Mike's Cosmos Black 1998 M3 Sedan (M3/4/5) - Project Concord

[sirhodjibob]

Who makes that fire extinguisher mount?

[mike.bmw]

Who makes that fire extinguisher mount?

I have no idea, actually. A friend gave it to me and it doesn't have any markings or labels on it.

[scribbleman]

Looks like the Brey-Krause one:

https://www.bkauto.com/R_2216_Fire_E...W_p/r-2216.htm

Beautiful car! Enjoying your stories and photos on BimmerLife.

[mike.bmw]

Some minor fixes here and there, but nothing worth reporting. Lots of great driving though! Here are some shots form the past couple of weeks (and some bonus shots with a friend's E36 M3).

DSC_0417 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0416 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0411 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0405 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0388 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0395 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0419 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0416 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And some shots of my E30 for good measure:

DSC_0457 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0414 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0454 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[bmwstephen]

Mike- you have anymore details on spoiler add on for you your friend's white e36 m3?

[knickfan5745]

Amazing car and great photography work.

Love the car meet pictures. I'm a little biased, but the Estorils always stand out for me.

[mike.bmw]

I don't have many mechanical updates (which is a good thing). I've just been driving and enjoying the car.

I did install a passenger seat sensor bypass (SRS) because I was getting an intermittent SRS light.

After five months of driving the car, I finally got around to investigating why my accelerator pedal had an inch of "dead" travel at the beginning. It turns out the cable needed adjustment at the throttle body. What a simple (and quick) fix!

BMW Group Classic shared some of my photos of Project Concord on their Instagram account (here). Super excited about this! They shared some of my 1991 318is in February of 2022 and I didn't think lightning would strike twice, but it did!

It was funny to see the negative comments about the US-spec S52 engine compared to the euro engine. I guess some people have nothing better to do than to be negative. This car could have an M44 in it and I'd still love it.

Screenshot 2023-03-22 at 8.21.29 AM by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And some of the originals:

DSC_0415 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0455 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0467 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0442 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0478 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0479-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[E85STI]

Always like seeing a really clean sedan.

[Veleno]

Great car and story. Subscribed!

[mike.bmw]

So, uhhhh, I've been busy.

Among many automotive events, there was a trip to the Vintage in my E30: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/05/22/th...age-and-pizza/

I spent a while chasing down an over pressurized cooling system, refusing to believe it was a head gasket failure. After taking apart the new cooling system and re-bleeding it a number of times, I finally broke down and took it to a shop for a leak down test, which failed on cylinder four.

Upon the recommendation of good friends, I contacted Alex Garcia, a professional mobile mechanic and fellow E36 M3 owner to come to my garage and remove the head. It was a fun experience and I learned a ton. I wrote an article on BimmerLife about the experience here: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/06/28/breathing-new-life-into-a-classic-m3-project-concord-loses-its-head/

20230621-DSC_0007 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230621-DSC_0003 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230621-DSC_0029 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230621-DSC_0037 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230621-DSC_0053 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230621-DSC_0049 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

After we removed the head, I dropped it off at a local well-regarded machine shop to be tested and milled. I went on vacation for a week and when I returned I got word that the head checked out. Hurray!

After I received a gigantic order from FCP Euro, Garcia came over and we buttoned everything up, with Garcia doing the lion's share of the work. I'm happy to report the car is running well and this series of repairs has fixed the issue.

Read the full story on BimmerLife here: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/07/18/br...concord-lives/

20200213-DSC_0058 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20200213-DSC_0039 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20200213-DSC_0070 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20200213-DSC_0093 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20200213-DSC_0104 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

2023-07-15_02-53-26 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230717-53048328065_63c68c2778_k by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20200214-DSC_0259 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20200215-DSC_0619-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[bmwstephen]

so what was causing the low compression on cylinder 4?

[mike.bmw]

so what was causing the low compression on cylinder 4?

There was a small burn on the head gasket between the cylinder and the coolant passage.

[bmwstephen]

There was a small burn on the head gasket between the cylinder and the coolant passage.

were there other signs? I see you did a cooling system overhaul recently but curious if you had white smoke or oil mixing into the coolant?

[mike.bmw]

were there other signs? I see you did a cooling system overhaul recently but curious if you had white smoke or oil mixing into the coolant?

There wasn't any white smoke or coolant in the oil. It also didn't overheat. There were exhaust gasses over pressurizing the cooling system and it failed a leak down test on cylinder four, so at that point I knew the head had to come off. It was either going to be the head gasket or a cracked head. Thankfully, it was the gasket.

[mike.bmw]

Damn, been off the forum for a bit. Had seen some of your FB posts of this car, looks like a gem! I worked over in Concord doing a contract for almost two years, its right near Charlotte Motor Speedway so lots of sweet cars tearing down the country roads in that area. Looks like you're treating this one well, no surprise!

Thanks! I am bad about updating threads these days though.

What's new? After replacing the head gasket, I took my kids on an 11-hour 325-mile BMW CCA tour through the mountains:

20230729-DSC_2086 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I rediscovered a film camera I've had in storage for 30 years (story here: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/08/23/sh...vintage-glass/)

20230822-DSC_4417 by mike.bevels, on Flickr


20230823-000304630031 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Grabbed some lunch with another E36:

20230726-DSC_1034 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I've replaced the brake pads to match the Akebono EUR pads I have on my E30 and F31. Though I can't find the photos for this.

