My new 1997 M3

[Teh Prof]

here 'tis...I love this car. Just love it. The Konis especially.

[97alpineM3]

Looking good.... nice to have you..

If you want your name changed... just tell me and I'll do it...

Les

[Teh Prof]

Originally Posted by 97alpineM3

Looking good.... nice to have you..

If you want your name changed... just tell me and I'll do it...

Les

Actually, if you could change it to M3UOND, that would be fantastic.

[97alpineM3]

Will be done shortly... I will email you when complete.... if you cant log in with your old name... then use the new one...

les

[ynotony]

I love the sedan. I wonder what it must be like to have 321hp in an e36 sedan. You must start to cry tears of joy everytime you drive it.

[dutchbmw]

Great looking car! What kind of engine is under the hood??

[e36_m3_Turbo]

Originally Posted by dutchbmw

Great looking car! What kind of engine is under the hood??

The US spec 3.2. 240hp. plus his mods.

[Teh Prof]

e36 m3 turbo is correct; it's the US-spec model that has stock 240 horsepower. Dinan claims the horsepower gains to be +22, suggesting the car has 262 horses; however, I've never had it put on a dyno, so there's no knowing for sure. Without a supercharger installed, the most increase I could expect from here would be another 26, and I can't afford the supercharger (I'm a high school teacher!). If I were to drop in the s/c, then it'd spike up to 340 at least. Ain't gonna happen, tho.

The suspension upgrades, however, make it a truly wonderful driving experience even without the s/c, so I can't really complain. Next week I'll be dropping in a CFWerks carbon fiber strut bar with 3x the strength of the equivalent Dinan product. Should make those turns even more fun :-)

[///M Power]

This might just be the angle of the picture, but it seems your car is equiped with the luxury package and then the previous owner may have added the sport lip!

Congratulations, it looks good.

[dutchbmw]

It's a rare car too because of the low production of it:

NA sedan manual (LHD): 4,574 built from 09/96 thru 05/98
NA sedan automatic (LHD): 4,036 built from 09/96 thru 05/98

I think you will like this website: bmwmregistry.com

[Teh Prof]

Yes, MPower, it is the luxury package. Entirely possible that a previous owner added that lip; there's not really much of a way for me to know. In addition, there are manuals in the zipper pouch for a high-end security system for which I have no remotes, and very very strange buttons mounted near my transmission whose function I have not yet discerned, but which are definitely not for standard BMW equipment.

I do wish there was a way to find out how many of the original 4,036 cars are still running. It would also be nice to break down how many came in black, and how many had the luxury package.

I have seen the M car registry site before, and basically have been too lazy to pull out my VIN number to register it. Looks cool, though.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I love my car, and I really loved the price: would you believe I got it for under $11K?

[///M Power]

I could believe it if you told us the mileage

[Teh Prof]

Originally Posted by ///M Power

I could believe it if you told us the mileage

When I bought it, 107,000. Now it's crested just over 114,000. I drive a lot :-)