E30 Front subframe modification

So the following tuesday we had our new shop helpers, Brian and Roy, come by to lend a hand. Also Belina came by later to lend a hand. Full shop! We were all really busy for this night- so didnt get to take many pics, but these guys were a huge help.
For the last couple weeks Carlos and John have been plugging on this front subframe. The pics are few and far in between, but this will give you a basic idea how it was done. Another fellow 02 enthusiast had recently told me "many have tried, but very few have completed" regarding the front subframe swap. So needless to say theres very little info out there regarding this. Noones mistakes to learn from. But here goes.
 First thing was of course was measuring. Done a few different ways... repeatedly..  And then a mock up, using scrap metal.

Now its ready for the e30 subframe mounting holes in our new frame rails.

Here it is, ready to weld.

After some test fitting, Carlos and I banging it back and forth for an hour making sure its straight- John jumps in and tacks it on

This one shows clearly the difference in width between the two.

 At this point we're ready to start welding. Filling in the voids with anything we can.

John gets it all nice and boxed in using gussets on the inside/flat plates to fit on the out. Finished pics soon to come. John with the welder in his hand= put the kids to bed.

More info, and finished pics on this later.

Meanwhile..Brian and Roy started chopping up the doors. Skinned them to the point where they arent too flimsy. Then de-burring the edges. Hate to chop up somewhat rust free 02 doors, but the pain goes away when you feel how much weight was taken out..

Towards the end of the night we also covered a little ground on the rear. We bolted the rear subframe one final time, strapped in the stock 02 subframe supports, and started working on the diff mount. We really wanted to do a dual ear e36 cover on the e30 diff.. Maybe later..

And just for fun, jacked the trailing arms to somewhat ride-height... .. ... yea, its ridiculous. hahaha

Until next time.

E30 rear subframe modification

So the following week we went back to work. The first plan was to mount an e30 rear subframe. We discussed this thoroughly between the three of us, traded ideas for a while, and finally planned to solid mount it on custom made mounts using old scraps in the shop.
First thing to do was measure, measure, ... measure,.. and measure more.. We had tracked down some dimension spec sheets for both cars that helped us alot.

Then i had John jack his socks up just for this picture (jk, he always has his socks jacked up)

Then we made a jig, to get our mounting points.

Now that we have everything lined up, we tack on our mounting sleeves for the first test fit.

First test fit. We now have to cut the original bushing housing for it to move up further.

While its back out, John and i get creative.. Making sure it stays put

Now once it goes back up, we have a little issue. The trailing arm mount is so close to the rear body jacking point, that the bolt wouldnt fit. Instead of cutting into it we decided to make some spacers out of an old peice of aluminum.

Next thing is to smooth it down a bit, get it mounted, and start figuring out the differential mounting points. Until next time..
-Jay

Less than two months to go!!

After a few months of getting the e30 ready for the UTCC, were back in the shop finally digging deep into the 02. The challenge is coming up quick, so no more messing around.

First order of business was totally stripping down the car. Started by removing the booster, steering column, dash, all glass etc.

Next day John rolled her outside and pressure cleaned all the years of dirt and grease, off of her.. Once the sun went down, we were back at it. First we pulled the rear subframe.

Hopefully one day I can pass it on to someone who will actually use it! :evilgrin:

Next was the front-

Amazing what great condition all of this stuff was! Makes me want another project..

ok.. back on track..

So the following day before we got together i took some time to prep the engine bay a bit. Drillied out all the brackets, cut out the battery tray/anything we didnt need.

Next up- the fun part!

-Jay