Hartge M3 restoration

[A4-AHV]

Where do I start?

Bought this M3 over the phone...


Didn't look so bad, from what little I could see. Got to the other end of the country, it was too late them. I had bought it.

Got it home...







With a bit of research it turns out to be a genuine RHD Hartge conversion done my Birds in the late 80's

In the history file there was the remains of a Fast Lane magazine from 1991. Turns out that the car featured is mine.

Here's what it looked like back then...





and here's a Birds / Hartge advert from the same magazine



I will be posting more photos / information throughout the resoration / rebuild. Hope you enjoy it.

[m_jermyn]

Wow great car there mate.... All is not as it seems hey. Bet your heart sank when you saw it in the flesh but then started pumping again when you relised what it was...

Good luck with the build resto

[Jhonno]

So it's 'just' a RHD converted M3 done by Birds..? Or something else as well?

Shell looks pretty fooked! Hope it was cheap..

[csl]

Windynook motorsport????............i know that garage but didnt know they had anything to do with Hartge?

[ImysE30]

Did you buy this from Merseyside?

[A4-AHV]

So it's 'just' a RHD converted M3 done by Birds..? Or something else as well?

Shell looks pretty fooked! Hope it was cheap..

Hartge engine, suspension, etc. Cheap enough

[A4-AHV]

Did you buy this from Merseyside?

Got it off a guy from Merseyside, was in Carlise. Do you know the car?

[kieran325]

Liverpool by any chance ??

[ImysE30]

Did you buy this from Merseyside?

Got it off a guy from Merseyside, was in Carlise. Do you know the car?

Looks like the one Ata was breaking, the first picture looks familiar

[bss325i]

A rare find! If you bought it from Ata i hope its as described.

One thing i will say, and i'll be brutally honest, is that shell is seriously fu cked!

Do you do body work yourself or will you be paying someone?

To sort that properly it needs to be repaired on a jig to sort that front end out and return perfect chassis alignment specs.
Kos on here had to replace a complete front end on his M3 shell, shame he had his thread deleted byt im sure he still has some pics.

Also, is the A pillar bent/damaged as the way the windscreen has smashed looks like it potentially be?

Also, is the roof bent in any way because the rear screen roof hoop looks to have been pushed into the O/S/R quarter panel?

I ask these questions as repairing heavy front chassis rail and inner wing damage is one thing but the others as well? I dunno if its viable.

If you're not a body work specialist then i would be speaking to beardymatt at least for some advice.

Sorry to sound so negative but its important you know what you're letting your self in for. Again apologies if any of this has sounded patronising, im just offering my help from the experience in this field.

Maximum respect if you do pull this off though! Its a HUGE amount of work and is going to cost ALOT of money, even if you're doing it yourself!

[e21Jason]

Zerocool has an e30 m3 rolling shell for sale, order a new scuttle job done

[Jhonno]

So it's 'just' a RHD converted M3 done by Birds..? Or something else as well?

Shell looks pretty fooked! Hope it was cheap..

Hartge engine, suspension, etc. Cheap enough

What Hartge engine? Details? Still the original?

[bss325i]

Zerocool has an e30 m3 rolling shell for sale, order a new scuttle job done

THIS!

I even thing zerocools shell is the same colour!

[A4-AHV]

Busy day in the garage today, finished stripping the sell.

Cleaning the good parts, wrapping them up ready to store in the loft. Could be up there for some time!!!

You all know how hard a good dash is to find...





Then I started removing the bent items, there's a few of them!





I knew those genuine repair panels I've been holding on to for years would come in! Finally got one worth doing.

[A4-AHV]

It came as a bare shell. The original engine was a Hartge rebuilt unit (evo spec), but I've got a e36 3.2 evo lump for the time been. Aswell as the panel work, I have all the M3 / Hartge suspension / running gear in the loft.

Would like to buy the engine back in the future (for originality), not a big fan of the M10, oh I mean S14. LOL!

Have done a lot of metalwork in the past and this isn't a weekend job, so I'll be doing all the work myself. I'm removing all the bent items, then I'll take it over to a friend of mines, to jig it before fitting the new panel work.

I bought a mint M3 last year but had no attachment to it, like I did with my prievious e30's. I think because there was nothing for me to do to it, so I've gone the other way with this one.

[MrBenn]

Fair play for taking this on. I also made enquiries into this but it was too much work for me.

I also bought and sold an M3 last year, for pretty much the same reason, but I still have my shitbox track car, just because I've built it from the ground up

[A4-AHV]

Just trying to build the best car for me. The stunning looks of an e30 M3, the power or a e36 M3 and the practicallity of being RHD. Oh, the one indoors still isn't not allowed to drive it.

[bss325i]

Fair play to you then!

Pacerpete has some M3 panels, might be worth pm'ing him.

[A4-AHV]

Got my order in, LOL!

Just found this in the back of the magazine



Right at the top...

[beardymat]

Will be similar to mine when done then, albeit rhd. I heard about this shell and was thinking of buying it to restore and eventually build mine into. Better find another now.

Good luck with the restoration and engine swap.

[billcarr182]

You've picked quite an expensive time to restore a Hartge. Getting parts from the period will cost more than the M3 bits!

[A4-AHV]

I've been collecting for years, waiting for the right project. Hording parts that "you'll never use" has finally paid off

[csl]

Got my order in, LOL!

Just found this in the back of the magazine



Right at the top...

I'll never look at that garage in the same light again!
Some very nice stuff for sale back then.

[n1tr0_9]

Got my order in, LOL!

Just found this in the back of the magazine



Right at the top...

I'll never look at that garage in the same light again!
Some very nice stuff for sale back then.

Yeah, Carlton GSI!

[goosiegander]

Maximum respect dude!

thats where i started...

I'll look forward to seeing updates as this progresses

[A4-AHV]

It's official, can't move house until the car's finished. Running out of places for storing parts.

[magpie]

watching with interest,

[dimebag_from_hell]

Fuck that looks well, what a project!

[Francisco]

I got a set of 16 Hartge's for sale if you need them... ;) (I know it's cheeky of me but I couldn't resist)

[e30topless]

your a brave man ! I walked away from this even at £300 it scared me !

did you buy the shell with it's ID ?

[A4-AHV]

your a brave man ! I walked away from this even at £300 it scared me !

did you buy the shell with it's ID ?

Yeh, I bought it with the ID. It does look a lot better now, without so much bent metalwork. Thank god!

[Jhonno]

Genuinely it's great to see one being saved.. Especially one so, erm, fooked..

I honestly hope you paid about as much as e30topless was scared away with though..

Shall be keeping an eye on the progress though

[l16ydl]

Good luck in trying to get this back to its former glory. Should look really nice once its done.

[dimebag_from_hell]

Genuinely it's great to see one being saved.. Especially one so, erm, fooked..

I honestly hope you paid about as much as e30topless was scared away with though..

Shall be keeping an eye on the progress though

Surely the id alone is worth more than 300 quid?

Its in bad nick but any real good bodyman that knows his way around m3's could save it. Sure its not going to be cheap but when it comes to projects like this, its not about money.

[MrBenn]

Rear window 'hoop' and rear window - NLA. ID, boot lid and spoiler, rear quarter panel, etc, I'd have ripped your arm off at £300! I suspect there is an amount of exaggerating going on. I know what the seller wanted for it and it was more than that, not my place to say though.