2001 Z3 3.0 M Roadster "Tribute" - Build Thread

[Corellian Corve]

Going to start a build thread if anyone is interested. Nothing too exciting, but I haven't done one in a while. Since BMW never made an M Roadster in the facelift body style, I thought it would be fun to get a facelift car, and try to get it as close to an M car as reasonably possible - so that's the plan! I'll document all the changes and let everyone know how it goes.

Couple things to start - I get that some people don't like "faking" cars and that's not my intent. I have a real 2000 M Roadster with the hardtop and that car is awesome. I'm not trying to fool anyone or fake it. However, I do like a lot of small aesthetic differences between the M and normal Z3.

The particular car I'm going to be working on is nice, but has a lot of cosmetic and maintenance issues that need to be dealt with. One advantage in doing this tribute car is that I need to do a lot of this work already, so I'm not replacing perfectly good parts just for the sake of the Tribute. In some cases, I'm putting nicer parts on my real M car, and using the take-off parts on the Tribute. I can go into more detail as I document the build.

First let's talk about the car. I took a trip down to Oregon 2 weeks ago to pick it up. Car was listed extremely cheap on Offerup for a 3.0. As it turns out, the car had been sitting outside in a carport since 2016. Owner was an older gentlemen who started the car regularly but due to health issues was unable to drive it. It has 116K miles, clean Carfax, CA an OR car so rust wasn't really a concern. The 3.0 M54 is probably my favorite all-time motor, and as many of you know the puts out similar power to the S52 M cars.

It's pretty well optioned, too. Staggered 17" wheels, HK Sound, power roof, Chromeline, Sports Seats (heated), DSC, etc.

So what's the plan? Combination of things will happen at the same time.

1. Get the car mechanically sound and deal with typical BMW issues for this motor (Cooling, CCV, Valve Cover and Oil Housing gaskets, belts, power steering lines, etc.) as well as speakers (some dead), heater control (broken), etc.
2. Mechanical Upgrades: 330 Brakes, Fan Delete, M Struts and Springs and all fluids swapped.
3. Cosmetic Upgrades: M Front Bumper, M Wheels, M Side Grilles, M Mirrors, and M interior appointments.

I have found a breaker who has been awesome to work with that parts Z3 and M Roadster cars, and happened to have a car come in JUST as I contacted him where I can source a lot of the little nitty-gritty parts (most of the cosmetic and interior parts will come from used cars or when replacing parts on my M)

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[Corellian Corve]

Since I've had the car for a few weeks, I've already flushed all the fluids (Brakes, Trans, Diff, Oil) and cleaned the car up to see what I'm dealing with. I've also spent $2.6 billion dollars on RockAuto buying up a ton of parts, including everything to do the brake swap.

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It's also given me a chance to assess the car, which has proven to be a better car then I expected. It's rust free, rear subframe is solid, and it starts, runs and idles perfectly. That's great since I'm dealing with a solid car for the most part.

I've already replaced the interior speakers and re-foamed the subwoofer, so the audio system sounds good now. I'm going to replace the head-unit with a Continental/VDO unit that I use in all my older cars which is on order.

Yesterday I was able to tackle the brakes. This included UUC Stainless Brake lines, Pagid High Carbon rotors and OE Pagid Pads.

As has been recommended (and I can confirm) - the 330 brakes are much larger than the 3.0 brakes and bolt directly on, no issues. What's awesome is that I was able to purchase calipers with the brackets, rebuilt, for $53. The cost of the pads and rotors was basically the same as the Z3 units, so it ends up being ~$100 difference to upgrade to the Z3 brakes. Since I was doing lines and a fluid flush already, this was an absolute no-brainer.

Since I was flushing the fluid anyway I also removed the Clutch Delay Valve, which I'm not a fan of (and isn't in the M cars).

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[Corellian Corve]

Tonight was test-fitting the M bumper. One slight hiccup was that I discovered the car has been in a minor front-end bump, enough to slightly twist the aluminum bumper brace. This explains the ill-fitting (and damaged) original front bumper.

