E30 with custom air suspension (broken)

[Average_Jerk]

oh snap! BUILDING!!! looks badass man!

haha Thanks. I thought if I didnt change the title, nobody would look. The whole console would be done if it wasnt for this damn weather. and its supposed to rain tomorrow too.

[AccuMike]

oh snap! BUILDING!!! looks badass man!

[Andymerc]

Looking good.

[Average_Jerk]

Now that I know what Im doing for suspension. It was time to start cracking. Todays mission was to mold the AccuAir E-Level touchpad controller into my center console.

First, i need some supplies.



And I needed the controller



And of course, a center console.



The end result is gonna be something kinda sorta like this



The pocket needed to go in order to make room for the controller. Cut that bitch right out. Then I smoothed out the underneath so the controller would sit nicely from the bottom




Mocked up the controller to get an idea of how much plastic I needed to cut to fill the space. Then naturally, I cut some plastic and epoxied it into place. While I was waiting for the epoxy to cure, I ate a sandwich (not pictured).








Bondo time! Had to make everything nice and level. Since the plastic sat like .25" lower than the top of the center console, Bondo came to the rescue. Did one layer, then sanded, second layer, then some more sanding. After the second layer everything was nice and smooth and level. The next task was to round all the edges so that once painted, it will be seamless all the way around. So I worked the corners and the edge a little to make it perfect. If you notice in on of the pics above (from under the console after the epoxy cured), a section of the plastic was ground down prior to being set in place. Because the plastic was below the console, it was going to be removed after the Bondo was all set. With the plastic in place the controller had a 2mm gap at the bottom. Making it thin like that would make it extremely easy to cut out without damaging the Bondo.








Here are a couple last pics of how it sits now. The controller isn't fixed in place yet. Waiting to paint before I do that. But it started to rain, so no painting could be done. Had to stop there for the night. Weather permitting I should be able to paint both pieces of the center console, mount the controller and get it back int he car in the next couple days.

[NegativeCamber]

wish i was local dude. would love to lend a hand with that.this is the fun part. you thinking of slipping the assembly inside or over the strut housing?

[Average_Jerk]

hahah, shoot, thats how it was with the sw coilsovers anyway. all the way up was like my gc coilovers set on half way down.

i think this is the better way to go anyway. this way, you can determine how low you want it to get based off your measurements, instead of relying on someone else's word.

especially the word from someone who is incapable of building something to spec Plus they come with that sleeve I can use or not use depending on things actually look once I get cracking

[NegativeCamber]

hahah, shoot, thats how it was with the sw coilsovers anyway. all the way up was like my gc coilovers set on half way down.

i think this is the better way to go anyway. this way, you can determine how low you want it to get based off your measurements, instead of relying on someone else's word.

[Average_Jerk]

awesome. thats what im going with in the rear. i'll wait until you get them because i will have to ask you for pics with confirmed lengths.

you got a deal

with all the math and drawings and confused stares over the last few days, it looks like aired all the way up I'll be about an inch higher than E30 with the standard GC coilovers with 6" spring.

[NegativeCamber]

awesome. thats what im going with in the rear. i'll wait until you get them because i will have to ask you for pics with confirmed lengths.

[Average_Jerk]

which model struts did you decide on?

going with the Airlift universal 75563

[NegativeCamber]

which model struts did you decide on?

[Average_Jerk]

So a couple days later, everything is looking good. Ordering my bags and front struts (again) from Bag Riders. This build thread might have some building going on after all.



also stopped by the local car audio shop and bought some ABS plastic. I think tomorrow I'll flush my touchpad controller into my center console.

[Average_Jerk]

haha do work son!

Im sure once I get everything apart, one of my plans will work lol.

[AccuMike]

haha do work son!

[Average_Jerk]

Due to some delays. Ive decided to change my plans. So tomorrow Im taking my front end apart and doing some measurements tomorrow morning. I have a couple ideas that Im working with for the front air. so its onto Air Suspension V3.0 lol