1985 BMW 318 Stage Rally Build - 1988 Porsche 924S Street Build - Sequoia Build

The junkyards around here that let you roam around  (many don't, you go to the counter and say you want an X and they pull it for you) remove the jacks from cars before they get to the yard because they don't want you doing anything dangerous.

I actually kind of like the half-scissor VW jacks.  You can do more with them than just questionably raise a car, you can also use it as a questionable Porta-Power.  Nowhere near as good as an old bumper jack made for 2.5 ton American beasts from the 70s, but every tool has its own strengths.

That trans came with a M50 on it yea? I have the same combo in my E36. I ran redline MTL for 60k with one change in the middle and it shifts beautifully. 228k on the trans and no problems so far. It’s the best part of the car actually. 

Anyway, just a data point for you if you decide you want to try something else. 

Edit: mine says ATF only too. 

spandak said:

That trans came with a M50 on it yea? I have the same combo in my E36. I ran redline MTL for 60k with one change in the middle and it shifts beautifully. 228k on the trans and no problems so far. It’s the best part of the car actually. 

Anyway, just a data point for you if you decide you want to try something else. 

Edit: mine says ATF only too. 

No, this is a G240 - which came with an M42 on it. It's a direct bolt-up to the M50 though, but not really rated for the power. IN rally doesn't much matter since there isn't much shock load on the transmission due to lack of grip. 

This one shifts perfectly and smoothly. It's just the rumbly input shaft bearings that are noisy. 

Got a package in from the UK. Amazingly, almost noplace in the US actually stocks twin-helmet "hammocks" - shows how little people here care about rally lol.. And those that do are really high-end. Forget that. 25 bucks and we all professional and stuff....

It's like a trunk cargo net, but with rigid (non bungee) sides and a rigid divider...After lookign at how banged up my expensive helmet is from getting tossed in the back seat and rolling around, this seemed like a good idea.

Also, when I did the M50 swap, there was one coolant hose that was a hassle, since it was a 1" hose coming from the reservoir that needed to turn an L into 3/4" hose coming from the "octupus" hose from the engine. These are NOT standard elbow sizes that local auto parts stores carry lol. At the time I just needed something quick, so after digging around I came up with this heater fitting elbow from some kind of GM or Ford, IDK... It worked but never totally sealed and really had no "grip" to it so I was worried about it blowing off under pressure. I almost forgot about them until I noticed some drips in that area of the engine bay the other day. Happy that reminded me.

So finally ordered some appropriate PVC elbows and swapped them out.

Also got new reference and speed sensors (identical parts, but you need two of them) for the Porsche, in the seemingly never-ended quest to get it to run well ALL the time, and not stall randomly for no apparent reason. At this point, pretty much everything is replaced in the engine electrical/switch/sensor system so if it keeps going it almost has to be a bad wire someplace. And the 924 wiring and fuse box are super inconvenient to deal with. 

Speaking of inconvenient, the speed and reference sensors are on the bellhousing, slightly under/back from the firewall and transmission tunnel. There is an adjustor bracket (which is almost impossible to adjust with the transmission in the car) and the two sensors have to be just the right height, else either they don't work, or they get eaten by the ring gear on the flywheel. Mine were old (possibily original) and the wires at the upper plug area were pretty questionable (and this is low-voltage shielded signal wire, so didn't want to try to fix it).

If the transmission is on the car, the only way to get the proper clearance is to put an 0.8mm spacer under the sensor to space it from the ring gear while you tighten the adjuster. The spacer is easy enough, using an old sensor and a small washer and some superglue

Getting to the 2nd adjuster bolt requires major improvisation. This involved a 1/4" box-end wrench, a ground-down oddball fitting with a 6mm hex end, and bloody knuckles. no pics. Just trust me, this job sucks so i hope this works. 

Well, after two extensive drives on my "test route" it seems as if the Porsche is (fingers crossed) fixed. No stalls, no stumbles, no abnormal running of any kind in the multiple times I've driven it in different conditions, speeds, roads, temperatures since changing the speed and reference sensors. So, guess that was it. Yeah, I've said that before though.........

So piled a bunch of wheels and tires in the Sequoia and took them to the local tire shop. Incidentally, unlike DMack 15" rally tires, they commented that the Federals were not especially difficult to seat the bead on - said it was similar to runflat street tires. So, good for them lol.

So that's one set of brand-new Federal G10's, and one set of used ones that Jon kramer used at SOFR, but they seem to be around 75% or so, if not a bit more. Good for spares, and I'll also try them next weekend at rallycross just to see how they feel.

