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

Checking things off the list now. Placed an order with Jegs to get some exhaust tubing + cheap catalytic converter (required for stage rally) + muffler. So will look to tackle some exhaust work next weekend. Also got some .025 wire for my welder, since I just have a bunch of .030 and.035 right now and thinner wire should cover better for my shoddy exhaust welding, lol. 

Speaking of welding, got going and re-fitted the skidplate brace bar, which had to be cut off to clear the longer engine. I ended up having to move it up about 3" total, and also make it a bit taller since this oil pan (unbelievably) sits even lower than the M42. Plus, it's a 1-piece pan so breaking it = big time hassle (M42 has a 2-piece pan).

So, added a couple inches onto the existing brace

cleaned it up, welded it, and painted stuff

and after some fiddling around and making extended base plates on the frame rails, welded it up. Man I hate welding under the car!

I left more clearance this time than I had with the M42. I don't want the skid to be anyplace close to the pain at this point...I'll jack up the front suspension height to compensate, lol.

When I took the hood off, three of the six bolts holding it to the hinges sheared off. Rusted in place from the inside. So i had to drill those out and re-tap them. Once that was done, I figured what the hell, let's put the hood back on since I'm mostly done in the engine bay itself

Unfortunately, I found that my slick stock e34 wiring cover was too tall and the hood wouldn't close at the back end

So, I guess I'm going to have visible wires there. Will clean them up a bit and put some protective wrap so it doesn't look so trashy...

And, recalibrated the tach for a 6-cyinder (since I had been showing 1200rpm at idle, when it was actually 800 haha...)

So when is the first burnout with the new engine?

In reply to artur1808 :

well, still no driveshaft or shifter hooked up, so it's gonna be a bit longer. Also I live in a very quiet neighborhood, so will likely be after an exhaust exists as well haha

Not much going on today, since I have to do some work on my bathroom sink lol. Did bleed the clutch and drill the 2nd "2nd" support bolt on the transmission mount, and install the new gas pedal bushings, which tighten things up nicely.

Tomorrow's UPS should bring a box from Greg the e36 guy with some stuff i need: (hopefully working) PS pump, an e36 PS pressure hose, and the shifter carrier and rod from an e36 318i, which by my measurements is perfect dead-center on my shifter hole with the current setup. I was going to use Jim's spare M20 stuff, but those are about an inch shorter so the shifter won't be centered in the hole. Let's just do this the right way for a few extra bucks.

All my exhaust stuff should be here tomorrow from Jegs as well, so can start mocking up stuff.

Also noted that it's time to replace my lug studs and lugnuts, as they're feeling kind of "loose" these days after a couple years of impact guns.

Also pulled the cover off the Porsche to run it for a little bit since it's been sitting for most of the winter. Upon initial start it had a hell of a clatter to it. I thought for a minute I might have a bent valve or something, but after a minute or two, and shutting off the car and turning it back on a couple times, it mostly went away. So seems like a sticking lifter. I think before driving season starts I'll put a quart of ATF into the crankcase and run the car for a little bit and then change the oil. That seems to be the trick that most 944 guys use to quiet down lifter noise. 

So not too exciting, but feel like I'm on the home stretch now. rallycross season registration opens tomorrow and I basically have 2 1/2 weeks to have everything ready to go.

Raise the hood latches so the back of the hood is "popped" when latched down.

It's worth a good amount of cooling even at rallycross speeds.

Knurled. said:

Raise the hood latches so the back of the hood is "popped" when latched down.

 

It's worth a good amount of cooling even at rallycross speeds.

it's an idea, but everything has to align with the hood pins, among other things.

Got some quick shipping packages from UPS today. First, all my exhaust-building supplies from Jegs. Nothing too fancy - 2.5" pipe and elbows, a cheap cat (only because it's required for rally), and a decent Vibrant black muffler, just because it will look good on the drive to the first rallycross of the season (and less good after that). And also because I'm done with muffler-swapping and want something that sounds good when racing, but also is tolerable when driving around in a car with no sound insulation. Plus an 02 sensor bung and some other stuff that i may or may not use

Also got in a box from Greg the e36 parts guy. With the PS pump not working and not knowing if it's a bad pump or bad pressure line, Greg pulled both off one of his parts cars and sent it my way. They were a bit gunky and the line doesn't look great, but should work anyhow. Cleaned up the pump a bit and installed. Happy to say the e36 pressure line is almost a perfect fit, with only a minor adjustment needed to prevent it hitting the engine mount arms. Then I refilled and bled the system and it seems to work fine, though I didn't put the car on the ground to try it. But I can tell the pump is working now - which was not the case before. 

I do appreciate how easy it is to take the serpentine belt off and put it back on just by levering the tensioner. That said,, I will have to remember to put the correct allen key into my race toolkit in case we ever have to change it on stage.

Greg also sent me the shifter carrier and rod from an e36 318. The carrier is a pretty close fit with the G240 setup (and Condor Speed Shop front and rear delrin bushings). It's probably about 1/2" back from being centered, but that's fine. The M20 carrier apparently ends up about 1" too far forward, which would be pretty close to my dash switches and stuff.

Installed the front end with a bolt (with a long unthreaded section) and locknut instead of the "bitch clip." It's just easier. 

The e36 318 shift rod was, unfortunately, far too short. So got the saw out and cut about 2 inches off my e30 318 rod in the center, and welded it back together. 

And installed, with the shifter in neutral.  I feel like it has a bit too much backward lean, so I may have cut it just a bit too short. I have another e30 one sitting here, so good chance I'll just cut that one slightly longer and swap it out, since it's not that hard. 

So with that stuff in, I could finally install the driveshaft (with all new metal-lock nuts and a new guibo).

had some fun with it...since the old driveshaft when I bought the car the PO had written some Top Gear Clarkson quote on it..

Then started goofing around with exhaust a bit, but I'll do that this weekend. I did want to hear what the car sounded like with this muffler on, so I just stuck it on after the y-pipe..

so, that's it for now. The list is getting shorter. A couple other things on the way and I shoudl hopefully have this wrapped up soon.

In other news, looks like someone is buying M42 engines tomorrow, as well as a bunch of other M42 stuff (I've already sold quite a bit). When i'm done I'm going to tally everythign up and see just how much I ended up spending on this swap (won't count other stuff unrelated to the swap). I think I should be able to stay under $500 all told, if not less. So that would be pretty cool. 

What's your plan for hangers?  I like these or something similar, they're tough and don't have a ton of movement so you can tuck the exhaust nice and close to things without worrying about it hitting them.  I usually add a couple of extra tack welds to the box section that holds the rubber isolator.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

I have one of those on my exhaust as well, and it seems like it has almost no movement. I added a flex pipe in mine to try to prevent cracks from vibration/engine movement.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

And if you get one of those, grab yourself one of these.  They're a freakin god-send when dealing with those hangers...

I just bolt the hangers to the car, no need to take the hook out.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

What's your plan for hangers?  I like these or something similar, they're tough and don't have a ton of movement so you can tuck the exhaust nice and close to things without worrying about it hitting them.  I usually add a couple of extra tack welds to the box section that holds the rubber isolator.

still working on the hanger ideas - I have a stock e34 hanger that will work well for the front section, but yeah, those ones you linked will probably work well for me since I want things pretty tight. 

Down to the nitty gritty of finishing this stuff up. First, a guy from Texas, who was in town for work, decided to buy my old M42 (and some other M42 stuff). So he showed up with a pallet, lots of tape and shrink wrap, and we set it all up for freight shipping, and it'll be picked up tomorrow. So I sold the M42 for what I bought the e34 for. That's pretty nice.

Then I spent the rest of the afternoon on and off building the exhaust. I'm not doing anything too complicated, but without a tube bender big enough for 2.5" exhaust I am using 45-degree elbows, which work fine except when you need more or less of an angle. I only had to improvise on one section (coming off the e34 y-pipe), so it doesn't look all that pretty but should work. Once I have the whole thing set up I plan to "armor" a few parts that tend to take a lot of impact from rocks and stuff.

you can see in this one, i added a bung for the O2 sensor in the best place I could find to keep it away from getting hit. I may build some kind of shield for it, we'll see. The exhaust I'm building has only a very small cat and no resonator, so it tucks up pretty nicely in the driveshaft tunnel, higher than the OEM exhaust I had. Still going to stick down farther than I like going under the rear subframe, but nothing much I can do about that other than armor it up back there. Still working on ideas for good hangars - that will probably be the next project once I have a complete system.

here you can see where I am to (right before the rear subframe) and where the muffler inlet is. Looks like I'll just need a couple elbows, though ideally I'd just have a mild s-bent pipe go directly. Wonder if I can get away with two mild bends with my HF tubing bender. I have more pipe than I need, so I may just try, we'll see.

And, got a package from fellow rally driver Kevin Schmidt (who is on here and who I competed against and lost to by 1 second at the Great Lakes Divisional Challenge in like 2015, before either of us did stage rally. Some springs that he'd tried (and not used) on his car. Same length as my current fronts, but up from 200# to 225#, which will hopefully compensate for the additional weight up there now. 

In reply to irish44j :

Speaking of Great Lakes Divisional Rallycross Championships, are you going to make it again this year? In Ohio, June 15/16. 

artur1808 said:

In reply to irish44j :

Speaking of Great Lakes Divisional Rallycross Championships, are you going to make it again this year? In Ohio, June 15/16. 

hadn't even thought about it, honestly. Will see how the car is running and handling as time gets closer. That's a weekend after a local event, and 2 weeks before our local 2-day event, so will have to see what my family obligations look like lol. Where in Ohio is it?

It is in Chillicothe at the fairgrounds that SOFR uses for the second day. 

344 Fairgrounds Rd, Chillicothe, OH 45601

glad I could help! also I will be at june sprints for the GLDNRX event.  have fun without me!

EvanB said:

It is in Chillicothe at the fairgrounds that SOFR uses for the second day. 

344 Fairgrounds Rd, Chillicothe, OH 45601

Thx. 7 hours is probably farther than I'm willing to tow for a rallycross event, honestly (and sure as hell not driving the e30 that far). I'm pretty set that I won't tow over 3-4 hours unless it's stage rally. But who knows. 

In reply to irish44j :

It's ok, i know you couldn't handle being beat by miatas now that you have more power. 

EvanB said:

In reply to irish44j :

It's ok, i know you couldn't handle being beat by miatas now that you have more power. 

psh, Shawn Roberts runs with DC. I know damn well that he could beat me more often than not, if he bumped up to MR, and that in an n/a Miata. I only won one event last year, so losing to people doesn't have the sting to me that it once did lol. Your attempt at shaming me into attending is an abject failure! Next attempt, try offering me gas money for towing :D

Besides, if I don't come, I will be guaranteed to keep my perfect 3-0  record against you 

EvanB said:

In reply to irish44j :

It's ok, i know you couldn't handle being beat by miatas now that you have more power. 

on a side note, I am truly not looking forward to finding out how much this is screwing up the great balance my car had. For years I've done well by having a great-handling car with maybe just enough power. Remains to be seen if I can do it with more power but reduced handling and quickness. I've driven enough 6cyl e30s to know it's a pretty significant difference. 

Kept going on the exhaust today. I had to settle for a couple of 45* elbows from the local parts store since I didn't order enough mandrel-bent ones, but whatever. In any case, I have the entire exhaust tacked together and had started full-welding it and ran out of Argon (arrrrgh...).

So here's where I'm at. Right now it will have a clamp at the header, and as it sits now a clamp before the cat (but I think I may just weld that up as well). 

