Mark's 316 M52/2.8 + Cat cams & Jenvey ITB's

[e21-Mark]

No idea? I managed a best time for the standing quarter mile of 15.2 seconds though.

[e21-Mark]

Got my car back from Eta Motorsport yesterday and the difference is way more than I expected. As soon as I fired it up I could hear the difference as it no longer sounded at all ''cammy'' and it was ticking over as smoothly as a BM 6 should. I let it warm through for a good few miles before giving it the berries and it's much more responsive. There's considerably more torque and it comes 'on cam' earlier in the rev range. There is definately a wad more torque and it just feels much crisper. It even sounds different?! It sounds harder! I did wonder if fitting the cam was going to be worth all the effort / expense but because I had the rest of the head rebuilt, I'm glad I went through with it. I'll try and get it on a dyno once the valve clearances have been checked in 500 miles.

As the nearside TCA bush is knackered I ordered a pair from C3 in London. Evidently they can still get quite a lot of e21 stuff and were really helpful. They should be here in the morning and I'm going to have a go at fitting them myself with Jasons instructions. I'm finally going to finish modifying my rear seat back so it no longer curves away at the ends. It just involves chopping out the inner frame work and once done they fit perfectly going from the photos I saw.

[e21-Mark]

[petroscf]

Mark, both cars are real beauties!!!!

[m3gaz]

I ordered a pair from C3 in London. Evidently they can still get quite a lot of e21 stuff and were really helpful.

Kirby and Simon at C3 can lay their hands on pretty much anything you need,E21 wise.They have many contacts in Germany and don't just specialise in E30 M3's.

[cobbler2u]

Looks like you got yourself a garage.
Can you lock both car away now.

[e21-Mark]

Yes mate. Plus I no longer have to worry if it rains!

[e21-Mark]

Finally got round to finishing the mods to my e30 rear seat back.

Chopped out the wire frame so that it can be pushed back to sit flush with the parcel shelf.





Still not 100% happy but will get a better fit once finished re-painting the parcel shelf.

[jeemu]

Those look good. Thinking to put ALPINA spoiler my car also.

[e21-Mark]

Spent the day @ Brands Hatch today as I'm writing this years race reports for the Heritige Grand Touring Car Challenge. There were some lovely cars there and many of them from the same era as our e21's.

http://www.heritagegtcc.co.uk/

Whilst I was there Eta Motorsport re-torqued my head and re did the valve clearances. I also got them to repair the vent hose from the cam cover and clean some of the harness connections for the injection. I'm not sure if there was something that hadn't been quite right before but the difference in performance was pretty big. My car just pulls way harder through the gears and pick-up is really crisp. The one other thing I do want to do though, is replace the 323 dip stick & tube for the longer e30 item. For some reason, I have got an oil leak from the old 323 one. Hopefully, I can get the new one locally? I've also got a brand new rear bumper to fit so hopefully it'll be dry tomorrow.

De Tomaso Pantera - BEAST!



Steve from Top Gear & the Escort Clarkson raced at Lydden





Fastest Sunbeam in the world!



Esprit

[quinn_656]

sounds good mark man i really like that escort

[e21-Mark]

Yeah, should be a good series with a great mix of cars.

I fitted a small catch-tank on my own car, in an effort to reduce and fumes being pumped back into the engine via the emissions stuff on the injection. I've been having problems with an oily residue in the throttle body & AFM / air filter.



Anyway, there seems to be a problem with oil making it's way out onto the exhaust manifold. I checked the obvious, such as a leak via the cam cover, but couldn't stem the flow. I did notice the smell of burning oil when the car came back from having the Schrick cam fitted and the head rebuilt. I just put it down to oily fingerprints and a freshly built engine, expecting the smell to subside as the oil burnt away. Unfortunately, it's continued to get worse. As a result, I had to load it on a transporter and pack it off to the guys that did the cam.



I'm sat waiting for a call to tell me what the problem is?

[e21-Mark]

Well it turns out the camshaft oil seals, or one of them anyway, had blown and oil was leaking from the rear of the head. This time all 4 seals were replaced, a new cam cover gasket, and a neater job of routing the breather hoses. The engine bay was given a thorough clean too, along with the air filter etc. I picked it up and the drive home was fine. Everything seemed to be as it should be and it certainly has a healthier kick to it. Torque is definately improved with the Schrick fitted. Next morning, a start from cold and no oil smoke! Yay! The engine bay etc is all still clean & dry too! It feels quite quick now and there's definately more power. I'm going to leave well alone now and rather than spend more cash trying to wring more power from the M20, I am just going to build up an M52 instead. I have an article with an e36 328 that the guy modified just using off the shelf parts, like the US spec M3 camshafts. He's got a reliable 280 brake and that's plenty for me. It also means I can stick with normally aspirated and hopefully reliable technology.

I'm going to have a go at fabricating an airbox or shield tomorrow and I need to adjust my headlights as local aircraft are complaining.

I have alsodecided I want to fit bigger arches so that I can lose the tyre s-t-r-e-t-c-h and opt for bigger boots without fouling the arches.

So first I need a set of these.



and eventually it should look like this.





I've also got a Ronal front spoiler just begging to be fitted. Hopefully I can get it over to www.pristinebodyworks.co.uk before the Summer kicks off. I've asked if they can do it at the end of April but just waiting on a reply.

[rob0r]

I have a "noooooo" to the arches! I much prefer the cleaner lines. Roll the metal arches instead?

[e21-Mark]

I've got the TWR for the clean look Rob. I've always fancied an arched e21 and these are less work than group 2's.