- So far on "Money Pit,"
we bought this bone stock E36 straight off ebay motors
with the goal of turning it into a budget minded
rally off-roadable car.
And we've plowed $13,000 into it doing so.
But the question is, has all of our time and money
been well spent?
I'm Zach, and this is "Money Pit."
Let's ride.
(upbeat quirky music)
Well, this is it.
This is gonna be our last rodeo
with the E36 for a while.
So we've got some testing to do,
and we've got some goals in mind.
The last time we were out here,
the best average time that I could run was a-
- [Automated Voice] 1:27.6.
- Around our little made up track,
but we've plowed some more parts into the car since then.
And now we are back at my favorite barren wasteland
to test things out again.
Now the question is if the $13,000 worth of parts
we've plowed into that car have been worth it.
So if I can improve on our last lap time today,
I mean the answer must be yes.
It must be worth it.
So that's what we're gonna do.
But before we go any further,
we need to take a look at all the things that we've done
to that little BMW on this season of "Money Pit."
So come with me on a little trip down memory lane.
So we picked ourselves up a sweet little BMW E36
for 4,500 bucks, and it was in great shape.
So of course we had to start modifying it.
But before we did that, we took it to the desert
and we set a lap time somewhere
in the upper one minute 30 second mark.
So with an average lap time set,
I set off to go fix the biggest problem with the car,
which was its automatic transmission.
So we spent just over $3,000
sorting out the automatic transmission
and replacing it with a manual setup.
We had to buy a transmission, a clutch, a shifter,
a drive shaft, and all sorts of odds and ends.
So once the biggest problem was sorted out
and the car was finally a three pedal car,
well, what do you do next?
Time to do some suspension.
So we got us a set of BC racing coil overs,
and jacked the car way up
to get a little added ground clearance.
Looks cool and it feels great.
So with the suspension sorted out
and a little bit more clearance in those wheel wells,
it was time to put on some new wheels and tires.
Since I couldn't make my mind up,
we took three sets of wheels and tires to the desert
and tested them all.
And they all did pretty dang well.
I ended up choosing the Ronals
with the Yokohama all season tire,
just because I think the Ronals
looks the coolest in terms of wheels.
So then once wheels and tires are sorted out
which is a big step on any car, obviously,
then what do you do, huh?
So then it was time to put a set of seats in the car.
So we went with a set of Sparco's Evo seat.
I love that seat.
We also did a really cool set of desert Digi camo harnesses.
You can barely even see them.
And a few other odds and ends
and we spent just over $3,000 doing it.
But the stuff looks great.
So with the seats figured out,
it was time to do a little bit of fabrication.
And I had my buddy Mike Day come out
and help me build a roll cage.
And it took four long hard days of works and nights of work,
but it came out great and I'd say it was worth it.
So then it was time to future-proof
the biggest Achilles heel on these old BMWs,
which is the cooling system.
So I replaced all of the cooling plastic bits
with metal bits like these and these,
and that kept the car cool
even though we were spending the long days
out in the desert's hot, hot heat.
So then with the cooling figured out,
it was time to sort out my stock parking brake situation
with the help of a hydraulic handbrake.
And now if you remember the episode,
I didn't exactly buy the right thing,
but it all worked out in the end.
Now we can do big old J turns and skirts and drifts,
and it's all very fun.
So that was maybe one of my favorite things
we put in the car because it makes it so much fun.
Then it was time to make the car sound a little bit cooler.
So rather than buying an exhaust,
I decided to take a crack at making one.
And I busted out the old TIG welder,
and we actually made some progress on my TIG welding.
We actually made an exhaust, which is honestly,
I don't think I could have said that a few months ago.
So we learned a skill and we made a super loud
and obnoxious and rowdy exhaust.
But out in the desert, it sounded just right.
And then of course, no rally car's complete
with things like mud flaps and fog lights.
So, you know what we had to do.
We had to install some mud flaps and some fog lights
amongst a couple other things like pedals
and a cool rally mirror.
So all of those little touches made the car
look a whole lot more like a rally car.
Then it was time to make the thing act like a rally car
in the sense that we're gonna be running over
a bunch of rocks.
So how do we deal with that?
Make a skid plate.
So we made a skid plate.
A big aluminum one for the front,
and some polyethylene UHMW for the gas tanks
to keep all our gas in the tanks.
And those worked out pretty nice
and the car is super durable.
You can run over anything with it now.
Speaking of running over everything,
time to go run over everything.
Move that trailer!
(intense dramatic music)
I wanna give another huge thanks to ebay motors
for sponsoring this whole season of "Money Pit."
Without them, we couldn't even build this car.
And I'm pretty glad that we built this car.
And now, now that all the hard work's done,
it's time to have some fun.
(car roaring) (intense dramatic music)
Get started on your own "Money Pit" today
by clicking on the link below or by downloading the app.
And just remember, you're gonna need a bad-ass delivery
to make it official.
Let's go, baby.
(car roaring loudly) (intense dramatic music)
Oh, the car feels absolutely fantastic.
