The latest distraction arrived today. I can proudly state that I've got ownership of German cars pretty much nailed (yes, a bit non-standard) with a 914 hot rod, a Mercedes endurance racer and this BMW.
This '74 CSA (automatic) will likely get the expected updates: euro bumpers and a 5-speed conversion, wheel and suspension upgrades and and interior refresh.
If you're interested, I'll be posting all that on the E9 Forum starting soon.
For now, it's back to the 914!

Just rolled through the Red Barn to lay eyes on the E9. Super impressed with this beauty! The paint is much brighter in person and is nothing short of elegant. Well done Chris!

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

Very nice choice- beautiful cars. This should be fun.

Nice choice. One of the most beautiful coupes ever made.

Nice Beemer. Does is still have the USA ride height spacers under the springs?

@bkrantz - So funny. Much as I've lusted for one of these, I don't yet know too much detail about them beyond where to check for rust. I'm the new guy on the E9 forum, asking questions that surely prompt thoughts like "How can he not know that?"

So, to answer your question: I have no idea! All I know right now is that it's beautiful.

Well, and I'm ordering up the "usual" goodies that address upgrading the suspension to get the proper stance and desired performance. Essentially, springs, shocks, new bushings and upgraded sway bars. Oh, and wheels and tires. And some interior stuff. And... ah, crap. Here we go again.

Back to the 914:
Updated rear suspension mount all final welded, Wevo mounts attached and everything ready for the cross bar to be fabbed.

A couple more days' work and I'll be hacking out that factory transmission mounting member.

That, and a couple of other mods I'm planning, will really change the look of the engine compartment. I just love working on this thing!

The pneumatic bevelers are cool tools. I have the same one as well as the SP brand. The SP is over $200 now and is a PS. Well its not but for the price it is. Makes for good clean finish work. Knockout punch dies can be difficult on really thick metal. This is where the bevelers are handy and give the hole some flair.

Your photo makes it look giant when in fact they are very small.

Luv that BMW coupe! The Benz is coming along nicely. Awesome those frame-rails had the perfect trajectory. Keep it coming Chris.

More trans mount stuff: After pattern making and fitting, the spreader plates got fully welded on the bench, drilled for the plug welds, then clamped in place to facilitate fitting the cross bar. The black, over-sprayed paint is weld-through primer.
The plate assembly will be fully edge welded to the chassis.

Then the cross bar gets the "trim, test fit, trim, test fit..." treatment until everything sits in its "happy place"! The front edge of the tube was trimmed (vs. cutting into the shock tower) to get the tube to move forward enough to center over the new mount location. This approach made it simpler to solve for the spreader plates. Anyway, it's all ready for final welding to commence.

Once fully welded, I'll fab some sort of bracketry that drops from the cross bar to the Wevo mounts, similar to the factory set up, but with some added style points - hopefully.

Still noodling on a bracing set up from the shock towers to the mount areas. Maybe an X, maybe a Y, maybe permanent, maybe bolt on. You'll know once I do!

And that wacky strap that's welded to the factory cross bar is the high-tech method for holding the rear of the trans in place while all this fab is happening. (Don't hate me - it works and doesn't get in the way.)

@Jeff Hail mentioned the bevel tool was small but the pic didn't really show just how small. I just can't live thinking I've disappointed Jeff, a fellow tool whore, with my poor representations of a tool () so here's a shot showing just how small these babies are.

And here's the next part the bevel tool beveled. This and a little folding in the brake...

...gets me the initial version of the transmission mount hanger brackets. I say initial version" because I'm still developing my skills around translating poster board templates into steel parts.
You can see the bend location isn't quite right and I've got too big a gap where the tabs should be touching the horizontal surface.
As I've said many times before, it's a good thing I'm not trying to make a living doing this...

That said, I'm really happy with the overall design and how this entire cross bar set up is turning out.

Looking wonderful!
So happy that you beefed everything up!

It’s like a tiny metal router! That’s pretty awesome. Does it destroy those blades or how much are those replacements??

My 2002 had big aluminum spring spacers. Apparently this was to attain the bumper ride height the US DOT required.

Beautiful origami with metal!

I didn't like how the initial version of the hanger brackets were a bit too roundy between the side gussets. Plus, the vertical surface hit the cross bar a bit too high. I also narrowed up the width at the top so the the gussets didn't need to fold so far past 90 degrees. I just liked the look of a bit less angle.

So, here's what I think are the final versions of everything, with the cross bar tacked to the spreader plates and the hanger brackets bolted to the transmission mounts.
And yes, I'll be adding a bridging gusset between the front and rear hanger mounts, essentially just like the factory design.

Next, it's triple-double check that everything is aligned / leveled then tack the hanger brackets to the cross bar. From there, the entire cross bar assembly gets removed from the car and final welded on the bench. That's when the bridge gussets will go on. Finally, the completed assembly is final fitted and welded to the chassis.


