MadaboutKitcars

It's a couple of weeks since I got the car registered and on the road and i've clocked up about 280 miles on the speedo, so i thought i'd start a new thread of my driving experiences.
Driving the Sportster is exhilerating and fun and puts a big grin on my face everytime I get in the car. It handles well and the suspension is surprisingly compliant. Driving without a windscreen, with just goggles, is a thrill at even comparatively low speeds!
I drove the car to work last Thursday, a round trip of 44 miles and haven't arrived at work with such a grin, ever! I have to pick days that has a good weather forecast as it's only open air car park and I don't yet have any hood or tonneau. The car ran with absolutely no issues and the weather was great all day. It caused quite a stir with my colleagues who expected something a bit less impressive
Last Saturday, Pauline and i decided to go out for the day. The target was to get to the sea so we set the satnav to Brighton and roads suitable for 40mph (a comfortable cruising speed with goggles). It was baking hot and we got stuck in traffic only a few miles from home. I kept a close eye on the temp gauge sitting in the traffic but the fan worked fine switching on and off as required. We past Hampton Court and crossed the river with a very quick stop to put on sun tan cream as my head and arms were burning.
Then off down through Leatherhead and down the A24. We stopped at Box Hill and had lunch at the the top of the hill at the National Trust tea shop. After lunch, it was back down the hill and headed of down the A24 crusing at 40-50-60 mph.
After about 45mins I noticed a hesitation in the engine when pulled away from roundabouts. It gradually got worse but luckily we were about 5 miles from my sisters place at Henfield so we headed there for a pit stop. I had a hunch it was fuel stavation and sure enough there was 'crud' in the fuel filter. It only took about half an hour to sort. Then I took my brother-in-law for a quick ride. He has a 'real' Lotus 7 and was most impressed with the ride of the Marlin.
We then headed on to Brighton and topped up with petrol. 20 litres takes my fuel gauge from 1/4 up to full. We then got stuck in a horrendous grid lock traffic jam on Brighton promenade and we crawled for about an hour. It was getting late so we decided to head for home. A few miles outside Brighton, I had to stop and tighten the nearside front mudguard which had twisted and was rubbing on the wheel. This is definately something that i'll need to modify as it happened again about 5 miles from home.
We got home without any other issues at 10.15pm, tired but amazed we had travelled so far (about 170 miles) without any major issues and nothing has fallen off (yet?)
Things to do:
1. I need to raise my seat at the front to tip it back a bit
2. See if I can move the brake pedal across as it's a bit tight fit for my right foot on the throtte pedal
3. Stop the mudgaurds moving!
4. Clean out the fuel filter again
5. Get a windscreen and hood
6. Get it painted................


7. then.........get a bigger engine

I'm 1/2 way through no 5 Good your having fun

(I keep having naught thoughts about the LS1 engine... but only in a number of years time as its quite pricey getting a crate motor and the paint has priority)

Now that would be fun

I came across this article again last night...........

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2003/08/01/emfmarl02.xml

I had a good chuckle to my self as it reminded me of my run last week.

woose

I put another 150'ish miles on the clock at the weekend with a trip up the A40 to the Cotswolds. Very dissappointing not see another kit car on the whole journey??
I haven't raised my seat yet, but i've got used to the pedal spacing so no need to make any adjustments now i've got used to the driving position.
I hope I have fixed my wing stay problem.
On Sunday morning I removed the U clamp, cleaned all the paint off the upright and roughened it a bit with a round file to make a good key. I then cut very small hacksaw cuts on the inside of the U bit of the clamp, just about 0.5mm deep cuts to make really sharp little teeth. I then applied some 'JB Weld' epoxy glue and tightened up as much as I could with some new locknuts. I then applied more glue around the clamp and warmed it up with the hot air gun to make it flow. (the glue is not there to hold it on, just to stop it rotating under vibration)
I'll take and post a picture, but it didn't seem to move a millimetre on the trip out on Monday. I also reduced my damper settings. I'm now running on just 3 clicks from softest and the ride is nice and smooth with less 'hopping' over bumps.
I also cleaned out the fuel filter again on Sunday. Still getting some very fine residue being caught by the filter after three tankfulls of petrol.
I have developed an intermittant connection on my speedo resulting in an unstable reading occasionally. My guess is its the connector that plugs into the sensor on the diff. I might solder some wires on permenantly and junk the BMW connector.
Oh yes, and the exhaust bracket that keeps hitting the ground every time I go over a large speed bump or ditch will need to be modified!

happy building............
(P.S. Pauline is really pleased and impressed how well the heater worked on the way home as we arrived again after dark. Driving the Sportster in the dark, no windscreen, on full beams and the driving lights on is terriffic fun! :madgrin

here is a picture of my epoxy 'welded' wing stay clamp....



it'll look better when re-painted.

