If we had to choose the best invention of the new millennium, we'd give two answers: the Internet and eBay. One technology brings millions together, and the other lets us benefit from it. There is so much right about eBay's simple methodology, it boggles the mind. How did we ever survive without it?
We'd been kicking the idea around for months: Purchase a car from eBay and utilize its staggering database to trick it out. It was a project vehicle we could conceptualize and complete without leaving the desk. And now that Half-Life 2 is out, we spend hours in a game coma with a death-grip on the keyboard. This would give us some exercise, a break from saving the virtual world. Yeah, exercise.
Well, eBay beat us to the punch and designed a challenge comprised of 10 teams. Each team was given $25,000 and a few simple instructions-buy a car on eBay, modify the bejeezus out of it with eBay-purchased goods, and several months later, duke it out with our fellow contestants.
Noble bastards that they are, the eBay people asked that we auction the vehicles online and give the proceeds to Charity Cars. Established in 1996, Charity Cars is the first organization of its kind in the nation, providing vehicles that have been refurbished and redone to ensure safety and reliability, a license plate, the down payment for insurance, an emergency roadside assistance membership, a service warranty and case management services to families willing to work. It's made up of dedicated and caring people who change the lives of deserving families in our community.
Over the screams and moans of our staff, we all agreed this was a good thing, one more star for a ticketto heaven.
Obviously, the first thing we had to do was find a vehicle. We narrowed our search to an E36 M3. Even in stock form, the M3 has style, an outstanding chassis and a 3.0-liter, 24-valve, 240-hp engine. We found what we knew to be a winner in this screaming yellow example for $13,000. Sold. One problem: it was in Chicago; we're in L.A. Two one-way tickets later and we had ourselves a road trip. Woo hoo.
The M3's original 240 horses just weren't going to cut it in this competition. To boost the count, we scored an Active Autowerke stage 1 turbo kit. Once we had the turbo kit in hand we took it, along with the intake, exhaust and wheels and tires, to DAI Motorsports to have everything installed. Since we were already elbow deep in the engine compartment, we also had them install a lightened flywheel and an upgraded clutch kit at the same time.
The somewhat high-mileage suspension was replaced with a set of coil-overs from KW Suspensions. To fill the space behind the 18-inch RH wheels, shod with Michelin Pilot PS2 rubber (225/40 front; 255/35 rear), a 13-inch big brake kit was sourced from RPI Equipped.
A carbon-fiber hood and trunk lid from VIS Racing Sports replace the heavy steel units. To reduce weight even more, the back seat was removed. Sparco Siena race seats were installed up front to cradle the driver and one passenger. Additional exterior enhancements come by way of Umnitza headlights that give a 5-Series look to the nose; a matching set of taillights was added to the rear.
Duties for the audio install fell to Serenity Auto Sound and tech Thai Nguyen. Audio components consist of a Clarion head unit, two Precision Power amplifiers and an Alumapro Alchemy 12-inch subwoofer. A Pioneer 7-inch LCD monitor adds visuals to the audio.
When the day finally came, we took names and kicked ass, mostly. We took second in the car class (fourth overall), behind the dubious "Motor Trend" Golf. The M3's quarter-mile time was a respectable 13.44 seconds at 107.31 mph. Zero to 60 came in five seconds flat. The big brake kit proved its worth too, as it only took 118 feet to come to a stop from 60 mph. With an average slalom speed of 68.5 mph, we topped all four-wheel comers.
All the cars in the challenge will be auctioned about the time you read this. For more information visit www.editorscharitychallenge.com.
Editor's Note: Sport Compact Car's only real involvement with the eBay Editors' Charity Challenge came when we were called the week before the competition to provide a driver for a car at the test-which we did. We're happy to contribute on that level, but all the credit for building the car and writing this story goes to the staffs of our sister publications, "european car" and "Euro Tuner."