My car started life as a '93 325is automatic, and when I purchased it in September of 2002, it had 163k miles on it. It was in very good condition for the miles, ran very well, and had a nearly immaculate interior.

 

 
I wasn't looking for an auto, but this one was so nice, (most I'd looked at were rode hard and put up wet), I loved the color, it was cheaper by a couple thousand than other 325's in the same year and mileage range I'd looked at, and I was tired of shopping, so I bought it.
 
Within a week, I started spending some money on it, buying new floor mats, a new 02 sensor, and a right wheel bearing. A few weeks after that, I scored a good deal on some OEM M3 "Double Spokes" and a takeoff M3 exhaust. I also dropped a few dollars into a new head unit and wiring to mate up with the stereo system from my old car.

 

Around December I started getting Dinan happy, buying a Cold Air Intake, ECU chip, Trans chip, and a Stage 1 suspension. I set that off with new OEM rotors and Axxis Ultimate brake pads. With all of that installed, the car ran really good, handled good (though the control arms were due for some love) and sounded great, I had my Dinan points and badge, but it was still an automatic.

 

So, I started thinking about a trans conversion, did all the research I could on the subject at Bimmerforums, on DTM Power, and Google. This looked feasible, not too terribly expensive in the long run, and it would totally change the character of my car.

I squirreled some cash away, ready to pounce on a good deal on a transmission if it came up, or opt into a Zionsville kit, and braced my favorite BMW mechanics on the price to have it done.

Then some yahoo on the Bimmerforums Buy/Sell/Trade section says he's selling his rolled silver '95 M3 for $4k, and it had a complete interior, good 72k motor and trans, and he even said the frame wasn't damaged.

Hmm...So, I juggled some finances around, did some math, decided that Ramen noodles really weren't THAT bad, and offered the guy the $4k he was looking for. Seems like a few other people had the same idea, and I ended up paying $5k to get the car. That meant Ramen noodles every other day. And nothing in between, but what the hell, I'm a big guy, I figured I could live on stored fat.

Luckily, getting it transported wasn't that outrageous, $300 from San Jose to North San Diego County, and it was down here a week after I sent the seller his money.

The car rolled off the truck, and with a booster box, I started the car up and drove it into the garage bay at my office.

 

 

Man, this thing was HURT!  Passenger glass, rear quarter windows, back glass, rear bumper cover, and side skirts were salvageable. Everything else was shot on the outside.

 

Interior was beautiful, however, with a few bonus items. Real Napa leather on the lower dash panels, door panels, shifter surround area, and glove box, which I'd never seen before, and power Vaders in excellent shape, which could not possibly have come stock in that car.

 

 
There was also a very nice set of A/D/S speakers and cross-overs, and modded kick panels with angled tweeters installed, very nicely done.
 
The engine worried me a bit. The impact of the rollover had bent the front lifting hook near the VANOS area of the engine, and the valve cover itself had a 2"x2" HOLE in it, where the aluminum had cracked out. Radiator was ruined, as was the AC condenser, and even the strut towers were bent and out of round. It had taken a hell of a whack.
 
The car had brand new Yokohama AVS Intermediate tires (now discontinued) on Double Spokes, and those looked to be in good shape, though there was some scuffing from the roll. The exhaust was OK, though the right tip had some scratches from the accident, and a little ding on the underside.
 
Well, I knew I wasn't ready to do the engine/trans swap right away, but I could start on the interior right off. One long day (actually, about 30 hours), and a lot of Red Bull later, I had the interior swap done.

 

That alone transformed the car, going from black and grey inside to all black, and then of course, the M3 Sport Seats (Vaders) and the very nice leather panels. Started feeling better about my $5300 after that was done.

 

So, I had all the parts that I removed from the car, and all of them were in fine shape. Did a listing here, and on Ebay, of the interior pieces I was selling, and blew the stuff out at pretty good prices. Sold the f/r door panels, rear seats, center surround, Onboard Computer, ///M3 door sills (I wasn't going to use them, I'll get into that later), glove box, M3 steering wheel (already had one), intake, my old Dinan chips, and a few other odds and ends, netting me about $1500 after Ebay and shipping fees. So, my investment was down to $3500. Looking good, and I could supplement my Ramen diet with macaroni and cheese, and occasionally some Spam!

My local shop (Bavarian Mastercare in San Marcos, more about them later), had first given me a $3000+ quote on the engine and trans swap, but later came back with a $2500 flat rate on labor, and me picking up the materials costs. It was just a matter of timing, since they wanted both cars at the shop, and needed lift space free to do it. That also meant I couldn't remove the M3 spindles and brakes yet, since the wreck needed to roll until they were done with it.

Before that happened, I had started spending some money on mods as they came up. Scored some good deals here on a lightly used TMS LTW flywheel, 3.5 HFM, AA chip for it, and 21.5# injectors. And I was researching my butt off trying to solve the EWS (anti-theft system) issues that might come up, since this was a late production '95 which used coded keys.

In addition to the used parts, I bought a new valve cover, gaskets and studs, and even sprung for a Dinan CF fuel rail and ignition module covers, since both were damaged on the '95, and I sorta liked the idea of being a bit of a mystery under the hood.

I also picked up a new M3 clutch kit, Rogue Octane SSK, and Powerflex CABs.

A month after I got the car, I took the M3 and my 325 to Bavarian Mastercare. When I got there, we were all thinking it was just going to be a trans and engine swap, and I was going to take the wreck out of there and scavenge anything else I needed before I took it to the salvage yard.

I bounced the idea of getting some of the M3 parts off before it left the shop, specifically, I wanted the brakes and spindles, and would like to have had the steering rack (95 M3 racks were the quickest ratio, 96+ M3's used the standard 325 rack).

The owner, Habib, said he'd do some figuring on labor costs, since he'd have to remove parts from both cars, and swap the parts on both cars, to allow the wreck to roll out of there.

He came back with a figure of $1500, which was not unreasonable considering 2x the amount of work. I have a rare blood type, so I figured I could sell blood, and hey, blood loss is another great way to loose weight!

So, a day later, I stop by the shop to check on the progress, and behold! He'd removed the entire front suspension, from the steering rack down to the hubs, as one piece, and the rear sub frame the same way, on both cars.

I wasn't just getting SOME of the M3 suspension, I was getting it ALL.

 

-to be continued