Project Car BMW e30 S54 Engine: What have we done……. S1E1

This year we took the opportunity to create our Ringtool. A great adventure which you can read here. Like we didn’t have enough work, we are going all in with another BMW project.

If I have to choose my favorite car it would be the BMW M3 e46. I think this car has a great engine, is perfectly balanced and feels so good when driving.

Another favorite car of mine is the BMW M3 e30, a classic DTM inspired old-school BMW. Problem with the M3 e30 is that is has become a highly appreciated asset and therefore out of our price region.

We always dreamed of the idea, of combining the best of both worlds. Combining the looks and classic feel of a BMW e30 with the power and handling of a BMW M3 e46. While we recently saw our dream ride on the Nordschleife, we have to be realistic and stick to our plan, creating our own BMW e30 S54 project.

That is why we bought an unfinished project, in need of a lot of love and attention. 

We bought a BMW e30 convertible which has already been mechanically modified and fitted with a BMW M3 e46 engine. This means according to the registration papers with the car, the engine swap is fully legal, which makes life a bit easier for us. Another positive is that is already has been test fitted with the famous BMW M3 e45 S54 engine, matched with the original 6 speed M3 e46 gearbox, BMW M5 e34 diff and Brembo Porsche brakes. Mechanically the car is tested, but in need of some fine-tuning.

HOWEVER, this car needs work, a lot of work. Let’s state some of the problems:

-          The body is raw, full of dents and scratches.

-          The interior is dated and the color is not to our liking.

-          The exhaust is from a M3 e46 exhaust, which doesn’t match the classic feel of the car.

-          Electronically everything works, but it is a bit of mess.

-          The convertible top is disintegrated

-          Wheels and tires need to be changed

This is just a small list, I am sure we going to encounter more problems.

TrackandTuner.com is always up for a challenge and creating a BMW e30 convertible with a S54 engine, is something we always wanted to do. We are going to make this a car to remember. Think about the best products, quality tuning and then enjoying the song of the S54 in a classic E30.

Currently the car is fully stripped, almost ready for the full respray making the body pristine again. Let’s make a list of what we are planning to do:

-          Full respray

-          New wheels and sticky tires

-          New Fully custom made exhaust

-          Cutting out all the unneeded wiring, speakers etc.

-          New custom interior

-          New convertible top

-          Respray brakes

-          Fine tune the mechanics (cleaning/ adjusting etc.)

-          New suspension set up

-          PSDesign S54 velocity stacks

-          Alpha- N tune / fine-tuning of the Engine

-          Etc.

This and more we have planned together with our partners.

I am sure this will not be an easy ride and we will encounter many problems along the way. We are certain we can make a killer BMW e30, which sounds and drives like a M3 e46.

Do you have some suggestions on what we should change?

We are always open to new products and partners. So if you are interested in sponsoring us, or testing your products let us know.

Stay tuned and enjoy the ride.