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Thread: 98 M-Roadster Track/Street Car Auction Car

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
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    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S

    98 M-Roadster Track Project

    So for some time, I had been running an E30 for my track car, and after rebuidling the head and starting prep work, I found the strut towers had started to rust, so I decided to get rid of it. That was probably 3 years ago, and since I had been sitting on another project that never really started - a Locost track rat. I finally realized that would never see the track and sold the project this past winter. I decided I wanted a 2 seater, convertible track car that could be used for periodic country drives, as well as my track car. I narrowed things down to the M-Roadster, and the S2000. My search for an affordable option took me to auctions, where I found my car. I damaged/salvage M-Roadster that aside from some front end damage, was in excellent condition.

    This is my starting point for the car, as seen in the auction listings:

    damage1.JPGfront-driver.JPGleft-rear.JPG

    Over last summer I broke the car down, confirmed the chassis is strait, and started collecting new body panels, and front end components that needed to be replaced or I would have upgraded. This included aluminum radiator, silicon hoses, custom CAI, underdrive pulley, accessory deletes, core support, bumper, hood, headlight, etc. Most of the parts all needed some work - such as the bumper which had a slight crack and major rash. The hood had a slight bend in one corner, both the hood and bumper need painting, etc. Here's where the car is now:

    front.jpgradiator.jpg

    Since these images I've completely repaired the bumper and its primed for paint. Aside from exterior work, I'm in the process of the following:

    Seats - Bimarco Futura with custom adapters and side mounts
    Sparco Steering wheel/momo adapter
    5 Pt. Harnesses and arm restraints
    Carpet removal
    Custom roll bar
    BC RAM Type Coilovers
    Urethane throughout Suspension
    BMP Short Shifter
    Stoptech SS Lines

    Several others, will list them and add pics as they become available. I'm likely not going to paint, but will be applying vinyl across the entire hood and bumper to avoid paint - its a track car so not targeting a show car look.
    Last edited by modifiede30; 05-20-2014 at 09:26 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Burr Ridge, IL
    Posts
    595
    My Cars
    1989 325is Spec E30 #109
    Nice! Now hopefully there's no frame or suspension damage.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    Quote Originally Posted by MikeLenoch5 View Post
    Nice! Now hopefully there's no frame or suspension damage.
    That was the first thing I checked - and its all good. The only evidence of an accident once I tore down to the frame rails was the driver's side frame rail flange had been bent a little - otherwise everything is straight/square and very clean underneath. I received the estimate from the original repair - $12k in repairs. I'm $800 into body parts and elbow grease. Most items I would have replaced anyway so I didn't really count the cost.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Burr Ridge, IL
    Posts
    595
    My Cars
    1989 325is Spec E30 #109
    Quote Originally Posted by modifiede30 View Post
    That was the first thing I checked - and its all good. The only evidence of an accident once I tore down to the frame rails was the driver's side frame rail flange had been bent a little - otherwise everything is straight/square and very clean underneath. I received the estimate from the original repair - $12k in repairs. I'm $800 into body parts and elbow grease. Most items I would have replaced anyway so I didn't really count the cost.
    Sounds good! Best of luck with the build, looks cool!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    Loosely fit the primed bumper today - I'm going to go nuts trying to align this with the hood. For some reason the hood just seems to be wider than the original on all sides by about 1/2" no matter what I try. Starting to think maybe it needs to be squeezed so the center bulges a bit more and the sides come together a little more. Not sure if that's possible.

    Also took a shot of one of the Bimarco Futura's resting in place. It'll need to come forward a little to really fit without rubbing on the door - or be raised a little more.

    seats.jpgprimed-bumper.jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Concord, CA
    Posts
    602
    My Cars
    FRS Track Car/M235i DD
    This is goingto be a cool build!


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Houston, TX
    Posts
    495
    My Cars
    E36 vert 5.0 V8 swap
    very cool build! i sometimes wish I had gone with the z3.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    A bit of body work has been done, and its getting ready to go out for racing wrap application to the front end. It'll be matte black up front, and the existing blue in the rear. Seat bracket templates are done, floor panels are off to the metal shop to price for a diamond cut/laser cut-out, and a few goodies are on their way - short shifter, brake lines, bushings, etc. I'll post more pics once the wrap is done, and I begin to put interior back together.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by modifiede30; 04-10-2013 at 10:51 PM. Reason: duplicate

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Vancouver, Canada
    Posts
    48
    My Cars
    1999 E36/8 M coupe
    subscribed, can't wait to see final product.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
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    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    So I've made some more progress - hard to get much done with kids and a house we're renovating.

