Has he tried fitting a lhd ( if it's lhd ) 4-cyl Z3 rack? About 2.8ish turns instead of 3.6 for the original E30 M3 rack.
People in Aus have done this when they've been saddled with the slow 4.1 turn rack of the normal E30 325i on a rhd converted E30 M3

It's also a useful way to get a quick rack on an E36.

Don't get a Z3M rack though as it is slower than the normal Z3 rack