2002 S54 BMW M Coupe Build Thread

[moupe54]

Hey everyone, Welcome to the thorough documented journey to me building my dream car, my 2002 BMW Z3 M Coupe.
The goal of this thread is to document the process of all things modification, restoration, maintenance, and upkeep Associated with my car. Through my journey, mistakes, wins, and discoveries I hope to learn how to maximize every bit of this chassis, and hopefully help others along the way.

Introduction: I have been in love with m coupes since I was about 14 years old and since discovering the existence of this car, my obsession has only grown more and more with time. Here I stand, as an owner since 2014 fully emerged in the community and the cars that lie within them. How did I get here? I grabbed my first imola coupe just past my 16th birthday, and immediately started to modify it. It went through many stages between 5 sets of suspension, 2 paint colors, 2 sets of wheels, 3 exhausts, a torn subframe, lots of fun days and others not so fun. through these stages I learned the what to do's and what not to do's. After just over 4 years of ownership, I parted ways with my first coupe and wanted a fresh slate, and to undertake a full blown build that would hopefully staple this coupe as one of the best around.

The Goal: This car has a few goals for me. Number 1: to maximize this cars ability. There are a few typical "choice mods" for the m coupe that owners will typically gravitate towards. Those mods being Coilovers, Wider wheels, a 6 speed transmission swap, shorter ratio differential, seats, exhaust, subframe reinforcement, and the list goes on. What I didn't see, or rarely saw is a car that had EVERY one of those mods. I figured BMW left so much on the table for these cars, why not go full balls to the wall and really see what the culmination of all these mods can do to this car. So the stage was set, to take a stock m coupe, and refresh and upgrade every system in the car, to make it the best It can be.

The Parts List: At the start of every good build, comes a theoretical parts list. A spreadsheet of all the parts in mind that you THINK you want. This list changes with time as you see more, or less of things you want, so here is mine.

Exterior:
- Repaint
- Paint protection film
- 1 Piece front splitter
DONE Carbon Fiber Roof
DONE Hamman Side Gills
DONE OEM Customz Badges
DONE "Facelift" Headlights
DONE Front Mud Flaps
DONE Motorsport Door Handles
DONE Shock tower reinforcement plates
DONE "Moupe" Vanity Plate
Wheels & Suspension:
DONE 3 Piece Livery Protos
DONE TC Kline Double Adjustable Coilovers
DONE Randy Forbes Subframe Reinforcement Kit
DONE Bushing upgrade/refresh
DONE Spherical Ball Joints
DONE E46 ZHP Yellow Tag Steering Rack
- Rally Road E36 Strut Bar
Interior:
- Saddle Brown Extended Leather Upholstery
DONE Recaro Pole Position FIA
- New Center Console Trim
DONE M Trunk Mat
DONE Neverdone Glovebox Sag Kit
DONE MTech II Steering Wheel
DONE Aluminum Pedals
DONE New OEM Floor Mats
DONE Chrome Door Lock Pins
- Manual Dimming Mirror
- Carbon Fiber Door Sills
- Keyless Entry
DONE Stormwerks Cigarette Lighter Cover
Drivetrain:
DONE Karbonius CSL Airbox
DONE Lightweight Flywheel
DONE Getrag 420G 6 Speed Transmission
DONE 3 Clutch 3.73 Limited Slip Differential
DONE Billet Oil Cap


Updates:
As this list gets completed over time, I'll be dropping links to easily find updates, parts, and searches for those looking for a particular part of the car. To Jump to Links of specific sections of the thread, click the corresponding link number (#) next to the topic.

