BMW, for the E36, had two overall option packages for the M3: Sport and Luxury; the only exterior differences were in the front bumper. Why BMW made the luxury front end different from the sport end is beyond me, and sadly its taken almost two years for me to rectify this problem. For the past couple of months I've been trying to clean this car up and rectify some outstanding problems. Still have quite a few things to fix before its "done", but I've slowly been knocking things out.

For starters, what the luxury front looks like:



The lux front has slats where the sport has mesh, and also does not have a front lip spoiler. BMW doesn't make it easy to fix this, so I had to drill and file the holes to fit the factory mounting hardware for the lip spoiler. It took more time to get the bumper off than it did to replace the mesh...I would highly recommend doing this for anyone unfortunate enough to have a luxury front bumper.

And how it looks now:



I spent the better part of today driving around Ashland, Caroline County, Doswell, etc. looking for picture taking spots with Kevinz. Wound up by the Mattaponi Springs Golf Club out in Ruther Glen...lots of nice roads and architecture. He took a bunch of photos, hopefully he will post something when he gets a chance. Either way, enough babbling.




Car is lowered, yes it needs wheels, and no I was not bored.

I've got one of these on the way, so expect a write-up in a week or two:



And...the only interior shot thats really worth a damn:



I intend to have the headliner and A and C pillars recovered in the next few months, along with a TSX projector retrofit into some DEPO housings.

 

woooodgrainn

 

Yeah, fuck wood grain trim. Its already hard enough to find interior panels for a sedan, the wood grain trim just makes it that much more difficult. I'll probably get around to being rid of all of it sooner or later.

 

Its clean... I dig it...

 

Why get rid of the wood? You have something hard to find, embrace it.

Then again, what do I know - I like those wheels.

This is one of the few cars on this website that I really like.

Cell phone functional?

 

I like those wheels too... Needs moar black powder coat though... Not fond of the oem silver junk on any oem wheel...

 

You can't see it in the picture, but the trim around the shifter console is chipped and cracked, as well as the shift knob and e-brake handle. If I can find pieces in good condition I wouldn't mind replacing them, but its almost impossible to find.

I like the wheels, but the car needs something a little more aggressive and non-BMW.

 

Lookin good Phil!

 

Are they NLA from BMW? Then send them to http://www.maderaconcepts.com/ (more expensive than new wood from a dealer typically, but his work is better than new).

How deep are the chips? Cracks I can't fix but I've had good luck with a combination of dremel and hand polishing using 3M liquid rubbing compound (followed by swirl mark remover) to get out chips.

 

Wood grain is awesome as long it is well taken care of. Very clean car. I know a lot of people will be against this, but I think clear corners on black E36's look good and would help set your car apart a bit.