It's nice to be back on some M3 forums. Some of you may remember me/my car from back in the M3Forum.net days. RIP. Sad to see that go, and lots of great information and builds with it. Fortunately, I was able to recover most of the information from my car after searching Photobucket, etc.
It's been a long time since I've worked on or driven this car. I purchased it in 2011 with ~105k miles on it - Titanium Silver/Black with SMG. Quickly converted it into a track car and ran it from 2012 through 2014. Car ran nearly flawlessly, but at the end of the 2014 season, I had an issue with the SMG shifting slowly.
Then, I pulled the motor out of it to use as a donor for another M3 I had. Next, I decided to send it to my buddies body shop - the paint wasn't bad but the carbon stuff needed some TLC and I always really wanted Alpine White.
The body shop did a complete inside and out (engine bay, door jams, etc) repaint with new VIN stickers. They installed a carbon roof onto it. But, it took a while. I finally picked it up in 2021. And in just these past few weeks, with a few other project cars gone, it is finally time to get this car back together!
The chassis now has about 110k miles on it. It's incredibly clean, no rust anywhere (Florida car). The donor motor has 80k miles on it. It had an issue with the VANOS bolts that caused timing to jump and two intake valves to hit on Cylinder 6. I just dropped the motor off at the machine shop for a full rebuild.
Here's the planned build, most of which is carryover from the previous iteration. Main changes are the plan to move to a 5-Speed ZF, and just a general refresh of some of the older components.
I'll keep this thread updated as I make progress! First thing to tackle is cleaning and refreshing the underbody/suspension.
It's been a long time since I've worked on or driven this car. I purchased it in 2011 with ~105k miles on it - Titanium Silver/Black with SMG. Quickly converted it into a track car and ran it from 2012 through 2014. Car ran nearly flawlessly, but at the end of the 2014 season, I had an issue with the SMG shifting slowly.
Then, I pulled the motor out of it to use as a donor for another M3 I had. Next, I decided to send it to my buddies body shop - the paint wasn't bad but the carbon stuff needed some TLC and I always really wanted Alpine White.
The body shop did a complete inside and out (engine bay, door jams, etc) repaint with new VIN stickers. They installed a carbon roof onto it. But, it took a while. I finally picked it up in 2021. And in just these past few weeks, with a few other project cars gone, it is finally time to get this car back together!
The chassis now has about 110k miles on it. It's incredibly clean, no rust anywhere (Florida car). The donor motor has 80k miles on it. It had an issue with the VANOS bolts that caused timing to jump and two intake valves to hit on Cylinder 6. I just dropped the motor off at the machine shop for a full rebuild.
Here's the planned build, most of which is carryover from the previous iteration. Main changes are the plan to move to a 5-Speed ZF, and just a general refresh of some of the older components.
| Engine |
| Fuel Filter |
| Spark Plugs |
| VANOS Filter |
| Beisan VANOS Rebuild |
| Ignition Coils |
| VAC CSL Race Airbox |
| HTE MAP Tune |
| Heater Core Delete |
| Treated Rod Bearings |
| Valve Guides |
| Timing Chains |
| JE Pistons |
| Treated Main Bearings |
| ARP Rod Bolts |
| ARP Main Bolts |
| ARP Head Studs |
| Kassel Performance MAP Sensor Kit |
| Kassel Performance CPV O-Ring |
| R&L Engine Rebuild |
| Bimmerworld Braided VANOS Line |
| Valve Adjustment |
| TurboToy V3 VANOS Hub |
| Valve Cover Gasket |
| Head Gasket |
| Oil Pan Gasket |
| Oil Filter Housing Gasket |
| Driveline |
| Slave Cylinder |
| Serpentine Belt |
| AKG Steering Coupler |
| E34 M5 Clutch (Sachs OEM) - E36 Pressure Plate (or Something) |
| OEM Replacement Guibo |
| Bimmerworld Solid Race Shifter |
| Bimmerworld Little Nicky Shift Knob |
| E46 330 Purple Tag Steering Rack |
| Tegiwa Driveshaft Spacer for ZF 5-Speed Conversion |
| 4.10 BMW Motorsport Diff Gearing (33108321899) |
| 5-Speed 320Z Transmission |
| Cooling |
| Zionsville Radiator w/ 14" Offset Fan |
| BimmerWorld Oil Cooler |
| BW Oil Cooler Diverter Valve |
| 80C Thermostat |
| Exhaust |
| TopSpeed Headers |
| Bimmerworld 3.5" Race Exhaust Side Exit |
| Brakes |
| F8X M3 Caliper Set Front + Rear (Machining + Adapter) |
| Bimmerworld Brake Duct Kit |
| F8X M3 Rotors |
| G-LOC R10 Brake Pads |
| Suspension |
| Moton Motorsports 3-Way Adjustable Coilovers |
| Treehouse Racing FCAB's |
| Ground Control Front Sway Bar |
| Ground Control Rear Race Control Arms |
| Ground Control RTABS |
| BW Rear Subframe Reinforcement |
| BW Rear Solid Subframe Mounts Set |
| BW Front Subframe Reinforcement (Not Installed) |
| BW Solid Motor/Tranny Mounts |
| BW Solid Differential Mounts Set |
| Rear Knuckle & UCA Bearings/Bushings |
| Wheels/Tires |
| Apex ARC-8 18x10 ET25 |
| 200TW 275/35/18 |
| Bimmerworld 92mm Race Studs |
| Interior |
| Sparco Evo 2 Driver Seat |
| Custom Aluminum Seat Floor Mount |
| Howard Motorsports Roll Cage |
| Custom Floor Pan Driver Side |
| 6-Point Schroth Harness |
| Custom Sparco Steering Wheel w/ Functional Paddles |
| Exterior |
| BimmerWorld Front Splitter |
| BimmerWorld Rear Tall Wing |
| Custom Rear Diffuser |
| BW Carbon Dive Planes |
| MAShaw Carbon GTR Hood |
| MAShaw Carbon Doors |
| Scorza CSL Trunk |
| CSL Carbon Fiber Roof |
| Miscellaneous |
| AIM Pista MXL OR |
| AiM Sports MXG 1.2 Strada |
| Aluminum Tow Hook |
| BimmerWorld Fuel Starvation Kit |
| Helmet Hook |
| Wink 5 Panel Mirror |
| Lightweight 12V |
| Lexan Rear Windshield |
| MK60 ABS Module/Booster/MC/Harness/WSS Retrofit |
| Miscellaneous OE Replacement Parts |
I'll keep this thread updated as I make progress! First thing to tackle is cleaning and refreshing the underbody/suspension.
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