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Thread: Back to its roots - the BMW M3

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    1988 M3, 2011 E90 M3

    Back to its roots - the BMW M3

    There is no doubt that I am very blessed. I have a great career and it also allows me to do some things with cars that I used to only dream about. A little over 10 years ago I was a 3rd year dental student thinking about when to start a family. My biggest issue was that I was going to have to sell my 1991 300ZX Twin Turbo in favor for something with a back seat. There was no doubt that my first choice was an E36 M3 sedan. It didn’t take long and I was a proud owner. It just so happened that the E46 M3 was about to come out and at the time it was my total dream car, but just too far out of reach. The E36 just fit the bill for me. In a few years I completed my graduate training and began practicing orthodontics. This opened up the opportunity to buy an E46 M3 and leave my E36 for garage queen status…..life was grand! At that time I thought it would be so cool to own every model M3. Then one day it presented itself. My brother offered by buy my E36 M3 to make room and into the garage came what you see in this thread. I bought this car from a true car enthusiast who owned many collector cars. He “saved” this car from Texas and spent a small fortune restoring it. The car was special to him and many other enthusiasts because of its color combination. This is my 1988 E30 M3 – Henna/Black.

    I asked my brother, ppower, to do a photoshoot on this car while it was mostly stock. Since I have owned the car I have put the in EVO3 interior parts and the leather door cards and console. I have suspension ready to go on the car and some BBS wheels. I also have an EVO2 front lip and EVO3 trunk lid and wing to put on the car. All the mods are listed in my garage. I hope you all enjoy the photos!!

    Exterior:
    Euro grills
    Euro tow hook covers
    "BMW Motorsport" door handles
    Cibie CSR headlights
    Black headlight rings

    Interior:
    EVO III steering wheel
    EVO III shift knob
    EVO III shift boot
    EVO III hill brake handle
    EVO III seatbelts (red)
    EVO II door strips
    Euro M3 cabrio leather door panels
    Euro M3 cabrio leather center console

    Wheels/Tires:
    E28 M5 wheels
    Bridgestone S03 pole position – 225/45/16

    Engine/Drivetrain:
    Sport EVO airbox
    Sport EVO lightweight flywheel
    Euro dog-leg close ratio transmission
    Z3 finned differential cover
    Oil pan baffle
    VAC Motorsports electric fan conversion
    Supersprint exhaust and mid-pipe with resonator

    Parts sitting in my garage:
    AKG engine and tranny mounts
    BBS RK - 17x8.5 ET15
    BBS RK - 18x8.5 ET13
    AST 4200's with Swift Springs and thrust sheets
    EVO II front splitter
    EVO III trunk lid
    EVO III adjustable wing

    Wishlist:
    VAC Motorsports 2.5 liter engine

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    Last edited by Justin(OKC); 11-19-2011 at 10:21 PM.
    Justin Power

    1988 BMW ///M3
    Henna Red / Black

    1990 BMW ///M3 race car
    Diamond Black / Black

    1998 BMW ///M3 Sedan
    Alpine White III / Mulberry

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    1991 M3; 2001 M3
    That is just perfect as it stands...do what you can to keep it like that for years to come.

    Igor

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    West Chester, PA
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    98 M3
    I have such a soft spot for e30s... Makes me want to buy one so badly.


  4. #4
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    4 m52s,m50,m20,s52
    Just about perfect.

    Cheif Senior Hitman Engineer 1st Class

    BfcOT Mafia

  5. #5
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    Mar 2001
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    FL
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    E36, E46
    It's not often I like E30's, but that one is pure classic Justin. Almost a shame to see you put the Evo exerior bits on it..

    Too bad you had to give up the sedan but at least it's still in the family!

  6. #6
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    99 740i,535xi,z4 mcoupe
    Love it!

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Watertown, MA
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    Fan-friggin-tastic!


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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
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    1988 M3, 2011 E90 M3
    Quote Originally Posted by jvit27 View Post
    It's not often I like E30's, but that one is pure classic Justin. Almost a shame to see you put the Evo exerior bits on it..

    Too bad you had to give up the sedan but at least it's still in the family!
    I totally see what you mean. I've had the parts for over a year and still haven't put them on. My mod program on this car is to do nothing that would prevent me from going back to stock. If it were a bubble car I might feel differently, but this thing has 154k miles on it and is in no means perfect condition. I do love the car, though.

    Yes, the M3/4 is still in the family and odds are I will buy it back when my brother gets tired of it and wants to move on.
    Justin Power

    1988 BMW ///M3
    Henna Red / Black

    1990 BMW ///M3 race car
    Diamond Black / Black

    1998 BMW ///M3 Sedan
    Alpine White III / Mulberry

  9. #9
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    FL
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    Quote Originally Posted by Justin(OKC) View Post
    this thing has 154k miles on it and is in no means perfect condition. I do love the car, though.

