It's been 2 years, guys, here it is!

[Bill in MN]

Ohh btw how did you redo the front rad support, rewelded in or is it a bolt in now? im thinking of making a bolt in peice but im not sure about the structure integrity of a bolt in upper rad support.

I scrapped the whole front of the car and started over. In order to get the new radiator (GM aluminum) and the IC to fit under the early euro valance I moved everything back 3". I was then able to lower it all 6". This allowed for the 2 "trees" that serve as upper mounts for the radiator, IC, headlight buckets and hood pins. It wouldn't have been possible to achieve this had everything not been lowered. The radiator sits inside the lower mount. I might add that the car has been jacked using the lower mounts. It's pretty strong.

This pic was taken about the time I realized bump steer was going to be an issue and I'd moved the rack farther up in the chassis, hence the different mounts from some of the other pics.



I might add that all of this was done with scraps from my neighbors junk pile so it ain't pretty!!

As for the exhaust, I ran across some 4" oval tubing that had the same volume as 3" round. It runs straight back and around the cell.

[Bill in MN]

Did you paint this car yourself? If so what kind of work/money did it take?

I had wanted to throw down some single part Omni (auto parts store house brand) but they screwed up and sent me base/clear PPG instead. I am regretting the decision to use it, although it does look nice. Single part paint is much easier to repair.

I had a local paint guy put down the clearcoat (I'm not that good at it) but othewise I did all the body work, priming and finish work. It's a good thing I'm an insomniac and had plenty of nights to devote to sanding


Thankfully my wife didn't get too pissed off. The house smelled like a body shop for a few days!!

[Scottinva]

That's great that you painted it yourself, thanks for taking the time to explain your work. It seems the PPG products do an amazing job, but its just so darn expensive. I remember asking another member who painted their car with PPG and he spent over 1000 dollars in just supplies, I can't justify that on a 3000 dollar car.

[joegreen]

wow all i can say is "F"in wow what a great car

[Ausbrennen]

This is absolutely amazing. Maybe I'll attempt the conversion into an absolute track beast someday...

[alijonny]

That's great that you painted it yourself, thanks for taking the time to explain your work. It seems the PPG products do an amazing job, but its just so darn expensive. I remember asking another member who painted their car with PPG and he spent over 1000 dollars in just supplies, I can't justify that on a 3000 dollar car.

EEE! I am justifying it on a $600 car! lol.

[bornagain]

yeah but unlike most performance mods, or other things you can do to a car, painting a car can make a 600$ car a 5000$ car depending on how you do things.

[Bill in MN]

Again, thanks for the compliments. Really.

Anyone who's done a DIY project, wheter it be repairing a broken table or taking on a project of this magnatude knows the degree of satisfaction you get from seeing a project through. I'm proud of getting it to this point given the number of times I wanted to cut my losses and bail on it. It was close a few times!!!

Getting it running better and dialing in the chassis will come, however the next real hurdle is learning how to be a better/safer driver. That's more important than anything right now.

[bornagain]

very eloquently put bill. Like i once personified a project car, its much like having a child... all the prep all the reading and when you think you are done(ready), the learning is really just starting.

Cant wait for the video and track pictures.

[russc]

Um no u cant make a $600/car into a $5k car! Im not seeing it.

RussC

PS Ill add my .02, Bill that is fabulous work. Stunning work. I wish I had that much time and patience for that kind of project.

yeah but unlike most performance mods, or other things you can do to a car, painting a car can make a 600$ car a 5000$ car depending on how you do things.

[turbodan]

I remember asking another member who painted their car with PPG and he spent over 1000 dollars in just supplies, I can't justify that on a 3000 dollar car.

yeah but unlike most performance mods, or other things you can do to a car, painting a car can make a 600$ car a 5000$ car depending on how you do things.

None of that really matters. I dont think this car was built to be sold. My car is the same way. I've got about $10k into it and it looks like a $500 piece of shit. It wasn't built to be pretty or valuable, it was built to make indecent amounts of power. What the car is worth to someone else should have nothing to do with it.

[bornagain]

or at least it could be one of those 5000$ cars that look decent at the shady used auto places....

[Bill in MN]

I've stupid money into the project but have no delusions it's worth more than 10 cents. It's not, and in all reality the only way to recoup anything will be to part it out.

To answer the question as to what's into the paint, the materials were around $600.

[asuj158]

oooooooo purrrdy... now lets start betting money on how fast it is

[KatoM5]

He is too modest to ever say, but this thing flies. Porsches and Corvettes are on notice when this 4-door sedan shows up at the track. Bill will probably be mad at me for posting this, but the fact is, this is a cool fast car that does our e28's proud. And the fact that he did this in his garage in the north woods of Minnesota makes it even more amazing. He is, of course, currently plotting to make it even faster.

[Assign]

You are a man among boys my friend.

Man that makes me want to hurry and get mine done.

[L_N_Love]

He is too modest to ever say, but this thing flies. Porsches and Corvettes are on notice when this 4-door sedan shows up at the track. Here is a pic of the car after Bill and my son just got done throwing down some laps at BIR. .
Bill will probably be mad at me for posting this, but the fact is, this is a cool fast car that does our e28's proud. And the fact that he did this in his garage in the north woods of Minnesota makes it even more amazing. He is, of course, currently plotting to make it even faster.

Link no worky

[L_N_Love]

your outside pic looks like that snow map in MW2. The northwest portion of the map.

Does the exhaust have a light in it?

[Shadow]

Your picture is giving me a popup to log into gallery/me.com

[Rich Euro M5]

Your picture is giving me a popup to log into gallery/me.com

x2

[stuartinmn]

Does the exhaust have a light in it?

It's a Supertrapp muffler: http://www.supertrapp.com/technology/index.asp

[L_N_Love]

Your picture is giving me a popup to log into gallery/me.com

x2

X3

[shocka]

Great looking car Bill, you've done an amazing job. I like the splitter, marine plywood huh. Is it quite rigid with the resin on it?

[Bill in MN]

Great looking car Bill, you've done an amazing job. I like the splitter, marine plywood huh. Is it quite rigid with the resin on it?

The splitter's got 2 layers laid up at a 45 deg angle to each other and Kevlar in between with glass mat on both sides. It's withstood several run ins with the trailer ramp as well as a few big rocks in my driveway and hasn't broken yet. I've about $20 into it and while it's not the prettiest thing in the world, it does the job just fine.

[bm0p700f]

Can you post more details bill of the rack and pinion conversion.

I would really like to do this again with a e21 manual rack. What custom parts did you have to make and do have specs?