BMW test build

So, I got a second e36 for a grand a few months back. Plan has always been to cage it and learn from it and eventually sell it. Picked a LSD from an 89 5 series for 60 Saturday. Going to grab another 5 series one for same price but with a 4.10th ratio this week. The 410 and LSD will go into my e36 case then i'll rebuild one 5 series one to sell. Goal is LSD and decent ratio for under 50. Found a close ratio z3 rack also for 100. Interior is stripped and steel for cage is already on its way. Have some general maintenance to do yet. Tie rods, control arms and one wheel bearing. If it sells, cool. Otherwise I'm excited to see how close I can come timewise to Dave's compact this spring. Goal is race ready for under 3k.

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Grant Hughes

To get a real comparison you will need to use the same driver. When do I get to find out how much $ I've wasted?

Dave

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DaveK
To get a real comparison you will need to use the same driver. When do I get to find out how much $ I've wasted?

Dave

When the car is done..
Now the question I want to know is why is Grant pouring time and money into all kinds of other projects when he has one nice rad car with 0ne 0r two rallies and its sitting taken apart and neglected?


Kind extra curious when Dave says it was after a drive in the red Xratty that inspired the building of the BMW, now Grant has to have a BMW insprired by the car that was inspired by his poor abandoned thing..

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
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john vanlandingham
Kind extra curious when Dave says it was after a drive in the red Xratty that inspired the building of the BMW, now Grant has to have a BMW insprired by the car that was inspired by his poor abandoned thing..

When did I say that? I think I went for a ride in the Merkweird once at CORE in 2005ish. I think it was really all the GroupF videos being posted up here that inspired the BMW. It was the showing of the Toni G. videos to my navvie that won approval to get started.

Dave

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DaveK

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john vanlandingham
Kind extra curious when Dave says it was after a drive in the red Xratty that inspired the building of the BMW, now Grant has to have a BMW insprired by the car that was inspired by his poor abandoned thing..

When did I say that? I think I went for a ride in the Merkweird once at CORE in 2005ish. I think it was really all the GroupF videos being posted up here that inspired the BMW. It was the showing of the Toni G. videos to my navvie that won approval to get started.

Dave

long time ago , something like that...point is why all the time and money into a different project when that one rots?

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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john vanlandingham

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DaveK

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john vanlandingham
Kind extra curious when Dave says it was after a drive in the red Xratty that inspired the building of the BMW, now Grant has to have a BMW insprired by the car that was inspired by his poor abandoned thing..

When did I say that? I think I went for a ride in the Merkweird once at CORE in 2005ish. I think it was really all the GroupF videos being posted up here that inspired the BMW. It was the showing of the Toni G. videos to my navvie that won approval to get started.

Dave

long time ago , something like that...point is why all the time and money into a different project when that one rots?

Because he's young and full of energy and is trying to make a small fortune getting a bigger rally scene going. I think the idea is build some grassroots cars, sell at a profit, then put the Xratty back together, or something.

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

There is a hole in market for BMW rally specialist and that market has potential to grow to something decent so I'm positioning myself and demonstrating that a BMW nearly stock is the best starter car. Plus I don't have an engine together or a chassis harness for the red one.

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Grant Hughes

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NoCoast
There is a hole in market for BMW rally specialist and that market has potential to grow to something decent so I'm positioning myself and demonstrating that a BMW nearly stock is the best starter car. Plus I don't have an engine together or a chassis harness for the red one.

Is the best starter car the best car for long-term ownership---like when somebody wants to get ratios and final drives? Not a lot of choices then it seems.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

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john vanlandingham
Is the best starter car the best car for long-term ownership---like when somebody wants to get ratios and final drives? Not a lot of choices then it seems.

IF people are running the torquey 6-cyl motors, a 4.1 or 4.27 is going to be just fine for rally and those can be found relatively cheaply if you've got time to look. Sure the gearbox isn't optimal, but if you pretend its a 4-speed with a special gear for loading it on the trailer, its not too bad.

My exercise in swapping to a Supra diff was a complete waste of time and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless there was a bolt-in-and-go kit available...but I don't think there is a need or market for such a kit. For people starting with 6-cyl cars, the medium case diff is large enough to be up to the task. Again, the only reason I dithered with the supra diff was because the Compact comes with a small case diff...same reasoning I used to waste countless other dollars on things like an M3 engine, pedal box, etc., etc...

Dave

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john vanlandingham
Is the best starter car the best car for long-term ownership---like when somebody wants to get ratios and final drives? Not a lot of choices then it seems.

BMW 2-5 is just as good as the Ford T5 1-4 and realistically taht is all we need.

LSD diff and up to 4.27 final drives available in four different series of BMW cars from the 80s through late 90s. 4.10 and LSD readily available. 4.27 a little harder or just go to ebay for $200.

Stock car and on stage is much more important than long term.

Look what has happened to the majority of people you have advised to build a Merkur or a Volvo. THEY NEVER SEE A STAGE.
Kevin H, Skye P, what's the other guy's name in not-Seattle, etc.

What's story on all these guys?
Kevin Zidkovitch
Tim Chevalier
Pat Darrow
Arno Guerin
Mark Hille
Trenton Haglund
John Bass
Charles Buren
Jason Hynd

I need a good long block in my Merkur. Options are to build one from the parts I have, rebuild or hope the spare long block is okay, or ???

There were SIX 2.5L cars at the junkyard. That is alot of spare engines, transmissions, etc. And a car that stock is more fun than a stock Merkur. My stock 325i is more fun than my Merkur with 3" exhaust and cossie intercooler was. The brakes are decent enough stock and there are some easy off the shelf stuff for the BMW. There aren't drum brakes in the rear. They aren't butt fucking ugly.

I am spending time and a small amount of money on this BMW but I also have a potential buyer for it. The first event it's at to be able to say, we can build you a similar car for a reasonable amount and you could be ready to go at the next event, is huge.

Ha. Buy vs. Build. I bought my first rally car. I regret it. I built my second. I partially regret it. I went for the car that had the best long term potential and could be built into the coolest and most competitive rally car out there but instead I ended up with a big project.

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Grant Hughes

BMWs rule.

Merkurs are getting long in the tooth and hard to find.

BMWs make great stock power, with hundreds of thousands sold in the US and therefore readily available parts.

Plus no guy ever got laid driving a Merkur.

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"Talk about drugs. Driving a car like that, going that fast, it’s like all the drugs at once." - Tommy Byrne

"Now, Pinky, if by any chance you are captured during this mission, remember you are Gunther Heindriksen from Appenzell. You moved to Grindelwald to drive the cog train to Murren. Can you repeat that?" - The Brain

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wvonkessler
BMWs rule.

Plus no guy ever got laid driving a Merkur.

New signature for Grant?

The creepy thing is that I never had a girlfriend when the Merkur was running. I met my now wife just about the same time as we were getting ready to do the liquid nitrogen treatment.

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Grant Hughes

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wvonkessler


Plus no guy ever got laid driving a Merkur.

Actually my dear friend Kevvi Hoikansainalainen drove Volvos including a clean turbo wagon and he was living such the monk's life that he was contemplating the sandals, wool robes, the whole bit.

Then he picked up a red Xratty and BING!!!! He had to get a little bl;ack book to keep the appointments all straight so high was the demand for his manliness..
Then he got a Vucus (the Volvo that is a Fuckus underneath) , got married, got a doggy and now they have a Subaru Outbackintheforest..

And you don't want to know about the goings on when I was driving mine around fawkin Bawstin... oi oi oi..

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Quote
NoCoast
The creepy thing is that I never had a girlfriend when the Merkur was running. I met my now wife just about the same time as we were getting ready to do the liquid nitrogen treatment.

Maybe if you had had a mustache and a thunderchicken decal on the hood things would've been different!