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F-22 Stealth E30 325is

New Project Car
[Click photo for link to full set of photos on Flickr.]

After months of a low level search of various message boards and Craigslist, I finally found the car I’ve been looking for: a 1989 E30 325is. I finally got to the point where I’m running in the fastest run group on the track and am generally one of the faster cars in the group. With the extra speed came the realization that if I go off the track, I could really mess up my car. Hence the genesis of the idea of a dedicated autocross and track car: The ultimate sleeper car, stripped of anything that doesn’t help it go faster, painted in radar-evading flat black.

I wanted something with about the same power to weight ratio as the MINI, but rear wheel drive (so I can finally graduate from the NCC Instructor Program — besides number of days, I need to do a full lap of oversteer on the skid pad. Tough to do in a front wheel drive car…) I wanted a car that can easily be resold; has lots of cheap parts available; and was relatively inexpensive to run on the track (15 inch wheels mean inexpensive tires; light weight means less expensive brake pads, etc.) I figured on getting a good 325is under $2K; put about $2K into it; sell off all of the parts I take out to reduce weight; and I might break even when I eventually sell it. Worst case is I smack a $4K car; best case is I’m just out the cost of the wear items I would have had to buy for the MINI. Depending on how the engine tests, I may even be able to swap the engine into the convertible, then spend the winter rebuilding the convertible engine for next season in this car. Win win.

So what to do with the car? It’s currently painted in what I like to call, backyard flat black. It didn’t start out that way, but somewhere along the way it picked up a very pad paint job that’s very thick and very oxidized. What I liked about this car was that it had a clean CARFAX report; it was a Florida car for most of it’s life; and all of the body panels match indicating it hadn’t been in any major accidents. The right front fender is a bit messed up, but that appears to be very recent. The engine is very strong and the transmission isn’t a complete pile of goo. I figure it’s a project in about four stages:

Stage 1: Get it registered. I want to keep it street legal so I have to fix up enough to pass the Maryland State Inspection (MSI). Although this program is primarily a jobs program for the shops that inspect vehicles, at least it provides a basic safety baseline. So far, I know I have to replace the windshield, one headlight, and the hole I just found under the battery. We’ll see what else pops up when I drop it off at the local inspection shop. I figure I’ll replace brake pads and rotors all around regardless. You have to know you can stop before you go. Once I get it passed the MSI, I’ll get it dyno’d and weighed to establish a baseline.

Stage 2: Replace known wear items. Since the car sat for several months and I have no repair records, I need to do some preventive maintenance. Replace all of the hoses; flush the cooling and brake systems (stainless steel lines at the same time); replace the timing belt; water pump; thermostat; fan belt; and oil change.

Stage 3: Lose the fat. I’ve actually started some of that as I’m peeling back all of the trim and carpet to see the underlying condition of the chassis, but my intent is to remove anything that isn’t required to go fast. That means trim, carpet, rear seats, rear seatbelts, headliner, sunroof cassette, stereo, speakers, speaker wiring, antennae, center console, etc. I’m hoping I can get 100-150 lbs. out of the car. I want to get to where I can autocross it and take it to the track in August. That should give me a good idea of what the car can do in stock form without any suspension mods.

Stage 4: Improve the suspension and install roll cage. I’m trying to comply with the Spec E30 rules as I mod the car. Not so much because I plan to race, but I’d like to get there eventually. If I stick to one set of rules, it should be easier to sell the car should I need to in the future. By complying with a spec class, it also gives me better way to compare my performance to others over time.

MINI Front Splitter DIY

I’ve been thinking about making my own front splitter ever since I read this article in Special Projects Motorsports. This got me thinking that a good splitter should be: a). disposable and b). cheap. I then came across this thread about building your own splitter for the MINI. So I got the template and set about to make a splitter out of (mostly) found materials.

Here’s how I made it:

Start with this template.

splitter2

Rough out the splitter out of light-weight plywood or ABS plastic. I used some spare under-layment that I sandwiched together with some waterproof glue. Cost: $3 for the glue.

Next I covered it in some resin and fiberglass I had from a previous project. Then I sanded it smooth. Cost: $0.00.

splitter3

When the resin was dry, I used some automotive spray paint to paint it black and then cover with clearcoat. Cost: $0.00.

Since you have to think of the splitter as disposable (and your bumper cover not) I wanted the mount to support the load forces to be applied, but break away under shear force. I made some T-brackets out of spare metal stock and connected the splitter with snow-blower shear-bolts. Cost: $3.50 for the bolts.

splitter4

At this point, the mount was strong enough for highway speeds, but it still had quite a bit of flex. It certainly wouldn’t be good enough for track speeds. I ordered some slick splitter turnbuckles, but they won’t be available in time for the track this weekend, so again I headed back to the hardware store.

splitter5

This took some creativity to piece together. I started with a turnbuckle used to support a sagging gate. I replaced one end with an eye bolt. I attached it to another eye bolt attached to the splitter. At the other end of the turnbuckle, I heated and shaped the rod to form two 90-degree angles like a zig-zag and I cut it off about 6 inches from the threaded end. I drilled a hole in the bumper and threaded the zig-zag end like you do a tool hook in a peg-board — if that makes sense. Once I put tension on the turnbuckle, it pulled out the gap under the chin spoiler and would now support my weight when I tried to stand on it. The pair formed the most expensive parts of this whole project. Cost: $27.

Total Cost: $33.50 (and the better part of a 4-day weekend.) Now that I have the template, I’m going to work up a couple of spares.

