BMW E36 - Drift - DIY Projects

100. Low and slow baby! Suspension and celebration!

2012-05-02T12:55:00.001-07:00

About 6 months ago, my steering wheel started shaking when I was doing approximately 100-120 km/h in a left hand turn. I took it to a mechanic, one I really trust, and he told me to park it up, or I'll lose a wheel... huh.
One of the tie rods was completely bust. At that point, I decided to do a complete overhaul of my front end.
I went on eBay, and I bought this:

It costed me 116€ - that's about 150-155 USD. That's what I call a good buy. Of course, everyone was (still is, probably) skeptical about the quality, but I've covered about 20k km already with these parts, and everything still seems like new. If anyone wants to know where I found this kit - here's the link:

ATP-Autoteile eBay store

Here's my car floating in mid air:

Right, at that point, I also decided to 'drop' my car. So, we installed Vogtland springs that I already had.

(You can read about them here: 73. Suspension and brakes on my E36 318is)

Here's a couple of shots taken on the way home:

Sorry about the bad quality... I soaked my camera while washing the car :)

And, a little celebration note...

This is my 100th post on this blog! Yeey! And, I still have quite a lot to share :)
Thank you all for reading and especially commenting! :)

99. Installing rear sunblind in a BMW E36 sedan

2012-04-30T02:46:00.000-07:00

Original BMW rear sun blinds are quite rare, especially in sedans. I was hunting for one for almost a year. And, in the end, I got one for free, from a forum member here in Slovenia. It's almost a month now, and I still can't believe it. He really made my day nicer - no, not day - probably the whole year. And, the rear rolo is now probably my favorite part in the car.

Well, the rear blind came together with the rear shelf, but without the small pins that hold it open. I ordered those from BMW, and I paid about $20 for pair. Here are the part numbers: (found on bmwfans.info)

Hook left: 51 16 1 977 027
Hook right: 51 16 1 977 028
Supplementary set sun blind: 82 11 9 400 664

P.S. You can still buy the whole thing at your dealer. They don't have the retrofit set any more, but it's still available as separate parts.

If you don't buy it with a pre-cut rear shelf, you can cut your own shelf, and install the rear sun screen rolo without any trouble.

So, here's how my installation went...

I got my hooks and some plastic clips from BMW:

Then, I had to remove my rear bench and rear headrests. If you need more info on removing rear headrests, check out my last post! After that, remove the rear reading lights, c-pillar covers and the plastic trim around the seatbelts. Using a 16mm socket wrench, unbolt the seat belts at the bottom of the seat. Take care how things were assembled, so you'll put everything back in the way it was. Here's how everything looks when you take it all apart:

To fit a shelf with a sun blind rolo, you'll have to take out the foam that was under your regular shelf. Install everything the same way you took things out. Reverse order, naturally. In the end, you have to put those little hooks that will hold the sunscreen open. I couldn't find any instruction on how to mount them, and they really look weird... I thought I would have to take the roof lining off or something. But, no - they just slide in onto their spots... Between the roof lining and the roof, there are small grooves, or small metal slots or something. You can feel them with your fingers. And you just slide the hooks in between the roof and lining. Hopefully, you'll get the idea from the pictures:

And that's it. Put everything back in, and you have a nice piece of OEM equipment that's quite rare and hard to find. Here's two more shots of the completed project:

98. Installing sport seats in my E36

2012-04-29T06:39:00.001-07:00

I have been searching for sport seats for a very long time. Vader seats are a bit too expensive for me, and electrical seats as well. But, I did manage to find a cheap set for my E36. I paid 100$ for the whole interior.

Take a quick peek at the next photo - you'll find out why I wanted new seats:

This is how the 'new' seats looked when I brought them home.

Believe it or not, you can pack the complete interior into your E36. And you'll still have room for one passenger. :) Well, the first thing was to take out the old interior. The front seats are held in place with 2 16 mm bolts and two 16 mm nuts each. You have to slide the seat forward, and then backward to take them out. Before that, take off the plastic covering caps with a small flat screwdriver. Seat belts are fixed to the seat with one torx screw on each side. And, the passenger seat has a passenger occupancy sensor which has to be disconnected. Note: Disconnect your car's battery before disconnecting this sensor. Wait about 15 minutes for the system to discharge.

