e36 323i Touring budget drift car (loads of pics and loads of text)

Thread in 'Project Cars and Builds Threads' started by ワゴン, Dec 18, 2016.

  1. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    [Last update 14.3. 2017 ] e36 323i Touring budget drift car

    Hi,

    after owning and modding my e36 for 6 months, I've decided to document the "build" here. I'll try to post every time I do something interesting.

    Quick background: I'm a college student from unspecified country in Europe. I bought my e36 because it was cheap. I'm building it on a budget, since I can only spend as much as I can earn. That means I've little money and little free time so progress is slow.

    What's done (only "major" stuff):
    • Welded small case 3.38 diff
    • -4cm lowering springs
    • Shimmed lower strut bolts (adds ~-3 degrees of camber)
    • Shimmed steering rack (increases steering lock)
    • Basic weight reduction
    • Fixed heaps of stuff
    • Gauges (oil temp, coolant temp, voltage)
    • Hydraulic handbrake
    • M50B25 intake with supporting mods
    • Flashed ECU

    What's planned:

    • Styling 5 R16 (et20) rims for front wheels, styling 5 R15 (et20) wheels for back wheels)
    • M52B28 exhaust system - when one appears on a local market for acceptable price
    • eBay spec adjustable coilovers with camber plates or maybe HSD coilovers - no time soon
    • Bucket seats - when the time comes

    I've only listed some things that are important. Of course there's a lot of little things I've done and that I plan to do sooner or later. I'll try to document those as well in the photos section.

    There's a lot of off topic discussion in this thread. If you're only interested in updates, here's a clickable list of them:

    Photos:
    As you can see, I've added US parking lights for extra street cred. You can also see a foggy headlight which I'm too lazy to fix. It feels like I'm using two candles to light up the road so I'll have to do something about it. No M paket, I don't like it and this bumper adds to the sleeper look.

    PIEtBV8.

    aIYaYrJ.

    I haven't washed the car since I've got it. I would wash it now but it's freezing so I can't. You can also notice my super ghetto bumper holder. It sags about 5 centimeters without it. I've already ordered quick release rubber band holders tho. Wheels are r15 steelies from e34 (low et so they look pretty good on e36 and just clear the fender in full lock). I've got eight of those. I've also got ugly r16 alloys which I'm selling to buy styling 5s.

    6qsGxQr.
    kGyPdzt.

    Let's get to the interior. I've got Turn One deep dish steering wheel (I've a feeling that it's the same thing as DW basic steering wheels with different branding) bolted on a original Sparco hub. I was too excited to wait for some cheaper variant and the Sparco one was only ~30 euro more (I've got discount). BMW logo on the disconnected horn button is just a sticker. I've got horn button installed next to the ignition, since I've heard the cables would rip out of the steering wheel anyway. Carpet is just floor mats from a dollar store cut to fit. It was cheap and it works.
    8Wp4PYJ.

    You can see the horn button under the wipers lever. The car is equipped with heated "sportsitze". They are quite good so I'm not rushing the purchase of a bucket seat. I'm going to install the gauges in the radio 1 DIN shaft. I don't use the car stereo anyways since it sounds worse than my phone's speaker. Center console was replaced in favor of fire extinguisher. Safety first. It also looks pretty cool therefore it adds street cred.
    469KH19.

    These two little switches will probably be relocated to under the board computer. The whole shifter trim is going to be removed, because I want my hydro handbrake right next to the shifter (pun not intended). One switch controls the electric fan on a radiator. Second one is there just for extra street cred.
    VKIlryk.

    Last interesting place is under the hood. It's a very dirty place over there, because my oil filter cap is cracked. There's just one interesting thing to share. The brake booster vacuum hose kept popping out when drifting. I've replaced the rubber gasket (I've paid BMW 6 euros for 10 grams of rubber) and it didn't help. The non-return valve was functional as well. I've figured out that the hose is probably too short and too stiff to move with the engine. Therefore I've replaced it with silicone vacuum hose that I've got from my turbo bro. It hasn't popped out ever since and it also added a bit of street cred so I'm really proud of it. Here it is.
    wRIhYkQ.

    Next post is probably going to be about gauges, bracing and hydro handbrake so stay tuned! I'll gladly answer any questions, discuss anything engineering related and read your feedback. Feel free to diss me if my street cred is too low for your standards or feed my ego if you like the car. Until next time friends!
     
    #1 ワゴン, Dec 18, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2017
  2. GeNiSiS

    GeNiSiS Member

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    "from unspecified country in Europe", it's not hard to tell from where you are ;-)
     
  3. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    Sure, but you can still only guess :). I'm not paranoid, I just don't like disclosing unnecessary information and I would like to keep my car registered.
     
