E36 Convertible 323i M-Technic Schwarz/ Cognac

[SimonJD]

Introducing my BMW E36 Convertible.
It is a M-Technic M52B25 323i built on 1994/3,
Exterior colour : Schwarz II , Interior colour : Cognac brown.

I would like to use this thread as my project page/ maintenance log.



A lot of work has been done in the last 4 years/ 70.000km, M52 swapped the car about 1 year / 20.000km ago
together with most of the parts mentioned below. I have probably forgotten some parts but the list would get too long haha.
























M52 swap related parts

M52B25 323i 1998 Engine with 177.000 KM + Trans.
EWS free ecu Siemens
328i Exhaust from mani to muffler
M52 6 cylinder sway bar
Sachs replacement clutch – Pressure plate – Release bearing
Lemförder engine mounts 2x

Cooling System & Pulleys/ Tensioners

SKF Hydraulic Belt Tensioner and pulleys
SKF Waterpump Blue Composite
OE replacement Radiator
Behr Thermostat 92°C
Behr Fan Clutch
Bosch V-Belt 1555mm
Bosch V-Belt PK905 A/c

Regular maintenance

NGK Spark Plugs 6x BKR6EQUP
Requal Oil & Filter 7L flush
Castrol Edge 5W-40 Oil 7L
11L Blue Coolant
Bosch Oil Filter
Bosch Intake Filter
Bosch Wipers 500mm / 530mm flatblades
Bosch Front Brakes & Pads
Bosch Battery 80AH, rattle proof.
Brake hoses front F/r R/r replaced
Brake lines rear replaced

Gaskets & Seals

Walker exhaust gasket
Febi Powersteering reservoir.
Elring Valve cover gasket
*Elring Main crank seal trans side
*Elring Oil sump gasket
*Elring Main crank seal front
*Elring Valve stem seals

Suspension maintenance

AP Coilover set galvanized steel. F/R 40-60mm/20-50mm
3mm Wheel spacers all round to clear the coilovers
22mm rear spring pads “Eastern Europe bad road condition”
Bilstein B6 HD rear shock absorbers
Monroe dust covers & bump stops
Lemförder Front control arms
Lemförder Inner & outer tie rods
Lemförder Anti roll end links
Lemförder Front shock mounts
Lemförder Rear shock mounts
Lemförder Rear trailing arm bushings
Lemförder Tie rod boots
Camber adjustment bolts/ nuts/ shims replaced

OEM Retrofit projects & Mods

S243A Facelift style dashboard -Airbag for front passenger not retrofitted
S288A BMW Light alloy wheel, Cross Spoke 29 BBS 7Jx15
S333A Wind Deflector
S354A Green windscreen, green shade band
S380A Hardtop preparation
S458A Electr. front seat adjustment
S473A Armrest front
S481A Sports seats Driver/ Passenger
S498A Headrests, rear, mechanically adjustable
S508A Park Distance Control (PDC)
S520A Fog lights
S534A Automatic air conditioning
S554A On-board computer V with remote control
S563A Interior lighting package , Footwell/ underhood/ hardtop c-pillar
S676A HiFi 10 speaker system
S710A M sports steering wheel, Airbag
S715A M Aerodynamics package –M3 mirrors removed
S773A Luxury Wood Trim
S785A White Indicator lights

Factory fitted :

S240A Leather Steering Wheel
S320A Deleted Model Lettering
S388A Softtop Black
S398A Softtop Electromech Semiautom
S428A Warning Triangle And First Aid Kit
S510A Headlight Aim Control
S556A Outdoor Temperature Indicator
S651A MD Player
L801A National Version Germany
S900A Electronic Immobilizer