    I spent a good amount of time gutting the interior, and fitting the seat brackets I DIY'd rather than spend $200/seat from VAC. Once they're painted and done I'll post more pics of them but I did include a shot of the drivers side left mount below.

    Lots of trim/carpeting removed:

    carpet_removed.JPGtrim_removed.JPGcarpet_removed.JPGtrim_removed.JPG

    Looked pretty good except the mess of wires and sound deadening materials I now have to go after:

    Passenger_clean.jpg

    Put my drill press to use a bit (this is after most of the cleaning of metal shavings):

    drill_press.JPG

    Put the seat into place a few hundred times and drilled through where needed to make a final mount location:

    seat_m-power.JPG

    Also finally got as much of a hood alignment as I think I'm going to be able to get - its a track car so it'll have to do. I'll post pics later. I'm going to use diamond plate aluminum from Lowes for the floor panels, and then a reinforced piece of aluminum sheet for the tranny tunnel. I found a product that is a plastic honeycomb material that might work well as backing to thin aluminum to give it a little rigidity but much lighter than carpeting. I'm thinking I'll then cover it with vinyl carbon fiber so it looks reasonable - and eventually do the same for other trim panels that are blue (dash parts). The door panels will be done the same as the tranny tunnel. Still need to do the coilovers, suspension bits, and then brakes. Not going to do much to the engine other than what's already been done and maintenance items. Hopefully the matte black vinyl will go over the hood and down the sides in the next week or so, then off to the fabricator for a roll bar. Its getting close to track being ready for its first track date

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    Here's the seat mount:
    seat_mount.JPG

    And some of the alignment shots of the hood - still not perfect but good enough for track use!
    center.JPGright_alignment.JPGright_corner.JPGleft_corner.JPG

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
    Posts
    85
    My Cars
    98 M Roadster
    Looking good...git er done!!!
    '98 Imola Red M Roadster, 155kmi, motor just regasketed and head redone, Conforti Air Intake and Shark Injector, Strong-strut F Tower brace, Butt-Strutt, and Frame-Rail Reinforcement, Bilstein shocks.......otherwise stock. Will be prepping car for probable, eventual LS3 conversion

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
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    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    Some new shots - still trying to figure out the matte black pattern but its getting there. Roll bar installed and seat in its final position. IMG_7656.JPGIMG_7655.JPGIMG_7657.JPG

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Spokane, Wa
    Posts
    1,718
    My Cars
    '97 M3/2/6 '01 996tt
    good start should be fun!
    http://www.hardmotorsport.com http://Facebook.com/HardMotorsport

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    I'll post some updated pics of the exterior wrap now that its completed (at least for now). I've turned my attention back to getting the essentials done - seats, floor panels, roll bar, harnesses, and other safety items. As with anything, there seem to be dependencies that must be done before other items can be added (thought I'd be able to leave the project management at work but no luck).

    So, before I can complete the interior work I needed to address fire suppression and electrical cut-off switch wiring/location. I've decided to install a dual cable cut-off and fire trigger - both mounted on my roll bar, with a second cable accessible from the cabin. I struggled with location a bit because I didn't want to have to reach all the way over to the glove box to try and pull a cable to kill power, so I decided to fabricate my own center console section and cut up the stock plastic to make it all work together. The point of this build was to make the car track ready, but also somewhat civilized for an occasional Sunday mountain drive. As a result, I wanted to keep the radio, heat (A/C is gone), and I saw no reason to discard the shifter trim ring/boot. I don't have the "before" pics, but most of you know what a Z3/M-Roadster center console looks like. I've shown the new console before installation. I'm still kicking myself for spending so much time on this - but I'm pleased with the results.

    Long process cut short - I cut the console in half, and discarded the section aft the shifter. I sanded, and then re-glued the leather around the butt ends from the cut, and then cut out the section that housed all the buttons for heated seats, A/C, recirculation, etc. as well as the existing gauges, clock, and dummy panel. This free'd up a good portion of the center console for other purposes. I didn't like having the gauges in a location I couldn't see them (below the vent controls), so the existing oil temp is being moved to the upper/center vent location, along with 2 other gauges. I'll post pics of that soon.

