A weekend with a 79,000 mile Brilliant Rot M3

[UNHCLL]

This past weekend I had the chance to drive a 79,000 mile Brilliant Red M3, which was nearly bone stock.
The owner purchased this car through us a number of years ago, but living situation in NYC did not bode well for bringing it back to the city. He decided it was finally time to bring it home and asked us to prep it for it's return. Some of you may have seen the photo of the car emerging from storage on our Facebook page...

In the respect of the age old debate - which is worse/better - using a car regularly, if sparingly, or letting it sit.... the amount of work required to get this car to a comfortable reliable state for it's owner to drive it back to NYC from NH and use more frequently moving forward, I'll side with USE IT DON'T LET IT SIT every day of the week. Bear in mind, when it was put into storage, it had no deferred maintenance, so it wasn't like it was put away "wet."

I put ~250 miles on the car at the owners request, to ensure it was ready for his drive.
Below are a few select photos from the drive that I thought you might enjoy... Sorry they aren't flawless, I took them with my 8MP Olympus DSLR that is 8 years old.
















Enjoy,
-Chris

www.VSR1.com

[GK-E30M3]

So Nice

[humarahumara]

Just curious, what was done in order to bring this car back to reliable status? I ask only because my car has sat for the better part of a year and a half.

[UNHCLL]

Just curious, what was done in order to bring this car back to reliable status? I ask only because my car has sat for the better part of a year and a half.

4 new tires - Flat spotted
Engine Oil
Engine Oil filter
Transmission Fluid
Differential Fluid
Brake fluid flush
Replace engine drive belts - dried/cracked
Complete coolant system flush
Replace all heating and cooling hoses - swollen and soft
Differential input seal and output seals replaced - weeping
Alternator bushings - soft
Muffler hangers (rubber) - dry and cracked

That was the bulk of service needed to get it back on the road, along with basics like checking ignition system, fuel system, etc.

-Chris

[markseven]

You must love your job

[Dave @nz]

Hi
Looks real nice bet the owner will be blown away to finally gets back in it. What are the brand details on the tyres you have installed I did not find very much in the way of options for the factory 15 inch rims and ended up with Bridgestone RE002.

[UNHCLL]

Mark -
I really do, and consider myself lucky. Not everyone gets to enjoy these types of cars, and work alongside their father.
Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself how special/rare some of the cars we service are... you become "immune" when you see them all the time.

Dave -
The owner was grinning ear to ear, it was his first time driving the car, ever.
Tires are 205/55-15 Dunlop Direzza DZ102
Not much selection in proper 15" tire sizes here in the US. :(

-Chris

[TornadoWarning]

Beautiful car Chris!

Question for you. I have a 1988 that has about 53,000 miles on it that I let sit in the garage. I do take it out and drive it from time to time, but it may sit up for 2 months at a time between each drive. Is this often enough or do I need to drive it more? Usually when I take it out, I drive between 25-50 mi at once, or about 75 mi over 2 days, if I keep it out that long.

[UNHCLL]

Your drive cycle sounds fine, as long as it's long enough to get the fluids all up to temp, get the car warm, exercise the rubber.
I wouldn't worry about sitting for 2 months, cars here in NE do that (and longer) routinely for winter storage.

I would make it a point to flush brake fluid every 2 years, regardless of mileage/use.

[jimmy p.]

Agreed with Chris, your car's miles and drive habits are very similar to my street M3.
It sits all winter, it sits ALOT,,, but when I do drive it I may drive it 100+ miles in one day and do that a couple days in a row.
I think the worst thing for the cars that sit is the shitty gas we have in the US.

I started my car after this winter and it was barely running. It would not even idle smooth.
I just replaced every single thing in the fuel system, injectors, the FPR, fuel pump, filter, even the O2 sensor.
If it moved fuel I replaced it. Our gas is terrible to leave sitting in these cars even with Stabil.
My car is running like new again.

Thats what I would watch for most myself...

[UNHCLL]

Agreed with Chris, your car's miles and drive habits are very similar to my street M3.
It sits all winter, it sits ALOT,,, but when I do drive it I may drive it 100+ miles in one day and do that a couple days in a row.
I think the worst thing for the cars that sit is the shitty gas we have in the US.

I started my car after this winter and it was barely running. It would not even idle smooth.
I just replaced every single thing in the fuel system, injectors, the FPR, fuel pump, filter, even the O2 sensor.
If it moved fuel I replaced it. Our gas is terrible to leave sitting in these cars even with Stabil.
My car is running like new again.

Thats what I would watch for most myself...

Out of curiosity, what brand and octane do you usually use in your street car?
Do you end up with only 91oct or can you get 93?

I usually put my car away for storage in early/mid October... I put in ~1.25x the recommended Stabil, with the tank ~1/2 full, then fill the tank and take the car for a 20 mile drive before putting it away. I use only Mobil 93 octane, and have never had an issue with spring start up. I'd like to think it's because I always drive the car after the Stabil treatment, allowing it to get through the entire fuel system instead of just adding it to a tank once the car is stationary. Also, I ALWAYS top the tank off, to get as much air out of the system as possible. But that could very well just be a placebo effect!!!

We've seen too many corroded tanks after they've been left half-empty for storage/extended periods.

[jhaurimn]

Non-oxy fuel helps a lot at preventing rust in the fuel tank over long storage periods.

[markseven]

Mark -
I really do, and consider myself lucky. Not everyone gets to enjoy these types of cars, and work alongside their father.
Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself how special/rare some of the cars we service are... you become "immune" when you see them all the time.

-Chris

Chris, great perspective you have, amigo. I wish I would have valued the time that I could have spent with my dad. I would have learned a lot and probably be a better person (he's not dead, he's half way around the world in India).