Larry's 89 Zinno E30 M3 build

[f50nut]

I approve of this car and the RS ;)

Thank you sir

[unloadedak]

I approve of this car and the RS ;)

[f50nut]

When the Evo 3 rear spoiler (genuine BMW spoiler with adjustable flap) arrived, I couldn't be more excited to open the box.

Then I found this :(

One side:



That's the adjustable flap in the background.



The other side:





The seller agreed to take this one back, but since they're so rare I decided to wait for a new one to arrive before shipping this away. Worst case I'll have this fixed. If I could get a perfect one, I'd rather just do that.

When this happened, there were 2 on their way to the states, so I was just hoping those didn't also show up damaged. BMW didn't do a good job packing these. No styrofoam or packing around the sharp corners.

Also around this time, ordered an Evo 2 spoiler from Turner. Two weeks later they called and informed me they're out of stock. Actually, for anyone here who might know someone who knows someone, there are 5 Evo 2 spoilers in lockdown at a US warehouse that BMW refuses to sell to US customers. Not only is that hugely frustrating, but it messes with inventory lists at retailers like Turner.

[f50nut]

Did BBS give you a quote from custom e50's?

Yes a while ago so it's probably not up to date but PM me

[mgoblue]

Did BBS give you a quote from custom e50's?

[f50nut]

nice, im the guy in australia that has been emailing you guys like crazy about the turbofans. as you may have noticed im very keen haha please keep me in the loop!

Ah yes I have your emails. Will definitely keep you in the loop and will keep posting progress on our facebook and instagram. It's been challenging making these correctly from a materials and manufacturing standpoint, but we're close.

[INDOMI]

nice, im the guy in australia that has been emailing you guys like crazy about the turbofans. as you may have noticed im very keen haha please keep me in the loop!

[f50nut]

arent you guys making your own Livery turbofans? Why not just run those?

Yes we are :D

Backtracking the progress on this build, around the time I was planning the wheels, we got really serious about building our own. Will have some more info about that in future updates.

[INDOMI]

arent you guys making your own Livery turbofans? Why not just run those?

[f50nut]

Suspension. One of the toughest parts of this build has been sourcing suspension parts. I was lucky to find the strut mounts. Like any E30, you have to cut down the tubes and remove the spring perch.

Since E30 M3's are 5 lug, they require special wheel bearings. The original M3 parts are rare and about $300. I was able to use M5 bearings instead. Way cheaper at around $70 plus they weren't backordered. The only trouble is the ABS rings are different, so you have two options.

1 - Take the ABS rings from the original bearings, which would destroy the bearing during removal

2 - Find used bearings and take the ABS rings from those (impossible to find)

3 - Find custom 48 tooth ABS rings.



Luckily, other people before me have figured this out. These rings were made in small runs by Ultimate Garage and I bought one of the very last sets. Sent the M5 bearings, ABS rings and housings to Vorshlag for the build.


In the meantime, starting to think about wheels.

I have a rare set of ACS Type 1 Rennsports. Original specs 18x8.5 et13 and 18x9.5 et21. The lips and barrels were toast so I took them apart and had the centers refinished by Paul (Ehrlich Wheel Works). They're "black chrome" powder with custom made ACS aluminum caps. Here's the result:









But I really want to run turbofans on this car. I've never seen another E30 M3 with turbofans.



Talked to BBS about having some E50s made. If I build E50s, they need to fit modern LM caps and be drilled and tapped for fans. They can make a new drawing, but I won't see the wheels for 6 months.



Maybe figure out how to attach M System Turbines?

[DasTaco]

Wow. That is one clean M3 you got there! Im extremely jealous! Looking forward to seeing more of this!

[jhaurimn]

Looking better with the clear corners.

[f50nut]

I say that seats are easily recoverable without spending a fortune on them.

check out my thread:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=285938

Those are great results. I think I'll give that a shot before I have them recovered. Thanks for sharing.

[f50nut]

Ordered clear corners. Here's the comparison between the two. Clear on the left, original on the right. I don't like when E30's have too many different colored lights up front.





Replacing these broken wheel liners.



And found an original Evo 3 rear spoiler with flap. Ordered and waiting for it to arrive from Germany.

[f50nut]

Front strut mounts.

After weeks of looking around, calling every suspension company that offered E30 M3 coils (core required) I found a set that was being built for a track car.



Spindles look good





Old spring perch which has to be cut off.



Here's why these were cheap. The PO started shortening them himself. Most companies wouldn't accept these to be converted to coilovers since one side was already shortened.

He also removed too much material. You're supposed to remove a 1" section of tube, but this strut mount is 2" shorter than stock.



Vorshlag agreed to build these up and fabricate new brackets for me. They ended up having a real M3 tube laying around which worked out perfectly.

Going to make this gap disappear :D



That's just wax buildup on the fender lip.