This true story will make you weep... E30 M3 3.2 Conversion

[Simon]

OK Rob, I see what you mean now, sorry, it initially sounded like a brag!

For more info on Wayne's conversion, read this thread, took him all of 5 months to complete...

http://www.bmwcarclubforum.co.uk/forum_ ... 14616&PN=2

You might also be interested in reading this one too...

http://www.bmwcarclubforum.co.uk/forum_ ... 14243&PN=5

[Simon]

Oh and oi dbanbery, sort that stupid avatar out !

[MFree]

Simon

YEah I see what you mean! ReEEEEEEEEEEspect to Wayne!

Both the skill and the patience! It took him half the time my car has been justy as its LATEST location let alone the other 5!!!

I have news, John let me know just before his trip away that he's got a RHD carpet (massive hoorahs!) at last and the loom which had to go back to be re-braided will be collected in a week, the two remaining panels are being sprayed and the car is being worked on while he's away - so we have basically all the parts to complete now barring the two panels to be returned. The carbon rear wing from Markus Glaum is stunning, its HUGE!

So hopefully it really will be a matter of a week or two now...

I can hardly believe it still, when i saw it I still found it hard to believe that after this crazy 5 year saga that this was actually MY M3 in front of me!!! I got quite emotional actually...

I will update the journal when John gets back

Tara

///MFree

[jonb]

dbanbery

sort the avatar out! its pissing everyone off.

[ian332isport]

As much as I don't like to delete posts, I have deleted dbanbery's post with the excessively large and rather annoying avatar.

It should be a bit easier for you guys to read now.

Cheers,

Ian.

[Simon]

Simon

YEah I see what you mean! ReEEEEEEEEEEspect to Wayne!

Both the skill and the patience! It took him half the time my car has been justy as its LATEST location let alone the other 5!!!

I have news, John let me know just before his trip away that he's got a RHD carpet (massive hoorahs!) at last and the loom which had to go back to be re-braided will be collected in a week, the two remaining panels are being sprayed and the car is being worked on while he's away - so we have basically all the parts to complete now barring the two panels to be returned. The carbon rear wing from Markus Glaum is stunning, its HUGE!

So hopefully it really will be a matter of a week or two now...

I can hardly believe it still, when i saw it I still found it hard to believe that after this crazy 5 year saga that this was actually MY M3 in front of me!!! I got quite emotional actually...

I will update the journal when John gets back

Tara

///MFree

Rob, I assume you've bought a carbon sport evo spoiler from Markus?
Would you mind commenting on the quality of it? I've bought the gurney flap from him, and that is top quality.

[Simon]

As much as I don't like to delete posts, I have deleted dbanbery's post with the excessively large and rather annoying avatar.

It should be a bit easier for you guys to read now.

Cheers,

Ian.

Thanks Ian, I've got no problem with it being deleted!

[MFree]

Simon - of course mate - I actually bought the Evo Sport DTM rear wing (the larger flap), the front splitter to attach to the Evo II front valance from C3 and the DTM vented mirrors in carbon also.

I have to say that they are all of exceptional quality when you look at the fact that they are not much more in price that some are chargin for GRP examples!

I cant fault then but I havent had THAT long to scrutinise, all i saw was that the carbon lay up was very very smooth and flat and there appeared to be none or very little evidence of seams where they had to be cleaned up. I will take some photos when i get the car back innit...

MFree

[MFree]

I was hoping i could take the car to the final Kuhmo BMW championship race because i am aiming to racein the series next year, but its the 24th which is just over a week away which is a shame...

Looking at the tasks yet to complete, the biggest ones as far as i can see are getting the inside consistently re-trimmed and the roll cage. Can anyone recommend personally a good trimmer? I want to ge my new red (ooh ouch) sparco corse seats and my blue pinstriped (double ouch!) M3 rear bench re-trimmed in grey/black alcantera... i dont want to spend the earth (cant afford to) but equally want a good job done....

And can anyone point me in the direction of a roll cage new OR second hand? The type that doesnt require the dash to be hacked up is preferable...

cheers

MFree

[MFree]

I know ive been saying for months on end "its nearly finished" about my car, but basically since the photos were postd of it back at Zoom with the major mechanicals back in, nothing has happened on the car, but finally John is devoting his very precious and busy time this week solely to my car, the loom is back, the final few pieces of bodywork that were not painted have been done and the interior is going back in now that the decision was finally made to install a RHD carpet then have it modified to cater for the different shape of the two footwells given the LHD nature of the car. I just need to find a trimmer who can re-stitch around the areas of the footwell that need re-shaping and also perhaps who can quote for re-triming my red sparco seats back to grey/black and the same for the rear seat too.

