My E36 M3 Evo Cabrio project.

[Schermerhorn]

Hi guys

As some of you know, I picked up a rather cheap and slightly unloved M3 Evo last week. I drove it back from Watford to Huddersfield and it ran fine. Then the following morning my OCD got the better of me and I started noting faults and things I wanted to do on it. The 'list' is quite long but that is only because of my OCD more than anything. I want to get this car close to original as possible to either get the best money for it or have myself a pristine example of an appreciating classic.

First thing to change was the AC Schnitzer wheels. I got a genuine M3 set off Ebay so I'm quite happy with them. They'll need balancing properly but for now they'll suffice.





The OEM look is just 'right' in my opinion. The Schnizter wheels will be sold off as I have no use for them.



Next step - the interior.



The pictures don't show it but the leather is quite badly faded, stained and cracked on the bolsters. The carpets need a valet too and some bits and bats might get replaced too. Might as well do it right.

Keep watching this thread.

Edited by Schermerhorn on Wednesday 25th March 12:57

[Schermerhorn]

The AC wheels are nice, but I'm not really a fan of the 'after market' look. I like to see cars as close to original as possible.

Here are some more bits I picked up.



Track rod ends - these ones are a bit ropey and the rubbers have perished. I'll also do the power steering fluid with it too.

Two lambda sensors - the M3 has a nasty cough and the diagnostic machine brought up these two as needing replacing. It'll also make the car run better and maybe improve fuel consumption too.

Short shift gear lever. It's about 2cm shorter than the original linkage so the car will need change a little better too. The original linkage is also quite worn too so gear changes are very sloppy and loose.

Finally, an oil filter and oil change. (oil is not shown in the picture). The car had been sitting for some time so a fresh oil change will do it wonders.

The great thing about these cars is that SO much is shared with the standard E36 that parts are cheap to pick up. The wheel bearings, many suspension parts, etc etc are all interchangeable so the cost of maintaining these cars is quite reasonable. Naturally the engine is a different kettle of fish but my VANOS is pretty much perfect so nothing to worry about there either.

Edited by Schermerhorn on Wednesday 25th March 13:21

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Shaoxter said:

Subbed

Just be aware that the costs can stack up...
e.g. if you want the interior done properly (retrimmed not repainted) you're looking at ~£1500.
If the soft top is a bit tatty you might end up replacing the whole thing at ~£1200.
And then there's the mechanical bits...

Not trying to put you off or anything, but I've spent quite a bit on mine and it's not been very enjoyable. Someone putting a massive dent in my front wing and not leaving a note didn't help either There always seems to be some extra expenses around the corner and I don't think I've broken even yet.

I agree there is always something around the corner or SOMEONE around the corner to piss on your bonfire as you have experienced with your wing situation.

I'm in two minds about the soft top - do I get it replaced entirely or shall I clean it up? The neighbours car seems to have taken a liking to it as she uses it to sunbathe on every morning and leaves all her ginger hair all over the hood. The rear screen needs cleaning up too as it's faded but a buffer and some heavy duty compound can take care of that. There is also a bit of loose fabric which I just noticed which I think can be stitched up or repaired without breaking the bank.

I've found a cheapish supplier and fitter of hoods though

http://www.hothoods.co.uk/e36_fitted.htm


I agree though, little things can keep on mounting and mounting!

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Just had a look at the wishbones, they are coming up as the same part number as a regular E36 3 series (or may be inter changeable)

Matching engine code too and very reasonable price.

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S3_Graham said:

Shaoxter said:

That's just the outer hood, there's also the inner lining and tension strap which can only be bought from BMW for £250-300!! I was planning to do just the outer hood (which includes the rear window btw) but they told me it was going to be a PITA to join it together with the old lining. And also my tension strap was on the way out so I just ended up replacing everything.

Won't tell you the name of the people who did it for me as I wasn't impressed with some aspects of their work (funnily enough they're based around Romford too).

The guy that did my hood basically said that the tensions straps being slack with a bit of an E36 'design feature'. They go alllllll the time.

How much did you pay for Lambda's? I think I might need one.....

I paid £60 each for the lambda sensors but that was using my trade discount. I think they're around £75 retail though for Bosch ones. Remember there are two in total, one for cylinder 1-3 and 4-6.

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Wow. Sweet work and most definately inspiring! I hope to get mine somewhere near that condition.

Were the seats easy to swap over? I'm in two minds as whether to keep the originals in there or go for the 'Vader' look. As you say, fussiness can keep the costs mounting. Have you had yours appraised? Will you be keeping it or selling it on if the values keep climbing?

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In the garage today. Track rod ends turned out to be perfectly fine as is the tracking so I've left them alone.

Got one with the lambda sensors, oil change and some other bits and bobs.

Nothing 'in depth' apart from these two shots

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Vaders do seem to be going for silly money at the moment. £500+ seems mental for old sh*gged out seats.

