(To preface, this makes Darling #3 for me. My other darlings were a 4.0 Cherokee (my first-time homeowner beater truck) and an NA Miata.)
I had a Miata for 4 years, autocrossed it (mostly in STR trim) but by 2015, I had toned down the # of events I was doing and the Miata became mostly a commuter. I had wanted to get into track days with the Miata, but lack of a roll bar or hardtop had precluded that. Helping a buddy out with the install of a roll bar on his NA demonstrated that 1) I was unwilling to do that to my clean NA and 2) I didn’t want to live with the drawbacks of a roll bar in a street-driven Miata. Roll bar or not, I was still not happy with how much it would beat me up in the daily commute, so I sold it in early 2016 and bought a 2002 WRX sedan. I didn’t autocross it, but it was our getaway car for our wedding, which was cool.
![]()
Despite that memory, I never clicked with the WRX, so I sold it 6 months later - surprisingly at a profit, given the amount of maintenance I had to do on it - and set my sights on acquiring a vehicle that was practical (4-door sedan preferred) but trackable, which landed the E36 M3/4/5 in my sights. Didn’t realize ‘till recently that it was a TCL darling, but regardless I’ve always been fascinated by 4-door M3’s.
I drove a decent example a few months ago, and while I didn’t fall in love with it, the concept of owning one still stuck in my head months later. I blame the short test drive and stock-but-worn-in condition of that car.
Anyway, fast forward to today, this M3 popped up on Craigslist, the same place that birthed the previous 2 Darlings. The seller was unabashed about its condition and very upfront about its issues:
Despite the downsides, there were some upsides:
Met up with the seller on a Monday night at his shop. As a testament to the condition described in the ad, and on the phone, the car looked rough but ran great. At first he took it for a spin (literally) to show that the LSD worked, and then we threw the car on his lift to go over the condition of the car, soup to nuts. I then took it for a rip, and fell in love with how perfect the car is set up. It purrs like a sewing machine at idle or while cruising, and it will play as dangerously as you want it to. A lot of the character that was missing in that previous car I test drove, as well as the WRX, was back in this beat-up old Bimmer. It even smells like an old Bimmer, which takes me back to my E28.
The seller was awesome in that he offered to replace the aftermarket cat converters (the car was throwing a CEL for catalyst efficiency) and O2 sensors for me to be able to register the car (emissions is still needed to register in CT) and drive it until emissions readiness was set. In the meantime, I went ahead and ordered a radio, and snagged an M50 manifold, a center console to cut up for a gauge cluster, and an amber corner light (the mismatch was killing me) from the local junkyard. Work picked up at the sellers shop and he didn’t have the time to drive it, I couldn’t wait any longer. I ended up driving up and trailering the car back home today. This makes the 4th car that the Frontier has towed home.
The seller included a set of snows, so it’ll be the occasional winter driver. I will still be driving my wife’s Mazda3 the 100 miles to/from work, but I’ll use the M3 for errands and maybe the occasional commute. Come spring, I will outfit it with a set of sticky tires in the spring and go racing. It’ll be a mix of autocross and some track days/HPDE events.
So, is this a flaming pile or does it have potential? I am leaning towards the latter since the rust isn’t that bad, but we’ll see how stout the S52 in the car really is. Even so, if the rest of the car falls apart, then E36 shells are a dime a dozen, and all the mechanical bits will swap in just fine. Worst case, I’ve already cut my chops on an LS conversion in an old Chevy truck, and I see no difference in an E36
. I’ve also got FCP Euro on speed dial, free parts delivery, and buddies with tools and beer (at my place and at their respective places) so I’m excited to see where this takes me. I’m excited because I kinda let life get in the way of my motorsports aspirations the last few years, so this will hopefully be a welcome relapse.
