E30 Rally Build Thread

[MasterOfPuppets]

AC Pull

Finally, more progress. Ripped out all of the engine bay AC apparatus. Now I have a nice big empty space in front of the radiator, perfect for a relocated oil cooler and maybe a pusher electric fan.



All told, the AC stuff weighed about 40 lbs, which is roughly 1.8% of the overall weight of the car.

Pulled the door panels and all of the power lock crap. There are now about 10 fewer wires running out into the door. I figure I'll make some aluminum panels to cover up all the metal edges per the RA rules. I can probably even sell my panels and come out even. Sweet.

Installed roof vent #2, no pics yet but they work great. It almost seems like they're too effective, but I'm sure I won't think so when it's 95 degrees and humid next summer.

EDIT: Door panels are spoken for.

[iamsam]

40 lbs? I could swear the compressor alone must weigh 50... Did you weigh it all?

[MasterOfPuppets]

40 lbs? I could swear the compressor alone must weigh 50... Did you weigh it all?

Yep. Compressor and hardware was just over 20. Condenser and fan were about 15, and the rest of the lines were 5. Even the massive cast iron compressor from the '73 Lincoln was only 45 lbs.

[iamsam]

WHOA my bicep scale is waaaay off....

Now, let's get some exhaust work done!!

[MasterOfPuppets]

So I picked up a bulb to replace the weak one in my shift light (2-pack was $5). The original was 3.4W, and I upgraded to 5W. This change plus a better incident angle makes the light effective. Here's how it's (temporarily) mounted:



Should be hard to miss. As I mentioned previously, I stripped the doors. For those who are curious, here's how they look:



Somehow in the course of removing all the door lock mechanism and wiring from the driver's door, I did something to irreversably lock the passenger door :curse:. Power accessories are the devil's work! I will solve this when I remove the entire lock mechanism, I just now have to do it from the passenger's floor instead of a comfortable chair with the door open. Ah well.

[iamsam]

Did you clean up the door inner shell after removing the factory plastic? I removed my factory plastic and the inner shell was a mess of mud, dust, grease, and sticky residue.

[drutt23]

Nice progress man! Keep it up!

[SlapDash]

Yeah, there is a lot of goo when you pull the plastic.

Don't forget that you have to cover up that door with some sort of skin or a modified door card per RA. I used a sheet of that weird paneling that you find in RVs and/or bar room bathrooms. I put the smooth side out.

If you're going Lexan, you can pull the motor/regulator and wiring too.

[MasterOfPuppets]

I didn't clean it at all; it's still sticky. I'll probably wipe it down with WD before getting it too dusty.

On windows - my drag racing days have taught me that the several pounds of window motor and mechanism are totally worth it on a hot day in a race suit when you can just zip down the windows and get some fresh air after a pass/stage. So I'll keep 'em until my skill level surpasses the speed of the car and I need to shave more weight...

I figure I'll do the same sheet aluminum trick on the doors as the roof... worked out well and should be durable. Plus I already found some sucker to buy my door panels for enough to cover the aluminum... sucker :mrgreen:.

Getting the exhaust done tomorrow, guy quoted my $125 to put in some flanged straight pipes from the back of the cat/resonator to an exit in front of each rear wheel (yes, I checked the RA rules, the exhaust must exit behind the driver, not the wheels). May not be a long-term solution, but it will at least make the car loud enough to tell if it's running.

[iamsam]

I Plus I already found some sucker to buy my door panels for enough to cover the aluminum... sucker :mrgreen:.

Yeah what a knucklehead, who would want door panels to cover up his bare doors? wait... ;)

Getting the exhaust done tomorrow, guy quoted my $125 to put in some flanged straight pipes from the back of the cat/resonator to an exit in front of each rear wheel (yes, I checked the RA rules, the exhaust must exit behind the driver, not the wheels). May not be a long-term solution, but it will at least make the car loud enough to tell if it's running.

Make sure you wrap the exhaust w/ heat wrap right by the fuel pump, since your pipe will be running right under that, and you don't want to melt your subframe bushings either.

