Hello all! Here is my E34 M3!!

[Jobi]

Hi guys! I live in France and I'm building the E34 I dreamed of.

At the moment I could say I own a very unique E34 M3!!

Basically the car is a E34 '92 525i. The engine has been swapped for a Euro M3 3L engine (with proper gearbox, engine harness and ECUs).

The engine is fully rebuilt, with overbore BMW pistons, balanced crank, rod and pistons matched together, raised comp ratio, M3 3.2L headers, full ss custom made exhaust (with decat and with only small silencers in the middle), induction kit (couldn't fit the MAF from the M3 on my std airfilter box and couldn't fit the M3 airfilter box on my car), chipped and delimited ECU and non recirculated crankcase vapor. Oh,of course the engine is blueprinted.

Front axle is new and is M5 like (aluminium arms) and I'm currently rebuilding a spare rear axle from a 535i to have a 3.43 LSD rear diff, which involves M5 shafts.

I run on E39 M5 lookalike wheels (18') and I have fitted a E34 M5 seats (full leather and heated). The chassis is modified too: Bilstein/Eibach suspension, Zimmermann discs all round, EBC Redstuff pads at the front and braided hoses all round.

Equipment of the car is rather correct too: 4 electrical windows (fitted the rear electrical windows last month), climate control (non automatic, only the reguar one with two separate zones), sunroof, big OBC, check control, M3 leather gearknob,aluminium M badged pedals,etc. I hope to fit a tempomat and a M Tech II steering wheel soon.

I also have red/white rear lights, clear front indicators and eyes front lights.

here are some pics. Will try to post extra pics asap because an original M5 bodykit is due to be fitted very soon.










At the moment, and with the 3.25 rear diff, I have same performance as a std Euro 3L M3. (I just can't describe the face of the owner of the M3 when he saw I had the same block he has!! " WTF!?! How can you push harder than I do with the same block in a heavier car!?!? " me: )

I also matched the performance of a 3.8L M5. After the new rear diff is fitted I'll remap the car on the dyno to get all the last bhp from my engine.

Hope to have fun here!


Jobi


(just in case: all job done by myself)

[Jobi]

extra pics:

[Don]

Welcome to the board. Where are you in France?

Don

[Jobi]

Not far from Paris. approx 15 miles South West. Ever been in France?

[SRR2]

Wow. That is impressive. Nice work.

There's a lot of money in that car now. How does insurance in France work? Here in the States unless the vehicle is designated a "classic car" you basically can't insure the car for more than an ordinary car of the same type and year. If something happens to it, it's your loss. I'd be reluctant to take a work of art like that out on the road.

[Jobi]

Thx for ur opinion...but even if I defo like my E34, this is not a work of art. I mean it's just building the bimmer I wanted. There's nothing that difficult (except wiring to have everything fully functional): you know, bimmers are just big LEGOs!! lol

I'm way more proud of my magical toy: my Nissan Sunny GTI-R. It's like a rally car unleashed on the road...with even more power!! Wiping off sporty motorbike riders' smile in a blast is just sooooooo good!! (and I don't even talk about making a Posrche 996 Turbo a small point in a rear view mirror) This car is a piece of engineering. I could tell u more about it if you want, but I'm afraid it won't interest that many people here as it's a small japanese car...

Anyway,my E34 is more like something I started to make sure I'll have a rather fast car while my GTI-R was being rebuilt and tuned. I like it,really. But it's more about having fun and owning a unique car than making an exceptional thing.But I reckon I've spent time and money on it...you know,it's just something about the way I do things: when I have an idea,I don't give up until I say "job done".
For my E34 I would probably say job done in a couple of month or so...maybe three...And then...the car would be up for sale,to begin a new project.

Oh,and my insurance think it's a regular M50 powered 525i. In France driving in a modified car is just illegal. So if I get involved in an accident destroying the whole car, if someone sees the difference,not only will it be a total loss, but I would also be banned from my insurance!! lol But I just don't care:life is too short! I wanna enjoy my car whenever I want...

[Booster]

Welcome and well done on your swap !
As some will attest, I'm also a huge nissan/Datsun fan, so Kudos to you for owning a fine example of Nissans best "little sleeper" ! Albeit....that yours is NOT shy on power upgrades, you still have a great sleeper to wipe the all too often seen "smug" face of the exotic car owner.
Something I have found to never lose its appeal. (smiles)
I'm also impressed with how nice a example you've maintained here too !Keep up the great work,I'm sure you'll add lots to this board.
Vincent

[Martin in Bellevue]

That is a very well done e34. Good choice in motor, and front seats. The sport seats are rather rare on this side of the world.
I meet my wife in Paris a couple months ago. That city leaves an impression.
Please don't park that car on the streets in Paris.

[Jon K]

nice car dude - the euro motor is neat - but i hear over there they are pretty common Definitely wish I lived in Europa!

[Jobi]

Martin: met a couple of month ago and already maried!!! Congratulation mate, you're not kidding when you fall in love! "Hello,fast wedding service,may I help you? Maried within a couple of month? No problem, we can handle that." LOOL
Is she french?

(this car is never parked in the streets: it goes from my private garage to closed parking areas )

Jon: you wish you live in countries where a liter of petrol cost between 1 and 1.5 dollars??? Are you kidding??? This is exactly the point why, at the begining, I decided to go for such a swap: a M5 can't average decent mpg, but the S50 does. So I've decided to do a E34 M3, with a midly tuned engine to have the same performance I could have with a regular euro M3. (sounds strange, but I just wanted to own a E34...I like so much the way it looks)

Off topic: Jon, that's fun: we have the same first name and we both own green E34 M50! lol