Several of you know that I am focused on collecting the M cars. After 10 years of purchasing various BMW's I realized that there are so many cars pre electric steering and thousands of electronic functions. I have been restoring classic cars, rebuilding just about any engine that comes my way and donating my time to charity to help those with repairs they cannot afford. I enjoy working on the cars as a stress relief from my job. Note I will use the term 3 pedal to refer to manuals. I am so tired of hearing "manual" for variation of drivetrains that have 2 pedals.
. In 2018 my wife and I moved away from Illinois (thank the lord) and went to America's Top City - Austin, Tx. I served on a board for BMW CCA, and am a legit car guy so to speak.
The X5M is my wifes primary hauler (including the carseat). It is by far the most reliable vehicle I have owned. Drop In Filters, Tune and a full exhaust and damn that is a quick SUV that gets excellent MPG. I definitely advise upgrading your deck - even if you do not use the Android side, the screen is beautiful. If you know anyone that has an E70 with CIC I will give them an amazing deal on an Avin.
The E60 is a spectacular car, the clutch feel ,the sound the fun etc - One of my favorite vehicles and with a zhp knob and just a bushing refresh with RP in the trans, gosh its amazing. With a natural brown interior its a beautiful car - the Tubi rear section sounds amazing. Tuned and ready for some RMS headers. I lucked out and bought a car from a Ford dealer who didnt realize the previous engine was replaced and fresh. My blackstone comments ask when did I build the motor? I still am ready to do the bearings and upgrade bolts at some point in the future.
My M3 Touring Project only requires the rear fenders to cut and weld on. I am completely out of Argon (hard time finding an open shop) and a very long day of prep and welding. If anyone in the Austin area is willing to do this job for me on the side, please let me know. The touring is my 4th manual sport car. It is the first that I did a complete M3 conversion. I have a stage 4 Maximum PSI (and partial HPF) kit in a box while i start to collect the expensive parts (CP Carillo Rods with Hardened Bolts, Titanium Springs are all I have). I get a budget for the abyss of the touring. Alas, it is a wonderful car even with the CSL airbox, quality headers and a full exhaust and Frank's Tune. The drivetrain swap was easy just time consuming. It has all parts that I sourced vs a donor. The brakes and brake booster (Competition) were amazing upgrades! The rear bumper cover is my attempt at what BMW "should" have made. Many shops have their own rendition - I chose to use the top curvature from the stock bumper and graft to an OEM M3 bumper cover. Dozens and dozens (hundreds maybe) of hours later, its close enough for paint when I get the rear fenders done. An OEM M3 hood aligns perfect to fiberglass OEM fenders made for a sedan front.
The E36 was purchased for my wife. Prior to our little one entering our world, she loved having an e46 m3 3 pedal cab. Given it has to be a manual, I purchased it. As luck would have it, a very uncommon (Dare i say rare) , 3 pedal E93 (above) came along and wallah - Now I want to trade the E36 for a sdean so I complete the collection (note: I sold my E90 M3 Jerez, to a great guy a few years back prior to our move, I just couldnt take it with). The E93 is a spectacular car in every way. Great find overall with one owner and a brand new interior. It has a tune already however test pipes will be on there soon.
The E30 M3 was purchased on BaT several years ago. The original owner passed away and I was fortunate to get an amazing car that my daughter will someday inherit post college.If someone in Austin knows an interior shop i have the original seats and want to 100% refresh the interior (carpet, door cards, etc). It has fresh Style 5 (17") with dark grey centers.
Last but not least is my favorite of the collection - My E39. It is currently undergoing a supersprint x pipe. The header flange studs were completely gone so i had to cut them. For those of you that have ever drilled out a stud, it is a long ugly process even with great bits. The car has been perfect, regular maintenance and easy fixes (man did new coils help). Again , Frank did his magic and it is the beast with the setup.
I want to thank Frank Smith personally for helping me with the cars. Offering to let me use your wifes X5M tune before it was even public is just an example of how great you are.
** Note - I received no compensation for my notes about
Frank Smith - TTFS. Frank is the most knowledgeable I have talked with and given I do all of my own builds, always offers up an answer to questions such as torque to yield angles through camshaft choices.
Anyways, thank you to bimmerpost for a home to visit when I am not dealing with work or exhausted from washing all the cars. My wife and daughter are the gems that help support my hobby. In the next year or two I will build my super shop in our backyard. Thankfully there is plenty of space in North Austin area (Leander).Hopefully I continue to meet more folks as we live in Texas after a long life in Illinois. My 3 year old girl is already excited to help detail wheels, hand daddy the dewalt or map gas torch. I could not live without my wife who autocrosses, loves to head to Circuit of the Americas for anything and doesn't mind I am always cut up and grease embedded.
Hook'em Horns!
- Cheers - Ryan