WIBIMMERS

Participation points.

Things happened

Stuff got powdercoated

patsbimmer1 said:

If I lived near Grafton i'd take ya up on this deal!  I'm currently in the same situation.  You wouldn't believe how hard it os to find someone to drink with in your garage!

All a guy can hope for is that one day someone walks up with a 12 pack of beer, says nothing until the first is cracked, and then immediately starts judging the quality of my work. I have had quite a lot of my neighbors stop over but some asked me if it was ok if their kids could watch and learn. They don't realize that all I can teach is how to become an alcoholic and swear like a sailor.

Hey everyone,

My name is Joe and some of you might know that I purchased a 1998 e36 M3 a few months ago. So far it turned out to be a good purchase but the car has it's flaws. Last fall I sheared the front carrier bolt on my differential (having too much fun) which messed a lot of stuff up so I decided to rebuild the rear end. The way I looked at was A.) I could have a moderately clean looking show car or B.) I could have a good looking (entry level) race car. I have always wanted to get into racing and with an M3 in the garage I just couldn't resist. So my plans are to start out with Autocross and keep my modifications limited to suspension so that I don't get thrown into a class out of my league. My car has been in the garage all winter but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I decided to get my ass in gear. So far this is what I have done...

The whole rear end is out

I made a bushing extractor tool with 3" pipe and the threaded rod lasted just long enough to get all the bushings out. It worked better than I expected. Some didn't pull the metal sleeve out with the bushing but nothing a cheap hack saw couldn't fix. 

I have all the parts ready to get media blasted and powder coated but I am still looking for the best place to get that done. 

I purchased a full set of AKG 75D's for the subframe, RTAB's and the differential. I got my set of Rogue Engineering lower control arms in the mail today. I also have a set of BC coilovers coming with a custom spring rate of 12K front and 10K rear so between this, the (pretty much solid) bushings, and the control arms metal rod ends, comfort is out the window. 

Dont mind the mess...

when I extracted the sheared diff bolt today I noticed that the output seal seemed to be leaking a little. I decided to open her up and I am glad I did. Turns out the LSD carrier housing cover was cracked in two places. I have no clue how this had happened. I might as well throw some new clutch plates in while I am in there. 

These pieced fell out when I pulled out the guts and it seems like they have been in there awhile due to the amount of wear on the edges. I am supersized that it didn't get jammed in the LSD housing or mess up the ring and pinion.

I skimmed over a lot here so if you have any questions be sure to ask someone else... or at least buy me a beer first. 

I have a lot more planned for the rebuild and I will share more when the parts arrive.

Joe

straight6pwr said:

JosephStrackbein said:

$130 is steep but I actually considered it until I saw it costs $68 to ship. You can get a nice M3 for $8,000 so I guess its a deal to pay 1/40th the cost for a car that's 1/18th in size. In theory you are saving $244.44.  Or is that not how this whole thing works?

well then go for the value based on your theory and buy a model Bugatti Veyron, at $200 for 1/18 scale, you'd be saving $94,244.

I feel at home when I'm on this forum.

I helped Earl out this weekend and he had a bit of a moment. So like any good friend, I decided I should probably make a ringtone. This is what I have so far.

https://vimeo.com/161527247

Update from last weekend.

I was able to get just about everything installed including some vogtland springs. I didn't get the driveshaft put back in because the shift selector rod was too short since it did not match the gearshift rod joint that was recently replaced incorrectly (part number change in 10/1994) by the last owner. Instead of purchasing a new one I cut, tapped, bent, and extended the old one to work. Turned out "Meh" but now it is fully adjustable. I had originally purchased some fittings for the bend from the master cylinder but I ended up just making a hard line that worked out even easier. I jumped the starter relay, started the car and everything works great. I should have it all wrapped up next weekend but who knows. 

This thread has some good taste. Heres my latest build.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ChrisO said:

The style 24's look awesome. Never seen them on a e34 before

I looked everywhere on the inter-webs for example pictures and could not find anything. I see a lot of people running m contours but never the LTW's. I'm pleasantly surprised with how fitting they are on the vehicle.