Now, onto a few potato pics:
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
I had a Miata for 4 years, autocrossed it (mostly in STR trim) but by 2015, I had toned down the # of events I was doing and the Miata became mostly a commuter. I had wanted to get into track days with the Miata, but lack of a roll bar or hardtop had precluded that. Helping a buddy out with the install of a roll bar on his NA demonstrated that 1) I was unwilling to do that to my clean NA and 2) I didn’t want to live with the drawbacks of a roll bar in a street-driven Miata. Roll bar or not, I was still not happy with how much it would beat me up in the daily commute, so I sold it in early 2016 and bought a 2002 WRX sedan. I didn’t autocross it, but it was our getaway car for our wedding, which was cool.
Despite that memory, I never clicked with the WRX, so I sold it 6 months later - surprisingly at a profit, given the amount of maintenance I had to do on it - and set my sights on acquiring a vehicle that was practical (4-door sedan preferred) but trackable, which landed the E36 M3/4/5 in my sights. Didn’t realize ‘till recently that it was a TCL darling, but regardless I’ve always been fascinated by 4-door M3’s.
I drove a decent example a few months ago, and while I didn’t fall in love with it, the concept of owning one still stuck in my head months later. I blame the short test drive and stock-but-worn-in condition of that car.
Anyway, fast forward to today, this M3 popped up on Craigslist, the same place that birthed the previous 2 Darlings. The seller was unabashed about its condition and very upfront about its issues:
- 201,000 miles
- Been tracked (set up for HPDE/autocross instructor car)
- Body rust
- Rebuilt title
- CEL on
Despite the downsides, there were some upsides:
- Mechanically well-sorted, and owned/maintained by a BMWCCA instructor and motorsport shop owner
- Decent interior - everything still works, seats aren’t FUBAR like in a lot of E36 M3’s
- All the standard bolt-on suspension and braking goodies are there - refreshed bushings (diff mounts, RTAB’s, subframe bushings are all poly), Bilsteins/H&R’s, swapped front strut mounts, track pads, SS lines, etc.
- Most high-mileage wear components (control arm bushings, wheel bearings, ball joints) are high quality replacement parts
Met up with the seller on a Monday night at his shop. As a testament to the condition described in the ad, and on the phone, the car looked rough but ran great. At first he took it for a spin (literally) to show that the LSD worked, and then we threw the car on his lift to go over the condition of the car, soup to nuts. I then took it for a rip, and fell in love with how perfect the car is set up. It purrs like a sewing machine at idle or while cruising, and it will play as dangerously as you want it to. A lot of the character that was missing in that previous car I test drove, as well as the WRX, was back in this beat-up old Bimmer. It even smells like an old Bimmer, which takes me back to my E28.
The seller was awesome in that he offered to replace the aftermarket cat converters (the car was throwing a CEL for catalyst efficiency) and O2 sensors for me to be able to register the car (emissions is still needed to register in CT) and drive it until emissions readiness was set. In the meantime, I went ahead and ordered a radio, and snagged an M50 manifold, a center console to cut up for a gauge cluster, and an amber corner light (the mismatch was killing me) from the local junkyard. Work picked up at the sellers shop and he didn’t have the time to drive it, I couldn’t wait any longer. I ended up driving up and trailering the car back home today. This makes the 4th car that the Frontier has towed home.
The seller included a set of snows, so it’ll be the occasional winter driver. I will still be driving my wife’s Mazda3 the 100 miles to/from work, but I’ll use the M3 for errands and maybe the occasional commute. Come spring, I will outfit it with a set of sticky tires in the spring and go racing. It’ll be a mix of autocross and some track days/HPDE events.
So, is this a flaming pile or does it have potential? I am leaning towards the latter since the rust isn’t that bad, but we’ll see how stout the S52 in the car really is. Even so, if the rest of the car falls apart, then E36 shells are a dime a dozen, and all the mechanical bits will swap in just fine. Worst case, I’ve already cut my chops on an LS conversion in an old Chevy truck, and I see no difference in an E36
. I’ve also got FCP Euro on speed dial, free parts delivery, and buddies with tools and beer (at my place and at their respective places) so I’m excited to see where this takes me. I’m excited because I kinda let life get in the way of my motorsports aspirations the last few years, so this will hopefully be a welcome relapse.Now, onto a few potato pics:
