A vintage BMW race car build....Racing all over California with VARA in C-Sedan!

**Stealthauto** · 02-18-2008, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by Drifter

Wow!!

Congrats on every thing so far! This gives me great hope that someday I can indeed do the same and build my own car for a low cost!

Keep going!!!!!

Well Including the original price of the car and excluding my time of course, I'd say I'm about $10,000 into this project.....more or less. Which is not bad since I seen some 2002 race car builds come with a $20,000 bill from the fabricators/restorators. Naturally for that price everything is top quality parts and show quality fit and finish.

**MIMI1** · 03-21-2008, 02:45 PM

WOW

**bmw1602.com** · 04-21-2008, 02:15 PM

We finally finished my friend Dimitri's '95 M3 NASA TT car. We put quite an extensive cage in it. I think he will put up a Project thread here in a few days.

Now that we are finished with his car, he is going to help me with mine. Hopefully we can get my car done alot faster now!

I was able to resist the urge to attend the BMW wheel power meet then go to Long Beach Grand Prix and instead we worked on the car....

We broke out the sawzall and went nutz!!!

Started to prep the engine bay by removing radiator support/firewall sheet metal and the small firewall at the back of the engine bay thanks to a cool new spot weld drill bit and a nice big sawzall!

The radiator will be moved forward and lean a bit. the engine bay is now huge! You could fit a V8 in there! It will have a fan on the backside of it as well.

Began sanding/grinding down all the old crusty paint in the engine bay in prep for welding and fresh paint.

Removed dash support sheet metal as well. This was done as I will be adding a dash bar to connect to my engine bay tubes. I will be fabricating a new dash.

So basically the plan is that I will be adding to my cage alot.

X on the door bars
Bars to tie into the rear subframe
rear strut towers tube and tubes to the diff mount
and finally extending the cage to the front shock towers

...also planed are Tilton pedal setup, mc with brake balance and bias control etc....

oh yeah rebuilding the engine! man...I think I bit off more than I can chew!

Hopefully my good friend Dimitri will lend me a hand and we can bust out all this incredible amount of work!

all the pics here
http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/...ns%202008&pn=1

More weight reduction........should help off set all the new weight from the new cage additions.

**alberto_mg** · 04-21-2008, 02:23 PM

boa sorte Pedro.

**Stealthauto** · 05-01-2008, 02:55 AM

went paintballing on Saturday but at least got some work in this weekend....

finished removing all the paint from both inside fenders....and welding all the small holes that were drilled to mount various items in the last 30 odd years of ownership.....

did some seam welding.... fender to firewall

I'm taking my inspiration for my "engine bay cage" from one of the cars from the guys from http://www.skidmarkracing.net

here is his tube design/engine bay

Here is my version of his concept....

I did not like the way he just "seamwelded" the tubing to the 'shock tower'. I thought I could improve on his idea. This is and old car running really STIFF springs supported by 39 year old spot welds and rusty sheetmetal.

So I decided to construct a 'strut tower' reinforcement box.

Both to strengthen the strut mounting area and to transfer some of the load into the roll cage.

My racing rules state I cannot alter the suspension mounting points. There fore my strut holes are in the same place and I'm not moving the strut mounting point inward like I would like to (to gain more camber). I also would like to raise the strut tower abit to gain suspension travel. But that is also prohibited.

So it is merely a mounting point for the tubes and a reinforcement for the area.

more detailed view of the reinforcement box/tube mounting... the black circle represents where the tube will be welded to the 'box'

A side view of the design. The most forward tube will reach down and be welded to the frame rail. The 2 triagulated tubes will reach thru the dash and attach to the top dash tube.

I will also weld a "taco gusset" with a nice dimple die to this connection.

**empty** · 05-01-2008, 10:41 AM

Pedro, why not extend past the strut tower a bit and put a cross brace in front of the engine line the E36 S42 super touring cars used...that would really add rigidity to the front end.

I need to find the pic, its out there somewhere...give me a little time.

Mike

**Stealthauto** · 05-01-2008, 01:35 PM

because those Touring cars have the engine moved back. I looked at it and as much as it would be cool to do that my engine/radiator/elec. fan is very much in the way.

If I had a dry sump I could lower the whole motor a few inches which in-itself would help handling alot! Then I could cros brace it like Tommy from Goodfellas racing team in Finland - http://personal.inet.fi/cool/grt/main.html

Unfortunately a dry sump system costs many thousands of dollars and it's just way out of my budget!

Here is his engine bay......210rwhp. Dry sump, electric waterpump, alt. in trunk driven off differential high compression pistons 336 cams etc...etc...

Not sure I agree with his oil tank location

? but you can see the way he was able to put and X over the whole engine bay. My engine sits a few inches higher than his so this would not be possible in my car.

yeah see those fenders? those wheels? that steering rack? Yes his car is just a little bit modified .......

**empty** · 05-01-2008, 10:05 PM

I think I wasn't clear enough without a picture. Here is what I was talking about:

Looks like you might have enough room for this...regardless, your project is coming along nicely, great work.

Mike

**Stealthauto** · 05-02-2008, 03:24 AM

yes that is the picture I thought you were talking about........well now that I look at it again......might be possible........humm maybe.....I'll look into it.

thx!

**bmw1602.com** · 05-07-2008, 02:27 AM

was working the stealthauto booth at bimmerfest this weekend and unfortunately did not get a good chance to look around.

I did stop by the Ireland Engineering booth and picked up some camber and toe rear adjustable weld on kit.

SO back home on sunday I got back to work on the car abit....

Here is the Camber kit

First I clamped a piece of flat stock to serve as a backer so I may take my big ** hammer and make the small turned out lips flat.

Marking where to cut so that with the plate on now we have a slot so the eccentric adjuster may move back and forth....

On the Semi-trailign arm design of the 2002 (also e30 and mcoupe). The more you lower the car or basically move th arm further up into it's travel, you gain toe-in and the tire gains negative camber. So usually a 2002 at race ride height will have too much camber and too much toe-in. This kit will allow you to dial some of that out.

Also if you ever plan on running bias ply slicks, you will want close to 0 camber so these become even more important.

Toe will move back and forth on the outermost trailing arm mount on a horizontal plane. This will give you the ability to adjust toe.

The innermost trailing arm mount (closest to the diff) will be cut so we may move the arm on a vertical plane. As we move the eccentric down we get more negative camber and more we move it up we reduce the amount of negative camber.

My first TIG weld on the adjustment plates

Lots more this weekend !!

**bmw1602.com** · 05-13-2008, 12:39 AM

weekend started by going to pickup some 1.5" x.95 DOM tubing for the roll cage modifications.

the workers at the metal yard looked at me funny when I pointed to my lowered M3 and said "put it on the roof!"

They were like are you sure? It's 60 odd pounds of tubing that 20ft. long!

I told'em....."It's okay this is how we do it in Brazil all the time!" they all had a laugh...

I didn't break any speed limits but I got home just fine....

According to my receipt I got 2 pieces 18'.3" long. = $35.59 each ! I believe that is a smoking deal!

The M3 makes a great hauler......

Alot of time was spent talking and discussing about the engine bay cage design......

In my previous post you saw my version 1.0........I'm calling this V.2.0

Soon into discussion we realized we needed to have the engine in place with the head and most importantly the DISTRIBUTOR......

Luckily I had a "spare" empty block and my old headgasket etc...

within 15 mins we had it all together.....here is version 2.0

The Engine bay tubes will be 1"-1/4" x .120 wall

This design clears the distributor, the carburator etc....

The green things are "taco" gussets with dimple dies.....

after pretty much setteling with this design....I continued my work with the subframe adjusters.....

Make sure everything is clean and secure before welding

Measure with calipers to insure that both plates are in exactly the same place. BEFORE welding

Then the fun part..... weld away!

**Inv3ctiv3** · 05-13-2008, 05:55 PM

This is probably the coolest build I have seen on here, I looked at all the pics/video and read most of it! Thanks for such a cool thread.

**bmw1602.com** · 05-19-2008, 04:16 PM

My moms garage is in the valley and boy was it a sauna in there.....! I managed to get alot done and only sweat out a few buckets!

I finish grinding off all the 5 layers of paint in the engine bay and frame rails. Luckily no serious rust to report....

So now Im ready to start on the cage work....

you might notice I cut out the passenger firewall "foot buldge". This is to make it easier to install and removal the headers....might seam silly but why not! I like making my life easier...

Also finally finished welding on the subframe adjusters. Then I used the air grinder to finish cutting out the adjustment slots. The "eccentrics" required some grinding filing to ensure proper smooth operation....basically it all took some fine tunning to get just right.....

Not bad eh? I'm pretty proud of myself.

completed subframe

Outermost pickup point adjust toe and inside (vertical slots) adjusts camber.

Completed modified rear suspension!

Reinforced trailing arms and now adjustable subframe ! (also solid subframe mount bushing not pictured)

**CP Louie** · 05-19-2008, 10:23 PM

Very nice Pedro. I wish I were helping to build that puppy.

Chris

**Matheus** · 05-25-2008, 12:32 PM

More 01 brazilian here..

and no words for this thread.. it´s superb.. very nice 1602 car..

My dream is build a 2002 race car with throttle bodies and some 230bhp @ 8.000rpm. Vintage power!

But, i like carburetor tuning to keep some vintage rules.

Cheers friend!

Matheus

**M3Rob95** · 06-05-2008, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by Infini IV

This is an AWESOME build thread!!

+1 Thanks for the great read.

Pics and videos help tell stories very nicely!

**bmw1602.com** · 06-07-2008, 05:09 AM

Thx for all the comments!

finally got around to buying some POR-15. This stuff is great! It's like the poor man's powder coat! Aparently it has serious anti-rust agents in it and the can even says it can be painted directly over rust! It is very toxic and I was told to use a mask, gloves etc...It dries to a hard finish and make sure to put a piece of plastic when you close the can or the paint will be weld the can shut! Don't get this paint on your skin you will have a hell of a time getting it off!

It brushes on and then melts so you can't see any brush strokes. I will be painting the engine bay with this.....

I decided to bolt everything up so I can put the car on the ground and rolling so I could take it to my friends shop to start working on the cage.....he has a notcher there so I will be fitting and tacking everything in there then bringing it back to do final welding here in the garage. I don't have a floor mount drill press here so It's easier just to do all the tube cutting/ffitting and tacking there then bring it back.....

Used new SKF bearings packed them up with lots of Mobil1 sythetic bearing grease......

Assembled adjuster with Ireland poly bushings.....

completed rear assembly

bolted on subframe

New Myle ball joints

new tie and center rods

bolted on vented rotor

All done and ready to roll! Rolling chassis Time !

**jayhudson** · 06-07-2008, 11:22 AM

Great pics. Interesting sway bar end links. Looks like a pain to adjust to take out preload.

Jay

**bmw1602.com** · 06-16-2008, 01:45 AM

Not much work done this weekend in-between me taking break all the time to watch the LeMans race.....I still can't get over how beautiful those Peugeot's are....

Put the car on it's wheels and rolled it out of the garage for the first time in over a year...wow time flies.

Got the car ready to take to over to the official bmw1602.com shop.....

http://www.bmwmbenz.com/

It a great little independent BMW & Mercedes repair shop where my good friend Dimitri works. Luckily the owner likes me and has allowed us to work on our race cars after hours and on weekends when the shop is closed. This is invaluable as it gives me access to lifts, factory tools, etc..... So I'm now thankfully listing them as one of my sponsors.

So next week the car goes over there so I can start work on the cage (he has a shear and a drill press with a notcher etc... I will probably tack weld the cage together over there then take it back to my garage for final welding.

Meanwhile I happily removed ALL of the pre-historic wiring from the car. Thankfully since the car is ancient there is not much to get rid of. I will be rewiring everything to a new fresh switch panel with circuit breakers and switches.

Oh yeah.....after a quick week of unemployment, yes so no more StealthAuto...... I now have a new job.....(unfortunately no increase in pay)

pre-historic wiring

OUT WITH THE OLD.......maybe a good 5lbs. too! .....

**bmw1602.com** · 06-23-2008, 03:40 AM

Spent all day on Saturday working on my friends Dimitri's E36 race car assembling his new rear suspension setup. It was SOOO FREAKIN hot!!! Must of been like 110 at least! We got thru the day drinking lots of water and sweating about twice that and finished his car.

Started sunday by watching F1 with My mom and my stepdad. GO MASSA!! Go Senna!

Then it was back to working the the OVEN they call the valley. Today we towed my car to the shop with Dimitri's X5. Which we like to call the ultimate tow vehicle! I wish it was mine.... the pair looks so good, don't they?

I decided to start work on the cage from back to front. That is to say I will start in the trunk and slowly work my way to the engine bay.

First order of business was to remove the awkward bar spanning across the 2 down tubes. I cut it out with the mighty sawzall then ground down the nub and painted it.

After grinding.....

after all painted up!

next I used the same tube I just cut out to serve as my strut tube. You might ask me why no baseplate? Well I considered it, but as you might be able to see in the pictures the metal on that strut tower is VERY thick around 1/8". So I decided the best thing would be just to weld the tube directly on the strut tower. I will not be using coilovers so there really is not much load in this area. As my "downbar X" will be welded to my strut tube In case of a roll over the load will be shared by both mounting points. I did not design or install the original cage (ireland Eng. did) or else this whole area would of been very different. I'm just "modifing and adding" to the existing cage so keep that in mind.

Now after I welding in the "strut tower tube" I added the "diff tubes".

Quick flex test of this area I did today- I jacked the car up from the diff mount and I could actually see the floor board moving up or "bowing" from the center maybe 1-2mm at least. I was surprised by the amount of flex I observed! Now all the suspension forces that come thru the rear wheels make there way into the chassis thru the suspension arm into the subframe and into the car thru the subframe mounts. The other load path is thru the spring pads. The third and last location is the diff mount and the suspension loads and diff power "torquing" that might occur all transfer into this area.

TO address this I have seen this done many different ways. The diff mounts in 2 points on what basically is a square tube that spans in-between the strut towers along the floor. So the best solution would be to cut the tubing open (ala e36 subframe tie-ins) weld a plate then a tube sticking out. Then plate cloe the hole and weld you connecting tubes to it..... that's a bit too involved that I'm willing to go right now.

