2001 M3 Journey: Laguna Seca Blue Edition

[Tbonem3]

Tasty cars!

[bavarian3]

The first projects are all around bulletproofing the big 3, and restoring everything that needs it along the way.

First, I started with the vanos and valve adjustment.


Valve adjustment was easy work. No issues using the Wiseco shim kit, the proper magnet tool, and a micrometer.






On to the vanos...

Breakdown of parts replaced:
-Beisan oil pump disc (my hub tabs were all good)
-Besians coil pack
-Beisans rattle kit
-Beisan seals
-OE s62 diaphrams springs
-OE cam bolts with loctice
-OE timing chain guide


New bolts threadlocked. Don't worry I had towels below during the process =)


















Everything was buttoned up with all new:
-OE valve cover gasket
-OE spark plug tube seals
-OE spark plugs
-OE ignition coils.

[bavarian3]

I don't have the time or space for two fun cars, so the e36 had to go. I purchased this in rough shape around 2011, and slowly made a clean example out of it. It went back to the original/first owner making for a great story.

[bavarian3]

First step before anything was to get the tires swapped onto the stock wheels, and get a smog. Registering the out of state car in CA was a slight hassle, not to my suprise.

[bavarian3]

Like many of us, an LSB e46 M3 was my dream car since they came out. They were always a little out of reach, but after 10+yrs of e36 M3 ownership I was ready to make it happen. Sadly I got serious about purchasing one after covid prices inflated, but here we are.

After 1-2yrs of actively looking all over the country, some failed BAT auctions, I finally found a clean example LSB with reasonable mileage on a small LSB FB group. I immediately purchased it remotely. A few days later I took delivery from Idaho(to CA).

The car certainly needs the proper treatment to get it where I want, but it has exceptional bones, driven maturely/unmolested, and was clearly garaged its life.

Follow my journey to see what I do with it!

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clublsb

Basic Details
MY 2001
95k miles
2 previous owners
Factory Laguna Seca Blue
Factory 6spd(not swapped)
Grey interior
Sunroof
Mostly stock outside of a Koni suspension kit and unknown wheels


Taking delivery: