Looking for a 1 of 1 E36 that's faster than an M3, handles better than an M3, while paying the insurance of 328is? Found it.
After countless hours spent and dollars I?m afraid to count, the time has come for me to try and let go part of my heart and soul for the past 10+ years. No expense was spared in building my "perfect" NA E36 -- EVERYTHING was done with the intent of keeping the car forever. I grew up idolizing the E36 and had my heart set on one in high school (turned out to be multiple). I had a ?94 325is for several years and then in 2007, an opportunity came knocking to purchase an unmolested, lady-driven 328is with less than 160,000km on it and it quickly spiraled into one of my biggest (certainly the longest) projects of my life. The goal was to make a hybrid AutoX / track-worthy E36 that would be an enjoyable drive on the way there. It had to work as a DD and look great when parked too.
I ended up spending more $$$ than buying an E36 M3 (or 2, or 3) outright, but that wasn?t the point because none of them would look or run like this one. I am an engineer OCD with making things run in tip-top, better than stock shape. Almost every bushing, sensor, and mechanical part that matters has been replaced, refreshed and/or restored with OEM or better. Where others would cheap out with Meyle HD parts, I used OE Lemforder and upgraded to poly wherever it only added reasonable NVH. It didn't help that I had an affinity for rare, priceless parts! The result is an E36 that is more solid and drives better than a new M3 ever did, and looks the part.
Sadly my life has only gotten more busy and I no longer have the time to finish the project. The car has sat in the shop and garage more than on the road -- in my almost 10+ years of ownership I have gotten
less than 15,000km of enjoyment out of it
That is not a typo. It has only been driven around the city with love and care -- no drag racing or clutch drops, always parked in the far corner, every shift rev-matched, steering not fully locked. It is fully driveable and mechanically in amazing shape, I just never got around to finishing the tweaking and amenities (audio, trim bits here and there etc.). Accompanying the car will be boxes of uninstalled parts, including many spares (not even listed below) I?ve collected over the years. I also have detailed records of everything I?ve purchased and done to the car and when? I try to avoid scrolling down to the sum of the ?Cost? column.
The Vitals
1996 BMW 328is, clean title
10/95 build, rare oddball OBD2 with no ASC, no coding plug cluster
Originally Schwartz II (Jet Black) on Black interior
Runs healthy and e-tested
5-speed manual, Sport Package
~175,000km on chassis
~178,000km on engine
~85,000km on tranny
Everything below was new during my ownership (<15,000km) unless otherwise specified.
"GO" stuff
S52B32 (163000km)
ZF 5-speed (70000km)
3.23 LSD swap (163000km)
OEM metal impeller waterpump
Fan Delete done right (aluminum thermostat housing, 80C thermostat, 80/88C fan switch, cap nut, Redline Water Wetter, etc.)
Magnetic Oil Drain Plug
UUC E34 M5 performance organic clutch
UUC Stage 2 (8.5lb) lightweight flywheel
UUC Transmission Mount Enforcers (black bushings with cups) and delrin carrier bushings
UUC stainless steel clutch line, CDV delete
UUC EVO3 SSK with effort-reducing kit (ERK) and weighted selector rod
Cosmos Racing 3.5" cold-air intake (CAI) with 3.0" reducer
Remus catback muffler with 83mm carbon fibre tips
Custom S52 tune based on Shark Injector (7400rpm rev limiter, Vmax delete, optimized timing and fuel maps, SAP delete)
Genuine Volk RE30 18x9.5" wheels
Hankook V12 evo 255/35-18 tires
Chassis/Suspension/Brakes
OEM M3 front subframe, knuckles swap (163000km)
OEM M3 rear subframe, wishbones, control arms swap (163000km, sandblasted and repainted)
OEM M3 rear subframe reinforcements, welded in with new hardware and bolts
