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phenryiv1's Rally Cross 87 325- Caged, B25 Swapped, Rear suspension refresh Last Page

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    phenryiv1's Rally Cross 87 325- Caged, B25 Swapped, Rear suspension refresh Last Page

    This is not my first build thread on here. Some of you may recognize my name from my 1988 325 track/autoX build a few years back. Unfortunately, I ran into a few issues and lost interest in the project (more on that below), and I moved on to other things. That said, this is my build thread.
    __________________________________
    Edit:

    RealOEM code (this car): http://realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?mo...4&mospid=47321
    RealOEM code (motor donor): http://realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?mo...3&mospid=47322

    2013 Schedule:

    Drivers School / Testing March 23
    Event # 1 March 24
    Event # 2 April 21
    Event # 3 May 26
    Event #4 "Conquer the Summit" June 22 & 23
    Drivers School / Testing September 7
    Event #5 September 8
    Event #6 October 13
    Event #7 November 10
    __________________


    ^^^^^^^^^^^^
    Those are for me

    End edit
    __________________________________

    The story:

    After modifying cars just to do it for years, I finally tried autoX in my 2008 Legacy 5MT (non-turbo) a few years back and I loved it. I did a few minor mods, bought dedicated wheels and tires, and had a lot of fun autoXing the Legacy. After a while I decided to build a dedicated track/autoX car. I started with a '92 e36 318i 5MT, but just as I got it road-ready, I had to sell it to buy my grandfather's 1988 Jeep Comanche (he had recently passed away and I wanted to buy it to restore it).

    A few months later, I found the cash to buy a new track toy- a 1988 BMW 325. I worked on that car so much that I never even took the Legacy to the track. I had it nearly where I wanted it to be to track it- built top end, "i" head swap, all new belts, hoses, nearly every suspension bushing and component replaced, new springs, Bilstein sport springs, track wheels and tires...it was ready to go. But the car had lousy paint and somewhere in the build of the drivetrain I had SOMETHING that was clanking and thunking, and not in a good way. I made the mistake of making too many changes at one time, and I could not trace the noise to a specific source without dumping new parts and a lot of time into the project. After months of chasing the noise, I parted the car back to stock and sold it.

    With the proceeds, I traded in my Legacy and bought my realistic "dream" car- the newly released 2011 WRX 5DR with the wide body. I LOVE this car. I have done a fair amount of suspension work to the car, and after 18 months of ownership, I have finally tracked it. But tracking your DD is not always the smartest move, which takes us to the topic of this thread.

    One important note: I live about 20 minutes from Summit Point Motorsports Park, which is not only fun for the "real" tracks that they have, but also for the DC SCCA Rally Cross venue that is on-site.

    After months of hearing Josh (Irish44j) gush about how awesome RallyX is, I paired up with a buddy and we bought a running-but-not-driving 1987 325 sedan. She isn't pretty, but she runs. We looked over dozens of other cars on the forums and CL, looking for the perfect base for a budget rally cross car, and this one finally was good enough to fire on. We focused on e30s due to my familiarity, a bin of leftover parts, and the fact that we have a pretty good network of other e30 enthusiats locally, which helps with tech stuff, parts hunts, and general community.

    So the car:

    1987 BMW 325 sedan. Manual transmission, 216K (working odometer). Bilstein HD shocks, only 2 small rust spots, some recent receipts, and a fair enough description from the previous owner about what has been done and what needs to be done. When we bought the car, the P.O. had tried to bleed the clutch but failed miserably. The car had new (brand new) exhaust, some replacement bushings, a verified timing belt history, and was generally in fair shape. The blower motor was out, the power windows did not all work, and there were some serious stink issues on the inside. But she fired up right away and made no nasty noises. Other than the clutch issue and a couple of minor leaks, she was not bad for what we wanted to do, and she was in our budget.

    We got her for $900, with no extra charge for the dents.

    Here we were during the initial visit:





    We debated looking for one with less minor issues, but decided that we'd rather be working on the car than driving and looking at other potential candidates. I figured that we could sort out the major issues in one afternoon, so rather than spend another weekend or so going shopping, we'd just get dirty and fix the bird that we had in the hand.

    After a couple of days arranging for the tow, the trailer, and a time with the seller, we managed to get her loaded up, tied down, and on the way for the 60 mile trek home:



    The very next day, we got to work on her. High on the list was removing the utterly disgusting carpeting, which smelled like a barnyard and a port-a-potty had engaged in a battle of stink.

    As we will be running in RWD Prepared, we will be retaining the seats and dash, but everything else not required is coming out of the car.

    We went to work removing those things that woudl be completely useless in a rally cross car- like a motorola 3-watt kit and all of the associated wiring.



