1996 318ti Msport Individual to 328ti - Atlantis Blue,

1996 318ti Msport Individual to 328ti - Atlantis Blue,

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RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
Not done a build thread on here before, but thought I'd put this up.

Got given this ti from a mate who was going to tour Europe in his camper van, I did a fair bit of work on it and he gave me this...


It was slightly modded when he got it, E46 M3 reps and lowered on Eibach springs.

First off, I lent it to a mate to take to the south of France for his honeymoon




It came back and was treated to a welded diff and a couple of drift days, no pics of me were taken, just my wife and the instructor, I was gutted!

After the first, the rear beam bushes were shot, as were the rear fronts so polybush came to the rescue, I now have a solid rear and more castor up front.





Then a trackday at Oulton for a bit of fun




This made me realise even more that the car was totally underpowered, I bet the wheels don't help either!

Some other purchases were made, a new set of shocks all round, and new top mounts. and some more polybushes for the ARBS.

The rear top mounts didn't last long, may have got the washers the wrong way around, so new alloy and poly mounts were ordered off the bay.



SWMBO bought me a 3.25 LSD for xmas, that is in now with a poly mount





Step up Mr 328i Coupe!




Engine is nearly out of the ti..



IT RUNS!




Z3M exhaust back boxes have been bought on the bay, I was hoping that they would bolt straight up but are 3" each so I am going to take it to a local custom exhaust place to get them to make a Y pipe and I'll have them both going into one back box and keep it looking standard, also saves me having to cut the boot floor out to make them fit. Hopefully should be sorted on Tuesday.



Pretty much all back together now, just the undertrays to put back on once the exhaust is completed and a few other little niggles. O

Front discs arrived so they have gone on along with the 328 callipers, also ordered new EBC OEM pads F&R, and hopefully I'll win some drilled/grooved rear discs later on at a decent price.



Wheels were already shagged when I got it, May pick up a better set once I've killed all the tyres I have for it, Already have some E34 cross spokes but they have some Colway race tyres on so will use them for track wheels/winter wheels when I can get some winter tyres for them. I quite like the look of the E46 M3 reps on the car, they are just cheap copies though, and they are knackered.


Cooling fan is on, just need to wire up a switch for it or get a new fan switch and wire it to a relay, hope it is big enough for the job, if not, will keep an eye on it and get a bigger one and cut the front cowl and support. need to mesh the bottom aperture to help save the rad as it is bigger than the 1.9 one





Some shots of the bushes etc that have been replaced... need to sort the leak on the diff though and get some more plates for it, could do with more than 25% lock up, doesn't even seem that much TBH







Also got some Bridgestone Potenza S001's for the rear in 235/40 18 from the front of the Wifes C63 as she has just had 4 new tyres today, 4mm left on them so should do for the 'ring trip.


Previous engine conversions have been

143vvc in a metro


and a Saxo VTS into a Berlingo (for work)




More to follow next week.

NelsonR32

1,716 posts

177 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
Wow never seen a Compact in Ethat colour before. Looks almost like Estoril.

I would get some M3 Contour wheels on that. Keep it looking period from the outside.

RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
It does look a bit Estoril in the pics but in real life, it changes with the light (not pearlescent) Google Atlantis blue and you will see what I mean.

I think I will be going for some E36 M3 wheels, either the Contours or the sunflowers, will be after the 'ring trip in September though, either way, it needs new wheels!

Frances The Mute

1,816 posts

247 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
This is the first Atlantis compact I've seen. Nice work in finding one.

17's will make a huge difference to the handling of this car. There's plenty of wheels available to you, too.

RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
Thanks, I know it's a rare colour and spec, I know of 2 others, at least 1 of those have been written off.

Are they any good on 16's as I have a set of style 30's on the 328i, I'll keep them when it is scrapped and maybe look out for some tyres.

There is plenty of grip with the 18's and it was predictable enough with the 1.9 in, we'll see what it's like with the current engine after Tuesday, Hopefully nothing has changed much!




Frances The Mute

1,816 posts

247 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
I found the compact a bit vague on 16"s. The primary ride quality is great, but if you're driving it hard - which appears ot be the case - it's a little slow to react thanks to higher profile tyres.

Granted, you can dial this out in terms of your geometry, but a 17" fitment ticks all of the boxes.

RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
Thanks, It's ok on the 18's for now but I'll be looking into the 17's as it does generally get driven hard when the time is right and I would like a bit more flex on the side walls.

Jam Spavlin

909 posts

191 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
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Slightly off topic but what did the berlingo go like?

RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Sunday 28th July 2013
quotequote all
It was originally a 1.4 8v, 75Bhp once, on 180k and still going strong. Once the 120Bhp saxo engine was in it, it went like the proverbial off a shovel! Tried it with the Saxo box first and the ratios were all wrong so popped the OE box in and it was a little rocket for what it was. A new MX5 got shown a clean pair of heels!

