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

[IronJoe]

Got a few more jobs complete, got another parts delivery! I replaced the one single coolant line that kept me from putting the top end back together. Then I threw in new plugs, injectors, Sport Evo plug wires, and a few other details. Getting close.




I also rebuilt the power steering pump (pics later). I had a bad seal that was throwing PS fluid around in the inside of the pulley. Pretty easy rebuild and the kit was only ~$30, so I'd recommend it to anyone with a PS leak at the pump.

[IronJoe]

Not much progress to report as I'm waiting on parts (again), so I spent the weekend polishing my wheels.

2 center caps were already polished, the other two were painted and clearcoated with the clearcoat peeling. My first attempt at a light polish actually just made the flaws stand out even more, so I stripped the paint & clearcoat and started from scratch.

I wetsanded the caps with 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000 grit sandpaper. After that I used three stages of polish to get it to shine up. I also separately polished the center plastic logo cap with Adam's swirl remover & fine machine polish. Turned out pretty well, I'm still working on the last cap. Here's a side by side shot:






I also polished up the lips slightly, didn't go too crazy but they look better.

[Skarpa]

Delicious-looking wheels :up:

[IronJoe]

Got my wheels in yesterday, I'm pretty happy with them overall. One has pretty badly tarnished bolts so I'm replacing those, and one waffle cap did not match the design exactly, turns out it's for another style of BBS RS. So I have new bolts and a new waffle on order. I'll hopefully get them mounted on new tires and installed by the end of the month!

[IronJoe]

When life gives you lemons, make a m3 vert!!! Looking forward to progress, which seems to be happening fast. :p

Thanks! My wife and I are expecting in January so I'm trying to get as much done as I can before then :)

[WestCoastEta]

When life gives you lemons, make a m3 vert!!! Looking forward to progress, which seems to be happening fast. :p

[IronJoe]

your fenders/bumper are in the same state on your car as mine. did you do anything with the tow hooks yet?

I just removed them. IMHO they aren't the best way to tow a car anyway.

[flyboyx]

your fenders/bumper are in the same state on your car as mine. did you do anything with the tow hooks yet?

[IronJoe]

Are you relocating the battery to the back? New tray is just to mount the coolant overflow bottle correct?

Wonder if you swap your BBS lips if you would get a non staggered set up

Yep, battery relocation was done from using the stock stuff from the henna car and is ready to go, other than that I haven't actually bought a battery yet :)

[M-technik-3]

Are you relocating the battery to the back? New tray is just to mount the coolant overflow bottle correct?

Wonder if you swap your BBS lips if you would get a non staggered set up

[IronJoe]

Specs on the BBS?

They're RS005s front, RS061s rear. They were for sale by a member here. He replaced the barrels from 16x7 in the front to 16x7.5 square. It will be very similar to my current setup.

Made a bit more progress in the engine bay. I pulled the power steering pump as it had been weeping fluid a tad bit over time, bought the rebuild kit so I'll be walking through that in this thread for anyone interested in doing theirs. I also found weeping coming from the oil filter housing so I'm going to reseal that while I'm in there.

[2mAn]

Specs on the BBS?

[M3pare]

Great work so far! PM me if you're ready to sell those Startecs. :)

[IronJoe]

Made a bit more progress this weekend.

Cleaned out the shell, got it bolted to the old vert 4-lug, made it a roller and prepped it for sale. It'll be on eBay in a few weeks, if anyone is seriously interested shoot me a PM.


Got the S14 cam box installed, cams in, and timed. What a pain - there are two sets of marks on the S14 camshafts and it turned out I had them lined up with the wrong set of marks. Spent quite a while scratching my head on what I had done wrong - wasn't until I referred to my teardown pics that I saw I had the cams misaligned. Thank goodness for thorough pictures!




Also I splurged a bit on some wheels from a forum member. Absolutely unnecessary for the rebuild but they've been on my mind since I first got my M3. Excited!






Once I have the motor sealed up I'll start work on replacing the rusty battery tray. Fun.

[2mAn]

Once the engine is put together how quickly are you going to finish it?