Do you think this might fit in a Sportster engine bay?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-740-4-4-ENGINE-Engine-code-M62B44_W0QQitemZ130201989669QQihZ003QQcategoryZ10374QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Now wouldn't that look pretty?

I've had the tape measure on the one in my dad's 840Ci Sport - it would go in I think but it would probably need a bulge on each side at the front Although shorter than the M20 its very wide.

Still with a manual box that would be sweet.

It pulls 2 tonnes around very easily, especially on kick down. So it would be enough to scare the living brown stuff out of you in a Sportster sized car!

The sound it makes although subtle is awesome.

It amazing when your doing over 100mph push the pedal far enough to activate the kick down switch you get almighty shove up the back side as it drops down a few gears! At 80 the engine barely gets past idle.

I wish I could afford the fuel to drive one on a daily basis to work.

We could just cut slots in the side bonnets and let the engine stick out the sides, like a hot rod?

I do keep telling him to be careful that I might "borrow" his engine he he.

I think buying a complete 97 740 might be a good option then you get all the electronics you need to run it too. Should be relatively cheap these days, especially if the bodywork is bashed up

Twin side pipes and no muffers

(The diff hanger would probably need some work to stop it wrapping itself round the tank though)

Some clips to drool over:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX0YK7nNdR8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4evh-gkWV4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e__FOteXdRs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocs1HRe15M4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A57qo8rvKp4

Yes i've noticed that 'donor' cars with big engines have got almost as cheap as second hand engines. With the price of fuel and new road tax rates planned means that prices have really dropped.
I wasn't seriously thinking of fitting that engine but it does look very pretty!

I was browsing for a newer low mileage M50 engine.(just planning at this stage as i still have windscreen, wipers etc to fit)
Any recommendations of which one to go for? I assume Marlin have some engine mounts for the M50 engine and I think it'll fit on the e30 gearbox?
I don't want to mess around with the interior gearstick fittings etc.

I have seriously though about it

The gearbox from the M20 will fit on M50/M52 engines, but it will be at a different angle, about 20 degrees off IIRC. You'd probably be better of with a new box to match then the gear stick won't be at the wrong angle. The should sit in the right place though, plenty of E30's running around with M50/2 engine and gear boxes.

Personally my choice would be the M52B28 that Richard has in the compact. Starts out life with 190bhp. Stick an M50 intake manifold on (much larger pipes) and a BBTB and you looking at 220bhp. There's a chap that does kits. And a suitable rolling road map and you'll get anything up to 240bhp. Rock solid engine too.

I've seen the B28's go for less that 1k at times. Should be some E36's out there quite cheap these days - you can even get M3's for 4k.

In the M50/2 range I'd avoid the 2ltr its not got enough grunt really about 150bhp.

Thanks for the good advice.
There are certainly lots of cars on ebay so I've started my 'market research'

Do you know if i'll need a new/modified propshaft and do you think the e30 diff would take the 190bhp?

I might have too look for some 325i rear hubs/disk brakes as well because I fitted the old drums from my 320i (although they do work rather well!)

thanks, Peter

No sure about the prop there are different fittings either end of some of the models. Normally with the E30 what you so it mix and match front and rear bits to fit.

190bhp is no problem at all for the medium case BMW diff (large case in E30 range). I'm running at least 200bhp through mine no problems.

Richard is running 236bhp through a small case diff at the moment which seems to be doing OK a bit of a noise from it but it had that before the engine swap (he's got a medium case LSD in the garage to go in at some point)

With the weight of the Sportster I think you'd be find with drums at the back, lots of corba's out there with ford drums at the back.

The M52 325 engine also had 190bhp but has less torque than the 2.8. The 2.8 was deliberately strangled with the intake manifold to fit into a German taxation bracket which is why you can achieve such high gains just by swapping the manifold over. There's a 323 I think with 170bhp and the 320 with 150.

Thanks, that's very helpful.

(I hope my wife doesn't read this forum )

hybrid propshaft

Just my pennys worth-I have an e36 2.5 m50 in my e30 chassis,with an e30 diff at the back.After a little searching, I found that the e36 2.5d prop fitted to the front and I mated this with an e30 shaft at the rear- the splines matched perfectly, rear section was shortened and balanced.

Thanks, Jeremy.

Did you use Marlin supplied engine mounts or did you have your own made?

thanks

Peter

engine mounts

I used marlin supplied mounts-although I had to state that it was an e36 engine i was using.

