S54-Swapped BMW E36: You’ll Never Need a Radio Again // CARISMA
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- čas přidán 4. 04. 2024
- This 1997 BMW 328is looks like your typical tuner build, but there’s way more to it. Owner Mike swapped in the legendary S54 engine from the E46 M3. Sounds pretty good, Mike.
[CARISMA is The Drive's new series exploring the connection between enthusiasts and their cars. NEW EPISODE OUT TODAY! • Perfect: Toyota MR2 Bu... ]
“Half the time I don’t have the radio on in the car when I’m driving by myself. I’m just truly rolling through the gears and hearing the feedback from the engine. That’s all it takes to clear my mind.”
For Mike, his 328is is a full-circle build in so many ways. Back in high school, he bought a wrecked E36 as his first car and brought it back to life with his dad. But money was tight, so he entertained himself by making lists of everything he'd do with an unlimited budget.
Mike’s dad owns a small independent garage in Yonkers called Pit Stop Foreign Car Service, and despite his warnings to find another career, Mike moved out to California and found success working at high-end Ferrari shop. There, he bought this 1997 328is and promptly blew the motor on a road trip. After moping about it for a while, he decided to commit to the build, sourced an S54 engine, and swapped it in.
Because a naturally-aspirated straight six with a 7,900-rpm redline deserves a proper wrapper, Mike continued with the M3’s Getrag 420G six-speed transmission, a 3-clutch 3.73 diff, Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, hand-built carbon fiber airbox, completely custom exhaust, real E36 M3 body kit, a full glass-out/panels-off respray to British Racing Green, and more.
Time marches on, and eventually Mike decided to move back to Yonkers to be closer to his parents. When his dad had a small stroke, he knew he had to step up and take over the business. But after blazing his own trail for a decade, he was ready. And coming home had one more surprise in store.
“I was going through my little knick knacks in my room, and I found an old index card with a list of every mod that I thought would be amazing to have if I could afford it. It was a full circle moment,” says Mike. “I looked outside and looked at my car, and I had far surpassed anything I thought I would do as a 19-year-old kid.”
Follow Mike on Insta: / motoring_magic
Produced, shot, and edited by / tomgorelik
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Loving this new Carisma content. Giving OG Petrolicious vibes. Great cars and great stories told by the people who built them and filmed by the professionals. Keep these coming.
thank you! that's what we're going for.
@@drive I was thinking the exact same thing… Used to like Petrlicious, but they don’t make much content now and the relaunched The Drive has filled that vacuum nicely.
I couldn't agree more!
Same here, feening for more
@@scottpeters1142 word, here's a new ep! czcams.com/video/vmwN-PFonJw/video.html
This is by far the most beautiful E36 I've ever seen
The wheels are all wrong but yeah, the car itself is lovely.
@@LCOF The wheels are GREAT
💯…jdm wheels on a German? 🤮
@@thecatch83 I don't care for the steering wheel either, rather have the stock E36 wheel.
@@LCOF you have dog shit taste they look excellent
The dude's got a really positive energy about him. I wish I still had my Techno Violet M3...I'd let him do the engine swap!
The most perfect E36 ever. Period.
You don’t get out much
@@thecatch83now now😂
yeah but in the sound department not looks
The greek licence plate on the back is a nice touch. Greetings from a greek E46 325 ci in Oxford green 2.
Yeah usually americans running euro plates because they think it's cool is pretty cringe but here it's a nice touch and has a meaning
@@imnotahe put the greek plate because he is from greece
@@KINGVONFRM063 I know, hence why I said it's a nice touch and has meaning.
Did you see the Ferrari 348 with real French plates and the VW Golf with English plates? It's cool to see them stateside
Perfect color, stance, and swap choice. Well done, young man.
Thank you for the kind words!
Really clean and very tastefully modded E36. Nice guy and a nice story, please keep featuring these kinds of builds.
you got it. and hey thanks for subscribing all this time!
This is revered as one of BMW’s best combinations. Stellar fukn car.
British Racing Green, best color of them all 😂
for REAL
Nah
Colour if you are doing BRG justice 🇬🇧
I rebuilt a Maserati 424 it was resprayed in BRG Jaguar colour code for the 1998 XJR.
Looks just great.
Love the color. Never been a huge E36 or E46 guy, but all cars are epic when theyre done right.
^^^this right here
Really cool owner and a great car! The E36/E46 BMWs truly were something else, the definition of „ultimate driving machine“.
