Clown Shoe - Progress Thread

[IronFreak]

3.0L or 2.8L did not see mention of a year or engine size. 3.0L is a nice engine good compromise if your gonna just DD it.

Sorry it's a 1999 2.8L.

[IronFreak]

Here is a pic of mine, boost that bad boy.....

That is gorgeous! Have you done the Forbes subframe upgrade?

[sassen]

Ugrade? Check

That is gorgeous! Have you done the Forbes subframe upgrade?

Yes I did the upgrade on this bad boy, It had started showing weld failure, I did not do Forbes, but same ideas really

[IronFreak]

I think with my fabrication ability I'll do my own variation of the Forbes fix as well. I pulled out the guts on the truck to check for weld failure, nothing I could see, but I figure if I'm going to drop the subframe and redo all the suspension and bushings whats a couple more hours of cutting and welding.

[e36mike]

Nice coupe welcome to the cartel! 7500$ what a deal...

[IronFreak]

New shoes for the shoe.......

I'm still on the fence with the randy forbes fix, not that I don't think its worth it, but we did a thorough inspection of that area last Thursday and see no signs of splitting or pulling of the chassis or spot welds. What do you guys think?

I'm putting in the order to do a full overhaul on the coolant system and fix a few minor leaks this week. At the same time I'll be refinishing the wheels and ordering some rubber.

Plan for suspension is:

Treehouse CABs
98m3 control arms
98m3 spindles, rotors and calipers
Custom coilovers (Koni adjustables/GC coil kit)
fresh swaybar mounts and links
Camber plates (still deciding on what to go with)
subframe, rtabs and diff bushings from Condor Racing (I have the big single and dual eared bushings, trying to decided if I do the forbes repair all at once.)
Forbes/Custom subframe beef up (Still undecided)
new rear rotors
rear koni/GC coils


I have all the above except for the camber plates, swaybar bushings and brake pads.

[e36mike]

I would do the rf kit and subframe/diff bushes. I havent done it yet as i dont show signs but in my opinion its worth the peace of mind to be able to abuse it without having to keep checking it. Also i have heard it totally stiffens up the rear and is a noticeable improvement in handling

[IronFreak]

I would do the rf kit and subframe/diff bushes. I havent done it yet as i dont show signs but in my opinion its worth the peace of mind to be able to abuse it without having to keep checking it. Also i have heard it totally stiffens up the rear and is a noticeable improvement in handling

Cool man, being a fabricator I can appreciate the RF setup but I got a quote from him and well.......my fabricator instinct kicked in. I looked at a ton of pictures and an more then confident I can do a very close variation of his reinforcement on my own with the materials and tools I have. I figure since I'll have the subframe out I might as well do it.

Also I didn't put it on that list above but I have a subframe with camber/toe adjustment mod that I'll be swapping out as well.

[2mAn]

I am happy, I got the aluminum 2.8L though.....I have a thing for boost.

IIRC 97 & 98 were the only ones that got the aluminum block. either way, I love it. My Dad had a M52 open top Z3 and it was a fun, even though it was an auto. Post some pics of the block or compare it with mine and you'll know for sure. Theres a few ways to tell, externally, and if you look at my engine build in the 24v forum you can see pics of my bare aluminum block

[IronFreak]

97 and 98 were the aluminum block m52, in 99 the Z got the m52tu, which still has an aluminum block with steel sleeves but it received the dual vanos timing system. it's much more like the m54 then the previous m52 as one of the upgrades is to bolt on the 330i intake manifold onto it.

[e36mike]

Yea if you have experience fabricating you can create your own or buy his kit and diy. Anythin involving the reinforcement and dual ear diff should be great from what i researched

[ST1G]

I love clown shoe's! Will be following.

[ArtClassShank]

Didn't even know we got Z3 coupes that weren't M's.

That things awesome, awesome price. Also Iowa FTW.

[unloadedak]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=279335

[IronFreak]

^^That car has potential....