Introduction
I've decided to move over here after posting on a few none BMW forums
I've wanted to branch out onto here for 6-12 months especially now I'm well on with this new E46 Build. I thought these dark nights were a good opportunity to sit down and document the work I've done this summer on the new track car. The following first posts are all covering everything I've done on the BMW since buying it in May last year....
Before the purchase of the BMW E46 I used to run a Clio 200. Here's a few photos of the old car and a spec list...
Engine
Clio 2.0 F4R – 201.5 BHP 165 FTLB mapped at EFI Tuning
7750 RPM Limiter
ITG Panel filter
Clio 197 gearbox TL4 003
4.73 Shorter final drive (137mph @ 7750RPM)
Braided Clutch line – Solid to chassis leg – Braid from leg to box slave.
Genuine replacement Clutch and Slave.
Redline MT 90 Gearbox oil
Toyo manifold
Miltek resonated exhaust
AC Delete kit
Smaller lightweight pulley
Purple Polybush Torque mount
Purple Gearbox mount
Solid Lower Engine mount with custom PU Bushes.
Suspension/brakes
Black series Wishbone bushes
Purple ARB bushes
Gaz Gold adjustable Dampers 600F/350R Linear springs
Gaz Gold adjustable top mounts.
335mm Compbrake two piece rotors
DS1.11 Brake pads
Motel RBF600 Fluid
Hel Braided lines
Clio 200 Cup wheels 9.3KG
Federal RSR
Clio 197 Std wheels 10.4KG
Uniroyal Rainsports
Pure motorsport Toes and Camber shims
Interior
Safety devices R020 Cage – Double Rear Cross
Sparco EVO LF
L-TEC 6 Point harnesses
Arduino data logger
This is a car I used on the road and track days for 2.5 years, it was a fantastic car to learn to drive in and start of doing track days in but after that time I had become a little bored of it, I had bought and built a Megane turbo engine top go into it but before dropping it in I changed my mind and I decided I wanted to stay NA and build a different sort of car, something new which was going to be a new challenge and would require me to learn a lot more about driving, inevitably it had to be RWD.
The New Project
Not long after returning from Spa Francorchamps from two days on track there in the Easter 2018 I started looking at what I could change the car to. M3, MX5, S2000, 330's were the main cars I were looking at at the time. I saw this for sale on Autotrader and went down the Cannock to look at it, 15 minute test drive on the road. A quick auto scan with ISTA showing no major faults and a folder full of paper work to back up the service history of the car, the deal was done and I'd made the change the RWD.
I kept it standard on the road for a month, wanted to put some miles onto it, find out if there were any problems with it, anything that needed to be addressed while the car was off the road. The plan for this car was to do everything in the car from top to bottom in one hit over a couple of months.
The car was parked up on the drive and put onto axles stands for a little while
Started the strip down... Front and rear subframes removed and stripped down
Everything was stripped down and sent away for blasting, dipping and powder coating.
While everything was away being made to look like it hadn't spent 20 years at the bottom of the channel it was time to start on the shell...
First to go was all the interior and dash
Any old brackets, sound deadening and the rear parcel shelf had to go too to make room the cage I planned on fitting.
Once this was complete I started to turn my attention to the underside of the shell... Finding what is very common on these now is that the rear subframe mounts had started to crack.
Templates there made out of steel, the cracks where drilled at the end, ground back and welded up.
The underside of the shell was Zinc primed along with the plates. Welded around the edges and through the plates, reprimed, painted and then sealed. This wasn't a job that was on the original plan but I'm glad i checked and found the problem and got it sorted while everything was stripped.
At this point it was time to prep for the cage, after following the 750MC Racing during the 2018 Season helping friends racing the Roads Sports and Club Enduro I had spent a bit of time looking around the 330 Challenge cars. After seeing the cages in those cars i had made my mind up, that is the cage I wanted to fit to the car.
Also a set of Gaz Coilovers arrived, similar set up to what I had ran on the Clio
Along with that a full set of Strong Flex suspension bushes in 90ShA. However for the rear arms I was going to continue to the run ball joints top and bottom to keep everything solidly mounted rather than the bushes strong flex supply.
Engine mounts, Gearbox mounts, Gearbox oil, new backing plates for the rear discs, Carbon Loraine RC5+ pads all around, Driftworks stud and nut conversion for the car. The list of parts ordered was getting longer and longer
The fitting of the cage started with the rear strut brace which picks up the rear strut towards as well as being welded to the boot floor.
Everything was mounted up, wire wheeled and then tacked into position initially
The rear section went in and the same done with the foot plates.
Finally with the front section all test fitted and tacked all the foot plates could be welded in properly
For now that is all the major prep work done on the shell and all of the welding done... More to follow.
