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E30 M3 number 2....(photo heavy)..

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Topic: E30 M3 number 2....(photo heavy)..
Posted By: BSS.
Subject: E30 M3 number 2....(photo heavy)..
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2016 at 10:13pm
So after the sale of my old white E30 M3,

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=259586

Another E30 M3 needing some love came along.... so i bought it!


Unfortunately i don't have many pictures of it when first bought but here is one not long after bought and mid way through some work.

A bit more about this particular M3. Like the white one, this is also one of the first 5000 built to homologate the M3 for group A motorsport with this one being an even earlier built car. 
Another AK01 (non cat 200bhp car) Built on 14/11/86 in Lachs silver 203 with anthracite "houndstooth" cloth 0211 with the following options.

300 Central locking electric
400 Sliding Sunroof Manual
410 Window Lifts, Electric At Front
428 Warning Triangle Warndreieck
551 On-board Computer 2 With Remote Control
663 Bmw Bavaria C Electronic
681 Roof antenna
800 Air conditioning
979 Velour floot mats

So a bit more optioned up than the white car!

This car however was not an original UK supplied car but more on that later!

The car came into work with a view to being sold by the usual sale or return arrangement at Munich Legends but after being inspected it would have needed at lot of work to get it up to our high standards some of which would have required a high initial investment before it could even be advertised and as the owner wanted a quick sale i made an offer and it got accepted.



WOW! I'm sure some of you thought that after looking at the last couple of pics and this was one of the more expensive things that would have had to have been sorted before the car was even advertised.
Someone (more on that later!) went to a lot of time money and effort to create this two tone effort and that had to go!
As you can see from the first pic, the car was rolling on a set of racing dynamics - in 15" - which seriously dated the car but in a bad way, another thing which would have needed to have been changed prior to advertising and also not cheap to sort out.
These two things combined with the window tints made up to create a very late 80's/early 90's look now considered distasteful so this had to be sorted ASAP!

Other than the style efforts, the car was very low and stiff which turned out to have BMW motorsport group N bilsteins and unknown progressive rate springs which i estimated to be approx 50-60mm lowered.

Body condition is very good with virtually no rust, the only bits found are some very early stages of where the wheel arch meets the sill and the square factory lifting pads being a bit frilly.
The car has only covered 77k miles from new and a big part in why the mileage is pretty low is due to the fact that it has been dry stored and not been taxed since 1994!!!  Unbelievable!


The story behind the car is that it was taken in payment for a building job and for some reason kept unsold, possibly because no one wanted to buy it looking the way it did?!

So work commenced pretty much straight away and first thing to be tackled was the suspension because it was so stiff and uncomfortable to drive on the road.


New front brake back plates were bought and those along with the front struts were blasted and power coated satin black.



Four new Bilstein B8 shocks and eibach pro kit springs (same as what was on the white M3 and my 325i Sport) were ordered up as well as a pair of new wishbones, eccentric wishbone bushes, camber correction top mounts, E46 convertible rear top mounts, Z3 reinforcement plates, front drop links, and a set of new unused eibach adjustable roll bars sourced from Kos were fitted which has transformed the way the car rides and handles compared to what was on before.


The red dashboard removed and the bulkhead inspected as much as could be with with no signs of rot or dampness. Some rectification work was required to the alarm wiring and a minty mint black dash from Paul Z3I was fitted.



A set of very nice original heated black leather seats were bought from Paul bmwe30metch and various other interior parts such as door cards, Hifi pack rear blind shelf and consoles from pacerpete plus some new seat belt stalks all made up to create a nice place to be.

Last of all, the 15" racing dynamics needed to go and a few sets of wheels were considered but one set i did want were a set of M3 16" BBS and as luck would have it a fairly tidy set with tyres popped up on the E30zone FB page being sold by Joel so these were snapped up a completed to "back to OEM" look.


As you can see, it has an Evo 2 front spoiler which it came with and the window tints have since been removed.

So thats where we are at but some digging of the cars history has revealed an interesting past.......



Replies:
Posted By: dteagles
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2016 at 10:04am
Looks very nice now (not so much when you bought it!)

-------------

Think about what you can do for the club, not what it can do for you...


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2016 at 10:16pm
Thanks!

SO, being the inquisitive type i was looking though the history and found an old log book from 1991 with the first and second owners details. The 3 owner from who i got the car from for some reason never registered it in his name when he got it in approx 1995 and the story goes is that he took it in payment for a building job.

I googled the two owners on the log book and the second owner came up as a company director for a couple of companies but nothing significant but when i searched the first  owners name, it also came up as a company director and i instantly recognised the the company name... Zeemax.

http://www.zeemax.com/general%20information.htm

The guy who bought the car new was Barry Perman aka mr Zeemax and some of you older guys who were into modding in the 90's may remember Zeemax and after an exchange of emails via the website i got the story on the car up until he sold it in 1991.

He had the car imported by a company in Hayes, West London called Cars international who sourced the car from a German dealer called Kohl who are a multi franchise dealer and is also AC Schnitzer.

Kohl.de

The car was a couple of years old but unsold and unregistered when it was imported and as with the white M3, it was one of the first 5000 built to homologate the M3 for group A motorsport. One can only assume that BMW just built the first 5000 cars within the required 12 months without all of them being ordered and sold so this may go some way to explain why this car was kicking about for a couple of years (and the white one 11 months) before being sold.
I asked Barry Perman about the sale and he just said that it was cheaper and better specced than if he ordered new in the UK and it was then that the car received the reg IIB 95.


This Porsche was one of Zeemax's creations in the early 90's and note the reg of the car. What relevance the IIB plates has to Zeemax i do not know.

Not long after he bought the car he had the interior done in the burgundy and grey leather which fits if you look at some of Zeemax's work and by sheer coincidence he saw the interior for sale on ebay a few weeks back... what are the chances of that?!

As well as the interior he also fitted the 15" Racing Dynamics wheels and he also had an exhaust made by a "racing company in Milton Keynes. I informed him that it has since been replaced with a standard BMW system to which he replied "I'm not surprised as it was very loud and used to spit flames".


When i first drove this car i instantly thought "this is quick!" much quicker than any non Evo E30 M3 I've driven and I've driven many through the course of work. The other two people who drove the car at work were also in agreement without being prompted on how quick it was and that always had me intrigued.
When i ended up speaking to Barry and he said it came from AC schnitzer when new i began to put two and two together so i asked he if anything had been done to the engine as the car felt quicker than any non evo i had driven.
His reply was "it had a complete rebuild and was uprated with cams etc by BBR". When i asked why, he said he put it into second gear at 100mph!! 8O

http://www.bbrgti.com/about-bbr-gti/

BBR aka Brodie Brittain Racing were well known for the exploits in tuning Sierras Cosworths in the 80's and 90's and also went on to develop the Mazda MX5 turbos which were sold in kit form through Mazda dealers in the UK but they also had their hand in other sorts of performance cars back in the day.

