Here is BMW 335i racecar build part 6 of my ongoing series. You can read all the previous installments by clicking here.

In my last update, (which you can read by clicking here) I mentioned that I had decided to fit the HARD Motorsport LEICHTBAU E90 bodykit to my 335i racecar. But while I was on their website, I saw a few other racecar goodies that I had to have.

Optional extras

HARD Motorsport not only offers race parts for the E90 range, they have products for E30, E36, E46 and even a few items for the newer F Series BMWs. Some of their stuff was a bargain, relatively speaking, some not so much thanks to our poor exchange rate.

I liked the HARD Motorsport E9X trunk floor filler plate to close that huge hole in the floor, the HARD Motorsport low profile brake cooling chamber-style duct E9X coupled with the HARD Motorsport fog-light brake duct inlets that, in turn, fit straight onto their M-Tech front bumper cover.

And to finish off the bumper, I also ordered the HARD Motorsport Leichtbau wide front splitter along with the HARD Motorsport support bracket for front splitter, and the M-Tech front splitter compatible bumper lip.

There was a bunch of other stuff I would have loved, but the exchange rate and shipping, etc makes a bit pricey at this stage, especially since I am keeping a cost sheet for this build, and it is already making my eyes water. Building a BMW E90 335i track car is not a cheap exercise!

Shipping woes

Parts all identified, selected on the website, freight quoted for, an easy payment facilitated through PayPal and I was good to go. Or so I thought. But I couldn’t be more wrong. Weight was not a problem, but size restrictions from the international freight company shipping via air to SA, was, and this stopped my order in its tracks.

I panicked a little and tried to get quotes from SA freight companies, but they were either not interested or the cost quoted to get the stuff here was more than the goods themselves. I thought I had made a huge mistake in trying to import a unique body kit.

But the guys at HARD Motorsport, being the consummate professionals, they are, said I should not worry, they would make a plan, shop around for other freighters, and they will deliver my goods. And a week or so later, the customs paperwork was sent to me, I paid the customs duty, and I had my body kit and other race goodies with me. Was it cheap? No, but for me, it was worth having the only kit of its type in the country.

Now I could get to finally fitting and spraying of the body kit at Johan’s Auto…