FS: E46 328i Track Car (PA)

I've decided to sell my 2000 328i track car. I bought this car new in August, 1999 from BMW of Fairfax and started doing DE events with it in 2002. It has slowly progressed from a street car to its current state, and it's finally time to move on because I want to race with BMW CCA Club Racing in the Spec E36 class (where the E46 clearly does not comply with the rules!). It currently has 139,123 miles. The mileage is subject to change as I will have it at Lightning April 11 and 12 (so come see it if you're there!).

I know the entire history of this car having owned it since new and I have almost all of the receipts for its service history. This car has never been involved in any accidents (though it was bumped at a stoplight once and the rear bumper was repainted by a reputable shop, receipt available) and the current alignment (as of 3/28/2011) supports this. This car is maintained by Bavarian Specialties in King of Prussia, PA and by myself. I follow all of the maintenance recommendations of the shop, and to my knowledge the car needs nothing. The last track inspection (3/28/2011) should provide some support for this statement. The car has had zero mechanical failures at the track in 30+ events and the car has never left me stranded. Notable maintenance items include subframe bushings and suspension (spring 2010), cooling system overhaul with all new parts (~90,000 miles), VANOS rebuild (summer 2010), and Turner rear subframe reinforcement (2007).

This car ceased to be a daily driver in the summer of 2007 and got a roll bar, race seats, and harnesses installed in 2008. The roll bar was built by Kalani Gohara (West Chester, PA) with TIG-welded joints. The car is still registered and inspected in PA (through October 2011), but it is no longer driven to/from events.

Asking $11,500. Questions and offers welcome!

Driveline Modifications:
UUC lightweight flywheel with M5 clutch
3.46 final drive ratio (open)
Solid aluminum differential bushings

Suspension Modifications:
TC Kline D/A suspension with 450 lb/in front springs and 500 lb/in rear springs. The suspension was purchased used with ~8,000 miles and I replaced a bent RF strut with a new one from TC Kline before installing the setup.
TC Kline adjustable camber plates
Racing Dynamics anti-sway bars
Turner rear anti-sway bar reinforcement
Powerflex front control arm bushings
Powerflex rear trailing arm bushings
Solid aluminum subframe bushings
Turner rear subframe reinforcement
Ground Control adjustable rear end links
Velocity Motorcars adjustable front end links

Brake modifications:
E46 330i front rotors and calipers
Bimmerworld brake cooling kit
Hawk DTC-70 front pads
Hawk HT-10 rear pads

Wheels/Tires:
ASA AR1 17"x8" wheels with Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs
OZ Superleggera 17"x8" wheels with Bimmerworld Continental Challenge tires

Safety/Interior:
Partial interior removal. Headliner, sunroof, and rear carpet have been removed. Currently has an Ebay carbon fiber sunroof insert sealed with GE silicone.
Cobra Suzuka S driver (dated April, 2007) seat with Cobra aluminum side mounts. Floor mounts are custom made to mount the seat low.
Sparco Evo 2 passenger seat (dated November, 2006) with Sparco side mounts. Floor mounts are custom made to mount the seat low.
Schroth Profi II 6-pt driver's harness (latch is a DOT-approved press-button latch)
Schroth Clubman 6-pt passenger harness
All airbags still present (head protection, side impact, and frontal)
Passenger occupancy sensor added to Sparco Evo 2 and pretensioners retained (no SRS light)

Spares:
Original 2.93 final drive ratio differential
New front and rear PFC-06 brake pads
New front and rear rotors
E46 328i calipers (2 sets of front calipers, one set of front caliper guides, and one set of rear calipers. Calipers will need rebuilding.)

Current Alignment (as of 3/28/2011):
LF Camber: -3.32 deg
RF Camber: -3.15 deg
LF Castor: +6.51 deg
RF Castor: +6.44 deg
LF Toe: -0.08 deg
RF Toe: -0.07 deg
LR Camber: -2.61 deg
RR Camber: -2.59 deg
LR Toe: +0.16 deg
RR Toe: +0.15 deg

More pictures.

Some more pictures...

Does this car also come with a towel to wipe myself off with??

Wonderfull looking car GLWS

damn glws car looks great can you post some more pix of interior, im planning on tracking on of my e46s

not trying to bash on your car or anything, i have little knowledge on tracking cars.. but why didn't you use a coupe instead of a sedan since you aren't using the back space anyway?

Originally Posted by xiahaolong168

not trying to bash on your car or anything, i have little knowledge on tracking cars.. but why didn't you use a coupe instead of a sedan since you aren't using the back space anyway?

Who cares...lol kidding.

I know a few people who have done this with variouse other vintages of 4 BMWs as well as other cars. If you are driving the car to the track it makes it easier to still put stuff in the car...IE small tool box, jack, jack stands...ect. Just my $.02

glws!

Hey guys. There are arguments for the sedan being stiffer and having better aero, Not sure if they are true or not, though. In my case I started with a sedan because it's what I had! I'd like an E36 coupe though because X door bars seem to give me more room than in a sedan.

Thanks for the comments. Now someone buy it!

Bump, still available. Have been to NJMP and WGI since posted. Trades for cars eligible for Spec E36 welcome...

Bump. Price lowered to $10,750.

Do you know what size tubing was used on the roll bar? I'd want to do a full cage most likely, anything that would prevent that as far as how the rollbar is configured?

What's the status on the rear upper shock mounts?

Any cracks or fatigue anywhere or were the TMS reinforcements just done to prevent any issues?

Tranny inspected when FD was replaced?

How old are the LCA bushings, and are the LCA's original?

I'm a tad on the short side, so do the seat mount brackets allow for movement? Would it be possible to redrill them to get a few inches or would I have to get new ones?

Do you have a trailer for sale as well?

Harnesses dated same as the seats?


Just noticed there's a drop in the roll bar on the passenger side where the harnesses mount behind the seats? Is there a particular reason why that was done? Usually you'd want it higher so the belts don't pull downward and compress the spine?

Originally Posted by 1FastBird

Do you know what size tubing was used on the roll bar? I'd want to do a full cage most likely, anything that would prevent that as far as how the rollbar is configured?

What's the status on the rear upper shock mounts?

Any cracks or fatigue anywhere or were the TMS reinforcements just done to prevent any issues?

Tranny inspected when FD was replaced?

How old are the LCA bushings, and are the LCA's original?

I'm a tad on the short side, so do the seat mount brackets allow for movement? Would it be possible to redrill them to get a few inches or would I have to get new ones?

Do you have a trailer for sale as well?

Harnesses dated same as the seats?


Just noticed there's a drop in the roll bar on the passenger side where the harnesses mount behind the seats? Is there a particular reason why that was done? Usually you'd want it higher so the belts don't pull downward and compress the spine?

Good questions.

1) Roll bar. I can't remember the thickness that was used. Kalani Gohara is a local fabricator with a lot of BMW and Porsche experience. He completed an IP M3 either right before or after my car, so I believe the thickness is BMW CCA legal. The mounting plates are of the right size to comply with BMW CCA rules, as are the bends. Over the past few months we have discussed completing a cage for BMW CCA club racing but he never indicated any concern about the existing tubing. The only problem with completing the cage is clearance around the top of the main hoop to get a 360-degree TIG weld - Kalani says he can't do it (although another fabricator I ran into at Summit Point said he could get a stinger up there). Since the car has a moon roof, the hole must be filled with a metal panel or the roof must be replaced with a non-moonroof panel at which time the cage could be completed.

2) RSMs. Currently, the car has TCK RSMs. Prior to this it had repair shop RSMs from Bimmerworld. When I put the TCK suspension last winter/spring, I added the RSM reinforcement plates but saw no problems and only did so because I was "in there."

3) Rear subframe. One crack had formed but there was no tearing. Bimmerworks in West Chester, PA drilled the ends of the crack, welded the crack, and installed the reinforcements.

4) Transmission. Not sure what you mean about it being inspected when the FD was replaced (not sure what the FD is?), but it did have the 3rd gear catch pin replaced when the flywheel and clutch went in and the 5th gear detent bore was radiused a bit to fix the common missing detent problem.

5) LCAs. The LCAs are original, as are the bushings (to my knowledge). My shop brings up items like this when I get the car track teched, but this has never come up. It was my shop that suggested it was time to do the subframe bushings (last winter). Front control arms have been replaced twice at the delaer IIRC, and the Powerflex CA bushings were new winter/spring 2010.

6) Seat mounts. These are flat steel that I made to keep the seat low. You could definitely drill new holes to move the side mounts for the seats forwards/backwards. You may be able to simply move the seat side mounts forward and reuse the same holes int he floor mounts. Replacing them would be another option.

7) Trailer. Not for sale! I just bought it this spring in preparation for club racing.

8) Harnesses. The driver's harness is stamped "not valid after 2013". The passenger harness has a punch for "not valid after 2013" and a separate punch for the purchase date of July 2008.

9) Roll bar/passenger harness. It's not really a drop - this is the right height for where that seat is mounted. My fabricator raised the driver's side and bowed it backwards for additional seat clearance (to have the seat back because of my height). The Suzuka GT has relatively high pass-throughs for the shoulder belts, much higher than the Sparco on the driver's side. The harness bars account for this.

10). Springs. I have the front wheels off right now and noticed that the front springs are 400 lbs/in, not 450 as stated above.

EDIT: This car is still street legal. It's inspected through October and registered in PA.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Sounds like a solid car. Still deciding if we want to do e46 328 or an e36 m3. Any comparative knowledge you can pass along?

Originally Posted by 1FastBird

Sounds like a solid car. Still deciding if we want to do e46 328 or an e36 m3. Any comparative knowledge you can pass along?

Sorry, I have no personal E36 experience. I have always wanted an E36 M3 though. Production was over when I got the 328i. I want an E36 next because the SE36 class seems to be healthy and growing and it seems like a great formula.

Any chance you'll be at VIR July 2-3? I will be there, might be a good time to check out the car in person.

Actually, an acquaintance invited us down for that weekend. I'll get in touch if we decide to come down.

Will be at VIR this weekend so come by and see it!