The Fall and Rise - VonLuck/Doogan

[Hans_VanLoch]

Gents, all:

I'm not sure if any of you remember me or not, but I wanted to drop a line and thank you for all the wonderful years on this forum and the previous one for the help you gave me on my E46 M3.

I recently sold the car. There were a lot of reasons, but I ultimately decided that I needed something a little lower-strung. It was the greatest material purchase of my life, but I think I'm moving - ever so slightly - past the frequencies of energy withdrawal that you have to give to match such a barely-caged beast. I often would get home from drives and just feel worn out. Energized physically, but a little depleted energetically. Weird stuff, I'm sure.

So, I sold it and bought a very clean E30 325i, stroker-built up to 2.8L 7k miles ago. She's a lot of fun, but even still, it's far, FAR tamer than the E46.

And it's so much lighter.... it feels like driving a paper airplane. I can't even fathom...

Anyway, God bless all of you. Thank you so much, once again, for all the help. It was truly a build for the century. (For a crummy old vert

I'm still in good health - 4 years in, now.

Pat

[ac427]

Any pix of your E30 Pat?

[Obioban]

Doogan!

We need a fuller health update.

[PetrolM3]

Hey man, I remember reading some of your posts. Glad to see you back - hope you are well! God bless.

As someone else said - pics of the E30 or it didn't happen..

[elbert]

I'm still in good health - 4 years in, now.

That's awesome! Hope the family is well. Good to hear from you!

[Hans_VanLoch]

Ahh, you guys are very kind. Especially considering what a goofball I always was in these parts.

Health: I am sure I still have multiple myeloma. I actually stopped going in for any kind of scan in 2023. I just keep doing what I do, and I'm grateful for my regained life, mobility, and strength. I decided early on to not seek any kind of treatment, relieving me of much of what usually stresses people out about this stuff (the uncertainty; the decisions). But on Feb 3 it'll have been 4 years since my left femur collapsed.

Now, onto the fun part

Alright, alright. So it's not actually a true 2.8L stroker build. After I bought the car, a friend who races E30s out by Port Washington explained to me that there is more than one way to increase the displacement of these M20s, and this is, in his own words, exactly what the previous owner / builder did:

"The block was decked to make correct compression height. Stock cylinders from an "i" and rods with an "e" crank." .... "It’s an eta block and crank (M20B27) decked to bring compression surface to +0.5mm. Rods are 130mm and pistons are stock (short skirt) from the M20B25. Should make 9.4:1. The head is stock M20B25, with fresh valves rockers and camshaft and some other new hardware. Stock injectors. Sssquid chip. Exhaust is stock header with high flow cat and Ansa sport muffler.

I must admit, I don't fully understand it. But the guy is a satellite engineer with Lockheed, and seemed like a genius. I tend to gravitate toward 'nerdy' car owners rather than macho ones, and this guy was as nerdy as they come, in a good way. In fact he looked just like Mark Zuckerberg.

The body/frame has 205,000 miles, and it's been about 7,200 miles since the rebuild. (It's a 1990).

Obviously, I bought a vert. By 'clean' I meant: it was an Arizona car, and has no rust on the body or frame. The paint itself is definitely tired, but looks great from 10 feet away or more.

The only thing I've done is to install a SuperSprint section 3, and to replace the steering wheel with a newly redone one from Ukraine.

I'll try to attach some photos. I bought it in August. She's a delight to drive, reminding me of the adage that it's more fun to drive a slow car, fast, than a fast car, slow.

CONS:

- I really don't like the black custom paint on the bottom of the car. I don't know when people will learn that short cars look better, and faster, than long cars.
- I'll probably replace the yellow headlights.
- I don't love the gold wheels, but they're decent quality, and nowhere near top priority for me.


NEXT STEPS;

- I want to decide on whether or not to rock a 272 cam and SuperSprint sections 1 and 2.
- She could use bigger brakes.
- I'd like to somehow correct the black paint on the bottom of the car, and replace the front 'dam' with a white one. I'd also like to refresh the sun-worn plastic grille etc.

BUT, first, I need to have a lot more fun with it


I hope you're all well, too. Ian, I definitely think of you from time to time.

Pat

[Hans_VanLoch]

PS -

If any of you know about E30s, I'd love to hear your suggestions for improving this thing. I'm not trying to hot rod it, but I get the sense from the previous owner that part of the victory of his build was to save money and do things cheaply. I'd like to optimize the engine, for what it is. I felt that thanks to you all I had gotten the E46 to a very efficient state of inhalation and exhalation. This thing feels like it has a small governor installed. I dunno!

