E12 struts lower than E3/E9 struts

[Mike Goble]

While looking for a way to lower the nose on my E3 by about 1/2" to better match the new rear setup I discovered that the lower spring perches in my E12 struts are about 1/2" lower than the E3 perches. I would imagine these would also fit an E9.

E3 - about 16-3/8" from the lip of the perch to the end of the flange.

E12 - about 15-7/8"

 

[bavbob]

I bought used strut housings for my E3 because the perch had rusted through. After replacing all parts like pads and bushings etc with BMW parts, it sat about a 1/2 higher on one end c/w the other. I broke down both sides again and constructed them identically, same issue. Spoke to Chris at La Jolla and it seems that the housings differ by years among the E3 and among the E9. Since the things are so hard to find and not cheap and it's a crap shoot, I am living with it for now.

 

[Stevehose]

They also have different strut locking rings than e9

 

[Mike Goble]

The locking ring on the E12 strut is m48 x 1.5, the E3 strut is m50 x 1.5. The E3 strut insert fits right down into the E12 tube. Since I have relatively new Billy Sports, and they're expensive and hard to find for E12s, I'm going to modify the E12 strut to fit the E3/Bilstein nut. J.W. Winco makes an $8 m50x1.5 steel bearing locknut that will fit just right. Improvise, adapt, overcome.

 

[Mike Goble]

Welded the m50x1.5 nut onto the E12 strut. Put three 5/8" washers in the bottom of the tube to take up the slack. Dropped the Bilstein into the tube and tightened the nut. Worked like a trained pig. Dropped the front of the car by 1/2".

 

[DerSchwede]

Nice work, Mike!

 

[Luis A.]

Mike, this looks interesting but I'm not sure what I'm looking at in the picture. Is that the nut welded on top of the tube, it looks too deep to be just the nut. What exactly is forming that deep thread?

 

[Stevehose]

improvise. adapt. overcome.

 

[Mike Goble]

Mike, this looks interesting but I'm not sure what I'm looking at in the picture. Is that the nut welded on top of the tube, it looks too deep to be just the nut. What exactly is forming that deep thread?

The tube is threaded to m48 x 1.5, and the nut is an m50 x 1.5. You are looking at both sets of threads and you can see the separation about 1/2 of the way down.

 

[Bavman]

On the e3 race car I think I used e12/m535 tubes or they may have been 79-81 635 euro....a little shorter and a little more neg camber built in if I remember correctly. Plus they have the biggest bearing/stub.

I had several sets of struts to "try out" I remember once I had big bearing hubs on regular e12 struts, didn't work too well, luckily a guy let me borrow the hubs off his e12 street car for the weekend...


If anyone wants to try any of these, I have both US e12 and Euro e12/e24 strut tubes available. Sorry to jack your thread Mike, will buy you a beer sometime.

Feel free to email me direct about Bavaria (and coupe...)

Thanks

Al Taylor
[email protected]
ex "Cowvaria" infamous Holstein painted race car