E30 M3 Steel Bodywork Conversion

[vlad]

we will be working on this next project soon, less involved than yours but similar goal :up:

[bmwmech1]

we will be working on this next project soon, less involved than yours but similar goal :up:

Is that a pic of the "new" project, everybody on s14 is drumming you about, Lol?
I'm amazed at how quickly you were able to put together the misc body pieces... looks like you have all of it accounted for. Dare I ask what powerplant, or too early to let that cat out of the bag? Rears look pretty wide...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

a standing applaud . absolutely wonderful job.

Thanks man... I appreciate it. It keeps me motivated...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Wow! Stunning project man!! I have minor upgrades/refurbishments in mind for my car currently, but some of your work is inspiring my future ideas down the road when I have more time and money to do some of this kind of work. I will be watching this thread very closely to learn some of your 'ways', so to speak, and putting them to my own use!! This build has me on my toes for good! HUGE props my friend!!! Sub'd!!
:mrgreen::up::up::mrgreen:

Thanks man, posts like yours are fun to read! I remember when I was looking for any information I could find when I was starting to plan this project and coming across different build threads was hugely inspiring! I appreciate your input and good luck when you start down your project path... it's a lot of work, but infinitely worth it!

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Cage tubing is in! I am picking up 100 feet of 1.5" and 20 feet of 1.25" tubing tomorrow morning, along with my coil over sleeves and perches for my rear coil over setup. The shocks will be in on Friday and I already have the springs. I also got my OE rear wing in yesterday and have been trudging along tying up loose ends with the last of the welding. I'll start the cage tomorrow night and get some pics up quickly... BTW, Lee had brought up the issue with my tubing choice not fitting into the racing regs, so remember all of you that want to question my choice in tubing diameters, this is a street car, it will never see a track, so the choice in tubing diameter is for a reason... you'll see...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Well, I got the main hoop made and fitted into the shell tonight. The cage is underway! The next progress post should be in about 20 days... this may take a while, Lol! Anyway, I snapped a photo to keep everybody happy...



Garey

[bmwmech1]

I stand corrected... I got the A-pillars done and the windshield bar bent and cut, but not fitted yet, so maybe it will get done quicker than I thought, Lol! Pics...

I was able to keep the tubes tucked into the A-pillars and they're completely buried above the tops of the doors...


You can see the windshield bar lying on the column supports and the crazy shape of the down tubes... I may not even have to modify the dash to clear the tubes...


Stay tuned...

Garey

[drutt23]

Sweet man!! It's lookin great so far!! BTW.....this would be later down the road of my project because I'm not far enough along that I can start the cage/reinforcement....but anyways, would you possibly be willing to bend some tubing for me so that I may do some similar things cage-wise. Probably not as extensive as you are doing, but I would like some extra support in the car that can be tucked away as close to the body as possible.

Oh and how did you get the weld all the way around the tubing with it that close to the roof and pillars?? Did you remove the roof again??

[dude8383]

Subscrizzled. This is an amazing build!

[GDA]

There is a ton of proper work in this thread. Serious props for building it the way you want it.

Subscribed and look forward to seeing it all done someday.

[bmwmech1]

Sweet man!! It's lookin great so far!! BTW.....this would be later down the road of my project because I'm not far enough along that I can start the cage/reinforcement....but anyways, would you possibly be willing to bend some tubing for me so that I may do some similar things cage-wise. Probably not as extensive as you are doing, but I would like some extra support in the car that can be tucked away as close to the body as possible.

Oh and how did you get the weld all the way around the tubing with it that close to the roof and pillars?? Did you remove the roof again??

Thanks man, I appreciate your praise...
As far as bending some tubing for you goes... All of this work is being done one piece at a time, fitting it to the car as closely as possible, with many, many test fits. There's no way for me to just bend up some tubes and hope they'll fit like I have made them fit here. I'm flattered that you would want me to do it, but it's just not realistic. Plus, you'd have to buy the tubing and have it shipped to me, which is expensive and for my time to build it, it would be cost prohibitive. I would recommend buying something. They have done all of the work in designing and can offer the finished product at a competitive price. This is more of a custom built car, where price is really not an issue. To duplicate it would be pricey...
As far as the welds go, it's tacked right now. Nothing can be finish welded until the entire cage is made and fitted, then everything is disassembled and fully welded.

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Subscrizzled. This is an amazing build!

Thanks man, it's really just getting rolling...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

There is a ton of proper work in this thread. Serious props for building it the way you want it.

Subscribed and look forward to seeing it all done someday.

Thanks for the props... it has always been a project of the "I want it, so I'll do it" school of thought, which makes it fun. I look forward to driving it someday, Lol! The sooner the better...

Garey

[drutt23]

Thanks man, I appreciate your praise...
As far as bending some tubing for you goes... All of this work is being done one piece at a time, fitting it to the car as closely as possible, with many, many test fits. There's no way for me to just bend up some tubes and hope they'll fit like I have made them fit here. I'm flattered that you would want me to do it, but it's just not realistic. Plus, you'd have to buy the tubing and have it shipped to me, which is expensive and for my time to build it, it would be cost prohibitive. I would recommend buying something. They have done all of the work in designing and can offer the finished product at a competitive price. This is more of a custom built car, where price is really not an issue. To duplicate it would be pricey...
As far as the welds go, it's tacked right now. Nothing can be finish welded until the entire cage is made and fitted, then everything is disassembled and fully welded.

Garey

Hey no worries man! Just curious. By the time I am to the point of installing a cage, I may have the ability to do it myself. Thank you very much for your input on it though!! I appreciate it greatly!! :D

[hoveringuy]

Garey

Damn.. that's very cool. If you don't already have it filled would love to see pics of the inside of the cover.