2001 M3 Journey: Laguna Seca Blue Edition

[AntRyv]

I’m eager to see that E36 build!

[bavarian3]

Tasty cars!

TY 😀

[bavarian3]

On to starting the installation of the black interior. First step was to give everything a deep cleaning.

Protip: get you a girlfriend with a steam cleaner.















Once all dried up, I got started on bringing some of the pieces in.

First up was the front carpet. What was hard to get out was equally hard to get in if you want oe like results. Without getting into too much detail, you'll have to cut two slits to pass through the crossbrace bars, and get a helper to lift the hvac while pushing the carpet forward.






Per another request to the girlfriend, have her stitch up the previously created slits (1 and 7 o'clock on each end of the vent). Keep in mind these will not be visible once the dashboard is in.







Next I worked through the dashboard, glovebox, radio, storage trays, and other trim pieces. All the little things take time, especially when you want to replace worn or outdated parts with new or upgraded.

I'll give a sneak peak of the current state of progress as it actually sits today, and go into details as I pick back up this stage.









I decided to halt the progress on the interior makeover as I came to a realization. The next big job will be around the rear suspension overhaul. This involves
Vince gussets and Puretech x-brace. It made no sense to install everything when I had a messy job involving the cabin/under the rear seats to do shortly after.

So on to the Quickjacks we go and I started removing stuff...to be continued in the next post

[bavarian3]

Update time. I've been hard at work, working patiently and meticulously as possible. I'm quite a bit behind on this journal as you may see me around the main forum working on other things.

The next build stage started with getting rid of the grey interior. After lots of searching, I was extremely lucky to come across a set of seats and door panels in speed cloth local to me. Sourcing the rest of the bits was a pain but all is in hand now.

More on that later, but first some dismantling fun.












Getting the dash out was relatively hassle-free to my surprise.








The hardest part was to get the front carpet out of the heater hvac piping. This basically requires a little cutting unless you want to get crazy.








Fully stripped. To my satisfaction, the removal unveiled all mint flooring.







Last step was to strip the existing tint which was much to dark for my liking. I'll get some lighter tint done so the interior will have some UV protection.







Off to storage...not sure if the bits are worth anything but if anyone needs anything you know where to find me.

[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!

Instagram
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: