Project: Demo Car (e36 content)

[Majend]

just got the shots from sunday, here are my favorites

[Majend]

I decided to finally do the airbox on the BMW. When I bought the car it just had a cone filter on a 45 degree elbow. it sounds great but it looks REALLY cheap in the engine bay. I want to go with a more OEM+ look in the engine bay so i wanted to grab a stock airbox. Luckily my friend Travis had one but i still wanted a bit more volume than the stock box. I am pretty sure what I am doing is going to harm the performance over the stock airbox but given that the setup I have right now doesn't have a heat shield I would have to imagine that it at least wont be worse than the current setup.

So here is the stock box on my messy coffee table


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

and here is the section I wanted to remove


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

I wanted to get a clean line so I put some yellow tape down so I could draw out where I wanted to cut, Nora approves


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

then I went downstairs and cut the section out with a dremel


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

and then I finished off the edge with some sandpaper just to clean it up. You won't really be able to see this when it is in the car but I felt it was important.


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

I'm going to put it in the car sometime this week but it is a bit cold and dark out to do it right now hehe.

[Majend]

my friend Jarad wanted to shoot the car so we went out on sunday and took a few photos, the rest will be up as soon as i get them from him

[womensecks]

Those fake Recaros woulda killed me, too, for that long of a drive.

Progress looks good. Dump the seats ASAP!

[Majend]

took the car out to my dad's house for dinner


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

[Majend]

20mm came in the mail this morning so i put them up front, this is as low as i can go right now and still be able to turn the wheel without the tread catching the fender in the front


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

[Majend]

few shots from tonight, my friend kelsey had her camera with her so there are better pics coming and maybe a video eventually but we'll see. There are still a number of small things to sort out. First my 20mm spacers didn't get here today. We tested everything up front with the 25mm just to make sure but i wanted to say something before a bunch of people said i needed spacers up front. Right now there are just a pair of 5mm on the front wheels. Second i need to roll/pull the rear fenders more and max out the camber on the stock arms. Hopefully both of those things will be sorted out tomorrow and then i have an alignment scheduled for monday after work so if nothing else the rear camber with be taken care of then.


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

i am a happy camper right now

[Majend]

finished up the wheels, can't wait till after work tomorrow for tires and then mounting them on the car!!!!


All done!! by Majend, on Flickr

i am not really looking forward to keeping these clean since i did the inside of the barrels white as well lol

[Majend]

Your clarification does wonders for what I was thinking. If the tint was that bad, I can understand why you'd take them off.

I was under the assumption that you were going to use the Style 32's as a permanent solution- a lot of people just settle for sub-par and think that just because something isn't "stock", means it's better.

I guess I can understand where you're coming from with the stickers- I just really, really don't like them anymore I guess.

Keep up the good work, I'm interested to see where this goes.

yeah i am not the type to settle, you do not want to know how much time and money went into those art wheels lol I have thought about running style 32s as something other than a temp wheel but this set is the high offset version (for those unfamiliar there are two versions of 32s, one set is 17x8,9 et20 and the other is 17x7.5,8.5 et41 the set i have currently is the latter) so while with spacers they will look alright they are nowhere near aggressive enough to run long term.

and i totally understand where you are coming from on the stickers they are a real love it or **** it type of thing hehe

[MommysLittleMonster]

Your clarification does wonders for what I was thinking. If the tint was that bad, I can understand why you'd take them off.

I was under the assumption that you were going to use the Style 32's as a permanent solution- a lot of people just settle for sub-par and think that just because something isn't "stock", means it's better.

I guess I can understand where you're coming from with the stickers- I just really, really don't like them anymore I guess.

Keep up the good work, I'm interested to see where this goes.

[Majend]

I feel like this is going downhill, fast...

You started with a clean, simple 328 with nice M3 wheels and nice tint, but now you're putting on meh wheels (and you thought about Corvette wheels), removed all of the tint instead of just the damaged tint, and threw on a bunch of tacky stickers...

You have a good platform to start, just remember- less is more, especially on a demo car.

totally understand where you are coming from but i felt like i should explain myself a bit.

