My E36 M3 LS1 Build Up - No 56k

[Faerus]

It's a 1995 M3 and I bought it as a shell with lots of goodies . I plan on using the Vorshlag LS1 Swap Kit when it's released. I'm currently waiting for the motor to arrive and in the mean time will be buying a transmission. Here are some pictures of it's arrival, the two day cleaning process (had to do it by hand as my friend lost his pressure washer), the brakes (which I need to reinstall now) and the 5-point harnesses. More pictures of everything along with the current progress of the build and more information about it are available at my website: http://www.m3heresy.com

[Faerus]

Cleaning Process:

^My friend messing around while cleaning.



What you see in the shot above is not dust, but residue left from the removal of the sound deadening (it came with no carpet or sound deadening material).

[Faerus]

Brakes:
The new rear rotors to match the front drilled ones on the APRacing 13" BBK.

Stripped before epoxying.


The calipers were done by my friend Drew who runs Dorbritz Designs Kustom Paint Work, one of my sponsors.

[Faerus]

Red Corbeau 5-Point Cam-lock Harnesses:

[garretvs]

Dang man. That thing is lookin real nice! Good luck with the swap. Love the red calipers.

-Garret

[vibes]

Very sweet

[Faerus]

Dang man. That thing is lookin real nice! Good luck with the swap. Love the red calipers.

-Garret

Thanks, I can't wait. Next I need to find a buyer for the seats and oem wheels and the current coilovers so I can buy some more Vorshlag bits. I think I will re-carpet the interior, no sound deadening though. Then hopefully by the beginning of next year, the D-Force 18x10s with 285/30/18 all the way around and wider front fenders and rear flares.

[shaggsM3]

Wow, you're really dumping some money into this. I can't wait to see how it turns out since I'll be getting this kit as well. Good luck!!

[Faerus]

Wow, you're really dumping some money into this. I can't wait to see how it turns out since I'll be getting this kit as well. Good luck!!

Haha, I know, you should see the list of things I still want for it . I'll be keeping this thread and the website updated as things happen, but it's slow now because I don't have much to do. If I could get some things sold, then more things will be bought and installed .

[Fair]

Thanks, I can't wait. Next I need to find a buyer for the seats and oem wheels and the current coilovers so I can buy some more Vorshlag bits. I think I will re-carpet the interior, no sound deadening though. Then hopefully by the beginning of next year, the D-Force 18x10s with 285/30/18 all the way around and wider front fenders and rear flares.

I have some low cost flares on the way that might work in your set-up as well. We're building the "shop" LS1 E36 racer with 18x10s/285s in mind also, and these rivet-on CF flares are the new hotness. $269 in CF, and $169 in FRP. Should have them in a few days and I'll start hacking away at the stock fenders to clear these bigger tires. There's a nice thread in the Trax/Autox sub-forum about these.

Get rid of that old suspension, and get ready for AST brotha!

We're fully stocked in 4100s and those Dutchmen are furiously working on a big production run of 4200s for E36 and E46! We've got Penske/Ohlins quality/technology at just over Koni prices. See www.ast-usa.com for more.

Wheels wheels wheels... I have them stacked to the 12' ceiling. We've got D-Force wheels in all sizes and colors. Since you're just down the road from us, shipping costs are zip (but UPS is $30-60 across country for a set anyways - so damn light!).

Our Beta customer is doing a similar "gutted but with lightweight carpet" interior. We got the sunroof and all of the interior out, and pulled that massively heavy carpet out and chunked it. The cage is looking SO good - pics soon. Just got back from the shop and its ART. Cage is 85% done, then header production/jig can start (gotta finish one job before the next starts, you know?) We're making aluminum door panels and rear bulkhead, too - these will be for sale soon at a reasonable price. Allows more room for cage door bars yet still keep functional windows. . Lots of stuff falling into place this week on the Beta LS1 E36.

Matt - if you're doing any wheel-to-wheel or even have lapping stuff in mind for the car, we should talk about a cage. Should help keep the V8 torque from ripping the car to shreds, too. Our fabricator made a full scale tubing template from the perfectly fit cage and should be able to duplicate similar E36 cages quickly. Its all DOM tubing that's perfectly fitted to the chassis and TIG welded by a pro. We helped design the cage to the various club rules (SCCA, NASA, BMWCCA) and it hits all of the major points perfectly (ties into the 4 rear subframe points, rear shock mounts, front footwell, etc) while minimizing weight but doesn't have any useless bars that serve no other purpose except to add steel and cost. We'll have cage prices and options listed on our website soon.

