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  • BMW E36 prep for FP, XP, & HPDE

    Just starting this thread to combine some random posts from other threads into one location that everyone can easily find. There are several folks on the vomo forums that are preparing E36 cars for FPrepared, XPrepared, and/or HPDE/Time Attack use. This means they all share the following:
    • Need for big wheels and tires
    • Need for flares to clear above
    • Interior gutting, and possibly some lightweight panel replacements
    • Suspension mods
    • Brake mods
    • Racing Seat installs
    • Lightweight body panels, Lexan, etc


    So if you see a post from another thread get shoved over here, blame it on me! If you have a question or find a picture of prep in one of the above subjects, stick it in here. If this thread gets good, I'll sticky it.

    THESE PICTURES AND MORE ARE HERE: http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/gallery/3866549
    Last edited by Fair!; 11-21-2007, 11:40 AM.
    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

  • #2
    Re: BMW E36 prep for FP, XP, & HPDE

    Rear subframe Bushing Swap:

    On the rear subframe bushings, go poly, Delrin, or aluminum. These locations don't need to rotate or pivot at all, which is a great place for poly or a stiffer bushing material. There's Aluminum bushings in the Alpha and Delrin in the Beta. We had a helluva time getting the old ones out of the Beta car's subframe, and pressing the Delrin bushings in was also fun (sticking the bushings in the freezer for about an hour helps!), but its done and back in the car now.




    We tried 2 different methods to remove the old subframe bushings: using a hole saw to cut out the middle then hammer out the sleeve -OR- cut the bushing into "quarters" with a SawsAll and knock it out. Second method was a lot easier. Its only about a 2-3 hour job if you have the right tools and use the right technique... it took us a longer than that to do. Live and learn.

    While the subframe is out check the following:
    • If it is an E36 non-M car, you have to install the OEM subframe mount reinforcements. About $60 form Turner (its really a BMW part, they just package it easily). Its about 1-2 hours of extra work once you have the subframe out. Clean off the undercoating (powered wire brush) and then weld the plates in place. Stitch weld. Or just call Taylor at DP and make an appointment.
    • Get the rear swaybar reinforcements welded on as well. Again, Turner makes a kit (laser cut, pre-bent) but it could be home fabbed and could be more elaborate than the Turner piece. These bend easily.
    • Stitch weld the chassis-side RTAB buckets. There are only a handful of spot welds holding these in place. Clean, stitch weld, paint. Having seen an E36 rip the subframe out before, its not a pretty sight afterwards. An ounce of prevention...




    http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...6&subcat_id=92 - one of the rare times when I will link to a competitors website... but they offer some good parts that we don't. We've bought these kits from them before.

    ===================

    Got a better tip for doing this swap? Post it here!
    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: BMW E36 prep for FP, XP, & HPDE

      Interior Gutting Tricks and Tips:

      Mostly just pictures I've nicked from the interwebs...

      http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=876591 - small thread with some pics


      before...


      after...

      Door panels:



      Most are home built out of aluminum, but the last one there is in CF. Metal is preferred by some club racing organizations...
      Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
      2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
      EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

      Comment


      • #4
        Flares!

        Originally posted by McCall
        Fair, with the LTW 18x10 wheels and some 285s, how much fender flaring do you think I will really have to do? Do you think this could be accomplished with a tiny bit of trimming of the stock fenders and some time with a fender roller?
        Well, some folks claim to have cleared 285s with stock fenders, rolled all to hell... :



        But covering the tires and having them actually not rub with some bump travel are two different things. There are several threads on bimmerforums discussing this issue (thread1, thread2, thread3), and I've grabbed pictures from all of them. I am actually amassing a lot of pictures of different E36 cars' flares, trying to find the best option for our XP car and for others to see.



        The Teucci DSP car had some damn nice flares over 285/30/18s on 18x10s, using the outer sections of E46 fenders (shown above) grafted to the E36 fenders. Its not easy to make them look good (harder than the bolt on flares), but they look the best, to me.




        http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/gallery/1165599 - more Teucci DSP pictures

        The topic of E36 flaring should get its own topic, in the public/general set-up forum...

