If you're buying one of these, read this first! (archive)

I recently purchased a Sparco bar for my '88 M3; primarily upon the recommendation of Gustave (see link below). If you've read his write-up, you'll note that he mentions, "From the factory the Sparco bar did not fit my car very well."

Hmmm...portentious words indeed. It's not even close to fitting my car out-of-the-box; it's about 3 cm too long, end-to-end, to bolt up to the strut towers. Now, I've heard of older E30's with "sagging" strut towers from heavy track use, but I don't believe that's my case at all. Evidence is that the hood still fits correctly (hood-fender gaps are even all 'round) and I've got stock suspension (stiffer aftermarket suspensions are partly to blame when the towers get bent).

So, it looks like I'll be modifying my Sparco also, _a la_ Gustave. Fortunately, I've got a friend who can do the machining and welding for me. But, it's something to keep in mind if you're buying one of these.

Question: Has anyone successfully fitted one of these without modifications? I'm wondering what Sparco's deal is--are they all wrong, or did they change the dimensions somewhere along the line? Weird.

Dave Walker
'88 M3

Follow Ups:

Mine fit w/o mods...(more) Stan 21:09 6/04/2001 (0)
Re: it's about 3 cm too long... michael 15:36 6/04/2001 (0)
Link to Gustav's Sparco bar modification procedure Dave Walker 14:35 6/04/2001 (0)

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