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Nat, I have a powerflow exhaust on the rear. I was keen to keep it standard but this came with the car and it does sound very very nice. Through a tunnel and under acceleration it sounds much like an E46 M3. Me likey

Edited by Schermerhorn on Saturday 28th March 19:10

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Johnb850 said:

Schermerhorn said:

Just had a look at the wishbones, they are coming up as the same part number as a regular E36 3 series (or may be inter changeable)

Matching engine code too and very reasonable price.

Not too sure what your source is there but M3 wishbones are M3 specific.

Check RealOEM or BMWFans.

Nice project btw!

I was told that E30 wishbones are interchangeable with both the regular E36 and also the E36 M3.

The E36 3.0 and E36 M3 Evo use different knuckle bushes though. Same arm but different bushes.

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Slow day today. I'm enjoying the time off with my daughter. Still, I managed to get some little bits done today.

I changed the retrofit aerotwin style blades back to the original type hook fittings. They make the car look as it should. Flat aerotwin style wipers look good on modern cars with big windscreens. Not so much on older cars in my opinion.



Started work on the interior. Gave it a small vac and did some work on the seats. I used a special leather dye to restore some of the colour and bring it back to life. Still a long way to go but looks much better than it did last week




Hooray, I can now finally see out of the rear windscreen again. When I picked it up, it was virtually opaque; very cloudy and milky. I used 'GUNK' engine degreasant, sprayed the screen inside and out. Worked it into the surface, waited a few minutes and rinsed off on the outside. On the inside I wiped it off with a cloth. The result is much better. A few more coats and it'll be near enough bang on. It actually looks alot better than in the picture. The rear screen was starting to mist up from the inside when I took the picture. Still, I am more than happy.



And here she is. Looking a lot better now she's had some time spent on her.

Edited by Schermerhorn on Tuesday 31st March 19:47

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Latest pictures. The interior is looking much better now. I'm going to clean up the steering wheel rather than replace it. I don't want a 'Trigger's Broom' situation going on but will only replace what needs changing. It's actually a nice place to sit now.



You may have spotted the exposed gear area. It's been opened up to change linkage components. I've ordered new parts for it to freshen up the shifting action. It's pretty ropey at the moment so new parts are much needed!



I've ordered Zimmerman brake discs and brake pads which should arrive tomorrow.

The front discs look pretty shot.



The rears look even worse!




Engine bay may get a valet too.



Slowly but steadily it's getting there!

Edited by Schermerhorn on Thursday 2nd April 17:33

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carreauchompeur said:

What are you doing with the gear linkage? I assumed it would be an exhaust off, on ramp job to improve the shifting but if not I'd be interested... 6spd Evo gearbox isn't terribly slick!

I am replacing parts

1, 2 and 3 and 5.



http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BK92...

Number 5 (shift stick) was purchased online. Items 1, 2 and 3 were sourced from the dealer.

Unfortunately, not an easy job. The exahust and gearbox has to be removed to gain access to the linkages from underneath. A real PITA of a job to do but neccesary.

At first I wanted to change it into a short shifter and thought that would have been easy enough to do by gaining access via the top. Then the problem of the sloppy gears became apparent; the linkages and bushing were shot. So we decided to do the whole lot. Parts bought from local BMW dealer at less than £30.00 so very happy indeed. Now we just need to find some ramp time.

May give the tranny oil a change too to freshen things up further.

Edited by Schermerhorn on Thursday 2nd April 18:33

Edited by Schermerhorn on Thursday 2nd April 18:34

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E30M3SE said:

1 doesn't really wear. You want to replace 7, 10, and possibly 12.

Will check them out but they looked pretty good and solid when I had a look around last time.

I took mine for a little blast today and boy that engine is lovely!

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Hi Neil

I used this stuff. Bought it off Ebay for £7.49 for 70ml of the stuff and it allowed me 3 coats on both front seats and 1 coat on the rears each. Well worth the money as the interior looks a million times better now.


http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://i.eba...

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longintheleg said:

Schermerhorn, where did you find the M3? Was it the usual AT or PH classifieds?

I'm interested as I'm keeping my eyes peeled for an M3 Evo Coupe, preferably slightly unloved so I have a bit of a project.

Cheers,

H

I was looking for an E30 cabriolet and I stumbled across this in the classifieds on Pistonheads. The seller wrongly listed it in the E30 section, and because not many people are after an E30 these days (apart from an E30 M3) it went unnoticed.

Dont get me wrong it was a dog of a car, 13 owners, un loved, stood still over winter, idle problems etc but the engine had no VANOS issues and it was miles cheaper than anything else out there.

Also being in the trade parts were easy to cheaply source and fix so I knew I could turn it into a solid runner with abit of TLC.

[Schermerhorn]

Keep searching dude....sometimes you can find really rough gems in the most obscure of places.

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Finally cleaned up the rear screen proper style today.

Used Autoglym Super Resin Polish and a polisher. Took 3 attempts but I got it in the end





Got a bit of polish splatter on the hood but I'll clean that off tomorrow.

Well happy with the result.

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Sold for £6350!

Think it'll be worth a lot more in a few years time.

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Market is slower than expected on these. If anything, E46 M3s have started climbing quicker than the E36s.

Good news is that there are still bargains to be had out there if you look hard enough!