Overdue build thread

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Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread. 13/10

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

86GT635 wrote:You've really covered all the bases with this build. Beautiful work. That airplane looks really fun.
That's the idea, and thanks. Things have a tendency to slip through the gaps from time to time but I like to think I've got most things covered whilst not taking away from the fact that the primary goal has always been to keep this car a driver and not a show queen. The RV7 is a fantastic project and a really capable aircraft, but a hell of a lot of extremely fastidious and time consuming work. By the time it's finished I'll never want to look at another rivet again!
Last edited by Das_Prachtstrasse on Mar 28, 2016 3:55 AM, edited 1 time in total.
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread. 13/10

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

I completed the boot carpets after receiving the missing piece from Todd, although discovered one of the little clips for the twist locks on the battery tray cover is missing so I'll need to sort out a solution for that. I'm thinking one of the locks the e46 boot carpet clips insert into may be the ticket. It also turns out that the cargo net retaining hooks are NLA which is a bother as the ones I've got are in rather poor shape. If anyone has a set of these laying around, please let me know. I've got the original black toolkit tray and boot lid liner to install at some point too but I'll need to have the black liner re-trimmed before installation, probably in leather. The current liner was NOS when I installed it and I can't bring myself to downgrade condition for the sake of colour.

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As for the front of the car, I've still not got around to re-adjusting the Hartge spoiler but have tidied up a few of the cosmetic things along the way. I had the bonnet catches re-plated with the 959 stuff last year and finally got around to installing them before Christmas and they really make a difference in the appearance of the entire engine bay IMO. They're a little on the bright side compared to OEM, but they'll do, especially when considering the cost of new ones. I also took the opportunity to replace and adjust the release cable, another job I should've done years ago. I no longer need to pull the handle with a force of 2343.49Nm to get the bonnet to release which is very nice. I've got a NOS number plate support and bump strips that need to be installed, but as the chrome bar has a small bulge in it from an impact before my ownership I'll wait until I have a replacement before going ahead with that job, as it's a PITA. Same with the spoiler. That still requires a slight adjustment to be perfectly aligned but it's one of those "I'm only going in there once" jobs so that too can wait.

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The next job for the front end will be rebuilding the headlight wiper motors and installing the new control stalk. I had one side working on a bench test but as the stalk had poor print I never installed it and thus haven't had the system properly operational yet. Now that I found a very nice second hand stalk I'll put that in, and rebuild the motors in the process. If it's on the car, it's gotta be working. A sentiment that's going to bite me in the ass when it comes to the hydraulic headlight aiming system which I should also attack whilst the headlight are out, but that's going to require some clever thinking. The hydraulic lines and controls etc are still available new - as a sealed system from the switch to the aim control valves, and thus, far too expensive for a novelty item. That might be a next year job. Or the bin.

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Shawn D.
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Shawn D. »

Outstanding -- what a great thread!
stoney
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by stoney »

Love this build!

A quick ebay search shows that you can purchase 245/45R16 tyres in Australia
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

stoney wrote:Love this build!

A quick ebay search shows that you can purchase 245/45R16 tyres in Australia
I'm not interested in some garbage Korean brand, nor am I interested in semi slicks and they're the only options. I've been looking for years locally online and through tyre dealers and aside from a short stint continental did, the options on a high performance road tyre in that size are very limited.
86GT635
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by 86GT635 »

Good 245 45s are pretty much gone I'm afraid. Quick search is showing the Toyo proxes t1r. The tread width on those is only 8.4"(that might be enough for your wheels). Then there is a potenza re-11, it has 9.1 width tread, and a pretty low tread wear of 200- looks like a good fast tire.

I asked for info from tire rack a couple years ago when I needed tires for 16x10s and was transferred to a knowledgeable team member, we went over a bunch of specs. One of the questions I asked was, what are the porsche guys with old wide 16s doing. Guy said they were all upsizing to 17". I guess Bridgestone just has that small market cornered right now, shame you can't get them in Australia easily.
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

86GT635 wrote:Good 245 45s are pretty much gone I'm afraid. Quick search is showing the Toyo proxes t1r. The tread width on those is only 8.4"(that might be enough for your wheels). Then there is a potenza re-11, it has 9.1 width tread, and a pretty low tread wear of 200- looks like a good fast tire.

I asked for info from tire rack a couple years ago when I needed tires for 16x10s and was transferred to a knowledgeable team member, we went over a bunch of specs. One of the questions I asked was, what are the porsche guys with old wide 16s doing. Guy said they were all upsizing to 17". I guess Bridgestone just has that small market cornered right now, shame you can't get them in Australia easily.

It does seem that way. It probably explains why the majority of old 911's that come through work with stock wheels are garage queens rolling on 15yr old Pirelli's. The re-11s are a fantastic tyre, I have them on the e28 and the e34 at the moment. My local Bridgstone dealer 'can' get them in a 245/45, they just cost a fortune. ~$400 each at a discounted price. The 225/50 RE-11s on the car now fit very well on the 8.5" wheel but are a smidge too tall for my liking and aren't the 'correct' size.
Last edited by Das_Prachtstrasse on Mar 29, 2016 5:49 AM, edited 1 time in total.
gazm3
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by gazm3 »

Yes Christian the 16" tyres wider than 225 are not easy to get. The 225/50/16 are about the widest u can get in quality brands Michelin ps3 and hankook rs3. Perhaps u have to run them slighly stretched with a spacer. Can u get them imported in the larger size? Aussie dollar not so bad at the moment
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

gazm3 wrote:Yes Christian the 16" tyres wider than 225 are not easy to get. The 225/50/16 are about the widest u can get in quality brands Michelin ps3 and hankook rs3. Perhaps u have to run them slighly stretched with a spacer. Can u get them imported in the larger size? Aussie dollar not so bad at the moment
After speaking to Mark Donnellan, he can get the Re-11's in a 245/45 but as mentioned above they're too expensive to consider an option for me. I've been running tyres on these Hartge's slightly stretched for years, hence the discussion. I hate the look more than anything but that little bit of extra rubber on the ground and lesser sidewall does make a noticeable difference to driveability. The 225/45's are the best compromise I've found and the sidewall and tread design of the Re-11's is far superior to the previous Kumho's and Conti's I've also had fit to the rims in the same size. These put a bit more rubber to the ground and the sidewall has more rim protection with a rounder sidewall than the others'.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... 5WR6RE11V2

Tire rack's prices are a lot better than I can get these locally with our Battisti discount, but shipping and exchange still make it an expensive endeavor at roughly $750 a pair shipped. I could justify that for 19's, but not these.
gazm3
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by gazm3 »

It's a pain with the 16" rims being now the orphans. More tyres available in 15". A solution may be 3 piece hartge wheels in 17". Picked up some pilot super sports for the work ute and they grip as well as warmed semi slicks in the dry without the excess noise and wet weather compremise. Pricing is also very reasonable even locally.


Cars looking nice as well. How is the engine going or is life getting to the way?
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

Update time.

I tidied up the boot carpet area by relocating the amplifier and it's associated wiring and mounting it within the M5 battery tray. 7 years ago when I had the audio system installed I had the gigantic and bright orange amp mounted on the rear bulkhead and it's wiring was just kinda hanging there which always bothered me. Not enough to warrant doing anything about it, though. Once I put the beatcase in the back a few years later and mounted the subamp to the side of it, it meant more wiring was visible and finally after all these years I decided to simplify. I removed the gigantic ancient amplifier that was back there, pulled all the wiring back and re-routed it all within the bulkheads lower box section and in behind the carpets so that now the RCA's and the signal wire for the subamp on the beatcase are the only ones that car be seen without the 'case in there. Once the case is in place, there's not a wire in sight. I threw the old amp in the bin and installed a smaller but more powerful little Response 4 channel in the M5 battery box. It fits well and is nice and concealed although I've noticed that since swapping over to the lush pile of the M5 carpet, the velcro on the bottom of the 'case no longer does anything and the bastard bangs around like a cheap whore in the twisties; hence why it's not in there at the present stage. I'm not inclined to want to drill holes through the carpet for fasteners so I may need to get creative with a nice aesthetic method for securing it that doesn't damage the carpet.

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I also installed some NOS Hella urine-beam foglamps up front. I'm not 100% sure whether they'll stay yet.

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Engine wise, the head, throttles and throttle plates are off being ported and are now ready for the cam etc to be installed. The problem now is that the cam and rockers and valve springs I paid for years ago but had never received as I was complacent with the fellow I bought them from are stuck in a warehouse that was being jointly used by a guy that got murdered last month ( in said warehouse no less) and there's a dispute now over who has rightful ownership to the things inside. It's like some Jerry Springer shit. I'm not about to get involved in that garbage as the rightful owner is a friend of mine and it'll all get sorted but it would be nice to have my fucking parts. To make myself feel better I rebuild a spare alternator I had.

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I also finally installed the intensive headlamp cleaning remote and got stuck into working out why the system was inop. Turns out the washer motors were just a bit old and gunked up, and once cleaned all operate as they should and direct water and cleaning solution where they should. I rebuilt and re-greased both headlamp wiper motors too but the LH one is not salvageable unfortunately and is now the only component preventing 100% system operation. A replacement has not been found, yet.

I received and installed the braided brake lines from garagisitic lastnight, too. I've been spoilt with a hoist at work and am certainly feeling it in the shoulders after doing work of this nature on the floor for the first time in ages. Whilst I had the system drained I also replaced the o-ring between the master and the booster which turns out was the main issue I've had with pedal feel all these years, so I'm pleased with that. I've actually got no idea what a properly operating vacuum boosted brake setup is supposed to feel like but I suspect it's pretty close to what I've got now. The pedal is still a little long so I may look into it again at some stage (master, booster??) but for now I'm reasonably satisfied and at the very least it's undoubtedly going to improve my sciatic pain. I'd considered an electrolysis bath for the disks and then a coating of zinc to prevent further surface rust but as I replaced the lines without removing any of the calipers, the rusty rotors can stay.

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Out with the old, and in with the new.
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It's evident that the seal had compressed enough to allow pressure past it in this area, noticeable also by a faint hiss when depressing the pedal. The brakes have felt heavy since I bought the car so it's certainly going to take some time to get used to the new pedal feel!

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I also received my Euro M5 catless center exhaust section last week from the dealer, so the car will likely be in at the exhaust shop next week to have that, the rear muffler and headers all joined and fit. I'm very much looking forward to finally putting a decent system on this car as the turbo one is really not doing it any favors and I'm sick of how loud it is. Not to mention the exhaust tips are fucking horrendous and completely ruin the entire car. BRING IT ON.

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Finally, a big shout out to Jamie Chomo. Mr Changa was kind enough to send me a brand new H//5 badge he'd beat me to that was for sale on another forum, and I am eternally grateful for the gesture. It's the one cosmetic piece of the puzzle I'd been missing all these years and since deciding to go the whole hog with this build I thought it fitting to badge it as it would've been had I ordered the car in this spec from day 1. A little splash of colour on the back doesn't hurt, either! That's all for now. Probably more next week.

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e28Sean
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by e28Sean »

Niiiice, as always.

I like the pee-fogs. They look good against that paint color.
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

So I got around to sorting the exhaust out and I'm glad I went down the path I did with it. I had a set of headers made up by a friend of mine in Sydney which are essentially copies of the fritz bitz RHD headers but without the fitment and weld quality problems they've become renowned for. I had these joined to a new OEM M5 catless center section I ordered from BMW, and due to the standard M5 rear muffler being on backorder with an estimated delivery time of 4+ months, I had a stainless baffled muffler made to suit the car. This entire system uses stock mounts and stock joins which is great as when the M5 muffler shows up it'll simply be a task of unbolting the current one and fitting it up. The shop that pieced it all together charged me a small fortune, but the quality of their work is incredible, from underneath it looks convincingly original. I wish I'd taken a photo the day I picked the car up with it on the hoist, but I was too bust oggling the quality of the job to remember to do so. I will do so when I have it up in the air again. The exhaust note is spot on, too. Nice and deep without but without drone and really refined and reminiscent of a proper period correct system with that nice individual cylinder firing note at lower RPM. It should really sing with the ITB's and high comp in the car. I'm not %100 sold on the tips yet so have decided not to tack them in place so as to make removal and replacement easy. I've got a straight cut/beveled edge version of the same ones I'll trial too. The Hartge tip despite being correct, is not my style. I'll upload a video or sound clip or something when I get a chance.

