Panici's E36 M3 - Realistic Dream Car

[Panici]

Man what a great pickup. All things considered, the car looks to be in great shape.

I can't say for certain it's in great shape, haven't dug into it yet (and have only driven it once). I'll say "good" shape is a safe bet.
Kind of anticlimactic to get a car but not be able to drive it. An unfortunate fact of life in this area with all the road salt.

Rear has had paint and bodywork, you can see the colour mismatch on the rear quarter panels. And those miss-rolled rear arches really catch my eye when I walk by. Will eventually have an opportunity to correct them as there are some small rust bubbles starting in that area, but hopefully won't need to address that for a while.


That said, it is largely original, interior is decent, and it feels tight when driven.
It's certainly worth what I paid even though the market has softened significantly in the past year or so.

Really any way you slice it, it's a dream come true for me. If it needs significant work to refresh or restore that's just part of the fun.

[Panici]

Weather is starting to warm up here, so finally got the M3 up on ramps.

Front end is "Canada Mint", meaning no rust holes through the floor.
Oddly enough the lower part of the driver's side fender is gone, looks like it was cut off. Easily fixed with some sheetmetal and a welder when I have a chance. Jack points are solid and with some cleanup and paint will last for a LONG time. Still need to look at the rear end.


Changed the oil with Rotella T6 5w40 & Mahle Filter.

Found my Aux fan to be inoperable when jumping either of the temperature switches. Bit of an issue since I deleted the clutch fan.
Took out the front undertray & "porkchops" (which I was surprised were all original and in place).

Now with access to the fan connector, I applied power directly and still no action.

Grabbed my 16" SPAL 30101517 Pusher Fan (that used to be in the E30), and mounted it directly to the Aux fan shroud after cutting the original fan out.
This JUST fit behind the bumper bar with some force. If you are attempting I would recommend the thinner SPAL 30100401. It was useful to have the orange 328i for reference on this step.
Had to cut part of the alternator cooling duct for clearance, but you can’t see it with the piece installed.

Wired the SPAL to the high-speed relay with the connector cut from the dead Aux fan, and paralleled the wiring at the radiator temp switch.
The fan kicks on at the lower temperature setting of 91°C / 195°F.
Since I had the front kidneys out for the fan install, I swapped back to the original chrome ones (kindly included by the previous owner).

Most of the road salt is gone now, so I took the car out for about a 20mi drive. Went well except for a rattly center console, and a rad cap that pushes out a little coolant. Before I left I spent more time cleaning out the aftermath of the chemical explosion from last year (little white spots everywhere).

[Panici]

Dropped the knee bolster under the dash today to get at the wiring.


DRLs were added to the car when it was imported into Canada years ago.
They used the CDN DRL module, but opted for vampire wire taps to get into the headlight wiring.
Also, found that the Green/Yellow headlight wire was cut and just twisted back together with some electrical tape thrown on top.

I set about putting things right with solder and heat shrink. Made additional wiring modifications as below:


1. DRLs Disable:
Connected both Pin 1 (Yellow) and Pin 5 (Green/Red) of the DRL relay module to Pin 12 (Green/Red) from Fuse 25 going into the headlight switch.

2. Yellow wire repair:
Opted for liquid electrical tape & 3M Super 33 after the tap was removed, as there was no damage to the conductor, only the insulation.

3. Independent Fog lights:
Connected Pin 2 (Yellow/Violet) on the fog light switch to Pin 8 (Green/Yellow) on the headlight switch going to Fuse 22.
This allows the fog lights to turn on independently (ignition in Run or Start), without needing the amber running lights or headlights on.
Will also meet the legal requirement for DRLs if anyone ever checks.
Additionally, the fog lights still turn off properly when the highbeams are turned on.


