The Start of a New Project

[IMG]

Pics of the E36 plz

[1astigM3]

cant wait to see it..i just picked up a '97 e36 m3 4dr a few days ago(pics to follow)..estoril blue. As I always say..i have a soft heart for e36's.

[FVM3]

lets post the e36

[exmowner]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Just tweaking the coolant system on the Monster. But since I had the front bumper off I decided to also tweak the SC Intake, GT4 lip fitment, clean up a few things ect.... whenever I have her apart I always come up with a list of things I want to perfect.

Oh ok, anything I should look into on my own car?

[ki__]

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by exmowner

Oh ok, anything I should look into on my own car?

I am kind of a perfectionist. I will post a thread on what I am doing.

Originally Posted by FVM3

lets post the e36

Ok ok... its basically 100% bone stock right now. Here it is in the background. Only recent pic I have of it.



I have owned it since 2001. I bought the car with 20K miles on it from the second owner. The car currently has 162K miles on it and it still runnning strong. Over the last twelve years I have taken it from stock to modified twice.

The first round of modifications happened in 2005 and included TEIN coilovers, Stamped BMW Lightweight wheels, UUC clutch stop, UUC TSE exhaust, UUC sway bars, Conforti cold air intake, Max Velocity ABS front lip. I actually loved the car in this configuration and believe it or not, TEIN makes a good product. If I could have found a great set of square LTWs for the current build, I could have easily seen myself going that route. Its funny what becomes popular for modification in the long run. I started modifying this car 7 years after the end of production and I can say what has remained popular are the rare items: cloth seats, cars with no sunroof, manual everything, LTW anything and anything in rare color from the factory.





I am not sure what the reasons were now but after a couple years like this I put the car on Dinan Stage 1 suspension to have a more stock feel to the car. But when I saw a set of Blitz (remember Blitz?) lightweight 3 piece wheels in BMW specific sizes... I had to have them. I had always enjoyed qualify JDM wheels on BMWs.

In this setup the car was back on TEINS (they work and they are cheap), K&N cold air intake, same UUC exhaust, UUC sway bars, UUC clutch stop, UUC shift knob and MaxV front lip.





The new build is going to be much more faithful to the period trends of the E36s heyday.

[SweetJebus]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Nice! Do you still have the door sills?

Nope, sold those a few months back...

I do have a carbon elbow for the Dinan cold air intake. It's in pretty rough shape, but I just need it out of the garage. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

[Its_lobelt]

What a great project. Good luck with it and keep us posted.

[exmowner]

Originally Posted by JEllis

I am kind of a perfectionist. I will post a thread on what I am doing.

Same here

Looking forward to that thread!

[slicer]

Awesome! My first real car out of college was an e36 M3 and it will always have a special spot in my heart . I'm looking forward to this build. I like the approach you are taking. Btw, thank you for NOT getting the red BBS center caps! I'm not sure why people like them, I think they look cheesy.

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by slicer

Awesome! My first real car out of college was an e36 M3 and it will always have a special spot in my heart . I'm looking forward to this build. I like the approach you are taking. Btw, thank you for NOT getting the red BBS center caps! I'm not sure why people like them, I think they look cheesy.

Ha yeah the red would not work here. Yep, this M3 is my college car. Bought it during my Junior year.

[Need4Speed_Motorsports]

Love the E36!

[JEllis]

Here are some updates on my E36. The wheels came back from refurb and I am pretty happy with how they turned out.

I also installed TCK SA Coilovers with Vorshlag camber plates. I swapped out the TCK VVS front springs for Swift springs. I am very happy with the setup.

Yes, I am running a stretch. The wheels are an aggressive offset for an E36. My arches are pulled and rolled but I wasn't sure on the fitment and was conservative on the tire width. I will be going wider on the tires next time around.

The car gets an alignment this week!


IMG_0451 by JMEllis, on Flickr


IMG_0452 by JMEllis, on Flickr


IMG_0444 by JMEllis, on Flickr


IMG_0445 by JMEllis, on Flickr


IMG_0449 by JMEllis, on Flickr


IMG_0453 by JMEllis, on Flickr


IMG_0454 by JMEllis, on Flickr


IMG_0455 by JMEllis, on Flickr

Going on next!


IMG_0457 by JMEllis, on Flickr

[Exclusivs]

Awesome project

Those BBS are so clean, great choice!

[Hujan]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Okay so this just came in today. I am modifying my E36 like I would have had I done this project back in 1998-2003.



Dinan is not really known for serious M performance today (my opinion). It is funny how paradigms change. Back when Dinan was founded their first generation M6 was (still is) a serious machine and that ethos lasted through the E46 M3 (Dinan SCd E36 and E46 M3s should not be underestimated). I personally believe Dinan made a miss step by not bringing a CARB certified supercharger kit for the E9X M3 to market like they did with the E36 and E46. We all have our own opinions on the success of their S65 stroker.

Anyways, this is a legit cold air intake for the E36. The filter is placed behind the drivers brake duct. Not unlike the ESS SC intake on the E9X M3. The best part, its CARB legal!

Amen. These days, Dinan's stuff is analogous to BMW Performance parts: OEM-like quality (for the most part), modest performance, minimal NVH. And this is coming from someone who enjoys Dinan stuff.

[Markao66]

that e36 is going look sick!
how do you like the koni coilovers? i used to have them on a few vdubs..

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by Markao66

that e36 is going look sick!
how do you like the koni coilovers? i used to have them on a few vdubs..

They are TC Klein coilovers that used Koni struts. Apparently they are supposed to be specially built for TCK. Anyways, so far I am very happy!

[Jay-K]

keep em coming bro

[IntegraXTR]

Wow those blitz technospeeds are such a throwback haha, cool!

I like where the car is heading this time around!

[W///]

Ah there's that E36 M3 bug waiting to bite me again. I've only had a chance to drive it once (it was a friend's 99 Dakar Yellow coupe, MT) and couldn't believe how analogue it felt compared to my 328i E46.

Can't wait to see the end result. Usually I'm not a HUGE fan of the way they look vs the other M3's, but a clean one that is properly modded gets me drooling.

[Evolve Automotive]

pfft.. more pics of the civic

[IND-Distribution]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Well if you like the RCs and you like period correct, then you are gonna enjoy this build.

Jason

Originally Posted by JEllis

Speaking of BMW tuners that have taken a miss step, here is a very rare piece that I have been storing for a while. Its a little rough but its nothing some buffing wont fix. I absolutely love just about everything ACS did for the E36. I wish I could say the same for the follow on generations.

Incredible! I remember you talking about wanting to dig into this car when I visited you in SD, I am so excited to see you start working on putting the E36 together.

ACS did some incredible work on the E36. The CLSII is in my opinion still one of the coolest tuner built cars of all time.



Sadly, I think that most ARC8 owners have no idea that they are using a replica of a classic BBS wheel. I'm always happy to see a set of real BBS RCs on a car!