Now Im satisfied and contented

[KOBe30]

wow i love your car. i absolutely love your car!

[M Kube]

nice! i saw your old f355 yesterday in monterey...it had the HREs, grey/red combo with euro lenses.

[Javier h]

Sheeesh. I remember seeing that M3 @ Bimmerfest. At the beginning I thought it was Barry's car and then I caught a glimpse of the interior. Sweet. Total work of art.

[B. Tyler]

omg such a beautiful car. I havn't read through the entire thread.... how much power does it put down?

[atan88]

nice! i saw your old f355 yesterday in monterey...it had the HREs, grey/red combo with euro lenses.

Yup that was my old 355:) The owner also brought a Lancia Intagrale for sale ;)

[bimma360]

Here is a little history about this car:

Back in the 90s Steve Dinan built 6 new Dinan E30 M3 S14 turbo cars all in different colors. They where sold new in a local dealership here in Norcal with a $20k option markup and Dinan took over all the factory service/warranty of all 6. This is 1 of the 6 original Dinan turbo sold. MSRP back in 1990 was $56k with the Dinan package. Also with 65k original miles this might be the lowest mile survivor

You wouldnt happen to have any brochures or paper work on their turbo cars would you? I've got one of the 20 325i turbos they built, and would like to get my hands on something in print. I've pretty much been told the same story about my Dinan turbo.

Dave

[318isbmw]

You wouldnt happen to have any brochures or paper work on their turbo cars would you? I've got one of the 20 325i turbos they built, and would like to get my hands on something in print. I've pretty much been told the same story about my Dinan turbo.

Dave

You mean you parted out a Dinan car...


Atan, the car's incredible, and I'm amazed you have the restraint to keep it as perfect as it is and not mess with it.

[bimma360]

You mean you parted out a Dinan car...

Actually... no. I saved a Dinan car.

Everything that is currently in my car... is 100% original to that particular Dinan 325i that was built back in 1990: the engine, the trans, the turbo, the software, and even the ecu... In fact, the only thing that isnt original to the car i saved is the smic (which was destroyed) and the physical chassis. The real kicker is this... Dinan didnt originally keep track of these cars like lets say the likes of Alpina or Hartge. I know this b/c i called them for info on the car i saved and got laughed at. The info of the actual cars is not on file and does not exist. However, with sufficient proof, which i provided to Dinan... they happily registered my car in their current database as one of their 20 Dinan turbos still in existance.

So as far as I go, and most importantly Dinan goes... my car is one of the 20 Dinan turbos they built back in the 90s. Now if you really want to split hairs... sure, its not the actual chassis of the motor they worked on in 1990. Which is why i kept all of the service records from Dinan that came with the car, and have the title to go along with the vin number on the original motor. But apart from what you find here on the forum, and maybe the shop that serviced the car in cali (probably not though), the vin number of the "original" chassis means absolutely nothing to anyone including Dinan.

Dave

[318isbmw]

Actually... no. I saved a Dinan car.

Everything that is currently in my car... is 100% original to that particular Dinan 325i that was built back in 1990: the engine, the trans, the turbo, the software, and even the ecu... In fact, the only thing that isnt original to the car i saved is the smic (which was destroyed) and the physical chassis. The real kicker is this... Dinan didnt originally keep track of these cars like lets say the likes of Alpina or Hartge. I know this b/c i called them for info on the car i saved and got laughed at. The info of the actual cars is not on file and does not exist. However, with sufficient proof, which i provided to Dinan... they happily registered my car in their current database as one of their 20 Dinan turbos still in existance.

So as far as I go, and most importantly Dinan goes... my car is one of the 20 Dinan turbos they built back in the 90s. Now if you really want to split hairs... sure, its not the actual chassis of the motor they worked on in 1990. Which is why i kept all of the service records from Dinan that came with the car, and have the title to go along with the vin number on the original motor. But apart from what you find here on the forum, and maybe the shop that serviced the car in cali (probably not though), the vin number of the "original" chassis means absolutely nothing to anyone including Dinan.

Dave

Fun thing is, I know all about that car, I rode in it many times from the guy who crashed it. Putting a corvette motor in a s10 doesn't mean the s10 is now a corvette, even if you don't have the vin's. Just like putting M3 flares on a 318 doesn't make it an m3 because it looks like one. If you've got such an original car, howcome you don't have the wheels that dinan put on them, a 15x7 set of OZ fittapaldi's in 3 piece? I've even seen a receipt from dinan for a set of 15x7 oz fittapaldi's that the guy you bought it from had. Might wanna acknowledge the fact you've got a Dinan clone and not a real dinan. The real dinan was a 325i 4 door in white, you've got a 2 door in black, how opposite can it be. Stop misrepresenting what you own and trying to play it off as something as significant as Atan's, which is a real one, just as it came from Dinan.

[vivalegreg]

omfg i love this car

[bimma360]

Fun thing is, I know all about that car, I rode in it many times from the guy who crashed it. Putting a corvette motor in a s10 doesn't mean the s10 is now a corvette, even if you don't have the vin's. Just like putting M3 flares on a 318 doesn't make it an m3 because it looks like one. If you've got such an original car, howcome you don't have the wheels that dinan put on them, a 15x7 set of OZ fittapaldi's in 3 piece? I've even seen a receipt from dinan for a set of 15x7 oz fittapaldi's that the guy you bought it from had. Might wanna acknowledge the fact you've got a Dinan clone and not a real dinan. The real dinan was a 325i 4 door in white, you've got a 2 door in black, how opposite can it be. Stop misrepresenting what you own and trying to play it off as something as significant as Atan's, which is a real one, just as it came from Dinan.

Yeah I know you know James. I've gathered that much from all the times you've posted in my threads about the times you've ridden in his car. I'm glad you got the opportunity to experience a Dinan turbo from the passenger seat. My girlfriend gets that same opportunity on a regular basis...

But to be more serious... you are misinformed about Dinan as a company and what they consider as a "Dinan Car." The badge on the back of my car was issued to ME by Dinan in acknowledgment of the authenticity of the Dinan parts (which is the only thing they care about... hate to break it to you) that are in my car. Dinan only made 20 turbo kits for the e30... and guess what, i've got one of them.

Bottom line.... Dinan claims my car as an "e30 Dinan turbo," and thats the only opinion that matters. It may not be the original white 4 door body, but thats just the way it is. If you really really care that much, call up Dinan yourself and ask what they consider a "Dinan clone." I've had that conversation with them too, they just dont give badges away.


Atan, sorry the thread got jacked man. I just wanted to know if you had any original brochures thats all. These last couple of posts should have never happened. Your car is very well put together, and i cant wait to consider myself "satisfied and contented" as well.

Dave

[87e30]

Atan, your cars are incredible.

This thread title is just driving me crazy though!

[atan88]

Hello Bimma360,

When I got my car I had it brought to Dinan in Morgan Hill the same day. It was convenient for me since Im in Norcal. If you give them your VIN they can pull all the records for you. If it was sold new with a Dinan turbo it should not have any records from the dealership. Dinan took over the factory warranty of all 6 E30 M3 made. Besides the turbo it also had low comp pistons and forged internals and a lw crankshaft. If your curious check your connectors and the pipes. Dinan uses this weird color (terracota) connectors and the pipes has Dinan embosed in all thier turbo cars including E24 M6 and E28 M5. Also check your ECU mine is under the passenger seat instead of it being in the glove box. Here are some pics that might help you. I kept everything original except for the Magnecor wires , Samco hoses and I got rid of the Porsche airbox Dinan used back in the days. I had to fit my euro smilies :D Also It had Dinan fixed camber plates, Dinan J stock spings , 16" BBS RK and Koni shocks that I all replaced with GC / Koni coilover setup.

Alvin

[bimma360]

Hello Bimma360,

When I got my car I had it brought to Dinan in Morgan Hill the same day. It was convenient for me since Im in Norcal. If you give them your VIN they can pull all the records for you. If it was sold new with a Dinan turbo it should not have any records from the dealership. Dinan took over the factory warranty of all 6 E30 M3 made. Besides the turbo it also had low comp pistons and forged internals and a lw crankshaft. If your curious check your connectors and the pipes. Dinan uses this weird color (terracota) connectors and the pipes has Dinan embosed in all thier turbo cars including E24 M6 and E28 M5. Also check your ECU mine is under the passenger seat instead of it being in the glove box. Here are some pics that might help you. I kept everything original except for the Magnecor wires , Samco hoses and I got rid of the Porsche airbox Dinan used back in the days. I had to fit my euro smilies :D Also It had Dinan fixed camber plates, Dinan J stock spings , 16" BBS RK and Koni shocks that I all replaced with GC / Koni coilover setup.

Alvin

Thanks for all the info Alvin! I'll have to check with the original dealership you mentioned to see if the white 4dr car the Dinan stuff came out of was dealer new or a customer car. I really dont know if all 20 of the turbo kits they put together for the e30 were dealer new or not. I do recognize the terracota connectors and Dinan piping, although half of the couplers and piping had to be replaced when i changed out the intercooling system b/c of the damage.

I do have a question though, is the turbotronics 4 the only software box they put in the m3? I've got the same ecu you pictured, but i also have turbotronics 5 (a smaller silver box) as well. Funny thing is... all that stuff was originally installed in the glove box of the original car. Or at least it was by the time i got my hands on it... the original white car had 3 owners before me, anything could have happened i guess. And i know for a fact that all of the paper work never made it past the first owner, as he died and the car was sold by his mother. In addition, i dont think Dinan touched the engine internals of the 325i turbo cars. At least not on the donor car i got the motor and turbo out of. Makes sense though since the compression on the m20 is a lot lower then that of the s14. I guess i'll never really know, unless i can get some old brochures and such. I'll find them one day though... haha. Anyway... thanks for the info again.

Dave

[markseven]

what an incredible car. I'm at a loss for words...

+1