Hi, guys.
Just wanted to start a thread to detail the build of my 1987 190E 2.3-16 project car. For those who don't know, this is the one with the twin-cam 2.3L engine with a head designed and built by Cosworth Engineering. These were true homologation specials built for Group A racing. They're most famous for their success in the German DTM series in the late '80s and early '90s as the main competitor to the E30 M3. They hit the scene a couple of years before the M3 and were directly responsible for some design elements found on the M3 and later E36 models.
I'm going to outline the build in this thread.
First, some inspiration...
http://www.race-media.tv/2010/videos/vl ... dia.tv.wmv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-AxiVqihM&hd=1
My Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 "Cosworth" build
My Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 "Cosworth" build
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
The car
After searching for over 1 year, I finally found a clean California car with zero rust, no accident damage, a strong engine (180psi across all 4 cylinders), and the coveted Getrag close-ratio Euro gearbox with dog-leg 1st.
My goal is to slowly turn it into an early DTM replica ('86-'87 seasons) for use in VARAC Group 70+ and other vintage racing. I may also enter it in NASA GTS and possibly SCCA.
The bulk of the build is being done by Guten Parts + Service (GPS) in South Orange, NJ. The car is going to race under the "GPS Motorsport" banner. We're working in close collaboration with DENT Sport Garage (DSG) in Norwood, MA. Not only do the guys at DSG have lots of experience building rally and hillclimb cars, but they are Cosworth specialists. In fact, one of the co-owners of the shop (Alex Grabau) is largely responsible for turning me onto the idea of building up a 190E 16v. Without Levent at GPS and Alex at DSG, the build would never have gotten off the ground.
Here's the 16v as it rolled into Guten Parts in March 2010:
The wheels are vintage Carlsson alloys that Levent found for me. They're made by Ronal and are pretty much identical to the ones they made for Hartge. They're staggered 16x7.5" front and 16x8.5" rear. They're gorgeous! We actually had the wheels months before we found a suitable project car.
One of the first upgrades we did to the car was to replace the stock sliding calipers for 4-piston Ate calipers from a 400E sedan. Sadly, the Carlsson alloys had to go. They were a tight fit to begin with, and there was no way in hell they'd ever clear the new brakes.
My goal is to slowly turn it into an early DTM replica ('86-'87 seasons) for use in VARAC Group 70+ and other vintage racing. I may also enter it in NASA GTS and possibly SCCA.
The bulk of the build is being done by Guten Parts + Service (GPS) in South Orange, NJ. The car is going to race under the "GPS Motorsport" banner. We're working in close collaboration with DENT Sport Garage (DSG) in Norwood, MA. Not only do the guys at DSG have lots of experience building rally and hillclimb cars, but they are Cosworth specialists. In fact, one of the co-owners of the shop (Alex Grabau) is largely responsible for turning me onto the idea of building up a 190E 16v. Without Levent at GPS and Alex at DSG, the build would never have gotten off the ground.
Here's the 16v as it rolled into Guten Parts in March 2010:
The wheels are vintage Carlsson alloys that Levent found for me. They're made by Ronal and are pretty much identical to the ones they made for Hartge. They're staggered 16x7.5" front and 16x8.5" rear. They're gorgeous! We actually had the wheels months before we found a suitable project car.
One of the first upgrades we did to the car was to replace the stock sliding calipers for 4-piston Ate calipers from a 400E sedan. Sadly, the Carlsson alloys had to go. They were a tight fit to begin with, and there was no way in hell they'd ever clear the new brakes.
Last edited by Emre on Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
SLS and a/c delete
One of the first jobs we tackled was to strip some of the useless crap out of the car. First off, the a/c system had to go:
Then we tackled the "SLS" system (self-leveling suspension). That involved removing the engine-driven pump, oil accumulators, and miles of tubing. Here's Levent removing the lines:
Here are the oil accumulators we pulled:
Finally, the SLS pump itself. It's driven by the exhaust cam:
We weren't able to remove it completely, but we pulled out the guts and sealed it with a custom aluminum plate:
Then we tackled the "SLS" system (self-leveling suspension). That involved removing the engine-driven pump, oil accumulators, and miles of tubing. Here's Levent removing the lines:
Here are the oil accumulators we pulled:
Finally, the SLS pump itself. It's driven by the exhaust cam:
We weren't able to remove it completely, but we pulled out the guts and sealed it with a custom aluminum plate:
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
New wheels and initial suspension work
When we got the car, it already had the SLS system disabled and the OEM stocks and springs had just been replaced with some fresh H&R Sport springs and Bilstein Sport dampers. We'd keep them for now. An eBay search lead us to some Eibach swaybars. Here's a comparison between the OEM rear sway and the Eibach (powder-coated orange):
Installing the front swaybar was relatively simple. But the rear bar install was a major PITA; it basically involved dropping the whole rear subframe! But we did it.
