SpecE450 - Red Cross ERV turned Racecar Tow Rig

[Bikersmurf]

Carpet with mass vinyl backing trimmed and installed:

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Removed the wood and aluminum behind the passenger seat to allow more leg room and recline:
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Driver seat reinstalled with about 2-3 inches of additional recline:
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The addition of carpet and killmat made a huge noise difference. It went from annoyingly loud around town and yelling at highway speeds to pretty comfortable around town and only slightly loud at highway speeds. We can actually have a conversation even at 65+. I plan to add some killmat to the ceiling and doors but probably not a layer of 100% coverage like I did with the doghouse and floor.

The additional recline room makes an enormous difference in comfort for both seats. Just the 2-3 inches gained on the driver side are enough to allow a comfortable driving position. I actually don't even use all of the space and I'm 6'2". Eventually, I will install a swivel seat on the passenger side. With these projects complete, I think I could comfortably drive this rig for 5+ hours to the racetracks I frequent. That idea was exhausting in the Ambo's original form.

The next project will depend on what I can find cheap on Craigslist / Facebook Marketplace. I'm always on the lookout for cheap / used vinyl plank flooring, RV awning, RV entry door, foam insulation, and a window A/C unit.

The extra space is something I take for granted. Crestline extends the passenger compartment by about 10“. At 6’4” I can’t imagine being squeezed into the cab without that extra space.

Is there a way to easily move the seat back an inch or two? In a perfect world without holes in the floor mat showing.

 

[19Spec3]

The original configuration was unlivable to the point that I wondered if I made a mistake buying it. Now it's decently comfortable. I can't move the seat backward on the driver side as I'd be too far away from the steering wheel. It would be nice to move the seat rearward on the passenger side but that's more work than I want to invest and there are dozens of projects higher on the list.

 

[19Spec3]

First time towing with the ERV and it did fantastic. I hardly noticed that the trailer was back there. Can't wait to get the racecar back from paint!

 

[19Spec3]

I installed a removeable bed platform that fits a full size (54" x 75") mattress.


The platform attaches to the existing E-track using four of these beam sockets to mount two 2x10 beams.



Because the E-track is pretty high up, I notched the beams so the bed sits about 6" lower. Only 26" inches of room above the mattress but over 40" of storage below it. I'm using a 9" thick foam mattress I had laying around so I could gain some head room by getting a thinner mattress.



Each beam has a 1x3 board glued and screwed into the bottom that provides a platform for the bed slats on each side. All of the slats are just floating so the whole platform comes apart into manageable pieces.

 

[19Spec3]

With the new bed limiting access to the rear of the ambo, I started on a side-entry door.


With a rough opening of 72" x 31", it barely fits vertically without building downward steps.


Quite a bit of aluminum to remove:

 

[19Spec3]

Installed the passenger-side door.

First, cut out tons of aluminum:


The aluminum skin is 0.08" thick. I bought two panels to fill the gap where the old window was wider than the new door.

The first panel is riveted behind the existing skin and then the second panel is riveted to the first panel. When complete, it's fairly rigid and perfectly flush with the surrounding ambo skin. When I put the first panel into place, I discovered the window was not perfectly level when installed:



The second piece of aluminum sufficiently fills the gap:


Door installed:


As a nice bonus, the door has a window that opens and a screen door.

 

[19Spec3]

Added a 6,000 BTU window unit by cutting a hole in the front of the box. The exterior portion of the air conditioner is shielded by the big front air dam above the cab. I plan to duct the AC unit's hot exhaust to a vent and add another vent or two to allow fresh air behind the air dam.

 

[19Spec3]

Added a grab rail and folding step for the new side-entry door. Getting in and out is much easier and I think both new parts look like they could have come from Wheeled Coach.

The grab rail (made by Phoenix USA) perfectly matches the existing grab rails on the rear and is available in multiple sizes from Summit Racing. Pro Tip: Use your own screws. The screws that came with the grab rail were garbage and the head snapped with any amount of torque.



