1995 Cosmos M3 - helping back to life

[nate161514]

See PG2 for the newest update Color Change Content!

Hey Everyone, this is my first longer journal/story on here. It seems like the best way to document and share my progress while also getting helpful tips and suggestions. I had this over on M3Forum and didn't get much response, hoping with more e36 folks here I will get more good ideas/help.

On to the car. I wanted a fun daily driver and also a car I could get my feet wet with in terms of DIY projects so I picked up my e36 M back in June from a member over on here. It had 166xxx miles and was in ok mechanical shape but needed some cosmetic help and overall refreshing. I really liked that the car was almost 100% stock and its only real mod was a short shift kit. I also got a set a full set of DS1 wheels along with the OEM LTW's and the price was right so I pulled the trigger.

Pics from initial purchase:












After buying the car I took it in for MD state inspection which required me to get a few things:
Fog Lights
Rear Brakes
Rear Tires (Went with Hankook Ventus V12 Evo)
Headliner, Was sagging really badly ( Had the shop repair the drivers side vader as well)
Wiper Blades

I also really disliked the smoked depo tails and the clear turn signals which had blue bulbs :twocents: so I swapped them out for OEM amber turn signals and amber/OEM tails. I thought it made the car instantly look better





Pics of the repaired vader and headliner





Also Upgraded the shift knob to ZHP

And with the help of RRSperry brought the stereo back to life and went from sound in one speaker to sound in all of them!





After these I moved up to Massachusetts and in driving a few thousand miles realized some more issues and modifications I wanted to do. Took it in and got:

Euro Headlights
New Front Tires (Stayed with the Hankooks)
Wiper sensor and pump
Removed rotted exhaust hanger (fixed an annoying rattle)
Alignment and Oil Change

Pic with Euro Lights:


...........And with an r8 :



Upcoming Things:
Aftermarket/new Exhaust
Fuel Filter
Engine refresh/knock sensors
Replace rubber trim and gaskets on windows
Power Steering System refresh
Snow Tires on DS1s

Long Range Projects/mods:
Paint correction and fixing body imperfections
Conforti Eurosport Intake Package
Possibly Suspension
OEM Mats
3 Spoke Wheel
Speaker Upgrades

[hide1]

Nice example of maintenance over modification!

[RRSperry]

Glad to see it's coming along... Good luck in school.

Rich

[nate161514]

^thanks Rich! I graduated though so I am out in the real world now haha

[Moron95M3]

how did it align? it looks like it has almost no front camber? (Or I'm just not used to seeing a stockish M!)

Very nice work though!

[david2991]

Great project good luck ahead.

[FlyLizards45]

Saw this one on craigslist and was hoping it would find a good home. Good luck!

[nate161514]

I actually just got an alignment recently when I had major work done (post about that will be in a couple days) and you have a good eye, they are actually a little more straight up and down then normal. I was told/have heard it's better for even tire wear and I don't plan on doing anything crazy performance wise with this car in the near future so I kept them a little more up and down.

[nate161514]

Thanks for all the positive responses as well I have some good updates/engine open/apart pics coming

[na6croadster]

I actually just got an alignment recently when I had major work done (post about that will be in a couple days) and you have a good eye, they are actually a little more straight up and down then normal. I was told/have heard it's better for even tire wear and I don't plan on doing anything crazy performance wise with this car in the near future so I kept them a little more up and down.

Camber. Either positive or negative. Negative indicates the top of the tire is tilted in towards your strut. Camber (save for excessive amounts) is generally not the cause of poor tire wear, toe is.

There is no camber adjustment on this car in stock form in the front. Your "alignment" job in the front would have been purely toe (in or out).

Good luck bringing her back! Off to a good start.

[Smoody]

Looks nice! I look forward to watching the progress.

[nate161514]

So a little update on some things since the first post was actually from a while ago.

The stock exhaust that was on the car was pretty much rotting off so I decided to look for an aftermarket replacement (I wanted to add a little sound too!)
I found a Rogue DMS for sale on here that was in Rhode Island so I went for it.



Got it installed and really like the sound, its a little loud but I feel the sound fits the car nicely.

I also decided to switch to a tow hook plate and get the "BMW" front trim back on the car. Another small change that I thought went a long way to making the car look better.



When the exhaust was getting installed, I had the shop look over the rest of the car more in depth.

On a side note, the shop I go to, Inline Autoworks in Niantic, CT is in my opinion one of the best for enthusiast owned bmws in the region. The owner Brian has had numerous M Cars and goes way out of his way to make sure your car is done right, at a fair price, and is definitely a perfectionist when it comes to BMWs. When he looked a little deeper though, it turned out there were a few more problems with the car then I had initially realized. With it being my daily driver and my work schedule more hectic then I had anticipated, I decided to get everything taken care of at once there and get the car mechanically fully up to snuff.

Mostly the work was refreshing old and tired components from the engine and suspension. It was obvious someone had cared for the car before, but it needed to be brought back up to speed. Here are some pics with the engine taken apart a little more:






Thankfully the engine turned out to be pretty clean and didn't show signs of a hard life of abuse, even at 170k miles. By the end we had replaced:

Knock Sensors
Valve Cover Gasket
Oil Pan Gasket
Engine Ground Cable
Multiple Oil Seals and Gaskets
VANOS Hose
Spark Plugs
Motor Mounts
Fuel Filter and Bracket
Throttle Body Intake Boot
Pretty much all of the Power Steering Hoses
Steering Rack Boots and Tie Rod Assemblies
RTABS
Cabin Air Filter
A new Alignment

I'm sure there might be a few more things too, thats just what I remember.

I also had picked up an X-Brace with a gift card I had, so I got that put on too.