She is alive and dirty. I have a few gremlins to chase and body work to do but otherwise in decent condition. 

I’m really not a huge fan of the e34 steering wheel but instead of replacing it with a better one I was able to spruce it up a bit. I used a universal genuine leather wrap from Amazon and stitched it to match the M pattern. I didn’t know if I would like the wide stitching at first but it feels amazing in hand because it add a bunch of grip to the leather. All in all not a bad look for $20 total. 

I wonder if this guy includes the saw needed to hack off your arm and leg? He seems like the type that would charge you for saw blade wear after. 

https://madison.craigslist.org/cto/5494142028.html

Hey TJ, I figured that you would approve. Btw we need to hang out soon. I missed my annual TJ sighting since I didn't go to automotion this year.

Jdesign said:

On a scale from 1 - 10, How hard was that? 

It looks amazing though!

The difficulty was a 5 but it took a good hour and a half to complete. The leather was surprisingly easy to manipulate and the stitching stayed tight along the way which I did not expect at all.

Last week my boss at Kohler moved to cast iron engineering so I was promoted to fill his position and they gave me an office. It may seem little but I have never had my own office before. I don't mean to come on here and boast, I am just really excited and haven't had a chance to celebrate yet. DRINKS ARE ON ME!

straight6pwr said:

all these 1/18 cost and arm and a leg, unfortunately.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Otto-BMW-M3-E36-3-2-Blue-1-18-/351664809094?hash=item51e0db2486:g:ok8AAOSwll1W0sWv

$130 is steep but I actually considered it until I saw it costs $68 to ship. You can get a nice M3 for $8,000 so I guess its a deal to pay 1/40th the cost for a car that's 1/18th in size. In theory you are saving $244.44.  Or is that not how this whole thing works?

YoungCR said:

Link to the amazon product? Looks great!

Leather wrap in size "L-". I didn't go with the regular "L" because coincidentally there is a review from an e34 owner who suggested it is loose fit but it probably would have worked just fine if you don't like the gap in mine. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L8NUQSS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Colored thread to match the M stitching. I have a whole bunch now though if you need some. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y63TK4D/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Over the past couple years of working on and owning BMW's I have come to realize one thing. The term "BMW enthusiast" is synonymous and often confused with a mental disorder known as masochism. Lets face it, we don't really enjoy driving these meticulously engineered performance machines as much as we do the feeling of complete and utter failure when they break. Don't get me wrong, BMW engineers squeeze out every ounce of performance and their reputation proceeds them, but tight tolerances require a lot of maintenance and specialty parts are not cheap. 

So for all you fellow masochists I would like to share a journal of all of my countless mishaps starting today. Not for help or attention, but so that I can finally keep track of my general problems both large and small. Hopefully, when I am having a horrible day, I will be able to look back at these experiences and remind myself that in these tough times I should always strive to make it a little worse. "The best fix to any problem is to simply create another problem much larger that the first." - Me                                                                                                                 

Feel free to comment or troll. I only ask that you do not give me any positive reinforcement. 

-Joe-

Well she drives but has the dreaded 50 shimmy. As of now I have the whole font suspension back off to work on the upper and lower control arms. It would have been great to do that when I replaced the front shocks.... On another note if anyone has some rare e34 goodies they are looking to liquidate feel free to push them my way.

Snap said:

didnt even read your post. just lol'd at the thread title. 

Now im going back to read the post. 

EDIT:  

Oil looks good,  send a sample in for an analysis just to be sure your bearings are completely effed. 

Then do a complete rebuild by pouring some of this in. 

I am also going to cut up my AAA card. Just to make things interesting.

@Earl @SteelBlue I am not a huge fan of the pre face lift because of the body lines. I like the small kidneys but the hood lines are too narrow and my favorite brake duct valance wouldn't work at all.