After the exhaust work I tidied up the car a little and took it to the Philip Island circuit for the BMW 100th year celebration. It was a disappointing display of Melbourne weather, and was a bit of a slap in the face of an event if I'm honest but I enjoyed putting several hundred k's on the car and it was a good way to run in the exhaust, too. I took a bad photo on my phone after the thunderstorm to remember the weekend by.

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An all German show organized in conjunction with the VW club was the following weekend, so I went along to that too. It was nice. My friend Scott and I had just completed a big chunk of work on his B9 so it was good fun getting the two old ladies out together for a couple of nice long drives and a show.

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I also replaced the seat shocks on the passenger seat today after doing the drivers seat a few weeks ago. I'm not sure what all the fuss was about, using the quick grip I got all 4 on each seat in about 5mins. What a bloody difference they made, it's tightened the seats up a huge amount and eliminated yet another source of annoying rattles in the cabin.

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86GT635
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by 86GT635 »

Good work on the car. Glad you're able to show it off and put some miles on it. Did the other property owner kill the guy or what?
e28Sean
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by e28Sean »

This build is awesome! I love what you are doing with it, and can't wait to see more.
Das_Prachtstrasse wrote:I also installed some NOS Hella urine-beam foglamps up front. I'm not 100% sure whether they'll stay yet.
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Just throwing this out there as a suggestion... You can have pissfogs without the pissfog look, if you run pissbulbs in your non-pissfog lamps:

Note the non-piss nature when off:
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And when on, we've gone Full-Piss, sir!:
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That said, I think the pissfogs look pretty good on your car.
leadphut
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by leadphut »

One of my favorite cars.

:up:
Shawn D.
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Shawn D. »

Great technique with the seat shocks!
Adam W in MN
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Adam W in MN »

What a great thread to read, a whole lot of thoroughness going on in here.
Karl Grau
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Karl Grau »

Looking good! :up:
wkohler
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by wkohler »

Shawn D. wrote:Great technique with the seat shocks!
I wonder who figured that out. Lol.

Great progress Bob! Really glad to see this car come together like this. Looking forward to seeing the exhaust!
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

Shawn D. wrote:Great technique with the seat shocks!
Sometimes the most difficult of tasks can be completed with the simplest of methods and thankfully most of the time someone has figured that out already!

Thanks for the kind words guys. Every time I look at this thing I'm inclined to strip it back to bare bones and start again so the thoroughness can be properly thorough. There are so many aspects of this car that aren't up to my standards but if they were, I'd be less inclined to want to actually drive it so there's always the silver lining of being able to thrash on it without having too much of a concern.

Now if only the engine parts in limbo would make there way into the cylinder head I could finally get that side of things finished and the thrash would be even more enjoyable. Time to stop trusting generally useless people I suppose.
Chimi-Changa
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Chimi-Changa »

Glad the badge made it Bob, and happy to help Amigo!

Also looking forward to hearing how the M5 exhaust works out on it.

"You keep blazing the trail, and We'll keep driving in your dust"
CBREEZ
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by CBREEZ »

Love it!!!!
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

So yet again, I've been a bit slack in updating this thread. This is partly due to the fact that I've been more focused lately on bringing my daily drive back up to spec after repainting it last year but mainly as not a great deal has been achieved on the e28 aside from parts gathering I've not had much to contribute. Time to change that I think.

