking good, and can't wait to meet up eventually somewhere in the future

Got your PM. Will reply later this evening.

EVAP - Abandoned in place. Capped line in the back behind the bumper cover.

SRS - Abandoned in place. I did nothing to remove it. Just pulled the lightbulb in the cluster for the airbag warning light. For me(at this point) removing all non essential wiring is an exercise in diminishing returns. The effort (time) I would need to expend to purge the wiring is not worth whatever weight I might drop (considering that the car meets min. weight with me in it and half a tank of gas) and the car is not what is holding me back.

[TOOLEAN]

Mario, very sorry to hear about your loss.

Flink, are you putting the goat and the bim in that trailer!?! Damn. The Flinkometer is off the chart!!

[99MPower]

Got your PM. Will reply later this evening.

EVAP - Abandoned in place. Capped line in the back behind the bumper cover.

SRS - Abandoned in place. I did nothing to remove it. Just pulled the lightbulb in the cluster for the airbag warning light. For me(at this point) removing all non essential wiring is an exercise in diminishing returns. The effort (time) I would need to expend to purge the wiring is not worth whatever weight I might drop (considering that the car meets min. weight with me in it and half a tank of gas) and the car is not what is holding me back.

Thanks on both accounts, what did u use for the filter on the gas tank vent?
Looks like a inline fuel filter for a lawn mower or something?

[flink]

Flink, are you putting the goat and the bim in that trailer!?! Damn. The Flinkometer is off the chart!!

heh, no, that's another guy's GTO. I haven't tried towing the GTO.

In fact I wont' be towing anything for a while - some twit rear-ended the x5 and destroyed himself on the tow hitch. Now the hitch is kinda bent and the rear bumper is hanging down 1/2". It would take a helluva hit to do that and I fear structural damage. Ho hum.

[99MPower]

this has been a GREAT source of information. Thanks a ton for all the documentation.

I just used your pictures for the rear evap delete, and essentially copied it exactly. Thanks

[seatown88]

Mario- How do you like your AKG shifter? Do you think that $30 more for the stage 2 shifter is worth the price difference? Curious to hear what you think about it.

[colinE30]

Absolute best build thread i have read! awesome work, hope to one day write my own with my e30

[TIATO]

Been a while since the last update but I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts about the loss of my aunt and uncle.

2 weeks ago the person who was responsible for their deaths was sentenced to 8 years in jail. He is serving 4, 8 year sentences simultaneously. In addition to his incarceration, he will never be able to legally hold a license again, has become and will continue to be an advocate against drunk driving and has to during his time in jail write down what he is going to DO after he is released. That document will be reviewed by a judge and then will he legally held to live by what he wrote.

A small sip of justice but not the full bottle the driver deserves for killing 4 people. Go WA state drunk driving laws!!

The move from my old house to the new has been executed and after nearly 3 weeks there we are 95% settled in. Now as we get used to the new used place, the work and mod list is slowly starting to form.


With that big task out of the way, I can start devoting some time to driving and the tasks associated when one lives with a race car. The mechanical check over list is high, but the mod list is low. No time for anything big, but heres what I hope to get done or have done:

- New seat. Time to retire my Cobra Suzuka and replace it with a seat that has some side impact protection.

- Dual pick up S54 oil pan and pump.

- Repair rocker panel damage and replace pass. door.

- Fr. subframe re-enforce so I can finally go to my sold BW mounts

Lets see how much I can get done between now and mid May.

Due to work commitments, I will miss the VIR race in April and its killing me. My first event will be 5 consecutive days at the Glen in mid May. 1 advaced DE day to shake out the cob webs, 2 days instructing and 2 days with JC.

First race is Memorial day at Mid-O.


Got to get 818 back home so I can get cracking

[TOOLEAN]

Glad to hear things are settling down. Are you working on the car at the new house? How's the garage setup?

[TIATO]

Glad to hear things are settling down. Are you working on the car at the new house? How's the garage setup?

Well, the garage still needs developing. But for what I need to do it will do. Rocker panel damage will most likely get fixed in my warehouse this weekend and the car will come home sometime next week.

This garage has 10' ceilings, so I can give some thought to getting a lift. Fortunately, I now have enough property that down the road I can build a 2 car pole barn.

Image still shows previous owners contents.

[seatown88]

new house looks great. Can't wait to see the barn built, and can't wait for the build to be continued, looking forward to updates.