just bought the Z3 M roadster for the s52

[flyboyx]

well, there she is. now it is official because it is sitting behind the fence in my back yard. what the hell.... 47,000 miles on the odometer. I am very sure that is the correct amount. the previous owner and i jump started the engine today and it sounded beautiful. i opened the oil cap with it running. there was not a hint of smoke or hesitation. the engine seems very tight. haven't done a compression check yet. I plan on using the engine(of course) and differential from the drive train. the shifter too. the suspension on the pax side seems to be trashed. the struts may be ok. if they are, i will try to use them as well. the trailing arm and rotor on the right rear are scrap. on the front end, the bushing that holds the lower control arms to the chassis are missing on both sides. someone actually welded them to the body at some point, but both welds have broken free. all of the m brake calipers are in good condition. i would like to use them if they will bolt up to my stock 4 lug setup. the power steering rack is missing(dammit!). looks like the front end is a bit tweaked. the motor mount bracket on the drivers side is broken. the radiator and condenser seem to be ok. looks to have been a rather wierd accident. both fenders and quarter panels are in good shape. i had to cut the door hinges on the pax side door to get it open. this car came with some really kick ass heated leather seats. they are black and grey and look narrow enough to fit the e30. the power seat track looks wrong and also they won't flip forward to allow passengers to climb into the rear. i sure would love to use them though. i was thinking of taking the tracks off my stock seats and see if i can make them work without the power option?
I have a nice parts car with black interior and i could take the back seat to a upholstery shop to match. other than that, i plan to use the stock getrag 260 and drive shaft out of my parts car.

so...off the top of my head, looks like i am in the market for an e34 oil pan and pick up tube, mounting brackets, obd1 intake, e21 brake booster.....

if anyone can help me add to my list, i would appreciate it.

peace

brian

[e30serg]

So no plans to use the ZF tranny?
Not sure if Bruce has sold this yet:

http://www.baye30.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9767

[flyboyx]

So no plans to use the ZF tranny?
Not sure if Bruce has sold this yet:

no, i don't really see the purpose. i would like to have the .80 overdrive offered by the getrag. The purpose of this car for me is only to run it on the street.

[madformx5]

Sweet deal on the parts for your swap but to bad for the M roadster. Keep us updated with your swap.

[e30_325es]

If you plan on using the z3's diff, I would def. use the trans too. Besides the fact that you won't have to dick with modifying the shifter linkage or anything else, all you would have to do is get a proper driveshaft for it. And you'd also have a low mile trans vs. however many miles you have on yours.

[etxxz]

^^ what he said on the tranny/rear end combo. although if its strictly a street car you might enjoy the really long ETA gearing.

from your post i see that you're in for a lot of surprises but what the hell you're gonna have a good time. btw see my OBDII wiring thread. seeing as you have all of the OBDII components i pretty much already did the wiring for you. ask for all the guy's spare keys.

[Wishno87]

Does this have the aluminum block?

[hugh jass]

do did the motor mount arm break off the block?

[hugh jass]

Does this have the aluminum block?

no, iron block

[Nick325is]

If you end up parting it...I'll take lots of interior parts...got an M sitting in the garage that wouldn't complain with some new interior bits.

-Nick

[flyboyx]

do did the motor mount arm break off the block?

i jacked the car up on cement blocks today and crawled around underneath. the unibody in the engine compartment is tweaked such that it appears someone replaced the engine crossmember but since it is too long due to the accident, they just welded to the frame on the driver side. yes, the motor mounts are both broken. they look like someone ran the ends through a meat grinder. the oil pan on the engine has most certainly been replaced. all of the drive train components look like new but the oil pan is still shiny. the aluminum cover plate on the diff is trashed. the mount that protrudes from the left side is broken off. also those nifty fins on the lower portion of the housing are broken off as well. dammit! i tried to remove the diff today, in fact. the carrier frame that holds the rear end together is bent such that the two bolts on the top are up against the body and impossible to get a wrench on. i will have to bring the torch over and cut the bolt heads off. the diff is likely still ok to use, but i will have to replace the cover plate. happen to have a couple e 30s laying around. for now, i plan to keep the trans until i do a little more research and decide what i am going to use. still leaning toward the getrag, though. the front rotors have been replaced since the accident. and they are new. front struts have been replaced used and they don't match. one is a yellow bilstien with a blue coil spring. the other one looks like it would have come from the factory. as i mentioned earlier, the power steering rack is missing and the steering wheel is spinning into oblivion. both (front and rear) M stabilizer bars look good.

the balance of the car that i am not going to use is certianly for sale. color is cosmoschwartz metalic with black and grey leather. the interior is really nice, but for now at least i am going to keep the seats. the stereo is missing, and i am planning to keep all of the harmon kardon premium stereo components. needless to say, all four airbags are blown. the convertable top is very nice but the plastic rear window is hazed from sitting in the sun for a couple years without care. both front fenders are good, driver door, the rear clip is nice with a fixable dent below the gas cap door and there is a small tear about 2 inches long in the rear valance by one of the exhaust outlets. its a shame the car suffered so much damage. i really like the extra flare on the factory m quarters. speaking of which, does anyone know of a z3 forum where i can advertise these parts?

[e30_325es]

I would strongly recommend NOT cutting the bolt heads off the diff bolts. How will you remove them from the diff then? Instead, you should cut through the floor of the car and use a ratchet on them.

[E30_fiend]

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the Z3 M the car that came with the really short gears in the rear? Like 4.44 or something?

[gobuffs]

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the Z3 M the car that came with the really short gears in the rear? Like 4.44 or something?

No.

[flyboyx]

I would strongly recommend NOT cutting the bolt heads off the diff bolts. How will you remove them from the diff then? Instead, you should cut through the floor of the car and use a ratchet on them.

well, i already tried cutting trough the floor in the trunk as far forward as i can reach. i made a small slice with my angle grinder where the horizontal metal meets vertical. unfortunately, this spot is about 3 inches behind the area i need to get to. in the passenger compartment, i drilled a hole in the area behind the seat. that one is about 5 inches forward of where i need to be. bastards!

keep in mind the car is a 47,000 mile southern car. nothing is rusted or corroded. if i washed off the dust and dirt, i could eat off the bottom of the car it is so clean. since there is a long spacer between the subframe and the bolt head, there will be about 3/4" still sticking out of the hole. i can just grab a hold of the bolt shank with a pair of vise grips and turn them out. the last thing i want to do is go underneath the car with a smoke wrench. i envision that as garbage truck mechanics, but i am out of options unless someone has any better ideas.