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M3 show car for SEMA—which was only
11 months away. Not only that, but the
team, which had no previous experience
as professional builders, would be doing
the work with handtools in a simple 1.5-
car garage. Although the final goal was
to qualify for the Battle of the Builder’s
Young Guns category, the entire effort
would raise awareness for the Morgan
Adams Foundation, which works closely
with childhood cancer research.
It was a tall order, in more ways
than one. Not only would the group of
students have to figure out the technical
issues associated with shoehorning
an F80 M3 twin-turbocharged six into
the engine bay of the more modestly
powered E30 model, but they’d also have
to complete the work with a level of fit,
finish, and quality well beyond that of
your standard project.
“One of the toughest parts of the
project was getting these guys in the
right mindset of what it takes to build a
really high-end car,” Cory explains. “I’m
fortunate to have had a lot of experience
in that realm, so I passed on to them
as many lessons as I could that I had
learned from my own mentors. The key
was the idea of ‘chasing perfection.’
As a hobbyist, or doing repair work, it’s
about reaching an end goal, but on a
really high-end car, where you’re doing
something no one else has done before,
there’s no such thing as ‘good enough,’ or
‘completion.’”
This concept would manifest in how
the build unfolded.
“The deadline was quite pressing,
but there was no point in us showing
up to SEMA, or even building the car in
the first place, if we were going to cut
corners,” Cory continues. “The students
learned not to be frustrated when
something didn’t go well, or if they had
to redo a step two, three, or even four
times. It shouldn’t matter how many
attempts you have to make when you’re
seeking perfection. That’s the difference
between just doing a brake job and
building a car like this.”
Cory stresses that the difference
between being able to access the
significant resources of a major shop
versus working with basic tools in a
small, confined space is enormous.
Helping to avoid frustration and keep
the team locked and focused were a set
of mentors drawn from the industry
who were able to come in and share The M3 has been converted to centerlock to roll on these rad Forgelines.
