So here is the new project car. It’s a 1989 M3 (I think), it was originally red and has been (poorly) repainted a dark gray color. It has a blown head gasket and no title or registration. It was given to us by a guy who was being sent to jail for a long time and our plan is to build it into a track only car, no lights, full cage, lexan windows, etc. At this point we are considering a few different options for the power train. We may rebuild the S14 and bolt on a turbo, we have a like new M52 in our storage and we could swap that in and bolt on a turbo or I might be acquiring an S52 and that would also end up with a turbo on it. What ever engine we decide on it will have a full stand alone ECU. Right now we are stripping the car down to the bare metal so that it can go out for body work and paint (we are thinking black). I will update this thread as we make decisions about the car and of course I will take way more pictures than anyone would want. This will most likely be a slow process as we will mostly be working on it when we are slow in the shop or after hours, but I will try and update this thread as often as I can. If you have any questions or any input we would love to hear it.

Nick
Kiwi Car Care
Maui, Hawaii

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project004.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project005.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project030.jpg

Hey Nick, YOU SUCK! lol

what made you think it was red... :shifty

awesome find! i would love to have an e30 M3 just fall into my lap! Good luck with it can't wait to see what you guys do with her!

Rebuild the S14 for boost. They respond WELL to boost...

You should have no problem getting the car with a turbo system around 2300# we got our race car to 2100 wet with 22gallon cell:)

Hey Nick -
Go big or don't go at all...LS7 twin turbo! :D

Hey Nick -
Go big or don't go at all...LS7 twin turbo! :D

We did consider a V8 with TTs but dont know where we would get the donor motor.

Here is the latest, today I finally got the wiring harness out of the interior, the glass is out, the exhaust and driveshaft are out. I drained all of the fluids (thanks to the blown head gasket the oil was full of coolant) and took of the boot lid. Tomorrow I am hoping to get the rear subframe out as a complete unit.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project031.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project032.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project036.jpg

Can I buy the latch peices for your glovebox?

Today I got the rear subframe out of the car, took off the hood and removed the fan, radiator, washer tank and air box. Next week I am gonna work on removing the engine and trans and the bumpers and side skirts.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project037.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project038.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project047.jpg

Today we got the motor and trans with the subframe and suspension out of the front end, we also removed the doors, rocker panels, bumpers and the entire front end. We also drained and removed the gas tank, we are very close to getting the car down to being just a raw shell so it can be sent out to paint.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project049.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project068.jpg

Nice project!

This whas really in poor shape.. It gonna be nice now thou..!

kewlness/have fun.

sounds like you got quiet the project and im pumped to see the final turnout. keep us updated!

Nice build man!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project031.jpg

that looks like the same muffler my old toyota hilux turbo 4x4 had... :lol

good to see it getting redone and put into some real use!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project031.jpg

that looks like the same muffler my old toyota hilux turbo 4x4 had... :lol

good to see it getting redone and put into some real use!

that exhaust has already been recycled, we are planning on going side exit by the passenger side door.

i wanted to go side exit on my e30 build too....im sorry if you said but what motor are you going to be running. Im doing the S50 swap and wanted to run side exits on each side...

i wanted to go side exit on my e30 build too....im sorry if you said but what motor are you going to be running. Im doing the S50 swap and wanted to run side exits on each side...

we are gonna rebuild the S14 and run a big ass turbo on it.

oh word...i was contemplating on finding a way to run the exhaust through the side skirts so its all molded

Well we finally got back to work on her this week a little bit. We used some extra pieces of exhaust piping to make a dolly so that we can roll the car around the shop.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project081.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project074.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project073.jpg

Then today we separated the trans from the motor, removed almost all of the accessories from the motor and got the motor up on a engine dolly. We also took apart the front subframe, removing the suspension and steering components. We are now waiting for our parts washer to get in so that we can clean everything.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project080.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project079.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project069.jpg

Today we got back to work on the M3. We finally pulled the brake system (booster, lines and ABS), the pedal box and the steering column. We also removed the sunroof cassette and then cleaned the entire shell down with Castrol Super Clean and the pressure washer.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project083.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project082.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project098.jpg

:eek2 I want to be just like you guys when I grow up. Seriously, thats coming along great!

Crazy car man!

right now we are waiting for the fab shop to make our roll cage. will update once we receive and install it.

We were a little slow in the shop on Friday so we decided to break down the engine and stick them into our new parts washing machine. We found the blown head gasket, and some bolts floating around inside of the oil pan, but the cams and head seemed to be in pretty good shape.


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project100.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project115.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project099.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project117.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project118.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project119.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project120.jpg

seems like a hell of a project. fun =] more pics please!

Subscribed!!!

Today we began paint prep and rust repair. We started with empory cloth on the interior to scuff the red paint to prep it for the new black paint. We also began working on the rust which will all be taken care of before we put in the cage or paint. we also re mounted the doors and removed the window regulators.



http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/P1010010.jpghttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/P1010009.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/P1010008.jpghttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/P1010007.jpg



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Continued rust repair...


http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project022-1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project021-1.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project019-1.jpg
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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project017-1.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project015.jpg

Continued rust repair and we finally received our new radiator support. So today we cut out the old bent support and began fabing in the new support.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project001.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project002.jpg
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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project011-1.jpg
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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project015-1.jpg
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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project017-2.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project018-2.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project019-2.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project020-2.jpg

Really wish i had this sort of time, place and materials to work on mine :(

This is awesome! You guys should be filming this and make a TV series called "Track My M3" or something...

nice
!!!!!

Nice work, subscribed. :)

Today we finally received the roll cage and the race seats. We began fab-ing the roll cage to make sure that everything is going to fit and we cut out the rear seat backs so we have better access to the rear shock towers so they can be reinforced for the rear coilovers and so that the X-brace of the cage can go through to the strut towers. We also took the car off of the rolling stand we built and tack welded it to our four post lift (so its not going anywhere anytime soon).



http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project001-1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project002-1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project003-1.jpg

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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project006-1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project007-1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project008-1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project009-2.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project010-2.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project011-2.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/Ronin009/Random/E30%20M3/M3Project012-2.jpg

the work looks great. looking forward to seeing more!

Subscribed. :)

subscribed :0

cage is looking good....exactly what I want to do with my e30 M

Bad News: We let one of the technicians in the shop go, so we have been slammed recently with no time to work on the M3. :(

Good News: I got a promotion to General Manager of the shop. Yay me! LOL. :)

Bad News: We let one of the technicians in the shop go, so we have been slammed recently with no time to work on the M3. :(

Good News: I got a promotion to General Manager of the shop. Yay me! LOL. :)


Good for you but that sucks your work time has decreased so much. I cant find time to work on mine either, im hoping i can start clearing up my weekends to work on it

Project looks great and I cant wait to see more of it. Hope you can find time to work on it! congrats on the promotion too

that exhaust has already been recycled, we are planning on going side exit by the passenger side door.

You should mold that bish into the side skirt. It would look great.

You should mold that bish into the side skirt. It would look great.

this is what i plan on doing but im not sure how well it will work