The Metro was even better!

RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Wednesday 31st July 2013
quotequote all
So, yesterday saw to the exhaust being sorted, the standard 328 backbox was 'fitted' to get me over to Wigan with the left hand Z3M back box. a company called Danmar did the work, which is fine for the price.

Old vs new...





Now all I need to do is find the cap...


I got home to see the new front pads and rear drilled & grooved discs have arrived. The discs were a snip at £26 delivered. I'll get these fitted as soon as the rear pads arrive

The brake fluid has been changed to Dot5.1, 1 bleed nipple had to be heated to remove and the others were looking tired so they have been replaced. A new exchange front calliper was fitted because the nipple had snapped, I'll get the other swapped when funds allow before the 'ring.

And finally a spare e34 bbs is on it's way complete with a centre cap, only 2 more centre caps to find cheap now...

Frances The Mute

1,816 posts

247 months

Wednesday 31st July 2013
quotequote all
When are you off to the ring?

RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Wednesday 31st July 2013
quotequote all
Last week in September, there are about 20 of us going, will be a good crack.

Frances The Mute

1,816 posts

247 months

Wednesday 31st July 2013
quotequote all
Ah right. I'm out there this weekend so was going to have a nosey around the car if you were there.

Have a good one!

RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Wednesday 31st July 2013
quotequote all
Nope sorry, wish I was though!

Enjoy your trip!

Kitchski

6,525 posts

237 months

Thursday 1st August 2013
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What does the 'individual' refer to? Seen it on a couple of BMW threads recently.

Fun Bus

17,911 posts

224 months

Thursday 1st August 2013
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Individual is BMW's equivalent of Mercedes Designo or Audi Exclusive. Expensive wood, leather and colour options which are more unique than the standard colour pallette.

Kitchski

6,525 posts

237 months

Friday 2nd August 2013
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Ah right, not surprising that I've never heard of it then!

Fab32

380 posts

139 months

Monday 5th August 2013
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As others have said nice colour, are the two rear spoilers a standard fit?

What brake setup front and rear are you running?

Did changing the diff make a noticeable difference?

I have some bits left over from my conversion mainly a pipercross air filter if you are interested?

For others reading this here is my BMW compact conversion

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

RA500

Original Poster:

251 posts

202 months

Monday 5th August 2013
quotequote all
Thanks Fab, Yes, I presume the spoilers are OE and have been there since new I guess, here's some pics of them and the part codes.

Bottom spoiler. Sorry, it's not had a clean for a while!





Top Spoiler








I'm running 328 Callipers upfront, standard rear, Mtec brakes drilled and grooved fronts, ebay junk drilled and grooved rears awaiting fitment this week sometime.
EBC Ultimax pads front fitted, rears will go on this week. Can't really comment on them as I've only done 150 miles on the fronts. I'll possibly uprate the pads if these turn out to be junk.

Yes, the diff made a difference, I prefer the welded diff for drifting, it was also perfect in the snow earlier in the year but for normal road use I prefer the LSD. Not keen on any open diff to be honest, especially on track, it's so easy to spin the unloaded wheel (I am an aggressive driver with NO mechanical sympathy!), as said previously, I would prefer more lock up so I would advise getting the extra plates fitted before it goes in, I would also prefer a bit longer gearing (now 3.25:1) as it sits at 3k at 70mph with the 225 40 18's on, so it will be a bit higher with the slightly smaller rolling radius tyres I plan to fit in the future (for better lock)

Thanks for the offer, I'm keeping the OE airbox thanks but need the snorkle for it, the bits for the alternator vent and the plasic with the vent for the front panel as they were removed for 'weight saving' from the previous owner of the 328, along with the injector and cam cover covers.


Fab32

380 posts

139 months

Monday 5th August 2013
quotequote all
What did you do about the gearbox and prop when you did your conversion?

When I swapped out the 1.6 for the 2.8, the only 2.8 I could find at the time was an auto so in the interest of saving money, or so I thought at the time, I kept the 1.6 box and clutch. The clutch lasted about 10 miles and the gearbox just survived the trip to Santa pod but the whine in first and second was horrible.

I swapped them out and choose a 2.8 flywheel and clutch and a Z3 2.3 box. I’m still running that setup know with the M3 in, but I’m not sure how long the box will last as I’m sure it’s beginning to whine in second!

My wheels are 17s the rears are running 245/40/17 and the fronts are 215/40/17 and I went for R888s all round. Completely changed the way the car handled for the better, they aren’t cheap but the grip they offer is impressive.

Do you have any track days/outings planned?