My M's: E36 M3 AC Schnitzer CLS and E46 M3 (Pic Heavy)

[DubsterACS]

I've been a bit of an M addict for a few years now, in 2006 I turned 21 and had saved to get insurance on my first M car, 1994 E36 M3 3.0 Coupe in Dakar Yellow with Extended Black Leather:




In 2008 I managed to tempt the owner of a genuine AC Schnitzer CLS Coupe to part company with it, I still have this car and have carried out a bit of work to it.
Pics below are how it looked when I got it in 2008:




Currently it now looks like this:











Spec:

1996 E36 M3 AC Schnitzer CLS Widebody Coupe
Estoril Blue with Black Leather (extended)
Climate Control and Sunroof
68000miles
Full Service History - Main BMW Dealer plus Specialists (just had Insp 2 this year)
ACS Carbon Fibre / Kevlar Widebody Conversion before the car was registered inc Front and Rear Bumpers, Side Skirts, Front Wings and Rear Arches.
ACS Rear Top Spoiler
M3 GT Rear Boot Spoiler
ACS Door Mirrors (different shape on either side)
18" ACS Type 3 Racing Splits with Michelin Pilot Sports
HSD Fully Adjustable Coilover Suspension
ACS Short Shift
CRN Performance Discs with Yellowstuff Pads
ACS Engine Tuning (runs approx 332bhp)
ACS Uprated Anti Roll Bars front and rear
ACS Front and Rear Strut Braces
K&N Induction Kit
Infinity Exhaust system
ACS Fuel Filler Conversion
ACS Steering Wheel
ACS Carbon Interior Trim - centre console, door pulls etc
ACS Numbered Plaque showing this car was number 5 of 8 made worldwide.....the only coupe in Estoril Blue


Many people have commented that is 'the way the E36 M3 should have looked like'. Whether its the ultimate E36 M3 is down to each persons individual tastes however this car never fails to bring a smile to my face in terms of both performance, driving pleasure and the fact you will not see another E36 like this on the road. It is believed to have been 1 of 3 Coupe's made in RHD for UK customers. The original owner spec'd an Evo and then had this conversion done by AC Schnitzer before the car was registered. The conversion costed approx 35k.

Unfortunately this car is for sale at the minute as I have my sights set on a non-motoring related project but have purchased its replacement already, just recently picked another M3 up from Warrington. Its a 2002 E46 M3 Coupe in Laguna Seca Blue with Black Leather and high spec - Xenons, 19s, Heated/Electric/Memory Seats, TV/Satnav, Electric Rear Blind, Climate Control, Sunroof, Auto Lights/Wipers, Harmon Kardon. Havent got working on it yet (I valet and detail cars in my spare time) but here's a few pictures:







Got a few plans for the E46 but at the minute I've carried out the most important mod....fitted an Intravee iPod connection.

[DubsterACS]

Yes Nick has advertised it for me, car is not with him currently though, its still with me in Northern ireland.

[DubsterACS]

rb5er said:

Love the e36, looks very special with the wide wings etc. Personally much prefer the less blingy wheels that came with it though.

Thanks! The wheels are a sore point, the less blingy wheels were 19s and way too big, they messed the handling up really badly and wrecked the suspension which is why i fitted HSD Coilovers to replace the original AC Schnitzer Racing suspension it was spec'd with. The wheels I changed to are genuine 18" AC Schnitzer Type3 Racing Split Rims, E46 M3 offset so very hard to find, I found these on ebay.de and snapped them up quickly. The original spec of the car had Type Racing Splits so it is supposed to have Racing splits on it, I just choose a fresher set.

[DubsterACS]

M3CS said:

I've often wondered how someone like him sources all the CSLs he gets (and this beauty too!)....had assumed it's via enthusiast forums - is that how he found you, just out of interest?

