Bav Build (Stella Sparks 1972 BMW Bavaria)

[BAVacious]

My Husband (TheNeek) and I finally received our '72 Bavaria over the weekend. The interior is immaculate, but the exterior is in need of some TLC.

About the Bav:
3.0 with triple 45 DCOE Webers

Plans for car: (I'm sure this list will quickly grow)
First and foremost the car needs STANCE
New wheels (Currently looking)
New brakes
Tune and clean the carbs
Install duel exhaust
Re-chrome bumpers and trim (Bumpers have a bit of rust)
New paint

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_DSC5828.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_DSC5837.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_DSC5870.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_DSC5980.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_DSC5977.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_DSC5999.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_DSC5986.jpg

Much luv to Mike B. for taking these photos while visiting AZ

[M.Burroughs]

I think brakes should be on that list too. :stickoutt

[BAVacious]

Right. I felt like I was forgetting something. I can't get my signature to show up in my post. (Nevermind I guess it just worked)

[Dr.AK]

This sounds promising. :)

[TheNeek]

Sweet ride! There's one just like it parked in my driveway :D

[verlumpt]

nice addition to the stable. Will be a nice companion to the E21.

[Burn535i]

i can tell great things are in order

[frink84]

sweet project. i love bav's. chrome the webers while you are at it with the bumpers!

sidenote: i like how clean but "used" your garage looks

[BAVacious]

chrome the webers while you are at it with the bumpers!

Thats a solid idea

sidenote: i like how clean but "used" your garage looks

I think the garage deserves to be as clean as the house considering we spend quite a bit of our time out there

[Chris@MemoryFab]

sick car:)

[BADwayz]

I cant wait to see progression pics!

[tonyguy]

Wow, it must be really awesome to have a wife that enjoys the same things you do! Congrats on the find, you're really lucky. BTW, Nice Bav too.

[schroedin]

Jealous!

[Royal_T]

OMG I love Bavarias,, I know you guys are going to make this one hell of a build. Can't wait..

[RedE46Bimmer]

Well going by your other build................subscribed! ;)

[SeanDub]

Awesome

[bataangpinoy]

would you guys trade that wheel for a nardi wood grain?

[grippymonkey]

very very cool!

[BAVacious]

would you guys trade that wheel for a nardi wood grain?

Do you have pics?

[bataangpinoy]

mhmm. hang on

[B Rod]

Wow, that should be quite a project. After seeing the E21 results, I expect NO less with this one. :D BTW, are those 80s Camaro rims?

[bataangpinoy]

nardi wood grain, has some baby hair line cracks in it but they are not noticable visually and are not felt in the hand.

http://i702.photobucket.com/albums/ww21/bataangpinoy/e30tech%20r3vlimited/e305.jpg

[marko]

jeez, you guys have some nice cars! bet money its gonna look as good as the bronze one once done.

[frink84]

BTW, are those 80s Camaro rims?

they look like it, i believe they have the same lug pattern (5x4.75in/120mm)

[riffman12]

awesome

you guys win

[schroedin]

awesome

you guys win

Everything, forever.

[TheNeek]

At Mike's Request.... I did a mild edit. I'm trying to teach myself.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z45/m42power/Bav/Polished.jpg

Steph got after all of them. She cleaned the filters and re-oiled them too.

[M.Burroughs]

My LORD those cleaned up!

[schroedin]

So fresh! It looks like a new one though.

[BAVacious]

BTW, are those 80s Camaro rims?

Yes. They are Z28 wheels

here's the wheel you want.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r111/BarryM6/DSC_0034-1.jpg

Nice, but I think I'll keep the leather. Thanks for the offer.

[BAVacious]

Today we decided to adjust the ride height and de-redneck the Z28's. Nic used the 4.5" grinding wheel to add low. We went as low as our driveway would allow. I prepped the wheels for paint while my super awesome husband used his spray ninja skills to add some color to the Z28's.

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/IMG_8901.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/IMG_8907.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/IMG_8912.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/IMG_8916.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_MG_8920.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_MG_8923.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_MG_8943.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/_MG_8936.jpg

[verlumpt]

nice... lower is better!! Still needs a bit more, but gotta get in the driveway.

Not sure on the wheels, are different as is that color.