I contacted them to see if they had any info on the car and sadly the founding partners sold the company in 1999 and the current owners do not have records going back as far as 1989-1991.

http://www.brittainconsulting.net/ken-brittain/

http://davidbrodie.co.uk

I have since contacted both Ken and David but have not heard back from either.

So where does that leave me. I know its not a 2.5 from a simple check but I need to find out whats going on inside the engine so when i get the chance i will be doing a compression test, cylinder leakage test and an oil pressure test to check the health of it. I will then be checking and adjusting the valve clearances so when doing this i will inspect the cams for any identification as to what they may be.
I will also check the part number of the head to see if its an evo or 215 head and i will inspect the top of the pistons with a bore scope to see if these are different from standard.

Before all that I'm going to check the part number of the DME and also pop it open to see if its been chipped. My 325i Sport has a copy of a BBR chip incidentally and i know who has the original.

Once all thats done it will be off to the dyno and if it churns out 220bhp i will be very happy, any more and ill be over the moon!

So thats it, an interesting start to its life which hopefully will transpire to have something a bit tasty inside the engine.


Posted By: dteagles
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2016 at 10:27pm
Great story, keep the updates coming!



-------------

Think about what you can do for the club, not what it can do for you...


Posted By: steveH
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2016 at 10:54pm
yes a really good read

Put this to the editors for the mag Smile


-------------
Tell it how it is the Northern way.


Posted By: MHunt
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2016 at 8:30am
Great story and thanks for sharing.  The low point for me was the ruched leather door-cards on the original interior.
 
But nice transformation - the car looks like quite a good find.


Posted By: Mark Brown
Date Posted: 03 Feb 2016 at 11:19am
My my, that's quite some interior.  Just looks so much nicer in black. I'm old enough to remember some of the things Zeemax did to E30's back in the day. Testarossa style side strakes anybody?

I remember us getting the first MX5 turbo from BBR, when I looked after Mazda's press fleet in the late 80's.  They also did a conversion for the 323 4x4 that gave it 240+ brake and made it properly quick. It'll certainly be interesting to see what they did to your s14.

Happy to see another M3 getting used and not tucked away as an investment. :)


-------------
2002
e30 M3 2.3

wanted - early e21 316

"e" numbers make me giddy


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 24 Feb 2016 at 8:34pm
Congrats on the car Barry.

What a great story behind the car. The OEM look has really transformed it. It looks great.

Did you try and source an anthracite interior for it? It would be nice to bring it back to original spec.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 9:12am
Thanks Nick!

An anthracite hounds tooth Recaro LS interior like my old white M3 had would have been preferable but finding original E30 interiors is not easy these days so I just went for the first acceptable interior.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 9:13am
Thanks for the comments guys!

 A recent pic of it parked up at work.


With the knowledge that the engine had been rebuilt and upgraded by BBR it was time to do some investigation as to what had exactly been done.


Firstly i removed the DME to find the correct bosch number but in black not the usual green or red and no VIN number label. Possibly a replacement?



Opening the DME up revealed that the eprom chip has been changed but I'm unable to identify it. I suspect its one of BBR's own chips as they built the engine and i know they offered chips for various cars.


Next up a compression test resulted in a healthy 210 PSI across all four cylinders.



Popping the cam cover off revealed a very clean cam box area of the engine which is always a good sign. I also checked the cam box and cylinder head parts numbers and the are just standard early 200bhp spec parts.




And the money shot!

A pair of early schrick cams which tallys up with what the original owner said about the engine built "with cams etc" by BBR! :D 
I'm not sure what spec they are yet as the markings do not relate to anything I've seen in the schrick catalogue and i did not have the correct tool with me at the time to measure lift but i hope to get this done before the end of the week.
Valve clearances were checked and all were within spec implying a well maintained engine.

I have a run on the dyno at Surrey rolling road booked for saturday morning so we shall see what we have!

Any bets/guesses? :)


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2016 at 2:32am
I'll get the ball rollling...........I'm guessing 223bhp


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 13 Mar 2016 at 8:33pm
Originally posted by Bayerische Bayerische wrote:

I'll get the ball rollling...........I'm guessing 223bhp

That would have been immense but....



So yesterdays trip down to SRR resulted in a not to shabby 203 bhp, 170 odd lbft and most importantly ok AFR's. I was happy with anything over 200bhp and as i have a track day and ring trip looming i wanted to know the AFR's were good.

Ive noticed the oil level has been dropping and engine oil was spotting on the ground plus the coolant level has dropped a touch since I've been using it everyday for the last few weeks so today was time to start to tackle these issues.



Upper and lower sump gaskets clearly leaking and also the water pump shaft seal leaking.



The oily mess removed to be cleaned up.


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2016 at 10:10pm
I thought it would be a little more than 203 considering the work , but still very respectable considering it's almost 30 years old.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2016 at 10:25pm
Charlie at SRR has dyno'd many many cars and is a BMW man himself owning 7. He reckons most standard E30 M3's seem to churn out about 190 bhp so this one being 13 up on that would account for the cams and chip with incidentally i think are relatively mild 272's.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2016 at 9:09pm

Sump parts cleaned up before being fitted.


New vs old water pump.


Some brake upgrades were needed as well so some Pagid RS29's, new front discs, goodridge braided hoses and bled through with ATE type 200 fluid saw to that.



As you can see the rear axle beam bushes were totally shot and upon removal the date stamp was 6 so one can assume they were the original 1986 ones!




Out with the old and in with some new Lemforder ones.


The diff oil was in a sorry state! :o  No untoward noises though and seems to lock up ok. Some fresh castor SAF-XJ went in.


Four wheel alignment done at a mates garage after......



... four new Yokohama Neova AD08R tyres

https://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/detail/advan_neova_ad08_r


A lucky find on a 5 series forum were these Recaro SRD's for a bargain price. I wanted some more supportive seats as the standard ones are useless on track and even hard road use to be honest and it also means i can keep the original ones nice with minimal use.
I will get these trimmed in black leather to match at some point.


A couple of pairs of theses were ordered from Germany, correct Recaro E30 brackets to mount the SRD's.


Just enough time the night before the track day to get the drivers one bolted in with a 4 point harness i had.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 23 Mar 2016 at 7:15pm
A couple of pics from the track day last Friday at Abingdon.

http://www.motorsport-events.co.uk/abingdon.php



The car behaved very well and was a joy to punt along, most notable were how good the tyres were!

It has highlighted a couple of areas that need addressing one of which is the wear in the gear linkage giving a less than positive gear change and despite overfilling with oil to the first kink, the constant fear of oil starvation means a decent baffle is going in!


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2016 at 11:08pm
Great photos, it's rare to see E30 M3's on tracks these days as most cars are now tucked up in garages as prices have risen.

