IronJoe's back in an e30... 1989 M3!

[ZEKTI]

Love the M1 tribute styling. Wheels really complete the vision.

[e30m3s54turbo]

Your m3 looks awesome in Hannah read. I remember I test drove a 88 Hanna red in 1989. Back then I didn’t like the color. After time the color grew on me.
I was in the same situation between KW and GC. I spoke to Vac Motorsport about the suspension coil overs. He recommended for a street car more than track. He recommended GC. I also know KW has poor communication to the customer.
With GC was great communication on phone calls and emails.
I noticed on your GC struts are the reinforced.

[IronJoe]

Beautiful

Thank you!

love the orange. you make all the work i do on my car look like garbage in comparison lol

Appreciate it, in fairness I started with a really clean example here so I basically just got to do the fun stuff. The car came with a ton of receipts for work done and it already runs and drives great so I kind of cheated this time (I usually buy basket-cases!)

[82eye]

love the orange. you make all the work i do on my car look like garbage in comparison lol

[OSAH racing]

Beautiful

[IronJoe]

Concurrently with the engine bay refresh I had to address a few mechanical issues. First was suspension. I had previously upgraded to H&R Race springs which I do like for a street E30, however once I added the drop hats the ride became unbearable and it still wasn't low enough.

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I bit the bullet and bought Ground Control's complete drop-in E30 M3 coilover kit. I had gone back and forth between GC and KW's offering but in the end it was the feedback from KW owners and their frustration with ride height that won me over on the GC kit.

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When I bought the car I knew the front brakes were on their last legs so this gave me the opportunity to do them as well. I went with OE replacements as this is a street car and I happen to think the factory E30 M3 brakes are pretty good for the weight and power of the car.

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The GC kit was simple to install. The most annoying part was pulling and replacing the hubs. I ended up cleaning and repacking the front wheel bearings for peace of mind, as they came out in a mess of ball bearings.

Here's the kit installed and dialed in just where I like it. Low enough to bring to a show, but high enough that I don't have to take it easy around corners and it doesn't scrape.
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With the front end apart I took the opportunity to install one of my bucket list parts, a front splitter. I opted for an aftermarket one-piece gloss carbon fiber splitter vs the factory Evo 3 piece, mainly because I didn't like how low the stock stuff hangs down. After seeing them installed and "lived in" on a few cars I knew it wouldn't last long on mine.

Mocked up with 2x4s:
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And installed. I used the factory holes for the Evo 2 chin spoiler so I didn't have to drill any holes in the bumper/chin spoiler.

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Also concurrently, I drained the coolant to replace a leaky hose and released the upper oil pan. The factory cork gasket is notorious for leaking so I used Toyota FIPG (Form In Place Gasket) and it sealed it perfectly, no leaks. While in there I checked the rod bearings for peace of mind and the looked great.

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I also removed the dying AC compressor. I kept all the AC related parts in case I decide to refit it one day but for now it isn't a priority.

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Forgot to add this in the last post, here's the engine bay before and after:

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One last important cosmetic change: Swapped the smoked turn signals for OEM.
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[Panici]

I was very meticulous about choosing the colors as a lot of folks match the newer M colors, where I wanted that nice orangey-red and a real purple (not two different shades of blue).

I noticed this, glad it was a conscious choice.
Older M cars should have the real purple as it's period correct!

[IronJoe]

Damn did that orange really change the vibe!

You are far more patient then I.
Can't even apply a sticker without frustration, forget about wrapping an engine bay.


Also, that rear 3/4 shot (where you're on the brakes) is at the exact same angle as one of my orange E36 328i.
Seeing them side by side really shows how much better an E30 looks over an E36 IMO.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/199478...7/53852348990/

BMWs look great in orange! No denying it.

Wow, good job Joe. I've been wanting to redo my valve cover and plenum in the Evo 2 livery for years but never got around to it. Did you use a high temp wrinkle paint + clear gloss? Thanks.

I used a high temp engine enamel w/ceramic, not a wrinkle paint specifically. Also I decided against the clearcoat as many reviews suggested it yellows too much. The white has yellowed a little bit but I don't mind, it actually gives it a "lived in" feel. A few people asked me if I had done an Evo 2 engine swap because it looked so legit

I was very meticulous about choosing the colors as a lot of folks match the newer M colors, where I wanted that nice orangey-red and a real purple (not two different shades of blue).

[reelizmpro]

Wow, good job Joe. I've been wanting to redo my valve cover and plenum in the Evo 2 livery for years but never got around to it. Did you use a high temp wrinkle paint + clear gloss? Thanks.

[Panici]

Damn did that orange really change the vibe!

You are far more patient then I.
Can't even apply a sticker without frustration, forget about wrapping an engine bay.


