Project: 'Barn Find' - 1995 Avus Blue M3

[jaysonx]

Yes.

This one is 3" and about 5" long. They normally go over the M Performance exhaust and use a pin screw to hold in place. You can have your guy weld them in and fabricate something.

18 30 2 406 604 3" version
18 30 2 354 364 3-1/4" version

This looks perfect! TY!

Also, an update on the door panels. Looks like USA is out of stock - checking ordering from Germany.

[Braymond141]

Yes.

This one is 3" and about 5" long. They normally go over the M Performance exhaust and use a pin screw to hold in place. You can have your guy weld them in and fabricate something.



This one is 3-1/4" in diameter and also about 5" in length.




18 30 2 406 604 3" version
18 30 2 354 364 3-1/4" version

It's crooked.

[Jim E.]

lol.

Here you go:

[Veleno]

The door panels I ordered are:

51418178035 (Left door)

51418178036 (Right door)

I also ordered two new door liners (sound insulation)

51488161501

I removed the old adhesive for the old sound insulation panels and used this 3M sealer to attach the new ones:
-rb

What did you use to remove the old sealant? I want to remove the old sealant before installing new liners.
Who did you order the liners from?

I was also going to say the panels looked great without the speaker holes and suggest to not cut them but since you already did and it turned out great even better for you.

This is a huge help, thank you. I am ordering the panels today - I think mine are shot, in particular the backside mounts. I think I am doing radio delete on this build so no worries about the speaker holes for me (though the 95's didn't have them anyways).

Like mentioned above, '95's did come with speakers in the doors, 2 each to be exact.

Great thread btw!

[jaysonx]

Like mentioned above, '95's did come with speakers in the doors, 2 each to be exact.

Great thread btw!

You are right, I've had these things stored away for so long I forgot what they even look like!

Should have another parts drop coming in the next week or so.

[sirhodjibob]

lol.

Here you go:

[Hagasan41]

Can't wait to see it finished!

[RBNetEngr]

What did you use to remove the old sealant? I want to remove the old sealant before installing new liners.
Who did you order the liners from?

I pulled the sealant off with my fingers, and then cleaned the residue off with Goo Gone. If you pull it the right way, it comes off mostly intact. And you can use the pulled of chunks to remove other bits that remained behind. It’s a weird and amazing adhesive.

I bought the new liners from the same place that sold me the door panels. There are two types of liners - the flat ones (what my car had originally), and then some more complex looking liners.

51488161501 (Fits both sides - what I bought)

51488236693 (Left)
51488236694 (Right)


I don’t know if they both fit the ‘95, so I went with the replacements that looked like what I already had originally.


-rb

[jaysonx]

51488236693 (Left)
51488236694 (Right)

Wow, those liners look much more robust. Can anyone confirm if they work on a 95?

[Veleno]

Yeah those look more robust. Would be great if they did work on the '95.

[Braymond141]

Wow, those liners look much more robust. Can anyone confirm if they work on a 95?

They work fine. Just use new butyl tape.

https://www.amazon.com/Sealant-PROMO...52980146&psc=1

Oreilly also carries it (3M Window Weld, it's typically in the back, not out front).

[JasonGM3]

Wow, those liners look much more robust. Can anyone confirm if they work on a 95?

Yep, they fit. I replaced my old liners with the nicer ones on my 95 m3

[Veleno]

Yep, they fit. I replaced my old liners with the nicer ones on my 95 m3

Great, more parts to order. lol

[jaysonx]

Continuing to work on the paint as I await the next parts delivery. It looks like my door cards are on the slow boat from europe (literally). We will see what happens when they get here - there should be an overall US stock replenishment in BMW's inventory.

I've spent countless hours on this darn hood. It needs a respray, it is going to get a respray, but it still isn't stopping me from cleaning it up as best I can. The current state is about as good as I can get it. A million rock chips filled in, all polished up, but the damage to the clear coat (top right area of the hood photo) remains. I swapped over to Menzerna 400 for extra cutting power. Also working on the F/R bumpers while I have them off the car.





Otherwise, I am awaiting a bunch of other trim bits. New wheel liners all around, door sill trim, badges, various other odds & ends. I haven't done a full triage on the suspension but I do have new subframe bushings being delivered. This weekend I'm planning to wheel the car out of the garage and give the undercarriage a good pressure wash.

[Veleno]

If original paint on the car/panels is important to you, I suggest buying a used hood and having that painted instead of your current hood. You can put your current hood on the wall for art deco. If not, paint away!

[jaysonx]

If original paint on the car/panels is important to you, I suggest buying a used hood and having that painted instead of your current hood. You can put your current hood on the wall for art deco. If not, paint away!

Exactly, I’m on the fence here. Half of me wants to just rock it as-is (I mean the car does have a story) but the other half just wants to order all the front clip bodywork+trunk+rear bumper and have it all paint matched. The curse I struggle with on the daily lol.

[jaysonx]

Progress continues to be steady - had a parts drop this week. New wheel liners at all four corners, new exterior trim, headlights, badges, window trim, and many other odds and ends. I am going to be digging into the suspension soon, but want to get the exterior tidy first (plus hitting the undercarriage multiple times w the pressure washer). I am finally done correcting and polishing the paint. The entire car was wet-sanded, compounded, polished. It was a ton of work, didn't count the hours but it was enough to consume my free time for a few weeks! Some pics of the progress

Final inspection outside before putting things back together


New 'OE' headlights. I'll probably get Euro's at some point when availability isn't such a mess.


Roughing everything together


Bumper seems to hang some, will look up how to tweak the fitment


Interior looking tidy, door panels still on order. Also have not installed the brand new A and C pillar trim (waiting to get windshield replaced - snapping that stuff in will probably be the last thing I do)


Playing w headlamps on a rainy fall evening



I have so many thoughts at this stage I am not sure where to begin. Firstly I've fallen back in love with the car, which is funny considering I've barely been able to drive the thing. I think my goal is to have this as a fun weekend driver to use, in particular in winter months when I won't be taking the 911 out on the road. A 'touring' build is the general mindset I want to be able to enjoy it with my s/o much like we do the 911. Given the requirements, I am going to look to soften up the ride some, thinking H&R OE on Sachs or Koni's? Dinan springs+Koni's? For tires perhaps some 225 pilot sport all seasons?

Here are some aftermarket components on the car that I will need to sort through:
Active Autowerke Front Strut Tower Bar (great shape, perhaps replace bolts)
Active Autowerke Intake (good with new filter)
Active Autowerke Exhaust (need to clean up the tips)
Active Autowerke Tune (seems good, car runs rich at cold start though)
Racing Dynamics Lowering Springs (these visually look pristine, but I have to imagine they are toast considering the 1998 stamp on them)
Racing Dynamics F/R sway bars (look good, but need new bushings)
Bilsten B8 Shocks (totally shot)

I will start chipping away at the suspension soon. Everything is in need of an overhaul, all the bushings, subframe, guibo, engine mounts, lower control arms, trailing arms, etc, etc, etc. Glad to have the car back in a good visual presentation, but tons left to do!

[Veleno]

The car has come a long way from the barn condition. It's like you're rebuilding it with new parts. I can only imagine what the total cost is so far, but well worth it seeing how it sits now.

[jaysonx]

The car has come a long way from the barn condition. It's like you're rebuilding it with new parts. I can only imagine what the total cost is so far, but well worth it seeing how it sits now.

Thanks! Surely I have crossed the threshold of having just been able to buy a better quality car, but what's the fun in that! The fact that this car has no rust makes it worth it IMHO. Long-term pricing prospects are good (for the clean examples at least), especially with all the drift kids destroying them by the dozens.

[crqflier]

I'm late to the party, but wow, fantastic effort Jayson. Everything about this .

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

[sirhodjibob]

Wow, those new US headlights look really nice!

[jaysonx]

I'm late to the party, but wow, fantastic effort Jayson. Everything about this .

TY!

Wow, those new US headlights look really nice!

They present really well - but are certainly very cheaply made. I swapped out the mounting/adjustment hardware on the back with the OE unit to give it a bit more structural rigidity. Not ideal, but more than good enough for the time being. The headlight woes you outlined in your thread have me wanting to avoid that brain damage for a while - hah.

Here are the ones I got if anyone is curious: https://www.carparts.com/headlight/r...set-20-3667-00 (caveat emptor).

[jaysonx]

New door cards are still somewhere in transit, I got a little anxious last night and put the old ones back in. All of the mounting hardware needed to be re-glued (I used E6000 epoxy). I simply taped in the vapor barriers/insulation as I will be pulling all of this apart again at some point in the future. The original door cards are not in too terrible of shape, but have discoloration and are not as tight of a fit as they should be.





Yes the Vaders are going to be dealt with, either re-upholstered or replaced with something else...

Also realized I never showed the newly installed door trim. Rockers will go back on when I get around to installing the new fender liners (when I get the car back on the jackstands).


Lastly, I finally registered the car - I am now officially the 2nd owner. Historic plates for a vehicle from 1995. I guess that makes me pre-historic.


For the A and C panel trim, has anyone successfully mounted them without using the clips? Velcro? Given the expense of these things - I'd like to see if there is another way that I can affix them that won't ensure their destruction if and when they need to be removed again.

[GG///M3]

Nice work

[Finessin]

Great thread. Awesome car.