clean
Super clean man! Keep it that way. What front lip is that?
Well damn cruise down to wildwood crest sometime ;-D
I'm interested to see where you take the car! Your suspension looks gorgeous!
super clean, reminds me of my first e36 when i was 16. you're doing it right!
Thumbs up keep it up
Hahaha thats a bit of a drive
Thanks! It drives soooooo well. Much much better than stock, as you might imagine. Working on a set of spacers right now to finish out the visual changes for now.
Thanks! I try very hard to keep it clean
great job man!
Lol, Some lady hit my door last winter and while it was strictly cosmetic (but a major PITA) her husband was talking to me and goes..."What year is your car? 2007?" He couldn't believe me when I told him it was a '99. Massive ego boost (Unfortunately the only kind of boost regarding my car ) Haha
I'm in Northern NJ as well, I think I'm about 20-30 mins from Saddle River...I'll send you a PM with my info.
~~~~Updates!!!~~~~
Since my last posting I have been very very busy . . . I was back at school, working an internship and beginning and finishing my thesis. Now that I have graduated, I will take some time to relax, and work on the car of course! (on a side note, to anyone working within the logistics field, I would love to get in contact, shoot me a PM if you feel so inclined, I have graduated with a bachelor of science in International Logistics Management and Engineering from Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany)
Back to the car!
Since the last update I have added proper wheel spacers and studs as well as a slight rear fender roll (noticeable in pictures later), refurbished the vanos system with the beisan systems kit, got a ZHP shift knob (painted the silver band black, not pictured yet) a 3.23 LSD, M50 manifold, ASC delete with samco elbow, deleted the cyclone oil separator and dumping CCV to atmosphere for the moment until a catch can arrives (cyclone was completely clogged up putting oil in the intake manifold), fixed a nasty gouge in the lip from a rock or something on the highway, finally trimmed the fuel rail cover to fit the M50 mani, deleted the SAP (it was throwing codes , CEL was on) and made my own SAP simulator according to plans/diagrams posted on forums (simple google search turns up a lot of info), also throughout my work in the engine bay I tried to neaten up wires and hoses along the way, I hope its visible in the pictures, and from the end of last summer I also did a little fooling around with the lights and angel eye mounting to make them a little less noticeable when they are switched off.
The plans in the works (literally) are a UUC RSC36 exhaust, refurbished M3 steering wheel from tainik on ebay and 17x8 squared BBS RKs front offset 35 rear 40 (will also add appropriate spacers and studs to compliment them). The wheel is in the mail somewhere between here and Germany, the exhaust is either finishing production at corsa or in the mail (they are apparently made to order) and the RKs are being repainted and restored, done on Tuesday. So to say the least, I am very very excited!! And again, a big shout out to my friend Ray for helping me with all of the work as well as assembling all the parts . . . could not do it without him. He also just got a stunningly beautiful henna E30 M3 of which I will post a couple pictures (I will try to get him to do a proper photo shoot soon).
Next steps for the coming weeks are s52 cams, probably the “shark injector” software from turner specific to cams, manifold and exhaust, and then some small things such as new 3rd brake light (its dying)painting some trim where the rear edge of the convertible top meets the body of the car when the top is up (it’s a bit worn in places with bare metal showing), a full polishing and sealing to correct for small swirling after the years’ worth of washing (and an unfortunately unavoidable trip to the local hand wash following getting caught in a snow storm and plowing a couple of roads with my front end :’( ), a faulty wheel speed sensor or two (ABS light is on as well as traction control light) . . . (on another side note, does anyone know if traction control has something to do with wheel speed sensors? I attached the appropriate resistor after deleting ASC but now the light is on), the handbrake boot and handle need some love aka replacement to match the new shift knob, boot, and steering wheel, and I will probably ditch the carbon fiber emblems in favor of the natural OE BMW badging J
Now on to pictures!! Comments and criticism are of course welcome (just be nice, she is my baby) and as always, bear with me on the photos . . . all taken with the trusty canon 6 mp point and shoot
Spacers and studs are installed
Here you can see . . . much better than before J
Beisan systems vanos repair
Tying back the fan shroud
Looked pretty clean to me for a motor with 110000 miles on it. This was the first time I opened any part of the engine so it was nice to see confirmation of what I had thought all along . . . this car had been taken care of for its life. No sludge whatsoever, everything was nice and clean under the valve cxover. (unless I have missed something and someone can tell me something that I have missed)
Valve cover looked clean too
Vanos module is out
Vanos module
And everything back together again
Next is the removal of the cyclone oil/air separator
It is a bit difficult to see, and I already cleaned a bit before taking the picture, but there was quite a bit of oil sitting in the bottom of the manifold
CCV goes right down to the ground for the moment, will be changed shortly . . . I don’t really like the idea of dripping oil to the world. And I removed the left manifold bracket, but kept the right bracket and part of the bracket to which the cyclone was mounted to keep a sturdy mount for the ICV and the oil dipstick
And I trimmed the fuel rail cover finally!!
Before
After
3.23 LSD gets installed and filled with the BMW diff fluid (expensive!!!!!!!)
There she is!
