BMW E36 - Drift - DIY Projects: Sedan

Showing posts with label Sedan. Show all posts

Thursday, September 24, 2009

45. BMW E36 Saloon - Baur TC4 - Convertible

BMW E36 Saloon - BAUR TC4

Is it a limo? Is it a convertible? NO! IT's BMW BAUR TC4!

Source: Wikipedia

Baur is a Karosserie or coachbuilder in Stuttgart, Germany, which has been building BMW convertibles since the 1930s. Currently, they are the body and assembly works for IVM Automotive, a member the Ed Group. They enjoy an excellent reputation for quality and do prototype work for many manufacturers such as Porsche, Audi and Ford.

The Baur family received a patent for the design of a folding top for luxury automobiles about the time BMW was building the first car with the BMW name.

Baur was established in 1910 and produced, among others, 1682 1600-2 Cabriolets, 200 2002 Cabriolets, 2597 E110 700 Sport Cabriolets and most of the 450 or so M1's (after Lamborghini could not fulfil its contractual obligations).

Even though BMW now had its own E36 convertible, E36 Baur TC4 conversions were still available, although this iteration was based on the E36 four-door and featured fixed door frames.

These TC cars can be built for the owner at any time, after-market; you supply the car to be converted.

Quote from Bimmerforums:

The reason why Baur made this 4-door convertible is very simple: BMW wouldn't let them convert the coupe.
In total there where 310 Baur TC4 (TC1=E21, TC2=E30, TC3="Z1"-coupe) build, from 316i to 328i and 318/325tds.

And here's one more picture, from the manufacturing proces:

Here's a link to a gallery of BMW BAUR TC4 photos. Check it out, it's full of interesting photographs!

Click Here!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

29. Rollcage talk...

I'm thinking about installing a rollcage in my E36...

The main purpose of roll cages is to protect the passengers in the event of crashing and/or rolling. But there is one other crutial bonus to rollcages: They stiffen up your car's body, thus improve handling. A lot of people put strut braces on their cars, and rollcage could be considered an 'ultimate strut brace'.

There is also a negative side to the story - Cages are made from steel tubing. And steel tubing is quite heavy. You would have to spend some extra time and effort on your 'car-diet' plan to compensate for the cage if you put it in.

Of course, you can choose from a wide variety of cages. Proffesional multi-point weld-in cages are absolutley the best. But for an amateur, a half-cage would do just fine. (Half-Cage: Rear half of the rollcage, consisting of a roll-bar and two attachements that go to the rear struts)

The danger in this buisness is lack of quality. We all know that roll-cages can be easily made at home. One would think that we need some steel tubes, an angle grinder and a welder... But that's far from the truth. Please, for your own safety, DON'T MAKE YOUR OWN CAGE! (That is, if you're not an expert fabricator and welder!) Be sure that your cage is from high-quality steel. Make sure that the person installing you cage has a welder's certificate. And check out the angles where the tubes are bent - first of all - the tubes must be bent - no welded angles allowed here! And the bends must be smooth, and not crushed! And one other tip - there's no point in installing a cage in a old rust-bucket! that's why I decided to buy a new shell for my Beemer! :)

The conclusion would be this:

Buy the best BRAND NAME rollcage you can afford. Be sure it was designed for your model, and go to a certified expert to install it. And think twice before installation - do you really need it? Think about pro's and con's. After all, it's your ride!

And, here are some pictures: (hard to find)Found here:

Project Ring-shed E36 325i

Project E36 - Track Day Car