Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Denver MCM garage expansion

[kmcteer]

Beautiful E12! I lowered my 1976 530i and it resulted in a pretty wollowey drive. I replaced shocks with Bilstein B8s and springs with H&R Sports. I think it had a roll center issue in the front, probably needed a spindle raise. You may want to consider that if you are lowering it!

Great progress!
-Kelly

 

[kwyjibo]

Ok, once again I have a lot of catching up to do.

First, and most importantly, the upholstery work started a while back on projectconda. We weren't happy with the fit of some interior pieces I picked up so those will need to be made on site. So far the trim around the windshield frame, targa bar and the pieces in front of and behind the doors are complete. A neat detail of the targa bar cover are the hand-cut ventilation holes. It's not installed yet as they work on the seatbelts, but I temporarily popped it in for a photo.


Here's the charcoal carpet being fitted in the rear seat area

I'm not going to reinstall the (useless?) rear seats so the carpet will completely cover the "seating area" - like in the lightweight Carrera RS. At some point in the near future I'll make a storage compartment for the space, Porsche calls this a rear-seat delete.
I'm hoping that projectconda will be back in my garage soon because the rearseat covering and carpet are all that is left for the shop to do.

Second, I sold the E30 to a friend! We owned it for about 10 years but it's been getting little use in the last few years. Over 230k miles and it was still running strong. Here are a couple photos sent over by the happy buyer

The nice spring weather (at least in the morning) brought out a large crowd for the annual VWs on the Green show. I have a long history with VWs but I've been ignoring them lately. This show reignited my interest.

And of course I've been driving every chance I get. Since selling the Carrera last fall, the E9 has become the primary fun car, but I've been thinking about selling it also. It is strange to think that I've owned the e9 for almost 20 years, the Carrera for 15 and the E30 for 10 and they could all be gone within the same year.

As i was contemplating the E9's future and enjoying my coffee, a few guys from our local Porsche group rolled up.

The odds are always good that you'll run into people you know driving the local hills on a beautiful morning

 

[kwyjibo]

Beautiful E12! I lowered my 1976 530i and it resulted in a pretty wollowey drive. I replaced shocks with Bilstein B8s and springs with H&R Sports. I think it had a roll center issue in the front, probably needed a spindle raise. You may want to consider that if you are lowering it!

Great progress!
-Kelly

sorry about the delayed response
Thanks for the reply. B8s have basically disappeared as have many E12 parts. I've been discussing coilovers with a friend whose shop, VSR, sells a rather expensive but apparently excellent set.

 

[kmcteer]

sorry about the delayed response
Thanks for the reply. B8s have basically disappeared as have many E12 parts. I've been discussing coilovers with a friend whose shop, VSR, sells a rather expensive but apparently excellent set.

That would be the way to go, could raise the spindle as much as your wheels allow. I'm struggling through the modern problem of vintage sports car handling. My 911SC has been restored with stock suspension, but is not exactly sporty by todays standards. How far does one go trying to make an old heap handle...

-Kelly

 

[gearhead1960]

That would be the way to go, could raise the spindle as much as your wheels allow. I'm struggling through the modern problem of vintage sports car handling. My 911SC has been restored with stock suspension, but is not exactly sporty by todays standards. How far does one go trying to make an old heap handle...

-Kelly

...as far as you want to spend. I would start with either Koni or Bilstein shock and spring kit. I would also plan on lowering the ride a little. Don't make wholesale changes at once unless it's a tried and true kit from a well regarded supplier or manufacturer. It will never be cheap (relatively), but the enjoyment you get out of it is the true value to the mod.

 

[Nolift911]

That would be the way to go, could raise the spindle as much as your wheels allow. I'm struggling through the modern problem of vintage sports car handling. My 911SC has been restored with stock suspension, but is not exactly sporty by todays standards. How far does one go trying to make an old heap handle...

-Kelly

Elephant Racing is your huckleberry -

 

[kmcteer]

sorry about the delayed response
Thanks for the reply. B8s have basically disappeared as have many E12 parts. I've been discussing coilovers with a friend whose shop, VSR, sells a rather expensive but apparently excellent set.

I assume you have seen this post on bimmer forums (https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/...ce-suspension-options&p=30094167#post30094167).

"Thanks. As a bit of an update for anyone that may search for something in the future, I think I have figured out what setup I will be going with on the car. For springs i'll be going with the B&G Lowering Springs for the E12 chassis (Part # 08.1.021). Mainly choosing them over the H&R option because 1) They are easier to source here in the US (harder to get the E12 H&R's because they are only listed in the German catalog, and not the US catalog) and 2) Because they are progressive rate. Since this is a street car and not a race car, I am somewhat concerned with ride quality.

For the shocks and strut inserts, the selection at this point in time (August 2018) for performance LOWERED strut inserts and rear shocks for the E12 is VERY limited. For the rear, the only option I could find is the Bilstein B8 Sport Shocks (Part # 24-008198). They are listed for the Bavaria/B3/E12. For the front, Bilstein discontinued the B8 Sport Insert that they used to make that was specific for the E12 application(Part # 34-193020). However, I did find another option. Bilstein makes a B8 Sport insert for the front of the E28 (Part # 34-181546), and according to a quick call over to Ireland Engineering, the E28 insert will fit into the E12 strut housing with a small spacer at the bottom under the insert (E28 insert is slightly shorter than the E12, but same diameter). Using the E28 inserts, would have to use the E28 upper strut mounts...which is a different bolt pattern than the E12, BUT...Ireland Engineering also makes a cool Fixed Front Camber Plate that has the E28 bolt pattern on the bottom, and the E12 pattern up top. Allows you to bolt up the E28 Upper Mounts into an E12, AND add 3/4 degree of negative camber.

So, looks like i'll be going that route. If any of you E28 folks have any other suggestions for lowered strut inserts, please feel free to post it. Would love to hear about other options. Will update this post whenever I get the parts together..."

 

[kwyjibo]

always fun to catch up with friends at last weekend's Fuelfed in nearby Boulder



I stopped by the upholsterer earlier in the week and he was working on the rear seat area
Back panel:

side panels being test fit:

He is making these panels, using the warped originals as patterns. I bought the same pieces from a well-known supplier in Europe when I thought that I was going to diy the interior, but the upholster talked me out of using them.
the front area was done when i visited the shop

mid week i got this photo:

And then on Friday:

 

[kwyjibo]

I stopped by the upholsterer's shop today - ProjectConda is ready to come back home!!!
The glass installer came by on Monday and was done very quickly. I really appreciate that they let him use their space because I'm sure that some of the problems he had with the rear glass install were a direct result of working in my cramped garage space. They were still working on getting a few details right but told me that it would be ready to go by tomorrow morning.
Fingers crossed that my next post will have photos from my garage.

 

[tweidman]

Very exciting. Will you be able to drive it this summer?