Keith's 1998 M3 Evolution Individual

[Mark330Vert]

I vote Keep the Spoiler too Fella, And ur right unless u can get those Ambers very deep and rich in colour, dont bother.

Good stuff so far!

[Rob-]

So, anyone got some ideas on how to get that deep, crisp, rich amber colour I'm after, other than what I've suggested? I'm keen to hear your thoughts.

Lamin-x light tint might work?

[Keith]

Lamin-x light tint might work?

They don't do it in orange/amber.

[Rob-]

Just thought it would give a deeper colour when placed over the amber.

[Keith]

Just thought it would give a deeper colour when placed over the amber.

I had the same idea mate, but they only do smoked, yellow, clear and blue when I checked it out.

[Guest Gazb]

that shopped pic of it makes it look smoooooth without the spoiler it makes sense dude most people will say keep it but you ask a true e36 lover and you know what they will say, lose it!!

as for the indicators they are nice in orange and again suit the lines/shape/look of the car, i used to do it with all my old saph cosworths and it made a hell of a change [in my eyes anyhow]

but your then in danger of your car looking like a early non evo 3.0 [most people will tell with the reg obviously]

[///M Sport]

How come you went down the no lacquer route for the wheels? Does it dull down the machined finish?

[Singh]

Sorry Singh, I missed the sig until it got bumped! Thanks man! Like it! Can I he reall picky though? Can you do something with the current picture though? I really love the front-on shot. And can you make the band with the text is more translucent, so it's barely there, but you can still see it? That'd be perfect

Thanks for he effort and the comments though mate

No worries Keith, will get back to you with a different design soon.

[Natedogg]

ditch the spolier. fit 3rd brake light.

car needs more arse down/face up as per the car with the style 5's mate.

fit the ambers for massive cash money win fella.

and just go slower over the speed bump and lower it!! lol

[Mike-]

I'd ditch the spoiler too.

[DJ Syxx]

i think it looks fine with the spoiler on. Mate had a 328i sport same spoiler, suits the car.

[SYE]

wicked thread and project keith, the quality of photos is very good also, i vote keep the spoiler i brought a 328i r plate in black 12 months back and the thinking was to make it an original minter how ever my brother ponced it off me before i could start the project its now moved in anther direction.

i might still buy anther one, ill be watching this thread with interest.

[duffman]

wicked thread and project keith, the quality of photos is very good also, i vote keep the spoiler i brought a 328i r plate in black 12 months back and the thinking was to make it an original minter how ever my brother ponced it off me before i could start the project its now moved in anther direction.

i might still buy anther one, ill be watching this thread with interest.

looks great

[BMchris]

if those amber jobbies will clean up then it will work if not then please bin them... they will only bring the car down!

[Singh]

Hey Keith, back from my business travel now. Just knocked up a sig on what you requested, now attached here.

Hope its moving in the right diretion, let me know your thouguts.

[Keith]

Singh - that is spot on... I love it! Thank you mate - really gratefull

Sorry all that I havent been on here much recently - I was really really ill for a good week after a weekend away, and then I've been snowed under with Diploma work, which is coming to a head next week. Because of all that, not much has been done on the car either.

Updates

Only a couple post-worthy updates... Although I have spent hours cleaning nooks and crannies and replacing little things that were missing - little expanding rivets that go under the ashtrays, trim clips etc etc.

Becker Grand Prix

Been after a Becker for ages, although as is usually the case - when I had other things to take priority, they were available, and when I had money, they all seemed to have disappeared. It seems Becker have stopped trading and they are no longer available.

My mate Ollie scoured the country to find one, only to eventually land one of the last (in blue)... This made me realise they were getting snapped up and, I'd be lucky to cop one.

Well, luck it seems, was on my side. I keep an eye on the z3mcoupe.com forum, and coincidentally one came up there. 6-months old, mint. I could see he had had a couple PMs, so I basically told him to name a price and I'd pay it. I think he could tell I was desperate... , and told me asking price would be fine. I was pleased as punch. Plus it's in red (best colour match for BMWs)

The current stereo was utterly abysmal. Shocking sound quality, and the shonkiest install I've ever seen - you could see the cage in full view and there was glue all around it too.