Yes partly but also, i had the car advertised on all the usual places in November and he spotted it for sale and being a specialist he was quite intrigued by it. He offered to advertise it for me and I had noticed his name against lots of M3 adverts over the past few years and had heard good reports about him, after speaking at length with him I was happy he was the right person to be advertising my car. Being in NI there's not an awful lot of scope to sell a car like this over here so Nick knows the UK market very well and even further across Europe.

[DubsterACS]

Chris Peacock said:

Wow,!...shirley the E36 is a keeper!?....

If it's up for 30k now, it has got to be worth another few quid in 5-10 years time?....

Great piece(s) BTW.

Yeah I wish I could keep it but I've had 4 and half years of pure enjoyment owning it and so I think its time to let it go, also I have just committed to my first house so funds need to come from somewhere. The E46 is a compromise, I wanted something a lot cheaper but that i could use a bit more - the CLS was rarely out on the road as I have a company car and mainly was scared to use it (front bumper = £1500...if you can get Schnitzer to make it!!). It wil definitely be an investment for someone whoever buys it.

[DubsterACS]

melvster said:

The 3.0 M3 IMO is the nicest of the lot, just perfect and a great colour.

Thanks, it really was a great car, i drove it everyday to and from work for the first year of ownership. I re-registered it when i bought the CLS so the new reg that went on it was a NI reg starting with GIG - would love to know where it ended up.

The CLS is a different beast though :-)

[DubsterACS]

sutts said:

I love the ACS car and like the E46 a lot, but if it were mine I'd lose the M badge from the front immediately.

My thoughts exactly...done today!

[DubsterACS]

melvster said:

O/T topic slightly but is that an AX GT hiding at the side of the garage ?

Edited by melvster on Tuesday 1st January 11:32

Yeah its an AX, but its just a Forte, the special edition that got the GT bodykit, it was my first car I bought when i was 17 and had the opportunity to buy the same (unfortunately not the exact one) a few years ago. It is a bit neglected I must admit, I plan to work on it this year.

[DubsterACS]

Leins said:

Was parked up beside your CLS at the NI Show this year. Great car, and looks even better than it does in the pics!

Thanks, you're right, its very hard to capture the lines of the wide arch conversion in photographs, it has real presence.

[DubsterACS]

shibby! said:

Dont mean to be rude, but I dont get the CLS, I saw it for sale a while ago on the cutters website and wondered why is it so expensive!

So why is it worth so much? as far as I can tell its an m3 evo with a wide arch bodykit.

Like I said, dont mean to offend but why?

No offence taken, a lot of people don't 'get' this car. Arguments have gone on about this car on other forums and I don't want it to start here. One thing I will ask though, how do you put a value on rare cars? For example, E30 M3's are going for serious money at the minute, they are brilliant cars but are they worth what they are being sold at? Maybe, maybe not but people are willing to pay for them.

[DubsterACS]

The above info is correct! Keeping the CLS and doing a bit of work to it over the coming winter months. Have also got the E46 paintwork sorted recently along with genuine CS alloys and Eibach Lowering springs, here's how its sitting now:

[DubsterACS]

So the E46 went and got a trade in against it....which turned out to be a gem of an E34 M5 3.6!

1991 in Brilliant Red
114k with full service history and folder full of history
Barn stored for past 4 years due to slight technical fault (turned out to be something simple but previous owner lost interest)
Put back on the road in July last year, traded into me in November.





Got it onto the RR at an event in December, was very pleased with the outcome, it ran 311.4bhp!






So far I've done the following work:

Got the radio working!
Fuel lines and brake lines replaced
Rear axle bushes replaced
Propshaft joint replaced
Fluids service - oil, diff and gearbox

Pleased to report it drives like it should, and (now) handles properly.


I honestly wasn't expecting to like this car as much as I do, its fun to drive and built like a tank. Currently SORN'd like the M3 but can't wait to get it back on the road.