With a bit of luck, the factory transmission mount cross member will be removed this week. Can't wait to see this transformation.

With the various components fitted and things tacked in place, the entire contraption gets pulled to weld on the bench.

Leaving the mounts attached helps ensure the hanger brackets stay in plane to each other during welding. Yes, the melty parts get removed before any significant welding begins.
The welds you see on the edges of the hanger brackets are to close up the scoring cuts I made to force the bend to occur RIGHT where I wanted it. This approach means that from the other side, the side you'll see, it looks like one piece!
Plus, this allows for a crisper bend which, to my eye, makes the part look a bit lighter.

Next was to CAD up a small gusset that ties one hanger bracket to the other.
If you look at the factory trans mount, you'll see a similar design - just nowhere near as stylish.

I added these on the outside only. I'm leaving the inside open to allow for getting the nut and a wrench in there to install/remove the mount.

All welded and back in for a test fit.

It's always a bit nerve-wracking when you weld something out of the car then "see" if it still fits...
With things only set in place, not even bolted down, everything lined up perfectly. Man, I love it when a plan comes together!

Last step is to bolt the mounts to the hanger brackets and weld the spreader plates to the chassis.

And no, that's not a missed weld at the gusset-to-cross bar joint.

Did you tig weld them?

Sweet!

Tingly

WOW! That looks sooo good!

"A Thing of Beauty"!

@Krieger - Credit where credit is due, Andy. As I mentioned when this mod started, it was your eye for design and derogatory comments helpful suggestion that prompted the effort. If not for you, it likely never would have happened.

When you're next here, you need to sign the cross bar!

You dreamers/fabricators/welders never cease to amaze me.

It would be an honor!

With all the dimensions verified, the transmission mount gets (mostly) welded in. I still have to get under the car and finish a could areas. But more than enough is done to allow me to remove the factory cross bar. And you know I've been chomping to get rid of it since @Krieger Andy first suggested I come up with a new mount.

I thought you might enjoy seeing it happen, so, here you go!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5kpPJnKXs

So here's the new look my engine compartment is sporting! I think it looks amazing.

So much tidier and a way better match to the vibe of the build.

NICE!!!!!

Wow! Where did all the "stuff" go? Much cleaner look- me like.

"Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up."

I've been thinking about finishes so I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a quick squirt of black, since that's part of a theme I'm considering: All the tubes in black, the body in non-black. Still not sure.

Something else that struck me was to have that big ol' main transmission mount cad plated, like the shifter bits you see there on the right side of the trans.
I think what's there now is too much black.

Here are the major parts that got removed. If anyone wants to move their Boxster trans and engine forward 1.5", let me know. I'll give you a good deal on some custom aluminum spacers...

Saweeet! That looks so dang clean! Excellent work! I would have suggested it sooner if I knew you were going to mention me by name in a video!

Before and after.

ITBs are cool, but overall? I'll take after.

I like the after. I just took a nice big clean filtered breath in its honor.
Gotta be better for cooler air intake and measurable tuning too.

So Clean , and Easy Tune,,

Good design and quality execution is art.

You are:

The Picasso of the Puddle
The Warhol of Weld
The Bob Ross of Bead


Just don't go all Van Gogh with the Sawzall.

Now you have plenty of room for both turbos, and the intercoolers.



- Tony

Paint your new lower transmission bracket an aluminzed silver color to help it blend in to all the aluminum below.

@RetroRacer Tony,
"Both"? Surely, you mean "all four"!

Seriously, though. @Krieger Andy may have goaded me into this transmission mount mod but, as you know, it was Tony's design idea that inspired the hood vents. Well, he's also sent me design sketches for two REALLY cool induction system ideas. So... with the trans mount all but done, it's time to get going on one (maybe both!) of his intake/air cleaner ideas.

More as I get to it.

For those who may wonder what's inside this area of our little cars:

I was cutting out the remainder of the factory trans support cross member, expecting to be greeted by a nice, flat panel all the way to the rear. Nope. Big opening where the cross member attaches.

I was surprised by how Porsche designed this junction. There's actually a couple other sheet metal parts involved in this area but I was pretty focused on removing it all so forgot to get pics. I'll snap some when I remove the other side.

Interesting engineering. I'm going to leverage some of the design and add some internal structure where my new cross bar attaches to the chassis. Thank you, Porsche!

What's going on here?

Removing the factory cross member really opens up the rear of the engine compartment. So much so that I've opted to rethink the exhaust system.

I've come up with a couple new designs. This first one is sorta what you see here:
The pipes will come together, Siamese straight back about 3-5 inches, then split back to two at 90 degrees and drop down on either side of the trans, enter transversely mounted mufflers then 90 again to go out the back, almost at each corner.

The other design is too hard for me to explain so if I mock it up, you'll get pics.

So two words to trigger you into a tangent of research, thought and design around a topic:

Blown. Diffusor.


- Tony