At the end of 2024 we had our barn find 1995 BMW M3 – which we dubbed Project #Hellrotten – running once again with the original BMW S50 3.0L inline six. The Vorshlag crew had done a good bit of restoration to get it to this point, and a set of Motion Control Suspension “RR2” coilovers with Vorshlag top mounts had improved handling dramatically at the first Track Test. This is where the latest 6-part Forum Build Thread starts…
It was late December 2024 and we had a little more than 3 months until the first SCCA Time Trial event in Texas for the 2025 season. So during an already busy time at the shop we managed to transform the M3 from an E36 with a stock drivetrain and bodywork into a widebody, big tired, Link ECU EFI, custom exhaust, and very lightened race car. We started off with some ABS repair work after we had a fault at the previous track test.
Externally we made some big changes, including a fiberglass Fitment Labs Phase 3 widebody overfender kit. This was installed and track tested with 18×11″ wheels and 315mm A052 tires all around, and we finally had a “drama free” track test #2, followed immediately by a baseline dyno test with the stock drivetrain – all covered in the forum update. Back at the shop after that test, a custom splitter was built and installed with double canards up front, and a Nine Lives Racing 71″ wide wing out back. The overfenders and sunroof delete panel were refinished in the OEM Hellrot red color.
Then a custom exhaust was built using stainless long tube headers and a proven dual 2.25″ into single 3″ mandrel bent stainless exhaust – that both dropped 57 pounds and picked up 30 whp at the peak. We were able to tame this with a Plug-in Link ECU system that we show the installation of in this update. With some clarification on rules we were able to knock another 123 pounds out of the interior and still be SCCA “Level 2 Safety” legal. We also refinished the headliner, rear deck panel, and the A- and B-pillar coverings in microsuede, and it looks really nice. An RTD shifter went inside, too. We had all of this work ready and tuned just before the March 29th event we were aiming for. It was a major thrash for those 3 months, and we chronicled every step – every image inside the forum thread can be clicked for higher resolution images or videos. Thanks for reading!