Saturday, August 20, 2011

E30 Front subframe modification

So the following tuesday we had our new shop helpers, Brian and Roy, come by to lend a hand. Also Belina came by later to lend a hand. Full shop! We were all really busy for this night- so didnt get to take many pics, but these guys were a huge help.
For the last couple weeks Carlos and John have been plugging on this front subframe. The pics are few and far in between, but this will give you a basic idea how it was done. Another fellow 02 enthusiast had recently told me "many have tried, but very few have completed" regarding the front subframe swap. So needless to say theres very little info out there regarding this. Noones mistakes to learn from. But here goes.
 First thing was of course was measuring. Done a few different ways... repeatedly..  And then a mock up, using scrap metal.
Now its ready for the e30 subframe mounting holes in our new frame rails.

Here it is, ready to weld.

After some test fitting, Carlos and I banging it back and forth for an hour making sure its straight- John jumps in and tacks it on



This one shows clearly the difference in width between the two.
 At this point we're ready to start welding. Filling in the voids with anything we can.

John gets it all nice and boxed in using gussets on the inside/flat plates to fit on the out. Finished pics soon to come. John with the welder in his hand= put the kids to bed.
More info, and finished pics on this later.
Meanwhile..Brian and Roy started chopping up the doors. Skinned them to the point where they arent too flimsy. Then de-burring the edges. Hate to chop up somewhat rust free 02 doors, but the pain goes away when you feel how much weight was taken out..
Towards the end of the night we also covered a little ground on the rear. We bolted the rear subframe one final time, strapped in the stock 02 subframe supports, and started working on the diff mount. We really wanted to do a dual ear e36 cover on the e30 diff.. Maybe later..

And just for fun, jacked the trailing arms to somewhat ride-height... .. ... yea, its ridiculous. hahaha

Until next time.

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