Jeff E36 37 Report post Posted January 13, 2016 (edited) Hi everyone!I've been a long time Bimmersport member, but hardly ever post. As the title suggests, this thread is about my almost finished E36 Felony Form Widebody project, and I figured I'd share it with whoever might be interested. While the widebody project only commenced in late 2015, I figured I'd also use this as an opportunity to illustrate the changes and transformation of the car from when I first got her, to the beginnings of the project. Writing this out retrospectively, has made me realise how much I've learnt about working with cars, and also appreciate all those who have given me their time and helped me with the car.Without further delay, let's start from the beginning!The car is a 1997 E36 328i 5 speed manual, with full motorsport trim. I bought this car in March 2014 from another Bimmersport member. And this is how she looked the day I got her. She was sitting on 18" style 32s on motorsport suspension. Certainly styled in a way that many people would have no complaints about, but for me, it was a canvas waiting for me to make my mark on! Literally the day I got her, I put on my BBS wheels as I prefer 17" size, and was looking to have her sitting a bit lower too The BBS wheels were the set I put together for my last E36. They are a staggered set of 17x8 et20 and 17x9 et19. Here she is sitting next to my old 318ti when I took her home. SO much more power in the 328 after driving a 1.8L for years haha XDThe compact didn't look too bad with the style 32s I thought! Shortly afterwards, I sold the compact. With coilover suspension ordered on the way, I figured I start a little home project to build a cold air box/heat shield around the intake, as she had a mushroom pod filter when I bought her. This was the first time I've ever attempted making/fabricating something on my own, and I have no background in anything car/engineering related. It wasn't pretty, but at the end of the day it was functional, and reduced the hot air reaching the intake, so I was happy with that. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of a dark dangerous path of learning to tinker with everything to do with cars hahaha After that next project was to tackle the coilover suspension. I ordered an XYZ set up from our forum sponsors Speedfactor. I dealt with Evan at the time, and I can't recommend his services enough. He helped me out really well and was patient with my low level of knowledge when it comes to this stuff. I've been running his suspension ever since, and it's been nothing but flawless - thanks Evan!For those interested, the specs were: 10kg fronts (linear) 12kg rears (progressive), with full front adjustable camber, and I also fitted HardRace adjustable rear camber arms. Evan had supplied me with custom shortened rear shocks, with a rear spring height of 110mm. In the following pictures of it being installed, the rear adjusters were on their highest setting. It was an all nighter to get it all installed, and it was only possible with the help of my very good mates (who are also here on Bimmersport). Can't thank Jibreel and Marcus enough for the assist that night! I recall we were up to about 5am to get it done. Owe them big time. How she looked with the new suspension! Obviously, with driving a stiff and lowered car, came many low car problems ... which I slowly learnt to fix/deal with over time haha ..The driveway at work was a nightmare, and decided to remove my front bumper many times. Next was just to install some LED angel eyes which I like. Not everyone's cup of tea, but is for me. It was good to be able to learn-by-doing when it came to many of these mini-projects/mods. Unfortunately this car also had a number of issues in the engine bay during this time too, and once again, it was always my outstanding mates who would assist and teach me on how to fix these issues. Can't say enough about these guys! So after rolling around on the BBS's for a fair while, I decided it was time for a change. I got my hands on some AC Schnitzer Type 2 wheels for a very good deal from a friend. They were in rough condition, so I did some DIY refurbishing with the help of my girlfriend. She suggested to have them finished in something unique, so we ended up coating them in a 'stone' finish, which resembles concrete, essentially. At the same time, I decided to drop the front a little lower on the car too ... I love the way E36s sit on these wheels, so very pleased with the outcome of the new front drop and new wheel fitment. The AC Schnitzers are 17x8.5 et13 all round. I was very happy with how she was, so took her to Mother's Chrome Show and Shine event last year to give her some exposure Here she is sitting next to my friend Roni's incredibly clean and classic Merc. I loved the way she looked, but still had to drive her around as my daily ... which eventually was just too impractical. So the girlfriend talked me in to buying a new daily, and then retiring this to weekend car haha. I bought an E30 318i which was amazing. However my time with her was short-lived, as I was unfortunately T-boned one night at an intersection, when a lady failed to give way to me. Luckily nobody was injured, but the E30 was written off I have since purchased another daily. another E30. A 323i manual, and she's going strong. Being upgraded to 'weekend car' status and having a daily runabout car on the side - talk started regarding doing more, crazy, outrageous things with the E36. Ideas were thrown around making it a drift car, track car, show car etc. I had done some research, and was very interested in acquiring the Felony Form Widebody Overfender kit, and building it in to a show vehicle. At the time, logistics and cost were a limiting factor, however, one morning there was an opportunity to purchase (what I understand to be) the first and only current kit in New Zealand. I snapped it up immediately, and from there, there was no turning back First, mocked up the kit fitment ... It didn't take long before we started marking, and cutting the fenders ... Gotta love my girlfriend for being so incredibly talented with car body work, teaching me and showing me how it's done! You'll notice she will feature in many photos doing the hard work, I just stand back and look pretty apparently But really though, I learn so much from this girl. I'm very lucky. Of course, with the new body, I would need new wheels. I have something secret ordered from overseas, a nice, wide, 3piece wheel. The idea was to build the car to be ready for 4 and Rotary show 2016, however, the wheel manufacturer found a defect in the wheels when they made them, so they have been delayed, likely to arrive sometime Feb/March 2016 With things not looking promising for 4nR 2016, another friend of mine (also Bimmersporter) had a set of wheels that would suit as a temporary set! They were not as aggressive as the wheels I had intended, but certainly better than nothing! Have to thank my mates Jasjot and Jasmit for allowing me to run these beautiful wheels. As a result, the work continues! The wheels, as seen in the corner of the pic above, are Hamann PG-1s, manufactured by O.Z. wheels. They are 18x9 et6 all round, and I will be spacing them out between 20-25mm to make them fit the way I need them to. We also decided it was appropriate to change the colour of the car too, just to go with the big transformation I wanted. Colour is to be revealed later, or at 4nR! And currently this is where I'm at! 2 weeks away from the show, and the car is *almost* done. Quite a lot of time pressure, as I was away all of December last year on holiday overseas, but I'm confident it will be done on time. Even though the project isn't finished, just a big thank you to every person who has helped me out with the build of this car from beginning to present. This project would not be where it is without all of you guys. I'll leave you all with this one last pic, the most recent one I have of this build. If you guys are on social media, you are welcome to follow the progress on my media channels with my photography work: FB: JW Photography NZ Instagram: jw.photography.nz And the car group myself and my girlfriend are part of if you are interested: StanceMob Thanks for reading! I'll update here when I can! Hopefully see you all at 4 and Rotary 2016!Peace, Jeff UPDATES ON PAGE 2! 25.01.2016 Edited January 24, 2016 by Jeff E36 11 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel0663 30 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Good stuff Jeff. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 is this the car sitting in Marcus's garage? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
euroriffic 607 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Wish my girl helped me on my cars. She just yells at me when I bring another home. Looking forward to the finished project 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Wish my girl helped me on my cars. She just yells at me when I bring another home. Looking forward to the finished project ditch her. you dont need that sort of negativity in your life. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jibs05 86 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Good work bro, you've come a long way man! :thumb: 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Great work Jeff & Co.... LTNS 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m325i 709 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) Every car I sell to BS members seems to then go on to get the full treatment! Looks good mate. Edited January 14, 2016 by Nick G 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rubix 434 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Is your girlfriend single? Awesome work so far, excited to see the finished result. 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucan 196 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) Nice work bro! My E36 is like the pre-wide body version of yours atm. Should do a shoot together once yours is done - "before vs after" lol p.s. give me those 5's Edited January 14, 2016 by Lucan 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
euroriffic 607 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 ditch her. you dont need that sort of negativity in your life. Problem with that is she'll take half my stuff. So she'll get the e46, I'll get the touring, she can have the m3 shell and I'll take the running gear and drive train. Actually this doesn't sound that bad..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polley 916 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Problem with that is she'll take half my stuff. So she'll get the e46, I'll get the touring, she can have the m3 shell and I'll take the running gear and drive train. Actually this doesn't sound that bad..... Wait till she's gone for a weekend, pack all your worldly possessions into a shipping container and stick it on a ship to Sweden. Get flight to Sweden. Done. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybrid 1043 Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Very well done ... been waiting for one of these sort of builds for a long time. Your girlfriend is defanitely a keeper man ... totally impressed what youre both doing. Keep it up. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff E36 37 Report post Posted January 15, 2016 Good stuff Jeff. Thanks man! Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow bro. is this the car sitting in Marcus's garage? I don't think so? Haha it's been living in my girlfriends garage the past few months. Wish my girl helped me on my cars. She just yells at me when I bring another home. Looking forward to the finished project Hahaha, just have to convert her to the dark side mate Good work bro, you've come a long way man! :thumb: Thanks man, appreciate all the help along the way ditch her. you dont need that sort of negativity in your life. Great work Jeff & Co.... LTNS Hey Glen thanks! Long time indeed, will have to pop by the workshop and say hi when I next get the chance! Every car I sell to BS members seems to then go on to get the full treatment! Looks good mate. Cheers man, she's been a joy to own since the day I took her from ya Is your girlfriend single? Awesome work so far, excited to see the finished result. Dahahaha, plenty more fish out there for you mate But thanks, will update when I can! Nice work bro! My E36 is like the pre-wide body version of yours atm. Should do a shoot together once yours is done - "before vs after" lol p.s. give me those 5's Haha yeah man, down for a shoot when it's all done. Hehe, never parting with my style 5's Very well done ... been waiting for one of these sort of builds for a long time. Your girlfriend is defanitely a keeper man ... totally impressed what youre both doing. Keep it up. Thank you! I thought it'd be nice to share something back to the community. The girlfriend is definitely a keeper, her project is far more ambitious than mine! You can find bits and bobs of her 280zx project on my photography page 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cab 148 Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Nice