How about some daytime pics?

[schroedin]

Haha thats awesome. What exactly did you do to lower it?

[TheNeek]

Haha thats awesome. What exactly did you do to lower it?

http://www.drumsanders.net/images/pictures/dewalt-angle-grinder--7in.-8500-rpm-15-amp-model-d28474w.jpg

[TheNeek]

Coil count... how many removed?

I removed about one off the front (not counting the flattened first coil). Same on the back. Steph has about an inch or less of clearance on our driveway. The blown shocks and the thought that the coils might settle a little kept me from going further. I'm glad I didn't.

I got your PM... I'll give you buzz tonight after we do the brakes on the Bav.

[frink84]

I could be wrong here..
RonP new bav

http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=66166

i saw ronp's bav at BBB09 this past weekend. cant wait to see both this bav and ronp's come together

[bjh102]

i one day hope my wife is as cool as you! looks like another sick project.

[BAVacious]

i one day hope my wife is as cool as you! looks like another sick project.

Thanks for the compliment. Keep your eyes open she might be right in front of you or in Nic's case right next door. We were next door neighbors, which made dating super convenient.

[M.Burroughs]

socute.

[BAVacious]

Yes please

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/RSLeft.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/NSFoster/BMW/RSRight.jpg

[B Rod]

Do work!!
http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=529

Edit: Only the driver side is tinted in the 1st pic. :shifty

[frink84]

*falls out of chair*

amazing.

i also love the collection of bimmer "eyes" peeking out of the garage in the first shot

[Gator]

so hot

[SeanDub]

I dig it

[mpower5266]

Send me two of the webbers thanks.











I cant wait to see how this goes, the 320 has inspired me very much on how my 02 is going to come out.

[Burn535i]

so nice, although i kind of expected something like this with you being at his house

[schroedin]

Num numnumnumnumnumnumnumnum

[E36Bimmer93]

This car is going to be/ already is beautiful... and Nic you're a lucky man. You're wife just added a long list of requirements to my perfect woman list ;)

[psiglx]

all i can say is WOW!!!

[scrape]

heroin! straight dope

[TheNeek]

so nice, although i kind of expected something like this with you being at his house

If only the E21 had a 5x120 we would have tried them on both of our cars. I really love the look of these saucers on the Bav. So classy.

[6erWebb]

^^^ I was just thinking who could give those up those are some of the rarest wheels Ive seen...:shifty

[Fatandre]

This car is amazing. Any update on it?

[Rickysbmw320i]

Come on Stef!

[vonMonster]

all i can say is WOW!!!

+1!! :cool

[TheNeek]

whoops:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z45/m42power/_MG_9579.jpg?t=1269301231

Wearing the badge now as well:

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z45/m42power/_MG_9583.jpg?t=1269301438

[SeanDub]

Need more

[BMWerke]

drool!..MORE pics

[TheNeek]

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z45/m42power/_MG_9586.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z45/m42power/_MG_9605.jpg

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z45/m42power/_MG_9626.jpg

[schroedin]

I **** you for owning them both :(

[morgan@gillismotorsports]

god dam that is sick.. i love the wheels

[Jedidiah]

More people need to see this thing.... BUMP.

[frink84]

DAMN. so nice

[Bavaria-guy]

bump!

more pics please

[LuckyBoyOne3]

Almost a year without any updates?! The Foster family should be ashamed!

[magoo_lc1]

Camaro RS rims in the first shots? Love the new look

[TheNeek]

New state -- A smidge more progress.

My wife has wanted air on the Bavaria (Stella) since the moment we purchased it. It's a bit difficult to find air struts that are pre-fabbed for a car that was made when Nixon was elected president. Not being the type that takes one on the chin, I gave Jesse and Corey at AirLift a call and said "What's the deal?". What they schooled me on was that there is no excuse for anyone to not have air on their car if they want it. These "Universal Strut Kits" are designed with the fabricator or general suspension shop in mind. The struts come in two lengths. I had to get the shorter version because of what I measured on the car.

Nothing less then laying the car out was acceptable.