Since the Carlsson alloys had to come off the car, the search was on for suitable replacements. I went to a local swap meet and scored a set of new-in-box Racing Dynamics RGS alloys in 17x8" ET30 with the correct bolt-pattern (5x112") for the Mercedes. We had some custom centering rings made and test-fit them to the car...
Looks like they're going to be a tight fit. The good news is they clear the 4-piston Ate calipers...barely!
Installing the front swaybar was relatively simple. But the rear bar install was a major PITA; it basically involved dropping the whole rear subframe! But we did it.
Since the Carlsson alloys had to come off the car, the search was on for suitable replacements. I went to a local swap meet and scored a set of new-in-box Racing Dynamics RGS alloys in 17x8" ET30 with the correct bolt-pattern (5x112") for the Mercedes. We had some custom centering rings made and test-fit them to the car...
Looks like they're going to be a tight fit. The good news is they clear the 4-piston Ate calipers...barely!
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
AMG fender spacer kit and Brembo brakes
To make a little bit more room, we installed the AMG front fender spacer kit. It's a series of bolts and urethane spacers that flare the front fenders out to gain some extra extra clearance. They were needed to fit optional AMG alloys.
Here's the front part of the kit, where the leading edge of the front wheel arch meets the trailing edge of the front bumper:
Here's the rear half of the kit:
Here's the new position of the front fender:
Doesn't look too different, but it buys you almost 1cm of extra clearance under the front fenders. Too bad there's no similar kit for the rear.
Meanwhile, I was able to get a hold of a pair of 4-piston Brembo calipers for my car. These were OEM fitment on the 190E 2.5-16 Evo II (the Mercedes version of the E30 M3 Sport Evolution), but they were available in the US on the very early 500E sedan. The Brembos are significantly lighter than the cast Ate calipers and only a tiny bit larger. Here's a comparision:
While I was at it, we also found a straight set of R129/Evo I alloys in 16x8" ET34. They're pretty heavy (and have a face only a mother could love), but they're a perfect fit and clear the Brembo brakes with room to spare. We put some Hankook R-S2 rubber on them for the time being.
Here's the front part of the kit, where the leading edge of the front wheel arch meets the trailing edge of the front bumper:
Here's the rear half of the kit:
Here's the new position of the front fender:
Doesn't look too different, but it buys you almost 1cm of extra clearance under the front fenders. Too bad there's no similar kit for the rear.
Meanwhile, I was able to get a hold of a pair of 4-piston Brembo calipers for my car. These were OEM fitment on the 190E 2.5-16 Evo II (the Mercedes version of the E30 M3 Sport Evolution), but they were available in the US on the very early 500E sedan. The Brembos are significantly lighter than the cast Ate calipers and only a tiny bit larger. Here's a comparision:
While I was at it, we also found a straight set of R129/Evo I alloys in 16x8" ET34. They're pretty heavy (and have a face only a mother could love), but they're a perfect fit and clear the Brembo brakes with room to spare. We put some Hankook R-S2 rubber on them for the time being.
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
Track test
After all the work was done, we took the car to my favorite track, Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, for a workout last August. Here are a few pics from the car's track debut:
As you can see, we had some serious body roll to contend with, despite the upgraded suspension (H&R Sport springs, Bilstein Sport dampers, and Eibach swaybars front & rear).
The track work really showed the car's strengths and weaknesses. The engine and gearbox were a peach. High-speed stability was excellent. Braking was phenomenal. However, the rear of the car was very, very difficult to control in the corners. It would start to load up, then lose grip without warning. It happened so suddenly, that the ensuing slide was almost impossible to gather up. The fact that the LSD was totally worn out made things even worse.
