My 1990 E30 ///M3 Story

 

I became enchanted with the E30 M3 sometime during my early years of high school.  Although the looks of the car was a selling point all its own, I admired the cars performance, particularly on the track.  Of course, being a high school student working as a cashier at a local drugstore meant I couldn't really afford to own one.  Instead, I put time and money into a '70 Chevelle which I bought in running condition for $500. 

I spent many years thereafter driving and modifying muscle cars.  My last muscle car project was a '67 Firebird that I had installed a '96 Corvette LT1 motor into.  That car also got among other things, a 5-speed Tremec transmission, a Ford/Moser 9" differential, and a Global West full suspension, which really transformed the car into a track worthy machine.  Unfortunately, just as I was getting ready to start a repaint of the car, I got my first ride in an E30 M3 from a friend.  His car made such an impression on me that I forgot all about the Firebird and start looking for an ///M of my own.

After searching for several months, I came across this car in Autotrader.  The car was only about 90 miles away, and within the week I had her home in the driveway.

For the most part, everything on the car was in great shape considering the 116k on the clock.  The car although never wrecked, had a cheap repaint done on the hood and fenders, which was the only real gripe I had.  Everything was also nearly 100% stock with the exception of a Turner/JC chip and a Supersprint muffler, which really left me a clean slate for modification without worrying about past work quality. 

Over the years, I have added many things to the car. Nearly all the work has been done by myself (and friends lending a hand of course), with the exception of the transmission rebuild.  This was done recently when the transmission died on me due to a rapidly leaking tranny seal on a roadtrip.  Rather than getting the old unit rebuilt, I had a dogleg shipped over from Europe, had it rebuilt locally, and installed it with a Sachs sport clutch/pressure plate, and an 8-lb flywheel.

My other mods include the following: 

Interior

Exterior

Engine

Drivetrain

Suspension

Brakes

 

Below are some links to more pictures of the car at various stages:

My ///M3 as delivered by the previous owner

The ///M3 one year later

The ///M3 in its current state

M3 Links:

S14.net, the best E30 M3 resource around!

E30 M3 race parts

E30 visual enhancements

 

 

Various other car pictures:

My other cars

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