chrysgaines | Automotive Tips

#ad Can my $1000 windshield be saved? I picked up everything I’ll need to repair, polish, and protect it from my @Amazon Storefront! #windshield #roadtrip #rainx #ceriglass #GyeonView #driveintotheoutdoors #amazonautos #amazonautomotive

Send this to someone whose driving position makes no sense 😂 Day 1 of fixing everything wrong with my $300 project car, and we’re starting with this awesome steering wheel spacer that will fix the E36’s terrible driving position, while letting me keep my airbag 🤌 #e36 #bmw #m3 #projectcar #DIY #chrysgaines

It’s time to put hundreds of hours and thousands of $$$ of work to the test 🔥 We’re taking my $300 pile of parts to the track at @Thunderhill Raceway 😈 But first, I need to dial the car in and make sure she’s ready to go, starting with one of the chonkiest sway bars on the market from @TurnerMotorsport . Of course, we run into some classical BMW issues along the way… will we make it to the track? Will the car even survive? Do I have no idea what I’m doing and built something that drives like garbage??? Find out next time, on Dragon… Ball…. wait 😅 #e36 #trackcar #racecar #projectcar #bmwm3 #diymechanic #chrysgaines

My car is going to drive better than an M3 did off the factory floor when @TurnerMotorsport and I are through 😈 Day 4 is all about disassembling the donor E36 M3 subframe, bushings, ball joints, axles, and hubs to make way for all of our OEM + upgraded Monoball Turner goodies! Of course, everything doesn’t go according to plan when you’re working on 25 year old BMW’s 😭 Shoutout to @Alexander Vargas👨‍🔧 for walking so I could speed-walk through this process 🫠#e36 #m3 #projectcar #bushings #chrysgaines

$300 Bimmer gets new shoes 🔥 How do you like the new look? As much as I love the style 32’s, something never really felt “special” about them. I’m sure part of it was the 4/10 DIY restoration job I did on a couple of them, which absorbed brake dust to the point where they just look permadirty 🚮 So we went with these inexpensive Alpina style wheels that look amazing 🤌 #e36 #alpinawheels #chrysgaines #fitment #stance #trackfitment

Day 12 is the last day I have to get this car completely out back together and on its first test drive. We WILL NOT be sleeping until it’s complete. The subframe hopefully goes back in as easily as it came out, but there’s always the chance some other tiny part on my 25 year old pile of parts could completely derail my plans and turn me into a zombie 🧟‍♂️ #diymechanic #e36 #m3 #chrysgaines #subframe #brakelines

#ad Road-tripping a 250,000 mile BMW is easier than you’d think. As long as you’re up to date on your maintenance, it’s all about being prepared for anything! So I grabbed a Roadside Emergency Kit from my @Amazon Storefront, and we’re ready to go! #roadside #emergencykit #roadtrip #safety #cartrouble #driveintotheoutdoors #amazonautos #amazonautomotive

#ad Swapping your alternator is a great DIY to save some time and money… on almost every car but this one #ad 😅 But with help from @The NAPA Network, we may have just found the cheat code! #teamNAPA #NAPApartner​ #alternator #diymechanic #chrysgaines #battery

With the rear end of my car completely disassembled, now is the perfect time to install all of the @TurnerMotorsport parts to make the front end of my car stiffer, smoother, slower, and faster, all at the same time 🔥 Day 7 is all about making progress despite the setbacks we had yesterday 🤌. New wheel bearings, a stud conversion, adjustable bushings, and a billet chassis brace will complement the M3 knuckles I’m swapping on to fit the bigger M3 brakes. They also add some additional camber and have roll center correction built in, as the M3 was lower than the lower models from factory! #diymechanic #wheelbearing #e36 #m3 #chrysgaines #brace

I rented a Tesla to roadtrip 1200 miles to Vegas and back specifically to give them a shot, but after taking the Bimmer to LA multiple times, stopping for 30-45 minutes to charge multiple times absolutely kills the experience…. and 400 miles of range in a $300 project car vs. 180 max in a $40k+ EV? 🤨 #roadtrip #tesla #model3 #m3 #bmw #projectcar #chrysgaines

The owner of the car can point out every single flaw that everyone else either misses or doesn’t care about 😭 #e36coupe #chrysgaines #projectcar #garagequeen #bodywork #bmw

#ad This German tank has been kicking for 25 years and has a wild 330K miles. #ad Today, I’ve teamed up with @theNAPAnetwork to give her a full repair. Luckily, she’s still looking in top shape! #NAPApartner #teamNAPA

Are cars really just LEGO’s for adults with adult money? 😅 Day 10, we get to find out. Rebuilding a completely stripped subframe with @TurnerMotorsport monoball ball joints, bearings, and bushings to make our new subframe look like the one I just pulled out of the car is definitely a bit more complicated than snapping some bricks together… #lego #adultmoney #projectcar #diymechanic #bushings #chrysgaines #restoration

#ad Rebuilding your brake calipers is a great way to breathe new life into older parts. #ad For day 3 we’re completely restoring these performance calipers with some help from @The NAPA Network #teamNAPA #NAPApartner #caliper #brakes #rebuild #projectcar #chrysgaines

What’s the first thing you do when you “finish”your project car? I’m prepping the $300 BMW for the @streetvaderz night drive, so we’ve got to knock out an alignment, swap out the front grille, and wash the car. Getting out of the garage for once and meeting up with some insane builds and cool owners is always refreshing, and the resulting shots we got were 10000% worth it 🔥🔥🔥 🎥: @streetvaderz x @e30bunac #carmeet #projectcar #e36 #bmw #diymechanic #chrysgaines

Is there such a thing as “too much” carbon fiber? Day 2 is all about visual balance, so we’re attempting to wrap my carbon LTW wing in a unique design, and installing my @K2 Industries sideskirt extensions with a satin PPF. I watched 1 tutorial vid, so it must be easy… right??? 🫠 You can use my code “CHRYS” at K2industries to save some 💸💸💸 if you’re loving this diffuser x side skirt extension combo as much as I am 🔥 #carbonfiber #wrap #PPF #DIY #projectcar #e36 #chrysgaines

Time to transform these crusty old M3 parts into something so clean you can eat off it it 😳 For day 8, we’ve finally acquired a set of arms that actually works, but they need to be stripped, cleaned, and re-rustified before we can lay some serious silver chassis paint on them. The subframe is getting a nice coat of gloss black protection as well 🤌🤌🤌 #restoration #rusty #chassis #chrysgaines #subframe #suspension #repainting

Tonight… we ride 😈 It might be 1:30 AM, but the car is finally touching grass and we’re taking it out for its first test drive since I started this whole project! I’m honestly extremely proud of myself for setting out to tackle this by myself, in my garage, and everything somehow working properly first time! I’m gonna do a full cost breakdown, but I calculated I put in about 240 hours of work over the past couple months, which at my friend’s BMW shop rate of $250 an hour comes out to SIXTY-FREAKING-THOUSAND DOLLARS OF LABOR 🫠🫠🫠 Thank you guys all so much for your support, it means the world to me and allows me to keep pushing for bigger and better content 🙏🏾 So what’s next??? We’re just getting started, so you’ll have to stick around to find out 👀 #bmw #e36 #projectcar #diymechanic #restoration #classiccars

Time to learn if I can power my car Fred Flinstone-style from the back seat ☠️ Day 5, we’re completely removing the stock rear subframe from my E36. With it out of the way I can learn if the mounting points on the chassis look more like swiss cheese than a highly structural chassis surface 😅. And I’ve got to get it out tonight to be ready for my subframe reinforcements to get welded in tmrw. What could possibly go wrong??? #e36 #subframe #welding #chassis #diymechanic #chrysgaines

Mistakes were made, but lessons were learned. When it comes to welding reinforcement plates on your E36, I’d say, just leave the gas tank in 😅 If you need any mobile welding services in the SF Bay Area, hit up @ aaron2slow on IG and he’ll get you right 🔥 #welding #e36 #m3 #reinforcement #diyprojects #chrysgaines