The Purple ///Monster Build

Unlike my first project car, I've been very diligent in finding really good deal on all the parts I need for the swap. I'm not going to rush this project, I want everything to be done right. I've already collected most of what I wanted, other than the actual s54.

What I've got so far:

Engine & Trans:
1 piece CSL replica airbox :up:
ZF320 5 speed
3.46 LSD
Ralco Short shift kit

Suspension & Steering:
TC Kline Coil-Over springs - 500# front, 700# rear
Koni top adjustable struts - front
Koni dual adjustable shocks - rear
Vorshlag camber plates, with race perches
IE 22mm front sway
ST 19mm rear sway
Treehouse Lollipop CABs
IE Billet RSMs
IE Poly RTABS
IE Poly rear subframe mounts - street compound
IE Poly steering coupler
Rebuilt factory M3 steering rack, with new tie rods
Aluminum control arms
AKG subframe and trailing arm weld-in reinforcement kits
Sparco front strut brace
Custom rear strut brace based off the Mason Engineering design, which also mounts to the differential carrier

Brakes:
E36 M3 front brakes
E34 M5 Master cylinder
SS brake lines

Wheels:
Staggered AC Schnitzer Type 2 - 17x8.5 et13, 17x9.5 et22 (Refinished semi-gloss white)

Exterior & Lighting:
Real motorized AC Schnitzer side view mirrors!
Startec tail lights (may not end up using)
Mint Euro Hella Smileys
6000k Hids for the lows and fogs

Interior:
Old school Corbeau reclinable sport seats
3 spoke Alpina steering wheel
3 spoke BBS steering wheel
E36 center console and armrest

System:
Alpine 6.5" Type S components in custom map pocket door pods
Sony 3 way 6x9 speakers for the rear
Clif Design 1400x4 amp for the highs
MA Audio 1800 watt monoblock amp
Full JL Audio wiring kit

Still to get:

Engine & Trans:
S54 motor, harness, dme
Ebay headers for s54 - To be ceramic coated, and ported
3" Borla ProXS single in/out muffler (to be used as the center muffler)
3" Vibrant Street Power muffler (to be used as the end muffler)
V-Bands
8.5 # JB racing flywheel
Sachs Race clutch & pressure plate

Exterior:
MA Shaw Evo trunk spoiler, with CF gurney flap
TMS Evo 2 front lip

System:
Alpine CDA9835 head unit
Kicker 10" CVX subwoofer

WARNING: I LOVE TO USE SMILIES! :hitler:

So I figure I should start a thread for my M3 project build.

First I want to give a little bit of background about myself. I've always been a fan of e30s, especially after my friend's dad got one when I was 10. In high school I was supposed to grab one for my first car, but my parents wouldn't insure me. I was pissed because my friend had a clean Brilliantrot 1990 325i 2 door, 5 speed, with a rebuilt m20, H&R sports, Bilstein sports, and some clean 16s. My parents refused to put me on their insurance with any kind of sporty car, so I never bought the e30.

So a few years went by, and in 2005 I finally bought an '89 Brilliantrot 2 door 325i, with plans of swapping in an s52. The swap took me about a year to complete because I ran into some financial problems along the way. My s52 car ended up getting full coil-overs, 22/19 sways, polyurethane everything, etc. I loved that car, and all the power it had! We also fine tuned the suspension to handle on rails! :woowoo:

After getting bored with the power of a bolt-on s52, I looked into boosting my s52. I was going to supercharge it for a while, then I though about turbo. Finally I decided, screw the s52, I want an LS1. I had bought some 17x9.5 Rota p45r and was ready to put on Eurostop's new "extra" wide body, 2002 style flares.

As I was getting everything ready for the new wheels, I came up on a deal I couldn't refuse! I found this 1990 M3, within a day of the owner posting the car up on r3vlimited. I dropped all my plans for my s52 car, and decided to sell it to fund my new project! ;)

(only pic I have for now)

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I got the car for a ridiculous price because the previously rebuilt motor had been taken apart, and left that way due to running issues. Turns out the owner that had it rebuilt, 2 owners ago, bought parts without researching. The s14 has 95mm over-bored 13:1 CP pistons! Those are made for fully built race engines! As a result, the motor ran like crap, because no other components were changed to compliment the high CR pistons, and it was never properly tuned.

Pros of the car:

1. The car has a clean title with less then 101k on the clock! :D

2. Even though the piston choice lead to running issues, the rest of the rebuild was done properly, within spec. The motor is complete with everything needed to get it running again. The motor has brand new: injectors, entire timing chain assembly, new fuel pump, fuel filter, all ignition components, water pump, oil pump, and a rebuilt head.

3. It came with brand new H&R Race Springs, along with front and rear H&R sways, and brand new Koni top adjustable shocks. :p

4. The interior is a mint! :pimp:

Cons:

1. The paint. The car was originally Zinnoberot, until the owner that rebuilt the motor had it resprayed Diamonschwarz. The paint looks like it was done at Earl Scheib or One Day Paint - very poor quality job. Around the front windshield there is some red coming through, and there are other areas where the black paint chipped off, revealing the zinno. It's obvious that the car wasn't even sanded before the respray, because it the zinno paint underneath still has a bit of clear-coat left on it. :down:

2. The motor was apart when we bought it, and I had no idea of the piston specs. I'm also not sure about the condition of the transmission right now, other than the word of the owner that I bought it from.

The Plans:

I've been fortunate enough to become best friends, and business partners with a shop in North Hollywood - Castro's Smog and Repair. I met Chris 3 years ago, and he helped me with my suspension on the s52 car along with many other things; since then we've been best friends. Consequently, the majority of my M3 project will be done in house at Chris's shop! :woowoo:

Chris and I were ready to embark on the LS1 swap in my car, so we could be one of the first on the West Coast to do it in an e30. After I found the M3 my mind changed 360 degrees!

Since the E30 M3 has been my dream car since I was 13, I wanted to keep this one all BMW. I was bored of the s52 power, and wanted something more. Since I'm also good friends with Osh and Chris at RMS I thought, why not supercharge the s14? Well that idea didn't last long after I started seeing how doable an s54 swap was, and how affordable the motors were becoming. So I finally decided I wanted to put a bolt-on s54 into the M3. The s54 is the perfect match for the M3 IMO. While the power from boost is awesome, I prefer a high revving, powerful NA motor! It's similar in weight to the s52, so I wasn't worried about suspension tuning, or weight over the nose. While having the s14 up front makes the car more nimble, my s52 car handled just as well as my buddy's e30 m3 with some suspension work in MOST cases.

For suspension, I will be mimicking the set-up we put together on my previous car, but with even better coil-overs. For brakes, I will be running E36 M3 front calipers and rotors, with stainless lines, and an e34 m5 master cylinder. For wheels, I've collected a few sets, but I will have 1 set of 17s and 1 set of 18s. Finally for paint, I decided to fully strip the car, and have Alex Castro (Chris' brother) paint my car Techno Violet! It's one of my favorite colors of all time, and I have only seen 1 other E30 M3 painted that color. :pimp:

I will update this thread as the project moves along. I never made a project thread for my first project, so that makes this project that much more special! ;)