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Thread: Z3M Coupe Re-build from Street/Track to full Track

  1. #26
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Salem, Nh
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    1,657
    My Cars
    01 Z3M Coupe
    With some time over the holidays I was able to finish up all the plumbing and wiring prep work to the chassis. The cage builder didn't stitch weld the underside of the car due to the fact that the zinc plating caused it to spit ferociously at him when he welded. He did the front end but nothing underneath and I wanted the frame rails, side rails and just about ever seam done. Fortunately I have a top notch welder with a barn and a lift less than 2 miles from my house so I brought it over to him and he was able to easily hoist it on it's side to do the welding. 16 hours of stitch welding later the chassis went from his shop to be sand blasted to clean and profile it prior to powder coating. I didn't get any pictures of the stitch welding but should be able to get some when it comes back from the sandblaster in a week or two.

    I was also able to tackle the front bumper. I have A-arm mounted brake ducts so I wanted to use the openings to duct additional air to the motor with some 2.5" hoses. The factory opening is a odd shape and the factory ducts are held on by flimsy tabs so I made a piece out of aluminum attached a flange to it with a screen sandwiched in-between with rivets and then after painting it flat black attached it to the bumper with rivets, a little caulking to seal it and done.

    The bumper was already painted with the corner lights to match and I had acquired a spoiler to fit but when mounting the spoiler to the bumper it left about an inch gap in the middle were the bumper indents on the horizontal plane. This kid of defeats one purpose of the spoiler which is to help minimize the amount of air going under the car which causes lift. So I got a piece of .5mm carbon fiber sheet which is strong but maintains some flexibility and created an air dam attaching it to the spoiler with double sided tape with it squeezed between the supports and to the rear with a screws going into an aluminium plate which runs the full width of the opening on the underside of the bumper for support. The supports bolt into the aluminum carrier at the top so they are rock solid.
    my leaf blower wind tunnel test and some baby powder shows that it worked pretty well. Air is pushed up into the opening for cooling and downforce and off to the sides and into the ducts. I had to cut away the front center section of the lower bumper and square it off since it curves forward and the CF only flexes in one plan at a time but it's invisible and hidden behind the CF piece so I didn't care.

    I finished it off by getting some grill material, fabricating and attaching it with some tie wraps.

    All in all a lot of measuring and fitting to get it the way I wanted but I think the end result was worth the effort.













    Last edited by CMM3; 01-11-2017 at 12:05 PM.

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Salem, Nh
    Posts
    1,657
    My Cars
    01 Z3M Coupe
    The chassis came back from being powder coated so assembly will now commence. It came out really nice. Powder coating is very resistant to chipping and solvents and what I noticed is that unlike paint the coverage is excellent.

    Some pictures:








    In these you can see the stitch welding on the frame rails and just about every other seam.




  3. #28
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Posts
    155
    My Cars
    1995 M3, 2016 STi
    My god man it looks amazing! Great work!

  4. #29
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Noblesville, IN
    Posts
    1,760
    My Cars
    98 328i, 79 911SC
    Incredible
    always trying to make it lighter and faster

    ^^former build: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...-neglected-M3/
    current build: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...car-build.html
    instant grams: doktor_b

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    knoxville,TN
    Posts
    67
    My Cars
    95 M3/2/5 daytona
    This thing.. Wow, poor clownshoe, good to see you rebuilding it into a beautiful track car. Love how the cage is done

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Salem, Nh
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    01 Z3M Coupe
    Thanks for the encouragement. I feel like I can see light at the end of the tunnel now that it's starting to go back together. Kind of starting from the rear I was able to get a fair amount done today. Having pre-assembled and having everything organized is making it a much easier job to reassemble.

    Because I'm using all -3an brake lines I was able to use bulkhead fittings with nuts securing them to the body mounts at the four corners instead of the flimsy stock clips





    I ran bulkhead fittings for the rear brakes through the body to a Tee inside the car then ran the line to the front with a pressure switch in line up front to activate the brake lights.




    Got the oil accumulator, cooler. filter and oil lines installed. The oil lines run under the pass floor pan and seat.









    Here is the underside of the battery box which now has the oil cooler and fans. You can see 2 fans behind the protective screens.




    I'm using the stock fuel tank, pump and lines and got them installed. The tank is in an ideal location for weight distribution and safety and the pump and lines are more than capable of providing enough fuel. I had replaced the pump not to long ago and got new lines and a filter to go with it.