Also, that rear 3/4 shot (where you're on the brakes) is at the exact same angle as one of my orange E36 328i.
Seeing them side by side really shows how much better an E30 looks over an E36 IMO.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/199478...7/53852348990/

[2mAn]

Now's a good time to plug my IG where I do actually remember to post on occasion: https://instagram.com/adamantium_steele

define "Occasion "

[IronJoe]

Happy with most of the exterior cosmetics, I moved to another section of the build: the engine bay. I always pride myself on a nice clean bay, but there were a few glaring items to address here. Since the engine rebuild, this car has had a red valve cover, plenum, and Sparco strut bar. Now that the exterior color of the car was orange, it clashed horribly.

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I went to work by stripping off the old powdercoating and to refinish with the Evo 2 livery - my absolute favorite for an S14.

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Once I got the painting project done, I had to address another aspect under the hood. The engine bay was still Zinno Red, and boy did it look bad. I came up with the crazy idea to vinyl wrap the engine bay to match, so I ordered some more 3M 2080 Gloss Burnt Orange and started experimenting. Luckily the factory seams and lines in things like the shock towers and inner fenders helped disguise some of my more "creative" aspects of the wrap job. My goal was originally just to do the shock towers but they came out so well, I just kept going.

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Getting close now, just need to tackle the core support. To do this I pulled the hood which allowed me to wrap the underside of the hood as well.
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I think it looks cool with the hood off.
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Wrapping the hood was an actual pain. There's a reason that you don't see many people do this
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And done.
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[IronJoe]

Now, I know a lot of BMW enthusiasts aren't crazy about non-factory color changes. And a lot of you are probably looking at that last photo and thinking, "just stop here dude". But that wasn't the vision. My last E30 was very much a by-the-book build and I wanted to do a lot of the non-factory things I didn't get a chance to do last time. Modifying an E30 M3 is sort of a slippery slope, and I never let myself go down that road in the past...


Once the wheels were on, I drove the car down to TheLab521 in Portland, OR. Wrapwurks had agreed to sponsored the full color change and once I arrived we quickly went to work dismantling the car. Everything that was easy to unbolt came off to reduce the number of seams.

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In between this I had business travel and a few other things come up and they had prioritized a few other jobs in my absence. So when I finally went down to pick up the car, it wasn't ready. The main body was done but the bumpers, wing, and mirrors still needed to be completed. I ended up staying the day with the team and I installed pieces as they wrapped them up. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun, I was able to learn a lot about vinyl wrapping that ended up coming in handy later.

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With the bumpers done and the car back down on the ground, we added one of the finishing touches: a windshield banner. I always wanted one, but never had a car wild enough to pull off the look. I took a gamble on this but it payed off 100% IMHO.

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With the mirrors completed and back on the car, we shot a little content and then I headed home.

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I was really happy with the car at this stage, but there was more to do before its full reveal at the E30 Picnic.

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[e30austin]

<3

[IronJoe]

Time for a small update!

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In my last update I painted the front bumper, sideskirts, and Evo 2 lip in preparation for a full color change vinyl wrap. I had teased new wheels but I wanted to wait until the color change was done to reveal everything, then of course things got delayed and I forgot to post here.

Now's a good time to plug my IG where I do actually remember to post on occasion: https://instagram.com/adamantium_steele

A while back I had the idea for a BMW M1-inspired E30 M3. Those who know me know I have a history with the M1, I have been trying to get my hands on one for the better part of a decade, and I almost succeeded a few years back. It slipped through my fingers so I decided to build an E30 M3 inspired by the iconic BMW supercar. This would require two very specific things: the right color, and the right wheels.

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My favorite look of the BMW M1 is the Inka Orange production car - yes the procar is stunning but I love the simply look of the road-going version. Inka Orange was available on a few BMW models in this era, I found a reasonable facsimile in 3M 2080 Burnt Orange Ultra Gloss. I reached out to Wrapwurks in Portland, OR and we struck a sponsorship deal. More on this later.

The second piece of the puzzle was wheels. I have always been in love with the classic Campagnolo M1 wheel, and it just so happens that Livery Wheel had designed a modern three-piece forged tribute to this wheel years ago. In fact, many have seen and lusted over Larry's E30 M3 with this exact setup and I knew it was the perfect fit for this build.

There was only one problem: Livery Wheel was basically defunct. The last car they had done wheels for was A$AP Rocky's 190E DTM tribute car in 2021, and they weren't producing anything anymore. After months of internet sleuthing, I finally got a reply from Larry (the co-founder of Livery Wheels). He had sold his set to Igor from CATuned a few years back. There were only two sets of these wheels left in the world, one sold in the UK to an E12 M535i, and another set of faces completely brand new, unbuilt. This set of faces was Larry's personal set he'd kept. After some honest conversations and me laying my heart out on the table, Larry agreed to entrust his personal set to me for this very special build.

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I set out to build the wheels myself and ordered lips and barrels identical to Larry's spec. I had them mounted on Yokohama tires and they looked amazing.

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I held off on revealing the wheels for a couple reasons. 1) my vision wasn't yet complete, and 2) at this point it just looked like Larry's E30 M3. But here are some photos I took at the time:
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