Journal of a Peruvian Rookie

[Naka]

Summer 1986. My last year in High School. I'm living in Lima, Peru. While going to get fresh bread at the neighborhood's bakery, I stumble in front of a stunningly beautiful Alpine White BMW E30 M3 parked in front of the store. Just like this one:



I don't know what it is, but that doesn't keep me from quickly falling in love. Just by staring at every corner of the car, I easily conclude it is a BMW "M3". It all starts here.

In a poor economy coming out of a lenghty socialist military dictatorship, this is only one of the two in the country, I later find out. Ironic, how we get it before the US does.

I tell to myself: "Someday Gary, someday..."



Fall 2003: After almost 17 years of studying and working hard, I finally see "the day" I've so promised to myself. I have moved to the United States for post-graduate training and had paid my duties to this wonderful Country by working in socially underserved areas of Kentucky for more than 5 years.

My dream becomes a reality at the Performance Delivery Center in Spartanburg, SC.





Winter 2003: I doesn't take me too long to join the local BMW chapter. And thanks to that, I meet a lot of wonderful people, including my now best friend and track buddy Bill Heumann. He is not a racer, but an avid student.

It isn't hard for them to get me interested in joining the upcoming Driving Schools at Putman Park.



Spring 2004: My first school. My instructor asks me what my goal is. My answer is: "to learn enough to someday become an Instructor".

A friend at work asks me "why would you want to have a nice expensive car if you are going to trash it at the track?". I answer: "why would I want to date a supermodel if I'm not going to ride her hard?, To just show her around?". She quickly understands my point.

On my third session I spin at turn 8. Two laps later, Bill does exactly the same thing, at the same turn. What a good guy. It is good to have somebody sharing the shame.

Bill has started doing schools a year ealier, so I listen to his advice. He even teaches me how to change brake pads and rotors. Here in this picture, on my second school, he is working hard trying to keep up, an excercise he's growing acustumed to do. :-)





Summer 2008: My third schooI, I am assigned to the "A" Group. Two different instructors give me the same piece of advice: "You NEED to get yourself a slower car".

Bill, while trying to convince me to get a roll bar for my car tells me: "You WILL have an accident. It's not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHEN". He goes on to say: "The more you do this, the more likely it will happen".

So, I listen. And since I don't want to mess my pristine spanking new M3, I decide to buy a "dual-purpose car". Or so I lie to myself. And I believe me.



Fall 2004: I buy a 1998 M3, 22,000 miles, totally stock, never tracked. Fully loaded. Fly to Washington DC to pick it up. Seller meets me at the airport. We sign papers, i give him the check, and he gives me the keys (his wife is there to drive him back home). So I test drive the new car on a 10-hr drive back to Kentucky. I feel I'm falling in love with the mistress.







Winter 2004: I become an Instructor with Sunshine Bimmers and PBOC. The chief Instructor rides with me at Sebring and invites me to Instruct at Barber the following month. I am thrilled. This time achieving my goal has not taken me 17 years! It is awesome! Bill, always smarter than me, has bought a true dedicated track car. Here we are, playing at our first Winterfest event at Sebring. As usual, Bill is working his usual excercise, trying to keep up. :-)





Fall 2006: Bill becomes a Racer. He is by now a very good and technical driver, and immediately is very competitive in his JP 318ti (2.8 motor). I don't have the balls yet, but I have long realized that the "dual-purpose car" theme is just a big lie we tell ourselves and our wifes to justify the money spent to make a "track-only car". Although I have to admit, that it is also a very good way to "finance" a track-only car in not-so-easy monthlty payments. Safety is always the argument to justify the monthly upgrade.

With seats, suspension, rollbar, track pads and loud exhaust, my car is not really very friendly for long trips to the track. I know now what my next step is if I plan to keep modifying my car. I have to tow it.



Winter 2006: I buy an X5. The excuse for it? The kids, of course.



Now that I have a tow vehicle, why not a trailer?





Spring 2007: Not living with the wife anymore, I have to find myself a place to live. I find nice houses, but lousy garages. And when I find nice garages, the houses are stratospherically expensive. So I buy a lot, with the goal to building a comfortable garage, with a small house where I could sleep. Priorities, priorities.

I take this picture at the just acquired lot, while leaving for Road Atlanta. It is a painful reminder of my severe case of money diarrhea (car, truck, trailer, lot).





Fall 2007: Although I'm going to Road Atlanta to Instruct Saturday and Sunday, Bill generously invites me co-drive his JP ti during the Friday enduro. My true race debut. I qualify 5th overall and second in class. The rolling start sucks but I catch up and pass cars almost every lap. I finally get my position back while getting closer to the car in front. It all looks good until the car decides to go into limp mode. Melted differential speed sensor.

It doesn't matter, though. I am hooked. Damn you Bill.

I am impressed to see how much safer I felt while racing, compared to seating in the passenger's seat of an M5 with a rookie student at the wheel.

During the drive back, Bill and I have a long discussion. Conclusion of the hours of weighing pro's and cons: We will both build identical IP cars and compete against each other, while sharing spares, set up and know-how. He even comes up with the idea of a stacker, so we can both travel around and share the long drives. Sounds like a wonderful idea, specially because I am not paying for it.

Bill and I take two completely different approaches. I want to build my car from the ground up. He doesn't. So he comissions James Clay and his crew at Bimmerworld to build him a very competitive IP car. We will both use the same identical parts, though.



November 2007: I'm so excited with the idea of racing that I make mistake number one. DO NOT EVER BUILD A HOUSE AND A RACE CAR A THE SAME TIME!

But I'm obviously not thinking. I decide to start with the interior of the car:





December 2007

[beatadrum]

Wow, what a great read!! Keep with the updates!! Congrats on all you have accomplished as well!

[MIKEGTR]

Excellent article... keep it up!

[DrBobOh]

Great Read! We need more though! and pictures of the house!

[Naka]

December 08: I stop working on the car. I'm waiting for my house to be ready, so I can start taking things apart in a more comfortable environment. Besides, winter is almost here, and working in a non-heated garage is a PITA.



January 08: Winterfest, Sebring. Bill takes delivery of his amazingly fast IP car. The guys at Bimmerworld did a wonderful job and so did Bill. He wins his class on the car's debut weekend. It's quite evident that the car is fast right out of the box.

It really is a jewel.




And it’s obvious to me that this will be a view that many will have to get used to. Myself included. Unless I can help it.




You would think I'm dying with envy by now, but I'm not. Amazingly, I'm very proud of my friend.


Soon after returning from Florida, I am in the mood for working in my car again. No wonder why.

But my garage is not ready, yet. But they are working diligently.




February 08: I finally take delivery of the house. The first thing I do, is to make sure the trailer fits in the garage. It better does, as I built the garage specifically to fit it.




It does!

But barely...



I breath a big sigh of relief...

So now, it's time to move in. First things first. The car, of course. I try to get it in the trailer, but it doesn't start. I was somewhat expecting it. After all the wires I pulled out...

That was my mistake number two: DO NOT DISCONNECT ANYTHING UNTIL YOU LABEL IT FIRST!

But I can still move it in. Luckily for me, I bought the optional manual winch when I bought the trailer.




Oh, I love this thing. It makes loading a broken car a one person job.




And car and trailer fit in the garage perfectly!!




But at a price...




Damn it! I missed it in my calculations! Being a completely new development, the final layer of pavement has not been put down yet. And I happen to have a sewer manhole lid sticking up right in front of my driveway! Just in front of my ** driveway!!! Why?! Why?!!!




I now realize that it didn't happen before because the trailer was unloaded and it had more ground clearance then. What a fool!!

Ah! My nice aluminum trailer! So painful!

But I don't lose hope. As a future racer, I know I'll always run into problems. And broken metal. So the key is to find the solutions.

So I hire the services of a couple of very expensive engineers. If you think I've spent a lot of money so far, you have no idea how much these two have and will cost me. Here they are analyzing the situation and discussing potential solution strategies





March 2007: My driveway problem gets fixed in two steps:

Step No.1

"EZ-Drive" ramps are installed:






Step No.2

The driveway is made as wide as my property allows.




Now, I'm ready to work on the car again!!!

But, have I failed to mention that I have NO mechanical skills or knowledge? Except for oil changes, and brake-pads swaps, of course.

I will have to learn it all in the process (that was the whole plan), so I get a Bentley Manual and a BMW TIS from Ebay.