Further plans are:

Clear indicators
Paintwork is tired but will detail it. The only rust patch is on the sunroof and the car came with a new one in the boot so just have to fit it.
Drive it!!!

[DubsterACS]

dudleybloke said:

i believe thats the very schnitzer that was first owned by a lad who used the same gym as me back in 1996/97.
his best mate had the same model m3 in the same blue (could have been slighty different shade as im slighty colourblind) and when they parked up next to each other you could realy notice the difference between the two.
its a totaly different car from the m3 in so many ways.

glad to see its still in good condition.

Like this?



Thanks, it doesn't see the light of day much, only 68k on it. I've had it since sept 2008. Don't suppose you would still see that guy who owned it? He was the original owner if it was 96/97. Would be great to get a chat with him!

As far as I know the exhaust is OEM, i love the way the car is so silent from inside but yet outside it sounds like a mad thing! Such a well built car, interior is faultless in it. As soon as I get it detailed I'll post more pics.

[DubsterACS]

• Update of work**

I had to enlist the help of a fellow detailer due to my own time constraints but over the past few saturdays we've been working on the M5. You can see a few before shots above but here is one in the sunlight to show just how bad the paintwork was - its suppose to be brilliant red but as it had been lying stored in a barn for a number of years, the paintwork had faded badly to a soft red/orange colour with lots of swirl marks.





I was in charge of the prep work so it was washed, tar remover used on it followed by Orchard Autocare Iron Cleanse:



First run through wasn't too bad but we're weren't happy:



While we tried to figure out what best way was to approach it without destroying the paint, I decided to have a play around with the rear lights - a lot of people were against me putting clear rears on so i compromised.....



And also dismantled the front end for the fitting of the clear fronts and took into cleaning the chrome rings:
Before-

After -


I also got stuck into the front black grilles to get them back to being black again. Peter, my mate who was doing the hard work, decided that the Meguiars DA Microfibre system was the best way to approach the paintwork, here's a before and after close up:



- this is how it looked after the first pass:





And i eventually managed to get the front clears in along with the nice clean grille!


Clear sides fitted also, and along with chrome bulbs all round:



The car was then finished with Orchard Autocare Speed Seal applied by the DA and buffed off by hand. I also got all the rubbers and black plastic parts cleaned and fed and left to dry in the garage for a week. Got the car out on the driveway on saturday for a few pics of how it sits at the minute - I was very very pleased with the results!!














Unfortunately the bonnet, door mirror covers and front bumper were beyond saving, the bonnet has lacquer peel and the front bumper the paint is flaking off so it is going in to get those parts resprayed.

I then plan to drive it.....lots!! I'll get some decent pictures up as well, those were only taken on the iPhone, some using the HDR setting but i know they're not great.

[DubsterACS]

Taking a night to catchup on forum threads and all, thought I would update this one....

I've now sold the E34 M5 but before I did I got the front end resprayed and detailed the car and enjoyed it for a while. Had a friend take some professional photos of the car so here are a few of them:

[DubsterACS]

JEA1K said:

redddraggon said:

Beautiful cars spoiled by dodgy number plates.

You do know the poster lives in Northern Ireland don't you?!

Lovely cars BTW!

Thank you!
Yes numberplates always divide opinion with mainland UK residents.....I guess it comes down to personal taste, I think the standard plates look so plain on a car, plus here in NI no-one seems to mind a slight bold font, the M5 sailed through our vigorous MoT Test Centre with these plates on it. My private plate on the CLS is actually an old english reg from the 1940's i believe.

[DubsterACS]

bigalx said:

Both the M3 and M5 are heaven.

I've been offered a Dakar Yellow CS convertible by a friend of mine whose recently restored it. Seeing it in the flesh the wide arch kit really does look incredible and so different compared to the photos. The car was an insurance write off - mainly from what I gather down to the front bumper being the £1500 and it was stored after it was written off. Sadly I cant convince the missus to let me have it. I'm lucky enough to have an Estoril Blue E36 M3 Convertible already which never stops to bring a smile to my face when I take her out but seeing one of these in the flesh they really are something special.

