E36 M3 EVO - Have i ruined my life?

[Funkyflynz 151]

Hey guys, new addition to the stable, 1996 M3 EVO.  Sounds fun right?  Well... Day 1 - Caught fire, Day 2 broke injector loom and 2x injectors.  Cant wait for day 3,4 5.... (sigh)

Theres a bit of a story behind this purchase, a few years ago i had an e46 M3, i sold it when i shouldn't have but family circumstances at the time required attention.  Since then I've been up to my eyeballs in e36's, and for the last 18moths had a real hankering for an EVO, i looked at a full blown targa race car and was silly not to put an offer in, it was more than i wanted but since then the prices have sky rocketed as you likely have seen.  These days a super tidy low km EVO is $40k, well out of my price range and even if i did make the leap i wouldn't feel comfortable thrashing it and doing some car club events.

So i put the word out and come across this 1996 EVO, its 293,000, Singapore car imported back in 2000, actually has the service book stamped right up till 212,00kms.  Its pretty rough, and has spent a few years sitting around (last wof in 2016 but rego is on hold), but, and this was the kicker for me, it had some serious love from Kayne Barry about 8 years ago who amongst other things installed a bolt in 1/2 cage and bucket seats, modifications i wanted to do. a heap of work was done fixing leaks, checking the box, diff.  Has XYZ's and braided lines and is certified.  But it requires a MSNZ authority card, no biggie as i planned on getting my license.  Best of all it was a price that im comfortable flinging it around the track and events.

Im really looking forward to getting to know this car and hope its a keeper,  it needs a lot of love and attention after years of neglect (paint is atrocious) But first things first it needs to run!  as you no doubt figured by now the fuel system appears to be shot, so im hoping an injector refurb (or maybe upgrade?), tank empty and new filter will see it back up and running, a couple of cam lobes showing signs of wear, but the rest look good.  

Any advice/experience with these EVO's would be appreciated, probably about time i tried to learn INPA now too.  Thanks

 

 

[thorburn 121]

Why do you need an authority card? 

If those injector resistors are the same as plain old m50/2 ones it should be fine still. I've had them in much worse condition and still running. Might pay to measure the resistance. 

I might also have some spare M3 injectors. Will pm you tomorrow if I find em

[Funkyflynz 151]

13 minutes ago, thorburn said:

Why do you need an authority card? 

If those injector resistors are the same as plain old m50/2 ones it should be fine still. I've had them in much worse condition and still running. Might pay to measure the resistance. 

I might also have some spare M3 injectors. Will pm you tomorrow if I find em

Thanks mate really appreciate that. Unfortunately all the insulation on the resistors crumbled when i touch them.  Might need some new shielding of some type?   The cert plate states current MSNZ authority card required 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Funkyflynz

[Toast 117]

I've got a full set of rebuilt evo spec injectors if it'll help, i'll have to have a dig and check what they are though

[Funkyflynz 151]

1 minute ago, Toast said:

I've got a full set of rebuilt evo spec injectors if it'll help, i'll have to have a dig and check what they are though

Thank you.  Let me know what you have mate.  

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

45 minutes ago, Funkyflynz said:

 The cert plate states current MSNZ authority card required 

Probably for the half cage and bucket seats. No biggie to get an authority card, especially as you are planning on entering events anyways.

[Olaf 3317]

Congratulations Lee, looks like the ideal car for you.  You'll have it sorted in no time.  Looking forward to reading your progress!

[sweetm3 180]

3 minutes ago, Olaf said:

Congratulations Lee, looks like the ideal car for you.  You'll have it sorted in no time.  Looking forward to reading your progress!

Same here

[Funkyflynz 151]

8 minutes ago, Olaf said:

Congratulations Lee, looks like the ideal car for you.  You'll have it sorted in no time.  Looking forward to reading your progress!

Thanks Richard, im sure it will be.  Just happy to have a group of helpful members for a project like this 👍🏻

[M3AN 4016]

Nice one. And it's probably got aluminium doors unless somebody has flogged them?

As for injectors, go stock rather than "upgrade" - quantifiable data from elsewhere says the EV6 injectors add no value.

 

[Funkyflynz 151]

3 hours ago, M3AN said:

Nice one. And it's probably got aluminium doors unless somebody has flogged them?

As for injectors, go stock rather than "upgrade" - quantifiable data from elsewhere says the EV6 injectors add no value.

 

Thanks, the alloy doors were taken off unfortunately, this was after i was told it had them 🤦🏼‍♂️but price was then dropped to reflect this to degree i was happy.  

hopefully one of the lads on here comes up with a set of injectors, but if i have to replace them im not sure i would go stock replacements as bosch dont make them anymore from what ive read and the ev6 ones are cheaper.  It would be for performance gains - although i do plan on putting cams in it down the line.