[vmwerks]

Wow you put the B in baller.. goes to show that cars>wife



























Just not my wife

[RacerX]

Cool, keep going dude. Hey I saw Kurt's car at McMahan's last Friday when I FINALLY picked up my car. Sheesh, I think Mark was about to ship it to me just to get it out of there! So when is yours going in? Did you finalize your cage design?

Cheers.

[///M3Augy]

This thread is awesome. Great write up so far; looking forward to more.

[MIKEGTR]

Mas! MAS, SEÑOR!!!!

[bmwpowere36m3]

Dream garage setup

[Naka]

Spring 2008

Like with anybody who has ever built a house, I go overbudget to make it right, so I have to sacrifice the car project and work in two jobs to catch up quicker. 80 hrs a week doesn't leave me much time to work in the garage. When I'm off, all I want to do is sleep. But it pays off.

Too much work is always better than no work at all. So no complaints here.



Summer 2008

Now I have more time and energy to resume my project. Still busy at work, but with more free time. So I slowly start taking advantage of the newly acquired lift and begin by removing suspension parts, while learning in the process and adquiring new tools as I go.

I get lucky and sell the TC Kline D/A suspension locally, just by word of mouth, to the local BMW dealership Service Advisor. Great guy. Now he gives me Premium service everytime I go. Kudos to Edwin Thomas.

I tell him he can have the suspension as soon as I get it out of the car. But since my time is so limited, and he has a deadline to meet (a trackday), he decides to stop by and take the suspension out himself.

Sure, Amigo. Go ahead!!




It all takes me forever, as I struggle every step of the way. So many new things to learn.

Many, many thanks to Drew Doukas from Evolution Autosport in Louisville, who is extremely helpful.

Drew acts as if he were my personal Customer Service Hotline. Every time I get stuck I call him. Even though he is always busy at his shop, working late hours (weekends included); he doesn't hesitate to explain to me, in detail, how to get around my problems. He even lets me borrow specialty tools from his shop whenever necesary (like when I couldn't remove one of the rear axles).

Can't thank him enough.

Thanks to him, I finally learn to remove my first differential




And my first transmission




And my first rear subframe




And my first wheel bearing and spindle

[DrBobOh]

Hell. Yes. Good Sir, this thread is amazing. It makes me want to graduate already and get a freaking SWEET job so I can get garage and car collection like yourself. Truly inspiring!

Keep it up, we need more!

[OLD MAN]

I am wanting your garage too.....

Looks like you are off to a great start.

[n2bimmer]

sweet

[Naka]

Fall 2008

After what I have learned so far, I felt somewhat braver. Or to be more honest, less scared.

So I decide to attack the engine compartment, and start by removing cooling and air conditioning system. Not too bad. Bentley Manual helps me a lot.






Good, I make some progress. But unfortunately I get stuck again. And this time, few people can really help me. I realize that I don't know half of what I see.

But at least I remember from my mistake number two: DO NOT DISCONNECT ANYTHING UNTIL YOU LABEL IT FIRST!

But, how am I supposed to label something I don't know its name?

Asking around, everybody refers me to the Bentley Manual and Realoem.com.

Come on guys! I asked because I've already tried that!!

My big problem: In these references, most of the parts in the car are categorized by FUNCTION. But when you have NO IDEA of what the function of certain object is, how am I supposed to find it?

I don't know the name of the part, let alone the function. And if I don't know either, then I don't know whether the part is a keeper, or garbage.

Again, a challenge presents itself in front of me, uninvited, but somewhat expected (getting used to it by now). Then I remember something I heard my Mom repeat to me many, many times: "Patience is the Mother of all Virtues".

So I get my Bentley Manual and start studying page by page, picture by picture; just to see if I recognize any of the parts I'm stuck with. And I do the same with the Realoem website. Just like trying to identify the face of a murderer out of a 1,000-page picture catalogue from the Police Department.

It certainly pays off. But it takes me a long, long time as I spend 6 times more seating on a desk, than working on the car.

Here are a few of the suspects I finally identified:




"Thermo Switch for the Heatable Windshield Spraying Nozzle". But of course!! Isn't that obvious?!!




"Pressure regulating valve for the Crankshaft-ventilation/oil separator". Aha! I Knew it!




"Air pump vacuum control non-return valve". That's what I thought.