  4. Audi_H8TR

    Audi_H8TR New Member

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    Looks interesting, laukiam pratęsimo :)
     
  5. Andy318ti

    Andy318ti Active Member

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    Check your engine mounts of its pulling the vac hose from the servo.
     
  6. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    Audi hater: Thanks, I'll have some time during Christmas holidays so the update will come soon.

    Andy: Yes, I've thought of that too. They're solid. When I try to wiggle the engine, the whole car moves with it and it wiggles on the suspension.
     
  7. GeNiSiS

    GeNiSiS Member

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    dunno why, but i cant send you a private message. Are you a member of e30.de, skylineforum.de, sxce,...?
     
  8. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    I'm new to the forum so I've no idea why you can't message me. I'm not a member of any other car related forums except this one (and reddit if that counts).
     
  9. GeNiSiS

    GeNiSiS Member

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    ahh alright, i just estimated by your nickname that you own a japanese car too haha

    must be the 50 post rule then, where you need 50 posts to have access to all the features of the forum
     
  10. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    Well I wish I had but BMW is by far the cheapest option here. One day tho.
     
  11. GeNiSiS

    GeNiSiS Member

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    Aye man, if you need any advice for parts and stuff just give me a shout. I guess it's obvious that we are from the same country and struggle with the same problems ;-)
     
  12. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    Thanks man, I really appriecate it.

    For all other people that are probably bored by now, here's another quick story. One time a friend of mine neeeded to borrow a battery. When we've reconnected it after he returned it the instrument cluster wasn't working. I've disconnected it for some time and reconnected it again. Gauges started working with a surprise: the car has 960 007km on the clock now and the tamper dot is on.

    [​IMG]
     
  13. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    I hoped I would have some time during Christmas. I did not. Weather was (and sadly is) terrible too which didn't help.

    I've managed to install some stuff anyway and I've stacked up a bunch of parts that are yet to be installed.

    First up I've installed gauges. They're in but there's still some work needed. The mounting plate was too wide so I've cut the sides away. Now it fits but the clips aren't very strong and it moves in the bay. I want to add some additional support to make them solid. The gauges are back lit by LEDs so they shine very brightly. They are connected to the dimming power source so I'll just put some resistor in the way to turn them down. The LEDs are white which doesn't fit in in the orangered BMW back lighting theme. I've ordered some red window tint and I'll try putting it over the gauges to fix it.

    Here's photo of some wiring mess.
    [​IMG]

    Here's the result. I like the look a lot.
    [​IMG]

    Next up I've replaced the ghetto bumper mount with some proper race (or rice?) quick release buttons.
    [​IMG]

    Last but not least I've installed rear strut brace. The whole thing is TIG welded and hand made (except mounting plates which are water jet cut) by one of us, drifters. Quality is great and it's definitely stiffer than aluminum braces you can buy in this price range so I'm happy about it.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I've started working on making a hydraulic handbrake mount. When I've a way to mount it, it's ready to go in. I've also bought M50B25 intake manifold along with M50B25 throttle body so that's the next "big" thing to do after the handbrake. Along with that I need to do bunch of standard service which isn't interesting (oil change, brake discs and pads change, etc).

    I had my front alignment done and I've discovered that my rear alignment is all fucked up too (probably from spinning out onto a curb on one rainy day). I'll try to loosen the bolts that adjust it and get it aligned before the track days season starts. I'm adding polyurethane bushings and probably hockey pucks engine mounts to the to do in the future list.
     
  14. VSmiaris

    VSmiaris New Member

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    Subscribed! Keep it up. Waiting for DW Moderators to approve my e36 touring thread since yesterday.....
     
  15. WRBA

    WRBA Member

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    fleir automotive has revealed from where are u :wave:
     
  16. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    VSmiaris: Thanks! I'll definitely check out your project when it pops up. Based on your FB profile it looks very clean. I love your wheels!

    WRBA: You're not the first person to notice that :D. I don't mind tho, I knew from the beginning it was going to be recognized.
     
  17. WRBA

    WRBA Member

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    and the coupe is what? ...touring was not for sale? whether you've changed my mind ? :D
     
  18. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    Sorry bro, I don't understand what you're talking about :/.
     
  19. WRBA

    WRBA Member

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    I'm sorry but my english is to freezing point :wack: else where are you from?
     
  20. ワゴン

    ワゴン Member

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    No problem, we can chat elsewhere in our language if you want ;). I'm not from Kosice which you probably expected. I'm representing west "coast".
     

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