The Becker looks much nicer;

It has completely changed the sound. Low frequencies are actually possible now without the speaker just farting instead, and the sound is much crisper. The sound system still leave a lot to be desired, but the improvement is marked. Much much better.

Belt Tensioner

I had noticed a little squeal on blipping the throttle one evening, and after doing the belts recently, I assumed it simply had to be the tensioner - it did feel a little weak to me and after picking a few peoples brains it seemed the culprit.

Not one to fcuk about if mechanicals need sorting, Costwold BMW had one in stock when I called in the morning. £96 lighter, and fitted next day in about 25mins (I have no viscous fan to remove so nice and easy).

Part;

Old one off;

New one on;

Great. Drove fine for a couple days... And then the squeal came back

I re-inspected to find the culprit. I know it's belt-related due to the fact it only happen when revs are increased sharply, or under a shock load on the crank - but I only replaced both belts 3 weeks ago.

The main accessory belt has seemed to have left a lot of worn rubber everywhere, so perhaps the belt was old rubber? Or had been in the sunlight for a while? Either way, it will be going back to ECP for a refund (ECP sell Continental belts - exactly the same as OE, but half the price). Motherfcukers. More on this later.

Clean Plate

I also got another plate made up, and I thought I'd share where from as it's a good quality plate, and was quick, easy and painless.

I used to always get dealer plates, but in an effort to keep this clutter free and clean, I wanted plain plates, like the one I broke. I went into my local autoshop, and asked if they could do a plate - no border, no nothing, just text. I handed over my money, took the plate and cringed. It had their name on the bottom 'Cox Green Auto's'. Straight in the bin. I forgot a 'supplier name' was a legal requirement. I do not understand this; Halfords will say Halfords, Sytner will say Sytner - so what's the point? It has no bearing on that car at all, so why are clean plates improper?! Rant over.

Anyway, because a pure, uncluttered plate is deemed a 'show plate' (as they are strictly 'illegal'), you can order them off the net with no need to supply documents. I ordered mine from HERE, and it arrived the next day, for about £12 after postage. Nice.

Aside from all that, I fixed a really annoying rattle by removing the driver door card and replacing a few broken clips. The door card wasn't even pressed on correctly when I looked - I don't get how previous owners miss this, or don't get annoyed enough with the rattle to at least check it out. Cabin is silent, and now blissful (bar the grotty grey Vaders... I want my seats back!!!).

Thanks for reading,

Keith

[Keith]

Belt Update

Changed belts earlier today - squeal problem sorted. Even on tickover the new belt is much quieter than its predecessor. I refuse to believe this to be an issue with Continental's quality control - more something to do with ECP and how they stored the belt. It did seem to be more brittle. ECP with do me a refund if I take the old item back for inspection.

Still, I'm now left with a perfectly good tensioner after needlessly replacing it at a cost of £96 . Anyone need a tensioner?!

After I did the belts I noticed the state of the sunroof runners for the first time (I've not had the sunroof open until today), so these were cleaned up. I then removed the old, dry contaminated and worn grease from the runners and replaced with some nice fresh lithium grease with added Teflon.

Before (no idea what the digestive biscuit type **** is):

After:

Feel much better knowing they are now **** free and there is some nice new lubricant in there. Whilst I was at it, I checked the drainage channels were clear, and all seems good.

[///Marty]

EPIC THREAD!!!

Just spent an hour reading this from start to finish and once again have to congratulate you on another qulaity car, backed up with quality restoration and quality pics to boot.

Its a shame the car had been neglected a little, but your OCD will soon have all those little issues sorted LOL. Looks like you are 90% of the way there already.

Loving the colour combo Keith, look forward to seeing the pics of the new seats.... i bet they will be yummy!

Rims look bloody fantastic for a refurb, take it you haven't managed to find any type III's yet? there is a set going on ebay at the min but they are in 19" and i completley agree 18" is the way forward for the E36. I'm running 17's on my track slag and they IMO still look the part but give me the advantage of cheaper and more readily available rubber.

Look forward to more updates Keith, as someone said on page 2 i think it was, can you keep this one long enough so i can actually see it in the flesh this time.

