[bimmer ///man]

(I know it isn't e82 specific but a lot of the stuff is similar to your cars. Plus HP AUTOWERKS was a HUGE help! Thank you!)

I’ve come to the conclusion that I will probably always have an e36 in my life in some form or another, whether it be a DD, a project car or a weekend toy. I’m on my second e36, third in the family, the first being the auto 328is, and the second, a ’99 5 speed m3 and the third is my brother’s alpine/Modena m3/4.

When I bought it the clutch was going and it had always bothered me but it’s my DD so I didn’t really have the luxury of having it out of commission. The clutch wasn’t horrible but I definitely could not launch the car. Before I had bought the M3, I was in the process of acquiring parts for an auto to manual swap conversion on my 328. The parts I had acquired included an e46 m3 transmission. I finally bit the bullet and installed the transmission that had been taking up space in my shed for the past two years along with a whole other list of goodies.

THE CAR FEELS LIKE NEW!

I think this is the closest anyone will ever get to replicate the feeling of first driving a brand new e36 m3 off the lot.

I have to give a HUGE shout out to Peter, Aaron, Hector and Harold at HP Autowerks for helping me with the project. They allowed me the use of the lift, tools and knowledge. This shop is top notch! They are extremely well known in the E9X realm and have built many project cars, one of which is in the shop right now, a STG2 HPF M3. Check them out at www.hpautowerks.com

I also have to thank the guys at Red Line Oil for their help. Their products are great and I feel like my new parts are protected. The last thing you want to do on a build like this is cheap out on your car’s fluids and grease.

Another shout out goes to Travis at Clutchmasters for getting me a clutch on such short notice; I was originally going to use a OEM e46 M3 clutch but I decided I did not want a self adjusting unit. The FX100 is great and very streetable as I expected.

Lastly, thank you to everyone on the forums. I’ve learned a lot of information in the time I have been here and some of your DIY’s helped me on this very build.
Hopefully this build will inspire more people that just because e36 m3’s are cheap, they don’t have to thrown to the dogs, outfitted with racelands and slammed. They are great cars, just put the time into them and they will return it ten times in driving enjoyment. To each their own.

List of parts in the build:
E46 M3 6 Speed Transmission
Clutchmasters FX100 Clutch Kit
New E46 M3 Dual Mass Flywheel
Rogue Engineering Euro E36 6 Speed Short Shift Kit
Euro E36 M3 Tranmission Mount
Euro E36 M3 Driveshaft
Euro E36 M3 Subframe
Euro E36 M3 Large Case Diff (210MM)
E46 M3 3.62 Ring and Pinion
BMW Motorsport Shim Kit
New Subframe Bushings
New Diff Bushings and Diff Hanger
S54 Oil Pan
S54 Oil Pump w/tack welded OPN
S54 Oil Filter Housing
Euro E36 M3 Oil Cooler
Black Anodized -10AN Fittings
Earls Pro Lite Braided Hose
VDO Gauges (Water, Oil Pressure, Oil Temp)
Leatherz Gauge Panel
ARD Oil Distribution Block
Oil Pressure Sender, Oil Temp Sender, Water Temp Sender
-3AN Hose to Remote Mount Pressure Sender
Power Steering Oil Cooler
Mishimoto Aluminum Radiator
Stewart High Performance Water Pump
Evosport Underdrive Pulley Kit
ZHP Shift Knob
AC Schnitzer Pedals and Handbrake (courtesy of Jon)
New Belts
New Pulleys
Rebuilt Half Shafts Using Red Line CVV2 Grease
New Parking Brake Shoes
New Rotors (Brembo Front, Zimmerman Rear)
New Pads (Stoptech 304s)
Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Stainless Steel Clutch Line
E36 325I Slave Cylinder w/ CDV delete
AKG Delrin Clutch and Brake Pedal Bushings
AKG Motor Mount Reinforcement Kit
Bimmerworld RTAB Pocket Reinforcements
Vorshlag RTA limiters
Rear Main Seal
Rogue Engineering Transmission Mounts w/ UUC Enforcer Cups
New Motor Mounts
Transmission Seals (input shaft, output shaft, selector rod seal)
Red Line 10W40 Synthetic Motor Oil
Red Line 75W90 Differential Oil
Red Line CV-2 Grease
Red Line Assembly Lube
Red Line D4 ATF
Red Line Water Wetter
Red Line Complete Fuel System Cleaner
And TONS more that you’ll see in the pics. Pretty much anything that could be replaced and seemed logical to replace, was replaced. All rubber got replace except for LCAB and rear shock mounts that will be changed when I install Moton Street Sports along with new control arms and tie rods.
To the pics:



Look at all that rubber!


VDO Chrome Vision Gauges to match OEM Z3 M Cluster



Aluminum Radiator and Oil cooler (the oil cooler was too large to be used and was substituted for a OEM e36 oil cooler.



Before anything has been touched





Flushing the powersteering system and preparing for new lines and cooler.



Old pullies and tensioners



The belly of the beast.







Red Line Assembly Lube to prime the S54 dual pick up oil pump





Mounted the pump up.





Oil pump pick up tubes and misc parts











Oil pan cover and engine mount reinforcements.



Stewart High Performance Water Pump



Everything mounted.







Tacked up, that nut isn't backing off.





The pan up and in.



Oil drain line and dipstick.



The rear main pick up tube.



The water pump installed



Old oil filter housing out.





S54 oil fitler housing mounted (-10AN VAC adapter) with ARD distribution block, remote oil pressure line and oil pressure sender.






Old, dirty rear end







Front subframe out









E36 M3 autotransmission cooler that I will use for a custom power steering coooler.



Mounted up, but its final position will be much different. This spot had clearance issues with the oil cooler.



MMMMM, yum. Look at all that Red Line Oil goodness.





















Front subframe out



Prepping







All done, just needs to get hit with paint





Old driveshaft and trans





Everthing out of the car from the engine block back





















Rogue Engineering Euro E36 6spd Short Shift Kit



RTAB Before



Vorshlag RTAB Limiters



Installed



Rear Pockets Cleaned Up



Repainted Large Case Diff cover with new speed sensor, gskt and bracket







Dismantling the rear end



Subframe Out



New Rear Main Seal



Packing the halfshafts with Red Line CV-2













Clutchmasters FX100 E46 M3 Clutch Kit. Sucks I won't see.







New E46 M3 DM Flywheel

















E46 M3 Transmission



New Input Shaft Seal








New Fork Lever, 850CSI metal pivot ball, etc







New Brakes









Rear Euro Subframe and Rear End Mounted



Tansmission Mounted with SSK and New Rogue Trans Mounts. Ended up flipping the shift rod to connect from the left side (opposite the pic).



Evosport Underdrive Alternator Pulley



All new pulleys, tensioners and belts.





What $250 worth of metal motorsport specific shims looks like. Not very impressive I know. I couldn't believe they costed that much.



Spec'd out







There has to be a combo somewhwere in here to get the right backlash.











Old shims for the 3.23 ratio



Gear marker paint. It had a fantastic contact patch





The output shaft bearings





Found the perfect combo





Diff ASSEMBLED!



Power steering cooler was moved to a side exit.











Nice clearance and not contacting the radiator or condenser.



Halfshafts just waiting for the final piece.



And there it is!



Woop, there it is, looking so clean.









New dipstick placement



New Clutch pedal installed with Delrin Clutch Pedal Bushings





Delrin Brake Pedal Bushing







All wrapped up






Build was completed as of January 1st, 2011.

How it sits as of 3/7/2011.