gthal

Although I have not had an incident in any car (knock on wood), I worried about it all of the time and really held back on the track (not that holding back a bit is necessarily a bad thing).

Taking a car that is meant to be at the track to the track will be fun. I will say there was something fun about taking the car I drive every day too... but the price of an issue felt too high.

b16

I have a dedicated road race car. The feeling of knowing you're willing to accept a total write off on the car allows you to push that much more and really enjoy the thing. Have fun!

Fung63

for me, costs and price aside... it is a total PITA when your DD goes down. I dont know about the rest of you but I get comfortable with my DD... the odd day I take my wife's GLK or even a loaner from MB.... it's just not the same

hhughes1

I am with you 100% on your decision. Even with track insurance, I still have some hesitation about going 10/10 in some places. The work involved in putting the car back to street form after a long weekend is enough to have me looking for a dedicated toy as well.

63'd

Smart decision and excellent choice for a track car!

Mort

Have fun at Shubie with the new car. Looks like a nice build.

gthal

It's a well suited car for Shubie Griffin Motors had their E36 track cars out there today running 1:15s. Very fast. I'm not at that driving skill just yet

gthal

The car arrived and is being prepped. It is everything I had hoped for. The build is amazing, the quality of everything is great. I am very, very happy. Everyone who sees it is in awe.

The shop is getting it ready for me. I want to make it street legal as I'm not interested in putting in on a trailer. Here is what is in store...

- Adding a race cat
- Adjusting the driver's seat for me
- Replace all fluids
- Check alignment and adjust camber and toe
- Daytime running lights
- New tires on Apex Arc-8 wheels
- Replace the racing harness in matching blue (see pic)
- Add a three point seat belt (to get it street legal)
- Add a Billy Club shifter (see pic)
- Add Turner racing pedals (see pic)
- Blacked out front grille

All else is pretty much perfect. The most impressive part of this build is the incredible roll cage. The quality and welds are immaculate (built by Fall Line) First track day is this coming Wednesday :happyanim:. All of my "stuff" below came from Apexperformance.net except pedals and shifter (Hans, Harness, Helmet, Gloves, etc), they have been simply excellent with service and delivery. Can't recommend them enough!

All the car needs now is a decently skilled driver I guess I will have to do Pictures of the car at the shop...







Turner racing pedals



Gotta have new racing gloves



Harness was expired so I bought these... should look great in the Estoril car!!!



Got to be safe... Hans Sport II



Billy club shift knob



OK, so if I'm getting new gear, a new helmet is in order... HJC AR-10II

b16

Love the scroth harnesses and good move on getting the Hans. You'll want to get a convex rear view mirror as now your neck motion will be very limited with the Hans.

gthal

I agree with the Convex mirror. I will be doing more to the car over the next couple of months and this will be one of the items. I also want to swap out the steering wheel and put a quick release on it (it is a b&tch getting in and out with the roll cage). I will also tweak the suspension after it has been on the track a few times. Maybe I will also.... this is going to get expensive.

BerBer63

Super clean, good luck

indicam3

Once you put the Apex wheels on (which IIRC are the BBS RC copies), your car will look exactly like what I daily drove, and tracked a few times, for almost 10 years before my c63. Same estoril blue and everything. Awesome looking track car, man.

VaclavSV

BEAST!!! Congrats!!!! -looks wicked!

MDiau

Congrats! Looks amazing and ought to be a ton of fun! If you don't mind could you tell him where did you find this bad boy. Is there a website for these track prep vehicles for sale? thanks

indicam3

Not speaking for the OP, but I would suggest the classifieds at bimmerforums as a place to find good track prep'd bmws.

gthal

Found it through a local dealer who sources cars throughout North America. They found it on Ebay. I'm in Canada and the car came from Michigan. There was another track prepped car at enthusiastauto.com but it wasn't as well sorted.

MDiau

Thanks I'll take a look

gthal

I had the website address incorrect... it was enthusiastauto.com not autoenthusiast.com... sorry about that.

1st amg

Geez, I didnt take you as that crazy!! You are going full out on this project, good for you! Cant wait to hear your impressions of driving this sort of car on a race track...my gut feeling is your going to love it!!

AMG3.2

Nice, my friend has an E36 M3 and he loves it. Granted, he's loved every car he's ever owned.

b16

Quick release makes ingress/egress so much nicer.

This addiction is more expensive than heroin or blow. The suspension on my Honda race car cost more than the rest of the car. lol

gthal

Just got back from the first track day in the E36 M3. All I can say is WOW.

It felt like I was driving a go-kart compared to the E92 M3 or C63. It simply stuck like glue. It was very visceral and raw. I could feel and hear everything the car did. It was incredibly neutral and was hard to get it to oversteer or understeer. It simply went where I pointed it with ease. The steering was precise, little to no body roll, incredible grip (this was on Dunlop Star Spec street tires and it still had incredible grip).

Heel toe is much easier in the E36 than the E9X and I was faster today than I have been in either my E92 M3 (DCT or 6MT) and my C63 coupe. I actually started to change my driving lines as I could MUCH more aggressively dive into corners, brake later and harder and get back on the gas much, much earlier. The E9X M3 and C63 are fun track cars but this little car is just amazing. It was by FAR the most fun I have ever had at the track. I'm out again next Thursday

Anyone who is on the fence about a track dedicated car, just go get it. You worry less (the investment at risk is much lower), you are incredibly connected to the car, safer (roll cage, 6 point harness, hans, fire system), and faster than you would think. The E36 M3 is simply an amazing track car with balanced and predictable handling, huge braking, decent power and incredibly direct and communicative chassis. If you can't tell, I'm happy

Getting back in the C63 was like getting into an S Class for luxury, comfort, sound level and refinement. It also had a TON more power and is a much better DD in every respect but no where near as fun on the track IMO. What would be interesting would be a C63 that is stripped with a track suspension setup, extra rigidity and a whole bunch less weight.

Guilty

I'm happy that the car makes you happy! Sounds like fun! Jealous!

Mort

That sounds like a fantastic car and a great day at the track. Nice to hear that you are grinning from ear to ear and that the car is all that you hoped it would be.

rory breaker

I literally could not picture a better track car...when you're done with her send her my way