Gotta run right now go pick up a bunch of new giant "Vorshlag" decals for the various VoMo racecars that will be competing at SCCA Nationals next month and O'Fest the next, then I'm headed to the LSC BMWCCA monthly meeting in Addison. Later tonight we have some shake-down testing on a newly revalved set of shocks (1 am last night) and some data logging to do on a custom tune that needs tweaking (the STi). Tomorrow we are having a bunch of tires we just bought shaved down to nothing - oh its so fun paying money to cut 70% of the tread off of brand new tires. :P

Keep up the good work!

[Faerus]

I have some low cost flares on the way that might work in your set-up as well. We're building the "shop" LS1 E36 racer with 18x10s/285s in mind also, and these rivet-on CF flares are the new hotness. $269 in CF, and $169 in FRP. Should have them in a few days and I'll start hacking away at the stock fenders to clear these bigger tires. There's a nice thread in the Trax/Autox sub-forum about these.

Get rid of that old suspension, and get ready for AST brotha!

We're fully stocked in 4100s and those Dutchmen are furiously working on a big production run of 4200s for E36 and E46! We've got Penske/Ohlins quality/technology at just over Koni prices. See www.ast-usa.com for more.

Wheels wheels wheels... I have them stacked to the 12' ceiling. We've got D-Force wheels in all sizes and colors. Since you're just down the road from us, shipping costs are zip (but UPS is $30-60 across country for a set anyways - so damn light!).

Our Beta customer is doing a similar "gutted but with lightweight carpet" interior. We got the sunroof and all of the interior out, and pulled that massively heavy carpet out and chunked it. The cage is looking SO good - pics soon. Just got back from the shop and its ART. Cage is 85% done, then header production/jig can start (gotta finish one job before the next starts, you know?) We're making aluminum door panels and rear bulkhead, too - these will be for sale soon at a reasonable price. Allows more room for cage door bars yet still keep functional windows. . Lots of stuff falling into place this week on the Beta LS1 E36.

Matt - if you're doing any wheel-to-wheel or even have lapping stuff in mind for the car, we should talk about a cage. Should help keep the V8 torque from ripping the car to shreds, too. Our fabricator made a full scale tubing template from the perfectly fit cage and should be able to duplicate similar E36 cages quickly. Its all DOM tubing that's perfectly fitted to the chassis and TIG welded by a pro. We helped design the cage to the various club rules (SCCA, NASA, BMWCCA) and it hits all of the major points perfectly (ties into the 4 rear subframe points, rear shock mounts, front footwell, etc) while minimizing weight but doesn't have any useless bars that serve no other purpose except to add steel and cost. We'll have cage prices and options listed on our website soon.

Gotta run right now go pick up a bunch of new giant "Vorshlag" decals for the various VoMo racecars that will be competing at SCCA Nationals next month and O'Fest the next, then I'm headed to the LSC BMWCCA monthly meeting in Addison. Later tonight we have some shake-down testing on a newly revalved set of shocks (1 am last night) and some data logging to do on a custom tune that needs tweaking (the STi). Tomorrow we are having a bunch of tires we just bought shaved down to nothing - oh its so fun paying money to cut 70% of the tread off of brand new tires. :P

Keep up the good work!

I know, I need to find a buyer for the GC stuff and the stock stuff before I can switch over to your goodies. I'm definitely interested in the cage, but will need to find a buyer for the DAS Sport 4-point I have now, if you can email the cost info, I'll let you know my plans about it. Also interested in the doorpanels and is the rear thing you are talking about where the third brake light would sit and where the deck speakers would sit? Also interested in what type of carpet is going into Scooter's car. I need to buy some of the those weld in supports for the front and rear subframe as well. Who wants to donate to my fund haha?

[Fair]

I should have the $169 flares in my hands some time next week. PM me and I'll let you take a look, but I like the cars I've seen them on. Not going to be "show car quality" but more "race car functional". These should work well with our 18x10 D-Force wheels. 18 pounds and $309/each... CCWs will run you $550-575 each and weigh 22+ pounds (I have data to back that up of course).

