New project M3 -Some Paint!

[Falkster]

I used to do, spent all my late teens and 20s doing something, now I just dont have the time.

[Simon13]

So you can see the appeal! I'd be going along the lines if the shell is still twisted then bin it, if not then why not carry on?

[gcs325i]

i think you deserve a medal mate! sick of people breaking m3's for money even in this state they to me are a piece of history that should be cherished and not destroyed for personal finacial gain!

Where are all these m3 you see getting broke? I haven't seen one for a good few years

[Falkster]

So you can see the appeal! I'd be going along the lines if the shell is still twisted then bin it, if not then why not carry on?

I do see the appeal but I want the final produc and not all the waiting, hard work and tears that go with it. I know I couldn't undertake something like that due to lack of time but also not justifying, maybe, 20k+ spend on the car.....that is why I didnt bother taking that new M3 shell of my mate. Even though he shell was very good value (3k spend for probably a 10k shell), the overall work would just be too much and wouldnt get finished.

[he30]

Fortune favours the brave my friend, good luck & respect

[goosiegander]

Lol still need to pay for it yet!

Hopefully i'll get it delivered 2 weeks from now -full project time 18-24 months

End result= a very clean genuine shell that should last a long long time,

Si- it was a schnitzer s3 turbo but the engine and running gear is long gone, not sure if it was the origional schnitzer build shell but it was modified for the turbo,

Whoever stripped the engine and running gear went to town...

[skipunda]

proper job very envious all the best

[madaboutthe30]

Goosie go for it mate. Your right, one day that will be worth a lot of money, besides you grow to love your car if it is what you made it as oppose to you just bought it all ready.

Hope your handy with a welder though, and your shelves are stacked with sanding paper

[cliffybabe]

so u got to source a lump for it too???

[Rich_W]

WASTE
OF
TIME


Seriously. Media blasting won't cover it. It NEEDS to be dipped. And whoever quoted you £6K has clearly never done this sort of thing before. To get that shell back to anywhere near mint you'll be looking at 15-20K

[M3Jim]

BALLS OF STEEL!!

As said earlier if you've got the time and more importantly the money then go for it!
The sense of achievement when you finish will far out way the cost. Good luck

[goosiegander]

as it stands i've got 197ish bhp out of The m20 and i might look at an s50 transplant later down the line. and just to really upset the purists this will be converted to Rhd. oh and thanks for the encouragement it would be far easier to listen to the Nae-sayers and give up before i start lol!

[Alex]

how can someone let an m3 go like that

good luck though, most would have put it on the scales

[pony2]

I wish you the best of luck Goosie.

I thought my M3 was relatively rust free.



After Pacerpete had a good poke around he found this, the tip of an iceberg.

[oakey]

^ oh dear

[Lars]

Good luck with the project!
Looking forward to any update!

[pony2]

It is ok Pacerpete is on the case. But it shows how easy it is to assume a car has little rot when inspecting the obvious areas, it is not until you have a poke around and remove bits that you find the true horror.

Have another.

[goosiegander]

[goosiegander]

Spoke with the vendor yesterday and the shell will be delivered in two weeks time,

Can get hold of e36 m3 front legs, not sure if they are evo ones yet and a set of compact rear trailing arms

[Falkster]

as it stands i've got 197ish bhp out of The m20 and i might look at an s50 transplant later down the line. and just to really upset the purists this will be converted to Rhd. oh and thanks for the encouragement it would be far easier to listen to the Nae-sayers and give up before i start lol!

I know you're not in it for the money, however it is going to cost you a fortune to get it completed. Why the hell would you want to s50 it then?
Get any old heap of sh*t and stick one in.....I dont understand getting a shell thats gonna take years to sort, convert it to RHD and then stick a different engine in.
If you're going to keep it forever then crack on but when it comes to selling it, you'll have 20-25k spent and a car worth f'call......but a car worth f'call thats in mint condition with no rust!

