E30 Zone

This projects been running since September 2010, initially I was only gonna do the m3 body conversion with all OEM parts but a blown engine resulted in a change of plans. My convertible is a 318i, mauritius blue with grey leathers, electric hood, bottle tops etc. Here goes with all the bits ive collected


BODY SPEC

E30 M3 FRONT BUMPER
E30 M3 BACK BUMPER
E30 M3 FRONT WINGS
E30 M3 CONVERTIBLE SIDE SKIRTS
E30 M3 CONVERTIBLE REAR QUARTERS (NEW)
E30 M3 EVO LIP
E30 ALPINA 2.7 ELECTRIC WING MIRRORS
E30 M3 CONVERTIBLE COMPLETE LEATHER INTERIOR(EXTNDD)
E30 M3 SPORT EVO STEERING WHEEL AND GEARKNOB (NEW)
E30 M3 FOG LAMPS, SHADOWLINE KIT, FACELIFT MHW SMOKED(yep, im keeping the facelift lights!!!! sue me!!!), INDICATORS.
BBS RC 035/038 8X17 9X17
E36 M3 EVO FRONT STRUT SETUP
E36 COMPACT TI TRAILING ARMS

ENGINE

This was purchased off UweM3 off the zone, nice chap and very helpful, he gave me the heads up on everything about the conversion

Z3M S50B32
5 SPEED TRANSMISSION
E30 3.25 DIFF
AKG MOUNTS
ALL THE OTHER BITS N BOBS NEEDED FOR CONVERSION EXCEPT BTB SETUP.

Theres probably tonnes of other stuff which i have forgot to mention like bumper mounts, guides etc but im sure they'll pop up along the way.








The car went into the bodyshop for conversion last week, 'frenchie' at universal car clinic (Bradford) is the man responsible for all cosmetic conversions.....his azz is on the line!!!

First hurdle we came across was the E30 M3 front bumper guides would not fit as the front panel which sits behind the front bumper (318i) were blocking access to the side of the chassis where the guides need welding. Panel was chopped accordingly to accommodate. Also, as the front wings were off a coupe we're having to chop the bottoms off the existing wings and welded onto the M3 ones.










chopped front panel with front bumper guide, i think alot more of the front panel will be coming off as it seems to foul the mid section of the bumper...












I've bought 5 litres of Alpinweiss 3 paint (code 300) from Gregg Howell in southam, he is one of the best resprayers in the trade and specialises in the VW scene, i needed the paint mix to be spot on so Gregg was a must...his paint is excellent and his bodyshop has created some amazing projects including a diamondschwartz E30 M3, check him out online.

Let me know what you guys think off the following:-
Alpinweiss 3 vs grey interior vs black hood vs black bumper tape vs mirror polished bbs??? any suggestions??? bare in mind the alpineweiss and the interior wont be changed now until i rob another bank so......

Have you seen the work from the body shop?

Just to me looks a little small and with stuff all over the place like that never makes me fells the job is going to be a good one!

untidy workshop = untidy paint job!

apart from that good luck with the engine conversion!
Am doing the same myself at the minute and have spent a number of hours doing very small jobs.

BTW get Dan the man to sort your wiring!

Looks

I love the Alpineweiss 3. Maybe it's just me but a car always looks new and bright in that color. So I say go for it. But I'm not a big fan of black hoods, not even carbon fiber ones. Polished BBS are okay. They look good nonetheless.

crossie wrote:Have you seen the work from the body shop?

Just to me looks a little small and with stuff all over the place like that never makes me fells the job is going to be a good one!

untidy workshop = untidy paint job!

apart from that good luck with the engine conversion!
Am doing the same myself at the minute and have spent a number of hours doing very small jobs.

BTW get Dan the man to sort your wiring!

Yeah it is a mess but that's just one part of the workshop....hes just putting the parts on in that section to see if they line up right. I've seen his work and its impressive. He's got a new oven on its way next week also.

Dan is gonna be doing the loom as soon as I get round to sending it him, chokka block at work!!!

Still not sure on what colour hood and bumper tape, I know its not a biggy but it might end up looking odd. Do you think blue hood and custom made blue bumper tape would go well with white car grey interior and polished wheels, is there someone who can Photoshop it for me????

I'd stick with a black hood, not that blue would look bad. Facelift rear lights though...

RoadHazard wrote:But I'm not a big fan of black hoods, not even carbon fiber ones.

He's talking roof rather than bonnet!

There's no getting away from the fact its a replica as its right hand drive and to be honest the prefacelift taillights don't really tickle my fancy so facelift it is...

where could i find one of these and what is it off?!

