My '96 E36 M3 Evo Saloon

[BullyB]

Good work! Car looks great

[Neil_M]

BullyB said:

Good work! Car looks great

Cheers man, slowly improving bit by bit.

[Pingman]

great example of this car, drop me a message if the time ever comes to sell it

[Neil_M]

Pingman said:

great example of this car, drop me a message if the time ever comes to sell it

Thanks mate, I will do.

I'm a fair weather tinkerer, I'm due to get moving on her again now its warmed up a little .

[NelsonM3]

Hi Neil, thought you'd gone quiet mines being taxed in March ready for the summer.

Whereabouts you based by the way? Will maybe have to get out cars together in the summer as they are both saloons and have undergone similar "restorations"

[Neil_M]

NelsonM3 said:

Hi Neil, thought you'd gone quiet

Whereabouts you based by the way? Will maybe have to get out cars together in the summer as the are both saloons and have undergone similar "restorations"

Haha, I've always plenty to say!

Busy times with work and at home, so the M3 has been left to it's own devices!

I'm hoping to get stuck in this weekend, as I finally have a free weekend.

Updates are due .

I'm based in Northern Ireland, so that may put a scupper on things ?

[Neil_M]

All has been quite quiet on the car front, unfortunately busy times...

However, the ball is rolling again...

Brian from www.removeadent.co.uk was booked in to … remove some dents. I was chuffed with the job he has performed, most dents were all fairly small, just more of an annoyance. The car looks that bit sharper now.

I've been speaking to a local E36 guru about doing a range of work on the car, so I'm starting to build up some new parts before taking a trip down to him to see what else he gives me a steer on.


Gearbox oil, I've been meaning to do this for quite some time. I've new bungs ready to go for the gear box too.



I'm going to replace the rear trailing arm bushes, so after quite a bit of research, I thought some shims from Rogue Engineering would tighten things up a little and make the OEM bushes last a little longer.



The real clue of my future plans starts here... a freshly powder coated rear subframe.





I aim to rebush and powder coat the rear end. Two jobs that will go hand in hand.

I've got a spare set of trailing arms needing coated, I've just to source a good set of upper wishbones. The lower wishbones I will buy new.

I've just remembered I have new differential seals ready to go in too, along with a viton seal for the CPV which can commonly leak. Preventative maintenance is the way forward :P.

[evojam]

Brilliant work there Neil M attention too detail spot on,I did pretty much the same too mine and ended up spend 1000's refreshing everything,after 8 years I've decided to let the old girl go too a new home,digging her out tomorrow after 2 years in dry heated storage,hope it starts!! you don't want another to go with your Estoril do you?

[Neil_M]

That looks fantastic!

I have 50p and some pocket lint if that is a fair offer ?

Anything to be wary of when rebuilding the rear end?

[evojam]

Thanks Neil,well your first offer is always your best as they say so yeah,50p I'll take it!!!

I used Powerflex bushes in the rear diff carrier as well as the rear trailing arms and front wishbones,never had any issues with them,also fitted rear lower swivels both sides,new Bilstein B6's along with new BMW oe springs and Eibach adjustable anti-roll bars front & rear,tightened everything up very nicely.Just check the boot floor where the diff carrier bolts up carefully for signs of cracks,distortion etc although I don't think E36's suffer as much with the boot floor issue like some other models.

Great your taking the time to restore yours..

Edited by evojam on Sunday 15th March 13:41

[Neil_M]

evojam said:

Thanks Neil,well your first offer is always your best as they say so yeah,50p I'll take it!!!

I used Powerflex bushes in the rear diff carrier as well as the rear trailing arms and front wishbones,never had any issues with them,also fitted rear lower swivels both sides,new Bilstein B6's along with new BMW oe springs and Eibach adjustable anti-roll bars front & rear,tightened everything up very nicely.Just check the boot floor where the diff carrier bolts up carefully for signs of cracks,distortion etc although I don't think E36's suffer as much with the boot floor issue like some other models.

Great your taking the time to restore yours..

Edited by evojam on Sunday 15th March 13:41

LOL deal is done!

I've made the conscious decision to stick with the OEM bushes. I'm don't want to sway too far from OEM with the car.

The roll bars may tempt me though, I will see how the car drives after being rebushed.

I'll get a specialist to inspect the floor while the rear end is out... Fingers crossed. As you say it seems to be more common on other cars.

Half the fun is learning as you go and taking the time to do it right .

[evojam]

The E36 is fairly easy to work on and well engineered.All part of the fun learning as you go...There's not many really decent saloons around now so it's worth the time.Took mine to Germany a while back and it had great stability at high speed on the autobahn with all the work I'd done.

Edited by evojam on Sunday 15th March 15:56

[Neil_M]

I hope I find the same in the next few months

[Neil_M]

Lack of photos for this update, but a cracking weekend none the less.

With a mate providing navigation duties we took a lap up to Bryan Grieves / Dungorkin Auto Repairs / www.dungorkinauto.com

He gave the car a quick look over, checked for fault codes, vanos test etc… All came back very positive with the vanos coming back well within tolerance and nothing was untoward.

He also reported the car drove extremely well.

I was chuffed to say the least. Especially when it comes from a well-respected specialist.

I’ll be getting Bryan to do the work on the rear end. Re-bushing and installing the powder coated parts.

He couldn't have been of more help, providing lots of advice and tips.

Next stage is sourcing some trailing arms and upper wishbones and buying a shed load of bushes and bolts from BMW.

Thanks to several members on www.reallymeansounds.com for recommending Bryan.

I also found this video on YouTube https://youtu.be/frRWMrEO2Ps

[Neil_M]

The vast majority of bushes, bolts, washers and brackets for the rear end have been ordered. The bill certainly made my eye water, all going well they will be here next week.

I also picked up a genuine BMW rear exhaust for the car, the price was a steal too . The aim is to gut out the "rats nest" internals of the silencer, install straight perforated pipes and wrap in stainless steel wool.

It's in pretty good nick too, even the year stamp matches my 1996 car .

[Max M4X WW]

Would it not be best to do the mod to the exhaust on the car at the moment and keep this one if its in better condition?

[Neil_M]

Max M4X WW said:

Would it not be best to do the mod to the exhaust on the car at the moment and keep this one if its in better condition?

Hi Max, it would indeed. But the exhaust on the car is in even better condition

[Neil_M]

One or two parts arrived today for the rear end.

Pretty much all bushes, bolts, washers... lower wishbones, their covers, fuel tank straps and the rear diff support.




I'm still trying to source a good set of rear trailing arms and upper wishbones / spring arms. Once I get them, its down to the powder coaters.

[Neil_M]

Exhaust parts arrived today (its due to go in for surgery next week).

• 2x 2.5" 50cm perforated pipe (stainless steel)
• Stainless steel wool for the first layer of wrapping
• E-Glass Fiber wadding for the second layer
• Stainless steel straps to hold it all in place

[melvster]

You don't mess about do you; great dedication. Probably in better condition than when it left the factory