[goosiegander]

as it stands i've got 197ish bhp out of The m20 and i might look at an s50 transplant later down the line. and just to really upset the purists this will be converted to Rhd. oh and thanks for the encouragement it would be far easier to listen to the Nae-sayers and give up before i start lol!

I know you're not in it for the money, however it is going to cost you a fortune to get it completed. Why the hell would you want to s50 it then?
Get any old heap of sh*t and stick one in.....I dont understand getting a shell thats gonna take years to sort, convert it to RHD and then stick a different engine in.
If you're going to keep it forever then crack on but when it comes to selling it, you'll have 20-25k spent and a car worth f'call......but a car worth f'call thats in mint condition with no rust!

Your opinion is noted.

To everyone else thanks for the encouragement hopefully this will be an interesting project

[jimbojetset]

go for it hope u make it a beauty

[Rich_W]

oh and thanks for the encouragement it would be far easier to listen to the Nae-sayers and give up before i start lol!

Don't confuse "encouragement" with "lets make him waste his money" and "nay sayers" for "people who know what they are talking about and are warning you"

[Jon_Bmw]

oh and thanks for the encouragement it would be far easier to listen to the Nae-sayers and give up before i start lol!

Don't confuse "encouragement" with "lets make him waste his money" and "nay sayers" for "people who know what they are talking about and are warning you"

+1

I don't know how much the shell is worth and what you are paying for it, but you would be financially better off lending!!!! 12k, buying a good one and paying back the money. You also get the benefit of an s14 and being able to drive it, instantly.

[djk]

Hmmm... If you go ahead with this, I've be watching it avidly on here, but are you really sure you want to blow that much cash on something that will never be right? Cut any corners, however small, and you'll end up with a dog of a car. Avoid corner-cutting, completely, and you end up with a nice car, sure, but it still won't be worth a fart and you'll have spent big, BIG, money getting there. It's your money and you can do what you want with it, but bloody hell, there have got to be better projects than this.

Having said all that, I have to wish you good luck with it - if no-one took on things like this, there would only be boring, tailpipe polishers like me on car forums (fora!) and that would be, well, sh1t.

[harry_p]

whilst i'm all for 'saving' an m3, please think carefully about the running gear, if it's going to be running on compact and e36 suspension with an m20 lump is there any point 'restoring' an m3 shell, afterall it won't really be an m3 any more, you may aswell start with a normal rot free e30 and attach the m3 body bits.

e36 bits are the wrong geometry and wrong offset, even with fancy bushes it'll never be quite right.

an s50'd m3 i have no problem with, it's a proper M motor, and s14s are expensive to buy and even more expensive to get to near 300bhp.

[yetti24]

needs plenty of work but you will be fine , as long as its straight , my one was a shell with few other parts , i found that most parts will fit from another e30 , so the best thing to do ius find an old complete 2 door e30 , dont do what i did and spend half your life in the scrapyard getting parts you forgot the last time , good luck in my opinion any e30 m3 is worth saving more and more are getting smashed up at trackdays

[yetti24]

and i would go with what harry-p says put an s50 lump in it thats what i have done with mine

[daimlerman]

Oh,wow,what a project to take on!
Converting to RHD will,of course,take all the M3 special value,but what the f***,it's your project and it's up to you what you do with it.
I am starting to find with my latest one that the stangest things are NLA or just 'difficult' to find,all part of the fun of doing something different.
Not too sure on the S50 thing,M3 has a lovely high revving screamer of a 4 pot,part of the charm IMO.
But it's your car,you do just what you want,will watch with interest.

[goosiegander]

Edited... cg

[Jon_Bmw]

I think that was a blessing personally.

[goosiegander]

i think you are right,

[yetti24]

just a note in may 2008 pbmw mag theres a guy whos with an e30 m3 and he bought a lotec engine and parts from a schnitzer e30 m3 in salvage yard , gotta be out of the same car there arent many around

[goosiegander]

yip,

[yetti24]

you could try emailing aversracers@hotmail.co.uk i know he was breaking a couple of e30 m3s just got a diff from him , he might sell you a shell , worth a try ?