Afterward the car felt amazing compared to when I bought it. On the highway the power band was smooth and the new motor mounts and power steering work helped a lot with the overall feel of the car. They also hooked me up with a complementary cleaning in and out so it looked nice when I picked it up as well.




I was a little unhappy that I was not able to at least attempt more of this work myself but with needing the car for daily driving duties, my priorities had to switch. Hopefully now that the car is back fully up to par mechanically I can have a good starting place for more things to come!

Up next:
Winter Tires on my set of DS1s
New Rear 6x9 Speakers (Current ones are blown)
Replacing exterior window trim and refreshing plastic exterior trim (maybe plasti-dip black?)

[david2991]

Regarding 6x9's in the rear shelf... I had recently ordered adapters form ebay and installed in my m3. They sound great even with stock components up front. A bit more mid than the trained ear may like but for how easy the upgrade was, I think it sounds amazing. My rear shelf nokia speakers were horribly blown as well. Great progress i'm enjoying keeping up with this one!

[TheSkipper206]

Looking good, Definitely a good call swapping those Tails.

[e30jrosso]

Glad to see you're bringing the car back. Those initial pictures look like they were taken in The Fan in Richmond, is that where this one came from?

[nate161514]

^not sure where the fan is, but yes! This was another forum member's car from Richmond before I got it. And that's good to hear with the speakers I picked up some used pioneers on here with the adapters so hopefully they work out, haven't worked on getting them installed yet.

[nate161514]

Hey Everyone, wanted to make some updates to this thread as I have done a lot since the last time!

Over the summer I worked primary on cosmetic upgrades, I replaced:

Trim and all gaskets around the rear quarter windows
Gasket around Rear Window
Door Handle Gaskets
All Plastic Exterior Trim for rear and front bumpers
New Kidneys
New Floor Mats






I also upgraded the stereo and sound, going with a Kenwood Head unit and picked up some used Pioneer 6x9s for the rear speakers. The integration of bluetooth audio was a big bonus, as well as screen color matching the interior lighting at night. The 6x9s made a huge improvement and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a easy audio upgrade.



On the performance side I made some changes too. There was a sale so I went with the Turner Stage one package which includes the AFE CAI, 3.5inch MAF, and Chip. It was a good install and I learned a lot especially getting the dme out and installed correctly. The resulting induction noise was very satisfying and there seems to be a little bit of a power bump, but not as much as I had hoped.



I also bought a lightly used set of TC Kine S/A Coilovers on the forum and installed them with a lot of help from RRSperry, (Thanks Rich!) which really improved the handling. The rest of the pictures in the thread are with them installed and properly adjusted. I liked the drop which was subtle and performance oriented but not slammed. Right after the install though, everything shut down electronically and coincidentally my battery and alternator died. Replacing those was a positive though, a new battery felt like it brought new life to the car.

I started having problems in the fall with the car idling and dropping revs right after starting. I eventually got a check engine light from it, and had to search deeper. Ended up being an O2 sensor issue. At the same time I went through the car again with my shop and ended up replacing:

02 Lambda Sensor
Idle Air Control Valve Hose
Radiator Expansion Tank Hose
Driveshaft Guibo Flex Disk
Shift Shaft Seal
FCABs

As with any 19 year old car, these issues always come up and have to be addressed as parts get old. As with most repairs though, the car ran much better afterward.

I was browsing the forums one day and saw a Modena interior for sale, which to me looked awesome on Cosmos. I decided to go for it as a winter project and picked it up. The front seats are pretty beat and will need to be recovered. Using leatherique and (the summer heat eventually!) I hope to be able to get the backseats in good condition. Overall I think the color change adds a cool uniqueness to the car. I also ordered Bav Sound Speakers for the rest of the car as I would have all the panels off.

Day they came in


Rears Installed


Almost there!


Fully Installed


As the car sits today with the Winter Setup of Square Michelin Alpin Sports on DS1 wheels


I plan to keep up with this through the spring!
Upcoming Ideas/Projects
Sway Bars
Paint Chip Repairs
Recovered Front Seats
3 Spoke Steering Wheel
Alcantara Boots
LTW or High Arch Wing

[olemiss540]

This car is progressing exactly how I wish I would have started my car repair journey 8 years ago! You are doing an amazing job on prioritizing repairs and I am sure Rich is keeping you on task. The car is really staying OEM+ which is going to complement the heritage and feel of every aspect of the e36 M3. Love the amber corner lights btw, and please go into a little depth on your thoughts compared to your e46 m3 and why you are DDing the e36, how you compare the feel and experience of both. Very interested in hearing your take.

Drew

[peterson328is]

Great job so far! I just recently switched from an e36 328iS to the M3, and I can't wait to start refreshing it once I go home for the summer.

[MDICTED]

Awesome E36 is awesome! Inline Motorworks has really been taking care of the maitenance items and seeing that you have a solid 200k mile ride.

There are ads full of 150k mile E36's that couldn't hold a light to yours. Keep it up Nate.

[shaft9ii]

Looking great man, the taillights were exactly how I'd go. I love the interior change too, that modena color is just the best color contrast for the black M's, love it! As for the 6x9 speakers, make sure installed they have a nice tight seal around them, so there's no air gaps, and you should have a decent amount of bass too; not subwoofer level, but a good set of 6x9's properly installed can add a nice full sound to a set of components up front. Keep up the great work!

[kevcm]

Your M3 looks awesome...modena interior is so sweet! What brand of FCABs did you replace yours as I will be looking into these later?

[notMpowered]

You are seriously killing it with this refresh. Everything being done is spot on to bringing a good car back to great. Nice work!

[TriniSpeC]

Very nice! You are wasting no time.

[hide1]

Spot on with the modena on cosmos. Truly does give it some personality. Looks great!