BMW E36 "M3 LTW"

[Track_M3]

Old builds:
E46 M3 track car - https://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/threads/sams-estori...

1DX21636 by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

F87 M2 clubsport - https://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/threads/clubsport-l...

Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr

New build:
E36 M3 LTW inspired

GTA SA by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Base car -
1994 BMW E36 coupe 320i Alpine White
40k on the clock/shell
Not had any welding and doesn't need for any
Wasn't on the road between 2005 & 2017
S50B30 rebuilt and installed in 2017 along with every last bit of the running gear... I'm guessing someone used this to re-shell a rusty or crashed 3.0 M3
Full respray in 2021
Alcantara trimmed headliner, A & C pillars

It's been a half caged track car before then converted back into more of a "fast road" car with a full interior


Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr


Would've loved to have started with a true 3.0 M3 but to find one with solid bones like this would've cost a heap more and I'd have felt guilty taking it away from its originality.

[Track_M3]

Down to the nitty gritty - other than the 6 year old Chinese tyres, basically straight through back box, shy gear knob, dreadful driving position, slow steering rack, long final drive, 20 year old coilovers and standard bushes *it drove mint*

Things that were a must to go ASAP
.Black kidney grills
.Pressed number plates
.Fake M3 back box
.Fake M3 wing mirrors
.K&N open air filter
.Centre console buttons, switches, incorrect cigarette lighter and head-unit
.Fake leather steering wheel
.Arm rest
.Carbon front splitter (which turn out to be a genuine ACS item)
.Purple parcel shelf... standard


Things that I loved about it
.Slick top (no sun roof)
.Apline White
.S50B30
.Evo sump - dual oil pick
.Twin fuel pumps
.LSD
.Twisty heater knobs
.No OBC (onboard computer)

I wanted to make sure the car was all good before started to dive into modifying it so every single service part and fluid has been changed

Found some hidden gems... would've left them on but I hate stickers

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr


Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



I kept my Recaro SPA from my M2 so these went in

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Engine bay definitely needs attention

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

OEM radio blank and starting to dig in to the switches/wiring

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Lead to carpet out and sound deadening while at it, plus could tidy up the loom and fit some harness eye bolts.

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Sheer bolts removed from the steering column to lower it

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Discreet tow strap for track days

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Recaro SPA bucket seats
MOMO steering wheel adapter as the other had play
Go-Race GT steering wheel release
OMP Superlerggero 320mm steering wheel, aluminium frame with figure of 8 grip
OEM radio blank
Correct top heater vent
Remove audio
CAE ultra shifter with the reverse lock cut off to fit under the dash without cutting
CAE adjustable selector rod to bring it back closer to me
STACK oil pressure gauge was already fitted so added a battery volt metre and clock to make the 3 using a ST track parts mount
OEM cig lighter
Front fog delete button
Non arm rest centre console
Non smoking cubby holders
Lowered steering column
Horn relocated to the column trim
Twin fuel pump switch removed and wired in properly
Electric fan switched removed and wired into an OEM 80 degrees switch

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Fog blanks and wing mirrors temporally in black

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

[Track_M3]

Now I started to parts hoard but first some bits needed beefing up

Car came with M3/convertible X-brace fitted but it was riv-nutted which I’m not a massive fan of as they stand proud. I wanted to reinforce and powdercoat a front subframe anyway so bought a spare from a convertible with the threads built in.

Then got a front subframe plate kit that I cut up as wanted to plate the engine mount area from the underside to not raise the heavy pig iron block engine by 3mm

My good friend Toby done all the welding for me

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Good job I did too as this was the state of the old

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr


Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr


Engine mounts were probably new in 2017 as they were actually mint

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr


Front struts 3mm plated

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr


Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Rear struts 3mm plated plus weld in and removable strut brace using FIA lap joints and 40mm T45 bar

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

0.5mm carbon gasket as Intrax coilovers have a void in them that would let in road grim water ect

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr

[Track_M3]

Deadweight Industries battery with custom bracket



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Wanted a AP kit that cleared stock M3 wheels so landed on a Reyland 330mm kit



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Un-sprung pads sounded like had a rod bearing gone so hopefully these chopped up Porsche/Brembo springs do the trick



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



IMG_8737 by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



For the rear I went with a 996 rear caliper, radial bracket, RPB 328x20mm disc (e46 m3 size) & RS29 pads



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Think this will be a good balance with the fronts and it’s visually pleasing/close enough match too



No words are needed for this



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



New coolant tank

Coolant level sender deleted

New silicone radiator hoses

Cleaned screen wash bottle

Aftermarket alarm holes on inner wing welded up

OEM air box

Fan wiring tidied up

Ultra racing strut brace

3mm plated strut then painted white

Correct oil cap



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Valve cover still needs to be refurbished and ideally a carbon air box down the line… always regretted not putting one on my S54



My car still had an outstanding recall on it from about 20 years ago probably because it wasn’t on the road



Scabby old steering shaft



Untitled by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Brand new one



IMG_8723 by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Chopped up straight away to change the rubber bush for aluminium



IMG_8734 by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



This added with a purple tag rack is a great combo



Summary of front axle refresh has been :



Reinforced & powdered coated convertible cross member

Powder coated X-brace

E30 front wishbones

Millway Motorsport caster bushes in new lolly pops

Vibra-Technics road engine mounts

AP Racing CP9440 brakes

New wheel bearings

Intrax 1K2 coilovers

New shorter drop links

3mm plates on front struts

Purple tag steering rack

New E46 inner track rods & boots - E36 outer track rods

New lower steering arm with solid bush

Power steering bottle catch tank

Eibach anti-roll-bar powdercoated

Powerflex black 26mm ARB bushes

Powerflex purple transmission mounts

Ultra racing strut brace





I’ve Millway Motorsport camber arms to go on the rear and all new hub ball joints but that will be as far as I go on rear for the minute as want to drive the thing. These should allow me to get a good geo and put some miles down.