I've decided to move over here after posting on a few none BMW forums
I've wanted to branch out onto here for 6-12 months especially now I'm well on with this new E46 Build. I thought these dark nights were a good opportunity to sit down and document the work I've done this summer on the new track car. The following first posts are all covering everything I've done on the BMW since buying it in May last year....
Before the purchase of the BMW E46 I used to run a Clio 200. Here's a few photos of the old car and a spec list...
Engine
Clio 2.0 F4R – 201.5 BHP 165 FTLB mapped at EFI Tuning
7750 RPM Limiter
ITG Panel filter
Clio 197 gearbox TL4 003
4.73 Shorter final drive (137mph @ 7750RPM)
Braided Clutch line – Solid to chassis leg – Braid from leg to box slave.
Genuine replacement Clutch and Slave.
Redline MT 90 Gearbox oil
Toyo manifold
Miltek resonated exhaust
AC Delete kit
Smaller lightweight pulley
Purple Polybush Torque mount
Purple Gearbox mount
Solid Lower Engine mount with custom PU Bushes.
Suspension/brakes
Black series Wishbone bushes
Purple ARB bushes
Gaz Gold adjustable Dampers 600F/350R Linear springs
Gaz Gold adjustable top mounts.
335mm Compbrake two piece rotors
DS1.11 Brake pads
Motel RBF600 Fluid
Hel Braided lines
Clio 200 Cup wheels 9.3KG
Federal RSR
Clio 197 Std wheels 10.4KG
Uniroyal Rainsports
Pure motorsport Toes and Camber shims
Interior
Safety devices R020 Cage – Double Rear Cross
Sparco EVO LF
L-TEC 6 Point harnesses
Arduino data logger
This is a car I used on the road and track days for 2.5 years, it was a fantastic car to learn to drive in and start of doing track days in but after that time I had become a little bored of it, I had bought and built a Megane turbo engine top go into it but before dropping it in I changed my mind and I decided I wanted to stay NA and build a different sort of car, something new which was going to be a new challenge and would require me to learn a lot more about driving, inevitably it had to be RWD.
The New Project
Not long after returning from Spa Francorchamps from two days on track there in the Easter 2018 I started looking at what I could change the car to. M3, MX5, S2000, 330's were the main cars I were looking at at the time. I saw this for sale on Autotrader and went down the Cannock to look at it, 15 minute test drive on the road. A quick auto scan with ISTA showing no major faults and a folder full of paper work to back up the service history of the car, the deal was done and I'd made the change the RWD.
I kept it standard on the road for a month, wanted to put some miles onto it, find out if there were any problems with it, anything that needed to be addressed while the car was off the road. The plan for this car was to do everything in the car from top to bottom in one hit over a couple of months.
The car was parked up on the drive and put onto axles stands for a little while
Started the strip down... Front and rear subframes removed and stripped down
Everything was stripped down and sent away for blasting, dipping and powder coating.
While everything was away being made to look like it hadn't spent 20 years at the bottom of the channel it was time to start on the shell...
First to go was all the interior and dash
Any old brackets, sound deadening and the rear parcel shelf had to go too to make room the cage I planned on fitting.
Once this was complete I started to turn my attention to the underside of the shell... Finding what is very common on these now is that the rear subframe mounts had started to crack.
Templates there made out of steel, the cracks where drilled at the end, ground back and welded up.
The underside of the shell was Zinc primed along with the plates. Welded around the edges and through the plates, reprimed, painted and then sealed. This wasn't a job that was on the original plan but I'm glad i checked and found the problem and got it sorted while everything was stripped.
At this point it was time to prep for the cage, after following the 750MC Racing during the 2018 Season helping friends racing the Roads Sports and Club Enduro I had spent a bit of time looking around the 330 Challenge cars. After seeing the cages in those cars i had made my mind up, that is the cage I wanted to fit to the car.
Also a set of Gaz Coilovers arrived, similar set up to what I had ran on the Clio
Along with that a full set of Strong Flex suspension bushes in 90ShA. However for the rear arms I was going to continue to the run ball joints top and bottom to keep everything solidly mounted rather than the bushes strong flex supply.
Engine mounts, Gearbox mounts, Gearbox oil, new backing plates for the rear discs, Carbon Loraine RC5+ pads all around, Driftworks stud and nut conversion for the car. The list of parts ordered was getting longer and longer
The fitting of the cage started with the rear strut brace which picks up the rear strut towards as well as being welded to the boot floor.
Everything was mounted up, wire wheeled and then tacked into position initially
The rear section went in and the same done with the foot plates.
Finally with the front section all test fitted and tacked all the foot plates could be welded in properly
For now that is all the major prep work done on the shell and all of the welding done... More to follow.