I see you have taken the wheel centres off to avoid having a Chris Harris moment. (Wheel centre being flung off the car like a missile!!)


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 15 May 2016 at 6:55pm
Yes Nick, at that track day a few people commented about how few see action these days.

So a bit of an update. A horizontal baffle plate was ordered from Frank at rsgarage.com.pt and fitted along with a fresh fill of castrol 10w60. The picture is not my actual sump as i forgot to take one but its exactly the same.



This sloppy mess was replaced with all new bits from BMW including a Z3 1.9 shifter which has tightened things up.


The well proven upgrade of 25mm master cylinder from an E32 750i was also fitted which has improved pedal feel.


A sparco/Hartge style alloy strut brace has also been fitted as it will clear a DTM style carbon intake.



The A/C system was not blowing cold, had not been converted to R134a and had no gas in the system. The condenser was looking worse for wear so a new one plus new receiver/drier, new dual pressure switch, R134a port adaptors and some new seals along with a shot of gas had the system blowing cold just in time for...........



....an epic weekend at the Ring! :) 

I have driven 3 different E30's there now, an S50B30 touring, my 325i sport and this which is by far the most enjoyable!
The trip was not without its hiccups though, the A/C compressor decided to seize on the way there and cooked itself nicely and at some point on track the compressor bracket broke which is a common problem.
The slightly worn alternator bushes saw a belt make a bid for freedom on track as well but a spare belt was fitted to keep going and i have new bushes ready to fit.

I also got brake judder from the OSF so I'm pretty sure i warped that disc. I'm mulling over some brake options at the moment and some Evo cooling ducts will be going on.

Despite replacing the gear shift parts with new and a Z3 1.9 shifter I'm still not happy with it so i may go down the DTM shifter route but that would also mean group N engine and gearbox mounts from either BMW or AKG. If anyone in the UK has this set up i would love to see how much extra noise and vibration this gives.


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 15 May 2016 at 11:23pm
Fantastic photos on the ring...well done that man.


Posted By: richardbaxter
Date Posted: 19 May 2016 at 6:51pm
Barry is that original paint? - it looks very well...


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 22 May 2016 at 8:36pm
Thanks Richard.

The car has had paint by the looks of it and to be honest, to make it perfect I would paint the whole car.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 24 Sep 2016 at 1:09am
Time for a another update of the last few months activity in some sort of order.



This was fitted before some time back but forgot to post about it. Its basically a Becker traffic pro but a BMW branded retrofit item for later models which has an AUX in, matches the dash illumination perfectly and doesn't look as offensive as the early 00's Pioneer that was in there when i bought the car.



A lucky find on eBay got this Italvolanti 360mm steering wheel as used on some of the Group A cars but Ive yet to fit it as before i bought it i had already sent the 370mm tech 2 wheel i had off to Jack at royalsteeringwheels.com.



I ended up going with black alcantara with M tri colour stitching as no one who does steering wheels seems to do suede as per sport evo.


As said in my last post i was going to to fit some evo brake ducts so it was a case of new ducts, tubes, lower engine cover and all 4 wheel arch liner sections.


During the last Ring trip the exhaust note got some what louder and i had noticed a popping sound on overrun at high RPM when on track, this was confirmed as a flame out the tail pipe by people following me as as the rear silencer has some corrosion and a small hole where they always start to go, i guess on pop to many caused the end to blow out.

The rear silencer was replaced with a second hand Eisenmann rear silencer as a temporary measure until a new OEM one is bought but no pic of this yet.


Also another thing mentioned in the previous post, worn alternator bushes replaced.

Some new rear discs and pads as well as a new pair of front discs and a reface of the paid RS29 front pads meant it was ready for.....



Another trip to the Ring which was not without drama but no real car related issues other than an OSF calliper that started to stick but that was sorted by stripping and cleaning the piston.

Once back it was time to make the car a little more road friendly so the pagid RS front pads were swapped out for some OE pads to get rid of the rattling and squealing as well as the savage brake dust!

Another thing ive not been happy with for road use is the front ride height as despite shortening the internal bump stops on the front B8 bilsteins, over harsh bumps or unavoidable potholes it was still bottoming out with a horrid bang. Great on track, crap on road.

For those of you who have read the thread from the start will know i ended up using a new set of eibach springs and as they don't do M3 specific ones, just 4 cylinder or two types of 6 cylinder spec springs for 2dr/4dr saloons i went with the 4 cylinder spec ones.

The OE front ride height with 16" wheels is 568mm and i was down to 520mm so a drop of nearly 50mm.



A pair of sport evo spec springs were worth a try as they are meant to be approx -15mm compared to the standard M3 springs so with these now fitted the ride height is 555mm so close enough.
More importantly no more crashy ride!

Interestingly the rear ride height on the eibach springs is pretty much bang on OE ride height at 533mm.


Thats it for now.


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2016 at 7:56pm
Thanks for the update, great work as always.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 13 Mar 2017 at 12:29am
While its been tucked away for the winter ive acquired a selection of go faster parts to give the 4 pot a kick up the arse.



Posted By: Paul.R
Date Posted: 22 Apr 2017 at 12:26pm
Nice work Barry, looking good 😀

-------------
E39 M5/ E46 M3/ F15 X5


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 27 Nov 2017 at 7:56pm
A LONG overdue update!

After Photobucket decided to try and ruin the internet I have been putting off reloading all my pics to another photo hosting site until now and this thread is the first one I've done so after spending hours sorting this and reloading pics I can now update whats gone on in the last 8 months.




The Becker wasn't cutting it for me and a lucky eBay find was this period brand new old stock Pioneer KEX- M700.


Coupled with this JL audio bluetooth receiver hidden away it gives the best of both worlds of having a nice looking head unit and being able to stream music from any bluetooth device.


New under dash panel while I was in that area.



As seen in my previous post one of the go faster goodies is a JB racing billet flywheel and above shows the weight saving.
This mod has given a nice improvement in responsiveness to the engine and well worthwhile.



The old clutch dated 11/86 so the original to this car! It wasn't slipping but it was getting a bit on the heavy side plus there was not much life left in it upon inspection.


New Sachs clutch kit, new Genuine prop centre bearing and Guibo coupling all went on with the flywheel in time for a forthcoming road trip!


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 28 Nov 2017 at 10:46pm
For those of you that have read this thread from the beginning you may have seen me mention that I had an impending wedding. Well I got married in June which lead me to my honeymoon in august.

What has this to do with my M3 I hear you say? Well The wife and I had two weeks off work and instead of lying on a beach for two weeks we decided to do something different.

I've always wanted to do a European road trip taking in some of the Alps so I worked out a route with an overnight stay in a different city each night for a week with us leaving the car at an airport so we could fly out to Santorini for a weeks relaxation.