Other than minor trim parts and badges, I think its a Meccano job mostly just re-assembling what had already been fitted and tried out prior to the paintjob being done...

I cant wait to see John's lush airbox setup on the motor, which if any of you dont know, its a polished ally cylindrical unit with the 6 tubes coming off it to feed the intake ports, looks kind of like an Formula 3 airbox - really compact and tidy...

Mmmm... Im getting nervy though now as its been so long now, so many years and even so long just At Zoom that part of me still just wont accept or believe that im actually going to get behind the wheel of this beast in the forseeable future!!! Not wanting to sound too gay about it, I guess its a defence mechanism to avoid continual dissapointment thats developed through so many years of let downs and being screwed over through the project being dealt so many blows by so many crooked and incompetent "specialists"!

Believe me, as soon as I get it, i will be posting photos of it from every angle possible! BTW, it looks like the DTM style vented wing mirrors are like the rear 'flipper' wing and front splitter, going to be in open carbon fibre finish, of course this would have looked ideal had i gone with the grey colour, but i hope will stilll look nice with the deep red colour as well??? If not the alternative is to paint them with a translucent mix of the body colour red, so you can see the carbon through the paint finish yknow?

We will see in time i guess whats what.

Right, Ive waffled on enough, I'd better get on with some work!

Laters

///MFree

edit: P.S - I bet Wayne who owns the lovely orange M3 pictured further up the page is going to be mightily peeved about Total BMW Magazine's "Project Jagermeister" no? they are basically going to create a race replica car identical to his... you would have thoughtN SOMEONE within that publication would be aware of Waynes M3 already and hence go for something else as its already been done and whats more its hard to see them doing a better job of it right??? Crazy....

[Stevin]

I think it will look really hot with the CF bits, and it would look even better if in the future u converted to a CF Bonnet... I think that would really suit the car... especially in that hot red u got on there

[MFree]

I know I have said "its nearly ready" UNTOLD times, but this time the assessment of the time remaining on the project is from John himself, he thinks 2 weeks maximum now


THe major hurdle has been the engine loom which never came back from being braided, so John has another one to strip from an E36 Evo breaker, other than that, its just the bodykit to fix on and mounting the seats in the right place for my long legs! John rekons the propshaft needs balancing as it looks like GTS Motorsport, those fine examples of reasonable charges and high standards of work (NOT) just welded the E30 and E36 props together without checking the balance... nothing surprises me with those crooks...

WHen complete and prior to its MOT test, John is very kindly gonna take me to Bruntingthorpe to test the car and all its new parts... That way nothing bad can break on the road, it iwll do it at Bruntingthorpe first! or at least thats the theory anyway!!!

I have to sort a Thatchem 2 iimmobiliser as well, but other than this its just detail stuff that i still have in my posession to go on the car, my custom angel eye lights, steering wheel etc

More soon

MFree

[dlatch33]

ain't this done yet?

lol its going about the same pace as my kart project

[MFree]

Yes mate... the fact hasnt escaped me as you can see, ive waited over 5 frickin years and the cars been botched and bastardised by 4 separate so called specialists before Zoom, and though ZOom have taken a while, its mostly because we have an unusual work contra arrangement and becasue the job has been complicated as well as Zoom moving premises during this time as well as Johns car crash a while back.

Despite this, i cannot fault ANYTHING Zoom have done, their work is just the best quality out there, the attention to detail and ability to get all elements done right is just second to none.

Its worth the wait - i hope the same can be said of your Kart project!!!

Cheers

MFree

[MFree]

HI anyone that's still following this... I'm still being positive about the project, Im in weekly contact with John at Zoom, the continual delays are not really related to my car, but to other projects and issues, but the car although not finished still, has moved on some more I'm told, we have an engine loom at last albeit not the original one! The dash has yet to go back in, but the rest of the interior has shaped up ok, other than sorting the electrics out, its really now only a matter of the bodykit, bootlid and my Angel Eye lights that ive made - the rest is all there.

I would have a go at saying WHEN it will be back with me, but all previous estimates have proven pure folly to try and make! The weekend after next is what im hoping for, we will test the car at Bruntingthorpe before sorting any glitches out...

BTW if any of you know (im sure you do) the E30 breakers/spares place in Millmead Industrial Estate in Tottenham, well if you ever visit there then you WILL see the car because my business is in the same estate!