Thoughts?

 

[KwS 2425]

I'd personally go with a set of brand new modern injectors if there is an option. Injectors have come a long way since the E36 was made.

[topnotchrally 106]

 

On 4/25/2021 at 8:52 PM, thorburn said:

Why do you need an authority card? 

 

You need an authority card if any of the 'safety equipment' has been modified or removed. OEM Seatbelts and airbags are the big ones.

 

Also note that you MUST complete in 2 MNZ events per year in order to renew you Auth card each year.

Edited May 9, 2021 by topnotchrally

[Funkyflynz 151]

Finally back on the ground after replacing the fuel system, many thanks to @Toast for a set of blue top injectors,  much appreciated.   Also threw in a new set of plugs, 3 new coils and oil/filter change.  Put some fresher rubber on a spare set of ds2 wheels and uploaded them.
 

With that all done i was able to actually drive the car to get a feel for it.   
 

verdict?  It has potential 😂.   Immediately the factory diff ratio felt far too tall for me, the drivers seat is offset, the steering wheel far to big and it lacked the response of the s54, which i expected but thought it would still impress me on the top end.  Shame.
 

So whats next?   
 

First i need my motorsport license then we go for a wof.  Ive spied a couple of oil leaks (oil cooler and ps hp line) which i need to tackle, i have a purple tag rack to go in (original was worn and thus replaced) and i need to sort this seat and steering wheel situation.  
 

Looking forward to getting this car performing how i want it to.  Kayne Barry made a good start and it deserves to have some more love.  If anyone has some cams for an S50b32 they arent using let me know 😅

[M3AN 4016]

I've just jumped from a 3.23 to 3.64 in my Evo and the difference makes up for everything the S54 gives you, it's quite the experience.

And I assume you have these guys on your radar if you want cams: http://www.catcams.com/welcome.aspx - their shitty site tech prevents deep links but just look up the (Euro) S50B32, they have numerous options.

 

[Funkyflynz 151]

32 minutes ago, M3AN said:

I've just jumped from a 3.23 to 3.64 in my Evo and the difference makes up for everything the S54 gives you, it's quite the experience.

And I assume you have these guys on your radar if you want cams: http://www.catcams.com/welcome.aspx - their shitty site tech prevents deep links but just look up the (Euro) S50B32, they have numerous options.

 

Good to hear thanks, i had a long yarn with Kayne and was leaning towards 4.1.  Im not planning family holidays away in it so for the odd weekend away happy to hear it sing.  Running 17’s with 255/45

Catcams certainly seem to be a good option, the big decision will be what size, going big means shims under bucket which people seem to shy away from due to the additional work for shimming.  Have you looked into sizing?

[M3AN 4016]

7 minutes ago, Funkyflynz said:

Good to hear thanks, i had a long yarn with Kayne and was leaning towards 4.1.  Im not planning family holidays away in it so for the odd weekend away happy to hear it sing.  Running 17’s with 255/45

Catcams certainly seem to be a good option, the big decision will be what size, going big means shims under bucket which people seem to shy away from due to the additional work for shimming.  Have you looked into sizing?

For a race/track car I think KB is heading you in the right direction, 3.9x+ is it, 3.6x is totally comfortable for the street, unnecessarily comfortable for the track!

I've not spec'd cams but the guys in the UK swear by the effort required to go under bucket shims, if you're going for hot cams you might as well do it once and do it properly. I think about 276 is the most you can go without and I imagine you'll want more than that if you're going proper hot... by then you'll also need to consider VANOS. 

[qube 3570]

*cough* supercharger *cough*

[topnotchrally 106]

Old guy here... how about.umm, driving the thing for a while before making more mods?  Just a thought.

[Funkyflynz 151]

2 hours ago, topnotchrally said:

Old guy here... how about.umm, driving the thing for a while before making more mods?  Just a thought.

Well I like to drive hard and have zero interest in driving a subpar badly neglected M3.  If i could do the mods tomorrow i would but i cant so it will be driving the thing for a while before making em lol
 

[Funkyflynz 151]

3 hours ago, qube said:

*cough* supercharger *cough*

Nice,  let me know if you find a cheap setup 😉

[Funkyflynz 151]

Update -

After i was unable to get the car running right it sat for a year while i got busy with other projects, however its back on the "to do" list and ive replaced a couple of coils and cleaned the MAF which made a difference, ECU still throwing MAF errors and there's a slight stumble so have ordered a new MAF.

Also have an error that looks related to back pressure at the o2 sensor, the car still has the original mid section with the cats and at 300km theres a good chance they are clogged, so have a new Super sprint midsection to install.

The Vano's is a bag of marbles as well, so Ive slowly been collecting parts for a full vanos rebuild and will kick that off shortly.