When I bought my coupe it was generally pretty sound structurally and cosmetically. Decent paint, little rust. Also, with the exception of the worlds noisiest ZF the drive train was solid. Good start.
The car had had very little use for the past 20 years and brakes needed to be gone through as well as clutch hydraulics. Rebuilt or replaced masters, slaves, etc. and new shoes all around.
OK...the basics done, now to the electives. Suspension. This car is a keeper so I was not interested in half steps. Do it once, do it right and never touch it again.
Best luck of owning this car in Northern California is having Mr. Don L. in my backyard. Immense resource and a truly skilled craftsman. Win...win.
Other nice thing about NorCal is being close to Hardy & Beck. If you were in the U.S. and had a BMW in the late 1970s thru 80s...and performance was of interest, these were the go to guys. Essentially BMW's Alpina West. I think I had a second mortgage on my house to support the money spent in their shop on my 1972 2002 in the late 70s. All good stuff in the day and the results were amazing. Stellar car.
So...with this car I'm back at their shop. They have a suspension package for E9s. Not dissimilar to Carl's, but developed and refined when the cars were in production. Their own custom wound springs and special valved Bilsteins.
Don did the install. Not a faultless process and he stayed pretty cool...seems H&B hadn't sold this kit in a while and left out a few bits.
Also important to note we replaced EVERY rubber bit in the suspension...and with all OEM BMW stuff including tie rods ends. diff mount, rear swing arm bushes, yada, yada.
Kept stock 18mm rear sway bar and switched to a E12 23mm front bar (thanks Chris) both with new rubber bushes / not poly. H&B recommend this combo as they do not recommend overly stiff bars given the flexi E9 and tendency to rip itself apart if too aggressive.
H&B package is supposed to drop the car about 1 1/2" and to be honest I'm seeing a little less than an 1" over the old suspension (which obviously had dropped over 40 years). Low as I wanted initially...no. But it is really growing on me. Not obviously dropped...just a bit more aggressive than stock. As this car is largely original..OK 16" staggered Alpina's... it it a nice compromise.
All that aside...ultimately it is about ride / handling. Just finished a 1100 mile round trip to Southern California and have to say the ride balance is just about perfect. Stiffer for sure, but totally compliant. Can't unsettle the suspension or seemingly place a wheel wrong. Unflappable. Go cart...no. But, wow, this thing hustles in the right way and surprises a few more modern "sporting" rigs.
Lots of options out there, and all new rubber bits ups the base line, but really pleased. And that compliment does not come without some perspective.
John
The car had had very little use for the past 20 years and brakes needed to be gone through as well as clutch hydraulics. Rebuilt or replaced masters, slaves, etc. and new shoes all around.
OK...the basics done, now to the electives. Suspension. This car is a keeper so I was not interested in half steps. Do it once, do it right and never touch it again.
Best luck of owning this car in Northern California is having Mr. Don L. in my backyard. Immense resource and a truly skilled craftsman. Win...win.
Other nice thing about NorCal is being close to Hardy & Beck. If you were in the U.S. and had a BMW in the late 1970s thru 80s...and performance was of interest, these were the go to guys. Essentially BMW's Alpina West. I think I had a second mortgage on my house to support the money spent in their shop on my 1972 2002 in the late 70s. All good stuff in the day and the results were amazing. Stellar car.
So...with this car I'm back at their shop. They have a suspension package for E9s. Not dissimilar to Carl's, but developed and refined when the cars were in production. Their own custom wound springs and special valved Bilsteins.
Don did the install. Not a faultless process and he stayed pretty cool...seems H&B hadn't sold this kit in a while and left out a few bits.
Also important to note we replaced EVERY rubber bit in the suspension...and with all OEM BMW stuff including tie rods ends. diff mount, rear swing arm bushes, yada, yada.
Kept stock 18mm rear sway bar and switched to a E12 23mm front bar (thanks Chris) both with new rubber bushes / not poly. H&B recommend this combo as they do not recommend overly stiff bars given the flexi E9 and tendency to rip itself apart if too aggressive.
H&B package is supposed to drop the car about 1 1/2" and to be honest I'm seeing a little less than an 1" over the old suspension (which obviously had dropped over 40 years). Low as I wanted initially...no. But it is really growing on me. Not obviously dropped...just a bit more aggressive than stock. As this car is largely original..OK 16" staggered Alpina's... it it a nice compromise.
All that aside...ultimately it is about ride / handling. Just finished a 1100 mile round trip to Southern California and have to say the ride balance is just about perfect. Stiffer for sure, but totally compliant. Can't unsettle the suspension or seemingly place a wheel wrong. Unflappable. Go cart...no. But, wow, this thing hustles in the right way and surprises a few more modern "sporting" rigs.
Lots of options out there, and all new rubber bits ups the base line, but really pleased. And that compliment does not come without some perspective.
John