    Rather than put gauges into the original location just forward the shifter, I installed 2 toggles (1-hazard lights, 2-aux fan), and the electrical kill switch and fire suppression trigger (fire suppression isn't yet installed in pics but I left room to the left). To make sure everything will withstand the force of pulling/turning switches, I installed an aluminum bar behind the panel that is linked into the 2 metal brackets that run the length of the console - the 3 main bolts at the top of the panel I fabricated is then bolted into this bar to ensure it can withstand emergency use.

    The interior of the car was originally blue and black, but given I've gutted the interior I saw no reason to leave the colors the same - hence the carbon fiber covering I've applied. Eventually I'll do the same for anything else that's blue - otherwise I'll leave it all black.

    Now that this is done, I can install the floor panels (after finishing the kill-switch wiring), and get my harnesses done. That'll conclude this year's interior work, and I can move to the suspension, brakes and - well, maybe more suspension.....

    photo (4).jpg

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    Installed the center console and deleted the center vent for 3 gauges. I'll probably cut a piece of aluminum to close off the front of the console before the e-brake. Not sure I'm going to do much to cover the remainder of the tranny tunnel - had considered covering it in aluminum but I think I may simply clean things up and let it go for now - spending way too much time on these cosmetic things.

    The last piece is to get the wiring all cleaned up, stereo re-installed (I know - but I hate to drive to/from the track with no tunes since after all it is a street legal car still) and the last seat bracket setup (needed to order thicker bar to get the seat above some of the tunnel so it could slide inward a bit so the seat ear cleared the door.

    Once these are done, time to install the harness eye-bolts, and begin the fun stuff (suspension, brakes, short-shifter). Will post some more pics later.

    center_console.jpg

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    Have been working through the car - taking more time due to home projects. I am thrilled to get the seat brakets finished and tonight finished roughing in my floor boards. I used honeycomb aluminum plates - light as a feather but rigid as hell - much more rigid than typical aluminum plates and much lighter. Here are some images of the process. This stuff cuts with a circular saw wood blade and can be shaped easily with a router for cutting in unique shapes. Front start to finish, these took about an hour with hand tools.

    stock_outlines.jpg

    This is the stock outlined from my cardboard templates. I'm using 1/2" honeycomb aluminum paneling thats very light and very rigid. I'll paint it and coat it with grip tape to keep from being slippery. I had purchased some diamond plate aluminum but this stuff is much lighter and much more rigid so I'm abandoning that approach.

    driver_template.jpg

    Here's the driver's side template from cardboard.

    driver_shaped.jpg

    After tracing it out from the template - I simply cut it out with a circular saw and notched the wiring areas with my router. No special blades, but use safety glasses for sure.

    IMG_20140510_193332160(2).jpg

    Passenger template

    pass_shaped.jpg

    Passenger after cutting/notching.

    I'm going to surround the floorboards with a band of TrimLok and painting it silver/grey, and then putting down a pattern of grip-tape. Was toying with the idea of putting down a BMW emblem in black tape but probably just go with a few diagonal strips to make sure you can get in/out without sliding everywhere.
    Last edited by modifiede30; 05-10-2014 at 09:15 PM.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    Here are some shots of the finished product once painted, the edges were wrapped in Gorilla tape, and then I added non-slip surface tape. Came out pretty nicely for $25/floorboard.

    driver_finished.jpg
    passenger_final.jpg

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bolton
    Posts
    636
    My Cars
    98' Z3M, 02' 911 C4S
    Been a long time since I posted, and although I've not made huge progress, its about ready to go to inspection finally.

    Installed new door skins inside - posted somewhere else about them - they turned out pretty nice I think.
    door skin.jpg

    Finished up the dash, and replaced the glove box with a faux carbon fiber vinyl over abs plastic insert.
    glovebox.jpg

    Installed new strut brace - probably the easiest thing I've done thus far.
    strut.jpg

    Purchased fire suppression system - next weekend's project.
    firecharger.jpg

    And since the black/silver/blue thing was bugging me, I had it painted.
    repainted.jpg

    Still need to install the suspension, fire suppression, secondary pull cable for kill switch, and replace the tires. Once that's done, it should be track ready, just in time for summer!

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Indianapolis
    Posts
    741
    My Cars
    F30 328d X-Drive
    Nice!! I have the same car. Excited to see your progress.

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