Plus want to build a spicy diff with a 3.64 crown & pinion and more aggressive LSD

[Track_M3]

233D5E2E-4904-4D01-AB4D-6D7B359893EE by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



M3 Wing mirrors, fog light blanks and fake LTW boot spoiler filled with expanding foam got painted with a perfect match definitely needs the GT adjustable front lip to finish off the exterior



FD5DC25C-A1AC-43AB-BFF1-E24CB1944F7A by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Bought another set of M3 Evo alloys and had all the rears refurbished in silver to give me a 8.5” square setup… finished off with some new 245/40/17 Michelin Pilot Sport 5’s



Gives a great OEM+ look and will be a good set of wheels for road and wet track days - have ordered another set of wheels to run some semi slicks



743BEE79-4855-460C-88E9-B59A70776DC8 by Sam Ratcliffe, on Flickr



Still need to fine tune the coilover ride height, cambers and wheel spacers



Was only put on the floor and driven out the garage to motivate me to get all the little jobs finished.



Will be waiting for the road salt to go then stick some road miles on it ready for a track day

[Jhonno]

Great build.. Love the old S50's

Those Deadweight batteries are mint, love mine.

[Networkgeek]

Incredible E36, they really do look fantastic with this style of rear wing.

Out of interest, what mods did you do to your M2? I have an 18-plate OG in LBB that is completely stock, I intended to keep it this way, but the modifying bug is starting to creep in

[d_a_n1979]

That's a fantastic build

Looks a superb car; bet that drives fantastic!

[bumskins]

Love that Sam, thanks for sharing looking forward to seeing how you get on with it. Funny as a youth one of my dream 'builds' was an E30 with an S54 swap, however with age i've begun to prefer the S50-series of engines - don't sound quite as raspy as an S54 and sound more mechanical/raw

[Jhonno]

bumskins said:

Love that Sam, thanks for sharing looking forward to seeing how you get on with it. Funny as a youth one of my dream 'builds' was an E30 with an S54 swap, however with age i've begun to prefer the S50-series of engines - don't sound quite as raspy as an S54 and sound more mechanical/raw

I had an E30 with an S50B30 in it.. It was amazing, I still regret breaking it up now.

[Pflanzgarten]

Oof, that looks bang on.

[Harmitans]

Superb! The E36 shape is just so right. Tasteful OEM+ mods are just making it better too, great work.

[cerb4.5lee]

That just looks so good!

Have fun in it.

[Smokey Bear]

Thats lovely and you've made a good job saving it too!

[BSSBMW]

Another great build Sam!

Looking forward to seeing the progress with it.

[BSSBMW]

Jhonno said:

bumskins said:

Love that Sam, thanks for sharing looking forward to seeing how you get on with it. Funny as a youth one of my dream 'builds' was an E30 with an S54 swap, however with age i've begun to prefer the S50-series of engines - don't sound quite as raspy as an S54 and sound more mechanical/raw

I had an E30 with an S50B30 in it.. It was amazing, I still regret breaking it up now.

Same with my old one Dan, on both counts although i sold mine rather than broke it.

[Chunkychucky]

BSSBMW said:

Jhonno said:

bumskins said:

Love that Sam, thanks for sharing looking forward to seeing how you get on with it. Funny as a youth one of my dream 'builds' was an E30 with an S54 swap, however with age i've begun to prefer the S50-series of engines - don't sound quite as raspy as an S54 and sound more mechanical/raw

I had an E30 with an S50B30 in it.. It was amazing, I still regret breaking it up now.

Same with my old one Dan, on both counts although i sold mine rather than broke it.

On to bigger and better things in your case...!

[SturdyHSV]

That looks so right, great job so far!

May I ask a simple question though given the amount of quality work done so far...

The OEM radio blank, would that not be an ideal spot to drill 3 holes in and mount the oil pressure etc. gauges up there nearer your eye line?

[ashisgrumpy]

Great progress Sam
Loved both the previous builds, attention to detail and focusing on the chassis work and setup rather than just upping power gets massive approval in my book.

Love the rawness of the E36 compared to the newer stuff.

Was this a factor in swapping out the M2? Didn't seem to keep it for too long.

[shalmaneser]

Lovely car, I had an e36 m3 Evo coupe in black and i still look back on it fondly. The s50b32 is better than the s54 imo, and the chassis was lovely.

Have you fitted sway bars? Might have been tempted to go with 996 brakes all round for the matching look!