"Fuel Tank Breather Valve". Whatever.


Seriously. I still have to go and read what these sucker's names are. But at least now I have a better idea of what their functions are. I think.

[clopez95m3]

Seriously. I still have to go and read what these sucker's names are. But at least now I have a better idea of what their functions are. I think.

I used the Eurosport instructions for the intake manifold adapter to label my wiring harness. Label your connectors not just the hoses. I bought a cheap label maker so it makes the thing look more professional as well.

BTW it looks like you're in need of an M50 intake manifold.

Keep up the good work, looking good Gary.

Cheers,
Carlos.

[Naka]

January 2009

Finally I get all the wires in the engine compartment labeled!! It takes me forever, gut I get it done. I see how much of a mess I made, and tell to myself: "I need to get a label maker" (yes, to make it "look more professional").




I think I'm ready. I call Bill to help me removing OUR first engine. You would think I would call somebody who would know how to do this, but somehow, I don't. I call Bill. And I'm the EXPERT of the two.

He and his son Sean came to help me out. Bill was even kind enough to buy the engine hoist for me and bring it along. As a present. "Don't worry about it, the way things are going, we'll get to use it with my car too"

Bill looks at the engine compartment and says: "It's almost out!! All you need to do is CUT those wires here and there and it should come right out."

So I tell him, "why don't you guys help me assembling the engine hoist while I DISCONNECT the wires?".

And finally, after a very worrisome process, we lose our engine-removal cherry.




February 2009. First Week:

Next step interior wiring: Oh God! And I thought the engine compartment was difficult. Luckily, I'm getting better by the day.

So I start with the basics: LABEL EVERY CONNECTOR (and this time with a label-maker)






But as usual, I get stuck in certain places. Like for example, with this connector in the center console. To the best of my abilities (which is not much, really), I came out to the conclusion (or guess) that it is the connector for an optional BMW phone. Maybe?




And finally, the nervous system of my car, is sitting in my basement. I'm officially a car neurosurgeon (or undertaker?)




The OBD2 Engine wire harness:




The front interior wire harness:




The rear interior wire harness:




I'll work on them later. I need to go back to the car, which looks so much cleaner now.






.

[clopez95m3]

Gary, you're like that tv show "Lost", you're going back in time.
The previous installment was Fall 2008 and now you're back to January and Feb. 2008.

Or is it 2009?

Carlos.

[Relax]

Omg I envy you so much. I can't wait for new updates!

[RADI0ACTIV3M4N]

My dad left peru in the 80's. You have a cool collection of cars.

[iwantspeed]

great progress.

[matthewAPM]

absolutely awesome!

[stealthbeam]

Man I hate wiring messes too! That's what I'm currently stuck on such a PITA

[SiGmA]

I like this thread And your garage is killer too!

[Naka]

February 2009, second week: Now back to the car:

I remove the fender well liners and expose the fuel expansion tank in the rear:




Looks complicated to me (too many hoses). I better move up to the front:




But I also run into trouble. I cannot get the brake line off, and in my futile attempt to losen it up (even though I use a flare-nut wrench), I round off the nut. CRAP!! I guess I'll have to replace the whole line.

Well, no problem, everything is now so exposed. Might as well get both sides out (since I round the other one too, damn it!!)





Still some work to do. So I decide to CLEAN the engine bay.




Beautiful. I'm so proud. Getting faster and faster.


Now, it is time to finish the interior:







February 09, third week:

Now I feel so pumped up (and reckless), that I "resect" the fuel system out too.

Whole system




Rear section:




Front section:




After reconstructing everything back on my garage floor, I went back to my desk and studied every single part. Obviously, I'm still unsure of what to do.

What is it supposed to go back, and what is garbage? The carbon canister loop is supposed to be an non-vital item for emissions-only purposes (and fuel economy too), but that's as far as I'm willing to go (guess).

Until I have an epiphany. "Aha! I'll put a post on Bimmerforums and I bet they will tell me what to do. Such a great crowd".

So I draw a diagram illustrating the parts I removed, hoping somebody will chip in with insightful advice on what should go to the trash and what should go back to the car.

So, here it is ("please, somebody help!" a voice rings in my head):





That's all I can do. Now, it's time to patiently await advice while getting the car ready for transport to a cage builder.