ILC's 1991 318 S50 track rat

Boris3

Yeow! Lucky it just climbed the tire wall and didn't barrel roll. Wet grass is slick like glass, once you're 4 wheels off at speed things can get ugly fast.

i_love_cars

The race seat and harness really did their job well. I woke up today with no soreness or pain, just the same mild tension in my shoulders that I had yesterday. I thought for sure once I slept and blood flow slowed down that I'd wake up with sore muscles and/or neck.

KaiserRolls

Good to hear man. Cars can be replaced.

Boris3

Good to hear! If you're going four wheels off, tire walls are a much better end point than concrete or trees.

As you start working on repairs be sure to take your seat out and remove the seat mounts (don't remember if you've got side or bottom) and check the seat and mounts for cracks, bends, other damage. Speaking from experience with post-crash damage this can be hard to see with the seat still in the car.

Also be sure to replace your harnesses with new ones so you can be sure they can do the job next time.

Can't have enough safety gear. You wearing a HANS or other h&n device? If not get one. Should be mandatory in any car with fixed back race seats and a roll bar or cage.

In the bad stuff happens and walking away from it category this is from a recent Trans Am race at Mid Ohio but stupid track reentry happens in DE events. Why a H&N matters:

i_love_cars

thanks Boris, I'm definitely going to check everything over, wasn't sure on harnesses but as long as the seats and mounts are not damaged, I'm guessing I can re-use the seats and just buy new harnesses then.

I don't have a hans but to be sure, after Saturday I was planning on getting one haha. If you have any recommendations I'm all ears.

The whole time we were sliding I was thinking two things:

yay we're headed for tire walls and not the guardrail 100 yards further down the track
go off straight

Jeff Fait was driving behind me in his 335i about 100 yards, unfortunately he didn't have a go-pro running because he got to see the whole thing happen and watch the car go airborne. I would've liked to see footage from outside the car because it was a hell of a ride.

suspenceful

Wow! This sucks, but like you said, it could be much worse.

Glad you're alright.

i_love_cars

just got the word from Big Bear - the E30 is fine. Nothing is bent, and the car was barely even out of alignment. All they could come up with is a cracked mount for the fuel pump, lol.

So, now I am officially on the hunt for new front fenders, a valance, and a driver side door.

Should be back on track first thing next season.

Boris3

Great news that there's no frame damage and all the suspension is intact!

Re the body parts quest: I've had some communication with this seller down in Rockford about the passenger side fender, though he's pretty slow in followup responses and I'm still waiting on promised pics and price detail. Anybody here know the seller?

https://rockford.craigslist.org/pts/5721149272.html

Might get a quicker response if you offer to buy the whole car...and we work out a deal for the passenger fender as a finder's fee.

My guess is the ad fell under the radar since a "BMW 325si" doesn't pop up in an e30 parts search.

patsbimmer1

I'm 20 minutes from Rockford if you need eyes.

KaiserRolls

Those fenders are even pre-faded. What a steal

Boris3

Indeed! But since there are no pics of the passenger side I was wondering if it was trashed. According to last from the seller all good but no pics or price info yet.

Patsbimmer thanks for the offer. We'll see if I hear back.

m42b32

its definitely worthwhile to pick up the entire shell instead of buying individual panels. I bought a whole car to repair mine as tracking down clean panels around here is difficult at best and nobody down south wants to ship.

i_love_cars

Boris3 said:

Great news that there's no frame damage and all the suspension is intact!

Re the body parts quest: I've had some communication with this seller down in Rockford about the passenger side fender, though he's pretty slow in followup responses and I'm still waiting on promised pics and price detail. Anybody here know the seller?

https://rockford.craigslist.org/pts/5721149272.html

Might get a quicker response if you offer to buy the whole car...and we work out a deal for the passenger fender as a finder's fee.

My guess is the ad fell under the radar since a "BMW 325si" doesn't pop up in an e30 parts search.

yep, Father Hundley sent that link to me this morning as well - I messaged the guy and said I am interested in a few panels or potentially the whole car depending on price. If the panels are intact and matches my color I would definitely help you out with the passenger fender.

My car is Brilliantrot though so I dunno his looks like it may be Hellrot. I also don't know if 325is parts fit a 318is.

Earl

Literally the same car besides the motor and trans situation. I would hope you plan to get the new parts painted to match the rest of the car given the paint seemed to be in great shape before your crash.

i_love_cars

Earl said:

Literally the same car besides the motor and trans situation. I would hope you plan to get the new parts painted to match the rest of the car given the paint seemed to be in great shape before your crash.

good to know.

i'm unlikely to bother with much in the way of repainting. It's a track car, and I have the 135i to look pretty. The risk of damage at the track is really too high for me to justify the ridiculous cost of painting so many body panels. To have it done right and match everything you're talking at least 2500 bucks just for the paint and labor. That doesn't include parts.

Earl

I'm well aware of the cost involved in having a car painted....just figured this car deserved it but I guess not.

i_love_cars

Earl said:

I'm well aware of the cost involved in having a car painted....just figured this car deserved it but I guess not.

again, track car that gets driven 10-15 times a year after being pulled off a trailer. The car (was) clean and definitely deserves a nice paint job, it's just impossible to justify for the extremely limited use of a purpose built track vehicle. I agree, it's a shame, a damn shame even, but I have about 500 other places i could better spend that money right now.

Can somebody please tell me how the FUCK to get this white plug/wire cluster out of the body of the car? I am trying to remove the driver side door and cannot for the life of me get this stupid plug out.

Here's where it's at - all disassembly is done except for the driver door:

Boris3

Tough call. The car did look good but probably not worth redoing everything to make it pretty if it's going to be a just a track car and you're going to keep pushing the envelope. Put $$ into go fast, cornering and stopping.

Just an FYI for folks doing DE / track day events (non-timed) with a car they're not willing to ball up and walk away from. Stuff does happen, rare in a well run event but it does. Lockton sells track day insurance. Adds $100-200+ to your cost for an event budget depending on the track and the value you place on the car and there are also deductible options 10-20%. But if you've got some serious money wrapped up in your ride it's something to consider.

i_love_cars

Boris3 said:

Tough call. The car did look good but probably not worth redoing everything to make it pretty if it's going to be a just a track car and you're going to keep pushing the envelope. Put $$ into go fast, cornering and stopping.

Just an FYI for folks doing DE / track day events (non-timed) with a car they're not willing to ball up and walk away from. Stuff does happen, rare in a well run event but it does. Lockton sells track day insurance. Adds $100-200+ to your cost for an event budget depending on the track and the value you place on the car and there are also deductible options 10-20%. But if you've got some serious money wrapped up in your ride it's something to consider.

yup, good advice. When I still tracked my 135i I *always* used Lockton. If whatever you paid for your car will ruin your life or make you cry if you ball it up at the track, definitely be sure to run with track insurance.

Part of why I bought the E30 was because I was sick of dropping $300+ per event on insurance for $35k of coverage on the 135i, given that I'd be popping $5k out of pocket anyway for the deductible before Lockton kicked in anything. I'd need to seriously fuck that car up to get a return on paying for the insurance.

1990m3

sorry to see my old car in this condition! I both hope and expect you plan to have the frame checked before assuming it's still straight. e30 frames are old and not that stiff, in an impact them can be tweaked easily.

WIBIMMERS

ILC's 1991 318 S50 track rat