My E36...

[BenKoflach]

Not much of an update, but I got round to fitting my race battery this weekend.

First up, went to bring my car up to the drive (I park down the road) and of course, it was dead. So jumped it off my Peugeot, which has so far jumped about six other cars - all more modern, bigger and supposedly more reliable. Just a shame it's the shittest car I've ever owned apart from that fact!

Used the terminal in the front to jump it as my boot is on a solenoid - no battery = no opening boot.



Got the battery fitted with the new terminals, secured the battery with a bungee cord and then made sure it stays put with a new top mount which I made from the old one. Will get pics when I can - the only other bit I need to do is make a mount to stop the battery being able to slide backwards and forwards.

I was a bit gutted when the battery didn't seem to work - I drove around 8 miles to give it some charge but it doesn't want to know, so I'm now wondering if it's so flat that it won't take charge. So it'll go on trickle charge for a couple of days (I did put it on charge for a few hours before fitting it) and then I'll see how it goes.

I took the car to a classic meet at the Riverview Cafe in Forest Row (where the TMC meet was a few weeks ago) and though it got loads of looks, I embarrassingly had to get jump-started by Wedgewood's dad's '67 Triumph Vitesse. Who said old cars were unreliable?

[Zacne_4]

Can't believe how clean your engine bay is!

[BenKoflach]

This is my battery top mount so far. Still need to braise the nut on the underside of the cross-bar so that it's fixed, meaning all that you need to do to tighten the mount is turn the bolt. It's not that strong but only needs to be there to stop the battery rattling around. The rear clamp/mount just needs extending to meet the new smaller battery and job done!

The cell is currently on trickle charge and has been for a couple of days, going to see if it works tonight. Fingers crossed it's not a dud.

[BenKoflach]

Can't believe how clean your engine bay is!

Haha thanks, still a long way to go.

[BenKoflach]

Battery has been performing perfectly now that it's had a bit of use. Actually had a problem where one of the terminals sheared off but luckily it was repairable by drilling and tapping into the terminal and fitting a small piece of threaded bar to match the original. While we were at it my friend also did a bit of welding on my battery mount and my jack mount. All very neatly done to so I'm really pleased. Will get pics at some point.



I also fitted an Ultra Racing rear strut brace, seems to have made yet more improvement.





Also finally got some air filters on!



Got some work done tidying up the front end too, ready for the new bumper. Just waiting for that to come back from paint then I'll need quite a few bits from the dealers to get it all sorted!



Next I took it along to see @J3ey at Phoenix Motorworks for alignment on their Hunter laser system. Top notch stuff, and Joey set my car up to M3 toe settings. I'm planning on new coilovers soon so there was no point messing around with the camber seeing as it's not far out. Both front wheels were facing .2 of a degree left and the rears .2 of a degree in the opposite direction, so the difference was huge! Drives so much better now.









It was funny watching Joey moving my car in and out of the workshop too - he could barely see!



Finally I changed my knackered gauge pod for one I made out of black acrylic. I don't currently use oil pressure and the oil temp is on the M3 clocks so I only really use voltage to keep an eye on the alternator and battery charge. I've kept it so that I can take it apart and add bits in future.

[Minuki]

I love how racekor this is getting

[Dr.AK]

Racekor touring! <3

[BenKoflach]

Definitely becoming a Racekor! Slowly but surely...

Not much to update on the Touring - it got a good amount of use over Xmas because my Peugeot daily shit itself and I couldn't be bothered to fix it.

The tracking has made a huge difference, not only does it drive much straighter etc but when having fun on roundabouts etc (ahem private roads) it's much more predictable, stable and controllable. Chuffed with that.

However, suspension changes are on the cards. My Spax coilovers have had a good innings and though they ride well, they're definitely due a replacement. They also don't have much travel at the front with the ride height I use (not even low...). I could remedy this but something else has caught my eye.

I've wanted coilovers with separately adjustable ride height and spring pre-load for some time. There are a few options out there but I'm always hearing mixed things from industry insiders - end users seem to be very happy with the current options mind you. However, I got talking to Igor over at CAtuned as I wrote a news story for him in the mag about his new coilovers.

