Croc

Time to wake up this thread with another of my project cars - BMW E9 CSL Coupe. If I knew what I knew now, I am not sure I would have started this project as is snowballed....big time. I started in 2014 when I imported the car to the US. Its base state was a tired race car. Was running the 1990 era BMW M5 S38 3.5L straight 6. But it had corrosion issues. Much of the panels were not the CSL aluminum. I thought it would be a strip and sort. I was wrong - it ended up going bare metal restoration. What I started with: That eventually ended up like this. Complete strip[ back to bare metal. The strip back was educational as we really did not have much information on the history of the car. The BMW Motorsport livery is a distraction - it was never a BMW Motorsport car. It started as a French market CS coupe in Malaga red. At some point it was converted to a race car. Its second color was silver and in the research with BMW Historic folks in Germany, an old photo of a French hill climb car was surfaced with Group 2 CSL body kit. The holes found in the strip back seem to support that body kit being on the car before. Then it went white at some point and a Group 5 body kit installed. I have a photo which I think is the 80s of the car in Martini livery in France (based on period cars around it plus its license plate). At some point after that it went from Martini livery to the BMW Motorsport livery. The work needed was substantial. New Matter roll cage as the old one would have punch the floor through in a roll over! New CSL aluminum panels - steel frames of the hood, trunk and doors were skinned in aluminum - all done by hand by a specialist in California who was spectacular with an English wheel. New fuel system. Totally refreshed suspension. All new dash/wiring. For the initial phase the engine, diff and transmission were kept as is. A lot of the swiss cheesing on the frame was already done for weight reduction. These are not light cars. The ground up Motorsport cars were around 2300-2350lbs. Converted road cars were more like 2400-2450lb even after the Jenny Craig Despite the level of swiss cheese below plus the new aluminum skin, the trunk lid is still not a light panel! Given the history was vague, it was suggested to go with a tribute livery of the Alf Gebhardt 1978 Daytona car. The original of this car is still running on track albeit with a Motorsport livery. Using the 1978 photos, the livery was replicated in vinyl. The thinking was if the history ever becomes better known, then this could be reversed. At this point the car came back to me for some initial testing. The S38 engine was way down on power. The gearbox was a road box so overdriven 5th gear. The diff seemed like a moonshot ratio - I was getting overtaken by aggressive E30 328s on track. Handling was not bad but it needed fettling. Brakes were modest. Lots of bump steer. Interior got the race dash plus Motorsport center console. Steering wheel is the correct BMW Motorsport original. Next step was to Korman's in SC for a new engine, install the close ratio "race gearbox" and a new 40% slip LSD. The engine was done as an M30 block, 3.5L, straight 6. I decided I could not afford the $130-150K for an M49 4 valve cylinder head (that would need to be be refurbished) so I stuck with the 2 valve cylinder head out of expediency. That was not a mistype of the price. I also decided the Kugelfischer injection with slide throttle was going to be pricey and somewhat fiddly to maintain. I decided on 3 webers - they do not give up much on the Kugelfischer. They also sound good. Korman also installed the power steering as I found it too heavy in manual mode on track. Engine is dry sumped. Because of packaging issues, the dry sump tank cannot be located in the engine bay. So it is located in the trunk. Good for weight balance but....I have what seems like a couple of miles of oil hose going from front to back through the cabin. The engine building exercise took a LONG time. They built one and had it on the dyno when it melted down. Turns out the dry sump system failed from a manufacturer fault. So they had to build a brand new engine again for me (at their cost). I believe some of their other customers also suffered. ouch. Engine has a little over 300hp at the flywheel. Injection would add 15-25hp depending on the engine builder exaggerating. The M49 cylinder head (if I could buy one) would add 100hp. Cost for that is about $1300-1400 for each hp. I am still in a period correct configuration so can upgrade if I find a cylinder head. Some vintage classes allow the later S38 engine to be used - it is a 4 valve head. I still have that engine at Kormans to rebuild.

Yes, been there many times before. In a few too many cars, I have started one project only to descend into full rebuild territory because things just cascaded. Welcome to old cars! Keep the spirits up and push through. You will get to the other side.

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Did you buy something and happen to ignore the "I will not ship internationally" notice on the item for sale? What is it? Is it small enough for me to carry it onto a plane or would I end up in security for trying? I am there in the week of May 22 for work and a track day - the item could be shipped to my Caterham in Stratford and I carry it home. However, I never check luggage on flights so it better not be liquid or big. Alternatively, you could: 1) Look up Mail Boxes Etc in the UK and contact one of the nearest branches to set up a Fedex/DHL/UPS pick up of the item and then ship to you. 2) Contact Fedex or DHL and do the same. I doubt they will do it as you need to be physically present to sign the US importation paperwork - its a terror security requirement.

