We present Michael Cuddy’s beautiful e31 850ci as one of the most unique land sharks out there. When Michael first brought the car in it was rolling on incorrect sized wheels with a lot of wheel gap so we went with 19″ Concave Forgestar wheels. This brought the custom 80s-90s era boxed flares to the perfect stance. We also wanted the car to sit at a decent ride height so we went with Bilstein Sport Struts all four corners and custom H&R Springs to tailor the car’s fitment. Soon after we realized the engine started to smoke too much and it was tired after 20+ years. We removed the big monster and did a complete overhaul better than new. The exhaust was modified from the midsection all the way to the tailpipes with two vibrant mufflers. To accommodate the aggressive quad dual wall tips we added the 850csi rear diffuser/spoiler. Michael has future plans of upgrading some interior pieces and restoring more of the car.

Jef Groff professional stunt man in the film industry for the past 10 years here in Southern California, where he developed a love for drifting among stunting motorcycles. One great guy who has such passion and dedication both on and off the track always giving it 110% to anything he signs up to, another reason why we are happy to take on such a sponsorship with this new build.

Jef picked up a prestine ’97  e36 M3 a couple years ago which slowly but surely landed in our hands to finish the LS3 swap. This project is being taken to the next level with Castro Motorsports now in control of the entire build. From a new upgraded LS3 motor putting down 470 horsepower and 435 foot pounds of torque running e85 fuel. All this power runs thru a 4 speed nascar dog box transmission built by Texas Speed Racing. With the amount of torque the 2-way LSD locks up and keeps the tires smoking as Jef maneuvers the car thru the turns.

Custom Fabricated: Rear mounted radiator, Trunk mounted Fuel Cell, Crash bar front & rear, Custom front support for headlight mounts and hood, Eight Point Roll cage including a Halo and Intrusion bars

Engine: 2013 Camaro LS3, Castro Modified long tube headers, FAST big mouth throttle body, Super Dampener, upgraded fuel lines, Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump, Holly eliminator standalone, tuned by Turbo Joe on our in house Mustang Dyno.

Transmission: 4 speed dogbox from texas racing

Suspension: Bilstein PSS10 Coilovers, SLR Lower Control Arms, Ground Control Pillow Ball camber plates, AKG Lollipops

Wheels: Apex ARC 8

The Kato Racing LS7 project began just like any other e46 M3 that rolled into Castro Motorsport to become a racecar. The factory S54 engine and 6 speed transmission was not enough for the competition Kato aimed for. Once it fell into our hands, the stripdown began; lightening up the car of all excess parts that would not be used on the track. The Cunningham Motorsports custom forged LS7 engine was delivered to the shop. Along with the LS7 swap the power was transferred through a T56 built transmission with a Mantic twin disc clutch, a beefier drive shaft and a 3.15 rear end. As a follow up with a new name, the birth of E40ZO6. Custom metal fender flares were fabricated in order to accommodate the Forgestar 18×11 aluminum finished wheels. They were wrapped around with Hoosier 315/30 all around, making it one of the most aggressive wide body set ups made on a e46. With such beefy tires and massive power the stock brake set up was dumped and upgraded to a much needed Stop Tech 6 Piston Front set up and a rear 4 piston set up. To help the car move along a set of KW Club Sport coilovers were installed to improve track handling.

https://www.stanceworks.com/2014/07/no-need-to-grow-up-the-castro-motorsport-480-horsepower-turbocharged-e34-wagon/

Engine: 2.8 Liter M52B28 Vanos
Transmission: ZF310 5 speed transmission from a ’95 E36 M3
Shifter: AKG Short Shifter Kit
Flywheel/Clutch: F1 Racing Stage 3 lightweight flywheel & clutch kit
Differential: 2.93:1 Limited Slip custom built with 40% lock
Bushings: Replaced all bushings with Ireland Engineering polyurethane units
Suspension: FK-Coilover for an e39 M5
Steering: ’93 M5 Steering Gearbox quicker steering ratio
Engine Modifications: S52B32 Camshaft upgrade, 0.140 Cometic MLS head gasket, ARP2000 cylinder head studs, Modified Blunt Tech/Rapid Spool Industries top mount tubular stainless steel turbo manifold, Garret GT3582R dual ball bearing turbocharger – AR0.07 56 trim compressor, with an AR 0.82 84 trim turbine, Tial MVR 44mm wastegate, 50mm Tial blow-off valve.

The story behind the build

One day Chris Castro received a call from our customer Alex, who inquired about swapping an S50 or S52 (E36 M3 motor) into his ’90 M3, which had been sitting in storage for 7 years. As usual we were up for the task! We had successfully completed over a dozen 24 valve Inline 6 cylinder swaps into the E30 chassis prior to taking on this project. Chris Castro spoke with Alex a few more times to iron out all the details of the project and his budget for the car. Next, we scheduled a date to head up to Santa Barbara, meet with Alex in person, and tow his car back to the shop.

Alex had purchased this car out of high school and enjoyed it for almost 3 years before experiencing an overheating incident, which put his beloved M3 out of commission. Knowing full well that the E30 M3 was getting harder to find due to its rarity, Alex made the wise decision to store the car at a relatives’ home until he could put it back on the road. After looking at the cost of an s14 (M3’s original 4 cylinder motor) rebuild, Alex decided to go a different route. He wanted more power then what the M3’s original had to offer, along with a more reliable motor, which offered low cost maintenance. Well he definitely made the right choice, since the US spec S50 and S52 motors are pretty bullet proof and offer a nice power-band for the lighter E30 chassis.

When Chris and I met up with Alex, and pulled the car out of his aunt’s garage, we saw yet another M3 in need of a rescue! The original s14 was missing some parts after Alex’s brother had taken it apart in an attempt to fix it. The motor had seized and was in need of a full rebuild. All the bushings and brake lines were dry rotted and in dire need of replacement. The paint was also a bit dull and needed a good polish to give it some life. Needless to say, this car was the perfect candidate for the project Alex had in mind!

So the car made it’s way down to our shop in North Hollywood, for an Extreme Makeover – Castro style!

After approximately 2 months the car was delivered back to Alex and he’s fallen back in love with his car ever since! We’re very happy with the way Alex’s car turned out, and we’re glad that we were able to help another enthusiast turn their dream project into a reality!