Clearly, something was very wrong with the rear suspension and would need to be sorted before our next track outing. The season was over, so the car was basically mothballed until the end of the winter.
As you can see, we had some serious body roll to contend with, despite the upgraded suspension (H&R Sport springs, Bilstein Sport dampers, and Eibach swaybars front & rear).
The track work really showed the car's strengths and weaknesses. The engine and gearbox were a peach. High-speed stability was excellent. Braking was phenomenal. However, the rear of the car was very, very difficult to control in the corners. It would start to load up, then lose grip without warning. It happened so suddenly, that the ensuing slide was almost impossible to gather up. The fact that the LSD was totally worn out made things even worse.
Clearly, something was very wrong with the rear suspension and would need to be sorted before our next track outing. The season was over, so the car was basically mothballed until the end of the winter.
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
Sorting the rear subframe
After the winter, the 16v went back to Guten Parts where we began to tackle the rear suspension. They soon found the problem:
The rear subframe had cracked! The cracks were causing the rear to lose camber and gain toe-out under hard cornering. No wonder the rear end felt like it was on casters! On top of that, the subframe bushings were shot, so the whole thing was moving against the chassis:
The cracks were welded:
We'll eventually buy a new rear subframe, have it reinforced/gussetted, and powder-coated. But this one should be fine for now.
While the car was in the shop, we did some basic maintenance work, including replacing the alternator and fuel injectors. Here are the old ones:
The rear subframe had cracked! The cracks were causing the rear to lose camber and gain toe-out under hard cornering. No wonder the rear end felt like it was on casters! On top of that, the subframe bushings were shot, so the whole thing was moving against the chassis:
The cracks were welded:
We'll eventually buy a new rear subframe, have it reinforced/gussetted, and powder-coated. But this one should be fine for now.
While the car was in the shop, we did some basic maintenance work, including replacing the alternator and fuel injectors. Here are the old ones:
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
Cage work
Now that we finally have the car in good running condition, we sent it up to DENT Sport Garage (DSG) to get started on the cage. The car is being build specifically for historic racing, but I wanted the cage to be SCCA compliant as well as to meet the rules for NASA GTS. We decided on a 6-point cage fully contained in the passenger compartment (not extending past the front or rear firewalls). Tying the cage in to the front strut towers and rear shock mounts would have lead to a much stuffer chassis, but it would bump us out of the classes we were considering.
We settled on a basic 6-point design without any extraneous bars (to keep weight down). As much as this is a historic race car, it will still see most of it's use in an HPDE setting. I strongly prefer to drive my car to and from events, so we designed the cage such that I can still fit some race tires in the back seat area...4-door sedan FTW!
Here's how things look right now...
As you can see, the main bar is mounted very far back in the chassis. This was done for several reasons. First, we wanted the foot-box for the main hoop to tie not only into the frame rail, but also into the rear cross-member. Also, we wanted to move the weight back in the chassis and clear up room for my lanky-ass limbs.
A related goal was to mount the seats as low as possible in the chassis. I'm 6'1" and like to sit very upright in the car. Due to the funny shape of the W201 190E floorpan, we decided to integrate the seat mounts into the cage itself. You can see what I mean here:
This weekend, Alex installed the window net using the Bimmerworld mounting kit with the flex tube. And he started work on painting the cage...
Coming along nicely.
We settled on a basic 6-point design without any extraneous bars (to keep weight down). As much as this is a historic race car, it will still see most of it's use in an HPDE setting. I strongly prefer to drive my car to and from events, so we designed the cage such that I can still fit some race tires in the back seat area...4-door sedan FTW!
Here's how things look right now...
As you can see, the main bar is mounted very far back in the chassis. This was done for several reasons. First, we wanted the foot-box for the main hoop to tie not only into the frame rail, but also into the rear cross-member. Also, we wanted to move the weight back in the chassis and clear up room for my lanky-ass limbs.
A related goal was to mount the seats as low as possible in the chassis. I'm 6'1" and like to sit very upright in the car. Due to the funny shape of the W201 190E floorpan, we decided to integrate the seat mounts into the cage itself. You can see what I mean here:
This weekend, Alex installed the window net using the Bimmerworld mounting kit with the flex tube. And he started work on painting the cage...
Coming along nicely.