MINI Oil Change DIY

It’s time to start a new year of Autocross and Driver’s Schools. Time for a little Spring maintenance. So before heading back to the track next week I thought I’d switch back to the cold air intake, replace the spark plugs, change the brake fluid, and change the oil. Since I have to get an inspection at a qualified shop anyway, I’ll get the brake flush there. That left the CAI, plugs, and oil change for me to do. I did the CAI and plugs a couple of days ago. Today’s post is about changing oil. We recommend changing your oil every 5,000 miles.

oilchange1Here’s how to change the oil in an R50/r53 MINI. You’ll need a 13mm wrench or socket; short 36mm socket; new drain plug; torque wrench; new filter with O ring; and 6 quarts of oil. You won’t have much room to maneuver the 36mm socket you really need a short one. Place your car on jackstands or in my case ramps and jackstands. You want the car to be level. Run your engine for a few minutes to get the oil warm, but not hot. This will help the oil flow more quickly.
oilchange2
Locate the oil drain plug at the back of the oil pan. Place your catch pan under close by and open the plug until you have only a couple of threads remaining engaged. Slide the pan into position to catch the oil then carefully remove the plug, keeping your hand up and out of the flow of the oil (remember it’s warm). Once flowing, slide your pan about 6 inches to the passenger side to catch the oil when you remove the filter.
oilchange3
Moving to the top of the engine, locate the filter housing. It’s on the back side of the block. There isn’t much room to work with. If you can break the seal by loosening the housing about a quarter of a turn while the oil is still draining, you’ll make less of a mess when you remove the filter. Once the filter housing is loose, you can spin it off by hand. Flip it over so the open end is up as quickly as you can so you don’t spill more oil than you have to in the process of getting it out. Note the orientation of the old filter in the housing and discard it.
oilchange4
Clean up the housing and remove the old O ring. Use a pocket knife or even a ball-point pen to remove the old O ring, taking care not to damage the housing. Put some fresh oil in the groove and replace the O ring with the new one that came with your filter. Put some more oil on the new O ring so it doesn’t twist when you put it back on the block. Press the new filter all of the way into the new housing. Spread some new oil on the gasket on the end of the filter. This will help make it easier to remove next time.
oilchange5
If the oil has finished draining, replace the drain plug and tighten. Move the drip pan out of the way. Torque the drain plug to 18 ft lbs. Now it’s time to put the filter and housing back on the engine. Before you start, carefully feel around where the housing spins on to the block. There is a spring mechanism that will be pushing against the filter and making it difficult to get the treads started correctly. Push the housing on to the block and pressing down toward the header begin to spin on the housing. Check that it isn’t cross-threated. If so, loosen and try it again. It may take a couple of attempts before threading properly. You will be able to spin it by hand until the O ring engages, then you will need a wrench. Tighten to 18 ft lbs as well.
oilchange6
With the drain plug back in and the net filter installed, it’s time to add the new oil. Remove the fill cap at the top of the valve cover and add 5.7 quarts of pure synthetic 5-30w oil. Start the car and the oil light should go out immediately. If it doesn’t, turn off the car and get out the Bentley manual. Let the car warm up and check for leaks at the drain plug and around the filter housing. Check the oil level again. Reset the Service Indicator light and you’re all done.

More Home Depot Racing Parts

I have always hated exterior bits that serve no real purpose. Faux brake vents; solid grilles — that sort of thing. The stock MCS rear bumper has two fake grilles that have always driven me nuts. With the way the bumper cover is designed, the rear valance hangs down in the airflow coming under the car. It always looked like you could just open up the grilles and let the air flow through the bumper. But things are never as easy as they seem.

The first thing you notice when looking at the rear of the car is that there is a lot of heat shielding. With the stock “2-ball” design, this made sense, but once you’ve converted to a single sided exhaust, you really do not need all of that shielding or the exhaust hanger on the unused side. Once I painted the new bumper, I thought I’d try to experiment with airflow through the bumper. I started by modifying the heat shielding on the exhaust side to flow better toward the outlet. On the driver’s side, I trimmed the heat shielding back and channeled the airflow directly toward the vent. I’ve been running without vents at all for a couple of months. From most angles, you really can’t tell anything is missing, but when you are directly behind the car, it just looks wrong.

I tried looking through the usual online catalogs for a low cost, free venting solution, but all seemed outrageously priced to me. Enter Home Depot. Since I had an extra set of vent grilles, I decided to break out the jig saw and dremmel and see what I could come up with. After a couple of experiments, here’s what I produced. It’s not going to win me any concourse competitions, but from 5 feet, they look pretty good. They are made from the same gutter-guard material as my front grille, so it provides a certain low-budget symmetry I should think.

Rear Grilles

JDM Super Tuner Lug Nuts

Mutegi

It turns out that my new Konig Feather wheels won’t work with the stock size lug nuts. They require “tuner” nuts. Who knew such a thing even existed? So now I have my first ever JDM parts.

Comparison

At the widest point, the Muteki nuts are about 1/16 of an inch smaller in diameter than the stock lug nuts. This allows the nut to fit in the narrow hole of the Konig wheel. They have a narrow, barrel design that requires a special socket to be used. I figured it was a good idea to get an extra nut and spare socket since it’s non-standard. If you look carefully at the stock nut, you can see a line that is the limit of where it makes contact with the wheel. It looks like the amount of surface area in contact will actually be the same for both nuts which is good news.