My Garage Imaginarium

First flare done! So happy, my first time doing anything like this and it turned out pretty much exactly as I've envisioned. Turns out the sheetmetal I bought a while back for this is too short. But it would have been too demoralizing to stop so I did it in two pieces. I copied the frame as much as I could within reason so hopefully the other side will be easier... and one piece... when I finally get around to firing up the car since the head mishap (still need to put the WG back on with the new springs and refill the coolant, will try the Evans Waterless stuff)

mmmmm box flares, nice build

Love this thing... one piece of advice about the wing - mount it so it's easy to remove or you will split your head open at some point standing up into it.

That's a good way to design flares for your car. I don't know if I'm ever going to make flares for any of my cars.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Love this thing... one piece of advice about the wing - mount it so it's easy to remove or you will split your head open at some point standing up into it.

LOL sounds like this advice comes from practical experience :) I'm not sure how easily removable I can make it while still making it sufficiently strong. I plan to make the mounts out of half inch alu, put them with a little toe out - a tip I got from a local racer who said the biggest problem with wings this large is lateral rigidity/stability.

You know it's interesting, I was a little freaked out about designing the mount for the wing because at 150mph, it generates close to a thousand pounds of downforce. But I don't have experience with aero so I was picturing securing a thousand pound mass. So it was completely mind boggling to me when I think about how flimsy looking some people's uprights are. Then the racer mentioned earlier helped me have an epiphany - the wing only creates force in one direction, in every other direction it's still just a light carbon shell. Simon McBeath designed this wing and I've been reading his aero book and it's absolutely fascinating. I've always been an engineering nerd on some level, starting with breaking my dad's watches, then Lego, RC airplanes, but motorsport aerodynamics is like learning all over again. Just when I think I've got it all figured out, I read a chapter which blows my mind again.

Hi BigD. Awesome build!! Couple basic questions if you don't mind, as I've never done this either, and am eager to start this year. What sheet steel thickness did you use to make your flares? Who did you get your plasma cutter through? Thanks. 3d&d

Wow! This thing is looney. I love it.

Lof8 wrote: Wow! This thing is looney. I love it.

Haha, thanks! That's a very succinct way to sum up the thinking behind this project at every step.

3duppiesandadog wrote: Hi BigD. Awesome build!! Couple basic questions if you don't mind, as I've never done this either, and am eager to start this year. What sheet steel thickness did you use to make your flares? Who did you get your plasma cutter through? Thanks. 3d&d

Thanks a lot!

The steel rod is 3/16 and the sheet is 20ga.

This is my plasma cutter (same seller/model):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plasma-Cutter-50AMP-NEW-CUT50R-Digital-Inverter-220V-Colossal-Tech-/171277528747?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e0efaeab

I also got a pile of consumables for cheap from this guy. This is one of the benefits of this plasma cutter... people say good luck getting parts and support from non Miller/Lincoln. Well, there are only about a thousand different people selling the same thing under different brand names and parts for them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50pcs-Air-Plasma-Cutter-Cutting-Consumable-For-CUT40-50-/180589910758?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0bff5ae6

First step to E85 (2nd will be upgrading the ID1000s to 2000s, hopefully my group buy goes through soon):

Man bodywork is tedious stuff, especially when you're learning it. Filled in the door ding moulding trough with a strip of steel and feathered it in with bondo. Took sooo much longer than I thought.

Could have taken a longer time and feathered things better, smoothed it out but I couldn't be bothered. Eventually I'm going to have the whole car repainted professionally so for now I just want it to have the tires covered from above, with the shape I want, and roughly the same color at a distance

Well, this car is just ridiculous. Please continue, it's everything I wish I could do to my E30.

VWguyBruce wrote: Well, this car is just ridiculous. Please continue, it's everything I wish I could do to my E30.

Thanks!

What made you go that direction with the flares as opposed to a box flare? Just curious.

To be honest, I'm not a fan of box flares. I like the look of crescent flares. There are box flare cars I like, like the Trans Am Audis from the 80s but there are a million box flared E30s around and I don't like how any of them look. I've never done either but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm shaping the design for the front in my head, not exactly sure how it will go but they will be as wide as the splitter upfront, so as wide as the tires, and then taper early in the back like the rears.

This is a great build!

Can't believe I pulled it off, so happy! Sure no pro job, didn't spend much time feathering filler and smoothing things out so up close there are a lot of flaws, and the paint doesn't match its 30 year old self. One day I'll have the whole bucket resprayed professionally but in the mean time, I'm proud as hell!

Didn't mask off the black on the rocker panel since I'm not sure what to do with it yet. I might either paint it red or if not then touch up with black. I've pretty much decided to remove the rear bumper and patch the holes.

Looks good from here.

Awesome....well done man, this thing is a beast!!

Thanks guys!

how well will that take a kick? cause you and i BOTH know some mouth breather is gonna walk slap into it in a parking lot.

Ain't it the truth. I generally try to keep away from general population. Stick the trailer with the other trailer guys, section off a little area for myself. But it's still not immune from people with no respect for others' property.

It's probably the sturdiest bit of sheet metal on the whole car. 20 gauge steel over a 3/16" skeleton. The skeleton by itself is darn stiff and with the sheeting it's quite strong.

Installed the Brembos in the painted corner, also wired the first wheel sensor for the traction control. Took some brain racking to figure out how to do it right. The rear sensor ground/shield isn't grounded at the sensor for some bizarre reason. I'm used to the shield being grounded at the signal source. The front E36 sensors are that way but not the rear. So I added a ground wire connecting to the bolt of the sensor, so now all 4 corners will be grounded at the sensor and hanging at the racelogic.

The more I look at it the more I'm happy with how it's turning out, really freaking proud in fact. Looking at the overspray I think I will spray the rest red as well - remove the rear bumper, patch the various holes (maybe a louver of some kind instead of the oval vent holes) and spray it red.

4-5 more weekends and it may be ready for a track debut! Probably with no front body work but oh well.

Very nice e30 im blown away because at first i thought it would be a relatively slow build by the first few posts but i will say i envy you with how fast things seem to have gone. I am curious as to where you purchased the center top gauge pod? (im guessing oil psi or temp stuff) mainly because it looks exactly like what i was planning on building for my volvo but im curious if you happen to of purchased it and if so where.

Thanks! Yeah I ported the build history from elsewhere, got pretty tired of random discussions and stupid comments. Not a lot of attention here but the guys who comment are the ones who get it, which is how I like it.

I actually made that pod one day when I missed working with wood (plywood, balsa, fiberglass). Yup it's Oil temp/press and Water temp (the stock gauges are so horribly buffered that you could be within 100 degrees of reality before you know it)

Nice i had a similar idea using fiberglass and making a mold from a couple of glued together hobby foam now i have a better idea for the front. but very nice makes me want another e30..better yet i wish i still had my e24 but im stuck with my volvo and i suppose once i start working on it again i wont mind it