After having a blast restoring a '99 M3 coupe for my daughter, and bringing a high-mileage, beaten-up eBay nightmare that was my Estoril '99 M3 convertible back to life for a friend, I really wanted a decent E36 M3 for myself. The kid wants to go to shows with hers, so I thought it would be cool to tag along in mine.
A few months back I found a clean titan silver 99 convertible, loaded with a factory hard top, just 2 hours away. The car had 3 owners, the original window sticker ($52k), service records, a new top and some small mods. It wasn't perfect, but it was solid and hadn't been hacked apart like the previous two cars had been.
Used-1999-BMW-M3 (34).jpgUsed-1999-BMW-M3 (52).jpg
I replaced the DTM-style exhaust with an Active Autowerke cat-back system, upgraded the wheels to a staggered set of Apex ARC-8's in anthracite and changed the lights to smoked versions to carry the theme. The chipped up front spoiler was replaced, along with the under-hood insulation and some other bits to clean things up. I added silver gauge cluster rings, a flat bottom steering wheel, new shift boot, BavSound speakers to replace the dry-rotted HK ones and installed a refurbished CD43 unit with a Grom Audio bluetooth adapter. I deep-cleaned the car - you can eat out of the engine bay.
IMG_7210.jpgIMG_7213.jpg
Unfortunately, I just had rotator cuff repair surgery yesterday (my sling is in the steering wheel pic), so my time in the garage is going to be limited for a few months. It's headed to the shop this week for some work:
E46 M3 transmission swap (UUC lightweight flywheel, etc)
Schrick cams + new lifters + VANOS rebuild
New 80A bushings throughout + Bilstein B8s
Brake overhaul, with E46 CSL front rotors
Once it's home and I can work on it again, I'll be swapping the interior to a custom one (black with dark red accents), complete with powered + heated vader seats.
The wife approves; it's far more fun and cost-effective than anything I've had in the past 20 years. I know the convertible is heavier, but it's such a blast to drive around here... a classic analog summer beach car.
More to come!
Ryan
'99 Titanium Silver ///M3 Convertible
'02 Imola Red ///M5
What does an e46 m3 transmission swap run these days just for parts? The 6 speed manual right? Thats going to be quite the transformation all in one stop to the shop.
Agree. Originally, I'd just planned on the shop doing the transmission swap and cams, but with use of my left arm somewhat restricted for 4 months, I decided to let them handle the brakes and suspension. I'll focus on the interior as it requires far less effort than the bushings and such.
Mint transmission (68k miles) was $1800, UUC parts (including lightweight flywheel, hybrid clutch, short shifter, mount) was another $1800, and the driveshaft was about $650. Labor will be about $700, including fluid swaps and a new rear main seal while the trans is out. Not inexpensive, but I'm planning on keeping the car indefinitely so it's worth it to me.
Ryan
'99 Titanium Silver ///M3 Convertible
'02 Imola Red ///M5
I'm 4 weeks out from surgery, and they're 3 weeks into the car. Naturally, the scope of work expanded a bit once we got into the car.
Instead of reusing the stock calipers, I opted to do the Porsche 996 caliper swap; we refinished the Brembos in the same Titanium Silver as the car. I know that it shifts the bias a bit, but realistically, this particular car is meant more for cruising around here at the beach and the occasional show. If it were headed to the track, I'd have gone a different route. Being as I have the brackets, I'll likely do the E46 CSL rotor upgrade on my daughter's E36 M3 coupe when we rebuild her stock calipers.
52364110_10215986496169751_5976889249461436416_o.jpg
The entire rear subframe was removed and disassembled for cleaning. We're installing Turner adjustable trailing arms and the main subframe was shipped off to Garagistic for reinforcement and powdercoating. Swaybars were upgraded to UUC pieces with adjustable links front and rear. Bilsteins are replacing the stock Sachs pieces on all 4 corners.
