A box with 4 wheels; from lemons to infinity and beyond-

[Wanganstyle]

A brief history of this box with 4 wheels;

1987 325i coupe ; saw ~ 100 hours of lemons racing between 2008-2015

Went from m20b25 to broken rocker and 5 cylinders and 4 cylinders and then back up to 6;

Thunderhill 2012: last event with the stock m20b25 (made 154rwhp on MCE's dyno post race)





Of course she puts down two stripes very very well;



Then to a m52b28 24v for 50 hours untill smithereeens.......happened

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=335359

Then a s52b32 (disguised as a m50b25 still) was installed temporarily ...;)

Now the car has left the world of lemons and is getting prepared for NASA GTS1 competition in 2016: so let the story continue!!!

After its last race in the 24hrs of lemons series (9/2014) there was a hibernation period



Then she moved to chassis sponsor: German Auto Sport Berkeley to start the transition to racing NASA GTS1 in 2016!



NASCAR style leg bars were installed by TC design on both sides for max safety; Crossbar and fuel cell basket work also by TC design, cage welded in and modified to fit chassis by TC back circa 2010

[Wanganstyle]

A box with 4 wheels; from lemons to infinity and beyond-

Some much needed removal and replacement of body work to begin:



Front zender flares will go on post front bumper / zender front lip fitting



Rear zender flares will go back on after some clean up and vynil wrap up


REDEYE garage is my apparel and beer holder sponsor





As she hides in in the garage scaring neighbors occasionally: head lamps and front end still waiting for some more parts to be installed ;)

[Wanganstyle]

A box with 4 wheels; from lemons to infinity and beyond-

A replacement power plant is being prepared for next year; exact details post dyno.

target is a ligther weight 24v single vanos aluminum block conversion obd1

GTS1 is roughly 18:1 lbs to 1 horsepower so the target weight is ~150rwhp and 2650 lbs post race with 190lbs driver installed.

Last racing weight when corner balanced @ EDGE Motorworks of the car no fuel no driver was ~2225 lbs so likely there will be some ballast added.

Current spring rates are 450lbs front 650lbs rear; some juggle up post shake down will happen.

Game plan is to remove the max amount of front weight possible by installing an alloy block sump.

Started out as a standard looking double vanos unit; the intake manifold with DISA, E-throttle all has to go-





Oil sump pickup has been converted to front sump oil pan with modification to pickup tube / position to allow for e34 525 m50 oil pan to be installed on the double vanos engine
plastic cap oil filter housing needs to go; metal S52 unit will be installed so a S52/S54 oil filter can be used.



M54 exhaust stud pattern and exhaust gaskets are replaced with m50 stud pattern and exhaust gaskets; as a bonus the exhaust gaskets are lighter and less material.
S52 tubular exhaust manifolds will be carried over from old engine and re-used; the M54 manifolds are heavy and have catalysts not needed for racing use.

Air injection to catalyst ports will be blocked off at top; next engine see plugs in all the holes in exhaust ports when the head is built; this cylinder head has been built and assembled already so the little holes will stay.


Racing driver is powered by beer and whole foods



A a more familiar intake manifold is installed after some bonus stud removal



M54 chain tensioner is removed; will be replaced by S54 unit



Hall sensor in rear of block was replaced by a m44 VR type sensor to match the m50b25 electronics currently installed. Knock sensors, cam sensor, oil pressure and water temp sensor from S52b32 obd1 unit being removed will all come out and be re-used in the M54. Damper style belt tensioner is removed; mechanical setup + power steering pump delete belt will transfer over from the S52. Current steering rack is a Z4 non-m unit that has no hydro-assist at all.



Less stuff is easier to look at than more stuff


Oil filter housing will be changed to s52 unit with metal top hat; this is for sprint racing (30-45 minutes); so the setup will change a bit over time slowly; goal currently is to make it to shake down 11/27 Black Friday @ Buttonwillow raceway



A multi generational late night gathering @ German auto sport of classic players with of reverse opening hoods & round headlamps; ignore the conventional hood e39; its obviously in for repair.

[Brad Sindoni]

Subd!!

[nando]

I see youre going obd1. Are you sure those knock sensors will work with the harmonics of the aluminum block?

[stonea]

Sub'd looks like a great build!

[2mAn]

This will be interesting. Im sure you will blow that 150rwhp target out of the water though. Even with the stock cams you are probably going to be around 180whp

[Wanganstyle]

A box with 4 wheels; from lemons to infinity and beyond-

This will be interesting. Im sure you will blow that 150rwhp target out of the water though. Even with the stock cams you are probably going to be around 180whp

A restrictor plate or air restrictor will be the device :)

the main competition is a few other cars on the same team so there is some gains to be had with the twincam setup with this engine Vs 3 diff competing single cam chassis/engines

What cams should I run? It needs to be single vanos

I see youre going obd1. Are you sure those knock sensors will work with the harmonics of the aluminum block?

No idea but will find out. If it all goes to hell I will raid the entire M50nv setup off my daily driver wagon e34 (1992 525it) and run it with a no knock sensors setup OEM or use a megasquirt

the main reasoning for going OBD1 /factory bmw parts was the deep amount of spares we have from the endurance days as well as potential for slipping the cams from my street M3 into the motor if more top end HP is needed.

Not sure yet what other events I will be running the car at besides NASA GTS1 so I wanted to have more flexibility.

Also; rally is in the cars future; e throttle+ sensors may not enjoy rally.

some widgets have arrived

[Dj Buttchug]

Yes

[ian e30 318is]

This is cool! Are you working on it up in the Berkeley area? Looks like a fun build.

[Wanganstyle]

This is cool! Are you working on it up in the Berkeley area? Looks like a fun build.

thanks!

Yes; @ German Auto Sport Berkeley






Headers from s52/m52 installed





Grapefruit sculpin IPA install

[Wanganstyle]

Test fit cover and test fit vanos + checked cam timing;
installed just like a stock set of m52 cams on a m52
M52b28 camshafts + cam trays and lifters are fitted.

[Wanganstyle]

It's installed. Close to functioning

[Wanganstyle]

rear pop out glass and rear windshield glass installed. Now its leak proof! (don't mind the NACA duct in the roof)





engine weight decrease = fender gap increase

[craz azn]

Any pics of the vanos unit after completion?