e28 race car (soonish)

[red535t]

the project began late last year when the e34 munched the 280 gearbox.the repair took 3 months+ (and its still in bits),
and i kinda lost interest in the whole thing.
often talked about doing another e28,this time a purpose
built car. one that wont matter if it rattles or shakes abit,
cause of the track nature.(i love the idea of a perfect car,
no rattles, shakes or shudders. just never got to that stage)
so, the hunt started for a cheap,straight,rust free example.
didnt take too long, 535i auto,330k.well maintained tho for the k's

so,stripping began and a cage was installed.
the engine came out of the e34,so same specs as my signiture.

new manifolds were dreamt up and everything welded into place.this time the turbo is a RHD bottem mount

feeding into a 500x300x100mm air to air.am wanting to put this car on the road,so was rather mindful of not cutting to much off the front as its gets difficult to pass compliance.
so came up with the ideas to plumb under the radiator.

as pictured,one thing i forgot about was the oil cooler,so a 19 row unit need to be installed.bugger
a mtec front bumer had a mold taken of it,so now we have a light weight fibre-glass unit

needs aittle more work to get it to sit properly,but you get the idea.always had problems with overheating,so the hole-saw got some action today.makes the bottem half of the radiator do some work for a change.
pic of under the engine.exhaust will be fun.do that next week-then again,maybe the week after

fuel tank has had a face lift.what better use of a wheel well?

the next task is coil-overs.wheels turned up so can start looking how low/drop it needs to have.im estimating 3 inches at this stage

thats most of the heavy-er work done,next the cabin;
seats,sliders,gauges,dash,cluster,wiring,paint........

Oh while were here,got a pic of the brake upgrade.just sitting inside the wheel at this stage.bracket finished next week.
disk is 346mm


cheers m

[T_C_D]

Cool project! Will you be coating the manifold and exhaust housing?

[Scottinva]

Pretty damn awesome!!!

[bornagain]

awesome, i love these threads.

[mooseheadm5]

I have never thought of a turbo mani like that, but that is very clever! I can't wait to see how it progresses.

[Xenocide]

I've always wondered if a manifold like that would work well. I assume the spool time is greater due to the increased volume, but for a very inexpensive DIY manifold it seems like a good idea. How is it working for you?

[bornagain]

i dont think hes done the car yet, and this is a new manifold therefore i dont think he knows yet, but i could be wrong.

[red535t]

well its been awhile now,and afew more things have been tampered with.
its amazing the hours go into this sort of thing.
5 out of 7 nights in the week,spending at least 3hrs, and weekends.
i have a new respect for all of you who have and are working on race/ground-up rebuilds etc.
saying that,i have done a couple of engines etc,but this project has taken the cake.

as of this afternoon,this is where were at.
ITS ROLLING UNDER ITS OWN POWER,alittle celebration as the wife was wondering if this
thing was ever coming off the hoist without me pushing.(for a while I was wondering
the same thing)

its come a long way, but not far now till its tarmac ready.
the suspension has been changed over for coil-overs,care of stocks,cheers Grant/Russell.
Wheels are 18's.think they look OK,not sure.alittle modern but they will have to do for now.
cheers Dave(foxy) for lending me the spacer's to clear the wheel.2mm was all it needs
the upgraded brakes work an absolute treat.really looking forward to trying 'em out on the track.


the money shot.
sooo glad the way the engine bay looks.engine is running very well,and no exhaust leaks.
had my fingers crossed this morning as it was the first time the system was pressurized.
the down and wastegate pipe was the biggest job.didnt take pics of those bits on the table,
but they took forever to 'get right' as its tight between the exhaust mani and steering box.
thought i'd try something different to most(again).3 inch straight thru and the waste has its own
plumbing.the two merge just before the nasty gangster upswung square chrome tip trademe special muffler
qiute a mouth full,but best describes the specialness of it




bit of shame I couldnt finnish it off this week as today the cert man came round to check out
my machine.altho id spend all weekend and the last two nights till 2am.
the list of 'to do' for the cert requirements is short.and are really minor things like
door trims/coverings,seal firewall,rollcage foam,fit the bumpers and mount the passenger seat
so nothing major.yay for me.
Many thanks to God(giving me a good imagination)Lance(mellowpuff),Denise,Brent,Jason(macweld,for the awesome catch tank and other welding)
the guys from Drury Auto Service(Garry and Markus),Oliver(frantik motorsports)
Ciska(iced performance,fibreglassing and body kits) and a patient wife




and i wasnt to call him untill i had fixed/deleted the smoke screen option.
i told him its for the race track only,but he didnt want a bar of it happy days


As for the above Q's on manifold design,
Todd,its just bare steel at present,doesnt seem to show too much rust-at this stage.probably would have been best to have it treated before it was first attached,($$ were alittle tight and was too keen to bolt it on)but its on now and am in no hurry to take it off might give it alittle spray and see how long it stay on.
as for flow/responce of the log,didnt give it much of a chance,
cause i smoked out the ENTIRE street.but for the 'little'
squirt i did give it boost well,not much lag and built pressure qiuckly.this is good news for me as the turbo thats fitted at the moment is a dummy unit.T60,p trim wheel with a Q trim exhaust housing the turbo it self is fine,the turbo drain is not working well enough,hence the smoke.will be checking there's no oil in the intake before i turn the key.
a scavange pump is looking like the best option-the next thing to save up for.there is nothing available down here for that sort of thing.only what was posted on the forum afew weeks back.wouldnt be a problem but it's little steep $$ wise with the currency converted etc.

any ways enjoy,Marty

[babisbabou]

Nice project, keep up posted!

[red535t]

all bolted up.
certed 'safe' for public roads
and insured
bumpers and bonnet are fibre-glass.
cant wait to have it weighted.
the low mount setup is working 100%
running 12psi and is quick.more then enough
to lose a license and earn jail time

[Eta power]

Very cool!

[red535t]

I've always wondered if a manifold like that would work well. I assume the spool time is greater due to the increased volume, but for a very inexpensive DIY manifold it seems like a good idea. How is it working for you?

so far this working ok.had a some problems with the oil return
not having enough fall,but with a mod to the drain,inside the sump, theres been no smoke issues.heat has also been elimated,atho the wastegate and pipe is a bit it the way
to check the plugs.

this is a view of the down pipe.had to be made in the car.
(took awhile to get right). would like to have fitted a rack and pinion rather then the original box,but hey,it works.

looks tidy enough,and theres space to swing a spanner.
(a small spanner).
the manifold was low cost,but took several goes to place everything at the right angles etc.

m

[Coldswede]

WOW!

I had overlooked the fact the steering box is on the "Wrong" side for you. Man, what a complication for running the down pipe and mounting the turbo! Looks like you managed it with fine form however. Keep up the good work and the best of luck with the racing.

Don't stop sending pictures and commentary either.

[marc79euro645]

The exhaust manifold is really nice!
I never considered a sq. tube construction.
great job,
marc