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The big brake conversion may not mean what you think. Swapping 320i rotors and Girling calipers does not change the diameter of the front brakes, but actually changes the setup from unvented to vented disks. Since one of my stock calipers was seized I decided to do the swap. I had the calipers already and called Dave Varco at Aardvarc Racing to send me the hubs, rotors, bearings, and wheel studs.
The swap is very easy. Disassemble the stock setup.
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Pack the new bearings and install the 320i hub.
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Trim the dust shields for clearance and install the new calipers.
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One of the problems with the swap is that the stock 13" wheels no longer fit. That's actually a benefit though because my 15" Rota RBs with Yokohama S-Drive tires look much better.
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The Stock 75 bumpers are simply hideous. Luckily it is fairly easy to swap them out for the older style. This month I swapped the rear bumper with one from a 70-73. A very good explanation of the procedure can be found at BMW 2002 FAQ.
Basically you remove the old bumper...
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Clean everything. Remove the caps protecting the old school bumper mount locations. Drill 1 inch access holes inside the trunk to install the bolts.
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Install four bolts to hold the bracket and one on each side with a spacer to hold the ends to the quarter panels.
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After I learn how to weld I will go back and fill the holes left behind/
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The steering box seems to work fine, so I filled it with Quaker State gear lubricant and reinstalled. The key to this install is to loosen the link on the steering shaft and slide it up towards the firewall. Mark it first so you know where to slide it back. Then bolt the steering box in and slide the link back into place and bolt it to the flex coupling.
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The last thing to go on are the new steerings links.
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It's now officially back on the road.
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I found a 320i 5 speed on Ebay a while back. Mike Hannigan sent me a shortened drive shaft. I then called Dave Varco for everything else. He sent me the trans mounts, a new 215 clutch, slave cylinder, and various other hardware.
Kunkel's in Bel Air resurfaced the flywheel.
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The new mounts from Dave bolt in a few inches behind the originals.
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The slave cylinder was connected using an Ireland Engineering clutch line. Make sure you tighten the hard line before installing the trans. It's tough to get in there afterwards.
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Connected the new clutch from Dave.
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The trans fits nicely after a few well positioned hammer blows. I filled it with Amsoil ATF.
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I am using a four bolt setup. Some people use the 3 bolt shaft from a 320i. Shouldn't really make a difference.
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The shift tower is from a 320i. We cut off a few inches with a chop saw. A hammer flattened out the area where the new mount holes had to be drilled. We used the chop saw again to cut a few inches out of the shift linkage. Gavin then welded and ground it to perfection.
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At that point the drive shaft and shifter can go in. It's almost ready to roll.
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