    Last edited by CMM3; 02-04-2017 at 04:49 PM.

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Salem, Nh
    Posts
    1,657
    My Cars
    01 Z3M Coupe
    Snowy weekend with not much else to do decided to work on the inside of the car and some odds and ends,

    got the dash, pedals, steering coloum in and all the wiring to the fuel pump, oil cooler and brake lights tidied up.





    I had already installed a Mason clutch pedal, I replaced the bushings for it along with the brake pedal with Derlin. The new booster-less master cylinder from Chase Bay bolted right with a few tweaks to get it to bolt up to the stock pedal. I had to shorten the rod coming out of the master a bit and I had a bushing machined out of oil impregnated bronze and pressed into the brake pedal and put a bolt through it to attach the spherical end to it.




    I installed a rear proportioning valve also from Chase Bay on the firewall, along with the stock wiper motor and arm assembly modified to just the driver wiper. the wires hanging are for the O2 sensors and the gauges. also ran the clutch lines





    Kept the stock emergency brake, good to have if the hydraulics ever fail. And got the seats re-positioned and and bolted in along with the harnesses.





    Last edited by CMM3; 02-12-2017 at 04:20 PM.

  8. #33
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Posts
    704
    My Cars
    Spec3 & MCoupe
    You're gonna have to go back and label this thread as NSFW.

  9. #34
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    dover
    Posts
    281
    My Cars
    none
    whoa where did you get that bmw rain fabric....


    IG: dimitriantoniou

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    MA
    Posts
    5,154
    My Cars
    Various junk
    Wow, immaculate!

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Salem, Nh
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    1,657
    My Cars
    01 Z3M Coupe
    It's repo offered for sale by a forum member. If you do a search it'll come up. I believe he's on the m3forum
    I covered the never done aluminum door panels with it as well and used to have the rear hatch pieces done over in it as well, but sold them.

    Quote Originally Posted by e30 394 View Post
    whoa where did you get that bmw rain fabric....
    - - - Updated - - -

    It's so nice to work on it, I could do so in a suit and not get it dirty. Everything goes together without any problems, so much different than wrenching on it when it was 120K miles and neglected, then a lot of the fasteners were a bitch to get remove.

    Quote Originally Posted by FredK View Post
    Wow, immaculate!

  12. #37
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    3,323
    My Cars
    Z3M, X5M
    Wow great progress...it's really coming together nicely!!
    -Phil

  13. #38
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    1973 240Z 1998 M3/4/5
    Great job on the rebuild! Where did you have the chassis powdercoated ?

  14. #39
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    germany
    Posts
    6
    My Cars
    e36 323i coupé
    Absolutely gorgeous interior! Are u going to flock the dashboard, or will u leave it "shiny" ?

  15. #40
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Arida Zona
    Posts
    30,107
    My Cars
    z3
    Glad to see this car being brought back to life! Can't wait to see the end result after its back on the track
    Quote Originally Posted by e30 394 View Post
    whoa where did you get that bmw rain fabric....
    Right here...

    Going into my TENTH YEAR of providing high quality reproduction BMW fabrics!

    PRICE CUT on ALL FABRICS
    Offering the best prices on the best quality reproduction fabrics!

  16. #41
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by kwaters16 View Post
    Great job on the rebuild! Where did you have the chassis powdercoated ?
    I was hoping I could refer some people to this shop, They went the extra mile to come up with the shade of white I was looking for and actually did a bunch of small parts for me as well. What If failed to mention they used a two stage process, the first was a phosphate base to seal and inhibit rust followed by the white top coat.
    Bradford Refinishing in Haverhil MA is the place and Mike is the owner. Tell him Dan with the BMW chassis sent you.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by 10! View Post
    Absolutely gorgeous interior! Are u going to flock the dashboard, or will u leave it "shiny" ?
    It's not really that shiny, just going leave it as is

  17. #42
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    Jul 2008
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    01 Z3M Coupe
    Got some heat shielding installed in the tunnel and under the area where the exhaust runs to keep the cockpit cool. I found this stuff Teknofibra 2mm flexible thermal barrier at Essex Parts. They also offer a 4mm thickness but given that my entire exhaust system has been ceramic coated with White Lighting I didn't need the thicker stuff. It's a little pricey but it really works well just like the video shows and it goes on nice with some tape to finish the edges. I put some under the pass floor pan as well to keep the heat from the oil lines from given any ride along's a hot foot. It weighs nothing, and is sold by the foot x 5 feet wide. I bought 3 feet and have enough to cover my intake cone.