Good luck with the cars - the perfect combo in my honest opinion and likely to give you cost free motoring since both of those are surely going to go up in value - I was looking at E34's to replace my daily (E90 330i) but again I cant get the man maths to work with my missus!

Thanks! I''ve now sold the M5 (about a year ago but just getting time to update forum stuff now) and I am pleased to say the new owner is carrying on the work with it, its now been completely resprayed, minor rust issues sorted (boot floor and behind rear bumper), and a few other of the wee issues sorted so its in really good hands now.
Yes that the CS that was recently in BMWCar magazine yeah? I've been in contact with the guy who did the restoration for a few years now via email/text. He's done a great job with that car, although i think it was the rear quarter panel that was damaged according to the mag feature? I understand, the man maths makes sense to us, thats why I've had a couple of M's for the past few years but now just down to the E36 but I'm happy with that as it means I can concentrate on it now and my gf is happy

[DubsterACS]

CRA1G said:

Got mine out for the first time this year last weekend...

Lovely combo there, Dakar Yellow looks good on any car!!

[DubsterACS]

So in 2015 and after I sold the E34 M5 I had, I was able to concentrate on the E36 again. The brakes needed overhauled and after investigating the various possibilities (see thread: http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=124... ) I decided to go for the upgraded brake route, as someone once pointed out, the standard setup looks a bit tiny behind the wheels. The set I went for is AP Racing 5200 kit with Reyland Motorsport Floating J Hook discs and Carbotech pads. These have been very impressive so far although yet again in 2015 I didn’t get to drive the car that much. They look awesome and really fill out the space behind the wheel. When I last drove the car however I did notice that there was a lot of noise from them when they were warm, there’s also a bit of play in the handling of the car which wasn’t there before so that will need investigating.

Anyways, here’s a few photos of the brakes and how the car sits now.









I drove the car a bit more in 2015 and took it on a bit of a roadtrip to scotland where my girlfriend lives and the roads round her location are brilliant so was able to properly get the cobwebs blown off the car!

This year then and in March the M3 got back on the road again and its had a busy few months, 2 new front tyres, Michelin PS3's went on (seriously cheap at the minute!!).

I've always had the opinion that cars are there to be driven and enjoyed, admittedly I did leave the M3 parked up for a couple of years but anyways, when I did drive it I really enjoyed it. As many of you will know, if you enjoy the car then 'driving damage' will happen, so I've been wanting to get the front end resprayed for awhile now but wanted it done right. I approached the bodyshop who resprayed my E34 M5 in 2014 and E36 3.0 Dakar a good few years ago, Robert Hair & Co, in Whiteabbey and took Mark round the car telling him about it and explaining what I wanted done and then explained why it didn't look like a standard E36. After initially going a bit pale when I explained about the carbon fibre body panels etc, he gave me a price I was happy with and explained how they would go about it. In addition to the front end respray, rust had started appearing above the side skirt on the passenger side and also in the boot floor around the battery area, so i wanted all this sorted as well. Before pics:






Also, I had a new rear spoiler to fit......I have had this in the loft for ages now and just hadn't got round to fitting it. Full Carbon Fibre M3 GT Spoiler:




Now I knew it wouldn't look right with leaving it bare CF so I had it painted but got them to leave a lip at the outer edge so that it would match the front splitter. I think it has turned out really well and I'm really pleased with the rest of the paint work. The rust above the side skirt was sorted and treated so it wouldn't come back and the whole side was painted below the black trim. The boot floor was also treated and painted and is like new. After pics below:

[DubsterACS]

April this year, worked on the car getting it ready for its first big show here in NI, Dubshed held over 2 days - mainly for VAG product but the organisers opened it up to all german brands. Got to detailing it and then a few pics of it in place at the show along with some other ///M's: