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

[Jeroen]

Nice shed with toys!

[pandemonium001]

Was that the same E21 rally car on ebay a few months ago?
I saved the pics from then as well!

[nas80]

Haha so did i

[e21-Mark]

Yes, fortunately he saw sense and kept it and sold his e28 instead. He did one event with an m20 but needed more power and the gearbox jammed in 2nd. Is now running the e36 gearbox so I'm guessing it'll be the driveshafts that are next to scream enough!

[e21-Mark]

Well I went and saw MIB yesterday and there's been a fair bit of progress, with lots of the less obvious jobs now finished.

The e36 loom has been split and any superfluous wiring is being deleted. The OE fuse box is being junked and the whole engine bay will be much less cluttered. The Cat Camshafts have also been installed.



The new fuel lines, pump and sender are also in.



The cage has been painted, the floor strengthened and we are just waiting on new front coilovers from Gaz and the new front brakes can finally go on. Whilst there is still a bit to do, we are definitely making real progress now. In fact, next week it's off to Quest Motorsport for the exhaust manifold and system to be fitted.

[e21-Mark]

Cage was painted and went in, once floor had strengthening plates welded in. I don't think there's much point in having a cage otherwise.







Car has gone to http://www.questmotorsport.co.uk today and is having some mods to the six branch and twin silencer system. Most of the conversions that have been done so far, just cut & shut the OE e36 manifolds to clear the steering column. This was actually an aftermarket e36 manifold, that came up cheaply and luckily there's just one pipe that needs some attention.

I could have just gone with a regular single exit system, but the 323 twin is one of the styling cues I like most on an e21. Mind you, had I realised what a pain in the ass it was going to be, I might not have been so keen. The rear chassis rail and silencer mount is unique to the 323 and NLA from the factory. I had to drive bloody miles to get one and chop it out of a scrap car. It's been a lot of effort but am sure it'll be worth it. I just need to find some tailpipes that resemble e46 M3 ones now, but I want twin single pipes, not duals.

[Jeroen]

Serious work again, nice!

Have to agree on the strengthening plates. Remember they were mandatory for my track car back in the day and with good reason, they add rigidity and if something happens I'm sure that without them the cage will just pop through the normal sheet metal. Speaking of rigidity, a bit late perhaps, but have you considered fixing the cage to the B pillars? I felt the differerence on my E30 and the difference will only be bigger on an E21 I guess.

[e21-Mark]

Speaking of rigidity, a bit late perhaps, but have you considered fixing the cage to the B pillars?

I am on my race car, but not on MIB. I'm going with strut braces & wunderbar though.

[pandemonium001]

Let me see those wheels

[e21-Mark]

Staggered 8 & 9 x 15's with 215 & 205/50 Marangoni. Obviously there's been a bit of arch work to make sure I can drop it on the floor.

[pandemonium001]

Oh yes, me like!! excellent finish. are they just polished? any protection on them? Image do a ceramic coating service, it quotes £20 per outer lip on the site.
but dont know if they can do partial wheels.

[nas80]

These wheels are made by rota.. they are replicas of the old school jap hayashi wheels. I really like them and wanted a set for mine but Misky and Mark beat me to it.

[e21-Mark]

I was thinking of a slightly darker finish but may just get a 2nd set of rims? Black works well with Laguna Seca blue.

I'm off to Essex on Thursday and the exhaust should all be finished by then. Can't wait to see the finished result.

[nas80]

Then its just a spray left?

[e21-Mark]

Then its just a spray left?

In no particular order -

New fusebox & remaining loom
Front suspension on & geo
Front brakes inc new pipes etc for servo
ECU remap
Nitrous set-up & dyno run
Single wiper & door mirror delete
Weld up any holes from trim delete
Prep & paint
Refit
ICE install
Off to trimmer for interior
Anything I've forgotten
MOT & tax

It's getting there. I think getting the paint finished will be a big motivator but it hasn't been done before now for fear of it being damaged while other work is completed. Even though I cannot wait to get the finished car back, there's just no point rushing it now.

I'm really chuffed to have been asked if another car forum can have my car on their stand as a big show this summer. It should do a bit more to raise the profile of the UK e21 too!