        Amassing some pictures here: http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/gallery/3801498

        I will be at DP tomorrow night hammering on Scooter's car trying to fit 285s on 18x10s for temporary use. His car is eventually getting bigger wheels and flares. I am hoping I can get it going without flares for the time being... might have to cut it a bit and let it be ugly.




        Worst case you can always "cut first and ask questions later"... clear for the 285s and then add or make the flares to fit what you need.

        more threads:
        http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=755186
        http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=850939 - Shenoy's FP build

        We have an extra set of these flares in the shop...





        Not the best fit, but they are hella cheap...
        Last edited by Fair!; 01-15-2008, 05:48 PM.
        Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
        2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
        EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

        Comment


        • #5
          Lightweight Batteries

          Lightweight batteries are a smart mod, even early on. After gutting the interior of street car fluff, dropping 20-40 pounds out of the car doesn't get much easier than this...


          The OEM BMW E46 battery at right was 54 pounds


          The Werker M6-to-SAE terminal adapter kits are $8.99 at BatteriesPlus (local stores everywhere)


          Odyssey PC680 is pretty small, and $125. Deka makes similar AGM batteries in 14 ($70), 18 ($75), and 21 ($87) pounds sizes that we've used


          making a secure mount from aluminum is simple with minimal fabrication skills or tools (E30 mount left, E46 mount at right is better - secures in all 3 axis)

          Last edited by Fair!; 11-22-2007, 09:14 PM.
          Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
          2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
          EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

          Comment


          • #6
            Steering Wheel Lock DISABLE

            After following this thread for pointers, I ran into some trouble on an E36 I did this to. By following this mod as suggested ("drill at red box") it temporarily disabled the steering lock, but soon after the spring (that never came out, apparently) jammed into the ignition lock mechanism and caused problems. This spring both prevented the key from working as well as re-engaged the steering lock at random times.

            After drilling another hole (as shown below) I was able to finally dislodge the spring, then remove it with some needle nose pliers through the original hole I drilled. Once removed, all of the problems went away. Key turns, steering lock is now gone for good.

            MAKE SURE THAT THE SPRING IS REMOVED and there should be no issues with this modification.

            A little more picture info (and better pics), with some step by step...


            The car in question, a '92 325is, gutted interior. Note: the red connector at the end of the ignition switch


            Step 1: After drilling a hole in the suggested location, the spring became jammed


            Step 2: A 2nd hole was planned. Center punched...


            Step 3: ... then drilled.


            Step 4: "There it is!" 2nd hole dislodged the spring. Remove the spring completely.


            Its a squirrely bugger...

            EDIT: On Saturday Nov 24th we did the Steering Lock Delete mod on McCall's recently arrived '95 M3. From start to finish it took about 10 minutes. This is a no brainer, $0 mod that adds safety to your race car.
            Last edited by Fair!; 11-25-2007, 06:33 PM.
            Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
            2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
            EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

            Comment


            • #7
              Fixed Back Racing Seats

              Fixed Back Racing Seats - a must for lowering chassis weight (OEM BMW seats can weigh 60-78 pounds each, or more) as well as keeping your body planted during high g loads. "Hanging on" with your arms keeps you from having accurate steering inputs, and even a harness used with a stock seat isn't much help (you should see the poor saps that flail around in the XP car's right side stock seat, even with a harness).

              Fixed back seats are also good in a crash - less chance of the seat breaking during a hard impact, like an OEM or an adjustable reclining seat can. Some folks are crazy about not having fixed back seats withOUT a roll bar/cage (some weird dreamt up scenario where you if rolled the car, in a split second you could "slide out of the belts and a stock seat" to keep from having a roof related head or spine injury - which is 100% crap), but that's all mostly overblown internet hype, and not against any HPDE regulations that I have seen. If you are only ever autocrossing the car, you don't need a cage anyway, but if your E36 will be trading paint on a road course, sure, get a cage built to meet the need. Otherwise use a harness bar and fixed back seats for just HPDE use, without much worry.



              The two side mount fixed back seats I like the most are the Sparco Evo and Cobra Suzuka. Both are FIA approved seats (make sure whatever seat you get is FIA approved, if you ever plan on doing anything more than an HPDE) but the Evo is fiberglass, Suzuka is Kevlar - so the Cobra gets the nod. Both are around $599/each retail and ~18-19 pounds, and after racing with each I like them both. They make "BIG BOY" wider sizes in each brand. Get the driver's seat that fits YOU, and if you are kind enough even put in a passenger seat (of course, remove it for Nat'ls and/or important events) get one of the BIG BOY seats for that side. Bigger passengers need a ride sometimes, too.

              You can spend a LOT more and get a BIT lighter seat (usually made of CF), but I wouldn't recommend it unless you have an additional $2000-3000+ burning a hole in your pocket. I'm not a big fan of sheet aluminum racing seats, because neither are some road course groups/rules makers. Buy a Kirky and you'll hear "FIA what?" They are of course safe, and can be quite light and comfortable, but its not worth the hassle of not having FIA approval, in my opinion. Most of them bigger than a "karting mini seat" are just as expensive and just as heavy... the full sized "road racing" Kirky aluminum seat is over 20 pounds. The circle track Kirkys are lighter but very different.

              You can also spend closer to $300 and get steel framed bottom mount seats from Sparco (Sprint, $329 retail) or Cobra (Monaco, $269), both of which are FIA approved and only a tick heavier at 20 pounds each. I've raced in these fully padded/upholstered seats from Sparco and Corbeau and they felt fine. We're going to get two like this for the E30... half the price, and still under the 25# STS class minimum for seat + bracket.

              This brings us to seat brackets - if you are the only driver, get brackets that bolt to the chassis. Or make them, if you have some fab skills. A fixed mount seat is the safest method for any type of racing use that could lead to big impacts, and a lot easier to make than a slider. They allow for a lower seat mounting if you are concerned about lowering the CG to the max, but unless you are 7' tall, "setting them on the floor" usually makes it to where the driver can't see over the steering wheel. You can even make low profile sliders "too low" for many drivers, too. For autocrossing, having good visibility is paramount.


              (a very modified OEM slider with Sparco steel side mount brackets welded to them that Teucci made for the Alpha car... not light, but strong, safe and very functional)

              If you have multiple drivers and need a slider for the driver's seat, and if someone sells adjustable/sliding brackets to adapt a specific model side mount or bottom mount seat to your chassis, buy them. Don't waste the dozen+ hours needed to make some yourself.

              Making sliding brackets is not fun at all, but if you have too many hours to burn and decent fab skills, you could potentially make something that fits you and your co-driver better than the aftermarket... the E36 is particularly finicky about fitting fixed back seats. The car is VERY narrow, and most of the fixed back seats have trouble fitting in the cars without hitting the door panel and tunnel. The best bet is to offset the seat towards the tunnel - the OEM steering column is already offset towards the center of the car and moving the seat that direction gives you more room and aligns the driver with the wheel better anyway.

              http://www.motorsportseats.com/ - best place to shop?

              Harnesses need their own post. We will have to post pictures of reinforced eyelets to use with clip-in harnesses. McCall's M3 has good examples on it.

              Last note: if buying side-mount seats get the STEEL side-mount brackets from that seat maker. The aluminum ones get big nasty cracks at the lower bends and are not FIA approved because of this. I have seen huge cracks in brand new Sparco aluminum side-mount brackets, among others. Steel side mount brackets are 5#/pair and worth the 2# hit for safety. Steel also allows you to weld then to a steel slider, if necessary.
              Last edited by Fair!; 12-20-2007, 11:26 AM.
              Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
              2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
              EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

              Comment


              • #8
                $0 "Hammer Flares"?