Peter

I did a lot of research into the engine options for my Cabrio, before deciding to go for the M50 2.5.
My decision was based on:
As relatively new design as possible
As efficient as possible
Electrically simple

Patrick is right about the M52. When BMW replaced the M50 with the M52they had to meet tougher emission/insurance regulations. They then had to increase the cc upto 2.8 to achieve the same power output as the M50 2.5
By simply changing the inlet manifold from the M50 2.5 on to the M52 2.8 will take the BHP up to 220BHP. These are advertised on ebay and I have seen them make £100 each. I have one which I may well sell in the future when I am sure my modification to my manifold has proven successful - we have to chop 75mm out of the manifold to fit it in the Cabrio - not sure if you'll have to do the same in a Sportster - I guess you may have to as ???? has a purple Sportster fitted with the M50 and he has fitted a special home made glass fibre elbow, but I think this is believed to restrict the air flow at the top end.
Have a look at my site on flickr to see the drastic action necesary to make it fit a Cabrio.
I chose not to go down the M52 route as the engine electronics are tied in to the cars central locking system and even the electronic key- so if you do go down this route be prepared to either adopt the entire M52 wiring loom, or make sure you know a good BMW electrician who can reprogram the chip to blank off the ingition switch, door lock sensors and all the others before the engine will work.
If you are prepared to take on the electronics of the M52 it should be a lovely engine with twin Vanos (variable valve timing on both inlet and outlet valves) the M50 has only single Vanos on the inlet.
If you do decide to go down this route, please log all your progress as I shall be very interested, as I decided the M52, was the best engine, but bottled out on the complexity of the wiring. I'm quite happy to cut lumps of metal out my chassis, but I have very limited electrical confidence/knowledge.

One last point - the gear linkage length can easily be changed on a standard E36 gearbox - see my site/Simons:he cut and welded his mechanism, but you can find different length standard linkages from different models so should be able to find what you want.
Let us know what you finally decide to do, as this is really interesting.

Regards
Mike

I have been watching this thread with interest - not that I am likely to change my engine installation now 90% of the way through the build.

So what is the advantage of the M50 over the M20 - is it purely that it is a more modern engine? For the guys like me that have already installed an M20 I can't help thinking it would be a lot of hassle changing to the M50 - all those brackets to make, exhaust and fuel systems to sort, electrics to do... Would it not be a better solution just to change to an after market engine management system like Megasquirt?

Just sittin' on the fence for a bit here ;-)

Robin

Robin
The M50 has 24 valves with variable inlet valve timing, making it more torquey (is there such a word?) at much lower revs. It is smoother, quieter, and more fuel efficient, and delivers 192BHP. The M52 with twin Vanos is more refined still, and the 2.8 with an M50 inlet manifold will achieve 220BHP.
For me it was not about absolute power but, low down revs torque. i just happen not to like engines which sound like screaming banshees - hence a nice slow revving straight six. I did consider a V8, but the BMW will certainly not fit the Cabrio engine bay, and the Rover appears to only deliver 150BHP, and very low fuel consumption.
I gues it is horses for courses - know what you want from your engine, and then choose one to suit your own well defined criteria.
As you say.........all very interesting. has anyone used the M52 in any type of Marlin?
Mike

What about this one? http://jward.info/Delivery%20of%20the%20Donor%20Parts%20June%202003/target20.html

Looks interesting anyway.......

Robin

Oh dear, now you have really got me interested!! I wonder if that is Jeremy who posts on here?

You see i really enjoy the challenge of solving problems and now Mike has confirmed the M52 electronics are really complicated you've proabably made me even more interested in having a go!!

It's a bit of an illogical sequence but i'll explain my thought process.
It starts with a rather worn and noisey (tappets) M20 that has already done 170k miles. As most of you know, it's a 2 litre version and when I first drove the car it felt like a rocket, but you soon want more!
So i started looking into refurbing the head. Probably £400+ gaskets etc for a decent one but then the crank might be worn or the pistons, etc, etc. The parts for a refurb also add up to £200-300.
So I started browsing for a second engine but who knows if any other M20 would be better than mine The BMW's drive so well most engines are high mileage and the low mileage ones could be clocked or unknown condition.
So then i start looking at M50's thinking there will be little difference and an easy swap. Then Patrick puts me straight and points out I need the gearbox as well since the M50 is mounted at a different angle.
He goes on to comment on the M52B28, so I took a look at Wikipedia and oh boy what an engine! It won all kinds of awards and I could go from 130bph to 190bph to 220bph - yikes!

It's all an academic exercise at the moment as I still haven't finished my car and haven't had the time to even drive it in the last four weeks! (House DIY, holidays, etc!)

I've already decided that if I was going to embark on this course I would buy a complete car to get all the necessary parts. Mike's input above has confirmed that is needed because of all the electronics. I broke the news to my other half that I was just thinking of swapping the engine but haven't owned up to thinking of buying another whole car and practically re-buidling the Sportster (well, she would only worry!)
Whole cars are dirt cheap for what you get and I think with the road tax going up soon they will get even cheaper.

Like I said, just a paper exercise at the moment...........(...but I've already invested in a Bentley manual - oh dear...)

Peter

If you go back to page 3 of the Sportster/Cabrio there is a thread called "Unhappy owner". He has bought an M3 engine to go in his kit, but was looking to sell it. I know he was offered £3k for the engine gearbox wiring etc. Dont know if this is in the dream budget, but what a car it be..............