Thankfully, I'm getting a new brace and bumper shocks from the breaker, which I assume will improve the fitment on the passenger side as you can see in the pictures. Bonus for me, is that he's throwing in the brake ducts and the lower bumper spacers so I will eliminate the factory fog lights (both of mine were broken anyway) in favor of the duct work.

I also noticed that the Z3 fender liners have a cut-out for the brake ducts, so I don't have to order new fender liners to adapt them. Bonus!

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[BladeRunner919]

Nice project - I look forward to seeing it progress!

[ProductUser]

Nice garage I enjoy these types of threads and am looking to seeing how you progress.

[BladeRunner919]

Nice garage

The garage jealousy is always the worst bit of these threads for me!! Some of you are so lucky!

[ProductUser]

The garage jealousy is always the worst bit of these threads for me!! Some of you are so lucky!

Agreed. Much of my wrenching frustrations stem from finding work-arounds while working in a confined space. I wish they built houses with a 1000sq.ft. garage and a 100 sq.ft. living area

[CoconutPete]

Nice! Will be following.

By the way, what are those "dog nose" kidney grilles it came with?

[Corellian Corve]

Thanks everyone!

The garage is an absolute disaster. I have been working on about 5 different projects (I'm on a BMW kick right now) and just when I start to get things clean, I start something else. If it keeps snowing and I can't get parts this weekend, it's going to be a shop cleanup day.

+1 on working in tight spaces. When we moved about 12 years ago, having space for a shop was my only requirement for a move. Fortunately there was a nice flat spot next to the house to build a shop. I have aged out of working on the ground, and I probably would have stopped wrenching for fun if I didn't have a lift.

Yeah I have NO IDEA where those strange grilles came from. They were tossed immediately when I got home (which is when I discovered some of the front end damage on the car). The ones on there now (in the pictures with the M bumper) are actually aftermarket and may be the highest quality aftermarket grilles I've ever seen. Quality is really great.

[IndianaRoadster]

Since I was flushing the fluid anyway I also removed the Clutch Delay Valve, which I'm not a fan of (and isn't in the M cars).

[/QUOTE]

My M didn't have a CDV but the hose was constricted on one end. Replaced it with one that has no restrictions. Made a nice difference. This pic is not mine but like it.
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[lelandr]

As has been recommended (and I can confirm) - the 330 brakes are much larger than the 3.0 brakes and bolt directly on, no issues. What's awesome is that I was able to purchase calipers with the brackets, rebuilt, for $53. The cost of the pads and rotors was basically the same as the Z3 units, so it ends up being ~$100 difference to upgrade to the Z3 brakes. Since I was doing lines and a fluid flush already, this was an absolute no-brainer.

Interesting. Is this just for the front, or both front and rear? This seems to be somewhat of an upgrade for the M cars as well, although likely not anywhere near like it is for the non-M cars.

[CoconutPete]

Did you replace the clutch hose? I had ordered one for when I was working on my car last, but the one that showed up from Pelican didn't fit. They found some sort of error in their system and didn't have the correct one. I'm trying to find one to just replace the 20 year old rubber one with that will have no restricted openings...

[Corellian Corve]

Interesting. Is this just for the front, or both front and rear? This seems to be somewhat of an upgrade for the M cars as well, although likely not anywhere near like it is for the non-M cars.

Just the front. And to be clear - I'm going with the flow here. IIRC these are bigger than the M brakes (by just a bit) but can't be put on the M steering knuckles. That's why it's easier to go this route for non-M cars vs. converting to M brakes. There may be internal differences with the M calipers that I'm not aware of.

I don't think you can upgrade the rear Z3 brakes easily in any way. Moving to M brakes requires swapping a lot of parts on the rear-end.

I haven't driven the car yet so I can't say for sure how well they work. Moreso, all the brake parts on my car were old - and so not only have I replaced calipers, rotors and pads but added SS brake lines and fresh fluid. So it should be *night-and-day* different when I drive but I won't be able to isolate the difference in just the brakes.

[lelandr]

Ah, thanks for the clarification. Saved me running over to the local Pull-a-part to strip the brakes off of a 330. The E46 rotors are a little larger than the M brakes in every dimension save thickness of the fronts. With the rears, you also throw in the parking brake variable. As I haven't gotten to the track yet in this car (although, the way it's looking, maybe it never will), so I can't say whether the brakes are sufficient or not.

[IndianaRoadster]

Did you replace the clutch hose? I had ordered one for when I was working on my car last, but the one that showed up from Pelican didn't fit. They found some sort of error in their system and didn't have the correct one. I'm trying to find one to just replace the 20 year old rubber one with that will have no restricted openings...

This should work.
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[rjaudi]

Awesome project. I am doing something similar and bought a M roadster with 260k miles on it to use as parts for my 99 z3.

[Corellian Corve]

Awesome project. I am doing something similar and bought a M roadster with 260k miles on it to use as parts for my 99 z3.

Nice!

Unfortunately - no updates this weekend. I was supposed to go down to Portland and pick up a bunch of parts but we're having a pleasant snow storm here in the PNW so car projects will have to wait. I'm hopeful I can go down this week!

[Corellian Corve]

Tomorrow I head down to Portland to pick up a metric ton of parts - new seats, struts, wheels, door panels, front bumper brace and a ton of knick-knacks from the breakers. Cheaper to drive down then have everything shipped!

So tonight I had a little bit of time so decided to do a couple things in preparation for tomorrow and the rest of the week (I should get some good car nights this week!)

First I removed the front bumper brace and the inner fender liners. This will give me a good chance to clean everything up under there (lots of dirt likes to collect under those liners) but more specifically it gives me direct access to the bumper adjusters. I shoud be able to get good bumper alignment this way.

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The next thing was interior removal. Took out the seats, center console, glove box and door panels. Door panels were pretty ratty - and I'm going to be replacing the Z3 mirrors with M style mirrors so killing two birds with one stone.

Also, taking the center console out not only gives me a chance to clean things up, but makes a couple key projects easier

1. I'm putting in a factory alarm system which now means routing wires and placing the control unit is a lot easier
2. I had a broken guide pin on my heater control unit (and it was also pretty faded on the front) and I did not want to risk breaking anything when replacing the head unit so now I have easy access to the control cables, changing bulbs, etc.
3. I can repair all the broken tabs

So it was worth it to pull all this stuff out, and the facelift seat harness makes it really easy to remove the seats!


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[Corellian Corve]

Lastly, the leather on the shift boot and parking brake handle was dry as a bone and separating from the base. I took a chance on a pair of those ebay replacement sets and glued them to the original bases. THEY. WORK. GREAT. I will admit I was dubious as to the fit and quality (especially given the price) but I have to say I'm super impressed. The leather isn't skived like the factory, so at least on the handbrake it sits a little proud. However, the shifter boot fits great, and even on the handbrake I don't think anyone would notice. I did choose the "M" stitching because... why not. It gives it a little color and it's not OE anyway. I give this product an A.

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Tomorrow I doubt much work will get done, as I'm going to be taking an all-day drive - but I'll post some pictures of the haul for sure!

[z3forlife]

I’d pull 3 pairs of rca cables to the trunk while you have the console out. It’ll make a amp upgrade much easier and the sound quality difference astounding.

[Dakar Ole]

You can polish the wood up nicely with Turtle Wax Polishing Compound-A light to medium cleaner. I use it on headlight covers as well, so a whole can doesn't go to waste.

[s8ilver]

Looking great! Do the window sliders/track lube while you've got the panels off too.

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[mpire]

I'm just salivating over here thinking about that spare bumper box you just got laying around.

You want to buy an Aero Rear Bumper? lol

[Mr Bingley]

I’d pull 3 pairs of rca cables to the trunk while you have the console out. It’ll make a amp upgrade much easier and the sound quality difference astounding.

Probably not a bad idea to run a couple of wires for switched power and ground too.

[z3forlife]

He should already have a switched power (small gauge white) in the trunk harness. I’d go direct to the battery for main amp power and ground.