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Sticker Tires
Spring is in the air. With less than a month to go before the first track weekend, it’s time to stock up on parts and make repairs. Nothing says Spring like new tires.
For SCCA autocross in the MINI, I’ll be running Hankook Ventus Z214 R-comp tires. This is the medium compound (C50) which should last me the whole season. They’re on special at Frisbyracetire for only $85 each in size 205/50R16. Stacked up next to my old Azenis in size 215/45R16 they’re almost the same width. The tire diameter is about 23 1/2 inches — half an inch taller than the Azenis, but still a decent size for my gearing.
I’m making progress on the BMW as well. I just got it back from Frederick Motorsports. I had Scott replace the guibo, drive shaft center support bearing, service the differential and replace seals, new axle shafts, and take the slop out of the shifter. No more fork-in-the-spaghetti shifting. I also got a new clutch. Next up: suspension work and finally stopping that pesky oil leak from the camshaft gear seal.
Winter Break
It’s hard to get motivated to do anything related to my cars when it’s 15 degrees outside. If I’m lucky, I can keep the garage about 30 degrees above the ambient temperature, but when the best you can get is in the low 40’s, you don’t want to stay there long. Fortunately, we had a break in the cold today. With sunny skies and temperatures in the 60’s it was time to break out the hose and wash away the salt and grime. Much like the groundhog seeing his shower, the mid-February car wash means another six weeks of winter for sure. To hedge my bet, I put snow tires on the BMW.
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to make any progress with the appearance of the BMW. I started out this morning to see what a little polish and a random orbital polisher could do to the severely oxidized paint on the trunk lid. Here’s a photo of what it looked like last summer.
I started off with polish and made no progress. Then I tried rubbing compound; nada. Then a combination of wax and advanced polymer polish; nothing. Getting frustrated, I got out the sandpaper. First 400 then 1000 wet/dry. I couldn’t get anything that would take a polish, so I got out the spray bomb and painted the thing.
Once I put the snow tires on and backed the car up into the sun, I realized I am making progress. The look I’m shooting for is a satin finish because this is the Stealth Bimmer after all. I’ve painted the front back to include the doors and now the trunk lid. I also got the rear-end and rear valance. Now just the rear quarter panels and roof to go.
I’ve got about 6 weeks to go until the first track event. Now I just need some drive-line work; a new clutch; brakes and… Anyway, here’s the finished product of today’s work.
Not “Old” but Historic
The wait is finally over. The F-22 turned 20 this month and can be registered as a “historic vehicle”. Since I purchased the car out of state, I would have had to go through the Maryland’s bureaucratic inspection goat-rope, aka the mechanics & bureaucrats work protection act. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for safety, but this process makes no sense. I actually got the car inspected so I’d have a punch-list of things to correct, but found the inspection checklist was of little value for sorting out the car. For example, here’s a list of things my car failed:
- No rear seat-belts (because there are no rear seats).
- Hole in fender (where the antenna used to be).
- Window tint uneven (on a rear passenger side window).
- Window won’t go up due to bad switch. (I can understand why not going down would be a safety issue, but up?…)
But what didn’t the inspection turn up? A cracked and crumbling flex-joint in the drive-line; one of two transmission mounts was sheared as well as both engine mounts (meaning that the lone remaining transmission mount was all that was holding the engine & transmission to the chassis). And the speedometer didn’t work at the time.
So rather than fixing things just to get registered and then turning around in the Spring and ripping them out when autocross season starts up again, I thought I’d just wait for historic eligibility and skip the State inspection process since I have to get a technical inspection before I can go out on the track anyway.
So here’s where I’m starting the year:
- Weight Reduction: Items removed so far — Cruise Control; AC Compressor, AC Condensor/Dryer, & Electric Fan; Mechanical Fan; fog lights; stereo, four speakers, & electric antenna; automatic locking system; trunk trim; rear seats and seat-belts.
- New Items: Adding some weight back — seat-covers; new electric fan.
- Repairs: Timing belt; fan belt; PS belt; valve cover gasket; coil, spark plugs & plug wires; water pump & thermostat; replaced all hoses; rear shocks; catalytic converter & muffler; instrument cluster; driver’s door lock; control arms, tie rods, control arm bushings; brakes, rotors, stainless steel brake lines.
I don’t have enough miles on the car yet to know anything about it’s reliability. My plan is to take it down to Dan Martin to get the Guibo fixed and get his assessment of what needs to be done to be track worthy by March. Depending on how that goes, I’ll start driving it more regularly and then prioritize what needs to be done to make it faster.
New Exhaust for the F-22 Stealth
After several false starts, I finally managed to remove the old exhaust system on the 325is and install the new cat and muffler I’ve had since August. All of the DIY postings I’ve read on e30 exhausts have said the same three things: 1. Don’t try this without a lift; 2. This thing is long; and 3. It’s heavy. Right on all three. You can do it with the car on jack-stands, but be prepared for a lot of up and down work. It helps to have a couple of extra stands to support the exhaust; an extra jack to move it up into position; and a skateboard to help guide the exhaust under the car.
Bolted together, the old cat and muffler weighed in at 60 lbs. The new one came in slightly lighter at 55 lbs. The mufflers are essentially the same, but there have been some changes to the mid-pipe over the last 20 years. Catalytic converters are much more efficient and much smaller now. The old one also had an elaborate heat shield that rotted away.
The e30 exhaust system has basically three parts. A pair of very short exhaust headers (which I didn’t remove); a mid-pipe with the O2 sensor and cat; and a pipe and muffler section.
I’m not sure I understand the basic design principles involved though. The BMW 6 cylinder engine has two exhaust headers. The new pipe has an X-pipe at the O2 sensor, but then the two pipes continue to the cat. Before the cat, they go through a Y-pipe and enter a larger diaper tube into the cat. That larger pipe is perhaps 2 1/2 inches in diameter; the other pipes about 2 inches. Then there is another Y-pipe and back into two smaller diameter pipes to the muffler. Why not a Y-pipe at the O2 sensor, then a single pipe all the way back? That has to be a lighter design.
I guess I don’t have to understand it to appreciate it. The new system sounds great and seems to have a bit better throttle response, so the redesigned cat must be more free flowing. Also when I walk up to the car, I don’t have to look at the old crappy muffler any more. Yeah.
Catching up with Fall Track Days & Progress on the BMW Stealth Project
I haven’t been keeping up with blogging so I’ll try to catch up with a few things in this post. With the economy in a tailspin here in the US, I’ve put my BMW project on hold for a while. There are a couple of advantages to this strategy: It preserves cash should we have to throw everything in the Volvo and head to Mexico; and if I wait until January, then the BMW will qualify as “historic” according to the great State of Maryland and I can skip the Maryland State Inspection (and associated fees).
Since I’m not making any progress mechanically, I thought it would be a good time to even out the flat black paint scheme. Here you see it before the attack of the black spray bombs.
And here it is afterward. You can see how far I’ve gotten by looking at where the door meets the rear quarter-panel. From that point back to include the roof remains to be painted. My goal is a uniform satin finish. Sort of Stealthy.
Back in October, I went to the Fall Driver’s School at the Shenandoah Circuit, Summit Point, WV.
It was a great three days of track time, but at the end of the first day, my friend hit the wall at the start of the main straight.
He and his passenger were both unhurt, but his 2005 Corvette was totaled. I was actually quite surprised how well the passenger compartment held up. He dropped a wheel off the outside of the turn going 85+ MPH and skidded across the track hitting the opposite wall with the car rotated about 110 degrees. Both airbags deployed as the car ricocheted off the wall. Now you know why I’m working on a dedicated track car.
