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This car has already been featured in Revs, Fast Car
and Performance BMW's cover. The car is now being rebuilt again and I
feel sure will find its way back into the mags once completed.
It has had our Animal front bumper for a while now,
but will shortly be treated to the whole kit.
To be honest the project will be a little more
complicated than that. The Animal kit was designed for 18 inch wheels
which were current at the time. Now with every one fitting 19's and 20's
to hatches 18's just seem a little small, and most of the wheel designs
boring. |
Mik shares our view that wheels can be a little more
interesting, and has imported at very great expense some awesome looking
20 inch wheels and tyres from America. These are actually quite tame
compared to some of the wheels I saw when I was out there - but I love
them . I believe these wheels are called "Barbs", the reason
for which soon becomes clear when you wash them - the bits are razor
sharp!!!. It's not easy to fit them to an E36 - we had to cut huge chunks
out of the car, but at the end of the day they were on there and the car
drives without catching at all!!
As always the first job was to strip the car, and the
second to get the wheels on, after that the styling package can be built
around the wheels. Virtually everything will have to be redesigned or
changed - the arches will have to be custom built again (just like the
ones we already did for Danny's E36 feature car), the skirts shortened,
and both bumpers extensively modified. |
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You can just make out the fact that the inner and outer wheelarch have
been welded together to replace some of the strength taken out when the
arch was cut away for the tyres to clear.
This is absolutely vital for safety, for your
insurance, and MOT. We have seen people whom don't know what they are
doing just fill the gap with filler (Dantec design!) - DONT its dangerous, and illegal
for road use. |
| Front Arch modifications are extensive to clear tyres, and to provide
fixing for the arches that are to cover the extra width. As you can see
its all welded for strength.
Below you can see the strip of metal that has been welded to the car
to provide something for the skirts to fit onto. Note also the fact that
the holes for the trim fixing clips have been welded up prior to being
filled over.
If you just fill them then the filler can sink or
break off - much better to weld them especially of the doors which are
slammed shut regularly.
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The bare metalwork is then laminated prior so being
sanded, and then screwed to the car once fully cured. The arches are
then bonded to this laminate. Its a long winded approach, but its this
belt and braces method that ensure our bonded on parts won't crack. |
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As you can see the arches and skirts have been bonded
on. We didn't have time to take photos during the process as its a two
man job and was done at Midnight, but you could check the other project
cars for details of bonding/foaming skirts and arches.
As always once the bonding products have gone off its
a matter of removing the securing screws, sanding everything, and then
starting the filler work. The complicated work has now all been done -
only the custom bumpers to go. The arches are so wide the standard ones
won't fit, and with the grill on the front between the arches and bumper
its even more complicated than normal. |
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Now in metalflake rainbow paint, and with the upper screen spoiler
installed the car has evolved once again.
The airbags fitted to the rear of the car are an absolute godsend
allowing the car to be raised at the touch of a button for extra
clearance. This clearance is really needed now that a pair of very heavy
20 inch subs have been fitted.
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| This car belongs to Mik from www.style-and-grace.com
where you should see more information about the car and his services or
phone 07976353496. |
