MT I Project Complete

[evoDRichie]

i like the look of the painted surrounds but those wheels,,, eh no bueno

[JeST]

Pete, your car was the real deal and tuned by the best. My cinnabar is just a straight stock clean 3 series with an MTI. Am I gonna run into this guy in Colts Neck (central) or is he more North in Jersey? If so, I am waving the white flag now... My exhaust may be intimidating, but I assure you, there is a kitten behind that voice of Oz.

He lives in N NJ but I'm trying to get him to come out to some of the e30 meets. Your car is neck breaking beautiful. I'm sure you have something up your sleeve next ;)

[mathetas]

i like the look of the painted surrounds but those wheels,,, eh no bueno

I was in flight school at the time which was a short duty (approximately one year), and honestly, I was looking for a daily driver that I could just make a cheap project out of to say, "Wow, maybe I did leave that better than I found it..." The wheels, although Momo, I have to agree, really did make me want to wear a t-shirt that said, "IT CAME WITH THE FRAME!!!" when I drove it. However, it delighted my heart to pay half as much as I pay now for tires and laugh at my buddies as I got 32mpg on the way to work and back every day on those very straight, light and true 15" wheels.

So, yes, I agree, the wheels were ugly (still are). But, at the end of that duty station, it really did make a high school student in need a wonderful gift with a ton of character--wheels and all. Although I did give the car away, I would gladly buy it back. Who knows where it is now...

PS--don't tell the wife I'd buy that car back or I'll be shopping for a new wife, too...

[ANDRÜ]

Sweet

[scabzzzz]

Really digging the cars, OP.
I understand your pain in finding euro bumpers. I looked for months just to even find a crap set (which is somehow labeled as "MINT" being that they werent rusted in half). Ended up with one of the few remaining Italian full bumper kits from BavAuto back in the day when they sold everything together. Really wanted to go the Mtech bumper route, but ran out of money. Everything looks great though! These cars are priceless, dont worry about the money!

[mathetas]

Really digging the cars, OP.
I understand your pain in finding euro bumpers. I looked for months just to even find a crap set (which is somehow labeled as "MINT" being that they werent rusted in half).

You said it, man... "MINT" is definitely a beauty in the eye of the desperate and hopeful.

Thanks to all for the compliments on the cars.

I am thinking about smoking the tail lights and front turn indicators--very lightly. What are the collective thoughts on that move? At the moment, this is nothing different than a European MTech stock look. Because I refuse to tint these windows, smoking the lights without a window tint might take away from the classic look of the car, so I am a bit reluctant.

[Butler]

OH wow! Its beautiful. I envy you so much! I want to build an early E30 with anMtech1 kit one day!

[mathetas]

As requested...

















Well, there it is... Updated pics... I want to name the car, but I haven't figured one out yet... Suggestions?

[smooth]

Which parts did you find out needed to be mtech specific? Are you talking about the rear bumper end caps? Any others? Can you provide a write-up on the rest of what you did to achieve proper fitment?

[mathetas]

Which parts did you find out needed to be mtech specific? Are you talking about the rear bumper end caps? Any others? Can you provide a write-up on the rest of what you did to achieve proper fitment?

Sorry for the delay. Eurobumpers are Eurobumpers, however, the trim that fits on the Eurobumpers is either MTech or Standard. At first, I ignored this thinking I was over analyzing--wrong. There are clearances under the trim that need to be satisfied when fitting the MTech I front valence that the OEM Standard trim will not allow. For instance, there is a little flange hanging below all Eurobumper Standard Trim pieces (Front Left/Right; Rear Corner Left/Right). You can still technically wrestle the front pieces on the bumper, but there will be a gap and the bottom of the flange WILL dig into your freshly painted front valance. As for the rear, it is a NO GO with the bottom flange attached as it WILL NOT fit the car and allow for proper bolt on anchoring to the rear.

So, for those of you delving into this adventure, know this, you will not be able to find a new set of all MTech pieces aforementioned for your car. You will, however, at a very premium price, be able to locate and purchase the Standard OEM. So, beware and know what you are getting. And before you sling your laptop across the room and pout, realize that although my car looks like it has MTech pieces all the way around it, IT DOESN'T. We modified all Standard pieces to look like the MTech pieces. Basically, we cut off the flanges and then wet-sanded the pieces to look smooth along the cut. Then, primer, and OEM black paint finished them off. I would challenge anyone to be able to tell the difference--front or rear. I just wish I had not purchased the parts that would need fabrication new when I had used parts that weren't that bad. In the end, I have leftover Eurobump pieces, while vital, are brand new and not "MTech". However, the rarest and hardest to find (rear), I do have for sale if anyone is interested. I suppose if you wanted Eurobumps but wanted to wait for the MTech, you could use the Standard OEM pieces and then plan to modify them once you procure an MTech in good shape.

Well, hope that answered your question. Maybe once I finish moving in to my new place and fix the clutch master cylinder leak that has inundated the floorboard of my 9.5/10 black interior, I could start selling off these spare parts to anyone in need. I have a lot of stuff--especially if you're in to the whole DB thing.

[Huff]

I would ditch the ES.

You did some work! I actually took quite a bit of work to get my friends Mtech 1 together and he had the entire OEM kit. It looks amazing and so does your car! Mtech 1's are so rare and it's awesome to see one together in the US

[Insomniac912]

[kcoelhoe30]

i live aBOUT 5 MINUTES FROM COLTS AND HAVENEVER SEEN YOUR E30 AROUND THOUGHI DID SPOT A ZINNO MT2 325IS IN LAURENCE HARBOR

[Kershaw]

both e30s in this thread look great!

[xphiledan]

MT1 > all
details on this suspension & exhaust?