The 18x10 works very well with a 285/30/18, a very popular size which a LOT of competition tires come in. It works very well on the BMWs because of its short overall height. We've got 315/35/17s and 295/40/17 Kumho V710s and they are freagin huge gumballs... the 285 fits the E36 cars with a lot less work. I'll have those wheels/tires/flares on our shop LS1 E36 car within a few weeks? Nationals and O'Fest are going to eat up a lot of time in the next 6 weeks tho.

Running around with a hot LS1 in an E36 on street tires might be.... dangerous. The Alpha LS1 has a ~375hp motor (almost dead stock) and at ~2550 pounds it is extremely traction limited in the first 3 gears on street tires. Laughable. Its a lot better on 315mm R compounds but still hairy. I'd not even bother running with anything less than a Michilin Pilot Sport Cup or Yokohama AD07 or similar 100-150 treadwear "near R compound" tires for street use. Anything harder will just make smoke. Damn near unlimited choices in 285/30/18.

We will post final cage pictures and prices in the next week. Here's some in-process pictures so far: http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/gallery/3286401#182283614




Its a beefy 6 point TIG welded DOM tubing cage with extra bars to tie into the 4 rear subframe mounts and extensive bracing at the rear shock mounts (we'll have real coilover shocks/springs on the rear so this was necessary). No wasted/pointless tubes anywhere. This car is getting doorbars and then its complete. Again, I'll have all of this (info/pics/pricing) on our website soon - we've got a template of tubing made to easily duplicate this cage in volume. The cage will be finished oday or tomorrow - the latest pictures were from last night.

[tfro]

This car is getting doorbars and then its complete.

What is this cage built for? What about a harness bar, a diaganol in the main hoop, and rear bars (to make it a 6pt cage).

I don't know much about autox cages (I'm hoping it's for autox), but you'd think you'd atleast want a harness bar if you are going to the effort of putting in a cage.

[Fair]

What is this cage built for? What about a harness bar, a diaganol in the main hoop, and rear bars (to make it a 6pt cage).

I don't know much about autox cages (I'm hoping it's for autox), but you'd think you'd atleast want a harness bar if you are going to the effort of putting in a cage.

hahaha... yes, sorry, I wasn't very clear (since those bars were cut and sitting around the car but not in it yet). All of those bars (diagonal, horizontal/harness, rear downbars, door bars, etc) are going in. Its still being built.

Will post more once it is complete.

[n3wbie]

HAHAAHhA Scooter looks stoked as hell hahahha

[ryanlong01]

HAHAAHhA Scooter looks stoked as hell hahahha

Is that Ted Kennedy in your car?

[Acorn]

Dude... I want your wheels, what's the offset on those suckers? *crosses fingers* 10?

[Faerus]

Dude... I want your wheels, what's the offset on those suckers? *crosses fingers* 10?

The Kosei's that are currently on the car? 40 offset, just get some 30mm spacers lol!

[russiamutha]

hey matt, i've met you at home depot the other night. it was nice talking to ya and i'm glad you finaly got the car.......but....


whats with that caster?

EDIT: never mind, i found a strut tower pic

[Fair]

whats with that caster?

I bet someone put the offset control arm bushings on... always jacks the wheel location up.

[russiamutha]

:::::WARNING:::::....for Fair
..
...
....
.....
......
GC content ahead...

[Fair]

:::::WARNING:::::....for Fair
..
...
....
.....
......
GC content ahead...

Ahh! MY EYES! MY EYES!

Just kidding... I was warned.

[bayareabmw]

how much did the vorshlag kit cost you and what does it come with i have half the money for my ls1 but i still know nothing about the swap i need more information every little bit helps please.

[Fair]

how much did the vorshlag kit cost you and what does it come with i have half the money for my ls1 but i still know nothing about the swap i need more information every little bit helps please.

We have not posted prices yet. I have detailed what will be in the Stage 1 kit in the E36 LS1 Beta thread within this same sub-forum, earlier this week.

[Faerus]

how much did the vorshlag kit cost you and what does it come with i have half the money for my ls1 but i still know nothing about the swap i need more information every little bit helps please.

As Terry said, prices are not posted nor do I have the kit yet as it's not released. If I had it, you would be seeing tons of pictures of it haha! I'm going all out on this car though, so things are expensive for my build.