So, onto the road trip! The exact route was planned loosely around a route used by one of the companies that do driving tours round Europe but tailored to fit in with what wanted to do so the route went like this,

Calais via the tunnel - the Nurburgring - Munich - Burghausen - Innsbruck - Bolzano - Chur - Zurich - Stuttgart


As we were driving through Germany it seemed rude not to stop off at the Ring for a couple of laps and more to the point to show the wife what the fuss was all about. My wife is not the greatest of passengers and it took some persuasion and reassurance to come for a lap so after which she said 'that was not as bad as I thought it would be' we did another and I'm glad we did as it was a much cleaner lap with less traffic and a better flow.
This was followed by the obligatory meal at the Pistenklause and some drinks in Adenau.

The following morning we headed south toward Munich via a large section of the romantic road taking a more scenic route instead of sticking to the autobahns.

http://www.romanticroadgermany.com


Still managed to stretch the M3's legs on the autobahn though!


Parked up in a side street in Munich city centre. Even in its home town its surprising the amount of attention an E30 M3 can attract as several people waking past this sport would stop to have a look and take a pic!




We met up that evening with family for traditional German food and beer.


After leaving Innsbruck we headed toward Bolzano in Italy... the long way round!
This was so we could travel via the Grossglockner high alpine road in Austria.

https://www.grossglockner.at/gg/en/index



The following morning on route to Switzerland we tackled the famous Stelvio pass.

http://www.stelvio.net/english/

This was one of the highlights of the trip for me as it is simply breath taking.


Along the route we took from Chur to Zurich which included the San Bernardio pass, we made a stop off at the Verzasca Dam which was used in the opening scene to the James Bond film Goldeneye. 

I tried to keep this post mostly car related but there was much more I could have wrote about and posted pics of.

Needless to say, the M3 was in its element on some of the greatest driving roads in Europe!

I took with me a selection of spares and tools including a pair of crank sensors, fuel pump, relays, hoses but I didn't need to open the tool bag once!

Approximately 3700km's covered without a hitch and this fortifies my opinion that a well maintained E30 is one of the most reliable cars you can own!

After we flew back a week later then drove home from Stuttgart it was back into use on the Monday for the daily commute to work.
Its now tucked up in storage for the winter until I get some spare time to fit the rest of my go faster bits.


Posted By: steveH
Date Posted: 28 Nov 2017 at 11:33pm
Absolute brilliant read Barry.
Keep us all informed of further progress over winter.

ps, this should be a Straight six feature Smile


-------------
Tell it how it is the Northern way.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 28 Nov 2017 at 11:57pm
Originally posted by steveH steveH wrote:

Absolute brilliant read Barry.
Keep us all informed of further progress over winter.

ps, this should be a Straight six feature Smile

How much of it would be suitable for the mag Steve?


Posted By: NickDE
Date Posted: 01 Dec 2017 at 9:09pm
Originally posted by steveH steveH wrote:

ps, this should be a Straight six feature Smile

That was my thought exactly. I would love to spend a cold winter evening reading a story of your trip. I love the way your using the car the way it was designed to be used.


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Darkness gone, Tronic gone, Solo gone, DBA going, go Darknes2, go Frozen, go Black Pearl, go The Vibrator


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2018 at 7:16pm
Spring is here!


That means the M3 is now out of its winter slumber where it has resided with my other E30 which doesn't really get a look in these days.. 240 miles in it last year and a chunk of that was for my wedding.



So what do we have here? A freshly rebuilt LSD including new clutch plates with the lock upgraded from 25% to 40%, the ratio changed from 3.25 to 3.46 (which the 320iS uses) finished off with a new Z3M back plate which has extra cooling fins and a stronger bush over the E30 back plate.

Ive only driven it home from the workshop but early signs are good, tomorrow ill be off out on a better drive with clearer roads.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 30 May 2018 at 11:09pm
Update time.


The black leather BMW sport seat interior has been replaced with an anthracite cloth interior with the rare optional Recaro LS seats as ive had these seats in a few E30's over the years and some Fords from my youth and find the more comfortable and supportive than the BMW sport seat. That and the cloth grips you better than the leather.

Pressed into regular use again after the LSD was fitted i began to notice a noise at low speeds which i pretty much new what it was going to be before i investigated as it was quite a distinctive rattle ive heard on other E30 M3's.

What was more worrying was that i was booked for the DN19 track day a few weeks after i noticed said noise.


So gearbox out, the detachable bell housing of the Getrag 265/5 making it a bit quicker/easier for it to be stripped and rebuilt with all new bearings and anything else it needed.

BIG shout out to All-gears in Worksop who not only repaired it cheaper than i could have (BMW want £900+vat for the bearings, gaskets and seals alone!) but also got it turned around in time for the track day.




First track day at the Ring after years of Touristenfarten and its the way forward. Had a great time but im beginning to find the limitations of its very much road biased suspension so i think it might be time to retire it from track work.

We shall see.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2018 at 10:52pm
And so it begins....


Started to strip it down for a full bare metal repaint and tend to any corrosion along the way.

Many brand new parts have been ordered for it from BMW including

Both front wings
Bonnet
Both bumpers
Sunroof panel
Sport evo rear spoiler
Front and rear screens

Windscreen had a massive crack in it from what felt like a rock hitting it chasing some one through pflanzgarten, when i was taking it apart i whacked it and just shattered.

More to follow over the next few weeks, did want it done in time for Gaydon but thats not going to happen.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2018 at 10:53pm

Some of the rust that started in the usual place of the front floors. Sections cut from a rust free car provided repair sections as these cannot be bought new.




Much the same on the other side.



Previous damaged for being poorly jacked up.






Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2018 at 11:12am
Looking forward to following your build Barry.

Out of curiosity, why are you replacing both bumpers?


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2018 at 6:37pm
Originally posted by Bayerische Bayerische wrote:

Out of curiosity, why are you replacing both bumpers?

I got a pair of brand new ones for a very good price and much less prep work than repairing, prepping and painting my old bumpers that had been painted more than once.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2018 at 10:46pm
Bodyshop update time as its been a while.

Right rear sill looking a bit scabby



Cut open to reveal some sneaky rust


Cleaned up and repaired.




Further along the same sill, previous damage from being jacked up poorly needed repairing.





The rear tow eye area had a few small scabs so we though it best to cut a section of the the rear panel off to have a look inside, glad we did!



Tow eye cut off and cleaned up before being welded back on





Front panel cut off, poor thing looking sorry for itself!


New front panel welded on and trial fit of new wings, bonnet and bumper



Its now looking like the engine, gearbox and everything else is going to come out.

From what was going to be some minor rust repair, a repaint has now turned in to a full blown resto. :? 

Didn't think it would go this far but i should know more than anyone how these things can snow ball with E30's.

In for a penny and all that!


