HipMF Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Well, it's that time again... Time to rip a bunch of stuff apart, spend half the winter with my hands saturated in engine degreaser, and maybe put it all back together in time to have some fun next summer. This years plan is to do coilovers, wheels and tires, and a little bodywork. If there's time, I might start working on that turbo I keep saying I'm going to do... So far I've built a shelving unit/workbench, pulled the rear subframe and started de-rustifying it, and sized up some borrowed 225/45/15s. I'm thinking I'll weld on some flares off a mark one vw golf, but not 100% sure about that yet. Should be fun! CMart and rampelsauce 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Tis the season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B C Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Borrowed tire and wheel setup looks good from here! Your car keeps getting better and better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMart Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Right there with you buddy. I bought a space heater this summer. Hoping it helps with my winter motivation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspenceful Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Keep those 6UL's, they look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rampelsauce Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Not building cars this winter. Got a motorbike to build in the basement because the garage is full of powder equipment. Your peg board game is on fleek though, brah. B C 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserRolls Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Suspension time this winter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rampelsauce Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 saving big money time this winter Fixed jc43089, B C and HipMF 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserRolls Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Lol I remember that day. So glad I haven't worked there in forever rampelsauce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B C Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Lol I remember that day. So glad I haven't worked there in forever I still never got an answer as to whether I can huff gold Rustoleum spray paint. 1/10 for service 9/10 for selection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 I just noticed the thread tag of nochristmassjazzallowedWe have rules around here. Stick to them. Glad to have you back around Mike!#friendsdontletfriendspaintcarsmatteblack rampelsauce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassboy3313 Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipMF Posted December 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Spent the weekend figuring out the rear suspension. While I had everything out of the car, I put it together, put it up on jackstands, leveled everything out, and took some camber and toe measurements. I would have pictures of the whole process, but I forgot my camera at the shop. Here is the data though: The "height" is measured at the hub, but not really relative to anything. The swingarm is level right about where the toe reaches it's minimum and camber crosses the zero line. I was planning on lowering the rear about 2 inches, and then welding adjusters in to fix the camber and toe issues. However, looking at the toe graph and thinking about what happens to the rear suspension under braking has got me thinking that's not such a hot idea... I think I'll be keeping the rider height closer to stock. Here's the rear bottomed out: Shock has maybe 1/2" of travel left, but the swingarm is hitting the chassis in an area that's a little too close to the subframe mount for me to feel comfortable with just bashing it in with a hammer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipMF Posted December 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 When I dropped the gas tanks and crawled under the car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Nooo! Had the same moment when I found rust on my frame rail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_cars Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 sometimes i feel like we just can't win in this business as DIY enthusiasts - newer cars have too much tech and crap to work around, and older cars are prone to shit like this. Sorry to see that KaiserRolls 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipMF Posted December 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 No worries, I've got work to do in that area anyway. Just a friendly PSA. If graphic scenes of violence against strctural metal offend you, then you may want to avoid this thread for a while. It's about to get real horrorshow... GunMetalGrey, i_love_cars and jc43089 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassboy3313 Posted December 15, 2015 Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 I have a set of BNIB rear wheel bearings and seals with your name on it! Let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipMF Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 Mine aren't bad yet, but I've started soaking the nuts in penetrent periodically as a precautionary measure, because I know that day is coming...Don't you think you'll need them before I will with the offsets you're going to be running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassboy3313 Posted December 16, 2015 Report Share Posted December 16, 2015 I am running e21 323i rear trailing arms which have bigger bearings than the US spec 320i does. So I wont be using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipMF Posted January 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Finally got around to getting the pics of the suspension off my camera and made some eye-infecting visual AIDS. Also got some raw materials to work with now, so hopefully I can get back to work on the car this weekend. Oh, and another engine to replace the Automotive Supply enhanced unit that's currently in the car. Thanks Industrialsized! REKIII, Jdesign and B C 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B C Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 I approve of these lumbergifs Im interested to know what prep you are doing/plans you have for the spare engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipMF Posted January 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 The engine I got has a snapped cam, so I'll probably take the head off the current engine to make a stock engine to use for the summer. The effed-up block will get bored out 1mm over for some low-compression pistons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunMetalGrey Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 2 hours ago, HipMF said: The effed-up block will get bored out 1mm over for some low-compression pistons Might I suggest Automotive Supply? I hear they do great work! KaiserRolls 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HipMF Posted June 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Wow, 6 months since the last update... Well, now that my chances of success with this project are starting to look better than my chances of horrible and disasterous failure, I suppose I can let the cat out of the bag. As can be seen above, there's a limit to how much you can lower the rear of an e21 before suspension-things try to occupy the same space as frame-things. Lowering the car that much also creates camber and toe problems. I wanted my car to be lower than what was really reasonable, AND I wanted my suspension to be functional, so I decided to do what any rational person would do: cut all of the rear subframe mounting points out of the chassis, and move them up a couple of inches. Still with me? Okay then. I didn't take many pictures until recently, but I can tell you that after the initial cutting the regret set in immediately and deeply. The biggest hurdle with this project has been getting over the psychological trauma of seeing giant holes in your car where important structural things used to be. Many months were lost staring at the nothing that was left, wondering how I would ever close the wounds. Somehow, I just kept moving, hoping that my efforts would somehow reclaim my car from the scrap-heap, for which I thought it was surely destined. I've still got a lot of work to do, but I think I'll have a running, driving car again someday... m42b32 and Bassboy3313 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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