Both sets fo wheels are the Mini 5-spokes. They are light and supposedly strong, and were cheap. But man, they are some boring looking wheels. I'll have to paint this set at least, like I did with the others........

And Ray Rehberg, one of Nonack's buddies, took a ton of pics at WMWR and just now got around to posting them all up. Quite a few great ones, but I like this one for some reason.

Also our "serious/not serious" one from the awards

New wheels looks good, keep the color IMO. 

irish44j said:

Also, when I did the M50 swap, there was one coolant hose that was a hassle, since it was a 1" hose coming from the reservoir that needed to turn an L into 3/4" hose coming from the "octupus" hose from the engine. These are NOT standard elbow sizes that local auto parts stores carry lol. At the time I just needed something quick, so after digging around I came up with this heater fitting elbow from some kind of GM or Ford, IDK...

That's a metal elbow to replace the failure prone plastic one that goes between the belt tensioner and the timing cover on a Series II Buick 3800.

Why coolant routes through the belt tensioner is unimportant right now.

Knurled. said:

irish44j said:

Also, when I did the M50 swap, there was one coolant hose that was a hassle, since it was a 1" hose coming from the reservoir that needed to turn an L into 3/4" hose coming from the "octupus" hose from the engine. These are NOT standard elbow sizes that local auto parts stores carry lol. At the time I just needed something quick, so after digging around I came up with this heater fitting elbow from some kind of GM or Ford, IDK...

 

That's a metal elbow to replace the failure prone plastic one that goes between the belt tensioner and the timing cover on a Series II Buick 3800.

 

Why coolant routes through the belt tensioner is unimportant right now.

lol, interesting. It came in a pack with 3 of them (3 different sizes) and was hanging right on the front of one of the parts shelves rows at my local Advance Auto (like, right behind the cash register, like it was something important and often-bought). 

In reply to irish44j :

Yep... there is one that goes between the tensioner and timing cover, and another, symmetrical one (the one that usually is the one that fails) between the tensioner assembly and the intake manifold.  Very common failure and only fools put plastic ones in.

Not sure why there would be three of them, IIRC there was no variation over the production run and there are only two per car.  And yes, I realize that I have squandered an opportunity to quote Army of Darkness.

Knurled. said:

In reply to irish44j :

Yep... there is one that goes between the tensioner and timing cover, and another, symmetrical one (the one that usually is the one that fails) between the tensioner assembly and the intake manifold.  Very common failure and only fools put plastic ones in.

 

Not sure why there would be three of them, IIRC there was no variation over the production run and there are only two per car.  And yes, I realize that I have squandered an opportunity to quote Army of Darkness.

 

 

lol, idk. Maybe there were only two. 

I don't hate the color of those wheels, but something about their design almost makes them look a bit too "modern" or something for an e30. 

artur1808 said:

I don't hate the color of those wheels, but something about their design almost makes them look a bit too "modern" or something for an e30. 

Yeah, Kevin Brolin (Downey's sometime-codriver) also has them on his and he just splatter painted them. I think they just look too "econo-E36 M3box-car," frankly. 

I really want the "phone dial" mini wheels, but people ask a lot more money for those and they're harder to find in the first place. These are the right fit, the right weight, and the right (cheap) cost, so will stick with them for the time being. I also have a set of Integra wheels as well, which may look cooler. But they're wider so I may put some track tires on them or something. 

I did pull them off and paint the other set today. Added some black spatter on gunmetal (with my lugnuts painted red just for fun).

Also, happy birthday to one of our partners in cheap-rally crime, Mr. Nonack!

In reply to irish44j :

Nonack has the same birhday as my baby cousin?

He better not be 33 or that would be... uh... kind of a boring coincidence.

irish44j said:

They actually don't look too bad painted a darker color. I think they blend in a bit more.

While I'm here, as I prepare for my M50 swap, care to enlighten me onto any "gotchas" that you came across on yours? I've almost finished gathering the parts, and once I finish up the brakes on my car, it'll be time to start pulling engines.

Hmm. I can't think of any real "gotchas," as I did pretty extensive reading/research and gathering of parts, so I didn't have a ton of surprises. 

1. Most places said there were clearance issues with the ebay headers. I didn't have any such issues, they fit perfectly. However, I don't have a front swaybar, so can't say for sure about clearance there. A couple of the rear header bolts to the head are VERY difficult to get to though, and require quite a bit of creativity with wrenches, extensions, wobble joints, etc. 

2. Because I used the G240, which isn't all that common in these swaps, I had to do some testing and fitting to determine driveshaft and shifter linkage lengths. Not a big deal, but definitely not as much information available as there is for swaps using G260 or ZF.  If you're using one of the "big" transmissions, probably better to put the engine in by itself and then install transimission once the engine is in. Unless you're going up from the bottom. 

3. Since I had an M42 that was running a bastardized e36 radiator and M20 coolant overflow tank, coolant hoses were far more trial and error and measuring. As noted in a recent post, finding oddball-size fittings to join coolant hoses was an adventure to some degree (i.e. the 1" to 3/4" elbow). 

4. As noted, e36 driveshafts have larger bolt holes than e30 transmission output flange. Depending on what route you go with the DS, you may need to get some bolt sleeves and/or bore out the output flange holes (I did the former). 

Overall though, none of this was really "gotcha." I had read about all of it, and these swaps are pretty well documented.

If you are taking the intake manifold off your engine, keep it off until everything is in. It's way easier to hook up things like the starter wiring (and starter bolts) with it off. Also easier to get the heater lines to the firewall hooked up (which will also take some creativity, btw). 

So.....next weekend's double-header rallycross should be fun.

Yeah, that's 19 cars registered for MR class. Because Subarus in rallycross are played-out.

Man, I wish I could get those kind of entry numbers for my Iowa Region events. I'm averaging only 24.5 racers per event this year. I suppose the fact that there's nearly 7 times the population within a 75 mile radius around the DC Region site really helps the attendance.

In reply to FooBag :

How many runs you guys typically get for those events?

FooBag said:

Man, I wish I could get those kind of entry numbers for my Iowa Region events. I'm averaging only 24.5 racers per event this year. I suppose the fact that there's nearly 7 times the population within a 75 mile radius around the DC Region site really helps the attendance.

Most of our events are in W.Va., probably more like 130-140 miles from DC itself. But our event draw from W.Va, Virginia, Maryland, and southern PA so pretty good cross-section. The great majority of attendees are driving 2-3 hours to get there. 

That said, when I started doing this about 9 years ago, I'd say 30-35 was a typical turnout for our events (and MR was like 4-5 cars tops). We did a good bit of "recruiting" over the years (you may notice how many BMWs there are in MR, and that's not by chance....). and now we're usually somewhere in the 50-70 attendees range (we usually cap entries around 60 so everyone gets plenty of runs)

You want to see some big events, go take a look at New England region. They have 100+ entries frequently!

Nesegleh said:

In reply to FooBag :

How many runs you guys typically get for those events?

We average 10, more in the summer, less in the winter due to daylight constraints.  I'd like to do more, but we're stuck doing Sunday events and once 4 pm hits, everyone's ready to call it day usually.

irish44j said:

In reply to FooBag :

That said, when I started doing this about 9 years ago, I'd say 30-35 was a typical turnout for our events

 I guess I shouldn't really be comparing then, since I started our rallycross program in October of '15.  You all have had way more time to build interest and attendees.

FooBag said:

Nesegleh said:

In reply to FooBag :

How many runs you guys typically get for those events?

We average 10, more in the summer, less in the winter due to daylight constraints.  I'd like to do more, but we're stuck doing Sunday events and once 4 pm hits, everyone's ready to call it day usually.

 

irish44j said:

In reply to FooBag :

That said, when I started doing this about 9 years ago, I'd say 30-35 was a typical turnout for our events

 I guess I shouldn't really be comparing then, since I started our rallycross program in October of '15.  You all have had way more time to build interest and attendees.

took a lot of time. plus DC has a HUGE autocross and track scene, so lots of people with cars and money to race them. Also we're lucky to have Susquehanna and Blue Mountain regions nearby so a number of our competitors "cross the lines" since our venues are almost as close to most of them as their own venues. 

Back in the day I spent a LOT of time on various car forums' local subforums "recruiting" - especially the forums where people have cars that are good at rallycross (e30/e36, Miata, Subaru, Civics, Volvos, and stuff like that). If you look at our entry lists, you'll see a lot of people from the groups we always made sure to post about our events in. Facebook has made it even easier in local years. Just gotta have someone who is willing to spend time posting, talking about the events, answering questions, etc.

I'm sure out in your area you could go for a different type of competitor/car group - maybe the guys with Mustangs, Crown Vics, small pickups (S-10, Ranger, etc), and whatever other cars are cheap/easily available out there. I know various regions are WAY different in the turnout. DC is extremely heavy in 80s RWD stuff and Subarus, but pretty light in FWD cars. Detroit, i hear, has a HUGE group of FWD stuff like Civics. Find a good audience, make a pitch, post vids, post cool pics. 

