Shop Life 2.0
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Finally got around to getting the pics of the suspension off my camera and made some eye-infecting visual AIDS.
Also got some raw materials to work with now, so hopefully I can get back to work on the car this weekend. Oh, and another engine to replace the Automotive Supply enhanced unit that's currently in the car. Thanks Industrialsized!
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The effed-up block will get bored out 1mm over for some low-compression pistons
Might I suggest Automotive Supply? I hear they do great work!
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Wow, 6 months since the last update...
Well, now that my chances of success with this project are starting to look better than my chances of horrible and disasterous failure, I suppose I can let the cat out of the bag. As can be seen above, there's a limit to how much you can lower the rear of an e21 before suspension-things try to occupy the same space as frame-things. Lowering the car that much also creates camber and toe problems. I wanted my car to be lower than what was really reasonable, AND I wanted my suspension to be functional, so I decided to do what any rational person would do: cut all of the rear subframe mounting points out of the chassis, and move them up a couple of inches.
Still with me? Okay then. I didn't take many pictures until recently, but I can tell you that after the initial cutting the regret set in immediately and deeply. The biggest hurdle with this project has been getting over the psychological trauma of seeing giant holes in your car where important structural things used to be. Many months were lost staring at the nothing that was left, wondering how I would ever close the wounds. Somehow, I just kept moving, hoping that my efforts would somehow reclaim my car from the scrap-heap, for which I thought it was surely destined.
I've still got a lot of work to do, but I think I'll have a running, driving car again someday...
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The biggest hurdle with this project has been getting over the psychological trauma of seeing giant holes in your car where important structural things used to be.
I cant relate, but i understand completely
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Looking good!
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big lump of metal that does nothing but sit around on jackstands collecting dust.
Isn't that what owning a e21 is like though????
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Isn't that what owning a car and being part of wibimmers is about though????
Fixed that for ya
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Part of the upper mount for my rear coil-overs. I needed a shorter shock in the rear to go lower and not have crazy droop. Decided to go with a Bilstein motorsports shock with 1/2" heim joints, as I couldn't seem to find an OEM shock that fit all my requirements. Still need to make a plate for the top so everything can bolt up in the stock location.
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Since I'm going with stiffer springs in the rear, I also need to address the front. The best-documented solution on the net is to shorten the struts and use MKI Golf strut inserts, so that's what I'm planning. Parts are ordered, so I started on the disassembly.
First strut out aaand... wtf? PO kind of left me high and dry on this one... (The gland nut screws into the top of the strut tube and should a larger OD ring on top with two holes for a special wrench.)
Like multiple choice, your first answer is usually the right one, so I went with the first thing that popped into my head:
It took a big lever and a lot of force, but it eventually came out. I was under the impression that the car was riding on Bilsteins when I bought it. Turns out that was only half true... The fronts were some kind of open-bath oil shock. I probably dumped a quart of oil out of each one, and everything just came out in pieces after I removed the gland nut...
Hopefully next weekend I'll have some parts and can start putting stuff back together. My goal is to make it to the autox at RA August 13th. I'm not particularly optimistic at this point, but I'm still trying.
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That it really odd. It makes sense, but its still strange. Glad you got it apart and are making progress!
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🥳SOLD BMW E24 633CSI - BMW M30B32 🧪SOLD HCH ES9 - 1.3 LDA
👽BMW E30 325IC - Toyota 1JZ-GTE ⏰ HONDA EF9 CIVIC SI - JDM B18C5
☠️BMW E36 318i - Ford 5.0 FE302 🚴♂️ GT-Labomba - 26x2.75 Freeride
🤹♀️SOLD BMW E36/7 Z3 - BMW M54B25 🧓SOLD BMW E10 2002 - BMW M10M05
). Woo! Friday night!
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