So I was at the track the other day and saw a 10 second E36 M3. I was blown away. I loved the old E36 back in the day and to do a turbo set up would be very cool.

So at this point I am thinking of sourcing an E36 and do tt set-up. The whole thing (including car) would be about $40ish. Any thoughts? Feedback?

 

My favorite BMW ever.... but for 40k, why not just do an ls1 swap...or buy one that is allready turbo'd?

 

I'd recommend giving TRM (The Racers Market) a call in Georgia. A little research will show these guys are some of top forced induction guys for these cars as well as arguably the best factory DME tuners.

A mint condition E36 M3 can be found for 10k
One of their kits installed a tuned will set you back a little less then the actual car. On the stock motor with lowered compression, over 500hp is easily achievable

 

40k seems like an awful lot of money to spend on an e36. There is a general rule of thumb that to have a solid e36 M3 it will cost you at least 10k. That means either you buy one that is well sorted for around 10k or spend at least that much getting a less than perfect example into perfect running condition.

If you want to spend a little more, go look at enthusiast auto, you will find a good one there no doubt but it will run you more $.

One of these days I will buy and e36 M3 and swap an lsx corvette engine in it. Similar weight to the stock motor and almost endless aftermarket support for those of us who love power. I think it would be more reliable than a turbo setup too. Honestly though I am assuming from your 40k price estimate that you would be paying someone to do the work, which may indeed run you damn near that if you don't do any of the work yourself. Luckily for you the e36 M3 if pretty easy to work on.

 

A turbo M3 is something I think most bimmer heads have though of. There are numerous turbo kits on the market, and a host of avaible parts to build one yourself. Kit's are great but being able to pick 100% of the components yourself allows for a unique kit which is tailored to your style.

I've though hard and long many times about boosting my personal E36 M3. For me when I get around to tearing apart the car for a boost build it'll probably go along the lines of a SPA manifold, SPA 7000M turbo, ARP2000 head studs, Cometic .140 head gasket, Mishimoto S Line Intercooler, Tial Q Bov, a Tail 50mm wastegate, Walbro fuel pump, 1000cc injectors for use of E85, and self tuned via obd1. But that's down the line when the S50 starts to not be competitive at track events.

 

Just like any 12+ year old car even the nicest examples will have some faults/quirks about it. I have owned mine for about 6 years and I have had a blast with it and learned allot. Good luck with your search and if I were you I would buy one already modded. It will definately save allot of money.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys! I am still considering the build but definitely less certain about it. Would love to find one used ready to go and save some $$$

 

Two years ago I sold my mint '98 Alpine white/black Active Autowerke's turbocharged E36 M3/4/5 with 18K miles for $33,000. The car was mint and dynoed 396 rwhp/430 rwtq on a very conservative tune.

The car felt as fast if not faster than my '07 TT and was blast to drive. I definately plan on buying/building one in next few years.

 

Drop in a ZO6 motor and transmission and have a ton of fun....Great track car as well

 

Yikes...talk about a sale you will regret.

 

thoughts ??? hmmm.... I am thinking too ! fun, cheap and reliable 750 hp all day long.

we have some nice ones here e36 m3 engine on e36 or even e30