The next update WILL FOR SURE be the 'its finished' one!

Cheers

MFree

[bootyman]

Lets hope so. I feel like i've aged just following this thread. Goodness knows what you must feel like. Take note all those who think only buying house and a death are the most stressful things in life, Building a showcar can be up there with those too.

You're in the home straight now so nearly there

[E30BeemerLad]

Did anyone spot the calypso coloured E30 at Donny at the weekend which was for sale, it was in the main hall, split rims, grey leather re-trim?

I was nattering to the bloke for a while about the conversion M3 3.0 lump. Asked what he was looking for price wise, Ԛ£12K!!!

Saves the hassle I guess, but still a bit steep IMO trying to get back out what he has put in, or am I way off guard here?

[bootyman]

Yeah i spoke to him and he said he wanted Ԛ£12k. I was originally parked next to him and Ron asked me to move as he didn't want similar colour cars together. Nice conversion though, but someone will really, really have to want it to pay Ԛ£12k. Especially when you consider Jason (E30 Gumball) only got about Ԛ£7 k or so for his M-Tech 2 cab with a new respray and an Evo lump. That car was just pure evil. Still no harm in trying to get what you can for your car is there?

[MFree]

Bootyman

hey geez, i know what you mean man... I feel like a father who has been denied access to his only child for 5 years... Anyway look i DID sort the Angel eyes, my position on them is that i know when i get the video and photos of them up, lots of folk here will want a set, but Im not sure if i want to spend 8 hours a day making up sets for people, they do look fantastic, so Im just gonna see what the response is and go from there...

As for WHEN this damn car is going to be back in my posession, i just cant say, John at Zoom has been so good to me in general over all the complex aspects of getting this conversion right that I just cant push him hard to complete, im totally in his hands and he has LOTS of important stuff going on right now... at least the drifting season is over, thats one bonus!!!

As for that E30 mentioned for 12k, that makes me happy, because if he can get 12k for that, with all the kit and expense on my car, mine just HAS to be worth a few K in excess of that!!

I doubt if i will ever recoup the 19k or more ive spent on it but it will probably hold 3/4 of that value for the forseeable future, not that im going to sell it yet...

More when i have it as USUAL!

Cheers

MFree

[dlatch33]

Its worth the wait - i hope the same can be said of your Kart project!!!

The kart will be quicker

[MFree]

yes mate there is that, but on the other hand i wont be being beaten into the corners by oiky 12 year olds who weight 1/2 my weight will I...

LOL

[E30BeemerLad]

sorry to be nosey, what's this kart project?

[MFree]

our man dlatch has a habit of sticking engines into vehicles they dont have any business being in!!!

This one if i remember our conversation on the way up to Zoom was a zzr1100 or fireblade motor in an otherwise standard 100cc kart chassis!!

Or maybe it was a pukka 125cc long circuit gearboxkart... tho if so i dont know why he doesnt just use the normal motors, they are PLENTY rapid enough...

or maybe he went with his gut instinct and stuck a 2.8 capri V6 in it!!!

Fords... hmm...

MFree

[dlatch33]

The plan is

yamaha FZ750 engine + F1 250 gearbox kart chassis

110bhp with scope for easy tuning to 140bhp (no old ford V6 thanks )
it should weigh circa 200kg with me in it which would make the power to weight ratio over 500bhp
I pretty much have all the parts now still trying to sort a rear wing. So fingers crossed it will get started soon its just been one of those years everytime i try and get started another bill needs paying

Mfree
hope to see your machine out on track sometime soon any pic's of the progress?

[stevetigger]

That took some reading!!

[MFree]

Stevetigger - thanks for bothering tho!

Its a saga this one, a true saga with 5 year long acts!

hope to see your machine out on track sometime soon any pic's of the progress?

Edit: My mum always taught me that if you cant say something nice, its best not to say anything at all. The perception of Zoom and the delays in this project are doing enough to their rep as it is, i have done all i can and tried to put whatever positive spin i can on the project in EVERY update, but given what happened yesterday Im now just saying nothing...

MFree

[BenE30]

poor luck mate!! not sure what more you can do either mate!! Seems to me that you keep getting false updates and theses things like, loom wiring etc are not actually there!! seems to me that Zoom are lying!! (correct me if i am wrong)

Really sorry again mate. I hope it is complete soon!!

[ian332isport]

Seems to me that you keep getting false updates and theses things like, loom wiring etc are not actually there!! seems to me that Zoom are lying!! (correct me if i am wrong)

I have to agree with the above. I'm a pretty mellow chap, but I would have kicked off by now

When was the last time you actually saw how much they had done ?

