Let's make an E30 M3! (M3 S14 cabrio clone project)

[jhaurimn]

Nice score on the vert skirts and fenders! Thats gotta be a big relief.

[krayzkrn]

ECS Tuning has them for $360 each. Last coupe set that I saw on eBay sold for $600 so you could almost break even on the deal. Not bad for brand new M3 convertible-specific parts.

What makes the side skirts M3 cabrio specific?

[IronJoe]

What makes the side skirts M3 cabrio specific?

They are shaped somewhat differently to account for the slightly different height of the cabrio rocker panel, or so I'm told. I know that a few folks have been able to make the coupe skirts work, but to varying degrees of success. I'd prefer to do things properly with all original parts and leave out the modifying.

[IronJoe]

This project is finally taking shape!

I have the M20 pulled out of the new car, and will pull the S14 tomorrow. Then I'll be swapping over the front & rear subframes/5lug and then the S14 gets installed! I am thrilled things are finally coming together.

Also ECS Tuning updated me on the M3 cabrio fenders, they are in transit! Perhaps they will make their way over in time for the picnic :devil:

[cleanasse30]

Keep up the good work, dis gun be guud!

[JRiggs]

This is everything I've always wanted to do with one of my old verts and more!

[IronJoe]

Made some progress over the last few days. I had a lot of help, so we got a fair bit done:

• Pulled the busted M20/auto
• Pulled the S14/manual
• Swapped over front suspension, steering rack, etc
• Swapping over rear suspension
• Installing interior

I am hoping this will be in some drivable shape by the picnic, but that will mostly be dependent on when parts arrive. I'm waiting on motor and trans mounts as well as various gaskets and seals before I can put the S14 in.


I still have a long way to go:

• Swap in S14/manual, driveline, wiring
• Finish rear subframe/diff/rear suspension install
• Auto -> manual pedals, brake booster, master cyl swap
• Finish interior (M3 dash, gauge cluster, glove box, steering wheel, etc

At that point it should be a runner.


Here's some photos from this week, nothing too special:

[2mAn]

That looks like Greg in the background of the pics, Im guessing this was an Alpha team event?

[CorvallisBMW]

I'm amazed all of the suspension survived intact!

[IronJoe]

I'm amazed all of the suspension survived intact!

Same here. It seems that I was really lucky - pretty much every rubber mounting component took the brunt of the impact.

I am getting the driveshaft balanced just to be on the safe side, but other than replacing rubber stuff, everything seems to be OK.

[spiDmang]

dude, I wish i could have made it out

but progress looks fantastic! Are you going to be at the Centennial??

[IronJoe]

I'm pretty excited for this weekend, I have had a ton of new OEM parts come in that I've been waiting on to finish the swap.

• Motor mounts, transmission mounts, subframe mounts
• Transmission support bracket
• Giubo
• Valve cover gasket
• Coolant tank
• M3 Rear bumper brackets/mounts
• M3 weld-in Front fender brackets
• Sport Evo two-piece rear bumper foam
• All new S14 maintenance items: belts, hoses, plugs, wires, etc

For my fellow M3 cabrio friends: I also found out that the sideskirts use some different mounting hardware than the coupes. Since I'm doing my best not to cut any corners, I made sure to document and order each piece. Hopefully this helps someone else. (photos are not mine)



First off, you need 6 of these clips, three per side (these are also used on the M3 coupe):
51711936517




Next, you'll need 8 of these clips, four per side, they are smaller and NOT interchangeable with the M3 coupe ones. They are also used on the Mtech 1 side skirts.
51711919149




Also you need 4 of the screw clips, two per side, these are identical to the M3 coupe ones. They each fasten using the standard 10mm plastic nuts.
Screw clip: 51711933719
Plastic nut: 16131176747





And four of these button-head plastic rivets, two per side, same as on the M3 coupe.
51161881149



Two standard hex-head screws are needed, one for the very front of each skirt. These are the ones BMW uses for everything.
07119916949





Lastly, these little buggers. They fasten the bottom of the skirt to the underbody of the car. They are just plastic press-in rivets, but they have a little extra rectangular surround. Apparently this makes them worth four dollars each They are used on the Mtech sideskirts as well. You'll need 12 of them, 6 per side. (I have not ordered these yet)

51111976050





This all might seem like overkill, but I'm determined to build this car as BMW would have. This level of detail may seem like overkill, but other builds have glossed over this aspect so I wanted to be explicit.

[2mAn]

[*]Giubo

:thankyou:

[rzerob]

Subscribed.

[robrez]

I'm sure it's low on the priority list, but I'm interested in seeing if/how you relocate the battery. I know the m3 verts had the battery in the boot stock, but I've never seen pics. I just did mine, but using the coupe/sedan battery tray and battery cover/safety kit aren't optimal in a vert.