work you guys Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff E36 37 Report post Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) UPDATES: Thanks for the great feedback so far guys - just thought I'd give you all an update on where things are at, especially with 4andR at the end of this week!I wanted to reveal the colour I've decided to wrap the car - I went through many colour choices in my head and numerous discussions with the gf, but in the end my heart kept going back to this "Battleship grey" by Avery Dennison. The girlfriend wasn't a fan of it at the time, but she's since admitted to me that she likes the colour now Wrapping a car was a huuuuuuge undertaking, especially when neither of us had any prior experience, there were certainly many frustrating moments, but we just had to keep reminding ourselves that this was a learning experience, and that it would all be worth it in the end. Since finishing the wrapping for the car, I can now say I'd definitely do it again, it's not too bad once you get the hang of how the material behaves, and what kind of prep work you need to do first. Next, I wanted to add something to the front end of the car, some more aero, to make things look more aggressive. So two weekends ago, I was lucky enough to have help from two new friends help me build a functional, aggressive, custom front splitter for the bumper. The splitter is made from a plywood base, then covered with fibreglass. It is hard-mounted to the chassis. I have to give a MASSIVE thank you to Daniel for designing the splitter for me, and Bradley for allowing us to use his fibreglassing material and facilities. Not only that, also dedicating an entire day with me to starting and finishing the splitter in a day! A month ago, I had never met either of these two people before. Both of these guys had left the occasional comment on my photography work, expressing a fair amount of interest and following my build. Over a few chats over the internet, we managed to get all 3 of us together, as car enthusiasts to build something for the car. Through this, I can now call both of these guys good friends of mine. The fact that they had never met me, or knew who I really was, and were just so willing to lend a hand and dedicate their efforts to me and the build is unbelievable. It's moments like these that make me want to continue building a car community like this, where people can connect just through their shared love for cars. The following week was a tough one, fitment with tyres revealed I had not cut the original factory guards high enough, and the wheels were approximating with the factory guards before reaching intended ride height. So the week was spent re-measuring, and re-cutting the guards, followed by re-welding them. It was tough, but we managed to get it done in time. After much tinkering, we finally had the car sitting on the ground. Be warned, the following images of fitment, will probably make many purists on here cringe and criticize. Just remember, this is a show car. This car is the embodiment of a vision I had in my head, that I wanted to produce and show the world. So yes, I know it's not going to be a very 'functional' BMW. With that said ... here you go Just a few final things to work out for the final fitment and looks for the show, and she'll be ready to roll. In the meantime, we're working hard to finish up t he girlfriends 280zx project for the show too. Thanks for reading the update, here's a little bonus pic of the girlfriend's Work wheels getting some tyres thrown on PS. Hope some of you guys are going to 4 and Rotary show! Would be cool to meet some of you Peace Edited January 24, 2016 by Jeff E36 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted January 24, 2016 Since finishing the wrapping for the car, I can now say I'd definitely do it again. Let me know if you want to take on a project to wrap my E46 :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaz 64 Report post Posted January 24, 2016 Nice colour! I was looking at getting my E30 done in something similar when it comes to getting the bodywork done later this year. I'll definitely try see it at the show. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel0663 30 Report post Posted January 24, 2016 Real glad i could help out Jeff ! real exciting everything is coming together now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cab 148 Report post Posted January 25, 2016 Looking good man. Can't go wrong with grey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff E36 37 Report post Posted January 25, 2016 Let me know if you want to take on a project to wrap my E46 :D Haha sure thing man! After this craziness of prepping for 4s I'll be a bit exhausted, but after a break, bring it round and we can do it Nice colour! I was looking at getting my E30 done in something similar when it comes to getting the bodywork done later this year. I'll definitely try see it at the show. Haha I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes this colour. I got hassled a few times saying it looked like primer Definitely come say hi and introduce at the show bro! I'll be with StanceMob (wherever we're placed) haha. Real glad i could help out Jeff ! real exciting everything is coming together now. Thank you again for the help bro! Looking forward to working on your E36 through this year too! Looking good man. Can't go wrong with grey Thanks! Heh, grey seems to be the new black? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cab 148 Report post Posted January 25, 2016 Do you still have your ACS wheels by any chance? Wanna sell? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff E36 37 Report post Posted January 25, 2016 Do you still have your ACS wheels by any chance? Wanna sell? I do indeed! Currently a friend is borrowing them on his 5 stud E30 as he has no wheels at the moment, but as soon as I get them back I'll be putting them up for sale If you're interested, I'll let you be the first to know when they're back in my possession! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
5amchris 45 Report post Posted January 25, 2016 question, where did you do the joins on the rear panel - roof? im wrapping mine atm and cant work out how i should do these panels. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaz 64 Report post Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) is this the car sitting in Marcus's garage? Was this the one you're thinking of? Unless it's a different Marcus. Edited January 25, 2016 by Kaz Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