Replaced/ Restored misc. items

All engine/trans related fasteners/nuts/bolts replaced with OEM when the engine got swapped.
Leather dyed complete interior in Cognac brown (Underdash & handbrake lever)
MW Motorsport international Door sills black
Hardtop latch covers black
Windshield wiper cowl black.
Accelerator pedal
Softtop rear window replaced with zipper
Tonneau cover covering trims.
Pioneer Head unit DEH-X5600BT
Pioneer Mids 13cm G-1332i 4x 50w RMS (2x footwell 2x rear)
Pioneer Sub 25cm TS-W256C 350w RMS custom fitted box ski hatch

Work in progress projects

S494A Seat heating Driver/ Passenger
S502A Headlight Cleaning system SWRA
S540A Cruise control
S629A Car telephone (GSM) w card reader, Phase V
S982A Hardtop > not color matched
S345A Chrome-line Interior
Front Park Distance Control

[ChuckDizzle]

Very clean and I'm liking that interior color.

BBS LM's look good on everything.

[SimonJD]

Very clean and I'm liking that interior color.

BBS LM's look good on everything.

Thanks alot man, before the lm i had 18" Style 42 / 17" Style 24 on the car but 18s just look better after switching back and forth.
I have put tons of work into it, basically this forum taught me how to work on the car, will update regularly in this thread if I have updates 👍

[nikinas]

Great looking car! What did you use to dye the seats? I am thinking of doing something similar with my black interior

[ed323i]

Looks very, very nice. Engine-wise my car is the same: M52B25, and also 328i double pipe exhaust. Did you get a nice chip tune when you un-EWS'ed the DME? I did, and it's a really nice improvement on the M52B25 which is down-tuned a lot from factory (see signature where I got my tuned DME)..

I was wondering: I think the car originally had an M50B25? Do you think the M52B25 performs better or did you actually prefer the more free-revving, but less torquey M50? Or perhaps it was originally a 320i or 318i? Then it's difficult to compare. I think with the relatively heavy convertible chassis, the torquier M52 models are a better fit (one of my ex BMW's was an E34 525i M50 without Vanos, and the high gearing it got in the first model year, 1991; it was great fun once above 4000 rpm, but below that it needed its time to get up to speed).

P.S. Jealous about the suspensions. Nice coils, Bilstein B6. Great and firm setup. Must stick very well to the road.. I was forced to go with the stock springs and Bilstein B4's, because out here on the Canary islands the roads aren't that great, and there also very steep sudden declines (entering a parking garage for example) where the road would touch the exhaust.

Greetings from a fellow Dutch-man (now living happily in Spain for 8 years now; no more rust, such a relieve!)

[SimonJD]

Great looking car! What did you use to dye the seats? I am thinking of doing something similar with my black interior

I used a product called Leather Dye from a local brand.
There are tonnes of diy on the forum such is this one with al the steps decribed : https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ration-project

In the US there is a supplier called www.leatherique.com, they do factory colours with different top coat finishes.

The hardest parts is working back as much of the old dye as you can without damaging the grain.
And afterwards dyeing it without smoothing out the grain.

Did you get a nice chip tune when you un-EWS'ed the DME? ....

i never really got to know what was done to the dme.
The german seller mentioned they do it to all the engines-ecu packages they sell. The numbers on the siemens dme/ engine/ car matched so i did not look into it.
Not sure if anything performance wise has been done.
It does rev up slightly when pressing the clutch so my friend and i thought it was a sign of some ecu work.

The car was originally a M43B18, 116bhp to slow for its own weight.
So no comparison so far to the M50B25 engine performance.
A friend of mine is working on a

The suspension really was a very long road of trial and error.
I was about to go fully bilstein B6 / Eibach after reading alot of good reviews. And had bought all the parts but ended up selling off he springs and front struts.

But as i mentioned in the post i just decided to go back to 18" which could cause issues with static lowering and rubbing.
So i went with a combination of the AP shocks and coils in the frontand the more heavy duty B6 in the rear compared to the stock AP rear shocks.
I always found it weird how they dont have vert specific rear shocks in their coilover packages, but finally it handles very nice.