Mmmmm... Shiny............

This week has seen some nice advancements! With the 1.8 lifted out and the cambelt and tensioner done on the 2.5, all we are waiting for is the clutch to get the lump in. Otherwise, we have added a clutch pedal, clutch master cylinder and springs in the pedal box, as well as partially fitting the shift lever bar, ball and lever. We also added a nice shiny knob to the lever for kicks.

A short shift kit is being picked to be fitted as the engine is prepped with it's new clutch. Very much a rainy day job like the remaining cleaning, retrofitting and paint surface prepping. On top of that, loads of blackening and cosmetics are in order and thats all before MOT, insurance and taxation come in!

Check out these new shots-

Finally a new update!

After several weeks of assignments and other assorted time wasting activities, we have finally gotten to sink our teeth into the project again. Since our last update, we have installed:
-Sparco racing bucket
-Sparco 4-point harness
-Painted and fitted quick release bonnet (black)
-Painted and fitted wingmirrors (black)
-Painted and fitted front fog light blanks (Black as well)
-partially completed painting the OE 14 inch alloys (again black)

You can see it has really been more about the aesthetics just recently, with mechanical upgrades in the planning and preparation stages.

The engine has arrived, and is pallatised ready to be dropped in. While we were waiting for it to arrive, we dropped the exhaust, the seemingly new autobox driveshaft, disconnected the ancilliaries (bar the steering fluid pump. This saved having to open the steering hydraulic circuit.

While we were there, I started cleaning the bay out and Aitor tidied up the undercarriage heat shielding and inspected the gearbox mount for when we lower the box to remove the engine and box as a unit. Lastly, we need to disengage the autobox control lever linkage, and remove the interior molded fittings ready for the swap to manual.

The remainder of our parts, as well as the engine, all came from Ed at A1 BMW Spares in Woolmer Green. We still need a few goodies before the swap can be completed. Since we are going from Auto to Manual, we need:
-Pedal Box
-Clutch cylinder
-Gear Selector linkages
-Coolant Expansion tank
-Radiator/oil cooler mounts
-Exhaust
-Tachometer Pod

Later we will be receiving our ad pack from A1 BMW (http://www.a1bmwspares.co.uk/), with our stickers and hopefully some other ads to spice up the exterior, motor sport style.

Within two weeks, our new clutch will arrive. It is a stage two carbon kevlar setup from F1 Racing Clutches. At 125 pound delivered, it really is not all that different in price to a standard unit, is good to 258 hp and 250 lb/ft. Along with these parts will come a new timing belt and tensioner, too. Can never be too careful when buying and using a second hand car/engine..!

As a final note, if you know of someone with a suitable engine crane, we would offer our first born to use it for a week to get this swap in and out... we are still looking for one to borrow! Please, anyone?

-Alden