Titaniu//M’s ’99 Estoril E36 M3 5MT Coupe Journal

[Titaniu//M]

There’s a saying that the best things in life happen unexpectedly, and I guess that is what happened here. I was in the market for a Porsche, but the //M gods decided I needed another M3.

During a late night peruse of some online car classifieds last week, I came across a clean Estoril Blue E36 M3 Coupe. I thought to myself that if I were to own an E36, this would check all the boxes for me- final year of production, 5-speed manual, coupe, in Estoril Blue without Lux-package.

I decided it was at least worth a look in-person, and woke up at dawn on a Saturday morning to make the 3-hour trip to Indiana. Also grabbed my checkbook “just in case” as I headed out the door.

Once I saw the car in-person I knew I had to have it. I’ve never seen Estoril blue in-person before, and it is a stunning color.

Car as-purchased. All stock besides the Alpine head unit and subwoofer in the trunk that was installed sometime in the early 2010s.







Dove grey Vader seats are undoubtedly a cool design, but are not resilient to wear and tear. Hoping to investigate having these redyed or reupholstered.






Current intentions are to revert the audio system to stock, install new Michelin PS4S tires and do some small cosmetic fixes throughout. Current Sumitomo tires are flat spotted.

Also have a set of OEM Euro-spec taillights with clear indicators on the way, but undecided if I will install them or not. I bought them thinking the amber indicators make the car look dated, but at the same time the car as-is gives off a cool 90s vibe I want to maintain.





Mileage check-in - 85,562 miles

[timmo]

Oh man... this thing is awesome, also ticks off all the boxes for me as well. I was actually in the market for an E36 and there was one similar in spec to yours a few months before I was in the market, by the time I needed a car there were none that were worth buying, then my E46 popped up. And back then, they were much cheaper!

[Titaniu//M]

First mod to the E36 M3 – OEM Polished Style 24 “LTW” wheels. I’ve always admired the look of these and knew I needed to have a set now that I have an E36 M3. Unlike the other styles of stock E36 M3 wheels, Style 24s are forged construction, not cast. Unfortunately these wheels are very difficult to find. They come to market very infrequently and people usually want $1500-2000 for a clean set. BMW still carries these wheels for roughly ~$2600 per set.

I was about to buy a new set wheels from BMW, but then saw a 2000 BMW Z3 advertised in Northern Virginia – with a set of Style 24s on it. After some back and forth in my mind, I decided to proceed with the crazy plan of buying the Z3, taking the wheels off of it, and selling the car afterward.

I drove from Ohio to Virginia, bought the Z3, stashed the car in my parents garage (sorry about all the PS fluid it leaked on the garage floor) and took a flight back to Virginia two weeks afterward to drive the Z3 back to Ohio. Overall the Z3 was a solid car- it had some cosmetic issues but made it the entire 400 miles back to Ohio without skipping a beat. As a bonus, a friend of mine here in Ohio agreed to buy the car as-is, without wheels for the same price I paid for it.




After removing the wheels, I discovered I actually have 3 7.5” wide front wheels, and 1 8.5” rear, but was able to find another rear for a semi-reasonable price.



I have some Michelin PS4S tires ready to mount but couldn’t wait to get these wheels on the car so I mounted them up on the M3. I’ll fully clean, clay and hand polish the wheels once they are removed again for tire mounting, but for now I am pleased overall with how they cleaned up with a quick wash.

[Tbonem3]

Congrats, great car.

[Titaniu//M]

Congrats, great car.

Thanks!

[jdauria]

Solid example, looking forward to your progress

[Titaniu//M]

I've had more free time to work on this car recently. Some progress from this week.

First order of business was to do an oil change. Went by a friend's shop who graciously let me use their Hunter alignment rack during their downtime. An 18,000 lb rack is a bit overkill for a simple oil change, but hey- beats doing this job with the car on the ground.



There seems to be a lot of debate about the proper oil to use in the E36 M3. Various searches have shown that people run viscosities ranging from 5W-30, 5W-40, 10W-40, 10W-60 to 0W-30. I went with the BMW TwinPower Turbo 0W-30 this time around, but may switch later on as I do more research.



The manufacture date on the old filter was 03/10/2017. Coupled with the fact that the car was only driven an average of 1k miles per year since 2017 leads me to suspect this car hasn't had an oil change in 3 (probably closer to 4) years.




Also replaced the door handle trim on both sides. The rubber trim on the old ones were breaking apart and well past their prime. I bought URO branded replacements over Genuine BMW ones. While they certainly look better, the fitment isn't perfect- the trim seems to protrude a little father past the door handle itself, while the old ones were flush. Depending on how much this bothers me I may end up redoing the job with OEM BMW trim pieces.







Car came with a tint strip at the top of the windshield. I wasn't a huge fan of it and decided to remove it with the assistance of a steamer, plastic razor blade and rubbing alcohol.




And started removing the half-hood clear bra on the hood as well. The clear bra was beginning to show its age. Debris was visible along several of the edges, and some of the edges have also begun peeling. Decided to hit the clear bra with the steamer while I had it out and began working my way slowly across the hood.





Also got some Michelin PS4S tires mounted to replace the mismatched and no-name tires that came with the Style 24 wheels. Stock E36 M3 sizing - 225/45R17 up front, 245/40R17 in the rear.




More to come soon as I work my way through the E36 parts stash that has accumulated in my garage.