RTz

That guy looks familiar ;-)

I don't want to trample on Mike's thread, so I'll just say... absolutely ;-)

Becuase the E30 BMW is significantly wider, hub to hub.

I have no doubt it found the right home ;-)

I'll second that. Had a very nice breakfast with them yesterday... and I warned them about you ;-)

The VG30DETT 510 found it's way back to the shop for a 100hp bump. Hoping to get back on the MZ early Feb. Please do. We'll put you up!

That thing is a POS ;-) Even more i'net bullshit. Late 260's most certainly did come with heavy bumpers. I'm not too crazy about better, then. That can be arranged ;-) Gary's car was/is an auto car yes? Seems pertinent, if only slightly. Might wanna recheck yer facts Bawb Dawg. An S30's wheelbase is shorter than a Dime. For some reason, it's a common misconception. I've owned many many S30's, and driven every model of Z except the 370. I've only owned one 510, have done some fairly invasive mods to two of them. I struggle with comparing the two platforms. They are as different as night and day. For me, Dimes have been (generally) easier to live with day to day. Virtually all the controls are lighter, visibility is better, easier ingress/egress, nimble, better ventilation, hauls small 'things' in the rear... um... 'passenger area', trunk space is very welcome when hauling 'stuff' (nearly every day, for me) , etc, etc. They do this well, and can be a hoot to drive, too. An S30 is less 'tolerable'. But, for everything it concedes, it makes up for it in the experience of driving. All of it. Driving position, noises, feel, and so on. Pretty common scenario for more focused platforms. Different cars. Very different. I like them both, for different reasons. One doesn't replace the other, in my opinion. Moral: own both ;-)

You're kidding me. I used to homebrew many moons ago and just decided to take it back up again a couple weeks ago. Then I find this! I've got a capper you can have, and I can loan you a Corny keg. I *think* I'll be around this weekend. Gimme a buzz tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday.

We like you just fine where you are :fu:

I'm booked for over a year, so it won't be anytime soon. Also, for reference, it's about a 70 hour project, so it wouldn't be inexpensive.

Good eye. This project taught me that the frame rails are a lot taller than a sedan ;-) No, just fortunate. Short answer is a neighbor a few houses away is into Dimes, buying, selling, parting, etc and gave me a beat Goon and the back half of a sedan (for rear susp. mock-up). My experience with E30 M3's. I measured it at 2.1 :D That's the magic question, isn't it? I was considering a Miata package, but it's not looking to be a very good fit. More info here... http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=145417 I've been toying with a scratchbuilt double-A design. So far, it's looking doable. I'm kicking around a couple other ideas as well. We'll see. I haven't made any concrete decisions yet. The towers and aprons are 18ga, the top plate is 10ga, and the gussets are 16ga. Thanks again for the kind words!

Only a light-weight would sign off at 2am in an insomniac thread. And where the hell is Skib?

:D

Is this where the HBZ crew hang after dark? :lol:

That pic is going to haunt me for a long time, I'm afraid :P

:D All four wheels are 4x100, a direct fit to the BMW hubs. In the rear, I'm using Modern Motorsports adapters/spacers. Thanks for the kind words :) Oh, and Skib... :fu:

I got tired of front end tramlining and the rubber band feel of the steering (even after a nearly complete front end rebuild) and opted for a change. I have had some success getting E30 M3's to work very well and, geometrically speaking, the standard model E30 is very similar. And, it 'almost fits' ;-) Drug a junkyard find home and visegripped it into a mock-up mule... Strut location needed to achieve 9 degrees caster and 1.5 degrees camber.... Steering shaft location... Decided it was 'worthy' and 'so it began'. Pulled the SR20DET... BMW crossmember welded in... Lollipop modifications... Strut tower rework... (Apron and tower are 18ga, top plate 10ga, and gussets 16ga.) BMW power steering pump... First drive... Twisty back-roads for about 20 miles or so. The first thing that hits you, of course, is the steering effort. The power assist makes for effortless steering even in maximum G corners. Steering feel is light years more advanced. The sensation of steering the wheels with giant rubber bands is GONE (although on center feel isn't as crisp as I had expected). Steering is also substantially quicker and the car has a noticeably tighter turning radius. Is there more grip? Tons more. Even with overly stiff front springs, the car rotates almost nasty like... but in a good way :) Is the darty-ness gone? I *think* so. I haven't driven it on my regular highway's yet, but looking good so far. The BMW front calipers are a small caveat. They're not as compatible with the master cyl. as I had hoped (master too small). A minor fix. I probably wont mess with it until the rear suspension is sorted. The most disappointing change has been the fluid filled motor mounts. They remove a slight amount of vibration and noise, but now the motor moves all over the place, and I mean to the tune of an INCH of vertical movement. I can feel the wind-up and the secondary bounce of the motor on rougher roads. They are ridiculously soft. I haven't installed the hood yet and I'm a little concerned about hood clearance.... and the additional stress on the plastic radiator. I discovered a worn ball joint on reassembly, so he's parked for now. I've got a small road trip planned this weekend. Hopefully I'll have made the repair by then and can report on general road manners. Second drive... Replaced the BJ the following day. Took it out for a drive... and completely lost the front brake circuit. Some digging revealed the master cylinder had gone belly up (pure coincidence). Swapped in a new 15/16" MC. Fixed. It 'needed' a bigger MC, but I may have gone too far... 7/8" would probably be 'just right'. Spent about 5 1/2 hours behind the wheel, mostly highway travel... Bart is officially a two-finger car. Yeeehaaaaa! Even in the nastiest of ruts, it no longer jerks the wheel out of your hand and requires only minor steering correction. It's sensitive to driver input, but no longer bullied by road irregularities. Just right for a 'sport car'. It does have a somewhat numb on-center feel, but I have a couple idea's for that. The front pads need to be replaced with something aggressive to help with brake bias (and decrease pedal effort). And the soft motor mounts are causing a couple of contact points. A bit more fiddling and I think it will all come together nicely. Been driving Bart nearly every day, since. Still some tweaking to do, but overall, I'm happy :D There is one facet of this that I would like to see work out better. Track width. The BMW suspension is a little wider than what I would like... Nothing flares can't fix :lol:

Truly inspiring. Very nicely done, Bob!

:D Picts are 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Before... After... As Jeff said, James wasn't happy with the paint. I didn't notice (big surprise), but the paint was inconsistent (apparently).

Is this you?.... The other miscreants are Skib, Z_Rac3r, BRAAP, and myself.

Got it. We didn't formally meet... just the usual "Howdy", "Good Morning", "How's it going?". We'll chew some fat next year, eh?

Were you driving the B13?