My 1997 M3 (That I'm not going to part out anymore)

Earl

M Aerodynamics Package is completely different than the Aerodynamics Package. That would just mean the car got front and rear Mtech bumpers with twisty skirts. I somehow missed that you originally stated M Aerodynamics=\

SteelBlue

ChrisO said:

Fresh 4 door e30, forgot to tell you. decent amount of interior stuff left, all body panels too, didn't look under the hood. Black center console and glovebox, carpet, oh-shit handles

Hm, I'm not sure I guess I didn't get a good look at it. It definitely has the twisty M3 skirts, the build sheet says "S715A M Aerodynamics Package" I found a vert online with an identical build sheet and it just has the M3 rear bumper and diffuser.

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2128087-Very-Rare-Aegean-Blue-BMW-M-328i-e36-(1997)-lux-edition

When are they open until during the weekend and weekend? I’m probably gonna have to make my way over on Saturday

m42b32

Awesome find!! Those extended leather pieces are really rare from what I understand and seem like the perfect candidate to restore and dye black! I've heard of people getting good results with leatheriques repair/dye kits, though I haven't tried it myself.

ChrisO

Quick little update, I really need to start busting my ass on this car so I can have it daily-driveable for school

Washed my floor pan like a weirdo and put my black carpet in, I haven't replaced that firewall gasket still but the dashboard can come out with the carpet in. The car remains garaged 24/7

Putting a carpet in is always a PITA

Got some mudflaps from a guy on Bimmerforums for $10

Took my really bad sagging headliner out, glad I got it out before that foam/glue shit started getting all over everything. Very hard to clean off, happened on my last M.

I put all the handles and visors back in, probably just gonna drive it like that for the fall

I also tried to replace my rear emblem that was flaking apart, I got lucky and found a oem one off a e60 (same size) at the scrap yard.

It was surprisingly hard to take off, it took a ton of force and I scratched the paint behind the emblem up . The little pegs broke off inside the grommets. I ended up ruining both grommets getting those pegs out, so I have to order some of those.

Check out that orange peel. I'm gonna guess this trunk is a respray, at least it has the vin still

I also lined up my bumper and fog lights and it looks 1000x better then before

SteelBlue

ChrisO said:

Have any of you ever dyed leather? Do you have to spray it on or do you just rub it in? This leather is stained beyond repair and some spots need to be filled etc. and I don't want tan anyway. They would look perfect dyed black and in my car

I am going to be dying the door cards in the E30 along with the headliner and carpet. From the research I've been doing, the Duplicolor Fabric and Vinyl is the stuff to get, can be found at most automotive places and hardware stores. I've seen lightly wet sanding the leather with 1000 grit sandpaper, then cleaning the leather of an residual gunk, and then finally rubbing it down with some isopropyl alcohol. Then spraying the dye on like paint for the most part and letting it dry.

I think I might dye the back seat black as it won't have very much traffic on it, but the front seats I will likely just be replacing.

ChrisO

SteelBlue said:

I am going to be dying the door cards in the E30 along with the headliner and carpet. From the research I've been doing, the Duplicolor Fabric and Vinyl is the stuff to get, can be found at most automotive places and hardware stores. I've seen lightly wet sanding the leather with 1000 grit sandpaper, then cleaning the leather of an residual gunk, and then finally rubbing it down with some isopropyl alcohol. Then spraying the dye on like paint for the most part and letting it dry.

I think I might dye the back seat black as it won't have very much traffic on it, but the front seats I will likely just be replacing.

I found some leather dye at the craft store, but it doesn't work at all. It's hard to explain but it almost seems thinner then water and it separates out and refuses to stick to the leather. I'm concerned that the fabric and vinyl spray paint will have a very shiny appearance, do they make a more matte spray? I know that my rear seat is sort of shiny, but something like a shift boot has no shine and I think that's more like what I want for the center console

SteelBlue

ChrisO said:

I found some leather dye at the craft store, but it doesn't work at all. It's hard to explain but it almost seems thinner then water and it separates out and refuses to stick to the leather. I'm concerned that the fabric and vinyl spray paint will have a very shiny appearance, do they make a more matte spray? I know that my rear seat is sort of shiny, but something like a shift boot has no shine and I think that's more like what I want for the center console

