The end is near....SCOTTeVEST's Baby

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rear-spax.jpg
I have some new rear shocks (Spax, adjustables) for sale cheap: $80 plus ship.



Fronts may be avail?

https://retrocar-international-shop.com/SPAX-TAG1069-I-adjustable-front-sport-strut-insert
 
teahead said:
I have some rear shocks (Spax, adjustables) for sale cheap: $80 plus ship.
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Are these the advisable kind I should get? I read too quickly and see that you mention these are new.Thanks so much.


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teahead said:
It's only money, but I guess bigger sway bars help too: http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/item/e9swaybars.html
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do i "need" them for non-track use? Will I notice the difference? My gut tells me that if i didn't even notice my brake line was broken for rear right brake, this may be overkill, BUT if I am likely to have a better ride, etc. I'm all in. Let me know what else i should be considering, esp if the body shop can easily install.
 
Scott, Don’t get carried away with all of the things you COULD add. Your 74 has a larger sway bar than earlier coupes anyway. Use the same shocks on all corners, Bilstein is the way to go, they can be added later with the springs.
 
scottevest said:
do i "need" them for non-track use? Will I notice the difference? My gut tells me that if i didn't even notice my brake line was broken for rear right brake, this may be overkill, BUT if I am likely to have a better ride, etc. I'm all in. Let me know what else i should be considering, esp if the body shop can easily install.
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Scott, nobody has your butt so it’s unlikely any of us will know if you can feel the difference with the upgrades sway bars or whether you will like it if you do notice. I have Bilstein HD’s and the CN springs on a ‘74 and the ST bars made an easily noticeable different (in the very first curve). The reduced roll quickens up the reaction speed of the car similar to what happens when you go from. 70 to a 50 series tire, and the bars also noticeably reduced understeer. If this were a race car I’d definitely want to try it without any rear bar (which should improve overall rear grip). For only $200 I feel the ST bars with adj rear are a great value.

But, bars are easy to do anytime later in your driveway so if there are other needs, take care of those first.
 
I just bought a set of bilstein b8s,for a project. from german eBay.
They were here in Canada in a week w/ free shipping. Inexpensive too.
From here..
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bilstein-B...R-AXLE-BMW-2000-3-2-Coupe-E9-4X-/352249571931

I have bought from the place below, they were a bit slower, probably due to some special needs I had...but I saw they HD some bilstein b6s were available for E9 coupes.
Like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bilstein-B...R-AXLE-BMW-2000-3-2-Coupe-E9-4X-/352249571931

Just throwing this out there....
 
I replaced my whole suspension in one shot. It was on original worn out struts and shocks with stock sway bars. It went from a terrible vague floating barge to a wonderfully planted stable sport coupe. My butt and GPS agreed it was money well spent.
 
not sure how one gets to 4500 for wood unless you send it to madera concepts or make it new from scratch. its a PITA to change the dash as you really need to have the windshield out to put it back in. so when a car is properly painted, the windshield is generally out. not sure how much Bela22 charges for a set of wood, but i thought it was around 1000 / 1200 (plus shipping to and from eastern Europe). then you have to put it in the car. it takes a couple of hours do put the 4 pieces on the doors ... might take a day to get the dash wood removed and reinstalled (i could be way wrong on this ... but i doubt that its more than 2 days even if you have never done it.

now, i could see recovering front seats could easily cost 4500 bucks
 
aearch said:
WHY not get ground controll like i did
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I like coilovers, but I can think of a number of reasons why Scott might want to avoid them:

1. Overly complex for the task at hand and the intended use of the car
2. More expensive than traditional shock/spring setups
3. Require modifying your original strut housings or donating them up as cores, or paying the core charge
4. Reputable shops like La Jolla have already figured out a sporty ride height and recommended shock that is well received by owners
5. Scott probably doesn't want to erase *all fender gap or tuck his tires into the wells - so why bother
6. The actual springs don't look factory, he may not want a boy racer look
7. You can't buy matching rear coilovers. The e9 is not setup to accept custom rear coilovers without clearance issues and a guarantee that you will blow out your rear shock towers. Adjustable rear spring pads are not coilovers.
8. Scott isn't as shadetree mechanic, he would need to pay a shop $80/hr to do all of the testing and adjusting
9. There are no racetracks in Idaho. He may have a hard time finding a shop adept at suspension tuning
10. There is very little information published on good spring rates and dampening for e9 coilovers setup for highway use.
11. It is risky. A poorly setup coilover system could perform worse than a testing traditional setup.​

I think coilovers are cool. Like most people, that would be my primary driver for getting a set. I've always wanted a set and I wouldn't be opposed to building them myself with some IE collars. However, I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that I would constantly tweak and tune them to extract maximum performance. The truth is that I would figure out the settings one time and never touch them again. They are overkill for 95% of e9 owners.
 
rsporsche said:
not sure how one gets to 4500 for wood unless you send it to madera concepts or make it new from scratch. its a PITA to change the dash as you really need to have the windshield out to put it back in.
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I'll clear up my comment that refinishing the wood is $4500. It's well known the VSR does all my restoration work.
Windshield out. Dash dismantled all instruments removed and all wood removed. $600
All wood packed up and sent to Madera Concepts. $100+ insurance
Madera Concepts re-veneered all wood in grain matched French Walnut with a satin finish. $3000
All wood packed up and sent to VSR. $100 +insurance
Windshield still out, replace dash and instruments and rebuild interior. $800

So there's $4500 + shipping. Your mileage may vary.

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Woke up to this email from Gary... Seems like end of March is too optimistic for completion. BTW, will be ordering shocks/struts on Monday. Thanks for all the advice on that. bilstein b8s or HD bilstein, or are they the same. Going to pass for now on the anti-sway bars for now, but reconsider later.

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Good morning Scott,

Good am to you too!

I know you don't want to hear this but, putting a time of completion my not be in Your favor.

I don't want to rush, if it will affect quality, etc.

1. Paint does need to cure before reassembling
understood.
2. Attention to detail is not taken lightly and takes time
agreed
3. With new springs the right adjustments need to be factored in ( shocks if at all possible).
ordering shocks this weekend. I found them. I am told adjustment is not that hard though and we will need proper alaignment at Les Schwab
4. Trunk and engine compartment need attention.
understood

I could go on but I think you know what I'm saying.

yes
My plan is to work toward a very happy customer and Solid foundation for the cars future. Remember it's Bennyz rod shop, I will not let your car sit idle if at all possible.
so long as we have all parts etc. and car is not sitting, i understand

please provide list of ALL needed parts, including bolts/screws, etc. for belt trim and sound proofing, etc. or whatever rubbers needed, including from the images sent yesterday on shock towers and the parts you identified yesterday.
I'd like to get all the parts ordered by Monday if possible.

Thanks very much. I really do appreciate it.

when does painting start? can't wait.

Thank you. GFF
 
Please let me know which shocks/struts you advise:
Going to pass for now on the anti-sway bars, but likely will add that at a later date.

Thanks all.
 
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