Posted By: davebrindlee36m3
Date Posted: 07 Sep 2018 at 2:12pm
Great article...Smile Keep it going..Clap


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 19 Sep 2018 at 10:41pm
Your metal work guy seems to know what he's doing.

Looking forward to more updates.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 21 Sep 2018 at 8:52pm
Originally posted by Bayerische Bayerische wrote:

Your metal work guy seems to know what he's doing.

Looking forward to more updates.

Same bodyshop that did your E28 M5 Nick.

They do are doing all of our body work as well as ML's.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 10:29pm

The Sunroof tray is one of the E30 bodies well known rust traps due to it being a collection point of moisture and virtually zero protection with only a light dusting of paint on the tray and bare E-coat on the inside of the outer roof skin.

Upon close inspection there were signs of of surface corrosion starting in the M3 so this needed to be addressed now as left to fester it would spread to the outer skin and perforate it meaning a new skin or a tricky repair.
As new sunroof trays are NLA a whole used roof with virtually no corrosion was purchased  and after the outer skin was cut away i was left with the donor tray pictured above.

This was then blasted back to bare metal then etch primed although i forgot to get a pic of it.



With my old sunroof try cut away you can see the extent of the surface corrosion in the pics above.


Inside of the skin was ground back to bare metal and a rust neutraliser used.


Inside of the roof skin primed and painted in Lachs silver.


Sunroof tray primed and painted in Lachs silver.





Bonded and welded into place as per factory but now fully painted inside and out so with some cavity wax applied when the body resto is complete will mean this area will be much more protected than when it was originally made.

Next step will be to remove the engine, gearbox, axles etc to tackle the underside.


Posted By: ///M3Mike
Date Posted: 04 Nov 2018 at 8:33am
Just found this thread, as don’t visit here often.

I’m wanting to start to understand how much of a job money wise a project like this could be as I’d like to have my E30 restored in the next year or two - just don’t know who to talk to.

Any pointers appreciated from you?

Thanks,

Mike


-------------
Mike Roberts
1990 E30 ///M3
2005 E46 ///M3


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 05 Nov 2018 at 8:44pm
Originally posted by ///M3Mike ///M3Mike wrote:

Just found this thread, as don’t visit here often.

I’m wanting to start to understand how much of a job money wise a project like this could be as I’d like to have my E30 restored in the next year or two - just don’t know who to talk to.

Any pointers appreciated from you?

Thanks,

Mike

Hi Mike.

I actually restore these cars for a living as i'm one of the owners of http://www.bmrperformance.co.uk" rel="nofollow - www.bmrperformance.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/bmrperformanceltd/" rel="nofollow - https://www.facebook.com/bmrperformanceltd/

As with any resto, the body is the most expensive thing to get right and costs can vary depending on how much corrosion there is or previous poor repairs.

Also, replacing any hard to find parts and even just the cost of many of the new parts soon ads up.

As a rough guide an E30 restoration can easily cost £20-30K if you are paying someone to do everything.

The best thing is to get an appraisal of your car by someone who knows them very well to give you some sort of idea as to what it will cost to restore.


Posted By: ///M3Mike
Date Posted: 06 Nov 2018 at 1:26pm
Hi,

Thanks for the feedback, apologies I didn’t appreciate this was your day job too.

The numbers are sort of what I expected tbh, does that account for any engine work?

Ive always planned to look at this as a project nearer retirement but I’m starting to review that timing. I have a 2 owner E46 that is a mint vehicle that I may consider selling at the appropriate time to release some funds for the E30 project.

In terms of payments are these staged, once figures are agreed? Also how long can a project like this take, not that length of time is an issue to me?

Thanks again,

Mike







-------------
Mike Roberts
1990 E30 ///M3
2005 E46 ///M3


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 07 Nov 2018 at 6:51pm
Originally posted by ///M3Mike ///M3Mike wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback, apologies I didn’t appreciate this was your day job too.

The numbers are sort of what I expected tbh, does that account for any engine work?

Ive always planned to look at this as a project nearer retirement but I’m starting to review that timing. I have a 2 owner E46 that is a mint vehicle that I may consider selling at the appropriate time to release some funds for the E30 project.

In terms of payments are these staged, once figures are agreed? Also how long can a project like this take, not that length of time is an issue to me?

Thanks again,

Mike






Those numbers may or may not include engine work as it they can vary massively. Which E30 are we talking about as an S14 engine from an E30 M3 is much more expensive to repair than an M20 from a 325i?

As for payments, yes these are often staged on the bigger projects, body resto, parts purchase, and labour are often stages or a percentage up front and the balance on completion.

If you would like to discuss your project further then please send me an email to info@bmrperformance.co.uk 


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 13 Nov 2018 at 10:55pm
Much progress has been made with IIB so its time for a big update.

https://flic.kr/p/2bdWvrL" rel="nofollow">

As work progressed at the bodyshop it was decided that there was no point messing about so i got the car recovered back to my workshop so i could remove all the remaining parts such as the engine and gear box, all brake and fuel pipes, fuel tank, complete body loom and every last clip, fitting and grommet from the engine bay and underside.

https://flic.kr/p/2bdWuR7" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/NyNs2V" rel="nofollow">

Underside with all but the axles removed.  In pretty good shape with a lot of the original beige underseal visible.

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXeeG" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXeEw" rel="nofollow">

The underside came up well after careful cleaning to reveal more of the beige underseal and the black paint in the wheel arches as per original factory finish.

https://flic.kr/p/NyNscV" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2bdWuHG" rel="nofollow">

After removing the bulkhead sound insulation i was a little startled initially as it looked covered in surface rust at first glance but the majority of it was just some of the reverse side of the insulation that had stuck to the metal bulkhead, this just scraped off easily to reveal a solid bulkhead.

https://flic.kr/p/NyNsog" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2bdWvg5" rel="nofollow">

The inside of the bulkhead in excellent shape.

https://flic.kr/p/2cNB9ih" rel="nofollow">

Back at the bodyshop with both axles removed.

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXebf" rel="nofollow">

A thorough inspection of inside the wheel arches and underside for any crusty bits or loose underseal meant grinding it back to metal to repair any corrosion however minor.

https://flic.kr/p/2cNB8ym" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXe8j" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2cNB9vS" rel="nofollow">

After repairs were completed and corrosion cleaned, areas were etch primed then 3M spray sealed.

