1992 BMW AC Schnitzer
This BMW project was acquired in Winter of 2008. I had been bugging a friend of mine for this car for 4 years. I had always wanted an E36 BMW since I had seen this one. Over the past years I have owned and built several, however in late 2008 an issue with an un-repaired fuel leak and remote start resulted in this car bursting into a ball of flames. With lack of fire coverage I finally got this gem!
CONCEPT PICTURE
- 1992 BMW AC Schnitzer – The Infamous Project
With some hard work over about a months time working here and there, after work and on weekends, I managed to get the car converted to 5 speed and back up and running again. The car currently features the following modifications, some came with the car and some were added during my restoration process.
Drivetrain:
- 2.5L I6 DOHC
- TMS Light weight Flywheel
- SACH Racing Clutch
- UUC Underdrive pulleys
- Clutch Fan Delete
- AC Delete
- UUC Short Shifter
- 3:91 LSD
- TMS Jim Conforti Racing Chip
- AC Schnitzer Exhaust
- TMS Cold Air Intake
Suspension/Brakes/Wheels:
- Billstein PSS9 Coil Overs
- Durlin Carbon Fiber Offset Control Arm bushings
- Brembo Cross drilled Rotors
- UUC Braided Steel Brake Lines
- Bendix Ceramic Pads
- AC Schnitzer Type III wheels 18″
Body:
- Alpine White/Primer
- M3 Door moldings
- AC Schnitzer Body Kit
- AC Schnitzer Wing
- AC Schnitzer Mirrors
- Smoked Taillights
- Angel Eye Headlights
Interior:
- AC Schnitzer floor mats
- AC Schnitzer pedals
- AC Schnitzer Door Sill plates
My Wife and I were leaving for Australia for 10 months so I did not have time to complete the car, however it has now left a great opportunity for all of you to see this car come to life!
Click HERE to see the pictures of the transformation to get the car back up and running to where I left it before leaving for Australia!
Here is a list of what YOU the viewers will see during the finalization of this build on The Infamous Project:
- Full body and Paint
- Stainless Steel UUC Braided Brake Line install (6 piece kit)
- DOT5.1 Racing Brake Fluid Install/Bleed
- ABS Delete
- PSS9 Coil Over kit installation and adjustment
- TMS Header Installation and Custom Midpipe
- 4 Point Roll Cage (still working on acquiring this)
- Turner Motorsport Sway Bar Installation for front and rear
- Front and Rear Strut tower braces
- Custom white panel inserts for the interior
- Stereo install and finalization
- Overall Clean up!
Although lots of work has been done already, there is still tons left to do! I plan to spend most of the Month of January completing this build. The end result will have quite the extensive list of modifications and turn a lot of heads!
Here you can see the process of putting this poor BMW back together to get it back to a running and driving state (with the extra modification and performance upgrade). All this work was completed in less than a months time, working on it occasionally during the week after work and on weekends!
Below is the work that has been completed since the start of The Infamous Project. You will see pictures of the car coming into the shop as it was, the lowering, brake line install, body work, performance bolt-ons and much more! I will keep adding them as the project progresses.
As of Jan 5th this is the progress so far in terms of body work. 70% of the panels are sanded down and 80% of the dents are now filled. Just some more sanding to do and some fancy work to reconstruct the side skirt. The front bumper has been free’d of its cracks and chips and will soon be ready for the modified M3 lip. Doesn’t look like much but it’s coming along well!
Jan 8th and it’s been a week! A few more pics of the progress made, 90% of the car is sanded as the door jams still need to be done. I completed the rust repair on the rear trunk lid and have spread some fiberglass in the low areas, body filler to follow. The M3 lip has been fitted to the front bumper and the passenger side skirt has been mounted again. With urethane and creative use of the wheels and tires, it will set over night and should be ready for repair tomorrow.
Jan 12th and the primer has been sprayed! Some serious work was needed on that passenger side skirt due to the way I had to rip it off.. The melting of the PU RIM that it is made out of did not help matters either! However, it is mounted, rust is gone, primer is sprayed and it will be time to sand sand sand… then paint! Can’t wait!
Jan 15th and the car is painted and cleared! I am very happy with the results especially considering I was not in a booth. I sprayed the base coat then left for a few hours allowing any dust that may have been stirred up to settle.. Came back and cleared the car at 6am and Must say it went down beautifully. Couple of small runs that I will have to sand out since I was trying to be a Hero! Sorry about the pic quality as the lighting was not that great as I didn’t have the halogens on, but you get the idea.
Jan 17th and the car is coming together! The M3 cam install was a success and only took 4 hours (5 if you include the cleaning and prep of the new ones..) Not bad for the first time install! Door panel inserts are painted and the car has been lowered down on a temporary set of wheels while i paint the ACS Type III’s. Car looks great outside and the stance is beautiful.. Once I get the ACS wheels back on I will decide if I can drop the front down lower or not! But she’s coming along..
Jan 19th and I think I impressed myself tonight with how sexy this car looks. The pictures do not do it justice, it’s even all dusty and still shines like glass. The Silver moldings completely set the car off and being color matched to the wheels is just awesome! Just need to get some mirrors painted and installed along with the M3 lip and the exterior look of the car is complete. Interior is slowly coming along as well!
Jan 24th and Project 1 is unofficially complete, the finishing touches took place over the weekend. Got the exhaust bolted up, braking system bled with blue race fluid, audio install (not complete) and miscellaneous clean up. Still awaiting to tend to the headlights, corners, mirrors and finish up the Audio. Car is coming out great and I am very happy with it!
Jan 26th and the car is now outside and the Mustang (Project #2) is in the shop! Car looks great in natural light! Too bad for the cloudy day but it still gives you a good idea of how nice the car has turned out!
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[…] of all the progress can be seen on the photo gallery page for the 1992 ACS BMW The next round of pictures will most likely include the primer on top of the body work and getting […]