David Holeman's E36 M3

After several years of autocross and driver's schools David Holeman decided it was time to make the transition to SCCA and BMWCCA Club Racing.  The project would be to transform a 1995 E36 M3 that had already undergone a 3.0l euro motor transplant into a dedicated track car.  After several discussions with Will Turner and Turner Motorsport's Chief Technician, Dave Morin, it was decided that the highest quality cage would be constructed for this project.  The cage would be a showcase for cage development and represent more than just a required safety feature.  The cage would be gusseted and include NASCAR style side protection, suspension pickups and other additional reinforcements.  The cage would become an integral part of the car stiffening and reinforcing the chassis.  It would represent the best cage possible based on Turner's prior successes with the E36's used in the early days of World Challenge racing and other series Turner developed cars for.  To facilitate the cage construction, the interior David delivered the car with the interior stripped to the bare shell. 

Presented with a clean car Dave Morin and his team of capable technicians began work on the car.  Building a cage this complex requires experience, patience, precision, talent and a bit of art.  Over the winter David checked in on the progress of the car as it evolved into a true race chassis.  Despite the duration of the project the focus remained on developing what we believe represents the highest form of cage development for an E36. The cage addressed many details that other cage projects would skip.  The shock towers were capped with towers salvaged from a junk yard donor for added strength.  The passenger door was protected with a gusseted cross bar.  Corner braces were added to key junctions to add strength.  Supports for the rear sub-frame were also incorporated into the cage design.

After the cage was completed and painted the windows that had been removed were replaced with Lexan.  Various front and rear window supports were added to conform to safety requirements.  The brake pedal and clutch were replaced with a hanging pedal assembly and the master brake and clutch cylinders were replaced with a hanging Tilton brake pedal assembly with an adjustable brake bias control.  The new setup allowed for full control over pedal feel and allowed for brake bias adjustment. 

With the basic construction of the car now complete David took the car and completed the interior work.  The car then returned to us for a suspension setup and adjustments.  Turner's new steering rack stop kit was installed to eliminate rubbing inside the front tire well.  Racing camber plates were added as well as rear shock tower reinforcement plates.  New H&R springs were added now that the car is in full race trim.  We then completed a full alignment and race setup with an eye towards a neutral and corner balanced setup as a good starting point for initial tack testing.

Dave and David took the car to an New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS) open track day to sort out the car.  After a number of laps the proper brake-bias was dialed in and various setup changes were made.  A few weeks later the car made it's debut at the fall SCCA event at NHIS and its BMWCCA debut a month later at the same track.  The car handled well turning 1.14's at NHIS with the potential for much faster times.  Over the winter the setup will be refined and the car should be ready for a very exciting 2004 season.

"This car is awesome!  I couldn't be happier with the quality and craftsmanship that went into this project" - David Holeman


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