So, rallycross. Saturday was cancelled due to weather, but Sunday weather was perfect. out to Summit Point we went again, with almost 70 cars (and 17 in my class).

This event I went out with the car in full stage rally trim, much of which was not helpful for rallycross. 

- Federal gravel tires on 15s: I usually run soft-sidewall grass tires on the rear to keep it in check at slower speeds. I don't much like stiff gravels back there since they don't have as good lateral traction on-throttle at low-speed turns and often result in washouts. This happened several times at this event. But, wanted to test them before STPR even though my usual tire setup would have certainly been faster and more controllable.

- Hawk HP+ pads: I put these on for STPR, but should have waited until after the rallycross. They take most of a run to get heated up enough to have any bite, which cost me a lot of time.

- Gp4 rear shock: They felt great at high-speed sections. The stiffer valving exacerbated the e36 rear springs and gravels on the rear to make it hard to lock the back down in power-on slow corners. Ideally for rallycross I'll go back to IX springs rear w/Maxsports.

- All the gear: carried the spare, jack, tools, fire extinguishers, etc. Also took a codriver for a couple runs (which were actually my fastest runs, as usual...). Even threw a second tire in for the afternoon to get more weight in the back.  Plus a full tank of gas. 

So, with that in mind, i kind of expected to be slower but who knows, right? 

First run I actually put down the fastest run in the class - mostly  because I go out aggressive and don't pick up much speed over the day, where most of the other top guys start more cautiously and pick up time (especially Nick, who watches the course on video between runs to learn the course better) #seriousbusiness lol. 

Second run was also very fast until near the end, where the speed section ends in a 90* right-hand turn. Unfortunately, I went in a bit too hot and the brakes didnt' bite since I hadn't touched them for almost the entire run (see above). Overshot by a few feet into the "moon dust" and hit 3 cones. And in this class, 3 cones means game over, generally. The top guys don't hit any. 1 or 2 are recoverable with fast runs. 

Third run, was being super-aggressive and made some mistakes and took out the finish cones (+4). 

Fourth run, did some hooning for the photographers, with wide lines into the soft dirt to throw up clouds sideways, lol. +3 more.

At lunch, had 11 cones and was in 17th place (yup, last).

--

Meanwhile, car was dripping coolant. i initially thought it was the new coolant elbow I put in last week, but turns out it was the coolant level sensor leaking, as the threads for it were stripped and it coudln't be tightened. Good to find this out now. Wasn't a huge deal, still managed to not use too much coolant. 

Fixed this morning with an expandable plug stopper (used for freeze plugs)

In the PM, took some passengers for joyrides and messed around a bit. 7th run Corey jumped in after he had just driven my car on a run, so i tried to run cleaner (and as noted, I like the weight of a 2nd person in this car). Shockingly, fastest time in the class on that run. And on my final run another fast time (but +1). 

Managed to get back to 8th place without even trying - because who really cares lol. 

Anyhow, Nick won, Stephen 2nd, Eisele 3rd. So, pretty much the usual top group (minus me).  Seson points I'm 3rd overall now, but 2nd with our drop events included. We'll see how the rest of the season pans out, but now its time to focus on STPR.

Oh, and on the way home, on the Summit Point access road (a narrow-ish country road), a guy in a dually decided to hug the center line so i moved over to avoid him and dropped the trailer onto a pothole on the shoulder. Could hear the flat tire, but had to drag it almost 2 miles to find a safe pull-off spot.

doh

luckily, I had a spare, an impact, and a floor jack so not a tough change

irish44j said:

So.....next weekend's double-header rallycross should be fun.

Yeah, that's 19 cars registered for MR class. Because Subarus in rallycross are played-out.

We only had thre cars in MR.  First overall was almost some shiny happy person in a beat to E36 M3 RX-7 except for not taking a mulligan on a run where he nearly spun out due to fixating on a corner worker setting up a cone, which cost a lot of time and three cones, and was 2nd OA by like 2.2 seconds.  That's racin' though.

1st OA was an ex Subaru owner playing with a modified Evo X who won MA by one entire run's worth of time.  During lunch he was talking about moving to SR but not in a Miata.  (Or a BRZ or Lotus Elise)

you guys give drop/mulligan runs?

In reply to irish44j :

We drop the worst run of the day, which makes clearing grass less painful.  But I (uh, I mean he) could have stopped on course and requested a rerun due to unsafe conditions.  (The previous car annihilated a row of cones and the workers were still setting them up as I was aimed at them going downhill near the top of 2nd gear...  Anxious!!!)

I have a roof mounted Garmin VIRB now, you might like the on car video better