KwS

The M52 engines are pretty tough arent they? Dont hear of many with serious issues, unlike the N series (which shares nothing with the M series engines).

Ha, yeah he was an international pilot. Not a lot of options, but i guess thats due to all the factory fitted M3 gear. Plus, NZ New.... never seen an NZ new one with many options (tight first buyers?).

Lol, i dont have real CSL wheel kind of money. Reps will be fine. Plus, the genuines are 19", which IMO is just too big on an E36. Even the 18s were borderline.

Are there any good points about these engines? You guys are portraying them like they are the worst engine BMW made!

And right up to today. So, its finally arrived. Its rattly, tatty and generally just a bit average here and there.... but it really doesnt matter. As soon as you turn the key, and the exhaust barks out its note, you forget about all that. Its been ages since i had a decent, large displacement engine to play with, and wow, what a difference having torque makes. Chuck it in 3rd at 80kph, and stomp the gas. It pushes you back in your seat and up the needle goes. It drives very well, so smooth and stable at 100kph, its almost egging you on to put the hammer down and double the digits. Its not as tidy as my old red one, but that was pretty clean (and 80,000km). Yet this drives better and feels less flogged. Likely something to do with the mountains of receipts the previous owner has kept, including things like drilled brake rotors, braided lines, bilstein shocks, new bushes, new clutch, all new coils, new headlining, new alcantra panels on seats. Big money spent in the past 10 years (and big money spent 10 years ago buying it for $24500). Theres a bit more that needs doing than anticipated, but i kinda expected some of it as its the usual E36 stuff. All the exterior rubbers need replacing (rear window, rear quarter windows, door handles), and ill need to change the diff and trans oils to see if it fixes a couple of things (whine in first gear, which is common and usually helped by good fluid. Also a thumping from the diff whilst turning at low speed, which i suspect is the plates binding due to crap/old/wrong fluid/no friction modifier). All electrics appear to work, other than the heater and AC (known before purchase). Seats are comfortable and very supportive. Strangely the big bus 4 spoke steering wheel feels right to use, just needs a real good clean. I found the same in my red E36, which had the same wheel. Glovebox is stuffed, so will need replacement at some point. It still shuts and stays shut. Fuel flap spring needs tweaking to keep it shut. Gearknob, gearboot and handbrake lever are worn. Still functional but a bit ugly for my OCD, so will replace at some point. Interior is pretty tidy otherwise, with no major damage or excess wear. Vanos is noisy occasionally at start up, and according to the paperwork this has been ongoing since around 2000. I also suspect it might be the cause of a noise heard when accelerating around 1800rpm (but could also be heat shield vibration). Will look at what it takes to rebuild the vanos. Should gain some power rebuilding it too. Got home after dark, so no photos today. Plus, its pretty filthy after being on a truck for a day or two. If the whether behaves ill give it a clean this weekend, otherwise we will have to settle for "untidy" pics for now. Despite all this, i love it.

On an unrelated note, spent some money on the car before it has even arrived. ETA for car is Thursday. Purchased a complete arm rest, a pair of fog lights (current ones are burnt?), and a new heater valve to fix the heater. HellBM in Auckland has EVERYTHING a BMW would ever need. Probably arrive at the same time as the car lol.

Also going to fit an arm rest, as this was the single most awesome mod i did to my last E36. All other work will be resto-mod, and the car will be kept in almost OE condition as there is little i can do to an M3 to improve it. Little things like a new gearknob and boot, and maybe change to a 3spoke steering wheel. Also looking at fitting some other OE stuff like rear PDC, and a rear manual sun blind. The current radio isnt OE, but its Alpine, and is about as old as the car/period so unless its complete arse, or doesnt work, itll stay. Has a sweet in dash CD changer, lol.

