Motors I'm building my own car... UPDATE - Stoneliegh 2013

You bought *that* thing? You're braver than I thought...

... these where the words of Mrs GOO when she saw the magnificent piece of German engineering I'd bought. You can sought of understand her point though:




I think the only thing that's holding the body shell together is the paint!



having said that, the engine bay seems fine, and the engine turns over and fires first time. I can't hear any misfires or tappet noise - and it seems to idle OK. Needs a clean though:




The interior is in a similar state to the bodywork



and has the usual old car crap lurking in the side pockets and under the seat. I've already found 9p, so the car has only cost me £99.91



I've also found some non-standard optional extras in the boot - some tools, brake fluid and tranny fluid



Anyhow, all the mechanicals work, and it seemed OK to drive when I drove it up onto the trailer I used to get it back to mine. The only thing that's a bit of a worry is the gear-stick, as it seems a bit vague - but all the gears seem to be there. I assume the linkage is a bit slack and sloppy, but I'll find out when I start to strip it out.

So - the adventure is about to begin! I'm going to wait until after Christmas as I'm getting some extra tools as gifts (things like trolly jacks and axle stands). But then I'll get cracking. This is where "A GOOster is born" starts!

 

The excitement builds...

 

Good luck on the build. I wanted to build something along the lines of what you'r doign but Ive decided, Living in Minnesota US of A I'm going to build one of these beasts:

Can't wait till I can get started.

Best thing about the wombat, is it uses a vw bug frame, not the biggest, but Thats what our dunebuggy is made of and it gets us through what we use it for

 

mmm i can't wait to see this go. i'm still weighing up building a westfield whilst at uni... funds say yay time says nay

 

That car certainly looks like its in rough shape.

I wish you luck rebuilding that motor.

Maybe I missed it but how many miles does it have?

 

It's done 130k. The motor isn't going to be a problem - as it is, all it has (visiblely) wrong with it is a small oil leak. There isn't any misfiring or dead cylinders, and the tappets seem to be behaving themselves. But as I've said before, it's going to rendered down to it's component parts and all it's wearable bits (bearing shells, gaskets, piston rings etc) replaced.

I think once I've stripped the carcass of the parts I want and it's been dispatched to the great scrap yard in the sky, I'll have to see about getting a parts washer. There's a great deal of gunk to remove!

 

At first, I thought you'd accidentally flipped the pic showing the interior of the donor car (then I realized you're on the other side of the pond).

Anyway, good luck, and I'll be keeping an eye on this (eventually, I want to build a kit car too).

 

I suspect the intake manifold on that thing is alu? If so sand blast it and sand it down to a fine polish and give it a mirror finish. Should look very nice under that hood.

 

Yeah it's alu. I haven't quite decided on what I'm going to do to tart up the engine's appearance yet. It's an all alu block as well, so i could go over the top and polish that - but I doubt I'd have the patience to do that, and maintain the bright finish. If I can get the block looking like new (matt alu), and concentrate on 'bling' up top around the rocker box and intake I'll be happy.

This guy has painted his engine, and done a nice job on the rocker cover and intake:

http://www.msportster.co.uk/data/construction63.jpg

I dunno how durable the paint will be on the block though... It's high temp paint, but I thought painting alu wasn't the best idea..

 

you can get some decent high temp alu primers these days that hold very well. might be worth looking into

 

Well as long as you can get high temp etching primer then your set.

Thats a nice looking motor. Polishing the block would take ages and probably it would dull up quick. As for temp. Alu warps at high temps so I suspect the engine was designed to run cooler than other motors. I dont think the paint will be anything to worry about. Any plans for forced induction? Copper gaset and a high presure compressor of some sort?

Though even at stock the engine on that body should prove to be one powerfull ponny.

Good luck.

 

After asking people in the know, it seems that the engine block on a M20 straight six is actually cast iron, not aluminium as I thought - so painting the block won't be a problem. Well, apart from picking a decent colour for it.

Jagking: The engine will be going in stock after the rebuild. 170bhp will *probably* be enough in a car that light...

 

you get this project so you could actually drive it about daily after or you just want the experience and sell it after? I hope you keep it very nice cars when there in good nick if you get it mint you could prob win some show and shines at bm shows

 

Hi!

Good choice on donor car! A good deal aswell!
Just hope the clutch and gears are in good condition!

Good luck with the car building! I'll be following the project on the car!
L

 

I love the front end of the sportster! The rear end disappoints though, it seems like its lacking something. But i would still go for it

I know this is off topic but does anyone know where you can get a ford GT kit? I Know you can but i cant find anything in google.

 

Erm - I think you've got the wrong end of the stick - the beemer isn't getting restored. It's going to be stripped, and the parts fitted to the kit car. The body will get scrapped.

Mad_un: For Ford GT kits try Tornado Cars - Nice looking, but pricey - and something like that needs a decent engine and box, which adds even more £££ to the bottom line.

 

my brother had an e30 325i, it was chipped along with improved breathing and a tuned exhaust not sure if anything else was done to it but it was certainly interesting to drive (a licence killer in my hands ) , in that little kit car even in standard trim i would expect the donor parts to give you a very frisky/interesting time.

oh btw ...
if you are going to be rebuilding that motor you may find that you would have been better off getting a lower milage good condition car in the first place, i've rebuilt a few engines and unless they're hard to get hold of rebuilds generally work out way more expensive than replacements, example .. citroen xantia 2litre 16valve with a busted cambelt = 10 bent valves = £30 and a bit EACH, i've no idea how much a gasket kit will be for your BM but if you are going to be replacing an awful lot of shells,rings and assorted bits i hope you have a big wallet

 

I dont think a rebuild will cost him mutch. Its probably going to need a new set of piston rings and providing there are no gauges in the cylinder walls thats it. And new gaskets are a must. But if they prove to be too expensive a diy gasket set isnt expensive at all.

If I were building that kit in the states I would look for a 350conversion to it. 700bux for a brand new 350 around here and skip the hasle of rebulding a motor..Then again that inline 6 should be very nice once finished.

 

likein the 1996 tax disk on passenger seat.lol. but anyway. any chance of some new updates.

 

errr do you bother to read before you post?

guess not.