    Last edited by CMM3; 02-13-2017 at 07:19 PM.

  18. #43
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Finland
    Posts
    1,159
    My Cars
    Z3 Coupe individual
    Nice build!

    Z3 & E36 RamAir systems, send private message for more information.

  19. #44
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Indianapolis
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    My Cars
    F30 328d X-Drive
    I'm not sure if this was addressed anywhere in the thread. But any more details on this CF panel you used for the Gauge display?


  20. #45
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venom13132 View Post
    I'm not sure if this was addressed anywhere in the thread. But any more details on this CF panel you used for the Gauge display?
    I made it out of a 3 or 4 mm plate of Carbon Fiber cut to fit the opening, then I fabricated some "L" brackets to attach at the top to the stock mounting screw holes. It sort of press fit in the bottom and I sealed it from the back all around with some black silicon adhesive to make sure it stayed in place an hide any gaps.
    Last edited by CMM3; 02-14-2017 at 11:39 AM.

  21. #46
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    Indianapolis
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    F30 328d X-Drive
    Quote Originally Posted by CMM3 View Post
    I made it out of a 3 or 4 mm plate of Carbon Fiber cut to fit the opening, then I fabricated some "L" brackets to attach at the top to the stock mounting screw holes. It sort of press fit in the bottom and I sealed it from the back all around with some black silicon adhesive to make sure it stayed in place an hide any gaps.
    nice. I have been thinking about doing something like this for a long time.

  22. #47
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Salem, Nh
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    01 Z3M Coupe
    I picked up my rear suspension from Autoworks Unlimted were Mike the owner had replaced the old style Ireland cam bolt adjustable toe and camber kit with the newer posi-lock style. He did some re-positioning to get additional camber. Before I was maxed out at about 1.8 neg and I'm now hoping to get closer to 3.5. He also installed solid aluminum sub frame and diff bushings and race hard derlin trailing arm bushings. After welding it up he had the sub frame sand blasted and epoxy painted it. Getting it installed in the car wasn't to bad, along with the sway bar and hangers for the exhaust.





    Here you can see the toe adjusters and the solid sub frame bushings.




    And here the solid diff bushing


    I had a small breather for the diff in the car before and got it mounted


    tired of working under I put the rear quarters, the front fenders and skirts back on. Since the skirts get beat up I sprayed them with black plastic dip to protect them. Starting to look like a car again.


    My dog Monty checking to make sure the seat position is OK

    Last edited by CMM3; 02-19-2017 at 06:24 PM.

  23. #48
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Norristown PA
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    mostly bmw
    Wow.. this is great. Thank you for sharing the build process.
    95 turbo 330ti. 01 maxpsi m3 e85. 01 m5. 01 m coupe. 03 AIM 996t e85. 06 x3 w/Meyers plow and winter daily. Prussian Motors is hiring!! prussianmotors.com/jobs
    Current e39t LS Turbo swap: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...LS-e39-Touring

  24. #49
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Salem, Nh
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    01 Z3M Coupe
    Got the roof panel bolted in place, along with the rear hatch and the wing. I opted not to weld the roof panel in to keep the all the sheet metal bolt in and easily replaced. I removed the glass along with the latch and locking mechanisms, the license plate frame, lights and all the internal metal bracing to lose weight. I then fabricated a lexan window held in by nut inserts installed into the frame. This was all done before painting so the unused holes could be filled. The lexan window has a series of holes along the bottom edge to let the air that comes into the car at speed escape and reduce drag. A flush mounted push button catch secures the hatch when closed.









    I had the wing which was damaged repaired and painted flat black to match the roof. The uprights were fabricated out of aluminum and design to sit down in the channel and with the help of my son Blake, we mounted the uprights by drilling and tapping them, with screws securing them from underneath, inside of the car. I trimmed the long filler pieces to fit over the uprights to give it a finished look. The uprights need to be modified just a bit to get the range of adjustment needed then will be sent out to get powder coated to match the roof.



    Last edited by CMM3; 02-26-2017 at 10:05 AM.

  25. #50
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
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    Baltimore, Maryland
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    120
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    2002 BMW 330ci
    Slick nut inserts on the windows. Any details on where you got them?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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