Eventually I'll circle back to my Wisconsin friend, but they're having a hard time and i don't want to bug him.

[Keyser Soze]

Gents, all:

I'm not sure if any of you remember me or not, but I wanted to drop a line and thank you for all the wonderful years on this forum and the previous one for the help you gave me on my E46 M3.

I recently sold the car. There were a lot of reasons, but I ultimately decided that I needed something a little lower-strung. It was the greatest material purchase of my life, but I think I'm moving - ever so slightly - past the frequencies of energy withdrawal that you have to give to match such a barely-caged beast. I often would get home from drives and just feel worn out. Energized physically, but a little depleted energetically. Weird stuff, I'm sure.

So, I sold it and bought a very clean E30 325i, stroker-built up to 2.8L 7k miles ago. She's a lot of fun, but even still, it's far, FAR tamer than the E46.

And it's so much lighter.... it feels like driving a paper airplane. I can't even fathom...

Anyway, God bless all of you. Thank you so much, once again, for all the help. It was truly a build for the century. (For a crummy old vert

I'm still in good health - 4 years in, now.

Pat

This just made my day! I was thinking about you not too long ago wondering how you were and hoping everything turned out positive. So glad to hear you are doing well. I always enjoyed your posts and your unique way with words. If I remember correctly, you were building a house or had just finished building a house. Enjoy the car! And please keep us posted.

[Vonbimmer]

The e30 looks great, there is something special about e30’s overall that always makes them fun. Looks like the seats are in great shape I haven’t seen e30 seats that look that good here in the west for a long time!

[PetrolM3]

He really does look like Zuckerberg. Cool photos - the kids seem to love the E30 too.

All the best man, enjoy the ride!

[EthanolTurbo]

PS -

If any of you know about E30s, I'd love to hear your suggestions for improving this thing. I'm not trying to hot rod it, but I get the sense from the previous owner that part of the victory of his build was to save money and do things cheaply. I'd like to optimize the engine, for what it is. I felt that thanks to you all I had gotten the E46 to a very efficient state of inhalation and exhalation. This thing feels like it has a small governor installed. I dunno!

Eventually I'll circle back to my Wisconsin friend, but they're having a hard time and i don't want to bug him.

Swap an S50 or S52 into it. Done. Fits right in there and makes the car crazy fun to drive even around town going slow, even on a stock motor. I used to have an S50 swapped E30 (my first BMW actually) and it was by far one of the best cars I've ever driven. Some kid will pay you a good chunk for that stroker motor which makes the S5x swap more cost efficient.

[maw1124]

The pic of the kids with the top down is why of course you bought a vert. They were the reasons for my vert and my wagon(s) — the Benzes are “Daddy’s Cars.”

Glad you’re doing well man. 4 years and ticking, leave the rest to Him. Let everything that has breath…

Cheers,

maw

[Hans_VanLoch]

Haha, again, you all are very kind. Thank you. And yes, Keyser: we'd bought a good sized chunk of land in '15 when prices were still reasonable, and built a house. In fact, we moved in just a couple months before my femur disintegrated! It was a major blessing: the new place is like a health spa; my wife and I designed the house over years, usually while sitting on the Lake Michigan beach.... you guys would actually probably appreciate it more than most, given your proclivities toward good engineering and philosophies of design.

Thank you for the E30 suggestions! Ethanol, going balls-out to that degree would be wild. But, sort of like supercharging an E46, something about an S52 swap would feel a little off. That said, if you're not trying to drive a [well optimized] time capsule, like I am, I have no doubt that combo would indeed be an absolutely terrific car to drive.

I've been listening to early 90s music when I drive the gal; I think you all will appreciate this:

Finally, the last 4 years have sent me very deep into the biophysics and chemistry of cancer; broadening out to much study in Systems Biology. It's culminated into a book that is currently awaiting publishing, to be called "BIOACCUMULATED!". I'm very excited about it. To me, it's scientific bedrock, built upon over 800 citations, and having been reviewed by a handful of professionals in the industry; I've also written two others to follow, *IF* I a) do not sh-t the bed over this stuff, and b) ever get a clean bill of health.

Of course, I think books 2 and 3 are just as relevant whether I survive or not (I doubt many would appreciate having allopathic medicine trashed over an n=1 misfortune), but the standards and tolerances for naturopathy are not exactly judged on the same merits. (Meaning: ....nobody wants to read a book that proposes the solution to cancer by a guy who died of it...!! Haha.)

Cheers, my brothers, and may all of Peace be with you.

Pat

PS - Those are not the original seat leathers; at some point, they were re-done. Very handsomely, though!