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXeCs" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXe6W" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/P7RxJ8" rel="nofollow">

Various brackets removed, repaired and cleaned before going back on.

https://flic.kr/p/P7RwRM" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2cNB9aw" rel="nofollow">

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Some of the areas repaired and the bulkhead cleaned up of that insulation residue.

https://flic.kr/p/2a7rNjb" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXe2C" rel="nofollow">

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https://flic.kr/p/2a7rNdQ" rel="nofollow">

Underside completely painted in beige colour matched to the original factory sealer, wheel arches blown in matt black as per factory.

https://flic.kr/p/2cSXpwP" rel="nofollow">

All underside and wheel arch repairs completed and how the shell looks now, work has started on bare metaling the top side of the shell as......

https://flic.kr/p/2cTabjx" rel="nofollow">

This is why the panels need to be taken back to bare metal, several layers of old paint would just mean trouble for the new paint with sinkage, cracking etc.

https://flic.kr/p/2cNB8wY" rel="nofollow">

As the engine is now out i got it on a stand to start work on it.

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXeuS" rel="nofollow">

Stripped to a bare block and head for all the ancillaries and throttle bodies to be improved cosmetically.

https://flic.kr/p/2bLXeUu" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2cNB8Hj" rel="nofollow">

Still spotlessly clean internally and seeing as it was rebuilt by BBR approximately 60k miles ago and makes good power im undecided wether to completely strip it but the minimum it will get are a set of rod bearings and ARP rod bolts as well as replacing the Schrick 264 cams for the 284/272 ones i have for it.


Posted By: davebrindlee36m3
Date Posted: 15 Nov 2018 at 7:04pm
Excellent post..a big job but the end results will be worth all the hard work your putting in..Clap


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 11 Dec 2018 at 10:33pm

Getting closer and closer now! The engine bay mid prep.


All of the remaining panels not being replaced now in bare metal to get rid of the multiple layers of previous paint.


Etch primed.


High build primed.



The arduous task of blocking down the primer to get a perfect surface for the base and lacquer.

Painting is imminent!


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 18 Dec 2018 at 10:48pm
https://flic.kr/p/2cbeTfH" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2cbeRPg" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2durxZf" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2cbeTVa" rel="nofollow">

We have some colour!

Fresh lachs silver looks great compared to when its dull and flat but i guess you can say that about pretty much any paint colour. Cant wait to see it in sunlight and even more so looking forward to fitting it back up!

Very pleased with how it has turned out.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 22 Dec 2018 at 10:36pm
https://flic.kr/p/2aXJWJE" rel="nofollow">

Safely delivered back at my workshop today so can press on over the xmas/new year break.

https://flic.kr/p/2aXJXiW" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2aXJX61" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2aXJXdA" rel="nofollow">

Very pleased with how the factory look has turned out. The aim was to replicate what was there before but without the corrosion and flaky sealer.  Beige underseal and just the right amount of body colour over spray along with the black inner wheel arches faded in.

https://flic.kr/p/RAtbb9" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2aXJWVb" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2aXJWD9" rel="nofollow">

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https://flic.kr/p/RAtaX3" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/RAtb1E" rel="nofollow">

Every orifice from the inside out has been liberally filled with Bolt Hamber UC cavity wax to keep the rust at bay.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 24 Dec 2018 at 12:48am
https://flic.kr/p/2cDFtcY" rel="nofollow">

The refit starts! All new engine bay bulkhead sound insulation fitted.

https://flic.kr/p/2cDFt9b" rel="nofollow">

New interior bulkhead upper sound insulation and replacement stick on sound insulation pads cut and fitted where removed for repairs.

https://flic.kr/p/2dKB23p" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2cDFt5y" rel="nofollow">

complete wiring loom has now been fitted with the engine bay re-wrapped in the correct fabric tape.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 30 Dec 2018 at 10:35pm
Small update. Chipping away at refitting it over the Christmas break.

https://flic.kr/p/2dKPkCh" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2crEUCx" rel="nofollow">

Routing the body loom in place and wrapping it using the correct tesa cloth tape.

https://flic.kr/p/2dPjQiY" rel="nofollow">

Carpet and HVAC box in place. Both doors have the wiring fitted, complete handle and lock mechs plus window regulators and glass.

https://flic.kr/p/2cvcCA2" rel="nofollow">

Main part of the dashboard in place. There are other various clips, bracket and fittings also in place around the car.


Posted By: davebrindlee36m3
Date Posted: 30 Dec 2018 at 11:06pm
Looking good... I,m really enjoying this post mate..Clap


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 31 Dec 2018 at 8:45pm
Thanks DaveThumbs Up


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2019 at 1:04pm
Fantastic work Barry


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2019 at 11:27pm
Thanks Nick.

Chipping away at it,

https://flic.kr/p/2cEqdSa" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/QhVS9D" rel="nofollow">

Bumper brackets have been blasted and painted, various fittings and brackets re plated in the original zinc passivate finish.

https://flic.kr/p/2cEqdF8" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/QhVS2z" rel="nofollow">

New heat shields fitted.

https://flic.kr/p/QhVRVn" rel="nofollow">

Original bumper side mounts cleaned up and refitted with new speed clips  and spire bolts in the original finish.

https://flic.kr/p/2cEqdtp" rel="nofollow">

Rear lights cleaned up and refitted, new number plate lamps and boot lock fitted.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 13 Jan 2019 at 8:49pm
https://flic.kr/p/2cNtLUn" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2e7JgBW" rel="nofollow">

One of the things that triggered the restoration... for those of you who have read the whole tale will remember the front screen being hit by what felt like a rock during a hot lap of the ring. Replaced with a new genuine BMW top tint screen joined by a new genuine rear screen all fitted with new rubber seals at the front and new clips and trims at the rear. Some new scuttle vent trims and all new wiper linkage mounting hardware on the scuttle finish off that area.

https://flic.kr/p/2d6muz9" rel="nofollow">

New Hirchmann antenna as my original was badly faded. Also my radio reception was never great so hopefully this will improve it.

https://flic.kr/p/S4hDtL" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2d6muoY" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/S4hDn3" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2d6mugo" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2e7JfNG" rel="nofollow">

Picked up some freshly vapour blasted parts removed from the engine .


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2019 at 10:02pm
https://flic.kr/p/S4hDy5" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2d6muFm" rel="nofollow">

For those of you with a good memory, back when i listed the new replacement panels one of them was a sport evo rear spoiler.

https://flic.kr/p/2eb8PAb" rel="nofollow">

For those of you not familiar with the Sport evo it was the last homologated version of the E30 M5 which had a 2.5 engine as well as adjustable front and rear spoilers plus many other changes unique to the Sport evo. The spoilers have always been something that owners of non Evo M3's have retro fitted and ive always been a fan of that look (and function!)

https://flic.kr/p/2e7JgvJ" rel="nofollow">

The correct spacers unique to the Sport evo spoiler were fitted, something often missed out be people retro fitting or fitting a replica.

https://flic.kr/p/2cRUDzV" rel="nofollow">

The bolts! These countersunk hex head bolts that hold the adjustable position rear blade to the main spoiler at NLA from BMW.

