E36 Compact Stage Rally Car

[M3 Compact]

[eddiee36]

[notax]

Eddie36...previously known as Eddie46 on Bimmerforums - glad you found your way here

[eddiee36]

yer thats me well i got the steering column out last night very easily and the steering rack off eventually. The front suspension is all off now just the engine to come out this weekend.

[eddiee36]

Had a good weekend on the car its now 95% stripped just need an 18mm spanner to remove the rear diff support to get the rear axle out. Once the car is stripped am going to remove all unwanted brackets and start painting the engine bay and arches. does anyone have any details how to fit the cable pulls?

[eddiee36]

Got the grinder out on saturday to remove all the old brackets and studs from the engine bay and gave it a lick of paint. Its starting to look a bit better. I have decided to stick with the 1.6 engine with motorbike carbs on. Next is to remove all the brackets and studs from the inside then its ready for a cage to be installed.

[eddiee36]

Bit of an update, sunroof is now removed and i cant believe how heavy the dam thing is. All the internal brackets and stupid little studs are gone. And i have spent 3 nights of using a heat gun and scraper removing the rubber matting stuff from all over the floor of the car. The total weight of the matting is 1.5stone!!!!!. I am going on holiday next week so when i get back its time for the cage to be fitted and am going to start the wiring as am expecting that to be a time consuming job also the sunroof needs plugging.

[rearwheelsteercompact]

I am going on holiday next week so when i get back its timeto start the wiring as am expecting that to be a time consuming job .

You will need another holiday when you've done the wiring

If I was doing it all over again I think I would leave the wiring in and get the car running. Then strip the not needed bits a bit at a time (or leave it all in). That way you will know if you cut a wrong wire as you can test as you go along. Might make things a bit fiddly though.

[hsr2.6]

I am going on holiday next week so when i get back its timeto start the wiring as am expecting that to be a time consuming job .

You will need another holiday when you've done the wiring

If I was doing it all over again I think I would leave the wiring in and get the car running. Then strip the not needed bits a bit at a time (or leave it all in). That way you will know if you cut a wrong wire as you can test as you go along. Might make things a bit fiddly though.

Or do like i did,give it to somebody else to do....... ..........

[eddiee36]

right bit of an update following my holiday. been back 2 weeks and due to the rain only been able to get on the car on bank holiday monday. As i cant afford a cage yet i am starting on many of the little jobs that need doing and a major job called the wiring. so far i have built up the front end just need to mount the bumper properly (rain stopped play). the dash is in to allow me to make the switch plates. Since I have started the wiring it does not appear to be to bad a job. i have a couple of questions if thats ok.
1) how have people gone about mounting the pull cords within the engine bay?
2) What is the biggest radiator i can fit will an m3 rad fit in?

[notax]

Hi, I MAY sell the cage in my car. Good points - MSA approved, car never been crashed and this exact model of cage has been proved to be strong my M3 Compact (video on here somewhere ) Will be much cheaper to buy than alternatives and cheaper to fit as pre assembled (cage doesn't need welding)

Bad points - cage is hand painted white and doesn't fit to the extremities of the car (if you want this you need to get a weld in the car cage). Not sure I'm selling yet and not sure of the price to ask if I do, but should know both within a week or two if you want to wait... Picures of car and cage on Notax Compact on Cars forum

[eddiee36]

Hi that sounds brilliant well just let me know what you decide. Congratulations for the result at the weekend

[M3 Compact]

Coming along nicely Eddie.

As notax says - the Sparco cages aren't the closest fitting, but they're strong. We added a few bits to mine and it withstood an almighty telegraph post whack in the middle of the driver's door very well.

Planning a weld-in, notax?

[notax]

Hi that sounds brilliant well just let me know what you decide. Congratulations for the result at the weekend

Thanks - off on holiday tonight but will have an answer week after next!

[eddiee36]

Morning all, I have been working on the wiring at the weekend for a few hours and all is going well but can anyone tell me what these are in the attached photos they just seem to be plastic blocks where the wires end. They were located on the passenger side behind the dash.