E9 + e46 m3

[maxxfish]

A few weeks ago I took delivery of a fully-disassembled E9 project (1974 CS Auto). Some of you may have seen it on Craigslist in Richmond, VA, it's been for sale for over a year. The PO bought it as a father/son project a few years ago, and they did a fantastic job of completely stripping the shell and replacing all of the bad sheet metal. The shell is truly (now) rust free, and a great starting point for someone crazy like me.

I've been racing BMWs for a while in NASA and BMWCCA, and realized that I enjoy the build more than anything. So this will be a semi-longterm build, and I really look forward to taking my time (the deadlines of having a race car ready for the start of the season are really stressful).

And this car will NOT be a race car, I've promised myself that! It will be a badass street car. The plans:

Drivetrain: S54 engine from an E46 M3, 5-speed ZF trans from E36 M3, LSD from E30 (3.25)
Electronics: stock MS54 with EWS delete, custom chassis harness
Custom front subframe, E28 rear subframe
Custom front suspension based on E46 hubs, E28 rear suspension
Brakes TBD
Steering: E30 rack
GP2 bodywork (already purchased from Zaprace)
Semi-race interior (CSL dash/console, Scheel style seats), Vintage Air AC/heat, rear seats will stay intact (no roll bar)

There's so much to think about, but the journey will be fun. My mind wanders about things like paint color, and I haven't even figured out how I'm going to make the engine fit! (I dream of Inka and Golf, but I'm kind of a blue/black car guy).

I hope to do almost all of the work myself (not the paint). First up is reinforcing the chassis, so I guess I'll be brushing up on my welding and fabrication skills. I hope to keep this updated regularly. Some pics of what I'm starting with:

 

[Markos]

Awesome. Glad you picked it up. Did the seller end up responding to your wtb ad?

 

[maxxfish]

No, he ended up re-posting it only a few days after I tried tracking him down. Turns out he's been working on it (and buying parts) the whole time it was for sale for the last year, so the longer I waited, the better!

 

[x_atlas0]

Moved as requested.

 

[Gary Knox]

Max,

Wonderful project, and so much good work already done. It will be a lot of fun finishing, and driving.

Remember - I want to see it when it's done, and I'll provide you with a view of 'your seats'!! THANKS again.

 

[tmason]

Hi Max
Are you interested in selling the front seats?
Thanks Tim

 

[bdigel]

This Great Max ! thanks for sharing , really excited to see this actually starting ! I love S54's this will be a cool car

BD

 

[maxxfish]

Prepping for seam welding:

 

[maxxfish]

Picked up the donor engine and transmission today. What a crazy experience:

The guy I got it from just bought a shop in Manassas, which included a '72 CSI (the silver one that's on Ebay at the moment, still for sale). I drooled over it, and a few newer, wrecked M3s.

Then I told him I was also looking for a 5-speed ZF trans. He said, "I have a few at my other shop, follow me!" So I jumped in my truck and followed him to an interesting location. It was a closed-up tile/countertop store. We walked inside, and there were a couple of BMW interiors on the floor. Interesting, I thought. Then we went into the back warehouse. He turned on the lights, and I thought I was dreaming. A wall covered in vintage Alpina and Petri steering wheels. Hartge wheels stacked up in a corner. Scheel seats covered in dust.

Then we went outside to the graveyard. He had a '66 CS that's for sale for $2K (needs love, but could be a cool restomod). A couple 2002s (not sure if they're for sale).

Lastly, we went into the back warehouse, which was an old refrigerated building. Some more E30s back there (one with perfect Hartge wheels), and tons of old interior bits from various models.

Anyway, here's a pic with what I came home with, if anyone is interested in either of his CSs, I can forward you his info, he's really nice.

 

[John Buchtenkirch]

Looking forward to your E28 rear suspension install, I already have the parts to do the same myself so I’m hoping you post bunches of good photos.

You probably know this but don’t do continuous welds on your seams, ½” to ¾” welds with small gaps between them works better. If you ever get a crack alongside a continuous weld the crack will continue running along with the weld. Another alternative is to drill 3/16” to ¼” holes between existing spot welds (ideally you should only drill thru the upper panel) and use the holes for plug / rosette welds which are much stronger than even factory spot welds, particularly ones that have had 40 years of flexing on them. ~ John Buchtenkirch

 

[nobrakese28]

Should be an awesome build!

 

[maxxfish]

Stitch welding complete

 

[maxxfish]

A little bit of progress today...finally! Yes, they're just tacked for now.

 

[Gary Knox]

Max,

Great to see you are getting a bit of time to 'keep at it'. It WILL be awesome, and I hope to see it all completed by spring!

Cheers,

 

[maxxfish]

Gary,

Sure, Spring of 2022!

 

[maxxfish]

Here it is, the keystone of the whole project. Tyler from The Arc Asylum built this beautiful custom front subframe. It bolts right up to the E9, but uses E30 ends, which will allow the mounting of any 24V straight-6 of your choosing (M50, M52, S50, S52, S54). It has mounting tabs to use an E36 steering rack. He will be selling it, along with his modified oil pans. You can email him at [email protected] but please note he's just involved in building the subframe and oil pans, and can't answer your questions about the other details.

There's A LOT more to it than just buying this piece and mounting it to your engine/subframe. I hope to get that all figured out in the coming months, and will keep you up to date. Max

 

[teahead]

Here it is, the keystone of the whole project. Tyler from The Arc Asylum built this beautiful custom front subframe. It bolts right up to the E9, but uses E30 ends, which will allow the mounting of any 24V straight-6 of your choosing (M50, M52, S50, S52, S54). It has mounting tabs to use an E36 steering rack. He will be selling it, along with his modified oil pans. You can email him at [email protected] but please not he's just involved in building the subframe and oil pans, and can't answer your questions about the other details.

There's A LOT more to it than just buying this piece and mounting it to your engine/subframe. I hope to get that all figured out in the coming months, and will keep you up to date. Max

Did he just make one and you got it, or is he making more to sell?

VERY VERY interested if the latter and your progress. :-o




Also, what's the point of the E28 rear subframe? You just want to run coilovers?

 

[maxxfish]

Teahead,

No, Tyler and I worked together and he created a jig. He can build you as many as you need!

I wanted to ditch the side loader diff, so E28 rear was the way to go...

 

[bdigel]

Really cool Max ! Love it !

 

[teahead]

Why the zf 5-speed and not the 6-speed that came w/E46s?

Also, since the S54 is drive-by-wire, do you take the pedal assembly from the M3 too?

Just curious. Sounds like the ultimate build!