E30 M3 Sedan Build : The Car That Never Was

[Downeaster1]

Hey All,
So I've fallen onto an E30 with 100k original miles. After owing an E36 M3 Sedan and my F80 ZCP Competition, I've always loved the idea of the never-built E30 M3 Sedan.



There are only two pictures that I've ever found of this car, and zero information pertaining to. I'm shooting in the dark with this project, but I've finally made the time and financial commitment to see it complete.

I've ordered the front fenders, and rear quarter panels, however because these are factory new (I didn't want to cut up a perfectly good M3 roller), It's on a 3-4 week delivery wait.

I've have the factory trunk lid, and rear evo spoiler coming from Austria, so that is waiting too.

The S14, associated electronics/hardware, transmission/driveline are coming from a rear-end collision Henna and should be here tomorrow.

Haven't decided on a color yet to paint it, but am probably going with either Henna or possibly a factory silver color? I'm open to suggestions. Like I said, this is a full build thread, and will update periodically. Still trying to source a factory rear bumper if anyone knows a contact :)

Here is the car after picking it up:





---Update 9NOV16---
I finally have both the trunk lid and the front fenders :)





---Update 2FEB17---
I've gathered all the parts needed for the cosmetic work. The bodyshop is working on the rear fenders now, but I stopped by to snap a pic of the fronts. BMW phoned me and said that the North American rear quarters are NLA and that they are unable to import european ones. May end up either shipping some in from a dealership, or hiring a metal fab shop to make replicas. I just really really don't want to do fiberglass, and won't. Stay tuned.


---Update 3MAR17---
Here's a small update. After much searching, I haven't found a decent set of front and rear bumpers so I ended up getting replicas from DTM Fiberwerkz. Holy crap these things are horrible quality. I've probably spent about 40-50 hours making them decent and fabricating a factory-like mounting bracket. Big shout-out to Kevin at ModBargains for dealing with all my bitching over these bumpers. ModBargains really helped out a lot, but DTM Fiberwerkz really has a quality control issue.

I'm in the process of fabricating the rear quarters and waiting on the rear C pillar to arrive before I start ripping up the back. I've been studying the E30 M3 Touring creations to figure out the best way to make a factory-looking rear quarter as I can't seem to accurately source brand new ones. The fronts I've ordered from BMW no problem, but the rears are tricky. The trunk-lid has been all cleaned up and is being installed next week.

I'm going to be doing an Evo interior with leather and cloth inserts, so that will be starting next week. Here are some progress pictures so far. Keep in mind, this is still early in the build.





---Update 14OCT17---
So not a whole lot of progress has been made. I ended up pulling it from the body shop it has been at and sending it to another because of quality issues. The current shop it's at now is much closer to me also and the owner actually has an E30 M3. We're in the process of either trying to make a bracket to make the trunk work, or to source a set of M3 trunk hinges and torsion bar (so if anyone wants to sell me some and save me the trouble of making a bracket, let me know :) )

Test fitting the trunk just to see what it would look like. It looks dumb.

Once the trunk is in, the rear decklid and C pillars will be built up so everything looks flush.


---Update 24OCT17---
Got the trunk parts all situated by a kind person over at S14.net. I ran into an issue with the C-Pillar in that my contact from overseas basically took my money and ran, I've decided to extend the trunk and match the body lines around the trunk to meet the lid itself, instead of replace the rear C-Pillar and glass area. I'm not happy at all about the decission, but without an E30 M3 C-Pillars (that I can find) in the states, it's really my only option. Again, it's one more thing that will be "off" but it doesn't seem like I have another choice.
Trunk installed:



---Update 01MAR19---
Okay, so I've seriously been lacking and have made little progress. I've switched jobs, moved, etc etc etc. My "car money" has all been going into modding my F80, and on top of that, I picked up another E30 that is turning into an Alpina C2 replica. With all that, the E30 M3 Sedan has been getting very little love. Ive been so bummed out due to lack of plastic bumpers, I've decided to modify the fiberglass ones I already had to get as close as I can to M3 look-alike ones. I've given up trying to find rear quarter panels, so again...fiberglass. If I find metal ones later, I'll tear it all apart, but I'm moving forward at this point. Here are a few mock-up pics:

[IronJoe]

Very cool project, I'll be watching! Rear collision henna? Sounds eerily similar to my situation. My henna M3 was rear-ended and I'm re-shelling her with a cabrio chassis.

Very interested to see how you do the rear quarters. It took me ~2 months to receive mine (new from Germany).



Rear bumper is a tough one. NLA for some reason, even though the front is readily available (?) I have seen a few used complete ones change hands on S14.net, but the prices are pretty high ($1000-1500 for a complete bumper with carrier, foam, brackets, etc).

There's a two-piece "sport evo" foam section that superceded the original foam, and that's still available. Brackets are available new and run ~$90 each. You'll also need the plastic guides which are tough to come by (available in Germany but not for US purchase for some reason). You can sometimes find them on German eBay. One of mine survived the accident, the other I had to buy new.


The other trick piece is the rear inner fenders - I don't know how badly your donor was damaged, but my rear inner arches didn't survive intact. I have orders out for new L&R inner fender sections but they are backordered.