After that, you can pull out your rear bench. And, I really mean 'pull out'. Pull the bottom part upwards, and then pull the backrest towards the front of the car. Open both rear doors to pull it out.

How to remove rear headrests on a BMW E36?

This was the most tricky part of the job. I tried to pull them out, pry them out with a crowbar, and I tried to knock them out from underneath. And they didn't pop out. Well, the trick is to raise your rear shelf for just a couple of centimeters. Under it, you'll find safety pins that hold the headrests in place. Take them out, and that's it. Take a look at the picture to see what I mean:

And that's pretty much that. Install everything back in the reverse order, and you're done. You should finish the job in under an hour. I also vacuumed my car, since it was like it has seen a world war or something. :)

Here are some more pictures...

97. E36 18 Button OBC Unlocking Secret Codes and Functions

2012-04-09T05:32:00.000-07:00

Unlocking secret codes on the BMW E36 18 button OBC is simple, and very useful. With it, you can disable your Check Control (If your car isn't equipped with one), you can adjust your fuel consumption readout, change the language of the module and see additional real-time data about your car. And more...

How to unlock 18 button OBC board computer

Press 1000 and 10.
At the TEST prompt, enter 19.
Press SET/RES, and you should see LOCK:ON.
Press the DATE key.
Add the two date numbers (month and day) together (Example - today is April 9th, so you add April (04) and 9th (09) - that gives us 13.
Enter the number you've calculated (13), and press SET/RES.
That should unlock the OBC :)

How to turn off Check Control Inactive message on the 18 button OBC

Hold down 1000 and 10 to access hidden menu.
At the TEST prompt, enter 11 and press SET/RES.
You should get EINHEIT 1: ## readout.
Change the EINHEIT value to 75 using 10 and 1 buttons.
Press SET/RES.
Change to EINHEIT 2: ## using 1000 and 100 buttons.
Set EINHEIT 2 value to FF using 10 and 1 buttons.
Press SET/RES and you're done.

BMW E36 OBC Menu List

Display test
Current consumption L/100km
Current consumption L/h
Average Consumption
Current range
Average Fuel in Tank (L)
Current Speed (km/h)
System Voltage
Country - Language setting
Check control setting
Average Speed (km/h)
ETA
OBC Software date
Production diagnosis
Production diagnosis
Display vehicle specific data
Alarm setting
OBC Lock & Unlock
Correction factor for consumption
OBC Reset

Well, that's most of it - please note, that some versions have different codes. If this doesn't work for you, leave a comment, and we'll try to figure something out.

96. BMW E36 18 Button OBC Retrofit

2012-03-27T00:07:00.000-07:00

18 button on board computer (18 button OBC) is a great toy that you can easily install into your BMW E36. It doesn't really matter if you've already got another OBC, or you have the analog clock. As well, it really doesn't matter if you have a 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder engine. First thing's first - what kind of BMW on board computers are available?

Note: Click on the image for a larger view

1: 18 button on board computer (OBC)

2: Check control module with outside temperature and clock:

3: Check control module with digital clock:

4: Outside temperature and clock display:

All of the above listed units use special connectors. Units with less functionality have one connector. 18 button OBC has two connectors. Hopefully, you've bought these connectors (with some wire) together with the big OBC. If you don't have the connectors, you can build your own. (More on this later.)

Warning!

Read the whole article before starting any work on your car.

Before working on your car, disconnect your battery. Wait for about 30 minutes for the system to discharge. You don't want your airbag light to go on, or even worse, the airbag itself. All information provided here worked for me, on my own car - 1996 316i sedan. Wire colors and component locations may vary according to model year and car specification. I do not take any responsibility for damages to your car and/or injuries you suffered following this DIY. Do It Yourself at your own risk.

List of components needed for 18 button OBC retrofit:

18 button OBC unit
2 connectors with some wire (one black, one white)
External temperature sensor
Gong (buzzer, chime)
Turn signal leaver with BC button (OBC Stalk)
Wires - a lot of them

Note, that only the actual 18 button display unit is really necessary. Everything else is optional.
If you need additional reference, original BMW parts are listed at the end of the article.

List of tools needed for the job:

Shrinking thermo tubes
Wire cutters
Wire strippers
Insulation tape
Screwdrivers
16mm socket wrench
Torx 30

You'll need about 4 hours for the job. Beer breaks included. A quick summary of the tasks: Removing the steering wheel (and airbag, if necessary), taking out the instrument cluster, putting in new wires, replacing the turn signal leaver, connecting everything up, and putting the car back together...

Here's an photo of my new 18 button OBC vs. my old analog clock:

(The clock is upside-down... I know.)

List of connectors with codes

X1070 - Black connector on the OBC
X1071 - White connector on the OBC
X16 - White connector on the Instrument Cluster
X17 - Blue connector on the Instrument Cluster

So, let's get down to business.

DIY - Step by step

1. Remove your steering wheel.
There's some more information and pictures on removing the steering wheel in one of my older posts:

81. E39 to E36 Steering wheel retrofit DIY

2. Remove your instrument cluster. There are two bolts at the top of the cluster. Remove the dashboard lower cover (under the steering wheel), and the plastic steering column covers.

3. If you have EWS, and want to use the CODE function of the OBC, then remove the glove box compartment.

4. Remove the analog clock (or the 'smaller' OBC unit), and the plastic panel under it - the one holding additional buttons (seat heating, asc, hi-fi...) and cigarette lighter.

So, by now, your car should look like it's ready for the junkyard. Here's a couple of photos for reference:

5. Prepare your OBC connectors. If you're lucky, you are doing an upgrade, and you already have one of those connectors. Since I was replacing my analog clock, I didn't have them. And to make things a bit more complicated, I only had one connector for my OBC. So, I had to make the other one. Here's how the back of the 18 button OBC looks:

According to the list of connectors, the black one is X1070, and the white one is X1071. They look similar to the ones behind the instrument cluster, but they are smaller. But, that's a good start - if you can't find the right connectors, you can source two connectors from an instrument cluster, and modify them. It might be a good idea to get a couple of extras, since you'll probably need some additional pins from them. So, a couple of images, so you can see what I'm talking about:

a) Rear of the instrument cluster - note the blue X17 and white X16 connectors:

b) The white connector from the instrument cluster - take it apart, and cut it to fit your OBC:

6. Replace your turn signal leaver with the OBC stalk. A fairly straight forward process. The old one just unclips from the steering column, and the new one snaps in.

7. Mount the gong (chime, speaker). It has five wires. They should be connected like this:

(blue/white) --> [X1070] Pin #10 (note: you can do this later)
(red/white) --> [X1070] Pin #11 (note: you can do this later)
(black/red) --> [X17] Pin #09
(brown) --> Earth (any brown wire)
(red/yellow) --> Old clock (red/yellow)

8. Mount the outside temperature sensor - it's usually mounted on the front bumper, in the left air duct. There are only two wires for the sensor. One that goes to the OBC, and ground. There should be a ground connection behind the headlamps.

9. Here's a list of the pins that you need to connect, for the 18 button OBC to work:

[X1070] Pin #06 --> [X17] Pin #26
[X1070] Pin #09 --> [X17] Pin #04
[X1070] Pin #10 --> Gong (blue/white)
[X1070] Pin #11 --> Gong (red/white)
[X1070] Pin #12 --> Temperature sensor
[X1070] Pin #13 --> [X17] Pin #02
[X1070] Pin #14 --> Wire under steering wheel (violet/white)
[X1070] Pin #15 --> [X17] Pin #24
[X1070] Pin #16 --> Old clock (grey/red)
[X1070] Pin #17 --> Old clock (brown)
[X1070] Pin #18 --> Old clock (red/yellow)