The M3 Wheels: they were rashed pretty bad by the previous owner and the tires were basically shot, i have some cool ideas for them but the work involved requires that the tires are off of the wheels so i got the style 32s only as a place holder. In addition someone decided to slash one of the rear tires on the M3 wheels and since my spare is a front (17x7.5 front, 17x8.5 rear) i didn't want to drive asymmetrically for longer than i had to. I figured this was the best option given how much longer i am going to be driving the car this year. The corvette wheels were purchased for the same reason. I don't buy wheels unless i can get them cheap enough to at least break even when i go to sell them, so $200 cash for a set of rash free 1990 ZR1s or rash free style 32s, why not? I have so many sets of wheels that i want to run next year and i have already put a few sets in the basement which i will be showing when they are ready.

The Tint: the pictures did not do the condition of the tint justice. it was truly horrible in person, plus i am a big fan of no tint on black cars, or really any color (maybe red...)

The Stickers: Beyond the "Illest" everything i put on the back window i have a personal relationship with. I am normally not a fan of stickers on the back which is why i at least went with a single color and style. I end up around photographers enough that i wanted to be able to give a shout to the local companies and communities that have helped me with this and other cars in the past. Will they stay on forever? probably not. Do i like how the look now? i certainly do.

I tend to be of the more is less mentality and i like to draw focus to one aspect of a particular car and then be subtle with everything else. One thing to remember is that i have had the car for about a month and i haven't really done much yet and that is by design. Sure i could have thrown a bunch of parts at it right away but i do live in Minnesota and i have maybe a month and a half of driving time left before it gets put away for the winter. I would much rather stockpile parts over the winter and put them on in the spring when i can enjoy them fresh. Plans right now for the direction of the build are to refresh the interior and change it to black with some very mild suede accents, get some OEM seats (I don't like having "fake" parts), fix the dents and since there is some light scuffs in the paint i am probably going to wrap the car in satin black (i have sprayed a car satin black before and as anyone else who has done it will tell you it is next to impossible to get an even finish so a wrap in this case given the base color of the car i think is the best option), very light motor and under the hood cosmetic upgrades (m50 intake, silicone piping, opened up OEM air box, software), and then finish sorting out the suspension.

Thats it really, the wheel refinishing is just a side thing for me to make some extra cash doing something that i enjoy. It isn't something i put a lot of stock in since the demand for work is so varied it would be irresponsible to put myself in a position when i was dependent on the income it provides.

I hope this wasn't too long winded hehe, i got to work (real job, audio software) early today and finished pretty much everything that needed to be done by about 9am and i got a little bored. I also hope this clarifies a few points about the car and its purpose. I don't want to come off as trying to build a sema quality car, I just happen to love driving e36s and i wanted a non-winter daily that i could enjoy and use to showcase the refinishing work that i love doing.

I really appreciate constructive criticism so please feel free to let me know how you feel about what i'm doing.

[MommysLittleMonster]

I feel like this is going downhill, fast...

You started with a clean, simple 328 with nice M3 wheels and nice tint, but now you're putting on meh wheels (and you thought about Corvette wheels), removed all of the tint instead of just the damaged tint, and threw on a bunch of tacky stickers...

You have a good platform to start, just remember- less is more, especially on a demo car.

[Majend]

yesterday i picked up a set of wheels from a friend for the bmw, today i had samaritan tire (seriously the ONLY tire shop i will go to) dismount the tires and i started to work on them tonight. they are going on the car on friday and i am REALLY excited.

what they looked like when i got them home this afternoon


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

there was a lot of oxidation on the "lips"


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

spent a few hours sanding them down and getting them ready for paint then sprayed some primer


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr


Untitled by Majend, on Flickr

they are coming out really nicely so far, got two wheels in primer tonight, and i'm going to hit them again tomorrow and wednesday.

[Majend]

local deal on spacers fell through so i had to order a set online hopefully they will be here on friday.

going over to my buddy's place and sorting out the new wheels on friday. we are going to be filming the whole afternoon (that bavaria video made me want to run out to the garage lol) but photos shoud be up that night.

[Majend]

went to test fit the ZR1s and they just are not going to work right now. stacked 25mm, 5mm, and 3mm spacers on top of each other and they still hit the coilovers up front. i am going to hold on to them for the time being and maybe try again let with some massive spacers.

anywho... after the ZR1s didn't fit i was going to just run the DS2s till the end of the year but someone decided to slash one of my rear tires... since my spare is a front and since the DS2s need some work i picked up a set of style 32s. they are the 17x7.5,8.5 et41 variety but i got them for super cheap so i'm not complaining, they will be on for the rest of the season then they will be used just as something when i am in between sets next year. they should be on the car by the end of the week