Replaced some cluster bulbs:

2023-07-23_07-20-21 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

2023-07-23_07-19-48 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And I've just been driving the car and enjoying it:

20230722-DSC_0936 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Oh, and wagons.... (see the latest issue of BimmerLife magazine, in print).

DSC_0118 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[blckstrm]

I've replaced the brake pads to match the Akebono EUR pads I have on my E30 and F31. Though I can't find the photos for this.

I HATED the Akebono pads for the E36. They have NO initial bite. Luckily they fit the E32 also and they're a much better fit for the lazy personality of that car. Their only positive is low dust. So overall a great fit for the e32.

Everything else I've ever tried has better initial bite and better stopping power per pound of pressure than those.

But I can totally see it if that's exactly what you want from your car. A lot of us sharpen our M3s up, but I totally understand when someone wants to keep theirs more Grand Tourer than GT2.

[mike.bmw]

I HATED the Akebono pads for the E36. They have NO initial bite. Luckily they fit the E32 also and they're a much better fit for the lazy personality of that car. Their only positive is low dust. So overall a great fit for the e32.

Everything else I've ever tried has better initial bite and better stopping power per pound of pressure than those.

But I can totally see it if that's exactly what you want from your car. A lot of us sharpen our M3s up, but I totally understand when someone wants to keep theirs more Grand Tourer than GT2.

It's not that I don't want to "sharpen up" my M3. It's about compromise and the reality of what I use the car for.

Back when I was doing track weekends twice a month, I always had a dedicated set of track rotors and pads, which I'd swap before/after the events. These days, the Akebono EUR pads a great compromise between performance and maintenance for daily driving. The initial bite is acceptable and the pads handle occasional "spirited" driving well enough. And the fact that I don't have clean my wheels three times a week is exactly what I wanted. It's the same reason I run them on my '91 318is and my '15 328i Sports Wagon w/ M Sport brakes.

If I ever do take this M3 to the track, I'll certainly be swapping out the pads for something more aggressive and flushing some high-temp brake fluid through the lines. Until then, these Akebono EUR pads are perfectly acceptable.

[mike.bmw]

Has it been a year already?

This past weekend marked one year and over 5,000 miles with my '98 M3 sedan. On the way home from Dulles Landing Cars and Coffee on Sunday morning, I stopped by the first place I took this five-speed sport sedan for a proper photo shoot, exactly one year later.

We've had our ups and downs, failures and successes, but there are no regrets. I'm only a few hundred miles away from hitting the 250,000-mile mark, and I'm hoping for many more milestones to come.

It's funny how things change. Prior to a few years ago, I was never a big fan of the E36 M cars. Now I love them for all of the reasons I used to dislike them. Go figure.

20231112-DSC_9295-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20231112-DSC_9262 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And some additional photos from a few weeks ago:

20231011-DSC_3408 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20231011-DSC_3403 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20231011-DSC_3412 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20231011-DSC_3413 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20231011-DSC_3422 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[blckstrm]

I love it!

Haha, you know, you're not bad at taking pictures of these things!

[propcar]

I love the OEM+ cleanliness of this car. Always a joy to see the pictures too.

[RBNetEngr]

That’s the Center for Innovative Technology, just outside of Dulles Airport, right? Such a cool looking building, and a great background for your photos.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mike.bmw]

I love it!

Haha, you know, you're not bad at taking pictures of these things!

Haha, thanks!

I love the OEM+ cleanliness of this car. Always a joy to see the pictures too.

Thank you!

That’s the Center for Innovative Technology, just outside of Dulles Airport, right? Such a cool looking building, and a great background for your photos.

Yep, that's the spot!

[mike.bmw]

I finally got around to replacing the ignition coils on my M3. The old ones seemed to be working well, but there were three different types, some of the boots had cracked, and there was cracking on the tops as well. When I saw that Turner had the Dinan ignition coils on sale, I clicked and bought

They arrived yesterday, so I spent 20 minutes installing them. As Alex Garcia and I had replaced the head gasket a few months ago, installation was a breeze and there were no surprises. It fired right up and seems to run even better than before, likely due to the previous coils being old and tired.

I love quick wins. They look so nice I'm not even sure I want to put the cover back on.

PXL_20231124_200941259 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20231124_200455644 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20231124_201232802 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20231124_201833732 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20231124_203247471 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20231124_203335479 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20231124_204959215 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20231124_211351037 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And I took the M3 out for some photos early Thanksgiving morning...

20231123-DSC_1379 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20231123-DSC_1257 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20231123-DSC_1285 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20231123-DSC_1385 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[E85STI]

Yeah you are right, those look pretty damn kickass!

[mike.bmw]

Quick update on the new Dinan ignition coils:

I have a couple hundred miles on these now and I've noticed a couple of things. First, I'm not longer seeing a cloud of black smoke from the exhaust during 2nd and 3rd gear pulls to redline. Second, cold starts and idle are much improved. They were never really bad per se, but there's a marked improvement with the new coils. I'd like to say there's more power, but I'm not sure my butt dyno is that finely calibrated.

Now, I'm not saying these ignition coils are any better than a set of OE/OEM replacements. I likely would have the same results with a new set of Bremi ignition coils as the old ones were tired, cracked, and not all the same model/brand.

Given these were $26 each (cheaper than OE replacements), they're worth checking out. Hopefully they'll last.