[X1071] Pin #01 --> [EWS unit] Pin #15
[X1071] Pin #04 --> OBC stalk (yellow/red)
[X1071] Pin #05 --> [X16] Pin #12
[X1071] Pin #06 --> [X16] Pin #21
[X1071] Pin #07 --> [X16] Pin #11
[X1071] Pin #08 --> [X1070] Pin #18
[X1071] Pin #09 --> [X17] Pin #10
[X1071] Pin #13 --> [X1070] Pin #17

10. A few notes:

EWS connector (if you have one, that is) is under the glove compartment box - it's purple. You need the #15 pin for the CODE function to work.
My car doesn't have the CHECK CONTROL module - so, I can't confirm that it will work. It should, but I can't guarantee it. In my next post, I'll show you how to disable CC on your OBC if you don't have one.
Don't forget to reassemble your car. ;)

Final result

Additional tech images

References

95. Happy New Year

2011-12-30T02:49:00.000-08:00

Hi guys'n'girls!

This is my last post for this year. So, I just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year!

So, what can you expect from this blog in 2012 ?

I'll redesign it - current template decided it's time for retirement... huh
I'll try to organize posts trough tags, for easier browsing
I'll refresh (and reupload) the Downloads section
New posts:

DIY installation of a 18 button OBC
My suspension upgrade - 5000km report
I'll show our 'new' 1996 E36 compact (316i)
Last photos from our drift car project...
A general post about all stuff related to our cars... mostly, what went wrong

Thank you all for following, and especially thank you all for commenting!

Until the new posts are up, you can visit my BMW related Squidoo Lenses:

DIY Installing BMW Angel Eyes

BMW M3 CRT

10 fun facts: BMW

Best gifts for BMW drivers

BMW M3 GTS

Quiz: BMW E36 - Ultimate quiz

94. Installing angel eyes on BMW E36

2011-11-22T03:02:00.000-08:00

Well, this weekend I installed angel eyes on my friends 323ti Compact. (Check out my last post)

I was skeptical about those add-on angel eyes rings, but, I must admit that I was wrong. Installation is extremely easy and quick, and the AE rings look completely stock. My main concern was fixing the rings on the head lamps. BMW angel eyes kits are often sold with a 'No need to drill/glue/hokus-pokus' lines... Well - it's true. No need to do anything horrible to your headlights. The installation is 100% reversible. And, best part is - they are really fixed in their places when you're done.

So, here's a quick step by step:

1. Disconnect and take off your headlamps.
2. Take them apart:

3. Take off the round inner lenses from the headlight cover (As pictured, I had to use a screwdriver to undo the screws - 3 per lens. Some headlights have the lenses glued with silicone, so you must use a thin knife to take them off)
4. Insert Angel eyes rings into the headlight cover. Try to be gentle as possible.
5. Put the inner lenses back on. It'll probably go harder back in...

6. Put the headlight back together (route the wires to the rear of the light - to the bulb socket cover)
7. Connect the rings to the supplied inverters (one inverter per headlight)
8. Connect the two wires from the inverter to your parking light bulb.
9. Glue the inverter with a two-side adhesive tape inside your headlight. (There's a lot of space, don't worry)
10. Put the lights back on your car, connect them, and adjust the height.

That's it. Took me 30 minutes for both headlights.

Here's a few photos of the car with angel eyes:
(The rest are in the post before this one.)

Where can you buy BMW E36 Angel Eyes ???
Try Amazon! :)

93. E36 323ti Compact - A few photos

2011-11-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post. Sorry for that. I'll try to bring you all up to speed in the next couple of days.

For now, I'll share a couple of photographs I took yesterday.

The car pictured above is my friends E36 323ti Compact. (You might remember his 323 Coupe in Dakar Yellow...) He bought the Compact about two weeks ago. The car was already on M-Tech suspension, it has a M50B52 engine, and a couple of other modifications. Oh, the car's actually from the BMW Individual line, so, that explains the unusual interior color combination.