Also, make sure your exhaust guy doesn't cut up the Supersprint cat-back!!

[Earendil]

Getting the exhaust done tomorrow, guy quoted my $125 to put in some flanged straight pipes from the back of the cat/resonator to an exit in front of each rear wheel (yes, I checked the RA rules, the exhaust must exit behind the driver, not the wheels). May not be a long-term solution, but it will at least make the car loud enough to tell if it's running.

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm curious why you would make such a modification to the exit location of the exhaust. If you won't notice window motors, surely you won't notice an extra 2 feet of exhaust pipe ;-)
Certainly then durability would be a reason, but it seems like tucking the exhaust in that nice stock designed alcove would prove more durable than splitting it in two different directions and routing by underside elements that weren't designed for it?

I'd love to know the answer since I'm sure you know a bit more than me :)

[MasterOfPuppets]

Yeah what a knucklehead, who would want door panels to cover up his bare doors? wait... ;)

Make sure you wrap the exhaust w/ heat wrap right by the fuel pump, since your pipe will be running right under that, and you don't want to melt your subframe bushings either.

Also, make sure your exhaust guy doesn't cut up the Supersprint cat-back!!

Wilco on all counts. I have some sheetmetal, so I'll probably make some shields, but heat wrap is a good idea too.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm curious why you would make such a modification to the exit location of the exhaust. If you won't notice window motors, surely you won't notice an extra 2 feet of exhaust pipe ;-)
Certainly then durability would be a reason, but it seems like tucking the exhaust in that nice stock designed alcove would prove more durable than splitting it in two different directions and routing by underside elements that weren't designed for it?

I'd love to know the answer since I'm sure you know a bit more than me :)

Basically, three reasons in addition to the weight savings:

1.) In my opinion, louder = better in this case. I prefer to be able to clearly hear the engine while I drive, and I figure a gravel rally will have plenty of ambient noise in the car. So an exit right behind me will be louder than the back of the car. Will it be too loud? We'll see, but so far, all signs point to no.

2.) To leave max room for suspension parts, travel, and tweakery, I'd prefer not to have pipes running over and around the rear suspension. I anticipate alot of quick-turn repairs during a rally, and waiting for exhaust to cool won't make anything faster.

3.) Cost - to have the exhaust shop make some simple dump tunes is much cheaper than a custom bent system to go over the axle. I coud have taken a stock exhaust and pulled the muffler, but that's still more expensve.

There are good odds I'll come to regret this for some reason, but what the hey, it's worth a shot.

Also, don't count on me knowing more than anyone else - one of the main reasons I post on here is to get some different opinions on stuff, so thanks for questioning!

[Earendil]

Basically, three reasons in addition to the weight savings:

1.) In my opinion, louder = better in this case. I prefer to be able to clearly hear the engine while I drive, and I figure a gravel rally will have plenty of ambient noise in the car. So an exit right behind me will be louder than the back of the car. Will it be too loud? We'll see, but so far, all signs point to no.

2.) To leave max room for suspension parts, travel, and tweakery, I'd prefer not to have pipes running over and around the rear suspension. I anticipate alot of quick-turn repairs during a rally, and waiting for exhaust to cool won't make anything faster.

3.) Cost - to have the exhaust shop make some simple dump tunes is much cheaper than a custom bent system to go over the axle. I coud have taken a stock exhaust and pulled the muffler, but that's still more expensve.

There are good odds I'll come to regret this for some reason, but what the hey, it's worth a shot.

Also, don't count on me knowing more than anyone else - one of the main reasons I post on here is to get some different opinions on stuff, so thanks for questioning!

Points 1 and 2 are excellent and not something I thought of. Especially number 2, which is surprising since I've dropped the exhaust solo enough and burned myself enough times to wish that the exhaust weren't near the rear wheels and suspension :)

[iamsam]

the cat back exhaust is a HUGE pita sometimes, I know, I have swapped my diff in and out at least 5 times now, in addition to dropping the entire subframe once. and it does weigh a good bit.