Custom rear swaybar reinforcement gussets, welded on subframe then sandblasted and repainted
OEM M3 X-brace
OEM 96+ M3 Lemforder control arms with matching LCABs
OEM 96+ M3 front spindles
UUC red RTABs
Powerflex purple (street) rear subframe bushings
OEM M3 brakes (163000km), rebuilt and powdercoated calipers
Zimmerman rotors and Axxis Ultimate brake pads
ATE blue DOT4 brake fluid
Goodridge stainless steel-braided brake lines*
Bilstein PSS9 with custom 60mm linear spring conversion
Hypercoil springs (6" 600lb front, 5.5" 700lb rear)
Vorshlag camber / caster plates
Ground Control rear strut mounts
OEM BMW front camber bolts, adjusted to correct scrub radius with wide / low-offset wheels
OEM non-M sport package (25.5mm) front sway mounted to struts
Rear sway bar delete
Custom alignment (-3.2?F / -2.2?R camber, 0?F / 0.10?R toe)
Exterior
Stripped and painted
Interlagos Blue (A30)
All window and sunroof rubber seals / gaskets replaced with new OEM parts
Widebody: E46 fender flares grafted onto rear quarters, clearanced for 275 tires and low-offset wheels, seam-welded stronger than original chassis
Custom carbon fibre hood (with OEM vents and nozzles)
Carbon fibre BMW emblems
Hamann STW front bumper with fogs, brake ducts* and splitters painted flat black
OEM side mouldings with Motorsport emblems
OEM M3 sport (twisty) side skirts, used
Hamann STW rear bumper with carbon fibre rear diffuser
Hamann STW rear wing (their version of the LTW)
OEM '95 kidneys with Hamann shadow grills
OEM E46 rectangular jack pads
Interior (* = partially or not installed)
OEM 96+ M3 black vader seats (manual, heated but not yet retrofitted)
OEM 96+ M3 black rear seats with rear headrest retrofit
OEM '95 M3 lux black door panels (perforated leather inserts!)
OEM '95 M3 lux chrome door pulls
OEM 96+ M3 black leather door handles
OEM M3 black headliner and sunroof shuttle
OEM M3 black pillars*
OEM kickpanels with Hamann dead pedal*
UUC clutch arm bushings*
OEM 18-button OBC retrofit*
OEM ZHP 5-speed shift knob
Chrome shift surround (ala M Roadster/Coupe)*
Rear deck speakers delete
Victor sport steering wheel: OEM with thickened and perforated leather, retains airbag*
Alpine CDA-7998, used
DEI Viper 550.2 5.25” component speakers, bi-amped*
Cadence 4-channel (4x50W) Class A/B amp*
2 xtant X104 10” subwoofers in sealed trunk enclosure
Phoenix Gold Ti800.1 subwoofer amp*
Rear deck speakers delete
CompuSTAR PRO 2-way alarm and remote starter*
Other Random Maintenance (* = partially or not installed)
Amsoil 5W40 (AFL or EFM) in engine
Amsoil ATF in transmission
Amsoil SVG 75W90 in diff
Used VANOS unit (64000km), rebuilt with new Beisan seals, gaskets, oil line washers
OBD2 M3 midpipe, catalytic converters, and O2 sensors (20000km)
OEM M3 Lemforder tie rods
OEM rear diff bushing and bolt
OEM rear inner control arm bushings (both upper and lower)
OEM ABS sensors
OEM flex disc / guibo, nuts and bolts
OEM valve cover gasket
OEM windshield nozzle jet
OEM exhaust manifold O2 sensor
OEM steering U-joint and power steering reservoir
OEM camshaft sensor
OEM updated E46 crankshaft sensor with adapter harness
OEM final stage unit
OEM trunk lock actuator
OEM cabin air filter*
OEM rear camber adjustment eccentric bolts*
ATE Super Blue brake fluid
Passenger-side window regulator
The Known Issues
UNFINISHED: Component speakers haven't been spliced in, non-essential pieces and trims may be in a box and not on the car (e.g., pillars, plastic covers here and there, trunk lining, etc.)
ABS light: This is a known issue with using an OBD2 cluster on an older car. I have the 1-page BMW bulletin that details the 1 wire that needs to be spliced behind the cluster to fix this.
SRS light: Driver's seat belt tensioner needs to be replaced.
CEL: Small evap leak, still passes emissions sniff test with flying colours
DIRTY: the car never made it to the final detailing stage
Linear Mode