4. Disable clutch pedal starter interlock:
Connect Pin 2 (Brown/Black) to Pin 3 (Purple/White) which goes to Fuse 45.


5. Unplugged wiring to the Chime Module.


Here is a before picture of the wiring.
I forgot to take a photo when I was done, but imagine marine grade heatshrink and solder instead of wire taps, and the added blue wires following the path of the original harness.

[Panici]

Put the kick panel back together today.
Swapped the leaky rad cap for a used spare one that seals.
Installed a strobing LED third brake light.
Trimmed and taped up the worn-through sport steering wheel.
Typed in the radio code (31131) for the first time.

Also installed a set of TYC Smoked Front Corner Lamps.

One of the tabs was broken on a bulb holder, but I retrieved a spare from my parts hoard and it works great after a thorough cleanup and transfer of seal from the broken holder.

Left side doesn't fit perfectly, think if I remove the headlight I can get it perfect. But that's a job for another day. The foam surrounds are larger on the aftermarket TYC lenses, which accounts for some of the fitment issues.


Speaking of steering wheels, do I need anything special (slip ring?) to install the M-Tech 2 wheel in the M3?
Pictures below of the backside and with the horn pad removed.

[Panici]

Drove the M3 some more this week. Grabbed a picture just as the eclipse was going on!

Good:
Driver's side Vader seat heat works well
Harmon-Kardon sound system is great after some adjustment.
Repainted the shield for my CAI, recoated the filter (with K&N oil). Installed the AFE Cold Air Intake. Adds some nice induction noise growl.
Tax refund came, so I ordered a steering wheel extender, and set of wheel spacers for the M3.

Bad:
Airbag light came on, bought an Amazon special reset tool. Code was 02, 11 for Passenger Seat Belt Buckle Switch.
A/C doesn't work.
Slight grumble from center of car for the first few miles. Corresponds with vibration in shifter. CSB possibly on it's way out?

Other:
Set of Bosch Icon wiper blades costs $63CAD now?!
Little terminal at the store recommended a 21" driver's side and 20" passenger side.
Needed to exchange the passenger side to a 19", and driver's side could maybe squeeze a 22" on there. (For my future reference I used a 21A driver and 19A passenger.)
Goes to show you those little terminals aren't accurate for a 25 year old car!

[Panici]

Swapped my chassis cross brace with the slightly cleaner one from my departed Bostongrun 328i.

Quick (after work) job yesterday of scraping, and wire wheel on the jack points. Got all the loose edges of undercoating off which were trapping water against the metal.

I followed up by applying brush-on black oil-based rust paint.
Will need to pull off sideskirts and front fenders to do a complete job.


Driver's side front is by far the worst spot.
Worked three small holes into the area, and there are thin spots remaining. In addition to the front fender which is missing the entire lower return section.


Other three jack points cleaned up extremely well. I am still very happy with the condition of this car, it's definately a keeper!



Driver's side front after wire wheel:







Driver's side rear after wire wheel:





Passenger's side front after wire wheel:







Passenger's side rear after wire wheel:





Driver's side front with fresh paint:





Chassis brace, original M3 on left:

[Panici]

Have been driving the M3 on-and-off the past month or so. Starting to feel/hear a soft clunk under power, so would like to investigate the rear end and bushings. Also the light scraping sound when the drivetrain is cold (suspect CSB or Guibo).

Trans is still hard to get into 1st gear at a stop, so I ordered some Redline D4 ATF to hopefully help the syncros. Also need to change the diff fluid.

Gave the interior a good wipe down with some Leather Honey Leather Conditioner Wipes. Back seat was so dry, it absorbed the conditioner within a few days. Picture is after a fresh application. Need to retreat the seats again soon.

Took the car on a couple longer drives (2hr each way) with no issues, cruises well and gets almost 30mpg on the highway. Have another planned for next weekend.

Spent a couple weekends working on my friend Kevin's supercharged M3/4/5. This is the one that made me fall for the E36 and maybe BMWs in general way back in highschool. We installed some custom V-Bands between his longtube headers and the midsection, along with some front end cosmetics. Prep for a trip to the tail of the dragon at the end of the month.