Okay, finally got around to it. I have only received the car today, so information is a little light. I have posted a thread on another forum im more active on, so will copy and paste the bulk from there to get this rolling. This wont so much be a build thread, as a record of any work done and a general diary of the car. The car is a 1994 (Late 93 build) NZ New BMW M3 (E36, 3.0 PFL). All the usuals, 3.0L S50B30 engine (Euro spec, ITB, Vanos, 210kw) 5 Speed manual with LSD Vader seats (in uncommon ///M Cloth/Alcantra) M3 suspension and brake upgrades Motorsport bodykit (like half the other E36s around) So all in all, its a big engine, in a lightish car that looks like every other 318i POS on the road. Its taken a while from me seeing it on tardme, to actually getting the ball rolling. The current owner has owned the car for 10 years, and in this time he has recorded a pretty decent list of preventative maintenance. The car is in Auckland so ill be getting it trucked down as i dont have time to head up and get it. Big thanks to (CSET) on here for viewing the car on my behalf, and writing up a huge, in depth "inspection" with photos. Its getting a new WOF on monday and then ill have a truck there to pick it up and drop it off at work. So, whats the plan? A general tidy up, and some minor modifications. What needs doing? Front fog lamps are damaged Ac doesnt work (AC clutch) Heater stuck on cold (heater valves) Fuel flap doesnt close (spring) Various window seals aged/worn Wheels oxidised Front lip damaged ///M3 badge faded Sagging glove box Missing tools in tool kit Most things are fairly simple or just cosmetic. Only real majors will be replacing the Ac clutch (PITA to get at) and replacing the heater valves takes a bit of time. Ill be looking to replace the wheels as they are in pretty average condition. Would love another set of CSL reps like my old E36 had, but it can be hard to find good ones now. I even like the E36 on the E46 Motorsport wheels. A set of BBS LM would be tops too. My old E36 (18" CSL reps) Pictures from the seller of the M3 and a couple from CSET Plates didnt come with the car.

Picked up the M3. MMM, its glorious.

I drive a lot, used to have a beltronics detector, but its been so long since i exceeded 110kph it was worthless to me. I found my beltronics, which was an RX65 model (worth a lot a couple of years ago) wasnt as good as a V1 at the time. Kept getting false detections, even with the bands tweaked.

Might want to do some reading. http://www.markthomastrimming.com/storage/merc/history.htm

I have an idea, how about just sticking to the speed limit?

thats a sweet deal on those wheels. I paid way more for my set a while back. They make a hell of a difference to the stock wheels on the non-motorsports. Good choice. Got more deets on the LM reps (PM me)? might be interested.

nope lol, havent got around to putting a thread on here yet. Ill get there eventually.

crap power at low RPM is likely just a characteristic of your engine. Small displacement engines arent really known for having masses of torque or power down low. Thats what big displacement engines are good at. Just look at Honda engines; nothing down low, party up top. i say enjoy the car as it is, for what it is and upgrade later on.

Woah, just checked DDM Tuning and their shipping to NZ is damn near twice the cost of the item..... lame. Doesnt look like you can combine shipping either. Oh well, off to Ebay i go.

Apparently these splitters are really good, made of polypropylene plastic. Interwebs says they can take a real beating. http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/E36-M3-Velocity-Splitter-Carbon-Fiber-Available

Good to know. Pretty keen on getting some for my M3 but not sure which ones to get. Looks like ABS isnt a go.

Fek me thats tidy! Last one of them i saw on TM was local, with high as KM and under $10K. Was really rough in comparison though. Pretty cool cars, be a great toy and cheaper than an E30 M3. Take a bit of getting used to the dogleg box.

Ill be keen on a set of plates in the next round.

Sorted.

Was planning to drive it back but unfortunately i dont have the time for another few weeks, and i couldnt wait that long.

Paid a man in Auckland some money for his E36 M3. Now to wait for the truck to bring it down to me.

Hi, as per title, after some E36 bits. After a complete arm rest for a coupe, in black, with all required parts (console, bolts, trim etc). Good condition. Also require two matching fog lamps in good condition. I need a complete tool kit from coupe (M3 if it makes any difference). Heater valves (in engine bay) to suit an early E36 coupe (with the analogue dual temp) PM me if you can help.

There is often good advice and discussion in this forum about cars on TM, but obviously when someone is asking silly money ($30k) for an e39 540i people are going to have a laugh. Its human nature really, and will happen on any forum. The problem here is that there are more and more cars worth a laugh on TM, so the laughs are almost constant. Maybe one stickied thread for TM Laughs, where they can all be lumped together, and then separate threads for cars actually worthy of a discussion. Thats how most other forums deal with it.