Another way I have seen is to tubes meeting in the middle of the trunk.....this seemed silly as the diff mounts in 2 spots and not is the center.

this pic from another 2002 race car build shows the diff mount and the tubing well.

I decided to go with 2 tubes mounting to the area directly above the mounts. Pretty much like the pic above. Now I understand I'm not actually connecting the tubes directly to the diff mounts but the large plate and the 2 tubes will greatly increase the stiffness of the area and now any loads will be transfered up into the cage instead of bending the floor.....

There are 10,000 to cook potatoes...this is just how I cooked mine.

Also this leaves a nice space in the middle to mount the battery!

here you can see the diff mounting bolts in relation to the tubes. I used 1.5"x.120 wall DOM for the strut tube and 1 1/4"x.120 wall DOM for the diff tubes.

....and that's as far as we got in today slighty cooler 100+ degree heatwave......

Why do I wait till the summer to start working on things like these?

**DrBobOh** · 06-28-2008, 05:36 PM

The heatwave needs to leave so you can DO MOARR. I'm in Pasadena, so i share SOME of the same heat as you. It was 106 here last weekend, ugh.

**JETninja** · 06-28-2008, 06:05 PM

Just a note, a few months back I did research into Synth Grease for Wheel Bearings....and Mobil 1 I found out was not really appropriate for them. (got a brand new tube sitting unused in the garage..lol) I'm sorry I can not remmember why. I suggest you talk with RRT and see what they use to pack theirs with, they seem to be very succesfull with lots of track folks heres....

Awesome Building going on, thanks for sharing!

**bmw1602.com** · 06-28-2008, 08:43 PM

yeah been real hot but, this weekend my girlfriends birthday so no work this weekend... but I'm hoping to get alot work done next weekend since 4th is on friday I have the day off and can get alot done. All my bbq party plans for the 4th are on sunday anyway....so hopefully I'll get the rear half of the cage done net weekend......I have to tie in the subframe mounts etc...well you all see next weekend.

**bmw1602.com** · 07-07-2008, 12:56 AM

Well I took the day off on the 4th and enjoyed the day. On Saturday I went to the shop http://www.bmwmbenz.com and met up with Dimitri as he already started working on our newest "team" member Adam. His newly acquired e36 race car had a bad head gasket and a cracked head.So since I wanted to watch Dimitri install the freshly welded and machined head so I could learn. I did not get much done on my car. But I'm always ready to learn something new. So I did learn how to install a head gasket on a s50 and properly time the cams etc.....plus we got his car all squared away so he can go to the track next weekend.

So all I did was make the dreaded incisions into my old sheet metal to expose the rear sub-frame mount points. You guys that have done this on the e30 chassis will recognize this as the e30 uses the same chassis/suspension design in the rear. I looked at e30 DTM designs for the subframe mount/roll cage area for ideas.

The idea is simple. You want to channel the energy from the road that gets transfered from the wheels thru suspension arms to the sub-frame into the mounts (now solid) then into the thin(now rusting) chassis sheetmetal. By using a section of DOM tube welded to this area then you can run tubes from the main hoop and also to the rear portion of th cage. This will greatly increase the strength of this aging shell and will also make sure that the rear subframe/ trailing arms maintain their position. Also the stiffer springs (that will be installed) along with the now Solid sub-frame bushings do not cause the sheet metal to collapse or fail.

I decided to first mark it out with a sharpie I just used my judgment and started cutting!

Luckily as you see I made the cut perfectly right along the edge of the "sheet metal box" the mount sits in.

Here is side view of that area. The red lines depict the tubing, welds and the baseplate that will cover the area. This should integrate this vital suspension pickup point into the rollcage.

The rust is just surface rust after closer inspection..... but god know why BMW put that big hole that exposes the sheet metal to water....rust. Maybe there was a plastic plug there at some point.... after welding the tube I will POR-15 this area as it stop rust and is designed to paint right over the stuff and stop it.

Me making the cuts

Then I cut the right side one up as well.....and slid the tubing over it and it was a PERFECT fit! it's 1.75x0.120 wall DOM.

Unfortunately......that's as far as I got.

Now I need to decid on how to tie this new pickup point to the rest of the cage. I post a few ideas soon and get some ideas.......suggestions from all of you!

**Kevinlpl** · 07-07-2008, 02:39 AM

This is an incredible Thread!!!

Congrats! I really truly admire your dedication and commitment and talent!

Thread: A vintage BMW race car build....Racing all over California with VARA in C-Sedan!

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cage modifications started!

more work this weekend.....

a bit more work....

more work......

hot weeked in the garage

suspention assembled

Rollin' again & out with all the old wires...

Cage work finnaly begun!

Happy 4th!

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