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Thread: 1999 M-Sport Build Thread

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Phoenix
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1999 328i M-Sport Vert

    Arrow 1999 M-Sport Build Thread

    Hi everyone, I've recently joined and am looking forward to sharing my build.


    My primary project at the moment is a 1999 E36 328i M-Sport convertible. Here are a few photos from the day I purchased and brought it home less than a year ago, as well as my old E46:









    I was fortunate enough to find this car in my favorite color combo locally here in Phoenix. It was in rough shape, but thankfully the neglecting of this car over the years helped retain most of its originality from the factory, as nobody really changed much. M52 with a 5-speed and 130k original miles. It is a final year production car that came from the factory as an M-Sport model. It came with the M body kit option (though I believe the previous owner changed the mirrors), sport suspension, M3 steering wheel, shift knob, etc. It has H/K with amp and sub, sport seats, alarm system, power top option, ect. Either the factory or the dealer placed an OEM ///M badge on the trunk lid and side moldings. My first official mod on this car was removing the autozone "3" badge that PO installed with gorilla glue….Here are some screenshots of the VIN decoded:







    My plans with this car were to restore it to it's former glory, upgrading it primarily with parts that can be changed or reversed back to factory in the future if I wish to do so. I don't plan to go widebody or F/I, as I'd like to keep it relatively close to it's original form. Over the past year I have done the following:


    Wheels/Suspension/Brakes:
    18x8 BBS Style-94
    Continental DWS 225/40 245/40
    Magnaflow Catback
    Koni STRT
    H/R Sport springs
    Powerflex poly FCAB
    Meyle strut/shock mounts
    Meyle HD control arms/ball joints
    Meyle inner/outer tie rods/plates
    Brembo OE rotors
    Bosch pads
    URO wear sensors
    Lemfoerder boots
    Febi sway links
    Rein bumpstops
    1/4" rolled/pulled rear arches


    Engine/Cooling/Electrical:
    Stewart EMP waterpump
    Behr radiator
    Behr fan clutch
    Behr expansion tank/cap
    ECS silicone radiator hoses
    Mahle thermostat/housing
    Bosch alternator
    Gold 94R battery
    Duralast Lifetime MAF
    NGK plugs
    ContiTech belts
    Victor Reinz VCG
    OE intake boots
    OE IAC hose
    Rein vanos line
    Lemfoerder rad mounts
    OE Hvac unit


    Lighting/Trim/Ect:
    Khoalty tail lights
    URO fog covers
    URO door handle trim
    OE Windsheild cowl
    OE ///M steering wheel
    One-piece projectors
    Gloss black kidneys
    Lower grill duct mod
    Tri-stitch shift/brake boots


    Here are some progress photos. Tear down begins:








    Photos with the valve cover removed. Appeared to be pretty clean:






    Putting things back together….










    Off to the alignment rack! And a very close call on the way….







    Out and about with my buddy's 325IS:








    I had my fair share of problems with the all electric soft top assembly. Rather than purchasing a new soft top, I figured I'd wait for a nice hardtop to pop up on craigslist. It was almost 6 months before I came across one, so I was very excited to find this. I planned on running it almost full-time, and didn't want all the additional dead weight of the soft top in the tonneau compartment. I also wanted to completely convert the soft top to a manual setup from an early model car in the future, so I had no interest in the auto setup. The solution was to completely remove the old top assembly from the car, and cut off the frame's end mounts in order to use them for the factory hardtop mounting gear:






    ….and finally, here is how the car sits today:





    My plans for the near future are to replace my starter that just died a few days ago, while possibly doing an M50 manifold swap with the install kit while I'm in there. I figured I'd get a Shark Injector around that same time, as it's almost necessary. However, this turns the starter project budget into more serious figure, so I'm currently undecided. After that I will probably install my depo headlights, drop a sidewall size or two, and do some camber plates/arms with spacers in an effort to drop a little lower in the front. Of course the list goes on from there….
    Last edited by 99problem; 05-24-2018 at 09:31 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Adairsville GA
    Posts
    488
    My Cars
    1994 BMW 325is
    The car has definitely come a long way, it looks great. Awesome job.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Tenerife, Spain
    Posts
    628
    My Cars
    1997 BMW E36 323i
    Looks very nice indeed.. Great job!

    One small correction. You wrote: "M52TU with a 5-speed and 130k original miles.". The engine I see in the photos is the single Vanos M52 (M52B28). I think the E36 was never sold with the dual Vanos M52TU (except for the E36/7 Z3). For the 3-series it was used in the first years of the E46 series.
    Last edited by ed323i; 05-22-2018 at 05:17 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Phoenix
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1999 328i M-Sport Vert
    Quote Originally Posted by Deus Ex Machina View Post
    The car has definitely come a long way, it looks great. Awesome job.
    Thank you!
    Quote Originally Posted by ed323i View Post
    Looks very nice indeed.. Great job!

    One small correction. You wrote: "M52TU with a 5-speed and 130k original miles.". The engine I see in the photos is the single Vanos M52 (M52B28). I think the E36 was never sold with the dual Vanos M52TU (except for the E36/7 Z3). For the 3-series it was used in the first years of the E46 series.
    Correct, single vanos...thanks for the catch!

    Old habits.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    sunnyvale CA
    Posts
    1,589
    My Cars
    325is
    I would never use that tow truck company again...


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