I had a selection of original ones, 6 corroded and 2 new (8 in total needed) and i was going the get the corroded ones blasted and re- chemical blacked to original finish but a trial fit found that the latest batch of Sport evo spoilers made by BMW had the threaded inserts recessed further in so the original bolts were not long enough,

Some searching online found the correct countersunk M8x1.25mm hex head bolts in a choice of lengths but in stainless so 5mm longer ones did the trick. A coat of satin black had them looking good and the result.....

https://flic.kr/p/2cRUDD2" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2efMwEr" rel="nofollow">

Very happy with the rear end now! I've now the dilemma as to weather i replace the evo 2 front spoiler with a Sport evo adjustable front to match the rear...

What has become quite noticeable now is the left reverse light being duller than the right hand one so a new left lamp unit is now added to the ever growing list of new parts required.



Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 20 Jan 2019 at 7:21pm
https://flic.kr/p/2efnvX3" rel="nofollow">

Inside the rear right wheel arch is the fuel tank breather system which is an area often full of mud, rust and holes. The filler neck blasted and painted, vent tank cleaned, all hoses replaced with new and new electro plated fittings.

https://flic.kr/p/2ddWF8y" rel="nofollow">

New Splash guard  and a new metal pipe cover fitted (they have now doubled in price!)  after being painted and cavity waxed on the inside.

Ignore the suspension components as these will be tackled later on but i gave the shock a wipe down for the aid of the pic.

https://flic.kr/p/2efMwz6" rel="nofollow">

Freshly refurbished 16x7.5 Style 5s by Lepsons shod in my favoured Yokohama AD08R rubber

https://flic.kr/p/2ddWELG" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2efnvHA" rel="nofollow">

Starting to look more like a car now. Bumper foils (black stripes) have been applied and new rear badges with the all important M3 badge fitted millimetre perfect as per BMW fitting instructions.


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 20 Jan 2019 at 11:12pm
That looks bloody amazing....she'll be too good to take on a track now!!


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2019 at 11:52pm
No more track work for this one Nick. Keeping my eyes peeled for a suitable track toy!

https://flic.kr/p/Si3qQJ" rel="nofollow">

Details.... all new petrol flap and filler hardware. Decal is the first of many 1st class reproductions by pukardesigns.com.

https://flic.kr/p/2d3kh8g" rel="nofollow">

The best part of six hours work to get the original headlining back in with a result i was happy with.

https://flic.kr/p/Si3qK3" rel="nofollow">

All of the shadow line trim has been painted in the correct satin black, Both doors have been fitted with their trims, complete new rubber seals and original glass.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 24 Feb 2019 at 10:48pm
Trying to find time is getting harder but some progress is being made.

https://flic.kr/p/R9DYvZ" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2dP7sXC" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2dP7sGh" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2eV3nBD" rel="nofollow">

The rear bumper aero plastics have all been replaced with new.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2019 at 8:32pm
Thanks guys!

https://flic.kr/p/24n3kCc" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2eTUXuS" rel="nofollow">

Side skirts painted in the correct satin finish now fitted with all new clips and fittings completes all of the body panel fitment.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 26 Apr 2019 at 12:12am
Apologies for the lack of updates! Its been a hectic few months running BMR but progress has been made.

https://flic.kr/p/T6QQXy" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2e96phu" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2e96pgh" rel="nofollow">

The metal brake and fuel pipes that were fitted to BMW's of this period were an olive green and when you buy new replacements from BMW they are now black.... which wont do.

Using a pipe that hadn't rusted badly, i got a tin of paint colour matched to the original to give the new pipes a coat. Fitted up with new metal clips gave a result im happy with,

https://flic.kr/p/2e96pe3" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2e96pcu" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2e96oYU" rel="nofollow">

The original 55ltr fuel tank despite being solid and not leaking was not in great shape so a new one was bought and painted in the correct satin black finish, New hoses and fittings were added before mounting with freshly plated bolts.

https://flic.kr/p/2fAp6gY" rel="nofollow">


The original fuel filler neck was blasted and painted in the correct satin black and fitted up with new connecting hoses and clips plus the grommet connecting it to the additional 15ltr tank in the luggage compartment.

https://flic.kr/p/254uGGe" rel="nofollow">

The trailing arms rear beam blasted and painted in satin black before.....

https://flic.kr/p/2fAp693" rel="nofollow">

being fitted up with all new bushes, bearings and the rebuilt LSD.

https://flic.kr/p/RUBcMF" rel="nofollow">

Some of the nuts, bolts etc electro plated in the original finish used to refit the rear axle and other parts.

https://flic.kr/p/RUBcFt" rel="nofollow">

Brake pad sensor wiring for the nearside front and offside rear tends to perish and break up. On some of the Japanese import E30's ive seen this rubber outer insulation has completely broken up and fallen off.

https://flic.kr/p/2fAp6bh" rel="nofollow">

Luckily this section of wiring loom is available new from BMW so both ends replaced.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 28 Apr 2019 at 9:51pm
https://flic.kr/p/RWP4LV" rel="nofollow">

All four brake callipers were sent to www.biggred.co.uk for complete refurbishment in the original finish.

https://flic.kr/p/256GfsK" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/256Gfj8" rel="nofollow">

Rears fitted up with new genuine discs and brembo pads and complete parking brake shoes , springs and cables.

https://flic.kr/p/RWP4Da" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2fHj5f6" rel="nofollow">

A new brake fluid reservoir tops off the 25mm 750i brake master cylinder and repainted brake servo. Also note the various reproduction labels by www.pukardesigns.com


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2019 at 10:24pm
Its been a while since ive updated this as ive had a bit of a break from it to spend some time with my family and as ive bought the Alpina B3 that ive been spending some money on.

https://flic.kr/p/TFtGM3" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/25dan7X" rel="nofollow">

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https://flic.kr/p/2gyHvT6" rel="nofollow"> [

A lucky find was a new old sock Michelin MXX tyre in 225/45/16 to fit for the spare obviously not to be used!

https://flic.kr/p/2gyHvWC" rel="nofollow">

Through some wheeling and dealing i managed to obtain a missing piece boot carpet which is often missing as was the case of my car.

https://flic.kr/p/2gyHw1W" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2gyHvPP" rel="nofollow">

The pic above is the culmination of rebuilding the steering rack with new seals, bushes etc and building up the front subframe with the eibach adjustable roll bar and power flex black series bushes with all hardware electro plated as per OEM. New engine mounts also fitted in preparation for when the engine is mated to the subframe and the complete assembly is installed from underneath.

There will be a few more updates on the cars progress before it goes into storage as i need the space at work and i will be concentrating on the engine build for the time being.


Posted By: Bayerische
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2019 at 1:45am
I'm learning a lot from this thread Barry. Your attention to detail is outstanding. 

I never realised the brake lines were originally green.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 22 Sep 2019 at 9:45pm
Thanks Nick.