Pulled the trigger on a set of Lloyd Mats, same brand as in my E30 and Miata.
Went with an "Ultimat" trunk mat (same as my E30), but sprung for the "Luxe" interior mats.
Way more money then anyone should spend on floor mats, but I can't think of anything else that improves the look, feel and sound of an interior in one easy step.





















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Kevin's M3 on April 28th. He has since reinstalled the original Contours.

[Panici]

Swapped in the Redline D4 ATF, and noticed an immediate improvement slotting into first.
The fluid I pulled out of the trans wasn't red ATF, and there was a little brass syncro material in there.

Put a set of wheel spacers on yesterday. 15mm fronts and 10mm rears.
Inspected while I had the wheels off.

Pads and rotors look brand new, calipers have been painted and look quite nice.
Brake hoses appear original and should be replaced, same goes for front swaybar links.
Tucked the front (rolled) arch moulding into the wheel liner properly. Couple chips here that should be painted.
Found a rotten spot in front of the passenger side rear wheel. Can be fixed but will have to pull off entire side skirt to address.

FINALLY washed the M3 for the first time since I took ownership!
Gave the 328i a quick scrub as well.

Thanks to my sister, we got both cars out for a quick photoshoot.
Here's a teaser (AKA I still have to process the rest of the pictures).






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[Panici]

One-half of the final photos in this thread, the other half in the Project Canyongrun thread.

[Panici]

Had a slight misfire that quickly progressed into trouble idling.
Connected my cheap scan tool just for fun, and saw P1188 and P1189 thrown, which aren't exactly helpful!

Ordered a new set of spark plugs, and when I popped the hood to replace them, was surprised to see my oil cap sitting upside-down perfectly center of the valve cover. I must have left it loose when adding oil a few days prior. 🤦♂️
(Unmetered air through the crankcase was the problem caused by this)

Since I was already in there, I replaced the spark plugs with a set of NGK BKR6EGP gapped to 0.032".
The existing set of NGK BKR6EIX didn't look terrible but could definitely due with replacement. The worst of the old plugs had a gap of 0.040".

Noticed the back rubber stud for the coil pack cover was snapped in half. Struggled for a while to get the broken piece off the head, and ended up cutting it flat and using a chisel and hammer to tap it free.
Pulled a replacement off my spare M52B28 head sitting in the basement.

Had the battery disconnected while I was working on things, to reset the ECU.

[Northern]

Looking great, it's all coming together.

[Panici]

End of Season Update

Happy to report I squeezed the M3 in the garage for the winter. Should slow down the rust progression keeping it away from the moisture outside.

There isn't enough room to walk on either side of the cars (with the spare M52 on the left and the R6 on the right) but at least they are inside.
I can roll them back (with the garage door open) to create space to walk by should I need to work on anything in the driveway over the winter.


Gave it a wash, changed the oil, and added Stabil 360 Marine to the gas tank before pulling into the garage.


Some notes so I don't forget in the springtime:
-Soft clunk under power is still there. To investigate CSB, giubo, trans mounts, rear diff mounts.
-Some paint chips to address on the front end and driver's side rear quarter panel.
-Lube trunk button and mechanism

[Northern]

Garages are never quite big enough, are they?

[Panici]

Garages are never quite big enough, are they?

Yes, always want more space.
To be fair I can do a lot of work in this 1.5 car garage, but for car storage the lack of width and height is a real drawback.

If I insulate the shed and move the bikes (and possibly the lift) out there, it should help significantly. That's the long-term plan anyways.

[Northern]

I'm in the same situation/realization with mine that I just built... Getting anything out that doesn't absolutely need to be in there is my next goal.
Shed, basement, unceremoniously dumped outside, etc.


If you can get the bikes/lift out of there and push one car off to the side, you'd have tons of room to work on the other.
Sure it sucks to move the bikes away from the tools, but it's probably worth it.