I somehow missed this thread. Reading to this point is quite an emotional rollercoaster. I think we're all going to miss you Ed. Looking forward to seeing this car come together and I'm very intrigued by that whole 16.5/1 power thingy. That seems about the same place that the Accord would end up.
Turbine said:How were the Condor diff bushings on the street? I'm redoing the rear suspension in my e36 and cant decide between the Condors or AKG 95a poly.
Honestly it's kind of hard to say since I added the stiff springs at the same time, so that single change wasn't isolated. They aren't overly harsh or anything. I don't think it was a placebo effect or anything, but the car does seem slightly more responsive under power. I expect it will be a more dramatic when I add the Condor trans and engine mounts and it's actually being driven at the limit.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
Thanks Seth! I'll still be around virtually and hopefully at some events, too.
Oh and thank you for reminding me to say something about the rule set! The rules for the new NASA ST6 class were released last week. And the result.... This car is not legal. 
They added a clause that reads "ST6 models must have 168 or less factory rated engine horsepower and an engine displacement less than 2.5L." My 1995 BMW 325i was rated at 189 horsepower from the factory. The base power to weight ratio for ST6 is 17:1, which would have been just about perfect for this car without much modification.
Now I could accept that and start planning to cut more weight and add more power to try and be competitive in ST5. The base power to weight for ST5 is 14:1, so that would take some doing to get there, but certainly possible.
But I really do want to be in ST6 because that's where all my racing buddies will be (mostly in Porsche 944s.) So here's the loophole I found. A 1998 BMW 323i was rated at exactly 168 horsepower and had 2494cc engine displacement 
. From my research there is very little that separates a 325i engine from a 323i engine. Same displacement. Intake and exhaust manifolds are different and they added a sensor to one of them. So theoretically I could find a 323i engine, modify it with my 325i engine parts and have what amounts to a 325i engine with it qualifying as a 323i. That might make me legal... For one season. I'm not sure I want to be the reason for a rules amendment for the following year lol.
I made some calls and found a running 323i engine a couple hours from me. Decisions, decisions.....
My 160hp 2.4 liter car is looking pretty good.........
Is there a corresponding TT class like NASA usually has? I guess I could go read the rule book, but nobody likes doing that.
In reply to Ed Higginbotham :
You can’t leave, who am I going to annoy about 944 stuff there? :)
Congrats and good luck in the future. Tell your Dad to get that 20VT swap finished!
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
Yep, looks like you've got a great start for this class. And yes, I would assume there will be a similar TT class. There is for every other ST class I believe. There's a guy in our group who will be racing his Accord in ST6. He's very fast.
In reply to Stefan :
Thanks! And yes, now that I'm in the area I can bug him more often about it. I think he's already chosen his 944 victim for the project.
So the old car is getting stripped now. All the drivetrain should be out by tonight.
Then it’s time to really start ripping into the new car.
And here’s why you need shock tower reinforcements on E36s with stiff springs.
New fresh car:
Old car with no reinforcements and a long life on stiffer H&R springs:
Wow! Do these standard style combat that? Are they stackable with camber plates?
so many damn reinforcements needed on this chassis!
In reply to Lof8 :
I believe the standard bolt on reinforcements combat this. At least, they are advertised to. I have the same thing, except sold by Turner.
I’m actually not sure if they are stackable with camber plates but I’ve thought about that too. We’ll find out soon! I have reinforcements and Ground Control camber plates. I’ll post here when I figure out how that will fit.
Update: engine and transmission are out and the car is back outside. The rest of the goodies will come out there.
In reply to Ed Higginbotham :
When I bought my car, it had GC camber plates and a Turner reinforcement plate on the passenger’s side. Im not sure if it had to be modified to fit, but it’s possible to use them both together apparently. Seeing the picture of the strut tower in your old car just motivated me to add the driver’s side plate lol
In reply to Turbine :
Well that is good news! I won’t worry about it then. Thanks!
