redEYEjedi's BMW E91 Widebody Tribute Build Thread

[redEYEjedi]

Hello everyone,

I know this isn't an M3 project, nor will it have an M3 (S65) engine in the car when I'm done, but I figured it would be great to share my journey through this project since I wasn't able to do so with my last BMW E91 M3 OEM widebody conversion.

First for some background, I was originally inspired back in 2012 by member 63NP to build the 1st US based E91 M3 widebody and commissioned a local shop, LTMW of S. El Monte, to do the work. This car had a full Porsche Grey Black paint job as well as full OEM M3 replacement parts including cutting the original rear quarter panel and grafting the OEM M3 quarter panels. The entire process took a lot longer than I had expected or wanted, plus some additional headaches I won't get into, but the final result was well worth the wait and it was a great learning experience working with the owner Long. I think the car was well received by car enthusiasts and random people on the streets alike. Shortly after working with the famous FLOSSdesign to make a custom wide 3 piece set of BBS LMs, he was also sold on the M3 conversion and built a similar E91 OEM M3 widebody painted in Laguna Seca Blue. The Liberty Walk E91 came shortly after that as well. From that point on, widebody E91's were now a thing in the US!

Here is the link to my Bimmerpost front page feature for reference:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=941493

BEFORE:



AFTER:



Unfortunately my car was not as publicly advertised as the other mentioned E91's, but it was great to know I was ahead of the pack so to speak even though my car was already sold by the time those cars hit social media.

Regardless, I was glad I decided to sell the car to another forum member who has now taken the final steps to complete the project aka engine swap! Congrats freddych!

Meanwhile, I was feeling a bit empty and many times regretted the sale. So to fill the void, I decided to start a new project and make it a little more unique than my last. By the time I sold my conversion in early 2014, there were probably 5 known M3 conversions in the world, and of course more since then, so doing another OEM M3 conversion was very redundant in my eyes.

For me, I take a lot of inspiration from past and present designs, and I'm sure a lot of people would agree that we all mod our cars because we use the cars as a platform to express ourselves. I do also understand that like fashion, certain trends and fads tend to dictate the auto industry but are fleeting, so I wanted to draw inspiration from history and make sure that I try to create something that is a bit more timeless. With the new project, I hope to accomplish this while paying homage to Motorsport racing and create a car I can drive daily.

I would also like to thank Ivan @ STRASSESPORT, located in Irwindale, CA, for taking on this project with me. I am very excited to see where this goes! I will update this thread as I get more progress, thanks!

To start, here are the 2 cars being used to build the final product:



DONOR CAR:

[swagon]

Looking forward to this build. I'm myself a Touring owner as well and a V8 E91 is something I'd kill for. Previous E91 was awesome.

Are you gonna convert it to an LCI car as well?

I hope it won't be one of those crazy bagged LB cars that teenagers love, though - this fad needs to die... There, I said it.

[redEYEjedi]

Thanks for the kind words swagon

A V8 E91 was in the works for my first wagon project. Since I have already sold that car, the current owner will be doing the s65 swap to finish off my full OEM+ M3 wagon project.

Not to overshadow those efforts, and to continue to push the boundaries, I decided to go a different route and instead go with the N54 turbo engine.

From what I hear, the Liberty Walk E91 has just recently done the same exact swap! I had purchased my donor N54 car in 2014 actually but the project sat dormant due to a few unforeseen circumstances.

In regards to the aesthetics, rest assured this will not be a LB car. My tastes tend to gravitate to unique yet understated styles. That's why I liked to call my first wagon OEM+. I hope to continue this ideology of modding to keep things clean and classy.

[ilikebmxbikes]

I love the idea of an oem+ wagon and support your choice to non-liberty walk.

Make the e91 that BMW didn't.

I contemplated buying your old car for a little for a v8 swap but timing was off.

Can't wait to see what's in store for the new one.

[swagon]

Originally Posted by redEYEjedi

Thanks for the kind words swagon

A V8 E91 was in the works for my first wagon project. Since I have already sold that car, the current owner will be doing the s65 swap to finish off my full OEM+ M3 wagon project.

Not to overshadow those efforts, and to continue to push the boundaries, I decided to go a different route and instead go with the N54 turbo engine.

From what I hear, the Liberty Walk E91 has just recently done the same exact swap! I had purchased my donor N54 car in 2014 actually but the project sat dormant due to a few unforeseen circumstances.

In regards to the aesthetics, rest assured this will not be a LB car. My tastes tend to gravitate to unique yet understated styles. That's why I liked to call my first wagon OEM+. I hope to continue this ideology of modding to keep things clean and classy.

That's nice to hear. OEM+ is my style.

Show America that wagons are the best.

[redEYEjedi]

Originally Posted by swagon

That's nice to hear. OEM+ is my style.

Show America that wagons are the best.

Well, this one will not exactly be "OEM" but it will be inspired by a race series car.

Agreed though, I definitely want to show how great wagons are!

[geneatals]

nice mel...lookng fwd to seeing the finished product...

[dlbrooks18]

WOW!!, your grey E91 M3 widebody was perfect looking, cool to know that it is being finished with engine swap by the new owner. I'm sure your new project will be awesome!

[redEYEjedi]

Originally Posted by ilikebmxbikes

I love the idea of an oem+ wagon and support your choice to non-liberty walk.

Make the e91 that BMW didn't.

I contemplated buying your old car for a little for a v8 swap but timing was off.

Can't wait to see what's in store for the new one.

Thanks! It was interesting to see such a huge positive response with the first wagon so it's pretty obvious there is a market for these type of cars. Now if only BMW would pay attention and give the people what they want!

A V8 swap would've been the ultimate car honestly, 4 doors, large cargo space plus roof racks, M3 styling AND performance.

I can't wait to get the next stage going with this project. I'll definitely update everyone as it goes along.

Originally Posted by geneatals

nice mel...lookng fwd to seeing the finished product...

Thanks Gene. It feels like forever since I've tinkered with a BMW. I've been driving a Prius since the first wagon was sold. I definitely have grown to appreciate a Prius for it's functionality, but it definitely isn't fun to drive. Maybe it'll be done for the next ECFest.. fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by dlbrooks18

WOW!!, your grey E91 M3 widebody was perfect looking, cool to know that it is being finished with engine swap by the new owner. I'm sure your new project will be awesome!

I appreciate the kind words. I will definitely do my best to make this car as awesome (and functional) as possible.

[anielsen71]

Hi there
We're your previous build done with OEM M3 parts?
In particular the rear quarters or were the std arches simply widened?

[donR]

Great looking job. After being into Vag/RS model avants since the first RS2 came out then of course the first wide body RS4 it really pleases me to see the wide body/M3 E91s comming through over the years.

It is a shame you don't get the N54 E91s in the US as it would obviously save the need to swap the engine, although I know the V8 is a sweet motor.

If I keep my N54 E91 I'll be tempted to do a similar mod down under in the future, though would really like to see one in the flesh as photos do not always do the cars justice

[shepard10]

I dont understand why BMW doesn't make, or should I say DIDNT make, because the new M3's are a E91 M3.

[redEYEjedi]

Originally Posted by anielsen71

Hi there
We're your previous build done with OEM M3 parts?
In particular the rear quarters or were the std arches simply widened?

Hi there, yes for my previous wagon, all parts used were OEM M3 parts, including the rear quarter panels. The original panels were cut off, then the brand new E90 M3 quarter panels were grafted onto the car. Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by donR

Great looking job. After being into Vag/RS model avants since the first RS2 came out then of course the first wide body RS4 it really pleases me to see the wide body/M3 E91s comming through over the years.

It is a shame you don't get the N54 E91s in the US as it would obviously save the need to swap the engine, although I know the V8 is a sweet motor.

If I keep my N54 E91 I'll be tempted to do a similar mod down under in the future, though would really like to see one in the flesh as photos do not always do the cars justice

It really is a shame we didn't get the N54 E91's. You could call me crazy for even wanting to swap an engine that BMW actually made, but then we never got that version here in the US unfortunately.

I agree on your sentiment of E91 widebody/M3's finally being more popular here. I definitely found inspiration from the enthusiasts across the pond! Hopefully if everything goes well the car should be done in the next month or so. Then I'll be proud to say I've had 2 widebody E91's within the last 3 years!

Hopefully my project lives up to your expectations. Sometimes it amazes me how our love for cars can connect us all on a global level.

[freddych]

Subbed!

[redEYEjedi]

Thanks Freddy! Keeping an eye out on your wagon too.

[jeff@autocouture]

can't wait to see what you have planned your last build was epic

[redEYEjedi]

Originally Posted by Alex@AUTOcouture

can't wait to see what you have planned your last build was epic

Thanks Alex. The cars that come out of your shop are just perfect!

I'm loving those shots from the HRE Open House.

I would definitely love to stop by once my car is back on the road!

[jeff@autocouture]

Originally Posted by redEYEjedi

Thanks Alex. The cars that come out of your shop are just perfect!

I'm loving those shots from the HRE Open House.

I would definitely love to stop by once my car is back on the road!

Definitely! stop on by

[redEYEjedi]

Just waiting for the kit to get dropped off at the shop and we can get some custom body work started!

[NYBulldog]

Definitely keeping an eye on your thread. I just bought a wagon to embark on my own conversion project. Your last wagon indeed made me green with envy. Your new project looks like a lot of fun

[63NP]

Loved the grey E91 especially with the BBS LM's on.
Can't believe you don't get the N54 engined E91!!
Why is this?

[ApexWheels]

Wow, very nice project OP. You clearly could have purchased an M3 if that was the route you wanted to take, but I respect the hard work to create something that is unique and special to you instead.

Look forward to updates

- Ryan