Tim's Mystic Blue ZHP Coupe

[d-rod]

Who else likes silver trim over black ?


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[BMWCurves]

Who else likes silver trim over black ?


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Everyone. I'm dying for a Silver Cube set for a coupe

[t.er]

With the car in storage, there’s not a whole lot going on… so I decided to work on some stuff I could do without it. Since I’m back at school, and all undergrad classes are online, the machine shop is pretty much dead. So why not take advantage of the quietness to make some tools!

First up are the spring seat wrenches. The previous owner of my coilovers couldn’t find them anywhere, so instead of buying new ones I decided to make my own. $2 of 3/16” steel plate, a few minutes on the waterjet, and a quick spraybomb later I had this:



(I know, I know… the bends don’t match up because I stupidly bent both the same way the first time, when they should be mirrored parts. It’ll still work.)

Next up are the toe jigs. I took some measurements on my car before putting it away, and decided to mount into the two hood latch holes in the front, and the two hooks on the inside of the trunk sill.

Once again, sticking with the theme of making everything on the cheap – all I had to pay was a few bucks for fasteners and a short piece of ¾” round aluminium stock. The extrusions themselves were all being recycled so I snagged a bunch.

Started off with a CAD model:



WIP:





Done! Crossing my fingers they’ll fit.



These are the pins that go into the hood latch holes:



A few days later, I was helping my friend diagnose a small coolant leak, so it was the perfect opportunity to test fit the jigs! They fit nice, but snug – so much so that you have to lightly push it against the bumper for it to go on. I was planning on wrapping some pool noodle or MF towel around the areas that rub on paint, I’m hoping there’s enough leeway to allow for that. Worst-case, I’ll just remake the horizontal front-to-back pieces a little longer. I’ll re-assess in April when I’m able to test it on my car:



Next was the steering rack alignment tool which is sold by Turner Motorsports. This tool sandwiches between the inner tie rod nut and a shoulder on the rack housing, which ensures the steering is locked straight when doing alignments. This is much more effective than a steering wheel lock, as the guibo on the steering column still allows for torsional flex. I haven’t had the greatest of luck with keeping a centred steering wheel with my previous DIY alignments so I’m hoping I can dial it in much better with this tool, along with the toe jigs.

Thanks to a couple people on a couple forums, I was able to gather dimensions to machine my own:





I also acquired a set of scales and will be making leveling pads but as that’s likely not until next year, I’ll leave that for the next post.

[BMWCurves]

Cool! I wish I had access to a nice shop like that while I was in undergrad.

[t.er]

Cool! I wish I had access to a nice shop like that while I was in undergrad.

Yeah, it's definitely handy. I'm making the most of it before I graduate next summer!

[johnrando]

Those are awesome.

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[kakashi169]

damn tim, nice work! I need to hear over to you garage to check in. my e46 probably has a lot of problems lol

[t.er]

Those are awesome.

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Thanks JR!

damn tim, nice work! I need to hear over to you garage to check in. my e46 probably has a lot of problems lol

Lol no way... I watched that video you posted of your car, it's a very clean build. And for sure Daniel, hopefully once COVID blows over!