[Mike-]

Is your plate all the legal background etc? I bought some s***ter plate online and the yellow has a sort of flake in it, and the whole thing isn't the right reflective material. Looks like a child laminated it.

[KSG]

Love it mate, I got so excited when I noticed the thread had been updated

Btw, shotgun first dibs if you decide to sell the car after Sept 2011 (when I turn 25)

[Keith]

Lol, thanks Marty my man.

Yeah, she's getting there man. I've added an armrest, got another re-trimmed wheel to put on, new floor mats, and am waiting on Bilal to make another batch of Titanium V2s... Then once I get the seats back the entire interior should look much fresher. Can't wait. Heard from John and he reckons the seats will be ready in a few days, but I don't think I can get myself up to Brum for another week/10 days. I'm not allowing myself to fit the new steering wheel or mats until I get the seats though either... as I want it to all be refreshed at once Is that sad?

Exterior wise, all I have to do is sort that paint imperfection on the passenger door, sort the handles and sort the bubble on the boot. Then she will be 98% 'done'.

Still not found any 18 ACSIIIs, I'd rather roll on steels than fit 19s - they look ridiculous on an E36. I'd even go for some 17s if they came up, as that's the optimal size for handling. Hope you've still got those eyes peeled for me bro

And I can safely say now, that yes you will all get to see this car - it's going nowhere. With the Gruppe M on, I'm addicted and completely in love with it. Plus it looks pretty badass too

@ KSG - Lol, OK. It'd be best if you came to me when you're in a position to buy and M3, to see if you can prise it away from me... I can't see me selling in the next 3 years or so to be honest. It's such an all-rounder. Seats in the back for trips away with mates, looks good, and is blindingly quick... Plus I'm averaging 22-25mpg (that's an 80mph cruise to work and back, and beastings on empty roads when I can) - so not too expensive to run either. On a long journey to the coast I managed 30mpg...

I think everyone should have one! Such good value right now, with minters going for £7k it's a lot of car for the money...

[DJ Syxx]

Keith did you get my PM I sent you? Sent a link for Type 2's, know they weren't 3's but 2's look really good too.

[Keith]

Keith did you get my PM I sent you? Sent a link for Type 2's, know they weren't 3's but 2's look really good too.

Sorry mate - yes I did.

I have a bad habit of reading PMs on the iPhone and then forgetting to reply... Sorry mate. Thanks for the thought.

Unfortunatley, the only rims I'm after are non-racing IIIs or racing IIs... Both proving hard to source!

[DJ Syxx]

Sorry mate - yes I did.

I have a bad habit of reading PMs on the iPhone and then forgetting to reply... Sorry mate. Thanks for the thought.

Unfortunatley, the only rims I'm after are non-racing IIIs or racing IIs... Both proving hard to source!

No probs I'm still searching for a single ACS type 3 to have as a spare wheel! I saw some type 3's on ebay but they were reps! lol

[///Marty]

Lol, thanks Marty my man.

Yeah, she's getting there man. I've added an armrest, got another re-trimmed wheel to put on, new floor mats, and am waiting on Bilal to make another batch of Titanium V2s... Then once I get the seats back the entire interior should look much fresher. Can't wait. Heard from John and he reckons the seats will be ready in a few days, but I don't think I can get myself up to Brum for another week/10 days. I'm not allowing myself to fit the new steering wheel or mats until I get the seats though either... as I want it to all be refreshed at once Is that sad?

Exterior wise, all I have to do is sort that paint imperfection on the passenger door, sort the handles and sort the bubble on the boot. Then she will be 98% 'done'.

Still not found any 18 ACSIIIs, I'd rather roll on steels than fit 19s - they look ridiculous on an E36. I'd even go for some 17s if they came up, as that's the optimal size for handling. Hope you've still got those eyes peeled for me bro

And I can safely say now, that yes you will all get to see this car - it's going nowhere. With the Gruppe M on, I'm addicted and completely in love with it. Plus it looks pretty badass too

Good man, look forward to the updates. Its not sad at all, there is nothing more satisfying than a complete overhaul like that, Was looking at the re-trimmed wheels at BMWland show today, they look lovely. The perf leather option is fantastic.

Will indeed keep my eyes peeled on the rim front for you bud.