Calling @yellowss7 What oil do you use in your Rover K series?

@mca I have stuck with the Avon ZZS front and rear to avoid changing the gearing too much (on the rears) and also not to create too much of a clearance issue on the front wings. Will the Falken 205 fronts rub on the wing stay? I use the ZZS as my wet track tire on both my CSR and the 420R I have for track days in the UK. I find it very good as an all round performance tire. I have never tried the Falkens to be able to compare sorry.

Hey its not a race. I don't mind people posting classified ads with cars for sale here.

oh wow! What an amazing achievement. I have heard of only 2 others getting their car to the same mileage as you. Major milestone!

Definitely will be road registered. Choice of state is a wait and see for now. To get from my garage to the track is 75 yards of public road so I register all my cars, even the race cars (e.g. the BMW CSL), to be able to trundle to the circuit without needing a trailer. As for ready by September? That depends on Bruce's schedule with race season. Racing comes first for him. It is possible to be done by then - will he have the time? I know I will be struggling to find time as I have a ton of travel on the schedule for the rest of the year. 50/50 odds right now.

Given your location, you will have a chance to see it in action. The plan is testing and shakedown locally in the Seattle area on a friendly track. Will need to calibrate gearbox shifts, brakes and suspension to set it all up.

The standard Caterham ECU is a MBE 9A4. I have gone with an MBE 9A9. So have full OBDII. Full digital dash and gearbox integration. In the last of my photo threads, referring to the third photo, the 9A9 is the box under the shelf. The box on top is a wiring box that looks like a 9A4 ECU but is really just facilitating the Caterham wiring harness into the ECU I am using. For wheel sensors, I am using Bosch ones on all 4 wheels. The May 30, 2021 post shows the custom reluctors and wheel sensor mount sites. I have a model number for the Bosch sensors somewhere if you need it. Technically, the wheel speed sensors and the ECU could handle ABS brakes - all we would have to do is buy the Bosch ABS kit and install it on the calipers. While that was contemplated, decision was made not to as the brakes work great as they are so why complicate things any further. I have adapted the standard Caterham brakes with a proportioning valve but once the brakes are fine-tuned I don't think I will need to touch the valve again.

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Time for an update and progress has been made! The missing pieces on the Sadev gearbox that were needed to sort out the gear change have now been received and are installed. This was the source of the over 12 month delay. So nothing stopping the gearbox from now being bolted to the completed engine and installed in the car. Well...maybe Bruce's race season....which is about to kick off. The Tractive suspension is installed and wired in - ready to go. The ECU adaption to Caterham wiring harness is complete. Because the ECU was a MBE upgrade over the standard Caterham ECU, a bridge box was needed (mounted on the shelf above the actual ECU) which has the sole role of just plugging into the existing wiring harness. The extra pin ins/outs are then wired in separately. A non-standard ECU was needed anyway as the engine was going to use a bespoke tune rather than a Caterham tune. The upgraded ECU can then integrate engine and Sadev for engine cut during gear change plus throttle blip on downshift. Given the hp levels, it was also fortunate the upgraded ECU can handle traction control at the same time and integrate that with the throttle control for the gearbox. Wiring is done - Digital dash and switch gear (following the 620R style). The screen on the right is the Tractive suspension control panel. The two knobs to the left of the screen are the launch and traction control knobs. The little black round dial to the left of the switch gear is the gear indicator. The box on the tunnel up under the dash is the suspension ECU. The rats nest of wiring is best seen here. Its all labelled. The scuttle is removable with screws rather than rivets so access is easier than normal. The black round tank in lower region of photo is the air tank to power the pneumatic gear shifts for the paddle shifter. Finally, a way forward is available. Engine and gearbox install next.

Definitely yes

More details to follow but block your calendars

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Will post the weekly summary of ads on Monday AM as I am flying today.

Caterham on Bringatrailer Original-Owner Caterham Seven SV Roadsport for sale on BaT Auctions - ending April 22 (Lot #104,806) | Bring a Trailer

Not a local car I know of

You bought a mountain bike? In Florida? Flattest place on earth?

@wdb I have the leather version of that seat in the passenger side of my Caterham. Only catch is I am over at Millville NJ which is probably further than you want to drive.

Why didn't you tell me you were there? I would have stopped by. I spent the morning doing car tasks between my garage and the airport hangar.

It more reminds me of a KTM X-Bow rather than a Se7en replica.

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