As another Greek dude with a '91 316i sedan my dad bought new, hoping one day I'll make it out to America post-S54 swapped uhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Yeah very f*cking nice to see 🤣
Love the approach!
I was an auto-body-paint guy in a previous life (a few decades ago). Before you mentioned how much work you put into the paint, I was admiring the spectacular work that had been done on it. Spot on! The rest of your build is awesome as well. 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous project. I want to build an e36 with a tribute to the e36 m3 gt in BRG with the green leather interior. That custom airbox is so cool, I've never seen that before and I'm on all the e46 forums all the time. Bravo
Not normally an E36 fan but this is perhaps the best I've seen. Love the mods and the paint. Kudos sir.
The car looks so clean and well put together and the owner sounds like a really nice and cool guy. Wish you many fun and safe miles together!
That green is phenomenal
Enjoyed this! Love the period correct SSR Wheels! Well deserved Mike!
Beautiful paint job. Can definitely see the results of the hours put into it.
You can tell how much love is in the car through his expressions and how he talks about it! My mind is blown by the 3 month execution for a glass-out/disassembled paint job...that's real dedication.
Super clean build. Love it, great job.
If you're enjoying Carisma, check out the latest episode! Supercharged NA Miata with one hell of a survivor story! czcams.com/video/vmwN-PFonJw/video.html
Thank you for your work.
Fantastic build!
Props to this guy, his E36 and his story! Amazing journey!
Such a clean car. Very well done sir. I like the new text callouts of the individual mods. Nice addition editors.
thanks - a lot more fine tuning to come.
Love the series, keep up the great interviews. Ultimate editing too! 🤙🏻
Fantastic video and even better story.
This car will be forever beatiful. Almost every angle is perfect. Can't stop looking at, superb job.
Nice, hitting some of my favorite spots in westchester, awesome story
Badass build
Great looking car and down to earth enthusiast!
So great. Really well put together video.
thanks for watching!
The paint look soooooo good. Awesome. Really missing my E36 with the stainless Dinan exhaust right now...
Great docu-spective on a talented young enthusiast. I like the British racing green of his E36 and the sound is spectacular. I understand why he takes therapy drives. I would too with a S54 that sings like that.
Great episode, thanks!
This video makes me miss both my E36 and E30 swap cars from prior builds - so much fun! Mike's looks very well done.
Damn that is one of the cleanist e36 ive ever seen🔥🔥🔥
Dude this thing is top notch 🤘🔥
liked before even watching, hell yeah boys!
That paint is impeccable - chef's kiss
Great car,rims really suit your car, amazing engine and the colour; ouuuuuuuuuu,niiiice🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
This was fantastic!
Cool! Keep it up!
Great story and love the car - well done Mike.
Love the colours in this vid❤
impossible to go wrong with BRG
Beautiful car, great job!!
Cool car/story. I might need the secret recipe for that exhaust, sounds great.
Also, I can't say I've seen all the flavors of lights on one car before😅
Roll on 👍😊
What a colour mate! Such a beauty!
Saw this car in person a couple years ago at Euros by the beach in socal. Definitely one of the coolest builds there
incredible car and story. good luck with the business mike!
Sick car
Awesome taste on car details.
nice clean build... 👍
Who else went looking for E36 328i after this
Great car…cool story…nice video!
thank you so much!
This video made me tear up. This guy has such an incredible passion for cars and love for his family.
this is what it’s all about
i see s54 in e36 back in 2010(stanceworks Mike B.) and this idea is laying back at my head...i guess sometimes dream come true! I love that colour it remind me of the e36 m3 gt - British Green ! The car is epic! Maybe i will go for different wheels
90s had the best looking body styles of mostly every make and model back then.
Love boxy looks!
@@fitnesspoint2006 yep. Today's car designs are getting more boxy just like the 90's. The 90's is the best era so much influence in today's world.
Cheers from Greece
nice job!
This may have just changed my mind to LS1 swap my ‘92 325iS E36 track car when the M50 2.5 goes. I had an E46 M3 and forgot how silky smooth that engine was all the way to 8200 RPM. Been loving the Carisma content and hoped an E36 would be on here.
thanks for the sub!
I had the same car! Is truly beast!
This is epic! My dream e36 is a GT model with the S54, this one comes really close! The M4 wheels are probably heavier, but look better. And orange indicators would be nice with the green.
beautiful color on this e36
New format is good.
thank you 🙏
Would love to see that ride ripping up the Sawmill Parkway ❤
Beautiful. I had an E36 M3 (1999), 2-door, 5-speed manual back in the day. Absolutely loved that car and now I really regret selling it.
why'd you sell?