[flyboyx]

i also think its a cool project and intend no offense, but i just don't know that its different enough to be unique. however, there are several pics on the internet of tourings made into m3's. there is at least one or two project threads here on r3v. also, there is an m3 touring tribute on san antonio, tx craigslist right now. this will give you an idea what was done around the doors. i also think a cabrio m3 is great.

i do respect your plans though.

what is your plan for the sail panel/c pilar? this will probably be about 4x harder to find than your rear bumper.

[Powling]

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[Downeaster1]

Very cool project, I'll be watching! Rear collision henna? Sounds eerily similar to my situation. My henna M3 was rear-ended and I'm re-shelling her with a cabrio chassis.

Very interested to see how you do the rear quarters. It took me ~2 months to receive mine (new from Germany).



Rear bumper is a tough one. NLA for some reason, even though the front is readily available (?) I have seen a few used complete ones change hands on S14.net, but the prices are pretty high ($1000-1500 for a complete bumper with carrier, foam, brackets, etc).

There's a two-piece "sport evo" foam section that superceded the original foam, and that's still available. Brackets are available new and run ~$90 each. You'll also need the plastic guides which are tough to come by (available in Germany but not for US purchase for some reason). You can sometimes find them on German eBay. One of mine survived the accident, the other I had to buy new.


The other trick piece is the rear inner fenders - I don't know how badly your donor was damaged, but my rear inner arches didn't survive intact. I have orders out for new L&R inner fender sections but they are backordered.

I actually saw your post the other day; That's pretty involved. Can't wait to see how that comes out. I'm thinking my rear's are going to be about the same. All the body panels for the North American version of the E30 M3 seem to be unavailable, however the European part number version is full in stock. I'm not sure of the differences between the two, but as I'm going to be cutting them up anyway, I'm hoping it won't matter too much, but we'll see.

i also think its a cool project and intend no offense, but i just don't know that its different enough to be unique. however, there are several pics on the internet of tourings made into m3's. there is at least one or two project threads here on r3v. also, there is an m3 touring tribute on san antonio, tx craigslist right now. this will give you an idea what was done around the doors. i also think a cabrio m3 is great.

i do respect your plans though.

what is your plan for the sail panel/c pilar? this will probably be about 4x harder to find than your rear bumper.

Thanks man. I know it's not an amazing never-heard-of project, but it's just something I've always wanted to do. The C pillars, as expected, are no longer available. I'm looking the best I can for some I can salvage off of a car, but worst case scenario, I'm going to have my friends car 3D scanned and have them made. Personally, I think that particular area is going to be the most difficult part of the car, just because I'm so picky about it.

[ahlem]

There's a guy up in Stockton that makes one-off custom parts by hand. I saw his youtube videos promoting his English Wheels and other machinery. I don't know if we can still get at e30tech but there was an amazing e30 M3 clone build on there done very well.

[redsubdivisions]

Ignore the hate. Sedans don't get enough love around here. Everyone expects a 2 door car to be fun and quick. Fun and quick sedans, much like the Spanish Inquisition, are not expected.

I'm interested to see how this pans out!

[janice212]

Awesome project!
Seen those pictures before also of that red one, would love to do the same to my Alpinweiss 4 door someday.

[Javier h]

Honestly

I am not a fan of a sedan in the E30 body style.

That being said, there is something to be said about that extra pillar :)

Sure do it. You'll have a one of one in your State perhaps even the US.

Do you still have the E36?

[Gleb]

Best of luck, keep us updated, I will be watching with interest.

[dereliiict]

As someone who had a beastly built e30 sedan and currently has an e90m3, you won't find me hating.

Please make this a reality. Would love to let you do the research and make a blueprint aka build thread for me to follow later. :)


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[Downeaster1]

Thanks everybody. I had a gentlemen call me this afternoon saying he has factory measurements and blueprints. I'm waiting for those to arrive in the mail, and then have them prototyped for a sedan.

I now have all the required parts, except for front and rear bumper components and side skirts.

I am not a fan of a sedan in the E30 body style.
That being said, there is something to be said about that extra pillar :)
Sure do it. You'll have a one of one in your State perhaps even the US.
Do you still have the E36?

Fingers crossed! I do not have it anymore sadly. When I moved to California, it stayed behind and my roommate ended up selling it. I did manage to track down the current owner, and if this project comes out under budget (which I'm 200% sure it won't), I'm going to buy it back.

[TobyB]

Do it!

One practical concern, as a sedan driver- I dislike the blind spot that the sedan makes when
you do a head check. The b- pillar is just in the wrong place, if you're taller and sit back.

Otherwise, sedans are jus' fine...

t

[stonea]

Although I'm not a sedan guy, I can't wait to see some progress!

[Downeaster1]

There's a guy up in Stockton that makes one-off custom parts by hand. I saw his youtube videos promoting his English Wheels and other machinery. I don't know if we can still get at e30tech but there was an amazing e30 M3 clone build on there done very well.

Thank you very much for this. I'm not sure if it is the same guy or just a coincidence, but I found a German salvage yard that has a ton of pieces I was missing, including the rear trunk lid and spoiler. Thank you!!