Pitchblack Motorsports Rally e30 318i (now with M50) - and some Porsche 924S stuff.

[e30shmobberr]

You have put some great work into this car! keep doing good

[Mark 42]

Yep, I ordered some online, got 5 for 12 bucks.
Had them cut at Home Depot and they work great.

Of note, Home Depot has no "cutting jig" or whatever for BMW keys,
but after a bunch of trying we found that the "Mazda #5" key is the
same and it worked fine. Just for anyone who needs to know.

Does that mean the Mazda key blank will work too?

How much did they charge you to cut them?
I got some really fancy house keys online (for our antique lockset),
and the locksmith charges the same price for cutting as they do when
they provide the key blank (something like $3 per key!)


If you have no steering lock, you could put a hidden ignition switch
somewhere and not even bother using an ignition key.

I took the steering lock off of my truck for safety reasons. Thieves
wil get around the steering lock in seconds if they want the car anyways.

[irish44j]

Does that mean the Mazda key blank will work too?

No. It's the same profile but about 1/4" shorter. I tried to have them cut one with the Mazda key and it didn't work in my lock.

Home Depot didn't charge at all. Cut me 3 keys from the blanks I brought in. I asked how much and he said "we don't charge for the cutting, just for the key blank, so no charge"

Does that mean the Mazda key blank will work too?

If you have no steering lock, you could put a hidden ignition switch
somewhere and not even bother using an ignition key.[/quote]

The thought had crossed my mind, since I disabled the steering lock. But a key is just easier, especially if I need to do an emergency shutdown or something. Plus, buying two nice switches/buttons for ingnition and starter would cost more than the free used ignition switch I'm getting, lol.

[FunfGan]

Do you want any of that m42 stuff this weekend? Or do you have it all?

[Mark 42]

You could have a go at that Mazda key with a dremel tool.
I know it's not really worth the time it'd take - I just hate to admit defeat. :drink:

[irish44j]

Do you want any of that m42 stuff this weekend? Or do you have it all?

Yeah, bring whatever you can fit! Also still need that 4th door panel from Spencer and the ignition switch. Lemme know how much cash you want for the stuff.

You could have a go at that Mazda key with a dremel tool.
I know it's not really worth the time it'd take - I just hate to admit defeat. :drink:

The BMW blanks worked fine, so I don't have to worry about it. Can't dremel the Mazda keys because they aren't long enough.

[Mark 42]

Can't dremel the Mazda keys because they aren't long enough.

I was thinking along the lines of extending the grooves and cutting away some of the head of the key... but that would depend on how they indexed the key when they cut it. If they used one of those automatic (crappy) machines then there is no hope. If it was cut by hand, it could work if the distance from the tip to the first feature (tumbler pin) is correct.

I always cut the head of keys way down to reduce the bulk in my pocket.

[FunfGan]

Yeah, bring whatever you can fit! Also still need that 4th door panel from Spencer and the ignition switch. Lemme know how much cash you want for the stuff.

Sounds good! I'll make sure to get it all ready so he doesn't forget it haha. We can work out cash either down there, or closer to the time. I don't want much, just some to help pay for the rest of the small bits I need for the swap.

[irish44j]

sounds good. I'll just leave my other door panel off and bring some extra clips, lol. I think this is the first time I have nothing to swap to you guys, haha...

[monkeytaco]

This thread makes me so happy.

[irish44j]

happened to watch some old TG last night, and it was the episode where the Clarkson in an e36 gets owned by the e30 guys. Had to do some screen captures :)

[Mark 42]

I watched it too - "Is racing cheaper than Golf?" or something like that.
It made me think about getting back into racing. I'll probably do it when
my kids are old enough to drive too.
Stayed up past my bedtime to watch it... feel like crap today.
Their version of RallyCross is a little different. Racing is extremely fun
when you can bump each other

I'm up to about post #370 in reading this thread now.

Seeing the red dirt makes me miss Alabama.

[irish44j]

I wouldn't miss the red clay......I'd much prefer some dirt. Cleaning up after an event where the water truck was out is a bitch. I had to powerwash my driveway to get all the clay off of the car and it, lol.

[Mark 42]

I miss Alabama... but probably not the dirt.
We had stuff called "Chirt". It would make a post hole digger bounce.
it was like a layer of sandstone about 2 feet down, a couple of inches
thick. The day I borrowed an auger for my tractor was one of the happiest days...
I put holes everywhere I could possibly want them someday in the future
and filled them back in if it was way out in the future. Figured once they'd been
dug I could empty them easy enough.

There are many things I miss... but not wasps, ticks, chiggers, water moccasins and all the annoying bugs.

I miss thunderstorms and fireflies, southern culture, and the people.
I was raised in So. Cal... but after a year in Alabama, our pastor (Who was born & raised in Franklin Tennessee) called ME a redneck! I seemed to fit in there (somewhat - or they accepted me as I am)

[irish44j]

All packed up for the big 2-day "Conquer the Summit" rallycross this weekend. This weekend we run all three courses and it's a total time for both days, so consistency is going to be crucial if I want to have a chance. Looks like my class (MR) is going to be me, Stuart in the M42 318is, two or three RX-7s, and a baja beetle of some sort (or so I hear). Should be interesting.

One small mod before the event - went and bought some cheapo seat covers from Wal-Mart, since the black leather gets hot as hell sitting in the sun all day, and my duck-tape repairs are curling up at some edges which makes them stick to my shorts when I'm in the car, lol. They are true pimpin!

It's amazing how much can fit in an e30 though, compared to (for instance) my WRX. IN the car currently are 5 rally wheels/tires, my 60-gallon (or larger?) gearbox, a race jack, a pop-up shelter, a toolbox, a pair of fold-up chairs, helmet, a couple coolers, and a bookbag of change of clothes and other smaller stuff. And the front seats/footwells are still empty, and the trunk still has room to fit a small child. The WRX would be overflowing with this much stuff in it!

Anyhow, gonna be hot this weekend so I expect to be exhausted after 2 days out in that, doused in DEET 30 bug spray and high-SPF sunblock, haha...

loaded deep in the back, I hope I can steer :)