Let there be more BLUE E30s

[bmw325csi]

oh ok I see. I used to paint cars for a living and am familiar with PPG's line. I just assumed when you said 4 layers you meant 4 stage.

It is gonna look great though because the yellow and green pearl will give it one effect then the blues and purples will give it another. I cant wait to see it laid down on the actually body panels. Be sure to take some nice pics in the sun.

[kts]

unevolved makes a good point. You should talk with tech inspectors for the various clubs that hold events at tracks you want to go events at (SCCA, NASA, etc) and send them photos of the cage. Looking at it I thought the cage builder was making a drag/NHRA cage. That's a lot different than a cage for a track car, and the cage as it sits a tech inspector might not pass go to out on the track at is currently is. Usually they will want to see a diagonal around the rear hoop being all one piece with the horizontal bar connecting to it. They also usually do not like bends in the door bars. This is why most track cars will have an X or a NASCAR style door bar setup. The bend in the door bar is a weak point and also offers you less protection in a crash.

I don't want to come off as hating on your build, I just want to give you the heads up about making sure this cage will pass SCCA/NASA/etc tech inspection before you get to an event since it would suck to spend a lot of money on a track weekend only to find out that the car won't pass inspection because of a cage they won't approve to be out on the track.

As for harnesses, if those Schroth harnesses are 4 point harnesses I would pass on them and get a set of 5/6 point harnesses. You'll want the anti-submarine protection. To mount them you'll want to weld or bolt in eye bolts on either side of the seat for the lap belts and 1-2 under the seat for the anti-submarine bolts.

The first few pages of the 24 Hours of Lemons "how to not fail tech" manual are a good guide to cage building, seat mounting, and harness mounting. I know you are not trying to build a Lemons car or a SpecE30 car but building a cage to those specs is not a bad idea as you'll have plenty of options to take it out on a track day or should you want to get into wheel-to-wheel racing your cage will already be set to go.

http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/usercontent/lemons/Handbook/Handbook_PrintFriendly.pdf

[unevolved]

That's good to hear your buddy knows what he's doing with cages. There was just a lot of uncertainty in your posts about the cage that was worrisome.

[Schwartz-e30]

That's a really good point, thank you for the heads up. I will Definatley look into the cage specs as far as the previous post goes. Not being able to run in an event pre-paid for would really be a dissapointment. Also, I'd imagine that the proper arrangement would probibally enhance structural stability more then it is now, so that's defiantly a plus as well.

[Nick_S]

That blue looks insane. Keep us posted!

[el bimmer]

Subscribed! Color is right, Roll cage is excellent, feeling after completed is priceless! Keep up the good work!

[Schwartz-e30]

Little update

Bay is DONE!



another... pics are a little dusty.



and another...



and a pic of the undercoated floor/half painted cage



Things are going slowly but the only thing left to paint is the body itself.
We have blocked the body multiple times now as the roof is just about 100% perfect. Hopefully in the next few weeks the car will be back in my garage awaiting a tear out of all the old ratty suspension and install of all new goodness and that awesome full harness that hopefully wont kill me as I clean it up and install it. lol

Will update again soon.

Thanks again for all the support guys, this one should be a fun one!

[oliver.r]

that color is 2 stage just fyi not 3 stage, there are no 4 stage colors, only if it had candy
sweet build

[F34R]

Gorgeous

[PaladinReed]

What model are those Brides? Real or knock off?

[pacmanE30]

i like the color! and those brides' real or not look pretty good in there. usually the shoulder bolsters are all one cutout, but there are other ways to see if those seats are reps.

where'd you have the stitching done?

[Schwartz-e30]

The seats are indeed not genuine "Bride Japan" they are "Bride Canada".

Apparently the company that they used to produce their seat molds got into a legal issue with them and held on to their patterns or something like that.

They are super comfy and hold you extremely well. They are truly built to last too and since buying them, I would have paid at least twice what I did for these suckers.

I bought them stitched as you see them but i need to source some blueish 80s style fabric to have them re-done with along with the door cards.

Thanks for the comments guys, keep em commin.

Ill post pics and updates as they come in. Also, If anyone has any ideas on fabric for the interior PLEASE let me know!

[Schwartz-e30]

We have paint

Finally its painted. Not finished with the chipgard around the bottom but shes all blue!

Let me know what you think guys!







There isnt much orange peel, but my buddy is gonna cut and buff it this week to smooth everything out and make the paint pop. Im pretty pumped, though quite nervous on putting the entire thing back together.

Still need
rear bumper support (hard piece behind the front bumper that connects it to the body) OR a nice DS rear bumper with it already in it so I can swap out my DDs rear bumper for a nice one and use my support thats already inside it.
Plus all the nuts and bolts and seals and clips to get this girl put back together.

Any help would be wonderful, im hoping to have a bunch of buddies over at some point for a wrenching night in the next few weeks. Ill supply the Beer and tools... just need a little help.
Also, hoping to have the M50 pulled this week and prepped for tear down and clonage.

Thanks for all the support so far guys

[Schwartz-e30]

Some more progress

Just a few pics of some slight progress on the car.
-Got the Frenchies installed (still no harness so they dont light yet)
-Got the black headliner installed (70% glued in)
-Got the trunk to close and reinstalled everything back there.
-Compiled and organized pretty much everything in the garage/basement (car parts)

Pics





And As she sits minus the Subframes

[squidmaster]

Sweet! Love the color!