Todays task was to remove the bonnet fastening that come with the standard car and replace them with the aero-catches with locks, so the bonnet will still be secure.
Got a isolator…
Got an isolator in the post today, it was not my plan to have an electronic isolator, but this looks the simpler option for the wiring.
I ordered it with a blue button so it would be easily distinguished from the fire button, the kit comes with an interior on/off button and a external kill switch. I am going to mount this where the rear seats used to be, I also went with the high capacity version, just incase I swap the engine to an M3 unit and need the higher load capacity.
It started today…
Thought I had better try and start the car today, when it went to have the cage fitted, I stripped out the wiring loom, and whilst doing this I also removed some of the unwanted circuits.
As the car is going to be a racing car, I decided that I did not need the central locking, electric windows. These circuits are all part of the E36 body control module, also known as the ZKE IV. As I have also removed the air conditioning I could loose the wiring for this also. The radio wiring went a long time ago. Due to the car needing to go on a specific day to have its cage fitted, I removed most of the wiring blind (not tested, but removed in a methodical manor), so todays test staart was a important one to pass, as it was the first time I tried to start the car since removing the parts of the loom. The test was successful it worked. The first time I turned the key I got nothing, but I tried again and it worked fine, I think it must of been the EWS system getting reacquainted with the key, as its memory of the key could of been lost whilst disconnected for over 2 months.
I also fitted the aluminum bulkhead panel I had previously made, so I do not have water leaking into the passenger compartment from the engine bay, this also stops any fumes, or fire passing into the passenger compartment. Currently its held in-place through 4 bolts, I want to change this so it uses ‘rivnuts’, this will make it simpler to remove if required, I also have a gasket to be attached to it so it seals perfectly.
The jobs that are still left to do are as follows :-
- Fit the fire extinguisher system, this is on order and I have gone for an electric trigger system.
- Fit the lightweight battery, I have gone for a Varley redtop battery, this will be located in the rear passenger footwell, near to the fire extinguisher, and tidy up the rest of the wiring loom.
- Fit the EBC brakes that I have previously brought from www.ebcbrakes.com.
- Fit the new coilover suspension that I have from www.blackartdesigns.com.
- Get my rims painted in the same colour, I have one set orange and one set white at present.
- Fit a battery isolator, cutoff switch.
- Put the dash back in, as this is a requirement of the Kumho championship (www.bmwrdc.com).
- Put in the seat and a harness.
Its starting to go back together…
Today I started to put the car back together, I have started with the wiring, and am putting that in first, then I will try to start the car just to check its still working with all that wire I removed.
I also put back in the wiper motor assembly, unlike the other cages I have seen this one lets you have the wiper motors in the correct location and does not interfere with the operation of the wipers.
Tomorrow I will continue with the wiring, and possibly extend the wires that go to the engine bay so I can mount the fusebox inside the car, this is not really needed, but I can see there being benefits.
9 weeks later and I have my car back…
Its been 9 weeks since my car went to Speed Religion, and today Andy from We Move Cars (www.wemovecars.com) brought it back for me. Now the build part really starts, I put back in the handbrake as I did not want the car to roll away.
I have the suspension…
I picked up the suspension yesterday from BMSport, they had had it made for me by Black art Designs .
As I have a full weld in cage, that goes to all 4 suspension pick-up points, I am going to be running full coil-overs front and rear, some of the other fast road/race kits you can buy run a coil-over shock on the front but a separate damper/spring at the rear in the original locations.
Brought some wheels…
Thought I better get a move on and get some more items for the car. There was another racer advertising a set of E30 Compromotive MO’s but I found out that they had the wrong offset. It was my lucky day when the same person said they had a set (but no tyres) to fit a e36.
The rims are not perfect and could really do with being refurbish, that will cost about £20-£30 per rim, to do them properly, or I could go to Halfords and get some paint and do them myself with a plan to get them done professionally later on in the season. Either way they will need painting as my car is white, and I don’t think white wheels will go, thinking more of black or anthracite.
Went to see the car…
I went to see the car yesterday, although the cage is in, there is a couple of little items still to be done, like welding back some parts that had to be removed to get the cage in (like through the bulkhead, the holes have to be cut out, then closed back up).
The main reason I went was for the fitting for the seat, we did this the simple way, as Ant has his car there and its a e36 M3 with the same seat that I have purchased, it was just a case of me sitting in his car, and seeing where the seat should be for me.
I have also purchased a HANS device from stand21, their RS model, as I feel that this is my first year racing and I want to have the best safety devices around me that I can afford. I have still to get the helmet, and to do this I need to go and try on a few again, snetterton is the next race on the 10th May, but I do not think there is any race shops there, so it will be a trip to GPR at silverstone when I collect the car from Speed Religion (this could actually be before the next race).
I have also agreed to get the cage and the inside of the car painted through Speed Religion, although this will cost more than if I do it myself, when I get the car back it will be a simple case of putting the vehicle back together. The car should be ready for collection in about 10 days if all goes well.
The cage is done…
I got the good news today that the cage in my car is complete, I also got the even better news that its not just a MSA compliant cage, according to Ant at Speed religion the cage is now FIA compliant.
They have to still put the doors, and bonnet back on, and the glass needs to be refitted (including my heated windscreen). Then I can collect the car and continue getting it ready for the championship.
Update on the cage progression…
The guys at Speed Religion have sent me some more photos for an update on progress on the cage fitting. The photo to the right shows the rear of the cage fitted into the car, and the diff supports welded to the floor.
Items left to do include the front suspension braces, the cross dash brace, top of the screen bracing and the door crosses.
Below are some more photos of the cage being fitted.