Here's a list of things he modified in the last week or so...
1. Replaced complete brake system (was modified for drift use)
2. Had front seats re-upholstered (were totally torn)
3. Retrofitted the ///M steering wheel (it had a regular 4 spoke item)
4. Installed angel eyes kit
5. Fitted BBS 17" rims and winter tires (was sitting on some 15" steel rims, with wrong tire size)
6. Installed new speakers and head-unit (there was none)
7. Fitted the mesh in the M bumper (again, there was none)
8. Complete engine service (that's normal)
9. New alternator (the old one was squeaking)
10. (and probably a lot more stuff I don't really know about) :)

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the car when he bought it.

Update

This Compact was upgraded to 328ti - I'll post a few pictures soon :)
The car was then sold, and now it serves as a track-tool/drift machine.

92. BMW Slowly reveals...

2011-06-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Did you notice, how BMW (the company) teases people with their new models? They tease for half a year before they finally reveal the pictures and tech data... Well, we're not like them... We'll show you the final car in a couple of days... LOL. Until then, here are some more pictures... :)

91. Drifting Blues...

2011-06-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

Of course, we didn't leave it black'n'white. It did need some paint.
Here are some pictures... try to figure out how this all looks without the newspaper and masking tape... :) Update tommorow...

A little preview: ;)

More tomorrow.

P.S.
Eric Clapton - Drifting Blues

90. It's a Panda !!!

2011-06-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hey! Here's some more pics from the painting process... :)
It looks like a PANDA! :) Update tomorrow! :)

89. Paint, paint, and some more paint!

2011-06-06T01:58:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been too long, since the last update!
There's loads of stuff that Casper has done to the car, but the most important thing is, that the painting is on the way...

So, here are a few shots that we took two days ago... :) :) :)

I got a call from my friend: 'Hey, I fixed the engine... It gooooes! So good, that I destroyed the bumper!' :)

Building a new garage for our 'Racing Team':

Preparing for painting...

Casper is the main actor in this chapter.
Well, he knows what he's doing...

Primer/filler is going on the car:

M3 replica mirrors were naughty, so we hung them:

My little air compressor is still working like a charm. This is the fifth car that it painted...

More priming:

Sanding the trunk lid... It's like sanding concrete...

This is how the car looks in primer... Should we leave it like this? Nah...

I did some of the work as well... ;) So, here's a mug-shot of my crazy face...

Yea! It's smooth like a baby's bottom...

We're not pros, so we don't know how to mix this stuff without instructions...
I guess, you have to draw everything for us...
(P.S. we almost forgot to stir the paint...)

Paint cloud... Couldn't see the other end of the garage...

The white part is done...
(It's not pro work, but we'll peel off the paint sooner or later...)

More pics soon... (Casper did the black parts yesterday.) :) :) :)

88. Last touches before painting

2011-04-17T02:10:00.000-07:00

So, we have moved the car to my friends place. He's working on the final touches on the car. He already properly fitted the trunk lid, gave new life to the handbrake, started working on door cards... :) Hopefully, the car will have a shiny new paint in the next week or two... :) Can't wait! Here's some images he sent me:

87. Racing interior - Check!

2011-04-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Yup, our racing interior is almost done. :)
Thanks to my friend Casper, we managed to repaint the whole interior and put in the dash and seats... (Well, just to see how things are going to look.)
The black stuff that we sprayed is some sort of rubber... How cool is that!? :) ;)
There's still a lot to do, but we'll fix everything up in a couple of days :)

And now, the pictures:
(Don't mind my neighbor - he was trying to make the rest of us laugh, well, trying to wear my kids old clothes was kinda funny.) :-P

More details about the things that were done - in a day or two.

86. 3 Years!

2011-03-31T00:16:00.000-07:00

Well, if you haven't noticed - yesterday this blog celebrated 3 years of existence. :)
So, it's 3 years, since I bought my first BMW. :)

Here are some small thumbs (sorry, don't have any larger images) that show how this blog evolved... :)

Expect a major redesign soon. :)
Stay tuned. :)

85. Taking care of rust... hopefully

2011-03-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

Well, good thing is, that this body isn't a complete rust bucket, like my previous ones...

The small rust holes were point-welded, then protected with some Hammerite anti-rust paint, seams were filled with Car System filler (the one that looks OEM, rubbery type), and then painted with some primer. It's coming along nicely, and it'll be ready for final coat of paint in a couple of days. I just have to take care of all them wires. ;)
P.S. The trunk is almost ready. It needs just one more coat of white paint :) Yey!

