Welcome to the club though, My e36 has a block of wood screwed to the firewall to mount a gas pedal that is certainly not BMW material among 20 other things I can mention right off the top of my head.

SMH some should just not reproduce.

GunMetalGrey said:

Got to work on cars this weekend! It has been far too long since that happened! 
Got the lowering springs in (thanks Mitch!) 
Also put in new tie rods (inner and outer with new boots), sway bar end links as the old ones were destroyed, and new strut tops. 

The PO had told me it leaked oil because the drain plug was stripped out and he just used silicon to seal it, and it leaked. I grabbed a new lower pan and found that someone decided to use whatever shit they had laying around for the rear bolts that hold the lower pan to the upper. This includes, but was not limited to, giant machine screws, what appeared to be some sort of massive wood screw, screws with flats ground in them to cut threads, and various other sized hardware. Someone also punched through the upper pan with a drill when making these new "threads" so I JB Welded that shut. 

for fuck's sake the things that people do that they think are good ideas is astonishing. How could someone not be troubled to just simply order proper new hardware? This car was headed for an early grave if it hadn't been saved by you

Last night I checked the fuses for the high beams as they weren't functioning. One was blown so I replaced it. While I was looking at the fuses I saw way too many 20 and 30 amp fuses. I grabbed the Bentley to check the proper values and found that the majority of fuses had been replaced with 20 or 30 amp fuses.

Why are people so dumb?!

I also got the interior lights working again which is a nice touch!

The PO had told me it leaked oil because the drain plug was stripped out and he just used silicon to seal it, and it leaked. I grabbed a new lower pan and found that someone decided to use whatever shit they had laying around for the rear bolts that hold the lower pan to the upper. This includes, but was not limited to, giant machine screws, what appeared to be some sort of massive wood screw, screws with flats ground in them to cut threads, and various other sized hardware. Someone also punched through the upper pan with a drill when making these new "threads" so I JB Welded that shut. 

Next steps are to do some interior work and get some fog lights, a front lip, and put the brake ducts back in. 
I'm also trying to source some ellipsoids.

HipMF said:

proper weight distribution and driving the car near the limit. no e-brake or clutch-kicks required.

Get some awesome rubber and go faster

m42b32 said:

Crappy tires, lots of handbrake/clutch kicks, and a gas pedal that might as well be welded to the floor haha 

I guess this is part of my problem, I think the car is kind of loud to be flying around neighborhoods past 4k RPM due to the beehive that is clearly angry under the hood. 
I will say that the power level isn't quite as disappointing as I remember.

Earl said:

Where did the e46 ever go? lol 

I got rid of that this past spring, it was starting to be a lot more headache than it was worth. I picked up a 2010 Mazda 3s Hatch 6 spd on kind of a whim so I could transport bikes and gear for summer.

Earl said:

And I really wonder how a lot of guys in the UK slide compacts with m42's and have zero issues doing it lol. I wonder if the e36 m42 has that much more torque to make the difference...I doubt it but it just amazes me 

Crappy tires, lots of handbrake/clutch kicks, and a gas pedal that might as well be welded to the floor haha

And I really wonder how a lot of guys in the UK slide compacts with m42's and have zero issues doing it lol. I wonder if the e36 m42 has that much more torque to make the difference...I doubt it but it just amazes me

Trying to slide in this in the snow is different. It lacks the power that I prefer, but lift off over-steers quite well. I could certainly do without the beehive power plant!

It's been doing me well though, and is certainly more enjoyable (even in mediocre condition) to drive than the Mazda!

Not sure if it was a track concrete gator issue or the earlier wall tag, but when I opened up the housing on the track car the metal clip holding the blower motor was still in place but the motor itself had been slightly knocked out of the normal housing seat position and was rotated about 1/4" backwards towards the firewall.

One more reason to keep yours a daily driver.

Just transferred the title, and picked up plates for this. Daily duty may start tonight.

m42b32 said:

If it only works on 4, chances are its the blower motor resistor, as 4 is the only speed that bypasses the resistor. 

Agreed, though due to the noise it makes I need to do further investigation.

GunMetalGrey said:

Now to tackle the blower motor. Only works on 4 and sounds bad, which usually means that one of the covers is hitting the blades.

If it only works on 4, chances are its the blower motor resistor, as 4 is the only speed that bypasses the resistor.

Hot start issue is gone, which means we are throwing this thing into daily use even though I am still slightly hesitant of that!

New front control arms, control arm bushings, tie rod assemblies, tie rod boots, and strut tops were ordered yesterday to fix up the front bushings and ball joints. They feel okay but the ball joints are quite worn so I may as well knock it all out at once!

Now to tackle the blower motor. Only works on 4 and sounds bad, which usually means that one of the covers is hitting the blades.