Cover
Gearing
Out with the old 2.93 open diff . . . also had to swap the output flanges
Next I fixed the nasty gouge in the front lip, occurred at the end of last summer due to a rock or some other debris on the highway or somewhere
I forgot to take a photo of how it looked before any sanding, but here, after 120 grit, it already looked much better, you can’t tell from the shot, but it was more than just surface scratching, quite a chunk was taken out
After wetsanding with 120, 220, 320, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000 and then novus 3 heavy scratch remover it looked like this, a bit shinier than regular, but I think only I will notice from here on
Next move was removing the SAP and making a SAP simulator
Workbench nice and neat with all the parts . . . doesn’t stay clean for long :P
The offending party has been removed!!! Get it out!!
I found my missing screw cover, I wonder how long that has been there
How does all that junk get in there?!?!
SAP sim finished (not my best work at all, but it works, and I won’t post a picture of the soldering . . . it was ugly)
My solution to getting rid of the DRL in the corner lenses, completely reversible in case I ever want them back
SAP sim all wired up
Noted the connections in case I ever have to go back to it
After the first washing, light detailing (wax, windows, bumper trim, tire shine etc.) I took some pictures, didn’t really have any of the car at its present setup as it will be changing a little bit in the coming weeks
Here you can se the more disguised angel eyes, I made a post about it some time ago if anyone is interested in further information
And then I drove around to find somewhere to take some arsty pictures . . . I didn’t think they were half bad . . .
And finally now I think I am up to date on the activity of the past months. I will try to keep updating here as I go along and hopefully I will be seeing some of the cars on this forum at bimmerfest east. I plan to drive with a caravan early in the morning to stay for the day.
Here are some teaser pictures of the RKs, wheel and exhaust
I actually first tried a set of squared Schnitzers from my friend Ray’s new E30 M3. If I remember correctly, they were all 17x8.5 et13. The offset was too aggressive for me. Probably would have fit with some moderate to serious fender rolling, but that kind of irreversible modification isn’t really my thing.
Test fitting the RKs before sending them to be refinished
Corsa RSC36
Steering wheel from tainik
Again, comments and criticism are welcome. I hope you enjoy!!
Wow man I'm envious.. and jealous, I wish I was this handy with cars and had the funds! My first car which I got a year ago is also a black vert, hopefully it'll end up this clean someday. It's nice to see that you did the right things first like maintenance, etc, something I wish I should've done. Car is lookin sweet with those rks.
Thanks!!! This has been a work in progress for almost 4 years now, slowly building up to what you see here. And let me tell you, when I first got it, I was pretty handy to begin with, but all that wiring, all those hoses under the hood... scary stuff, but not so much anymore, just took some patience and experience You will get there. I absolutely can't wait to have the RKs back and on the car, I think it will look stunning!!
Thank you! It has been a lot a lot a lot of work on so many little things so that everything looks fresh. I can't wait to have the RKs on it either
Wow, great build, man! Tastly done too. Wish I had done half as much in my 11 years E36 ownership
'95 E36 318tdS:
Bilstein Sport shocks; x-brace; H&R front sway bar; camber shims; M3 offset LCABs; Meyle HD LCAs; Z3 RSM reinforcement plates; ZHP shift knob.
great job on the car!
-M3J0N
Thanks!
Nahhh I like it where it is, I think it looks right at this height, not to mention any lower would just be impossible to drive around jersey. I scrape the lip going in and out of my driveway about half the time as it is...
I was rubbing a tiny bit in the front after the new suspension, but it wasn't anything serious
Just curious what else do you have planned exterior wise? I'm actually starting to like that lip on the vert, never seen it before on a vert I always thought it was too outrageous for the vert, but I want one for my car now the more I look at it.
Did you not use the lock blocks for the cams on the banks refurb? Or are they just not in those pics? Car has come a long way and looks great!
1995 M3 - Forged 9.8:1 2JZ, S366, MS3x, E85, LQ9s, 420g/PMC Motorsport kit, 4 clutch 3.15 LSD Large Case 757whp/710wtq
2011 X5 Xdrive35d- Blk on Cinnamon, Towing Pkg, Heat Pkg., etc..the tow rig/DD!
Not much else for the exterior besides wheels, RKs are currently being refinished and I think I will return the roundels to original blue and white, but that is it. And I have to be honest, I think the lip looks quite good on the vert, it kind of helps it to achieve a really low road hugging look if you know what I mean, looks even better in person. DO IT
I did, just didn't include a picture Thank you!
- - - Updated - - -
Some new updates.
I finally finished deleting the SAP, removed the valve, plugged the hole in the manifold and got rid of the hardline around the front of the motor, and will delete the switch, wiring and additional vacuum lines under the manifold soon. Also made a plate from some left over aluminum to cover the hole the SAP left.
And while the wheels are being refinished, I decided to clean up the caps a little bit
What a tease!!!!!!!! I can not wait to get those wheels back!!!!!
Honestly the pictures do not do it justice, this wheel is absolutely amazing. So perfect, entirely worth the near 6 week wait. It really transformed the interior of the car from ok to awesome I love it to say the least.
I also painted the silver band on the ZHP knob black, was never a fan of the silver ring in the e36, just doesn't look right. I think I will repaint it in a semi gloss though.
And a UUC clutch stop, will probably replace the clutch pedal bushing soon too to reduce the slop in the pedal
Wow it has come a long way! It looks great now
2001 Titanium Silver BMW M5
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