Yes, BMW brake lines were green up to the E46 era.

https://flic.kr/p/2hjfYgh" rel="nofollow">

At the tail end of July the M3 got put into storage as we needed the workshop space plus its near enough complete minus the engine.

https://flic.kr/p/2hj76SY" rel="nofollow">

https://flic.kr/p/2hj8U6a" rel="nofollow">

Further back in the thread i posted that the engine was striped to a bare block and head.  It sat on a stand for some time before the head was stripped and removed.  Some pics of the cams coming out using an old BMW dealer tool for M88 and S14 engines.

https://flic.kr/p/2eqLW8z" rel="nofollow">

Cylinder head and cam bearing housing vapour blasted.

https://flic.kr/p/2fPJRbK" rel="nofollow">

Sump sections and timing cover vapour blasted.

https://flic.kr/p/2hj94LN" rel="nofollow">

Crankshaft, con rods and pistons removed from the block.

https://flic.kr/p/2hja2LE" rel="nofollow">

Crank main bearings looked ok.

https://flic.kr/p/2hj7gE8" rel="nofollow">

Con rod bearings not so good.

All main engine parts will be going off to the machine shop to do their thing so any thoughts of a freshen up have turned into a complete rebuild.


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2022 at 10:25pm
Three years have passed without a real update to this.  The rolling shell was put into storage to free up some space at work then life, Covid, other projects have all taken up my time and money until now.

Back in January I started on the engine build.
Near on 8 months have passed and I really should have been updating this but better late than never so here goes!



The block along with the bottom end rotating assembly was sent off to the machine shop to be inspected and measured. The cylinders only needed a hone, the block re faced, chemically cleaned, all core and oil plugs replaced with new. The rotating assembly again was measured and all within spec so that was all cleaned, crank journals polished and the whole lot balanced.

That lot was all wrapped up and sat on a shelf for two years until January.



Initial checking of running clearance begun today so a complete set of the correct bearing could be ordered. The running clearance for the main bearings are 0.03mm to 0.07mm and measured with standard size 55.00mm "blue" mains bearing we have a running clearance of 0.05mm so well within spec.



Crankshaft end float checked an in spec.


Pistons and rods all measured and in spec, assembled with new wrist pin clips.


New piston ring sets, new OEM rod bearings an ARP rod bolt set ready to go.


Piston ring gaps checked.


ARP rod bolts torqued to spec measuring stretch.


Bottom end rotating assembly complete.


Crankshaft rear main seal assembly laid out.


Various fittings electro plated.



The timing chain assembly for the S14 engine laid out and fitted up.  Amazingly that little lot cost over £1100!  The ///M tax is real with S14's!



Front timing cover and cylinder head bolted down.



Cam bearing housing bolted down and sealed using the correct Würth flange sealant.  Buckets and shims fitted and all bearing surfaces coated with engine assembly lube as er the bottom end.



The Shrick cams that were installed over 30 years ago when the engine was rebuilt by Brodie Britain Racing were reused and installed using a 35 year old BMW main dealer special tool for use with M88 and S14 engines that I bought some years ago with a job lot of old dealer tools.  All valve clearances set to spec using genuine BMW shims.



Upper sump section and oil pump fitted after having new a new rotor set installed.


Sprockets and upper guide rail fitted up.



Water pump, coolant rail, various brackets bolted up and cam cover placed on top rounded up the main part of the engine build which took me up to February during my spare time.

Life, a Ring trip and prep for that plus various jobs on my recently sold E46 M3 kept me away from this till June........



Installation time in June saw the engine mated to the already rebuilt Getrag 265/5 dog leg gearbox, vapour blasted bell housing and the billet flywheel and virtually new clutch were reused.  Exhaust manifold blasted and painted in high temp paint then bolted up, the engine and box bolted on to the restored front crossmember and rack along with new engine mounts.



Lined up for installation.




The "marriage" is complete.  First time the engine and box have been united with the car in nearly four years.



Posted By: Shaun170
Date Posted: 05 Sep 2022 at 8:29am
I’m a new member so first time seeing this thread and what a great read it’s just been. 

Incredible history of the car and restoration. Love all the detail and pictures. 

Exactly what I joined this club and forum for. Thank you for posting such an epic story. Clap


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 14 Oct 2022 at 8:44pm

The summer months have seen steady progress with the M3 in, usually on a Sunday afternoon in the peace and quiet of out storage unit between work, family life, and a trip across the pond to the big apple and to visit family in Ontario.





Throttle bodies assembled, adjusted and refitted back onto the engine.  All new power steering hoses, engine oil cooler hoses and engine loom routed.  This allowed the engine to be cranked over with the spark plug out to build up oil pressure in the engine before first start.




Intake plenum fitted and the start of the cooling system.





Engine bay complete with all remaining components fitted.  The throttle body tamper proof caps left off to allow for any adjustments required during the initial running in period.



A new chrome tipped rear silencer as used on the Cecotto and Ravaglia models.






The end result of the underside.



Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 14 Oct 2022 at 9:03pm





Interior complete and fully back together.  Optional Recaro LS in Uberkaro check cloth, Sport Evo suede gear knob, hand brake lever and 370mm tech 2 steering wheel retrimmed in black alcantara.





Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 14 Nov 2022 at 10:16pm

A few weeks ago......








.... a photographer came to shoot the car for this months club magazine.


That pretty much wraps it up for me as the car is now sold and in storage for the winter.



Posted By: MarcF10
Date Posted: 28 Mar 2023 at 3:43pm
How much did you sell it for? This looks like £50k+


Posted By: BSS.
Date Posted: 28 Mar 2023 at 9:07pm
Originally posted by MarcF10 MarcF10 wrote:

How much did you sell it for? This looks like £50k+

£50k buys you a very average E30 M3 these days that.

This sold for £85k and that price was agreed in late 2021 before it was even completed.

The current owner has it insured for £100k now as you couldn't buy an average one and restore it to this standard for that money.


Posted By: MarcF10
Date Posted: 29 Mar 2023 at 11:33am
Originally posted by BSS. BSS. wrote:

Originally posted by MarcF10 MarcF10 wrote:

How much did you sell it for? This looks like £50k+

£50k buys you a very average E30 M3 these days that.

This sold for £85k and that price was agreed in late 2021 before it was even completed.

The current owner has it insured for £100k now as you couldn't buy an average one and restore it to this standard for that money.

Absolutely amazing build and the price is justified 100% Clap


Posted By: robmug
Date Posted: 27 Oct 2023 at 3:23pm
What an amazing build. Lovely job and a great advert for the business.

-------------
E46 M3 CSL
Ex BMW GB Press Car 2004

----------------------
Previous BMWs
E89 Z4 30i M Sport
F20 120D M Sport
E91 320D MSport Touring
E36 M3 Evo Saloon
E36 318is
E30 M3
E36 316 Compact
E30 320 To



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