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
Coilovers and seats
While the car was in storage over the winter, we got in touch with Jay at Ground Control. Turns out he's a closet 190E fanatic and had some ideas for what we could do with the car. We decided to build a custom coil-over conversion using linear Eibach race springs and double-adjustable Koni race dampers. Here's what Jay came up with...
Prototype front strut from Ground Control vs. stock
Strut housings done and power coated GT3 Orange
Prototype rear suspension set-up
We decided to keep the rear suspension a separate shock and spring design (rather than a true coilover) due to packaging issues. We already have very little rear fender clearance. A true coilover would require even lower offset wheels, and we just don't have the rear fender clearance to make that work. More on our fender woes in a later post...
We also found a pair of FIA-approved race seats complete with aluminum mounting brackets. I bought these from a NJ Chapter member who advertised them here on our forums.
Recaro Pole Position seats (before cleaning)
I'm not too crazy about the color of the seats (I wanted black). But they're light, FIA-approved, and I got a good deal on them locally. So I jumped on them. They cleaned up pretty nicely and don't look too bad.
Prototype front strut from Ground Control vs. stock
Strut housings done and power coated GT3 Orange
Prototype rear suspension set-up
We decided to keep the rear suspension a separate shock and spring design (rather than a true coilover) due to packaging issues. We already have very little rear fender clearance. A true coilover would require even lower offset wheels, and we just don't have the rear fender clearance to make that work. More on our fender woes in a later post...
We also found a pair of FIA-approved race seats complete with aluminum mounting brackets. I bought these from a NJ Chapter member who advertised them here on our forums.
Recaro Pole Position seats (before cleaning)
I'm not too crazy about the color of the seats (I wanted black). But they're light, FIA-approved, and I got a good deal on them locally. So I jumped on them. They cleaned up pretty nicely and don't look too bad.
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
And now...some bling-bling.
OK, I know this is a really minor issue, but it was bothering me.
I've never been a fan of the huge chrome grille up front. IMNSHO, it makes the 16v look like a dowdy old man's car, rather than the DTM beast it is. I wanted the car to have the "shaved" Euro look, and that chrome grille had to go.
Levent found us a pair of brand new OEM grille surrounds to play with. He had his fabricator fill in the holes for the hood ornaments by welding in metal (not just smearing on body filler), then sent them out to his powder-coaters where they were coated in black semi-gloss:
I think the finish came out gorgeous; similar to BMW's "Shadowline" trim package, which is exactly what we were going for. I'm very happy with it. Will add more pics once it's on the car.
While we're on the topic of bling, Levent ordered me some Euro headlights made by Bosch. They're a much smoother design, with a single-piece glass lens rather than the multi-piece plastic monstrosity mandated by the DOT. I'll probably throw some Lamin-X on them before my next track event.
I've never been a fan of the huge chrome grille up front. IMNSHO, it makes the 16v look like a dowdy old man's car, rather than the DTM beast it is. I wanted the car to have the "shaved" Euro look, and that chrome grille had to go.
Levent found us a pair of brand new OEM grille surrounds to play with. He had his fabricator fill in the holes for the hood ornaments by welding in metal (not just smearing on body filler), then sent them out to his powder-coaters where they were coated in black semi-gloss:
I think the finish came out gorgeous; similar to BMW's "Shadowline" trim package, which is exactly what we were going for. I'm very happy with it. Will add more pics once it's on the car.
While we're on the topic of bling, Levent ordered me some Euro headlights made by Bosch. They're a much smoother design, with a single-piece glass lens rather than the multi-piece plastic monstrosity mandated by the DOT. I'll probably throw some Lamin-X on them before my next track event.
Emre (OO=[][]=OO) 318is
-
BJerolimic
- Posts: 747
- Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:24 pm
- Location: Glen Ridge, NJ . . . . . . '98 318ti - '01 M5 - '08 X5
One of my favorite cars - yours looks like fantastic and it's cool to see someone building one of these with competition in mind. Post some videos of your next track outing!
Mike K
1972 Citroen SM
1989 Milano Verde
1989 Mondial t Coupe
1989 Peugeot 405 Mi16
1992 300D 2.5 Turbo
1993 900 Turbo
2001 E55
1972 Citroen SM
1989 Milano Verde
1989 Mondial t Coupe
1989 Peugeot 405 Mi16
1992 300D 2.5 Turbo
1993 900 Turbo
2001 E55