[#4] - Roundel, Trunk Mat, Seat Heater Button
[#6] - New Wheels
[#16] - Rod Brearings
[#18] - Glovebox Sag Kit, Oil Filter Housing Gasket, Front Crank seal
[#29] - Polish VANOS, New Tires
[#36] - Schuh Syndicant
[#38] - ACS Splitters, Chrome Door Locks, Bumper Shave
[#43] - Mudflap Restoration
[#44] - OG headlight cover restoration
[#54] - Paint Correction & Ceramic Coating
[#81] - MTech II Steering Wheel, Fikse FM10 Test Fit, YAW Sensor Failure
[#152] - Door Seal, Leather Treatment, Tailgate trim
[#154] - 2021 Recap
[#159] - Paint Can Incident
[#163] - Z-Exhibit at BMW CCA
[#183] - Refinish Wheels
[#185] - Spring 2022 Preparations
[#189] - Door panel Fix, Blown Cooling system
[#198] - Fix Cooling system, Billet Oil Filter Cap, Fix Drivers Seat
[#208] - Engine Mounts, Alternator
[#222] - More Paint Work (Hood)
[#250] - Schuh Syndikat 2022
[#261] - Seat Bushings
[#262] - YAW Sensor Fix, Hazard button trim, Center Console Light, & Corner Balance
[#270] - More Paint (hood & doors), Parts accumulation, 1st Trophy
[#272] - Motorsport Door handle install, New entrance sills, Window Regulators, Door panel fix
[#279] - Oil Leaks, Front Timing Cover, Clean Engine
[#287] - NLA Trim Piece, Screw Button covers, Tire Cleaner
[#293] - Custom Hamman Gills made by Cemal
[#298] - HRB Cargo Cover Brackets, Horn Wiring, Stormwerks Cigarette Lighter, CF roof photo & Newspaper
[#299] - Custom Plate & ZHP Steering Rack Pt. 1
[#305] - ZHP Yellow Tag Steering Rack Pt. 2: Installation
[#320] - OEM Customz Roundels and Schuh Syndikat Prep
[#321] - Schuh Syndikat 2023

CSL Airbox
[#50] - CSL Airbox Parts list introduction & Breakdown. Explains MAF sensor vs Alpha N. Explains OEM Flap Function
[#68] - CSL Airbox Pt. 2: Arrival of parts
[#69] - CSL Airbox Pt. 3: Installation & Dyno Video
[#70] - CSL Airbox Pt. 4: Final thoughts, CF valve cover & In-car Video

Headlight Build
[#84] - Facelift Headlight Build Pt. 1: introduction, plans, renderings, and Mock ups
[#153] - Facelift Headlight Build Pt. 2: Abandon Builder, Parts Arrive, Test Fit, Plan
[#173] - Facelift Headlight Build Pt. 3: Fitting Shrouds, Render & print of High Beam Shroud, Test Fit and Full 1st Mock up
[#174] - Facelift Headlight Build Pt. 4: Wiring, Clean housings, 2nd mock up
[#178] - Facelift Headlight Build Pt. 5: Final Assembly, Installation, and Completion

6 Speed Swap & 3.73 LSD
[#93] - 6 speed & LSD Pt. 1: Introduction, Breakdown, Parts List, Explanations
[#94] - 6 speed & LSD Pt. 2: Completed Driveshaft, Specs for shortening parts, Shifter carrier and selector arm & LSD Arrives
[#96] - 6 speed & LSD Pt. 4: Completed Parts Pile, Transmission Installation, Undercoat & Completion
[#97] - 6 speed & LSD Pt. 5: Unsolved Issues
[#107] - 6 speed & LSD Pt. 6: Differential Swap, Cover Refresh, Installation
[#135] - 6 speed & LSD Pt. 7: Solutions to Issues
[#144] - 6 speed & LSD Pt. 8: Final Impressions & Acceleration Videos

​Subframe Reinforcement
[#98] - Subframe Reinforcement Pt. 1: Introduction & Complaining
[#113] - Subframe Reinforcement Pt. 2: Plan, Parts Breakdown, Trunk Disassembly, Sound deadening Strip & Prep
[#129] - Subframe Reinforcement Pt. 3: Subframe Disassembly
[#133] - Subframe Reinforcement Pt. 4: Exhaust Restoration, Axle Rebuild
[#134] - Subframe Reinforcement Pt. 5: Cutting, Welding, Installation, Paint
[#136] - Subframe Reinforcement Pt. 6: Seam Seal, Paint, Sound Insulation, Assembly, Completion

Suspension Build
[#216] - Suspension Build Pt. 1: Introduction, Full Parts List, and Plan
[#223] - Suspension Build Pt. 2: Power Wash, Trunk Strip, Fender Liner disassembly
[#226] - Suspension Build Pt. 3: Fender Liner Restoration, On the Chassis Dolly, Rear Suspension Disassembly
[#227] - Suspension Build Pt. 4: Front Suspension Disassembly, Hardware, Fender well Undercoat, Cleaning reusable parts
[#228] - Suspension Build Pt. 5: Bushing extraction, Arm Strip & Valve Cover Gasket
[#233] - Suspension Build Pt. 6: Fender Well assembly, Timing Chain Tensioner, and Zinc Plated Hardware
[#234] - Suspension Build Pt. 7: Full Parts Photo, Paint, Differential install, Rear sway bar install, Beginning of front suspension
[#239] - Suspension Build Pt. 8: Rear Coilover install, Rear Suspension Completion
[#243] - Suspension Build Pt. 9: All parts Arrive, Front suspension completion, Alignment, Final Undercarriage Shots
[#255] - Suspension Build Pt. 10: Front Coilovers Arrive & Installation

Recaro Pole Positions
[#282] - Recaro Pole Positions Pt. 1: Acquisition, Test Fit, Fitting Issues
[#286] - Recaro Pole Positions Pt. 2: Custom Seat Brackets, Fitting Solutions, Installation, Completion
[#292] - Seating Position Photo

Carbon Fiber SLicktop Roof Conversion
[#278] - Carbon Fiber Slicktop Roof Conversion Pt. 1: Introduction & Parts List
[#306] - Carbon Fiber Slicktop Roof Conversion Pt. 2: Roof Acquisition and Test Fit Photos
[#312] - Roof Structure Skeleton Photo

Brakes
[#313] - Brakes Pt. 1: Introduction, Parts List & Explanation
[#318] - Brakes Pt. 2: Parts Acquisition, and Laid out photo
[#319] - Brakes Pt. 3: Installation, Bedding in process, & Completion Photos

Repaint
[#323] - Repaint Pt. 1: Damage assessment, Color options
[#325] - Repaint Pt. 2: Parts List, Color decision, Spare panels
[#327] - Repaint Pt. 3: Shop Reveal, BMW Bill, PDR and Body work begins
[#328] - Repaint Pt. 4: Doors & Quarter Finished

[moupe54]

Hey everyone, I'm Nick and Ive owned 2 M Coupes over the past 8 years. Starting with my first 99' Imola/Imola S52 coupe, I modified and learned the chassis through my mistakes I've made along the way. After the knowledge I've gathered through the years I yearned for another, a different and hopefully the last M Coupe I'll ever own. I parted ways with my S52 and searched for my ideal spec for my dream coupe build (well used sapphire black/black S54 M Coupe). Most people's dream coupe would be a more rare and special color but black has always been my favorite. After months of searching I was approached by a well known enthusiast having the perfect example for me to start. After a 20 minute phone call I was planning a trip down the Virginia to pick up my forever car: 2002 Black sapphire S54 M Coupe with 84,000 miles, a mint interior, new Dr. vanos unit and coilovers.







The purchase went smoothly leaving me with absolutely no money left in my budget. All that mattered was that the car was solid, needed nothing and was ready to enjoy. I could never thank the 2 previous owners enough for taking such great care of this car, proving to be one of the best condition m coupes I've ever come across for the milage.
With the plan to essentially re-engineer this car to be the ultimate expression of the m coupe chassis, I didn't plan on making this thread until things really started to pick up. Naturally, I started to dig into it almost immediately, so two years later it's time to start the documentation of the build.As soon as The car arrived home safely, I started the process of cleaning which was well needed. At the time, it had been fairly neglected racking up a mere 1500 miles in 2 years and being parked outside the entire time, causing the paint to be...awful. The first day I had the car I had a quick single step paint correction done by @doublemdetailing. The transformation was night and day.




After an exterior/interior/engine bay detail the car was looking great. After selling my last m coupe, I kept a few things off the car like my old headlights with angel eyes, my renown 130r steering wheel and a new carbon valve cover from status gruppe. Along with the cover I polished the vanos unit making the engine bay clean up nice.




After a huge transformation I took the car to my favorite spot for photos. The results are as follows

[moupe54]

After almost a year, and 9,000 headache free miles, the car was treating me great. Some modifications Ive done along the way was a new shift knob, the leader z arm rest, some shock tower reinforcement plates, aluminum pedals, and blacked out grills.



Some issues along this year were super small but worth noting. First the alternator went which is a simple wear item. The next three things were very m coupe specific...
First was an awful squeak coming from the rear end. For those having this same issue, I recommend trying my fix. The majority of the squeaking in this interior come from the dog net piece directly behind your head. I removed it and glued pieces of soft felt underneath which stopped the plastic on plastic squeaking sound. After a year it hasn’t come back.
The second and third issue was the driver side door handle and window regulator. As time passes, thousands of times the door handle eventually developed slop making the latch loose inside the door. Eventually it stopped working for me. When fixing this issue, I replaced the super slow, creaking window which I’ve replaced several times on my previous m coupe. My fix for the door handle, may seen a bit ghetto, but it works and feels better than any m coupe door handle out there. What needed to be done was space the actuating arm attached to the door handle out until it caught the worn locking mechanism inside the door. With the spring force of the handle and the epoxy, it has held fine and the issue hasn’t come back.

