We are excited to start this long term ‘hennarot’ E30 M3 project.
I remember being a passenger in this car back in 2000 or 2001 during a MotorCity BMW club track school at Michigan International Speedway. It was my first driving event (DE) with the BMW club and Keith, the owner of this M3, was my in-car, on-track instructor. I had a much more powerful M Coupe (which has a very similar rear suspension as the older E30 3-Series cars) at the time but I wasn’t nearly as quick. Keith ran these cars in BMW Club Racing so I wasn’t surprised he was quick. I do remember his envious comments about the S52 power I had in the M Coupe every time he rode shotgun with me on track. E30 M3s are loads of fun and can be quick, but they’re anything but fast relative to modern M cars.
This particular M3 is in good shape from a corrosion perspective but tired in every other sense. The paint is faded, battle scars mar its flanks, and the engine is in need of a thorough going through. As a matter of fact, its not exactly running at the moment thanks to electrical gremlins.
Our immediate plan is to remove the drivetrain and get into the engine and assess what we have. From there a proper engine rebuild is probably in order– how far we go is dependent on what we find and, of course, what Keith agrees to.
Come back often to see updates on this, and many other cool projects.