From the videos I’ve seen of people using this fabric dye it looks like the same consistency as spray paint. I will let you know how it goes, might start doing it this week.

wasnt m3

Buy this and thank me later. I've had plenty of experience and know for a fact that it lasts. This stuff is magic.

https://877askxtreme.com/product/spraytech-vinyl-plastic-carpet-dye/

ChrisO

Currently doing my RTABs,

Blown out pretty bad

The drill method worked pretty good, but I left a small notch in the trailing arm. Opinions on if it'll ever matter? It's obviously not huge, it's in the thickest spot of the arm and it's circular so it wont crack I'm thinking. The poly bushings went in snug

So I have the poly in, everything torqued and the arm is back in the car on the drivers side. unfortunately I found a small hairline crack at the mounting point. I'm not going to risk driving on it, so I need to have it welded and reinforcement plates welded in ASAP, I only have 2 weeks before I go back to school. Can anyone recommend a shop that will do this right? I don't want it rusting or anything like that because a shop didn't prep it right.

I hit it with some sand paper, and it is indeed a crack. The other side is the side that clunked bad, so fingers crossed

ChrisO

I'm an absolute idiot, and despite trying to be more careful with the other trailing arm I cut into it worse. I didn't feel comfortable with it so I welded it and sanded it down

The trailing arm bushing went in very snug like the other side, but I need an honest opinion on if you guys would worry about this or replace the trailing arm. It's in a nice thick spot, but I'm not a pro welder and I doubt I penetrated very deep. These are cast from what I understand and I don't want it to crack and explode when I'm driving or something, I don't know if these things get insane load or if it's not that big of a deal

Also more cracks.

Jdesign

ChrisO said:

I'm an absolute idiot, and despite trying to be more careful with the other trailing arm I cut into it worse. I didn't feel comfortable with it so I welded it and sanded it down

The trailing arm bushing went in very snug like the other side, but I need an honest opinion on if you guys would worry about this or replace the trailing arm. It's in a nice thick spot, but I'm not a pro welder and I doubt I penetrated very deep. These are cast from what I understand and I don't want it to crack and explode when I'm driving or something, I don't know if these things get insane load or if it's not that big of a deal

Also more cracks.

Honestly it should be fine. A nice piece of mind for you to have it welded, but sadly I have seen much worse on race cars that just send it.

On the other hand, that subframe mount totally needs to be repaired to prevent if from getting worse. Media blasting the area first prior to welding would be a very good idea. Where are you located? I can give you some suggestions based on your location..

ChrisO

Jdesign said:

Honestly it should be fine. A nice piece of mind for you to have it welded, but sadly I have seen much worse on race cars that just send it.

On the other hand, that subframe mount totally needs to be repaired to prevent if from getting worse. Media blasting the area first prior to welding would be a very good idea. Where are you located? I can give you some suggestions based on your location..

Thanks for the input, I feel a bit better about the trailing arm. As far as the cracking trailing arm mounts go, I contacted a performance shop in Green Bay hoping they would let me help out with the job so it's done right, as they have never done something like this on a e36 before. Finding a shop who has done a trailing arm reinforcement job already would be ideal, so I'm open to anyone within an hour or so of Green Bay.

jc43089

No problem at all to cut a little into the trailing arm. The full RTAB reinforcement it is necessary to drop the gas tank but you can cut the front portion of the AKG plates off or just leave it there but not welded. Either way works. Hang a soggy towel over the gas tank to prevent melting. I have done it that way with no problems.

ChrisO

Little update, I'm currently at school and finally got the car registered and drive it occasionally. The rtab bolt hole cracks I welded, and I have reinforcement plates that will go in this winter or spring. I gently drive the car to class or just around town a few days a week. Other then that it sits in my garage, but it's a blast and it's a very solid feeling car with the new BC's and poly rtab bushings on it.

Here is a day before I left for school, I had just gotten a fresh alignment so I threw my Fikse Mach V's on

I had about 1/2" of front wheel gap and -2.5 degrees of camber so I figured I might get some slight rubbing on corners and such. My old M3 had a way more agressive fitment with the rays then this, and I never had problems.

about 15 feet down my street I hit a bump while slightly turned and the fender hit the tire and literally bit a chunk out of the sidewall despite being mildly rolled. The Rivals are so soft that my fender is undamaged, but I guess I need a new tire and a pull on the front fenders