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6882/imag0409v.jpg

randomspeedfreak wrote:where could i find one of these and what is it off?!

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6882/imag0409v.jpg

That's from an M3 Evo3, illuminated gearknob.
I'm having some more made atm, but all in ones with gaitor.

randomspeedfreak wrote:where could i find one of these and what is it off?!

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6882/imag0409v.jpg

Take the plastic bit off which shows the gear pattern. scratch the paint of on the rear side of the gear pattern (it's grooved). fit LED in the gear knob and refit plastic bit. Job done, £1.50 cost and a bit of patience.

Slow progress.....sourced a set of m3 convertible doors, waiting for them to land before work can continue, interior should be reconned by this weekend......hopefully! will get flicks up soon.

maynee007 wrote:Slow progress.....sourced a set of m3 convertible doors, waiting for them to land before work can continue, interior should be reconned by this weekend......hopefully! will get flicks up soon.

don't forget to send these two brackets back to me when you take them off please

no problem.....any ideas on which way to go with the induction kit???

Looking forward to seeing what they do with the rear fenders....Keep us posted

rear quarters are already welded on, adjustments have been made to tail light ends so facelift lights stay as they are. pictures coming soon, ive been out of action with a broken hand!!!

The new spraybooth!!!!



he just finished this Ford pickup

e30 m3 doors.......cheers pete!!!





rear quarters looking good!



inner wing was beaten out to meet new quarters!

that will be nice when its done, i wanted to do that with mine or another, will look the dogs, i had chance of an lhd coupe so would have looked real!

cheers shadrack, body should be done by end of next week, then its the lump!!!!

maynee007 wrote:cheers shadrack, body should be done by end of next week, then its the lump!!!!

make sure you get some pics im loving it, most of us wont never own a real m3 e30 so thats the way forward

A few more picks.....



frenchie has used ends of 318i quarters to weld onto m3 quarters to allow facelift taillights to sit right




check the makeshift rear bumper bolts!!! i think frenchie's gone mad on the welding!!!






the oem doors were a blessing, no need for fibreglass and filling!!!

M3 Tail-lights! pre-facelift vs facelift....what say u?

more pics of the taillight rear quarter mod











thats better!!!

there seems to be a small shi**y gap running all along the rear bumper that frenchie seems to think is standard, when you push the bumper towards the front of the car the gap disappears along the back but seems to graduate as it approaches rear wheel, if you stop pushing, it seems to run equally all around the bumper but looks odd????

looks like this guy had the same problem but dealt with it!







I'm still not sure though, shouldn't it sit flush???...somehow???


Also, I was trying to search E30's in Alpine White 3 and couldn't find any. Wanted to see the colour on the shape to see if it looks as good as it does on the new beemers

in all fairness I think you're getting involved with being ultra anal. I'd lose whatever is making it look like a cheap double glazed window as in the lower picture and drive the thing

Funny that is.......id describe the gap in the rear as ultra anal!!!:-D

we beg to differ

you're losing road time

this issue isnt really stalling the build, its just something being dealt with simultaneously!!!....no additional road time being lost!!

Looking good then

Personally I overlook these things until the mechaincals are sorted.. But then generally forget completely. In the case of your bumper we're talking about millimetre accuracy which is wholly annoying I agree

Just getting the last few bits for the engine conversion and i'm a bit confused regards what brake servo/mater cylinder setup to go with....I didnt want to be chopping the firewall or moving stuff so apparently im left with clio servo, audi s2, 325ix & golf!!!! I wanna know which one has worked best for s50b32???

maynee007 wrote:Just getting the last few bits for the engine conversion and i'm a bit confused regards what brake servo/mater cylinder setup to go with....I didnt want to be chopping the firewall or moving stuff so apparently im left with clio servo, audi s2, 325ix & golf!!!! I wanna know which one has worked best for s50b32???

None of the above servos will fit without moving it over!! The clio servo is the best i have used by far, Moving it over is not a hard job

This is looking good!!!!

Very rude of me, and i don't expect an answer, but I would love to know what you're spending on the panels, fitting, spraying (complete bodywork!!!)???
I was thinking it must be coming up to M3 prices, so I had a look on pistonheads and the cheapest is £25k!!! So i was wrong!!!
This is def the best way to go - and you'll have exactly what you want and with more power than standard too!!!

Always wanted an M3 cabby
And rhd just makes it easier to manage!!!

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated!!! I'm just itching to get it done now, frenchie's been getting some bread and butter jobs done at the bodyshop before he starts painting. Also waiting for interior to return as horseshoe compartment lid needs prepping for spraying, that lands end of next week.....can't wait.

still can't find any pictures of e30s in the new white.....anyone???