And here's a shot under the car to show how it tucks up in the tunnel, much better than the OEM exhaust. Except of course going under the subframe. I got out my baby sledge BFH and flattened out the top of the pipe like the stock exhaust for a bit of extra clearance, but as with the front, I think the answer is just going to be to put a bit more height on the suspension

Also installed the springs I got from Kevin, though I won't be able to adjust the height until I get the car on the ground, of course.

As you can see, these are slight beehive-shape and not perfectly straight. This is what Kevin had and I like the idea since mine do foul the upper threads on the faux-coilover sleeves. He doesn't have much clearance inside the wheel on his RX-7. I have plenty of wheel/tire clearance so can run these springs no problem.

Today I started finishing up the exhaust setup. I already had the exhaust mostly complete, or at least tacked together, so today's goal was to finish welding stuff up and add armor. I ordered some ebay exhaust hangers like the one suggested by Nonack, so will install a couple of those when they get in. Of course, as soon as I started, I ran out of Argon. grr. Luckily, Jim was not too far away and brought his tank with him, so I went and met he and Mike and Amanda (who were working on her e30) and got the tank.

Then cut some pipe longitudinally in half to create my armor, and welded it on in areas I know from experience take the worst hits.

yeah, it's some ugly welding. whatever. This exhaust is not going to look pretty anyhow....

After that, got everything oriented, and finished welding the whole system together. Before I attached the muffler I made a couple of ghetto-fabulous mounts to attach it to the stock e30 hangers, which are really quite strong and a great design, IMO.  

For the other side, I used a steel bracket leftover from a Thule roof rack fairing. It's some pretty thick stuff, actually. Since it had to go farther, I used a different design. Looks kind of funny but should be strong. And it's adjustable to some degree as well,. which is good since I want to make this exhaust system pretty tight to the car.

Other stuff I didn't take pics of - I installed the O2 sensor and ran the wiring to the engine (adding some flexible plastic tubing over it for protction). 

I ran the car for about 10 minutes and noticed oil dripping around the pan. WTF??? After looking around, I identified the leak as coming from my distribution block, which has the pressure and warning senders installed in it. The block has a third NPT port that I didn't use. And apparently I didn't tighten the bloc-off screw on it much at all. So that's where the leak was. Tightened it up and should have no more leak there. 

After that, I put the car on the ground so I can take a test drive tomorrow. As I was standing in the garage looking a the car, man, the back wheel camber and toe look really bad. This is a common e30 problem for rally cars in particular, bending the trailing arms, but somehow I've managed to not bend them in all this time. Well, I have now. My toe gauges showed a combined toe-out of almost 1/2"...which is a ton. Not to mention a lot of negative camber. Just visually, pretty sure this is mostly/all on the driver's side. I didn't notice it before, but I suspect this happened at NEFR and was the reason for the excessive rear tire wear, which I had just written off to really long transits. Whatever, car still handed fine at WMWR. Rear toe doesn't seem to have nearly the effect on loose surfaces as it does on pavement. 

So, now I know what my next project is - pulling down my spare trailing arms and reinforcing them (using a combination of the Garagistic kit and the stuff that Hooper did to his e30 a couple years ago). Don't think I'll do that before the first rallycross, but no biggie since I'm towing there anyhow. Will definitely have it done by the second one. I haven't pulled the RTA's in like 7 years, so I will get to remember how little fun that is haha...

Question - would some sort of welded-on deflector rib help protect the cat from getting caught on stuff?  Something like this (realizing, I think this is the back side of the cat):

i like the hanger!  But speaking from painful experience, you may want to add a gusset to the rear one, that overhung setup is not going to last long.

I am thinking just a straight piece from the bottom, at a 30ish degree angle to the top one, and welded against the muffler shell where it touches in the middle.  That way it won't be levering against the top and bottom welds.

I also dig the armor, that is an idea I am probably going to borrow.