[moupe54]

The next series of updates consist of small improvements, and modifications. Starting with one of the holy grails of pointless m coupe parts: a set of mud flaps. I’m a huge fan of these and was stoked to have them on. Thanks Evan!



More buttoning up of the interior to make it perfect, I replaced my chipped seat heater button



Much needed emblem replacement and a super awesome surprise came from FCP. I ordered a z3 coupe trunk mat with the normal z3 embroidered into it and this little nla piece showed up. Turns out they had a few m trunk mats lying around and sent me one. Unfortunately they ran out quickly after I shared my luck with others

[moupe54]

The first major, expensive issue I decided to address was paint. The paint looked okay but on the drivers side, every panel had a huge imperfection in it whether it’d be peeling clear coat or deep scratches. I chose the repaint the entire side of the car, which turned out amazing. I did the rear bumper, side skirt, door, and quarter panel.



Now that paint was perfect I could move on...
The day I picked the car up, I ironically picked up replica ACS splitters from my buddy Marty. If I had them before I would have thrown them in with paint but waited until I went back to do more painting.

[moupe54]

I never intended on picking up wheels so soon, as the ones I wanted were rare and expensive, but a car showed up on m coupe buyers guide with a special set of wheels I had to have.



I pulled the trigger on some grails. A Super rare set of perfectly spec’d Livery Protos made by 2 of our very own m coupe enthusiasts.
Specs: 18x9 / 18x11 w/ 245/35/18 & 295/30/18

I had small issues fitting them at first. I just needed to be able to max out camber up front. Due to the shock tower reinforcement plates, it left another degree I needed to keep them from rubbing. I simply grinded out space for the adjusters to go.



Had to go out for some photos

[cdn]

Your car is looking great Nick! Love the Livery wheels

[spikeisgr8]

Looking very nice! I, however, am always on the side that thinks the Roadstars suit this car perfectly, especially in shadow chrome. But, to each their own. Time to give mine a full detail. I have the time!

[BimmerBreaker]

Nice coupe, Nick

I remember you wanting to S62 swap that red coupe back in the day so I feel I should mention that the S62 and S54 share sister DMEs. Meaning electronically very little is made to make the electronics work. There are kits now to fit the S62 into the Z3/E36 engine bay as well... Just, you know... So ya know

[s8ilver]

Nice ride! Where did you source the pedals? I've been looking for a nice aluminum set for my M.

[solimans]

Looking sharp, sir. Love the black on black


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[IndianaRoadster]

Very nice car, I like your ride height.

[ProductUser]

Boy, I feel like I neglected my Z3 after looking your coupe. Looks nice!

[moupe54]

Looking very nice! I, however, am always on the side that thinks the Roadstars suit this car perfectly, especially in shadow chrome. But, to each their own. Time to give mine a full detail. I have the time!

definitely to each their own. I hate roadstars and I think theyre not wide enough. Thats what ive been doing. ill be doing a coronavirus update soon for the many things ive been able to accomplish on my free time!

Nice coupe, Nick

I remember you wanting to S62 swap that red coupe back in the day so I feel I should mention that the S62 and S54 share sister DMEs. Meaning electronically very little is made to make the electronics work. There are kits now to fit the S62 into the Z3/E36 engine bay as well... Just, you know... So ya know

Yeah its definitely an option but I'm so over that. A younger more ambitious me would be so down but after owning the S54 I think its more than enough engine for the chassis. Some bolt ons like catless headers, a carbon airbox and under drive pulleys and I think the car will more than fast enough!

Nice ride! Where did you source the pedals? I've been looking for a nice aluminum set for my M.

Thanks! unfortunately I dont remember. They were a gift from my ex-girlfriend

[Cos270]

Fantastic! Looks like she's in good hands. Where'd you get the aluminum pedals? They look like the ones that bolt onto the stock pedals, but i couldn't see any holes that had bolts installed...