Here are some pictures.
(I'll try to dig up some 'before' photos later...)
Click on the thumbnails for larger view!

I know. It's not pretty. But, it's strong. :)

This is the anti-rust Hammerite paint that I use: (Great stuff, BTW)

84. My E36 316 exhaust - muffler trouble

2011-03-23T02:59:00.000-07:00

When it rains, it pours - Now, that's just about right. Two days after I fixed my brakes, my muffler almost fell off. :( OK, I did hear that the exhaust had a leak, but all my cars had it... I'm kind of used to the sound. (Where's that 'head bang' smiley when you need it?)

Well, as you'll see from the pictures, my silencer almost fell from my car, since it was completely cut-off from the pipe. It was hanging on the two rubber mounts in the back... Oh boy, imagine what would've happened if it fell off on the highway. :(

Right, so, once again, I found some silencers lying around my garage. Of course, it wasn't from a 316. I took it off my ex 320. I don't have to say that it was completely different from my old one... And then, it was welding time. A lot of welding, teeth grinding, tube bending, and so on. But, thanks to my friends help, we managed to put it on. The car now has a deeper sound, and I kinda like it.

Yea, it looks ugly. (The welds and piping, I mean)...
I probably lost power with this (up?)grade... But It'll stay for now. :)

83. My E36 316 service and brakes upgrade

2011-03-23T02:37:00.000-07:00

Since I like to drive my 316i without worries, I did the regular oil service.
It's 13000 kilometers from the last one, so I thought it was time for some new oil, oil filter, spark plugs... I drove to my friends to do the job. The service was done in matter of minutes... I didn't even get a chance to finish my Red Bull. :o)

Right... A few days after that, my front brakes started producing some horrible tunes... :( I thought I would just replace the pads... but no. The pads were 110% worn, and the discs - well, they were even worse.

One thing always bothered me with the 316. The front discs were single-piece, not vented. Meaning, the brakes would quickly fade after just minutes of spirited driving.

Luckily, I had some 325 discs, calipers and pads lying around the garage, so I decided to go for a upgrade. The job is pretty straight-forward, since everything is plug and play. :)

Here's a picture of the 325 disc mounted on my 316:

If you like, I can make a picture of the old pads and discs... :o)
Just leave a comment. :)

Some stuff that you'll probably need for a oil/brake service:

P.S.
This is the filter that I use - Great stuff:
(make sure that you get the correct one for your engine)

82. Fiberglass hood and trunk

2011-03-23T02:23:00.000-07:00

Like I said, weight is a killer on a track car. So, I managed to get a fiberglass hood and trunk for my car.
The hoods were made by Gagi84 - he drifts a V8 powered E36 GTR. (GMZ Drift Team) Cool!

Here are some pictures:
(click on the thumbs for a larger image)

You can see that I already made the holes for the BMW roundel, rear wing, and hood pins. I also made the hood-pin holes on the cars shell.

Here's the front hood:

I'll play with it in a day or two... :)

And, I'll need a couple of these:

81. E39 to E36 Steering wheel retrofit DIY

2011-01-22T02:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I got tired of my steering wheel... And, I found a nice wheel from a E39... so, this was kind of expected:

My old wheel:

Removing is simple. First, disconnect the battery. You don't want that airbag blowing into your face. And, you certainly don't want to see that pesky air-bag light on your instrument cluster. Wait for about 30 minutes for the system to discharge. Unscrew the torx bolts that are in the back of the wheel. Torx 30 should do the job. Take the air-bag gently off the wheel. Unscrew the central bolt (16 mm socket) that holds the steering wheel, and disconnect the two connectors. Pull the wheel towards you, and that's it.

This is the E39 leather, 3 spoke wheel that I installed. It's like new. :)

Installation is reverse of the removal.

Well, I had to take it out a couple of times, to center it, but it wasn't that hard... :)

80. 323 - End of the road...