                Did some stop gap, temporary "hammer clearanced" flaring for an E36 sporting some big 285/30/18s on 18x10s a couple of weeks back. Here's the end result (front fenders only at this point):



                The fronts look like it might work "pretty well" like this, but it needs street and track testing to prove that. I still need to work on the rear fenders and get the rear ride height up a bit. This car is supposed to get a wide body and bigger custom wheels/wider tires at some point, but we just wanted to have some clearance for temporary street and track use without all of the bodywork and hacking associated with a wide body conversion (we'll let the body shop do that mess!).



                First step (above left) is to pull the rubber inner lip seal out. Its wedged between the 2 pieces of sheet metal that make up the inner lip, on the front fenders only. Grab it with some pliers and yank.

                Next step I used a hammer and a dolly to flatten the inner fender lip completely flat (above center). This takes the inner lip that is normally perpendicular to the tire and makes it vertical, and sandwiches it right next to the the vertical outer edge of the front fender sheet metal. This will of course damage the paint finish but if you are careful you can keep the sheet metal deformation to a minimum and it can still come out pretty flat on the outside surface (minimum bodywork to make perfect). This amount of "rolling" is enough to get 265s to fit while keeping a totally stock outer fender contour, from previous experience... which is a class rule for some racing classes ("rolled but not re-contoured"). A fender roller could never create this situation, as they can and will push the outer fender contour outwards as they roll the inner lip flat.

                As you can see in the final picture (above right) this amount of "rolling" is still not enough to cover the top of a 285mm tire, and the wheel/tire is pushed in as much as possible already. Going to need to modify that fender contour heavily to clear this big tire, and even then it won't be "enough to clear the tire at full compression" clearanced.



                In the next three pictures I continued the hammer/dolly method and took the now "vertical" profile of the lip and pushed it out to match the "angled" flare section of the factory fender, further pushing the lip out and over the top of the tire, as shown at full droop travel above. Now this hasn't been road tested yet, and I suspect it will rub at full suspension compression travel, but it should be inside the fender that rubs and not the lip cutting into the tire. We'll see once we get this car moving under its own power. For now this $0 fender mod at least covers the top of a 285 for some temporary use. The rear, well, that's going to take some additional work as there's a lot more sheet metal in the way. Probably going to try to hammer the inner and outer fender structures to clear the wheel/tire combo (we've got some leeway with spacer thicknesses to move inboard also).

                If we were going to stick with this wheel/tire combo only, then the grafted E46 Sedan fender flare sections would give more than enough room for clearance at full compression.
                Last edited by Fair!; 12-20-2007, 11:30 AM.
                Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quick Release Steering Wheel

                  The options out there for a quick release that fits a Sparco (or Momo) 6-bolt steering wheel and an E36 steering shaft upper spline were limited, expensive, and all of them pushed the steering wheel many inches closer to the driver than the stock wheel was. $70 for the steering hub adapter that bolts to the column from Sparco + $329 (!?) for the Sparco quick release hub that bolts to that... that's no typo - it was going to cost an additional $400 to get a $125 steering wheel into an E36 with a quick release!



                  The poicture above left is what Sparco sells as a quick release. Keep in mind this must bolt onto an already pretty thick BMW spline-to-6 bolt pattern hub adapter! that additional pieces is 2-3" thick, so the stack-up gets pretty huge.

                  We have a need for a similar steering wheel set-up like this on several E36 chassis, so I took the time to do a little research to try to find a more cost effective and "shorter stack up" solution. Here's the final result, which involves custom machined pieces of somewhat affordable parts. It places the Sparco steering wheel right where the stock one was (which is 2-3" farther away from the driver than the bolt-on $400 quick connect set-ups would be!):



                  This particular set-up was a "splined pull release" style release made for a more common "3-bolt" steering wheel pattern (think: circle track); see the picture below left. Like most racing-specific quick release solutions, its made to be welded onto the steering shaft and comes in a couple of generic (mostly GM) steering shaft splines or a smooth bore size to work with a common size of tubing used in custom steering shaft assemblies. The other two styles of quick releases either use a captive pin release and a hex shaped outer hub adapter (see below, middle) or a splined hub adapter with a pin (below right). After using a few like it, I picked the first option, the "pull type", as the are easier to operate with gloves on and without looking. Reach behind the wheel with both hands and pull on the ring, then the wheel comes off. Very positive stops, and very safe.

                  I then found a 3-bolt to 6-bolt adapter that was fairly short (a new top secret source). Took the splined portion of the quick release kit, then shortened it substantially, then re-bored the inner diameter to match the BMW shaft. Thanks to Hanchey and Taylor for the lathe work while I fought with removing the column from the car (ugh). Sure, I wish I could have it splined to the proper BMW spline, so it will bolt on instead of weld on, but that's "an expensive proposition".



                  Taylor then took the outer splined hub adapter that now fit snugly to the BMW steering shaft and TIG welded it in place. A little tricky, and it took some cooling during the welding, but it works well and looks great. Sourced all of these parts from non-BMW type suppliers and didn't pay the crazy mark-up you normally would. I'm going to order a few more sets of the parts, do the machine work in a snmall batch run, and see if they will sell for a reasonable price? I dunno, probably about $125-150 Retail for everything, ready to weld on, with all new 316SS fasteners for each junction. If we have enough interest we could make design our own, then make a production run that has a inner splined hub adapter made for an E36... that way it could "bolt on" instead of being a "weld-on" adpater. Probably not enough interest to do this though. Needs to have significant volume to pay for the custom broach to machine that goofy BMW spline

                  No, the horn and airbag won't ever work with this set-up. And yes, lots of race cars have weld on steering wheel adapters/quick release hubs.



                  As you can see, the adapter we found was pretty long, and once attached to the wheel it had too much "stack up", almost as bad as the expensive bolt-on solutions out there that use a thick splined hub adapter + a bolt on quick release attached to that. We machined over 1.25" off of that unsplined length shown to get the wheel where it needed to be. In the end this set-up matched the stock wheel "stack-up" thickness. Perfect.



                  Above left: This is the final machined length of the splined hub. Notice how much shorter it is than in the previous row of pictures? Over 1.25" of length was machined off on the lathe. The slightly larger ID machine work is also visible. Above right is the last mock-up fitting before welding.



                  This is the final hub TIG welded to the steering column shaft at DP. We actually had to do a bunch of work to get a replacement steering shaft itself swapped into the steering column (long story - the lower splines were damaged). Just getting the column assembly removed from a BMW is also a HUGE chore. Both of these processes required machining the heads off of "tamper proof" bolts.

                  BMW uses bolts where the heads are SNAPPED OFF during assembly so that they can NEVER be unscrewed without a bunch of work. I was cursing in German again, after spending 2 hours upside down under the dash drilling and grinding these heads off just to get the column out of the car! There's probably some better trick to this but I couldn't find any shortcuts after ample online searches. Now that I've removed a BMW E36 column, and disassembled/reassembled two E36 column assemblies, I know some tricks. Still not easy. Want me to do it? Give me $500! It sucks.
                  Last edited by Fair!; 12-20-2007, 01:04 PM.
                  Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                  2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                  EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: BMW E36 prep for FP, XP, & HPDE

                    Just a few weights I took when disassembling an E36 rear subframe/suspension:


                    BMW E36 non-M Rear Trailing Arm assembly + hub = 30.6 pounds!


                    A pair of BMW E36 Rear Upper Control Arms = 13.1 pounds
                    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: BMW E36 prep for FP, XP, & HPDE

                      http://www.electrodyne.cc/Merchant2/...ct_Code=850001

                      Possible source for side mirrors on an E36. Manual, $61/pair, but the published weight seems a bit high.
                      Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                      2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                      EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: BMW E36 prep for FP, XP, & HPDE

                        Custom after-header E36 race exhaust shown in this thread, post #10.

                        http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=920171

                        I re-hosted his pics here: http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/gallery/3866549#246903581




                        He claims it doesn't drone with the 2 mufflers, which would be nice for the street, but the lack of cats make it a race-only set-up... so its a bit of a conundrum.
                        Last edited by Fair!; 01-24-2008, 03:53 PM.
                        Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                        2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                        EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          E46 fender flares grafted to an E36, Step 1

                          E46 fender flares grafted to an E36, Step 1

                          We have all seen the pictures of Teucci's old DSP 325is with this flaring option, just trying to duplicate it and document the install on the Alpha E36 LS1 car. The "bolt on" flares on the car now leave a lot to be desired, and are a bit excessive with the new wheel tire combo, which is tucked in 1/2" inboard (for a narrower track and less aero drag).



                          These flares were made to fit the fenders of a Nissan 240SX, so its no wonder they do not fit extremely well, even with lots of trimming. Being black doesn't help either, and they stick out like a sore thumb on this white car. We need a more stealthy approach...



                          This is a set of fiberglass flares for the same car. You can see how much was trimmed off to make one of these fit the front of an E36.



                          Here's the same 240SX flare kit added to another E36, just mounted much farther down the fenders. There isn't as much tire/bump travel clearance with this set-up, especially in the back, but it looks a lot better. This car has 18x10 and 285/30/18 tires.


                          Left: old wheels CCW 17x10F/17x11R with 275/315 tires... Right: D-Force 18x10 F/R with 285/305 tires

                          Well, after the wheel swap and narrower track width its probably time to re-do the flares, before the car gets repainted. Teucci has already clearanced the sheet metal underneath, which is a lot of work in the rear, so this should be somewhat straightforward...
                          Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                          2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                          EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            E46 fender flares grafted to an E36, Step 2

                            E46 fender flares grafted to an E36, Step 2

                            Next you have to figure out the tire clearance needed on the E36 sheetmetal, front and rear. This is a considerable amount of work on the back, and we are not going to get into that here because the car we're testing with has already had this done. When we do another E36 flare job we will document it better. Here's some pics of similar cars clearanced for 285mm front and rear rubber before they were flared:





                            LEFT: Here McCall is shown taking off the bolt-on flares and side molding (if equipped). RIGHT: Yes, this car is at ride height, but the current 6" front springs are being replaced with 5" or 5.5" springs, and the front will be lowered about .75" when we install new AST4300s in the next week (before the first race for the year).



                            ABOVE: Here are the E46 Sedan front fenders we will use to donate the larger fender lip/flare sections from. I have discussed this elsewhere on this forum and they are very affordable, all steel, OEM replacement fenders.




                            ABOVE LEFT: "That looks about right...??" we cut very conservatively at first.
                            LOWER RIGHT: First mock-up fit surprisingly well! The compound curves and contours are so damn close.





                            After several more iterations trimming and trial fitting, this is where we stopped for the evening. There's a tight gap around the full perimeter with no more than .005" gap anywhere before any reshaping was done. I think once we place a few tack welds it will snug up very nicely and excessive bodywork will not be needed on the front. Yes, the front of the car is still sitting very high, but we will still have lots of tire clearance/bump travel once it is lowered to the updated ride height.



                            This sort of shows the next step... tack welding the flare on, then having a better welder TIG weld the seam. This pictures above looks like they had just a series of tacks with a MIG, but we will probably TIG this instead.
                            Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                            2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                            EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              more on flares


                              OLD vs NEW... on the front. Plus, the M3 front end is on.

                              The same front E46 sedan fender flare sections look like they are gonna work in the back as well, with different trimming and a tiny bit more fab work.


                              ABOVE: Trimmed E46 flare from the LF mocked up on RR... with slightly different trimming it looks like it will work on the rear and cover the 305mm tire


                              LEFT: The rear edge contour needs to be trimmed above the rear bumper line, obviously.
                              RIGHT: RR on E36 - outer sheetmetal and inner fender structure clearanced/reshaped/welded to clear an 18x10 and 305/30/18 Hoosier R6, flare removed.

                              I need to go get 2 (or 6!) more fenders today or tomorrow and then we can attack the rears this weekend and get everything tack welded on. I'm tempted to get an additional 4 extra fenders just for use in making templates before these get tacked. It would save a ton of trial and error the next time.
                              Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                              2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                              EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

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