51571721_10215986495849743_2899460403517980672_o.jpg 52653291_10215986495409732_5476045261874659328_o.jpg
The lightweight flywheel and new clutch are in for the swap. While the flywheel was off, we went ahead and replaced the rear main seal. The CDV is going away and we used a UUC short shifter with DSSR for the new 6-speed topped with an OEM 6-speed ZHP knob.
51805300_10215986496489759_5799364481452605440_o.jpg
The new upholstery is here; I'm going to start breaking down the Vader powered/heated seats that are being used for the swap. The interior will be 2-tone; black and dark red. While the lseat.com leather is a bit grainier than the AutoBerry skins we used for my daughter's car, I can already tell they'll be a far better fit. The AutoBerry covers were missing hardware, padding and while the leather was better, the construction was inferior to these.
IMG_0162.jpg
More to come!
Ryan
'99 Titanium Silver ///M3 Convertible
'02 Imola Red ///M5
Let me know if you ever want to sell either vert!
1997 Arctic Silver/Black M3
CES Stage IV (651rwhp/615rwtq @ 24 psi)
1999 Techno Violet/Dove M3
Auto/Convertible and staying stock!
I look forward to this third build of yours. The first one with the entire family was fun to read about!
Man I need to reupholster my front seats.
John
Making progress? The car and your body?
04M3 TiAg 69k slick-top 3 pedal
99M3 Cosmos 61k S50B32 euro 6Spd
88M3 AW 43k miles Project FS
WTB: 3.5" Eurosport/Conforti CAI
In for an update myself
I'm just about buy a vert and order the seat covers from lseat myself...still happy with them?
1997 Arctic Silver/Black M3
CES Stage IV (651rwhp/615rwtq @ 24 psi)
1999 Techno Violet/Dove M3
Auto/Convertible and staying stock!
Long overdue update - I got the car back at the beginning of the summer after almost 17 months in the shop. Here's the laundry list of work performed:
E46 6-Speed Transmission
Lightweight Flywheel
CDV Delete
Hybrid Clutch
ZHP 6-Speed Knob
New Rear Main Seal
Short Shift Kit
Bilstein Shocks/Struts
UUC Swaybars + Hardware
ECS Mount Reinforcements
H&R OE+ Sport Springs
Porsche 997 Calipers
E46 CSL 2-Piece Rotors
Stainless Brake Lines
Vanos Serviced
Schrick Cams
Porsche MAF
AFE Cold Air Intake
DCT Delete / SAI Delete
Kassel Performance Tune
Shorty Headers + O2 Bungs
Magnaflow High-Flow Cat
Active Autowerke Exhaust
Garagistic Poly Bushings
Reinforced Rear Subframe
The car is an absolute blast to drive; I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. The powerband is noticeably different than stock; it feels slower below 4000 rpm but once it gets there, it doesn't stop pulling.
About 3 weeks ago I started the process of carefully redoing the interior and decided that the dark red seating surfaces weren't the way to go. I'm sticking with the OEM sport seats, and will do light silver grey seating surfaces and door panel inserts with the rest of the interior black. The new silver grey upholstery just arrived Tuesday, so I'm going to start in on the back seats this weekend. Most of the interior trim is in, all of the clips have been replaced and even the seat belts and their hardware have been replaced. What's done so far is incredibly tight and devoid of the rattles that seem to happen with these cars over time. The doors feel just as solid when closing them as the ones on a new car.
2020-08-23 13.41.18.jpg
2020-08-26 19.38.27.jpg
2020-09-20 12.20.28.jpg
2020-09-20 12.21.01.jpg
As an aside, last weekend, I tore the entire nose off the car in prep for the installation of a new bumper and nose panel. Waiting on a couple of parts from ECS to button that back up; I'm taking the opportunity to remove 21 years of grime and replace some of the aged wheel liners and seals behind the bumper. The area behind the passenger side light is what everything looks like now... I've even cleaned the wiring harnesses. OCD FTW!
2020-09-27 10.22.26.jpg
'99 Titanium Silver ///M3 Convertible
'02 Imola Red ///M5
Bookmarks