You are looking at Hornswoggler's 1997 BMW M3 coupe with 5-speed manual transmission.

Quick Pics:

Recent photo taken from North Georgia mountain drive.
Another shot from the mountain drive photoshoot. :-)
Getting ready for some drag racing! Was fun!
Taking some turns at Road Atlanta!!!

Intro, Background, and Car Selection Process:
The year was 1999 and I wanted a new(er) car. At the time, I had a 1988 Mercur XR4Ti, which is a German made Mercury/Ford. It had the Ford 2.3L turbo 4-cyl motor and was pretty fun but after 2 or so years of ownership, I was ready to move onto something better and nicer (and easier to find parts for).

I wanted something nice (near-luxury), I wanted something reliable, and I wanted something with a manual transmission. I considered some cars from the Lexus and Mercedes Benz lines, but none of them had a manual transmission (they now both have limited models with a manual). I took interest in the BMW 3-series as it offered me everything I was looking for... and then some.

As an educated consumer, I did my part to research everything I could about the BMW 3-series and their competitors. Almost every car magazine had sings and praises for the e36 3-series... beating the competition in almost every comparo, making the Car and Driver top 10 list for many years in a row (now up to 14 years straight!) and setting the benchmark for luxury sports sedans and coupes.

It wasn't long until I discovered the ///M3!

///M series BMW's are worked-over by BMW's internal Motorsport team. This is their factory racing team and they also make BMW's highest performing street cars. Other cars to get the M treatment include three generations of M3's (e30, e36, and e46), three (soon to be 4) generations of M5's, an M6 (~1988), an M Roadster (based on the Z3 convertible), M coupe (based on the Z3 coupe), M1 (the car that started it all), and the 850CSi.

The BMW M3 is the top of the 3-series food chain. The list of standard equipment is solid, and almost everything performance is a big step up from the other 3-series models (i.e. 318, 323, 325, 328). Bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, lower stance, bigger wheels, and bigger motor all made this one mean car. From the outside it was also set apart with a lower front fascia, better sideskirts, slick looking mirrors, rear diffuser, and thicker side moldings. Not exactly sleeper, but not overstated (read: boy racer) either.

In September of 1997, Car and Driver awarded the M3 as the Best-Handling Car for MORE than $30,000! (click Next to read).

Unfortunately, the US did not get the same S50B30 (286 HP) or S50B32 (321 HP) M3 motor that was available to the rest of the world. The US version came with a 3.0L S50US motor in 1995, and an S52US for model years 1996-1999. Both of these motors are rated at 240HP. The 3.2L is rated for 237 ft-lb of torque at 3,800 rpm's. While we did get shorted on the better motor, I'll admit, I probably would not have been able to afford the car at the time if it had the "real" M3 motor in it. There are some other minor differences between the euro M3 and US M3, the few that I can think of: floating front rotors (same size), slightly lower suspension, glass projector headlights, clear corners and side markers (not amber), headlight washer jets, curved driver-side mirror, electric rear windows, and I am sure a few other small things. Some M3's also received factory strut tower braces and an X-brace chassis reinforcement.

Other candidates that I considered back in 1999: (again, it HAD to have a manual transmission)
- C5 Vette: Too much premium at the time, not enough high-mile examples to get a deal on. Was not crazy about the look and stigma.
- Porsche 911: Way out of my price range.
-Mustang Cobra: Fast, but not enough class or luxury for me.
- V8 Transmarobird: See above.
- Audi S4: Too new at the time.
- BMW 328is: Great car. Made the stretch for the M3 instead, never looked back.
- BMW Z3: Too small, didn't care for the looks.

Anyhow, I was sold on the e36 M3. This was the car I wanted to own!

Table of Contents:

Page 1: Quick pics, Intro, and car selection
Page 2: The New Whip
Page 3: Mods and Suspension
Page 4: Brakes, Wheels and Tires
Page 5: Drivetrain and Engine Mods
Page 6: Exterior Mods and Lighting
Page 7: Track Events and Drag Racing
Page 8: Mod and Spec Summary, Future Plans
Page 9: Other Cars and Friends
Page 10: Car Stereo Upgrades