Shahe Bagerdjian When most people look at the E30 BMW family they see heritage. The and racing heritage runs thick through the blood of one particular type of an E30, the M3. The M3 was the most successful touring car ever. The car was practically a factory race car that you could by at your local BMW dealership. The lines of the car are finely drawn; The sculpture of the wide body lures many like a seductive mistress; The overall shape is so aggressive yet so adhesive to ones heart. However the M3 is not all about the looks. The car itself is a unrefined street machine. Built with one purpose in mind, to dominate the touring car circuit. The car standing still looks like a beast in hibernation. Only when the key is turned, the S-14 is revved, and the tires take off spinning, this car comes to life. This is one car that must be drive and driven to the extreme for one to truly understand why this car holds a special place in many peoples’ hearts.

My heart was hooked the day I saw my first E30 M3. It was about a year ago, and time had come for me to buy a new car. I was in search for a 1995 Avus blue E36 M3. So we set out, we arrived at the dealership and parked next to a small go-kart like automobile. At first I didn’t know what it was tell the truth. I had never seen a car like this. Shahe BagerdjianFurther examination proved it to be an M3. I quickly found the closest salesman to find out how much they wanted for it, from this moment on my heart was set on an E30 M3. unfortunately this particular one wasn’t for sale, so I informed my dad that there was nothing at this dealer for me and we left. After 7 months of searching and calling various contacts, I found a 89 M3 for sale. The car was nowhere near perfect condition. The whole passenger side had a dent the size of a shopping cart in it; the paint was faded from being parked in the sun for a year; the bumper had horrible scratches on it. Nevertheless, non of these minor imperfections detoured me, for this car had less than 82k miles, all receipts and service records, and had been parked for 2 years. The car, mechanically was in solid shape. The purchase was made and a dream was fulfilled.

As a true car enthusiast, I did not wait long to start working on my new car. Quickly I got on the phone with Maximillions and ordered my Evo II chin spoiler and European tow hook covers. I later blacked out the center grill and had the rear lights converted to all red. Shahe BagerdjianMy next modification was the obvious, the car needed to be fixed and re-sprayed. I called my dads good friend at Northridge Paint and Frame and made an appointment two weeks from the date I had called. This gave me two weeks to get the car to mint condition mechanically. I ordered new gaskets for the valve cover and intake gasket. New distributor cap and rotor were placed on the car, the spark plug wires where upgraded to the red Evo III wires as were the spark plugs. All the belts were replaced and the A/C was disconnected. The K&N filter was cleaned oiled and placed back in. New stickier Michelin Pilots where slapped on to the staggered 17x8 and 8.5 Alpina Classics. As the car was raised I had noticed the springs weren’t stock, they were H&R sport springs. This was a pleasant surprise. Interior wise I didn’t have much to do so I just cleaned it out, removed my rear tint, and Armoraled my Momo steering wheel and dash. Two weeks had flown by and time had come to hand my baby over to the body show. It was a sad moment knowning I wont have my car for 2 weeks but I knew I was gonna recive a magnificent car when it was all said an done. I had the car’s body damaged fixed and the whole car painted. I had it re-sprayed Zinnerberot with a two stage clear coat over it. The fenders where rolled and the read fenders had some custom flaring done to them. The car was now looking extravagant. And I was a happy man.

I now look forward to my next modification. I have already spoken to Evo Sport and I am going to install a Jim Conforti ECU chip, Bilstine sport shocks, Sparco stress bars for the front and rear, Suspension techniques sway bars for the front and rear, and upgrade the brakes to a better and stronger Evo Sport rotors. As far as motor modifications go I have not yet desided what I want to do to my S-14. I am leaning towards the newly developed RMS stage I supercharger kit with an after-cooler. Many purest would recommend the 2.5 liter stroker engine build, however this path is very costly. Only time will tell what I will do and E30sport.net will keep you informed as parts are ordered and modifications are made.