    Yes, the M3/4 is still in the family and odds are I will buy it back when my brother gets tired of it and wants to move on.
    looks like it has 30k...

    What's his name? I want to beat you to it! j/k

  10. #10
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    Apr 2004
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    Tulsa, Ok
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    310
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    1998 BMW M3/4/5, 06 C55
    Pics just don't do that car justice. It looks amazing in person. Btw, I still haven't seen the e90 in person yet. You need to bring that sucker up to tulsa so I can experience that beast.

    -Richard

  11. #11
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    2009 BMW 335i E90
    Wow.... just....wow

  12. #12
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    FX50S, G35TT, TL, E46 M3
    Very clean... luv the attn. to detail you put into your E30

    PS.. the value of this car will shoot up to the roof in due time.. keep it classy.
    Last edited by NYQUEENZ; 11-18-2011 at 07:57 PM.

  13. #13
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    Shoreline, WA
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    1989 BMW 325is
    Quote Originally Posted by NYQUEENZ
    Very clean... luv the attn. to detail you put into your E30

    PS.. the value of this car will shoot up to the roof in due time.. keep it classy.
    Its gone up about 6 grand in the past year, its not good cause now i cant afford one lol. All the e30 m3's in the northwest are 18k and up.

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by NYQUEENZ View Post
    Very clean... luv the attn. to detail you put into your E30

    PS.. the value of this car will shoot up to the roof in due time.. keep it classy.
    Quote Originally Posted by WSchnitz View Post
    Its gone up about 6 grand in the past year, its not good cause now i cant afford one lol. All the e30 m3's in the northwest are 18k and up.
    Thanks NYQUEENZ! It's nice to hear comments like that as I can pick out all the flaws on the car. It is a nice ride though!!

    These cars are definitely increasing in value. That is the number one reason why I want to mod the car in a "stock-like" fashion with EVO parts and such. I want to be able to also put the car completely back to stock if I need to. Just for reference, these are really expensive cars to mod like this. EVO parts are getting harder and harder to find. The previous owner gave me receipts totaling $30k that he spent going through the car and he didn't even touch the motor. He mainly refreshed the entire suspension to stock, EVO flywheel, dogleg tranny with differential, interior from a car with 30k miles, touchup paintwork but not a total respray. My quote for the engine I want to do is in the $22k range, but that is for a DTM type 2.5L. If I just did a conservative rebuild and left it a 2.3 it would be considerably less. In the end, I want something unique (reasonably), classy, and well done. I like the mods that the people "in the know" can see and appreciate.
    Justin Power

    1988 BMW ///M3
    Henna Red / Black

    1990 BMW ///M3 race car
    Diamond Black / Black

    1998 BMW ///M3 Sedan
    Alpine White III / Mulberry

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    robbins, nc
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    2003 BMW M3 convertible
    about as gangster as it gets

  16. #16
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    Tacoma WA
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    95 M3 coupe,E90 328i
    Such a good looking car



  17. #17
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    99 M3 / 95 325i
    wow!!!
    -Chris

  18. #18
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    Beautiful! Very jealous!

  19. #19
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    motor pics?
    98 M3 Coupe
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    Sold Cars
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  20. #20
    Join Date
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    97 M3, 01 S4 Avant
    you lucky dawg you. great find & beautiful car dude wish i had the funds for one

  21. #21
    Join Date
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    '95 M3
    the things i would do for this car..


  22. #22
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    Such a beautiful and great car... always loved the e30 M3. Outstanding job! Keep it up....

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    LA
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    '06 330i sgm
    Sweet car man. These are my favorite shots:

    great "art" shot
    13.


    Is that the original alcantara? did they have that far back?
    18.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by ladius View Post
    Is that the original alcantara? did they have that far back?
    Alcantara was invented in the '70s, but I don't know if it was used on E30 M3s or not.
    '84 325e 32k miles | '98 328i 68k miles | '01 Z3 74K miles | '99 F150 64k miles
    PSN ID: Trevor-TC2
    We retrofit headlights, code BMWs, rekey locks and thoroughly detail cars. Interested or curious? PM us.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by WSchnitz View Post
    Its gone up about 6 grand in the past year, its not good cause now i cant afford one lol. All the e30 m3's in the northwest are 18k and up.
    making it still cheaper to import them from the States to Europe than buying them here. In Germany, you aren't likely to find a single e30 M3 below 25k, most are around 30-40k, Evo models don't sell below 50k and so on...

    Quote Originally Posted by TC2 View Post
    Alcantara was invented in the '70s, but I don't know if it was used on E30 M3s or not.
    The Alcantara interior bits (shifter, steering wheel, hand brake lever) came on Evo models. You can still buy them new afaik.
    Last edited by denyo77; 11-19-2011 at 05:57 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
    Quote Originally Posted by IWannaBMW View Post
    me and her, a saddle, some motor oil and some jumper cables, it would be a hell of a weekend my friends


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