Mass Exodus and Mirrors

So, my brother and sister left last night for home to make some money before the start of fall term next year. I was pretty bummed because that meant that not only was Kyle moving, but Christopher was too. I would have loved to have gotten all the parts on my car before they left just so we could go on a cruise and take some pictures. Plus, now I don't know who to talk BMW with. My wife is getting really good at just agreeing with my fanatic ramblings.




Before Christopher headed off I wanted to make sure that I got the mirrors. They look amazing! I wish I had done it much earlier. The power works great, and the paint matches beautifully, thanks to Kevin at KC's Bend 'n' Mend. It will take a little while to get used to the littler mirrors, but the convex lens towards the outside of the mirror (a european M3 feature) makes it easier to see objects in a more peripheral position than the US M3 mirror offers.

A lot of work for .75" of drop

Yesterday I helped Kyle lower his car. He chose to put H&R OE Sport Springs on his M3 to bring it modestly lower. In order to do this Kyle also had to purchase '95 M3 strut hats and rent strut spring compressor. With all of my tools, a little elbow grease (provided by Kyle's gym membership), and an occasional reference back to the insufficient Haines manual, we got it all put together. I think it looks great--although Christopher's Estoril is still lower. It was a lot of fun putting the suspension in, especially since it was...

• the last day of finals,
• the day my brother and sister were planning to drive home for the summer,
• no one seemed to have a spring compressor in stock,
  
• and a handful of really good friends dropped in to say hi unexpectedly.

I have some pictures here to chronicle the momentous occasion for Kyle. Plus, now he can lower his wife's car.

All-in-all, it took us from 2:45p-5:45p. (That was the time that my last final was, and thus the deadline for working on bimmers.) Things would have gone a little faster if I had remembered how it disassemble the strut like I had done with Chase's '92 318i. At the end the drop was much lower than the original stock springs. He took it on a test ride to make sure that all the parts were going to stay on the car, and to bring me up to my final. Kyle noted that there was a noticable difference in the way that the car rode. I believe him, although it could all be in our heads from working in a wheel well for the last three hours. Regardless we all enjoyed ourselves.

Back from the paint booth!!

I have collected parts when I have found them for a great deal. Over the years I have gotten...

• M3 "Twisty" Side Skirts (Euro-Spec)
• M3 Mirrors (Euro-Spec)
• M-Tech front bumper with removable lip (DDM Tuning)
• M-Tech rear bumper (DDM Tuning)
• Fog Light Deletes (courtesy of Chase)
• 96-99 Nose Panel (courtesy of Kyle)

Well, it's been a long time coming, and a nice chunk of front bumper started the whole thing. All the parts went into the paint shop just this last week. And as a great scheduler, it has fallen right during finals week. I have been able to get to the booth and have gotten sufficient amounts of studying.

Here are the before, during, and after shots.

Before:




During:



After:





I was very pleased with how they turned out. I still have to go back to the shop to get a couple runs and imperfections cut. In a couple of days I am planning on getting together with Kyle to help him install his new suspension on his '97 Dakar M3. I might try to snag him and have him help me install the lip, bumpers, and drill for the side skirts.

The Best E36 Interior Shot I Have Seen Yet

I have to promise myself that I will not browse the internet for BMW things so that I can focus on my upcoming finals. I have found that when I tell my wife I will do something, it happens. Last night she left for the grocery store. Before she left I told her, I will not browse anything other than "The ethical implications of placebo-based clinical trials." She smiled. Then I stated, "unless Christopher sends me a link." I struggled through three journal articles. Then... Christopher delivered. He sent me a link to craigslist.com in San Francisco. Here are some of the best pictures my eyes have beheld of an E36, mostly the interior.

To learn more about Brad visit his website at bradthephotog.com.

The last and ultimate mod: The M3 Sunroof!!

The last couple of days of the semester does something funny to a person. For my brother and I we spend a lot of time in the library. To escape from the mundane studying we browse around craigslist. This entails hunting for parts, wheels, and gags. Just tonight we stumbled across this beauty... which has spurred a new blogging post entitled "The Last and Ultimate Mods."

From Seattle:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/638117222.html
I can only imagine what this guy was thinking...

Does anyone know where I can get me one of these?

I have the blue flame racing seat covers. I have the 'tainted windows', and 'spedometer' to boot. I thought that the 'brand new teirs' would tip me over the top. But, it was nothing until I got the M3 sunroof.

The M3 sunroof has got to add a ton of horsepower.

Wasatch Drivers

Kyle just recently started to get involved "poasting" on a local forum, "Wasatch Drivers." It is really interesting to read about the happenings from the local members. I really get a kick out of all the diverse personalities that join together because of a love for their fine automobiles. One things that really blew me away were the pictures that they were producing. I could not believe some of the pictures that I saw. I am hope they are okay with me posting a couple of their shots.

Is it worth it?

Well, now that the M-technic body parts are all in the auto shop and ready for paint I started to look for the finishing touches to the exterior of the boston green. I purchased a LTW Motorsport flag (you can see what the flag looks like at this earlier post). The lights are great for now... in fact, I experimented with my extra set of HID's and the fog lights. I got them to wire up correctly, but I learned that although both bulbs are fine, one of the ballasts is shot. The only things that I have left to do is lower the car. Then I am done... Then I could use a sweet set of wheels to perfectly accent the M3 look and feel to the exterior. Then I would be done for sure... But, then I would need to tint the windows, so that others could not see inside the car to see if it really was an M-technic or an M3. Then for sure I would be done. Or, then I would continue to put all clear corners on... and lastly a UUC adjustable spoiler. No matter how I look at it. The modding will always continue until I will eventually get rid of the car. It is inevitable.

The Look for a New Wallpaper has ended... BMW Unveils the Race Version M3

CHICAGO — The racing car, prepared by BMW M GmbH, features a P65 motorsports version of the M3's 4.0-liter V8, boosted from 414 to 485 horsepower and from 295 to 368 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mated to a six-speed sequential racing transmission with a carbon-fiber clutch and a mechanical limited-slip differential.

The chassis also has been race-tuned. The track has been widened, and the car is fitted with five-way adjustable shocks and tubular stabilizer bars front and rear, as well as oversize brakes and 18-inch racing tires mounted on alloy wheels.

BMW has lightened the car through extensive use of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic for the hood, roof, deck lid, front fenders, rear wheel arches, rear apron and rear wing. Curb weight is 2,535 pounds.

The company has enlisted such development drivers as Andy Priaulx, Jörg Müller and Augusto Farfus to test the car before its competition debut in 2009.

What this means to you: We're hoping some of the performance mods on the racing car trickle down to the street version of the M3. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent

This article was taken from Edmunds.com, and can be found here.