The folding step (made by Buyers Products) is available on Amazon. The bolt holes juuuuuust barely fit on either side of the existing 2x2 aluminum bars so I made a sandwich plate to attach it. Feels very sturdy.

 

[shenrie]

Too cool! E36’s are some of the best handling cars out there and I love that you have a sedan.

we initially bought our van as a tow rig for our racecars so we could participate in hillclimbs and lapping days out of town. Idaho isn’t a very motor sport friendly area. Wife and I raced together for 8-9 years but just autox, rallyx, and local hillclimbs. after 15 years of standing in parking lots we decided to put it on hold and do some serious camping. This was 2012 and the only racing I’ve done since is rallyx and being the 00 car at the 2018 idaho rally. An occasional autox when someone offers keys up to me. Who am I to say no to a free flogging? Lolol. Have been longing for some legal full throttle though...

anyway, cool build with the ambo! Looks like a perfect setup for what you have planned!

 

[19Spec3]

Nice! I really want to do a hillclimb (and some endurance racing, and rally, and ...) at some point but, for now, I'm focused on road racing in Spec3. It's hard to get into other forms of motorsport when the Spec3 schedule already consumes 8 weekends and we lose 4-5 months of racing over the winter. Anywho, the racecar is much prettier now. Eventually, the Ambo will get matching paint / vinyl.

 

[eblau]

Nice setup, when we were running an E30 in STU my goal was to get a van for paddock camping. Haven't been to the track in a number of years but I'm sure you have crossed paths with my brother, he runs PDA Racing out of Winchester VA. Hes got a number of guys in GTS2 that he provides track support for as well as racing himself. Racing is worse than drugs, I stick to old slow resto stuff now!

 

[19Spec3]

Nice setup, when we were running an E30 in STU my goal was to get a van for paddock camping. Haven't been to the track in a number of years but I'm sure you have crossed paths with my brother, he runs PDA Racing out of Winchester VA. Hes got a number of guys in GTS2 that he provides track support for as well as racing himself. Racing is worse than drugs, I stick to old slow resto stuff now!

Yep, I've run across Jeremy many times. Good guy and a wonderful resource to have around the paddock -- even if he chose the wrong series for his E36.

 

[shenrie]

Hillclimbs aren’t for everyone. Can’t go 100% and some people have a hard time dialing it back. My wife being one of those people. Long story short, she did snowboard tricks in our car (360 nose tap to tail tap) and now has a corner named after her. Having things named after you in racing is typically bad, lol. We put on the longest running consecutive hillclimb this side of the Mississippi for 10 years. The event was great, but the people were even greater. Them old school grassroots events are just the best.

car looks sharp man. Keep up the good work with both those rides!

 

[19Spec3]

Not much in the way of updates but we are happily using the SpecE450 for camping and racecar towing. We took a camping trip up to Raystown Lake in Pennsylvania. Pretty nice campsites with shore power and a view of the lake.



We have towed the Spec3 twice now -- down to Virginia International Raceway and this shot is at Summit Point Motorsports Park:



Not terribly impressive but here are interior shots as it stands for now:




I think the next project will be sealing up the A/C unit and ducting the hot exhaust out from behind the big front air dam. After that I'll flush the transmission fluid, add a transmission cooler, and I want to buy a PHP Hydra for a little more uphill power.

 

[19Spec3]

I anticipate that the window A/C unit will need more air flow than is provided behind the front air deflector. Not sure this will be enough, but I added louvered vents to both sides. My hope is to gain air flow without mucking up the nice smooth aerodynamic front of the air deflector. It's not terribly hot yet so I guess we'll see in the coming months.

The louvered panels are made by Ares Fabrication and meant for the hood of a Jeep XJ. I think they fit the odd contour of the ERV air deflector pretty well. They're usually $125 but were reduced to $100 on the sellers' Ebay store. The stainless hardware wasn't quite long enough so I swapped in my stainless hex bolts.