Lira (euro DS mtech II 318is reshelled, 24v swapped, also now BAR'd)

[wworm]

Those wheels are wild. Looks good man

[jpod999]

I saw your car at Radwood, super nice man!

[kronus]

thanks folks! this one is getting close to "done" :)

stay tuned for a new project thread soon, though.

[2mAn]

thanks folks! this one is getting close to "done" :)

stay tuned for a new project thread soon, though.

updates to the white car?

[kronus]

updates to the white car?

hahaha


haha









no

[wworm]

the 12v mystery machine?

[ohthejosh]

What road were those pics taken at? Never seen that area before!

[kronus]

that's west pacific avenue, on the south edge of the Presidio. stumbled on it by total chance.

[parkerbink]

Just went through the whole thread. Great work!

[kronus]

Just went through the whole thread. Great work!

thanks!


This month was the 2-year anniversary of this car getting back on the road. In CA, this means it needs to get smogged. I took the opportunity to knock out some deferred maintenance and replace some parts. The existing suspension on the car was pulled directly from the italian 318is.. the shocks were old and blown, and the Weitec springs were softer than I like. It was bad enough that the car would start to jiggle and try to get away from me on rough roads.

So, these things went on:



That's some oil & a filter, a set of IE3 springs, and a brand-new set of Koni Sport shocks. Not pictured is a set of low-tech camber plates I pulled from a junkyard a few months ago. They are an interesting design that I've not really seen for sale anywhere - a single plate of aluminum with three threaded holes and three slotted holes. The strut mount's studs get pushed out, the plate gets bolted to the strut mount via the threaded holes, and then can be adjusted via slotted mounts. Overall, very simple design.

Installed suspension height:





Overall, the rear is sitting a little bit lower than with the previous springs, and the front is about the same. (with 1/4" of camber plate). This is as low as I can go without scraping my cat on the ground while pulling into the garage, so it's pretty convenient. If it really bothers me, I'll end up grabbing a set of 15mm rear spring pads to replace the double-stacked stock ones.

The suspension feels 100% better and more controllable. Would install again.

Oh, and after I found and fixed the vacuum leak (brake booster hose fitting bushing thingy) the car sailed through smog with very low numbers. Two more years!

[2002jm]

This is the car I wanted:)

Can't believe I forgot to ask you about this car when you were up here getting the ix parts:)
I tried to buy this car, but just did not work out. I can see I would have been in project mode for a long time....you have really worked hard on this car and it shows!....now go out and enjoy:).
jm

[Julien]

Love this car

[jeenyus]

I used to use the Rotella T6, but in all honesty, it's too light of an oil. I went with Rotella T4 and it's a great change! It's also easier on the wallet as T6 continues to rise is popularity and price. Try the T4 next time and see what happens (*this is all on the assumption you have an M20... which i'm thinking isn't the case... ugh*)

[kronus]

First ride of shame for Lira was last weekend. Motor quit while merging between two highways without any shoulders available to pull off to. After some frantic waiting in the right lane around a blind corner, a cop pushed me about a mile up a hill and had me coast down to the next exit. At 60 mph, with no power.

Turns out the stiffer suspension bounced the push connector of my fuel pump off the bulkhead. So, that's soldered now.

[kronus]

small update, installed rear headrests




also got everything needed to install AC into the car, just in time for it to be cold and shitty in the bay area for the next 5 months.