First things first, I had to pull the springs on the the car to check the fitment.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6196/6071880904_f0eaa706fa_b.jpg

This looks awesome, but it actually poses a bit of a problem. The car, with bags would have to go 3 to 4 inches lower than this to put the frame rails on the ground. Easily fixed, we'll just have to remove the spacers for now.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6090/6071337321_8bdbd5583b_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6088/6071881362_3aaaa11ac7_b.jpg

That'll do for the rear.

I started in the back with the struts. I hung the universal sleeve strut from the rear strut tower and raised the suspension up to the meet it. This would be the fully aired up ride height.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/6071337717_5989daa282_b.jpg

Measuring from here it was evident that with the rubber bushing on the bottom, the car wouldn't get as low as we wanted. So what does StanceWorks do when it's not low enough?

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6074/6071337871_31a0a7acec_b.jpg

Cut an inch off the bottom of the strut obviously. The bottom of the sleeve struts are threaded for use with an ACME bolt. That way you can adjust the height of the car at full up by threading in and out. We won't have that option. There was a seam on the strut that was for welding, I cut the strut up to this seam because I would be doing something different for the bottom mount than the clevis mount that was standard for most cars.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/6071338077_b648eb3ccd_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6195/6071881096_9e3854de67_b.jpg

The rubber bushing and housing was cut off the bottom of the stock rear strut. We wrapped them in wet towels to limit the amount of rubber we melted. There were still a few small fires that smelled like Stewart Little was doing burn outs on my work bench, but everything worked out. We will most likely make some new bushings from stock material.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6181/6071338295_cf65a8716d_b.jpg

Mocked up. The real trailing arm was lifted, with the cut bushing, in place to meet the strut assembly. This measured out much better with the shortened strut. Cleaned up the paint around the bushing housing and the strut and tacked these pieces together.

The fronts are a bit more complicated. Here the angle of the strut plays a significant role on the camber of the vehicle. The universal strut is provided with a sleeve that slips over the strut body. This sleeve gets welded to both the stub axle and the universal strut in our particular application.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6084/6071346373_3f757a999c_b.jpg

The sleeve has a notch in it for the damper adjustor to protrude through. This had to be kept in mind before welding because the adjuster needs to be bolted on after all is said and done.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6088/6071338657_39983f7646_b.jpg

Removed the old struts and started working on the old tube. This bracket is for the brake lines. I decided it would be best to just sepearte it from the old tube, leave it attached to the brake backing plate and weld it onto the sleeve that AirLift provided. Save us from having to fab something new, or just use zipties or something.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6193/6071338835_5a68933cf9_b.jpg

Trimmed down the original strut tube but didn't take it clean off. The AirLift sleeve is too wide to fit in the original stub axle position, but we could use the original strut tube to help align the new sleeve. Cleaned up the metal for welding.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6061/6071890972_0645f37186_b.jpg

AirLift provided some plate for the top hats. I marked the holes as they suggested and tossed a smidge of camber in there. Bolted them up after tacking in the studs for attaching them to the car.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6077/6071338439_91bea8f612_b.jpg

Propped the stub axle up on a 2x4 to keep it flat. Using a screw driver, bubble level, eye ball, and many other calibrated pieces of equipment, the tube was lined up and tack welded. The tack weld was still some what flexible so it wasn't permenant until I got it in the car and tacked some more.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6188/6071347631_047ce63d6d_b.jpg

Hanging the strut cartride from the strut tower and bringing in the now tacked stub axle in from the bottom, I could mate the two sections. The stub axle was jacked up into the car until the measurement I had taken earlier was achieved. Checked the camber, made sure my adjuster would fit through the notch in the sleeve and then put some more permenant tack welds on both the stub axle - sleeve interface and the strut cartridge - sleeve connection.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6181/6071350297_6b369cc943_b.jpg

The only thing left was finish welding. There ya have it. Air struts for a 1972 BMW Bavaria. Don't be affraid to build what you can't buy. You can see the adjustor on the rear strut right there. It really is a quality ride so far.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6183/6071882916_23ff812e3b_b.jpg

My garage doesn't have a hoist, mill, lathe, or secret machinest lurking in the shadows. Just the wife, me, the trusty 4.5" angle grinder, 110v welder and other assorted essentials.

Mission Accomplished:

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bPp4iG7efWs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Riskant]

:alright :alright

Nothing but respect and <3

[apuapina]

Fuck me sideways, that is insanely awesome.

