Keith's 1998 M3 Evolution Individual

[Jonny]

Looks gorgeous, i so want one! I can imagine she will look even better once you've worked your Marsden magic on her

Just curious but why only 17 or 18 ACS Type III's? Werent your old one 19's? Or is it a look vs performance decision?

[DJ Syxx]

the way the car is dropped and also the shape of the E36 18's are more than enough to give a nice look. Looking at Keith's car with those motorsport rims they are 17's but they don't look it with that ride height. Personally I think for overall performance, handling and looks, 18's is plenty.

Coming along nicely Keith, keep it up.

[KSG]

Just curious but why only 17 or 18 ACS Type III's? Werent your old one 19's? Or is it a look vs performance decision?

I think its because anything bigger than 18" on an e36 looks wrong

[Keith]

Cheers fellas!

Finished the tie rod ends yesterday, and today completely degreased and cleaned the arches, ready for them to be undersealed again and then dressed. You could eat your dinner off them at the monent. Seats also came out today as I'm dropping them off for the retrim tomorrow , although I wont get them back for weeks.

Been so bust working I have had no time to update with pictures, but I will over the weekend or so

RE wheel size Jonny - Syxx is right on the money.

I think its because anything bigger than 18" on an e36 looks wrong

Yeah man, anything more than 1" bigger than stock looks stupid.

so maximum 19's for E46, 18's for E36.

[Singh]

Keith, brilliant journal mate. Loving the information about the car, so this is all educational as well as being a good read. Whenever I read your threads, I feel I should go out and share the same attention to detail to my own car! I should really start to do that and keep it in good order, like you say, its the little niggles that let things down over time.

Anyway mate, keep it up! Looking forward to the next episode.

[das_flo]

Love this motor man! Get a pic up with James' old splits on Keith, to show the boys

Re: Type III winter wheels, 19's FTW!

[duffman]

just seen this thread............. not sure how i missed it.

exceptional work keith. i had to say i really love your attention to detail. i'd really love to have your ability to complete all that work myself, i believe it helps you form a bond and appreciation for the motor.

well done lad and keep up the good work

[amowolves]

Nice car Keith, loving the color combination. Looking forward to reading the rest...welldone! Quick question, how are the brakes? they look small compared to the ones on a e46 330...or is it just me? I would have thought an M car came with bigger brakes and 4pots or something?

Also as for your headlight washer being disconnected, i can totally side with whoever decided to disconnect it rather than repair it. I absolutely hated mine and saw no need for them on a non zenon car. They just made a great big mess off my front end everytime i used them, so soon as one of my telescopes started leaking it was the first thing i did! lol but each to their own.

[mit]

Nice - I love these minor restoration projects!

[Sam_Burns]

Nice - I love these minor restoration projects!

Agreed! Keith blatently has the best eye for detail on here....nothing is left unturned!

Cracking thread keith, i love Motorsport alloys, always have always will

[Jamesy Boy ACS3d]

You said you were on the look out for some wheels:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1653485.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1539622.htm

[Keith]

Das (keep your 19's man lol), Duff, Amo, Mit and Sam - thanks fella's; kind words indeed.

James - thanks for pointing them out, although I'm all spend up for a few months (seats have to gone to John [bespoke Leathering - New Forum Sponsor] for a full retrim . However I will find funds for some ACSIIIs non-racing in 18s if anybody spots some...

UPDATE

I've been working on the car from morning, until when the missus gets in, everyday weekday this week. So much has been done, but some is not worth noting (cleaning/degreasing etc) and many of the jobs are started, but unfinished, whilst I wait for more parts or just more time to concentrate on getting them finished.

New track rod ends were fitted to sort the horrible alignment issue. As mentioned before the steering wheel was a good bit out off centre, and when I went to get a 4WA the track rod ends were seized. I had a good go with a butane torch, big spanners and lots of penetrating fluid, but they were shot.

Some new Lemforder items were sourced (complete arm - inner and outer rod) for £75

Fitting was a 10 minute job each side as the car is already up on stands.

The joint that attaches to the rack itself only has a very thin area to get a spanner on - a normal spanner would be too wide. I don't know if by coincidence or not, but a thin viscous fan spanner was perfect, and the same size - 32mm. As soon as I get the wheels back (tomorrow ) the first journey will be back to get the car aligned.

I spent a whole morning cleaning the arches ready to be given a thorough once over, check condition and re-seal.

I started by removing the liners and then using a plastic grouting brush (firm and short-bristled; but much kinder than a wire brush) to loosen the obvious 'mud ripples' and removed the bulk of the built up crap - of which there was a s***load off... Of which a s***load ended up in my barnett. I then used a dry paintbrush to dust out the crap from the actual arch lip. They were brimming full of mud and good knows what else; they were like grow bags, seriously. No wonder E36 arches are such are prominent place for rust to thrive. It took about 15 mins of solid brushing each to get the loose stuff out.

I then used a spray bottle with a strong G101 solution, and doused the entire arch, leaving the detergent to dwell. Then using a massive brush I agitated all the filth, twice all over, and then jetwashed out. I then repeated that process and they came out like this;

I forgot to take pictures at this point, but overall, condition was good. I did spot a couple of bulges on the inner lip, under the existing underseal, so a wire brush attachment was used to grind this down. It was a pocket of surface rust, but after sanding and using a file, plenty of good metal was found underneath, so this was treated to some rust neutralizer overnight. Next day, the spots were sanded again, washed down with IPA and then POR 15 was painted on - two coats over the day. Tomorrow will see the entire arches undersealed with Hammerite Underbody Seal + Waxoyl over the top for further protection.

Glad to say that overall the condition was very good indeed, and the common prone areas at the back (where the arch meets rear bumper) was completely rust free and looking well indeed - a big relief as I will probably be using this car 12 months a year.

Made some progress sorting the headlight washer system. A forum member over on E36coupe kindly sent me his old 328 headlight washer pump for the cost of postage - result. Anyhow, the pump arrived, and desperate to see if it would sit my dormant plug connector, I popped open the bonnet and... It didn't .

BMW changed the design from 97 onward (why?!), so I was faced with the possibility of having to dig out £48 quid for a new 'correct' pump. Instead, whilst up in Brum to see John (Sleeper), I popped over to see Phil (Shropshire BMW - another site sponsor), and a quick nose in the yard came fruitful - he had a pre-97 saloon with a washer pump system... Get in. So the appropriate electrical connection was quickly lopped off.

Back home, I used my crimping tool to join the cables, heatshrinked around them, then cleaned up the fitting and re-wrapped in black tape. The motor pump now works a treat

Original fitting in the foreground, and the pre-97 fitting crimped and heatshrunk in place;

Cleaned up and taped up, OE style;

As soon as Cotswold BMW sent me the right telescope part for the nozzle part of the system, the brand-new washer bottle I have sitting in my room can be fitted, and the system will once again work.

I also refitted the brand new rub strips. First I treated them to some G Technic C4 permanent trim restorer, as it leaves a protective layer that lasts for years and repels water too. Before mounting though, I machine polished the entire upper and lower area around them, and then waxed with Collinite 476S. I did this so I wouldn't have to polish right down to the strips when I do a full detail later on in the summer - I HATE getting polish/wax in trim cracks (proper OCD overload), so it made sense to me to do it like this.

I took a few pictures, but the others came out blurred - so this is the only one;

I love the perfect uniform texture of the new rub strips... They look cracking.

Seats are now with John for a complete retrim (seriously can't wait for these), so in the meantime I have a worn old set of grey Vaders to replace them, which John has kindly loaned me. Only slight issue is that the loaned Vaders have no pretentioners; so I will need to get the airbag light reset once I get her going again. Car looks like a proper pikey mobile at the monent; on stands with the mistmatched interior .

Finally, I fitted the new armrest today. No pictures yet however; the car was utterly grotty with the seats out (crumbs and **** all over), and I didn't have the time left to vacuum it all out just for a photo... But I'll be doing some interior whoring when the seats are back anyway. I can't wait

Thanks for reading,

Keith

[Aidan316i]

Holy f*ck!

Thats some attention to detail mate!

Do keep us all posted!

[Jamesy Boy ACS3d]

Let me know if you need a replacement dials unit (speedo, rev counter, etc), as I have one from my old E36 M3 Evo kicking around. Fully working with around 95k on it (if memory serves me right).

[Jorge-]

Fantastic work on the arches, this is something I am going to do over summer too.

I know I am not a great fan on E36s, just seem a bit dated, but I do have to concede that this car does look nice, Vader seats are easily one of the best looking seats ever too.

[Richy_Boy]

Yeah, great work on the arches.. I need to get my finger out and crack on with mine! Di you buy new clips for the inner arches, or could you re-use the existing?

Rich

[Sam_Burns]

Vader seats are easily one of the best looking seats ever too.

]

Couldnt agree more with this statement!

[BMchris]

looking good matey, cant wait to see what the wheels look like and how the seats will come out!!

[Keith]

Yeah, great work on the arches.. I need to get my finger out and crack on with mine! Di you buy new clips for the inner arches, or could you re-use the existing?

Rich

Clips? You mean the push-fit expansion poppers? Not sure if the E46 ones are different, but there are no 'clips' on the E36. Just a few bolts and two push fit poppers.

@Jorge - Thanks man, I know not your cup of tea, but I'm glad you can at least try to see why I think they are still very cool. Hopefully you'll see it this year at some of the shows/meets, and I an't change your ind a bit more

@Sam - I agree man, always lusted after Vaders! I've always thought they look like something out of the Nostromo (Spaceship in Alien ).

@Chris - Wheels are back, but no photos until they are back on the car (give me a few days)...

[cassa-d]

wow thats some work mate well done

never used to like the e36s but now they are growing on me

[Keith]

wow thats some work mate well done

Cheers fella

never used to like the e36s but now they are growing on me

You wait til you see this with the coils wound right down

[bimmerboy]

looking good Keith i miss my e36 coupe

[Keith]

Quick question, how are the brakes? they look small compared to the ones on a e46 330...or is it just me? I would have thought an M car came with bigger brakes and 4pots or something?

Sorry mate, missed this.

The brakes are excellent as standard, seriously. The Evo's came with 2 piece floating discs (about £140 each from dealers) and the they are fantastic stock brakes. Similar to the 330 in terms of stopping power, definately, but the design means they are better at dealing with heat and hard use.

A floating disc will be better than a one-piece, as they allow a slight tolerances for movement, allowing heat expansion to happen without causing undesiable effects as with a one-piece, and thus perform better when hot.

A common upgrade on the 6-pot E36s is to upgrade to 330 brakes or M3 Evo floaters - both are regarded as being very good upgrades, which shows they are similar in terms of performance.

For the money though, the OEM discs are regarded as being the best you can buy - rated above slotted/drilled one-pieces anyway. Same brakes are on the M Coupes.

Hope that helps answer your query mate

@Bimmerboy - Cheers dude

[Knucxx]

Fantastic looking car, everyone has love for the evo's nice work

[Sam]

Great write up as usual Keith!

I've been looking for a replacement for our 2 (Cooper S and E30 cruise mobile) and the e36's are such good value for money I think its a strong contender. A 328i Coupe is on the cards. I'll keep my eyes peeled!