M20B29 w/ Triple Webers into my '71 2002

[SkiFree]

Sorry not many updates. Been finding out that there needs to be more hours in a day with full time @ IE, full time @ school, and a family (7 month old son loves sitting in the 2002).


Groma/Mano update ---- will be getting back to the Groma car next week, plan is to now have a completely shaved bay, pics to follow.

Me/IE update
snapped a better shot of the car, not bad for original paint.


---- turning focus to more immediate problems than the engine. Am rebuilding the front and rear subframes/suspension. List as follows....

FRONT subframe -- weekend warrior build (not overkill on street but certainly stiffer than stock.)
- IE Driver's side motor mount weld in plate
- IE front urethane bushing kit (inner and outer control arm bushings, radius rod bushings)
- OEM idler arm bushings
- IE urethane steering coupler
- OEM tie rods and track rods
- Rebuilt steering box
- Bilstein Sport Shocks
- IE stage 2 springs
- OEM lower ball joints
- GROMA reinforced lower control arms
- IE 22mm front swaybar DropCenter (clears M20 oil pan)

The steering box I had ready to go was snagged for a customer so what better opportunity to learn how to rebuild one myself. The 2002 steering box mechanism simply consists of a steel roller shaft mated to a worm gear, these parts are now NLA so if your gears are pitted/ground (see below) you might want to consider getting a rebuilt box (or buying a couple other used boxes in hopes of piecing together a good one)

Steering box diagram via RealOEM, a little simpler then that power steering.


Notice the flat spot on the inside of the right roller shaft, this would indicate it would make a good paperweight!


Notice the grinding wear on the left worm gear, also good for stacks of papers.

[lgb240]

great build ... looking forward to the updates.

pics of my 240z for inspiration - triple 48 dcoe's

[SkiFree]

Nice looking Z, always like those car.


Update Me/IE

Got the oil pan baffle prototype finished up and nearly ready to go. Been wanting to make these for a while now to use in conjunction with the windage tray. Hopefully have them tumbled and up on the site in the next week or so.

[F34R]

So awesome! I love the sound of webers at WOT =)

Doing this well!

[Luis325]

SKiFree did i meet you up In IE when i was with Flavio?
id love to see this project in person!
im heading back from PR to Cali in October!

Good luck with the project!

[Slickbass]

Been longing for an update. So how are things going?

Also what sort of cam duration do you plan to run?

Anyhow keep going as this build still interests me a great deal.

[SkiFree]

Luis -- I don't think I met you but please say hello next time you swing by!
Slickbass -- On the cam I'm not sure to go with a 272 or a 288.

Sorry for the lack of updates, will get some up early this next week.

Mano is going to Munich for Octoberfest this next week (just a little jealous) so no progress on the GROMA car.

[bloodshot-e30]

sweet baby jesus! this is goin to be tits.

[SkiFree]

Groma Race Fab/ Mano update....

Uhm, yea, the Groma project has shifted a little bit.....again.... alot. Mano's decision now is to aim for 50/50 weight distribution on a shortened scale (cylinder #1 will be in line with the strut tower and the fuel cell will be in the rear seat area). Always wondered what something like this would drive like, guess now we'll find out!
This is what greets you when you walk in the shop



As you can see in the pictures the trimming has started. After we can get the 323 close ratio 5-speed positioned correctly then the cage fab will start. Also the driver's position and pedal assembly will have to be pushed back as well, obviously.

[JasonCeebz]

Good to see a 6 cylinder conversion done right, with weight distribution in mind.

[Slickbass]

SkiFree

How is your inlet mani going? Obviously a big part of the build.

[SkiFree]

Slick - I've got nearly all the dimensions finalized. The suspension comes first and then that will be the next step in the project.

[SkiFree]

Alright, so I've still been working on the suspension but don't have any good write ups yet.

On the side I've been putting a database together on M20 ITB/weber cars. Here are a couple of Australian customer's cars.... both of which will be IE 3.1'd soon.

Mr Luicci's E21 w/ Extrudabody ITB's (Rowland Manifolds)




Mr. Karatzis's E30 running S54 ITB's with a custom adapter manifold

[kronus]

Hey SkiFree, would you be able to get any shots of the red 2002's front suspension? I'm curious as to how they got the e30 struts onto the 2002 control arms, as well as the steering situation.

[SkiFree]

Hey Kronus, I'll try and get some shots tomorrow, sorry for not getting back any sooner.


So I've finished up the steering box and have some tidbits worth mentioning.

Here's how it started. Nicely covered with gear box oil, yummy!


Taking the pitman arm off was pretty entertaining. We stuck the box upside down in a bearing splitter and used a press on the bottom of the box, it separated with a pretty good bang.

After disassembling about 3 used boxes for parts I had enough pieces to make one good box (this is one reason why it might actually be cheaper to just buy a rebuilt box.).

Replacing the upper and lower seals is so much cheaper if you go through an oil seal supplier (I used Colonial Seal) rather than a dealership. BMW list is $13-$15 per seal vs. $2-$3 from Colonial (you simply need the dimensions printed on the seals). Unfortunately the plastic bearing cages and their races are only available through BMW (cages $35 each and the races $45-$50 each). I called a local bearing guru (old school guy with records dating back from the stone age) and gave him the BMW part numbers for the bearings/races as well as the manufacturer's printed part #'s (SKF in this case), he said that they have not been available for some time (through sources other than BMW) and that they appeared to have been designed for the aeronautics industry, pretty interesting stuff. I used the best races and bearings out of the 3 boxes and called it good.

I bought new 8x25 hex bolts and wave washers through BMW because they were relatively cheap and came cadmium plated.

Prepped and painted the box, top cap, and side cap with 3 coats of caliper paint.

Reassembly was pretty easy, just retraced my dissasembly procedure. I did take a skotch-brite pad to the shim plates as they were pretty crusty.


When putting the worm gear back in I was sure to line up the gear mark with the case mark before tapping in the vertical gear assembly in (simultaneously lining up the two marks on the bottom). This insured that the steering position will be at top dead center once everything is in place.





And the finished box almost ready for action.



The finishing touches were the cadmium plated steering coupler brackets that Draco ('02faq member) gave me, along with the urethane steering coupler. Nyloc nuts used all the way around.


Ready to go!