[crf1877]

Nice work. Nice Bav.

[fromthelbc]

i came like 5 times while watching the video

[Bavaria-guy]

Amazing work guys, would you like to fly out to Denver and do mine next please? ;)


No seriously........will you?

[TheNeek]

No seriously........will you?

Will I need to ship my tools?

[Curt_pnw]

Was that Travis taking the video? lol
Damn is pretty much all I can say too. The amount of tuck you guys get in the rear renders me speechless every time I see it. haha

[Bavaria-guy]

Will I need to ship my tools?
I will supply tools and beer :eyebrows

[TheNeek]

Was that Travis taking the video? lol
Damn is pretty much all I can say too. The amount of tuck you guys get in the rear renders me speechless every time I see it. haha

Yeah Curtis, it was Travis. I'm fairly happy with how low the car is as well. I think we might be able to squeak a little more out of it.

[Royal_T]

That vid just blew my mind

[340i]

legendary! awesome work :D

[blowntwofive]

amaziiinngggg

[Curt_pnw]

Yeah Curtis, it was Travis. I'm fairly happy with how low the car is as well. I think we might be able to squeak a little more out of it.
You are so close to laying frame, but it sits on the subframe now right? I have no doubt you'll get it a bit lower.

[TheNeek]

You are so close to laying frame, but it sits on the subframe now right? I have no doubt you'll get it a bit lower.

The drivers side is on the front frame rail. The passenger is on the long tube header. And the rear sits on the muffler. So with a new exhaust, including a shorty header, we'll be on the frame rails up front and close to the diff or rockers in the back. When the body work happens the frame rails might get flipped.

[OpelWagenGT]

This thing is amazing as is your e21. I have seen both in person and have nothing but compliments for you. Your thread gives me so much motivation to get my air ride project going.

keep it up

-Aron

[on1wheel06]

love the build!
keep up the good work!

[LuckyBoyOne3]

Nick! Stephani! Show us some updates!

[TheNeek]

The Bav is on jack stands right now. A little wheel test fitting fun, a few air leaks fixed. Still doin the front Accuair sensors.

[softg]

that bavaria is legendary

gotti's, so choice

[Gottalovethexi]

Hope to join this amazing bavaria in the air game this winter..!

[/inspiration]

[Milten]

I want the previous setup back :(

[laBeef]

Clean as Fawk!!!

[exexpat]

New pics?

[miracLe]

Those wheels are freaking perfect.

[Flavourless]

Love this so much. Can't wait to see this in person this year

[exexpat]

Love this so much. Can't wait to see this in person this year

I thought you were at Tailored, Ryan? Nik lives pretty close to us, he is just in Silver Lake. Maybe we should meet up at Costco and drive other there :D

[Flavourless]

I thought you were at Tailored, Ryan? Nik lives pretty close to us, he is just in Silver Lake. Maybe we should meet up at Costco and drive other there :D

Jeremy I wasn't able to make it to tailored last year because of work :/ I remember Nik saying he was moving to the Silver Lake area. Are you up this way too?

[exexpat]

Jeremy I wasn't able to make it to tailored last year because of work :/ I remember Nik saying he was moving to the Silver Lake area. Are you up this way too?

Yup, I am near Forest Park off Mukilteo Blvd. about 15 minutes from Nik/Costco.

I want to see more pics of the Bav though. Apologies for slight threadjack. We do need to do a single malt meet at one of our places though...

[Flavourless]

Yup, I am near Forest Park off Mukilteo Blvd. about 15 minutes from Nik/Costco.

I want to see more pics of the Bav though. Apologies for slight threadjack. We do need to do a single malt meet at one of our places though...

oh nice I am just off of 99 near 112th, didn't realize you were so close. A little gtg is definitely in need.

[G535]

Wow, great car! Just saw Burroughs' pics of it yesterday! Keep up the good work!

[TheNeek]

I want the previous setup back :(

What was the previous setup?

I want to see more pics of the Bav though. Apologies for slight threadjack. We do need to do a single malt meet at one of our places though...

Pictures right now would just be the car on jackstands :D. Maybe by the end of the week she'll be back on the ground.

[amichaels]

god i love this thing.