I find turning up without an appointment is always good in these situations. You can get a good feeling of what they are or are not doing. It also keeps them on their toes if you do it a couple of times and catch them out.

I appreciate they are busy, but your project has got to be one of their longest standing (no business can run if it never finishes a job), so they must be doing other work, and leaving yours to wait. Once they start doing this, it often continues unless you nip it in the bud..

Hopefully you can get this sorted soon.

Ian.

[MFree]

I dont think anyone has LIED... i think there has been some how should i say it, statements that reflect where they WANT the car to be or think it will be before i next see it, so it gets given to me to keep me happy-ish... but its all a reflection of the pressure they are under, they have had a hard ride and some knocks of late, but its nothing they cant sort out, its just a question of clearing the decks and moving into the new location which is superb i gather... and some better time management and not taking on projects like MINE probably!!!

Would help!

Anyway this seems to have gotten out of hand, my views are my views and i dont want this to turn into a forum where any grievance against Zoom is vented..

I aint gonna be updating this journal anymore, I dont want to cast any shadows over Zoom any longer as WHATEVER the situation i still belive in John and his skills, maybe not his time management or customer relations skills, but his technical ones 100% but keeping this going OTHER than to write up the car when its actually 100% completed will just make Zoom a sitting duck for more critisism...

So until whenever, thanks for all your support, help and encouragement - Ian and benE30 - i know what you are saying but really, its nothing that malicious, not at all, its just getting ahead of oneself and talking of where one WANTS it to be or soon thinks it will be rather than where it is at that precise moment.... i sympathise 100% even tho im on the receiving end and have been for 5 years of this kind of Bollox, as i know the pressure john is under and the sh*t he has had going on in the recent past... he is one of the true good guys, honest and hard working, its just that often its those people that get shafted by the crooks and knob-ends like Jason from Chipped UK who evidently cant even match an ECU map to the right BMW model!

[twat]

Take care all of you

Later

MFree

[M5pilot]

Dude,

I really hope you get this all sorted. Zoom are a bunch of nice guys and their work is very good.

Just phone them up and ask them to finish the car quickly and Im sure they will do it.

Get it on the road and enjoy it.

All it takes is you to apply some pressure and I know for a fact they will deliver.

There is nothing wrong with calling them up twice a week or sending an email.

Hope your get well soon aswell.

[bootyman]

I will repeat what i've said again "Those thiking of sinking seriouse amount of money into their car had better think again, unless you're doing the work yourself" I still have issues with the tosser who built my engine. As it turns out, he hasn't paid the rent on his garage for years, and he's closed it down and done a runner. I still have no receipt for any of the work he's meant to have done, and since he finished, i've spent over Ԛ£2k getting things sorted that he cut corners on, so you have been warned.

Mfree's story is just unbelievable. To spend that kind of money and wait that amount of years without even having the car there is something else and it makes me real sad casue a friend of mine is going through the same thing He had a perfectly fat E36 can which was PBMW featured, then some toseer who owned a tunning company persuaded him to give him the car to do a stage 2 on it. The guy sold all the good bits from the car and also got Ԛ£20k from my mate, and money from other people as well and then declared himself bankrupt and walked away from the mess. My mate was left with a shell that looked pitiful and over Ԛ£30k out of pocket. Fusion also allocated him about Ԛ£15k worth or ICE, but the guy was secretly selling them off on ebay. Fusion found out and they came and collected what was left. He's spent the last year and half finishing the car off himself in his spare time and has had to pump another Ԛ£20k or so into the project. Now this kind of thing makes me really sick, cause it's the same guy that built my other cab in my sig and he took me to the cleaners as well. He thinks he's got away with it, but i'm letting time pass by before he gets whats coming to him. I cant stress the point enough about the amount of so called reputable Companies out there who are only too happy to take your money and shaft you after, so be careful .

[M5pilot]

That really is sickening. To have that much money robbed off you is just sick.

It just goes to show how many rip off merchants there are out there.

The problem is that people who do not have alot of technical knowledge give into these rogue trader because they can talk impressive figures and falsely promise big things. They win the business and then do as the they feel fit according to their circumstances.

[ste]

Do Zoom Motorsport still bodge that unequal length intake manifold on to clear the brake servo?

[buster]

i think so yeah,im keeping my standard s50 plenum thanks !

[MFree]

I didnt think it looked like a botch, it looked like a lovely piece of engineering to me...

MFree...