It really feels good out here.
I couldn't be happier with the way it feels,
but we gotta talk about the hard facts
of what's going on here.
You know, we really haven't done
that much performance minded stuff
since the last time we tested the car.
The only thing that we've really done
that might shave some time off
is install that hydraulic e-brake.
But that said, the last time we were out here,
one of the biggest problems that I had
and one of the things that sucked up the most seconds,
was the factory e-brake.
I got it stuck on a couple of times.
Couldn't reach it a couple of times.
So I do think our hydraulic e-brake
should shave some time off for us,
but that is really the only thing that we've done
that should shave any time.
Since the last time we were out here.
Since then, it's been durability and rally related stuff
in terms of aesthetics.
So the fact is, that a lot of this is gonna rest on me
and having gotten better since the last time I was out here.
And, well, I don't know if that's happened.
So I guess there's only one way to find out.
Let's drive, baby.
So now just like we've done before,
we're gonna do three laps and take the average
and see if my average this time beats the last one.
Wish me luck.
- Three, two, one, go!
(car roaring loudly)
(upbeat intense music)
- Oh, I missed the track.
We'll take it.
(car roaring loudly)
Guess I didn't remember how to do this.
(upbeat intense retro dance music)
I keep doing that.
(upbeat intense dance music)
That was good.
That felt good.
Great e-brake usage.
E-brake feels so nice.
What a great mod.
(upbeat intense dance music)
Ooh, that felt pretty good too.
Oh, slowing me down though at the end.
Okay, we forgot our cones so I'm looking for a gas can.
(car roaring) (upbeat intense dance music)
Oh, so slow right there
but we canned through it pretty good.
(upbeat intense dance music)
That e-brake sure is nice.
(upbeat intense dance music)
(car roaring)
- 1:27.66, isn't that what he got last time?
- Okay, apart from completely missing the turn
I'm supposed to take at the beginning,
that felt pretty good.
Pretty clean.
The e-brake makes it feel so much cleaner.
Okay, one lap down.
Two to go.
(upbeat intense dance music) (car roaring)
Ooh, that's (indistinct) a second.
Not bad given that tarmac.
Nice and quick, baby.
(car revving loudly)
(upbeat EDM dance music)
Oh no.
Couldn't see. Couldn't see.
Thought I knew where the turn was.
Did not.
Good thing we got a skid plate, you know?
I missed a different turn that time.
Got lost in the dust a little bit.
Did I get any air? - You were space bound.
- It felt cool. Car loved it.
Okay, this is my last lap.
My last chance to make these $13,000
worth having spent them on this car.
And I gotta tell you regardless of the time,
I'm having so much fun.
Okay, last lap, baby.
Send me off.
(car revving loudly)
That looks good.
Feels good, I guess
(car revving loudly)
Get me on the tarmac, get me on the tarmac, yeah baby!
(car revving loudly)
Tarmac, tarmac, tarmac.
(car revving loudly)
Get through this quick.
Not bad, not bad, not bad.
Find that gas can.
(car revving loudly)
Get through this quick.
Can't.
Not too bad. Not too bad.
Okay.
Find this turn through the dirt.
Oh (beep), almost cooked it.
(car revving loudly)
I don't know of too many things you can do in a car
that are more fun than this.
Rear wheel drive car in the dirt, low grip,
not that much power, and I gotta tell ya.
It's pretty sweet.
Well, we did exactly what we set out to do.
We built a budget minded rally inspired car,
and we've been beating the hell out of it in the desert.
And I just ran (coughs).
Down my throat.
And I just ran three laps that I feel pretty good about.
So now the last thing we need to do
is find out what my lap time was,
so we can determine whether or not
this has all been worth it.
Adam.
Thank you, sir.
(Zach laughs triumphantly)
Oh, hell yeah.
We averaged a 1:25.63 star smiley face.
That is approximately one second, two seconds?
Two seconds faster than our last average.
That is a pretty good time-savings considering
all we did was add a handbrake essentially.
But what's more, my best lap time was a 1:24.25,
which is over three seconds faster.
Must mean I'm getting better at this.
And that's what happens when you get out and do stuff.
So I highly recommend doing so,
especially if you have an area like this to do it in.
There's not a whole lot more fun
that I can think of than a low power, low grip,
rear wheel drive car in the dirt.
This has been an absolute blast.
And I think the only thing that would make it more fun
is to include the homeys.
So now I wanna give all the boys here a lap
and see if anybody can beat me.
Any takers?
Who wants first? Eddy?
(soft gentle music)
Big news, guys.
You got one chance and one chance only to win this.
The original steering wheel from the Money Pit E36.
Along with a hundred dollar gift card from donut media.com
because we know those guys.
I don't know what to do with this thing.
You can hang it on the wall.
You could, hell you could use it.
It's in pretty good shape, but whatever you're gonna do,
you're gonna have to click the link
in the description below to get entered
to win this steering wheel and a hundred bucks.
Click the link!