[moupe54]

Now that the car looked the way I wanted, I was rounding 95,000 miles on original rod bearings. I knew the time for service was now so I gathered parts to upgrade and bulletproof this S54





Getting these parts together aren’t as straight forward as you would think. The connecting rod bolts for pre facelift S54’s are nla and don’t state anywhere that they were changed from m11 to m10. I was forced to buy ARP which is not an issue. I was also able to last minute get a set of VAC motorsport coated bearings along with their oil pump upgrade. What started as just a refresh with OE parts turned into upgrading it entirely.



The bearings that came out were in amazing condition. They were a real testament to how well me, and the other two owners treated this car. For the miles, these look great.



After a 1000 miles break in, we’re back in action.

[ThatZ3Guy]

Man, this car is COOL. The S54 coupe is my favorite Z3 by far. The stance and wheels look great. If I were you, I'd have driven straight to the window tint shop first thing! I can't stand being in a little car so low down and letting everyone look down inside my car. I make an exception for when the roof comes down though, haha.

[moupe54]

Due to the global pandemic, I’ve been moved home from college giving me way more time to work on the coupe. I am determined to work out every issue I possibly can during this down time. My coupe has been giving me a very hard time the past few months and in need of some love, so as awful as this time is, i’m thankful to have the free time.
I started with a serious spring cleaning. Taking the wheels off, washing the wheel wells and undercarriage, clayed/polished the car, vaccumed etc...




Next I tackled my failing glovebox. This was driving me nuts as I live in an area with terrible roads so the sagging glovebox was getting worse and worse each time I drove the car. It was vibrating, jiggling, had 1/2” of sag and made a lot of noise. To fix it I removed it, fixed all of the mounts, removed the 10lbs piece of metal inside it and installed NeverDone™️’s glovebox sag kit. Results were impressive, for it felt and looked great. No sag, and no noise.



Next, and probably most important I wanted to find the source of this oil leaks that had been drenching the bottom of the car with oil since I owned the car. First step was clean all the old oil off. I was under the impression it had been the oil pan gasket this whole time so I didn't want to do that gasket until it was time for bearings. After the bearings and OPG were done it was time to start replacing gaskets/seals since it had continued to leak.




It wasn't clear where the car was leaking from so I started with a gasket I was familiar with and had lying around, the oil filter housing



Decided to polish the housing while it was out



This didn’t fix it. Next I cleaned it again and ran the car and was sure I found the culprit:



It was for sure the front crankshaft seal. It had backed out and worn the seal. Without a tool I tried to install it and unfortunately pinched the seal. Time to try again!
To be continued...

[A W]

Nick nice updates. So glad to see another S54 Black on Black M coupe in Long Island. I moved from there about three years ago and of course moved my 01 M coupe with me. Now it will be moving again but to the west coast this time. It is one of those cars you will never want to part with. I am surprised your haven't done the seat rail bushings, those were the cheapest but best thing to fix that took me until last year to finally fix! Good luck on that seal.

[moupe54]

Man, this car is COOL. The S54 coupe is my favorite Z3 by far. The stance and wheels look great. If I were you, I'd have driven straight to the window tint shop first thing! I can't stand being in a little car so low down and letting everyone look down inside my car. I make an exception for when the roof comes down though, haha.

Thanks a lot! I'm not a big tint guy, I like the fish bowl look which I know isn't for everybody. I'm not worried about anyone looking into the car. if they were curious id be happy to let them poke around

Nick nice updates. So glad to see another S54 Black on Black M coupe in Long Island. I moved from there about three years ago and of course moved my 01 M coupe with me. Now it will be moving again but to the west coast this time. It is one of those cars you will never want to part with. I am surprised your haven't done the seat rail bushings, those were the cheapest but best thing to fix that took me until last year to finally fix! Good luck on that seal.

Thank you, its nice that I have it here but it is no place for an m coupe. I plan to leave this place as soon as possible, searching for a place with better roads, less traffic and less bumps. THANK YOU for the reminder about the seat bushings! I always forget I need those because the passenger side rocks like a boat. I guess I'll have to add that in the next update

[2DYE4]

So much win.

[CaliAgents]

Nice work mayn, keep it up! Good job tracking down that pesky oil leak as well.

Aiyeeeeeee!

[BlueM3Racer]

Great thread, Nick. Car is looking excellent.

[Z3speed4me]

Saw your IG post about the oil pan; hope you get that sorted out, that's super unfortunate.
Harbor Freight... totally not for the win in this case. Chyyy-naaa

[BimmerBreaker]

Just saw it too lol. Cant you use a magentic extension tool to fish it out of an opening?

He could have just as easily dropped a Snap-On tool in there...