    After removing all of the interior upholstry and some of the dash trim, we had her looking a lot more lean:







    We also stripped the trunk deadening:



    With all of that out, her altitude was a bit loftier than I had expected:







    So with all of that done, we plan to add back in some Lexan door panels (just to prevent cuts and scratches), and we need to swap in some better seats. Right now, we swapped the passenger seat to the driver's side and will be hitting the JY for either a better pair of seats or another passenger seat to go back in the car. The adjustment levers are on the wrong side (as is the seat belt recepticle, for now), but I don't care about that in the least.



    Next steps are:
    • Fix leaking fuel injector
    • Fix leak in valve cover gasket
    • Remove A/C system
    • Re-install blower motor
    • Add skidplate
    • Add underbody protection for fuel lines, fuel pump/filter
    • Get snow tires
    • Look for a LSD (3.73 preferred) to replace the 2.93 open diff
    • Remove mechanical fan and replace with electric fan
    • Undercoat or truckbed-line the interior
    • Replace dented fender and rattlecan the exterior
    • Replace the steering wheel
    • Install cabin venting
    Not all of those are in a particular order.
    Last edited by phenryiv1; 05-22-2013, 07:45 AM.
    Patrick Henry

    1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880



    #2
    Link to my old build thread, in case you have some fascination with e-stalking me: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=155221
    Patrick Henry

    1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


    Comment


      #3
      Right on! Will be following the build.
      Rallycross/SurfRat: An E30 Photo Journal of Sorts, Hawaii

      Comment


        #4
        looks slow ;)

        btw, let me know about those banners!

        gonna be cool having 4 e30s (and Nick's e28) out there at the next event with 11 different drivers total. BMWs representing more than any other marque except the Subies. Screw those RX7s :)
        Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
        Track/street e21 build
        visit Condor Speed Shop
        visit Motorsport Hardware



        [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

        Comment


          #5
          Jason and I need to pick a color scheme. My kids voted for one color scheme (dark blue with a yellow roof/hood/trunk), my mental preference voted for another (orange lower, grey upper), and my wallet votes to use the 20 cans of metallic red/maroon in my bathroom closet with a grey roof/hood/trunk.
          Patrick Henry

          1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


          Comment


            #6
            Rallycross is gay.


            Go here be happy!

            Ratchet Garage e30 V8 build.

            Comment


              #7
              just so you know, Scott Crowner's croo just "altered" their paint scheme (same color as your car stock) with yellow - not sure what they did (they won't tell) but it's a yellow and blue two-tone something or other. So you probably want to nix that one so you're not the same colors, haha....

              I like the sound of the metallic red/maroon and grey personally. Especially since you have 20 cans of it. I'd definitely rock those colors.
              Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
              Track/street e21 build
              visit Condor Speed Shop
              visit Motorsport Hardware



              [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by FunfGan View Post
                Rallycross is gay.
                you're just saying that because your car is still all stock-color, leaks fuel, and likes to get within inches of trees that are well off-course

                Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                Track/street e21 build
                visit Condor Speed Shop
                visit Motorsport Hardware



                [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by irish44j View Post
                  you're just saying that because your car is still all stock-color, leaks fuel, and likes to get within inches of trees that are well off-course

                  I swear Josh, you will never get Stuart and I straight. Ever.
                  sigpic

                  1989 Alpine 325is 2dr m50 swapped
                  Build Thread:
                  Current ongoing build. Check it out!
                  1991 318is 4dr rallycross
                  Rallycross Build Thread.
                  1991 Alpine 318is coupe - sold

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Since we have a few new additions to the "team" here and I only had a few of the original batch made up, I had a handful of a newly updated team stickers done....with a bit of color this time :) Will have them at the next event.

                    Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                    Track/street e21 build
                    visit Condor Speed Shop
                    visit Motorsport Hardware



                    [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Took it for a few laps in a freshly-mowed hayfield behind my house. I really need to tighten up the shifter mechanism and I really need a lower-ratio rear diff, but the car seemed to have enough travel. With the A/C removed and the front end up slightly, I should be in even better shape.

                      I also contacted someone on here about ordering a skidplate to get the fun started.
                      Patrick Henry

                      1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


                      Comment


                        #12
                        Skid plate ordered. Sourcing some used Sport seats and still hunting for a differential. Working on rebuilt injectors.
                        Patrick Henry

                        1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


                        Comment


                          #13
                          haha I love the Peanuts stickers!

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Received my skid plate, my rebuilt injectors are on the way, got my 1987 license plate (funny WV law requires an original license plate from the year of the vehicle to register the car as antique), got in some shifter and throttle rebuild parts, a spare set of bottlecaps, and a 4.10 LSD. Also, some iX fenders to replace my dented originals.

                            Also removed the A/C system today. Not bad progress...
                            Patrick Henry

                            1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


                            Comment


                              #15
                              did jason go up there to get some work done?

                              you guys get some flaps yet ? :D
                              Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                              Track/street e21 build
                              visit Condor Speed Shop
                              visit Motorsport Hardware



                              [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                              Comment

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