The attention to detail on them is really impressive. Though they look a lot like some of the other offerings out there, they're really not. The valving is high-grade German hardware, the seals (Swiss-sourced) are three times the thickness of many of the competitors and the internal shaft is around double the thickness too, depending on application. They're monotube and 36-stage adjustable for shock stiffness - proper stuff. They come with topmounts and everything and have additional bearings in the upper spring hats so that they run super-quiet and smooth when steering, so it's a really impressive package.

I started looking into importing a set but then a UK dealer was set up - Hack Engineering (facebook.com/hackengineering) - so I'm going to get a set off them. £800 for the first shipment so I was the first to have my name down. This is what they look like -



They'll allow me to run low without sacrificing damping or travel, and I can choose my own spring rates straight from the factory. I'm also soon to be getting a Vabric billet lower arm and bump steer/roll centre correction kit, meaning my suspension will have the same or better geometry than standard despite running fairly low. This will also quicken up the steering and give me much more steering lock to play with (once I have smaller tyres).

Pretty exciting stuff. The only other real update is that I have all the bits for an oil and filter change, along with Beisan seals for the VANOS solenoid plate, as mine weep a small amount of oil. I'll also be ordering new oil filter housing o-rings, and a new VANOS micro-filter with the associated o-rings. As soon as I have the cash it will go in for valve clearances with Jim at Vines Redhill, then all that is left is final mapping.

[Zacne_4]

Good way to enter the new year!

[frink84]

nice choice of coilover!

[DinanDave]

S54 e36 wagon = awesomeness!

[BenKoflach]

Finally got round to an oil change and a couple of other bits today. I've done nearly 5000 miles since August and the last oil change (when the swap was finished). Oil came out nice and black but no signs of foreign objects, water etc so happy with that.

It was my first time servicing the car myself and my first time servicing an S engine. Was really happy to see that the new filter came complete with the central bolt o-ring and washer and the o-ring for the filter lid - mine had been leaking a small amount from the bolt so hopefully this will stop now. It's also incredibly satisfying to do so I enjoyed that bit. Also changed the sump plug washer (another one that came with the filter) and refilled it with the proper Castrol M oil.



Next job was to replace the O-rings in the Vanos sealing plate as mine were weeping a little. I was dreading the job as I thought it would be a 'wish I hadn't started this' type task but to my surprise, it was really easy. The Beisan parts fitted absolutely perfectly and the whole process was very simple.





Job done.

[BenKoflach]

Small update, these new wheel nuts arrived for me on Monday. They're Motorsport Hardware 'Titan' steel alloy extended nuts, should make it even easier to get wheels on and off. Plus they look really cool. Got them from UK MH master dealer Elite Developments.

[BenKoflach]

I've had a small coolant leak for a little while on the Touring and what with the cold temperatures, the constant expense of antifreeze it's something I've been meaning to sort for a while. I've had a look several times and it wasn't obvious, but last week the temperature gauge started playing silly beggars and the coolant use went up several fold.

Because of that, I finally got my act together and went about locating the leak. Ran the car up to temperature and could see coolant leaking underneath but with no obvious source. Found it in the end - it's the connector that bolts onto the heater matrix pipes and pokes through the bulkhead/firewall. Bit of a pain as I was hoping I wouldn't have to visit the stealers, but oh well. Part number 11 below.



Getting to it involves taking a fair bit of the engine bay apart. Luckily I don't have an airbox in the way though. Looked pretty sorry for itself when I started:



You can't really see, but it's under this lot.



This is the bit - you can just about see the crack, which means the pipe no longer fits snugly into it and therefore, leaks everywhere. 



Going to get all-new parts from the dealer to avoid more issues with brittle plastic. Also going to look at replacing the heater hoses with silicone just in case they decide to have any kind of wobbly. Other than that, I just need to get everything sorted for our trackday at Brands Hatch on Feb 24th!

[Heisenberg]

Just cought up on your build and all I have to say is awesome build.
Props to you!