2011-01-22T02:15:00.000-08:00

Well, my friend's yellow E36 coupe had some ups and downs over the past few weeks...

We decided to restore the M3 look... see for yourself...

Before:

After:

But, unfortunately, the test drive wasn't that good... :(

I don't want to be a pig, but - this was a classic example of a woman behind the wheel... My friend was properly turning left, when she rammed him from behind...

(Girls, i'm not putting you all in the same category. - I know that girls can be damn good drivers. My fiancée is probably a better driver then 80% of men that I know.) :)

Well, the insurance already covered the damage (total), and the car is already sold... It's end of the road for this one... :(

79. Go-Drift.com Grobnik SNOW track-day

2011-01-22T02:03:00.000-08:00

Somehow, I decided to take my E36 daily driver (1.6L engine) to a track day.
The weather forecast was promising snow, and that meant that I had some chance to have fun on a real race track. Well, I know I don't have a LSD on my daily driver, but that didn't bother me much. I wanted fun, not record-breaking performance. :)

The night before the track day, I decided to mount a bucket seat into my E36. That's because I didn't want to find myself flying around the car, while drifting. (If I can call it that)... :)

So, here's a picture of the seat mounted...

The mounting process was really straight-forward. The mounts were already made to fit an E36, so I practically had to take 4 bolts out, replace the seat and put the bolts back on. Well, so I thought. Somehow, when I wanted to test-drive my 'upgraded' E36, I found out that I forgot about the seat-belt buckle. Original seats have them mounted at the side, but bucket seats don't. After a minute, I decided to take the rear-seat, central buckle and mount it to the racing seat. Well, it worked. But that meant I had to take the seat out again, mount the buckle, and put everything back in the car.

Moving on. The next morning, I woke up and saw that the snow was really there. :) But, I didn't expect THAT much snow. Well, here are a couple of pictures of my trip to the race track:

Well, I don't really have to tell you that I had so much fun driving on a snowy road... And, the whole 60 miles of it were completely empty! It was sideways all the way! :)

...

When I came to the track, I saw this:

The access road to the pits wasn't plowed. :( And, I was the first to arrive... Well, there wasn't really much to do, except to wait...

And then, other enthusiasts started to show up:

We decided to make our own road to the pits... A couple of 4x4's went ahead, and made way for our little RWD machines... But, it didn't go smooth as we planned. Our little (mostly BMW) convoy stopped every 200(or so) meters, to dig someone out... :) Team work all the way! :)

Well, finally, here are some shots of the track, and cars that were there. Unfortunately, there was too much snow to have fun in our BMWs... But, it was a really great day, nonetheless.

This beauty had to sit this one out:

Wow! I realized it's already 2011! Huh... how time flies... it feels like I started this blog yesterday... :)

78. 323 Coupe - Restoring the M3 look

2010-12-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

So, another E36 has visited my garage...

My friend wants to restore the original M3 look on his E36 323i. And there are some electrical issues that need sorting out. Of course, I'm more than willing to help... So, here are some pictures...

My tiny garage is going to provide shelter for another E36 - my drift machine is looking poor under that snow...

Kidneys and lip painted black, removed that hideous lights... Will fit some nice angel eyes...

I just love to see when people decide to restore E36 cars to their former glory. Rice just doesn't fit here...

Stay tuned :)

77. My new E36... Again!

2010-12-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

You've probably know this by now - I'm a total E36 nut.
Yea. I've bought another E36. If you follow my blog, you'll recognize this one. It was from my friend.
It's the one that we had to break into...

And, now, some pictures:

Yeeees! We have snow! It's great fun to drive around when it's snowing. The rear end of my BMW is all over the road. All the time. :)

The yellow car is from my other friend. (The one who owned that red 325 limo.) He's planning on restoring the original M-look on this car.

P.S.
My 'new' E36 is 316. The yellow one is 323.

76. Drift car dashboard

2010-10-06T04:11:00.000-07:00

This is how my drift car's interior looked when I bought it:
Not pretty... I know.

That's why I pulled out my tools... (check out the wall decoration) ;)

And, the dash is starting to look better:

I'm still working on it, but this is how it'll look...