Where to get roll cage etc. fitted to BMW for rallying?

[rallygirl666]

Car: 1999 BMW 323ci 2.5 2dr Coupe, no sunroof, no mods
Plan: Low budget rally car for single venue stages and occasional track day, engine to remain fairly standard to begin with, upgrade brakes and suspension where necessary, other mods kept to a minimum
Driver: Total beginner, but did some road rallies about 30 years ago in low budget Escort Mk2 – limited mechanical knowledge

Hi, I’m looking for some useful tips and advice for preparing my car. I’m thinking that getting a roll cage installed first is the best way to go. I’ve got a quote from one company that meets FIA requirements and it looks quite impressive. Would like to get a 2nd quote to compare – suggestions please for counties in and around South Lincolnshire. Info on garages that can supply/fit extinguisher and cut off also helpful.

Suspension? – one of the rear shocks has a slight leak, so good opportunity to upgrade – cheaper alternative to Bilsteins please? Seem to recall I had +1 inch or similar on the front suspension of my Escort, with a classic sloping down towards the rear look – as the BMW tends to sit quite low, am wondering if it needs to sit higher at the front to help it clear the rough stuff, or would that make it too unstable due to weight of engine and raised centre of gravity? Have seen good comments about Konis and/or adjustable? Note – have noticed front suspension appears to bottom out when driving along bumpy country lanes. Not sure if the tyre is brushing against the wheel arch, or if it’s just the suspension hitting the end of it’s travel, but it doesn’t sound right.

A few more questions:
will I need a throttle return spring?
would it be a good idea to have a high pressure oil pump?
I changed the propshaft on my Escort to a single piece – is it advisable to do the same on the BMW?

Any basic tips or advice most welcome. Thanks.

[rallycross]

The cost of doing this to a 323i will be high, best advice would be buy something that's already built and has done a few events - plenty of older 325's (E30 shape) that have been used previously and may only need some updating to get ready to rally.

eg

http://www.205cup.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=7

circuit car

http://classifieds.seloc.org/ads/pbmw-320i/

or find a track car that's been well built and modify it to rally spec.

[bromers2]

Whereabouts in the country are you ?

[mfmman]

Have a look here

http://www.bmw-rallying.co.uk/

There are a few E46s (compacts) being built so there should be the info you need

[lucadiella]

SW Motorsport in Preston do fantastic cages for great prices - they did my race car. Worth a google if you aren't the other end of the country.

[Furyblade_Lee]

My friend in Eastbourne has built one similar for himself. For stage rallying. If you are down South I can give you his details . I think he my win his chosen championship at his first attempt, so car must be ok...

[Furyblade_Lee]

My friend in Eastbourne has built one similar for himself. For stage rallying. If you are down South I can give you his details . I think he my win his chosen championship at his first attempt, so car must be ok...

[notax]

I also used to compete in Mk2 Escorts (probably at a similar time) and ten years ago switched to BMWs. I have had three built so far and about to start the fourth, competing in tarmac stage rallies across the southern half of the UK. I'm happy to advise you if you'd like to drop me a line, otherwise you will find a host of useful information on www.bmw-rallying.co.uk and britishrally.co.uk is also a useful site.

It sounds as though you already have a car in mind, but the earlier advice to buy a ready converted one would almost certainly work out to be far cheaper in the long run. Having said that, a largely standard car is generally a very reliable one - it is just that you'll probably want to start improving it and that is when the costs climb...