So long time no update. Been really busy. Started a new job, helping out with another company and started yet another company with my brother. And my birthday and anniversary were tossed into the last couple weeks too. To celebrate all that I told my wife not to get me anything and I’d pick out my birthday present. For some unknown reason Turner Motorsports had just one E36 clutch kit on sale. And it was a really big discount. Kind of felt like I found a pricing error. But I bought it and it actually arrived. It’s an Act sprung four-puck clutch with pressure plate and lightweight flywheel. Plus all the bearings, bolts and alignment tool.
We’re planning to have some good progress this weekend.
Decent progress! The sedan is on the lift. Just finished taking the engine and transmission Out. Still amazed at how clean it is. Not a single stuck bolt.
On to the pictures!
Studyin up.
Time to add a clutch pedal, strip the interior more and start adding parts!
Oooh. You’re starting with an auto car also. Mine seems to need the stupid cable from the auto transmission to the ignition cylinder to be left in place in order to let me turn the key. Let me know if you find a way around that.
In reply to Lof8 :
Hm. I know the cable you’re talking about. I have a red label DME that will supposedly let me run without the EWS-II security system. I’ll let you know if that actually works. If it doesn’t I’ll probably just use a push-button start or use the ignition from the old race car.
Another update: I started working at a college doing marketing. There are some students trying to start an automotive club at the school so I invited them over today to see some track cars and hang out. They were awesome to hang with and we put the new clutch on the engine that will go in the car. Really looking forward to driving it.
Original flywheel: 25.2 lbs
ACT flywheel: 11.1 lbs
The delivery guy brought a present! It’s a Kirk cage from BimmerWorld.
The interior is all out. Just need to trim down the wiring and then start adding stuff!
Look, ma! Three pedals!
Lesson learned: Always stick with plan A.
So I'm working on taming the wiring situation in the car, pulling out everything from the trunk forwards. I was working on the rear doors yesterday. Took out the window regulators, interior handles and locks, etc. I actually said out loud "I'm going to leave the locking rod on there so I can make sure it's unlocked when I'm finished.
Long story short, I played with the rod, decided that pushing it in was the unlock position (wrong!), ditched the rod, put the door back together and closed it. Now I have a nice big hole cut in the interior of the door to get to the latch from inside the car. I'm going to completely gut the doors anyway, but it cost me a fair amount of time.
Ed Higginbotham said:Lesson learned: Always stick with plan A.
So I'm working on taming the wiring situation in the car, pulling out everything from the trunk forwards. I was working on the rear doors yesterday. Took out the window regulators, interior handles and locks, etc. I actually said out loud "I'm going to leave the locking rod on there so I can make sure it's unlocked when I'm finished.
Long story short, I played with the rod, decided that pushing it in was the unlock position (wrong!), ditched the rod, put the door back together and closed it. Now I have a nice big hole cut in the interior of the door to get to the latch from inside the car. I'm going to completely gut the doors anyway, but it cost me a fair amount of time.
I did the same thing with my e21 trunk latch a week or so ago. Panic set in quick, but a large hole saw to the sheet metal behind the seat, long steel rod with a 10mm socket pounded in tight, and I was able to loosen both bolts to the latch.
This project is making me want to start with an e36 base and ditch the e21.
In reply to captainawesome :
Wow sorry about that. At least I didn't have to reach that far for mine. So we should make a club now, right? The "Instant Regret Door Closers."
Just an update: I’m not trapped under a tree or anything. Just working on the wiring harness... I think I’d actually rather be stuck under a tree.
Checkpoint reached.
Trophy Earned! "Threading the needle"
It's all downhill from here, right?
And a few photos and notes from this past weekend:
1. My boss gave me a bottle of coquito to enjoy during the holidays. It’s fantastic thing to have around in the shop.
2. The big Remington jet-engine-of-a-heater did a scary thing and made the shop look like a Van Gogh painting.
3. More Condor Speed Shop goodies added!
5. More evidence that PB Blaster is just the best. Soaked these exhaust studs overnight and got every single nut off without so much as a grunt. Replaced with clean hardware.
Lookin good!
Nice progress!
You can indeed use the reinforcement plates with camber plates. You may need to trim the reinforcement plates where they wrap around, as the extremes of the camber plates will hit.
Where in MD? I'm kinda nearby in DE with my own E36, mostly autocross and HPDE's though.
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