Nice V8 project

[340i]

hi zenderE21
datto 1600s are cool. its a pity they're a very rare sight over here.
i have seen those cars (www.bulletcars.com). when i started this project they werent interested in selling any parts to me, and they have since found that its easier to sell a supercharger kit than a hundred-grand-plus mx5. i also believe that a better (and probably cheaper) individual throttle body system is available from www.1uzquadcam.co.nz, which utilises toyota levin quad throttle bodies on their cast manifolds.
my engine is internally stock, with modified intake and exhaust, as well as aftermarket management to make 181kw at the wheels. this should mean well over 200 flywheel kw, so it should go ok. (for comparison, a brand new tickford 220kw xr8 makes 135kw at the wheels).
in the future id like to add a vortech blower to bump it up to over 250rwkw. this would be all the gearbox and standard internals would comfortably handle.
i would like to add a cage, but would rather keep my back seat. they can be certified for road use in nz with a 'motorsport card', which arent too hard to get.
as for building the car, i do as much as i can myself, but have had alot of fabrication work done by an engineer (such as engine, gearbox and diff mounts, custom axles and driveshaft, custom hubs, and brackets for the new callipers). having these items done professionally makes cerfification alot easier. also, not having full workshop facilities at home doesnt really make it too easy for me to do these myself.
the engineer is Brian at Howat Industries. i had the computer, exhaust and dynotune done at Speedtech Motorsport (www.speedtechnz.com). both are in Wellington, NZ.
i have been very pleased with work done by both these engineers.

[ZenderE21]

I dont blame you, the workmanship looks top quality, unlike a lot of cars you see over here.

I had the same problems with bulletcars trying to source a blower kit for a mates soarer, they were not interested, even after repeated visits and emails, sad but true.

what car did the motor come from, i'm guessing it would be an auto??

[Jeroen]

A few more pics...

[340i]

zenderE21,
the engine is out of a toyota celsior (around 1990). it is a front sump version (they are available front, rear, and mid sump), and did originally come with an auto. toyota/lexus never made a manual version, so an adaptor plate had to be made to mate the auto bellhousing with a supra gearbox, and a modified 3sgte (toyota mr2 turbo) flywheel used. aftermarket bellhousings are available now though. due to the hassle of adding a clutch fork setup to the bellhousing, the hydraulic release bearing was used instead. the teething problems with this setup will hopefully be sorted out soon.
much details of these engines and conversions is at www.lextreme.com and especially on the forum of that site.

[ZenderE21]

Yeh one of my mates soarer had issues with a manual conversion, ended up pulling the 4cam out and putting a big hp supra motor in - problem solved

Just wasn't too sure if you left it as an auto or not.

cheers for the new pics, that exhaust looks very well made, willwoods are a work of art.

[alwaysideways]

Cant wait to hear ho wot goes, and stops!!

Just got a ride in a E36 M Schnitzer... man, do these things fly!!!

[340i]

i made a mistake in one of my early posts, which should have been that the engines have 32 valves, and i put 48 valves for some reason. woops.

my new taillights setup consists of clear led lights on each side (aftermarket ones that are meant for spoilers), and will be used with a resistor for the tail/night lights and full 12v for stop lights. small indicators will be mounted low down on the rear of the car. there will be no reversing lights. the boot is opened by a solenoid to allow central placement of the number plate. small leds will illuminate the number plate downwards from the inside of the boot lid.
the rest of the rear end has been shaved and fibreglassed, but needs alot of work to finish.
opinions?

[rasb1]

Looking like a darn serious project It is propably going to sound totally awesome with that exhaust

But think it is a real pitty not to go with the original E21 tail lights. But I haven´t seen the diode setup as you describe, so what am I to say, hehe. Looking forward to see the result with the rear end of the car.

[340i]

hi rasb1
i did like the look of the standard tail lights too, but one had a crack in it, and replacements arent too easy to come by. the chrome (altezza style) tail lights are big over here at the moment so considered those, but i like the look of led's better (and arent available here for e21's). the lights i got light up as a line of red dots which looks mean, and is fully clear when not on. i quite like the simplicity of how tvr style their rears, so some influence has come from that. i was going to include reversing lights too, but they arent a requirement for cerfified (modified) cars, and i cant be bothered running new wires to my new gearbox anyway.
it will likely be round the middle of the year before i can finish this setup, but im sure it will be worth the wait.

340i

[alwaysideways]

hey
you may want to consider a look into 'middle' brake-lights.
the reason i say is the other weekend i was on a winding mountain pass with a friend on his FZR and he commented i needed more brake lights!

[340i]

hi
im not sure if ill add a centre stop light. will have to see what the certifier says about my setup first and go from there.
current progress; my clutch release bearing setup has been modified so it cant overthrow and break any seals again. iv filled all the holes that were remaining in the engine bay and am in the process of making a false (fibreglass) firewall to cover the heater shroud i cut out. the little strength lost by that panel being removed should be more than compensated for by a strut brace ill eventually get. will try to get some pics posted.

also, i was just wondering how many kiwis are on this site?

[biertje]

also, i was just wondering how many kiwis are on this site?

i`m half kiwi / half dutch.. best of two worlds mate!!!

[340i]

biertje,
so am i! well, 'all' kiwi, but of half dutch descent.

[Jeroen]

Here's some new pics... I'll leave the comments to Nick...

[biertje]

biertje,
so am i! well, 'all' kiwi, but of half dutch descent.

340i,
so am i! well, 'all' dutch, but of half kiwi descent.

is your car getting a custom back-end? like without a bumper and taillights?

also those parts in there are amazing.. cant wait to see yer project complete dude...