We all regret selling them. I had a 1998 4 door M3. One of the most fun cars I had. I sold it and bought a BRZ thinking it would be as fun but it wasn't even close.
@@zoti thinking the same to sell mine for an Yaris Gr. What do you think?
@@dasgelbevomei4449 not comparable.
@@dasgelbevomei4449Yaris GR is a fabulous thing, no doubt. But nothing will ever match the visceral analogue way BMWs of this era drive.
That's an awsome car; the owner is passionate and interesting. And that paint job, blimey! would make me like green cars.
Great vid, keep on, "Tha-Drive," so glad to see this channel revive.
(btw, how's the "Spin", is he still around? I'm probably not the only one who'd like to see him again, doing random stuff and great interviews. And Mr. "Musicals" as well. We miss you guys, come say hi...)
thanks for watching. we're psyched to see people digging it so far!
My e39 540i 4.4 v8 with the 6 speed (same 420g transmission) gives me the same thrills, albeit in a slightly bigger package!
I know exactly how you feel. I’ve got a euro spec m3 E36 Estoril blue and love driving it without the stereo on
Absolutely beautiful! I don't know if it's the color but the front end especially just looks some much better imo than other e36s.
Also welcome back to NY! Would love to know where your shop is! Need a good one for my e30!
Thanks for the kind words, getting all the gaps on the front end just right on an e36 is a bit of art.
My shop is in Yonkers, doors are always open for an e30!
Love the car. But at 5:43 there's a GORGEOUS Hurst Olds I'd love to learn more about
Petrolicious vibes👌🏻
high praise, thank you friend
The Drive making free videos again? Petrolicious? X-Car? Is that you playa?? 🎉 ❤
yeah we’re back, and free! check out our relaunch announcement, then enjoy the last two months of uploads: czcams.com/video/UTKcOPmAkEU/video.htmlsi=yN7oShpS-w-UD3gD
One of the sexiest E36 I've seen, Mike has great taste !
More of these videos please
building a whole playlist just for you here czcams.com/play/PLHa6PXrV-yIjdroCPPYISm4OyNQOV6z4V.html&si=lqS2UcDH0v-fFc90
@@drive Thank you!!
British racing green is the topping 😊
Beautiful E36! I remember when these cars were new. I'd love to have an S54 swapped one. Even better than an E46 then! Love the color too. BMW has gotten so far away from the tasteful designs of the 70s, 80s, and 90's.
Damn I’ve two ML’s but would deffo buy an e36 coupe incline 4 for fuel economy 🤩 what a stunning design
Those wheels are gorgeous! What model are they exactly?
Yiasou manga! So tempted to s54 my "99 m, cant justify swapping out a great running s52 but dam.. great looking car, great greek family
Sorek’s S.Gauge spotted!
Cool 😎
Meaty tires 👌👌
we support sidewall round these parts
Beautiful car. I'm in Rye NY, and have an e36 turbo. Any meets or cruises you know of in the area?
Where was this filmed? Looks awesome!
upstate NY
Damn when was last time you guys uploaded? 😮❤
We've been back at it for a month now! Check out our relaunch announcement: czcams.com/video/UTKcOPmAkEU/video.html
@drive missed you guys and this Bmer owner is so fortunate 🤩
❤❤❤
during covid i took a mercedes vito & turned it into a cornering machine :P . wich pissed off alot of coworkers xD
Perfect. Need to put my E36 together one day :D. I have some cool parts for it like te37sl, nardi x vertex wheel, bride x vertex seats. It will be on my YT channel in the future.
Says you'll never need a radio. Proceeds to drown out car with radio. -_-
Ελα ρε πατριδα να σαι καλα να το χαιρεσαι.
Ζεις το ονειρο μου πραγματικα.Το 36αρι ειναι η αρρωστια μου. Δυστυχως για τα Ελληνικα δεδομενα πρεπει να παρανομησεις για να εχεις ενα 328i ουτε καν Μ3
every greek person starts with an e36 same goes for me when i was little my dad bought a 97; sedan e36 white it was amazing thats when i fell in love with bmw and now i own an e46 coupe
CaR ResToRatIon COlLege damn
The digital part of the dash... that custom?
Peak-era of BMW, particularly in the aethetic department.
every single proportion on these is just perfect
one day, i want my e36 be painted in this colour, so fucking beautiful
Greek powahhhhh nice bimmer