I've done a few little tidbits to the car maintenance wise and have a few intermediate plans that will tie me over until the engine work is underway. I've finally come to the accept that despite its novelty, the sub box in the boot is due for retirement. I'm sick of chasing annoying audio quality issues and with my reluctance to port the boot cavity to the cabin via the typical hole saw to the rear bulkhead method, a smaller woofer under the rear seat will suit my needs much better. I'll also relocate the amplifier there and be happy to have the entire aft storage compartment free for Glen (Azure) to climb in and rub his face on the M5 carpets. As long as it's just his face.

I also rebuilt the headlight wash/wipe system as it had started playing up and after tearing it all down noticed that replacement check valves I bought new a few years ago had all failed internally, and one of the motors has packed it in. I rebuilt and lubricated the working motor and that operates perfectly but the inoperable motor is not salvageable unfortunately. I suspect there's a broken connection within the units sealed internal wiring as the motor itself will operate with bypassed power. Nevertheless, if anyone has a spare working O/S motor, pm me.

In terms of engine work, after almost 12 months of chasing up and dealing with unreliable (to be incredibly civil) imbeciles I finally retrieved my head and throttles the other week. I honestly thought I'd never see them again so the relief was, well, relieving. In the interests of simply regaining control over the situation I cut the process short so the head is still completely disassembled yet the quality of the porting work is excellent so at least that's something. Seamless integration of the throttles, the plates and the intake ports make me very pleased. The lack of any of the other new parts such as the custom valve springs, valve seals etc that should've accompanied the work don't make me pleased but nevertheless, I'll cut my losses and continue on my way. There's nothing that makes me happier than pushing that portion of this build to the wayside. I also got a hold of the rockers, rocker locks and cam that had been tied up in the factory dispute which is great although it remains to be seen whether the cam is suitable as it's unmarked and the fellow I bought it from has gone completely awol.

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The majority of the new engine bits are from Pure Performance Motorsport here in Melbourne, check out their website for more info if you're interested. They're very well respected.
Pistons - 10.5:1 Forged 94mm phosphate coated. Accompanying I-beam rods are also forged.
Rockers - 7075 T6 Billet rocker and rocker locks with some lovely screw adjusters to eliminate the need for the OEM eccentrics.

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The crank is standard B34 but will be independently balanced along with the harmonic balancer and I'll have the entire bottom end assembled by a shop as I'm not particularly interested in doing so myself. The block needs to be sent off and bored once I can find a shop I trust etc which will hopefully happen within the next few weeks. As for the head, once the cam situation is sorted and the new rocker shafts arrive it'll be ready to assemble.

The cam I got in the deal with the rockers originally is a bit of a mystery. My hazey memory thinks this was a PB special but I'm not entirely sure and with no distinguishable markings I won't know the spec unless I mock it up in the head which I'm not sure I can be bothered doing. I'm inclined to go with the Dbillas 308 degree to eliminate the unknowns with the current cam and guarantee results although if anyone can provide some assistance in determining it's origin from photo's or caliper measurements that would be great, even if it assists in resale.

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The throttles needed disassembly again to clean the aluminum filings from the orifices' post porting and in doing so I noticed I'd neglected the poor condition of the needle roller bearings the main pivot shaft passes through on the initial rebuild. Thanks to a thread found on this forum I was able to ID the bearings and ordered some from a local supplier. I pressed these in and once the new o-rings for the vacuum tubes and bypass screws arrive I'll reassemble them for the final time and get to work on modifying the thermostat housing.

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I think that's about it for now. Here are a few photo's of the exhaust too, I've still not got a sound clip but will get around to it at some stage. I'm really pleased with it but can't deny the want for the factory rear box. I cancelled the backorder on the original M5 part due to the wait time but am thinking I might re-order after tax time and forget about it until it arrives.

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And a recent one for the sake of it.
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muleskinner
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Re: Overdue build thread

Post by muleskinner »

Das_Prachtstrasse wrote:the bastard bangs around like a cheap whore in the twisties
A man after my own heart. Always better to pay a little extra for a whore that doesn't bang around.
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