I put this together to post on Bimmerforums but figured you guys might enjoy this also.

Well, I have been around here for a long time now. I bought my E36 M3 in 2001. At the time the car was virtually perfect with only 20K miles and it had never even been driven in the rain.

Over the first several years of ownership I added the first generation UUC TSE exhaust system, Conforti intake, UUC clutch stop, and a few other odds and ends. I babied the girl but she was my DD and spent most of her time sitting outside. After about my 4th year of ownership I installed TEIN coilovers, UUC sway bars, GC sway bar links, and OEM stamped LTW wheels. At the time they were the craze. Here is a pic of how she looked.



Then my M3 became my work horse. She took me back and forth across the country close to 6 times. At some point the TEIN sway bar link attach points failed (they were the first gen TEIN c/o’s) and while I waited for the gen 2’s (for free from the company) to arrive from TEIN I installed a used DINAN Stage 1 suspension. Then my attention turned to a new car purchase. During this time just about everything rubber on the E36 started to fail. But, my attention what was on my new 997S that was/is getting a good dose of mods.

At some point I realized the M3 was in bad shape. The car would vibrate like crazy at highway speeds, vibrate even worse when braking over 50mph, and clunk and squeak its way over even the mildest bumps. So, after finally finishing my mods on my 997S (Bilstein Damptronic c/o’s still need to be installed) I focused my attention on my 130K mile E36 M3.

Here is a list of the new stuff

-New LCA Bushings
-New Lower Control Arms
-New steering tie rods
-New strut mounts, all four
-Turner rear strut mount enforcers
-New floor mats
-TEIN Basic Coilovers
-18” by 8.5” Blitz Technospeed Wheels

I don’t know why, but I decided to install everything myself. Using several of the write ups on this forum and some help from Bimmerdiy.com I was able to get everything replaced in about 10-12hrs of work over two days. I do not have much to add to those write ups other than a plumbers wrench/pipe wrench will work to remove the tie rods. Just as long as you remove the front locking collar first by hammering it back with a screw driver. Here are the pics of the build.

Just a little background on my wheel choice…. I first saw these on an E36 back in 2002. I fell in love with them then. I realize they are not the “in” wheel right now but I really like the overall look! Maybe one day I replace them with a set of LM’s like on my Pcar.















After the install I took the car for a drive and I could not believe how smooth and noise free everything was. The only problem was a little rubbing. I took the car to PowerbyMax here in San Diego and they rolled all four corners, cut a little fender liner, and pulled the front fenders slightly. Here are the after pics….. sorry for the crappy quality!













Again, sorry for the quality of the pics!

Jason

 

Jason,

That M3 has track car written all over it!

Good job.

 

wow . The car reminds of another time period . do you remember when it first came out? If only BMW retured to its roots.

 

Agreed, the E36 M3 was produced in model years 95 thru 99 with very small changes throughout its life. I love this car, although at some point, its going to need a real overhaul.

Jason

 

It's a beautiful car . I remember when it first came out because I was the first person in South Florida to take delivery . Unfortunately my "gotta have it" hurry placed me in a car which had a few quirks and I only kept it two months . Deep down I really wanted the 993 so badly that nothing settled it .

At that time the M3 was the first of its kind . A coupe that could go under 6 sec to 60 for under 40K . It was ground breaking .

At that time BMW actually built great cars . Even the 5 and 7 were respected . I never imagined in my wildest thoughts of big odd shaped Bangled BMW would come . I never imagined the current situation of M3's collecting dust on lots .

Tht car reminds me of that time even though my experience with it was very brief.

 

AWESOME!!! I had a Silver 2 door coupe and also a 4door sedan! I loooved mine! I love how the rear wheel well lets the rear wheel tuck in! NIICE! Man it brings back memories and makes me want to get another one!!!

 

Great write-up Jason. I loved modding my E46. Mod parts for the E36 are probably relatively cheap compared to the 997