TWR 335i

[e21-Mark]

I've been doing a lot more digging into the history of this car and in particular, the work that was done on the M30 engine.

TWR used a company called Racing Services (Engines) Limited that were based in Twickenham near the Riverside studios. They used to do a lot of Formula 2 engines in the seventies, engines being supplied to many famous drivers such as Graham Hill, Jodie Scheckter, Emerson Fittipaldi, and many many more. Tom Walkinshaw was an early client and remained one until 1982. Spike Winter has one hell of a history and prior to his partnership with Ken Brittain he was senior engineer at the John Willment Racing team and prior to that he was with Frazer Nash and once used to mechanic for Sir Stirling Moss. I know Spike Winter heads are really sought after in e3 CSL racing circles. Sadly Spike Winter died back in May but I am hoping to speak with Ken Brittain and see what he can tell me about his time with TWR. I know someone who bought some hand-made steel billet crankshafts from him that were made by Allen and took the 2.3 out to a 2.8 and cost about £1000 each back then! Evidently he had some great stories to tell.

We're getting the headlining in today. I got the one from the Sahara 316 that was broken in Yeovil as part of the scrappage scheme. I could have bought a brand new one but I wanted a little bit of patina to remain. Whilst I want this car to look nice, I don't want it to look like a fresh restoration that I'd be scared to actually drive and drive hard. It's taken a while but it's starting to feel like we're in the home straight at last.

[Jeroen]

The entire write up might make a good book for BMW enthusiasts! Keep those stories coming!

[e21-Mark]

Replacing all the fuel lines today along with all new brake lines and braided flexi hoses. There are still other bits and pieces needed, such as new number plates. The DVLA are going to return the original registration number once we get the MOT though, so they may have to wait. Ben (Duracel) was kind enough to donate rear number plate lamps - thanks Ben - and I just got a set of new Toyo Proxes off eBay for £80.

The staggered Alpina alloys are all in pretty good condition apart from some minor kerb rash on a couple of them. I'm thinking of getting them powder coated in silver and having the outer lip diamond cut & polished. I think they'll look good against the silver paintwork & chrome. Plus they can always be coated if someone wanted them to look factory again. I've also got a pair of clear indicator lenses.

I've started testing and cleaning up all the old Pioneer ICE today too, using cotton buds and alcohol. I didn't realise how grotty it all was. I'm still unsure about the speakers though and tempted to just stick with some good quality 6x4's?

It really is beginning to look as though I might be able to take Tom, as my Mrs has named him, to the Sharknose meet next year!

[Jeroen]

Now that sounds great!

[murran]

id stick with the 6x4s.
as tempting as it is to go all out modifing stuff with coil overs, top mounts, wilwoods, chav sound systems etc etc. i think your missing the originality. id find out what twr did and how the car was originally and stick to how it should be. do it all by the book.
its such a rare car, re-build it how it was when new. it'll be fast but its not guna be a race/track car.

i mean, when i see a totally original mint car at a show i think wow, look at that, did they drive that here or did it arrive in a time machine from 1980?
modified cars, no matter how tastefully or how well theyve been changed from the original specs, just arnt the same.
only my opinion.

[e21-Mark]

I take your point but the ICE I'm fitting is all 1980's Pioneer stuff that was in the car at the time, or thereabouts, when it was new. Outwardly at least, I do want the car to appear fairly original but with a few little touches maybe?

Since day one, all the previous owners changed things about this car. Even at just a few weeks old, the original engine, wheels & suspension were junked for the 335 conversion. The 3rd owner took it in a different direction all together and hopefully, I'll have all the details very soon, but they included a race engine & dry sump system. As soon as I get all the details I'll post them. I just feel like I'm doing more of the same I guess. Obviously I'm taking care to store all original parts away safely and any changes I've made can easily be reversed. Outwardly at least, it will look just as it did in 1982 but the original Bilstein suspension all needs rebuilding. At first, it all looked as if it was in fine fettle but having sat unused for so many years it needs extensive rebuilding that my budget just cannot stretch to and this is where GAZ & M-tech kindly stepped in and hooked me up. One day, the Bilsteins will go back on but for now, we can concentrate on getting the car back on the road.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion though and I've no problem with that anyway. We wouldn't come here if we weren't interested in what others have got to say would we?

One thing that I have found a bit confusing is that the car in the Autosport road test, done by Tiff Needell, was Polaris silver. He mentions it in the text and even remembers it being silver. In fact, KHR 792X is Saphire blue. Strange.

[dannyboy]

Good point Murren made.. although i would agree that the suspension and brakes are a good area to improve on in this car.. even if the original suspension is brand new the car will still be a handfull ( still to soft).. as long as its all reversable no probs.. me personaly would make the changes to the chassis in order to improve the handling for a fast road set up... after all thats what the car was intended for... just be thankfull its not in the hands of a nutter, ie slammed and on 9" wide wheels ect...or turn it into a track beast... hang on mark youve all ready got both of thoses.

[murran]

i like period stereo systems.
theres a chap i know of with a 1989 ford escort xr3i. totally mint original car. its still got the original tape player in it with one of those tape slotty things in the center consol with original pretty woman, top gun, good morning vietnam etc sound tracks.
best of all tho, an old fasioned brick type car phone, fitted when the car was just a few months old. hes got the receipt in the history file!

[cobbler2u]

Hey ive got a few 8 track stereos up in the loft with tapes to match

[TopCat]

Dear Mark
I thought "Tom" came with a 3.5 TWR conversion?

Or was the 335 an updated version of the 3.5 later- sorry If I have missed something along the thread?

Surprised you are going for Gaz coilover set up. I have always found Bilsteins good value (for Camaros) even after being revalved by Pro- Drive- I have a spare set - and they did a great job. And a set of lower springs would do the job keeping some orginality ?

What size tyres are you going to run?

best

[e21-Mark]

When new it came with a C1 spec 2.3 but TWR converted it to a 3.5 when it was just a couple of months old. The original owner wanted to buy the demonstrator that is in the Autosport feature but Tom Walkinshaw wouldn't sell. As a result the owner returned his C1 for conversion and specified the full 240bhp specification.

The reason I opted for the Gaz set-up is so that I can easily play around with spring rates and ride heights but also because I am on a tight budget and all the original suspension really needs rebuilding. Until I can have that done, M-tech/Gaz have kindly donated the coilovers to allow me to get the car back on the road that much more quickly. All the original components will be rebuilt and safely stored and no changes I make will be irreversible. Outwardly you'd never know the difference anyway and I certainly don't feel that anything I am doing detracts from the character of the car.

I'm fitting Toyo Proxes all round as I've found them to be pretty good for the money. In fact, I bought four 205/50x15's for £80. I'll use two of these up front and 215/50's on the rear.

The M5 (e34) flywheel and pressure plate has been fitted and I believe an e30 M3 clutch plate? We're pretty confident that the clutch will hold up but I do know that Ian Elliott had problems with his similarly tuned M30 destroying its M3 clutch. I may approach Helix for a suitable replacement.

http://www.bmw2002.co.uk/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=30

Hopefully there will be a few more photos in the next day or so....

[dannyboy]

M3 clutch? ahhh... although my engine is from the e28/e24 i used a sachs high performace clutch and a lighted 535 flywheel(or so say fritz) and it has never even wimpered under the abuse it sustained (3rd/4th gear burnouts).. although very bloody heavy on the old left leg in traffic! although in an e21 being so much lighter than the bigger 5 series a standard clutch may have even done.

[Mobster]

Came accross this today.

http://www.bmwe21.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2186

[dannyboy]

intresting... same car?

[Mobster]

yup, 003. 001 was the press car, 002 was broken for spares afer allegedely in a fire and 003 is the one Mark owns