E36 328i Touring. When it breaks, upgrade it...

[Sammo123]

Looking really good! What are those Recaro seats from?

[carpetsoiler]

geeks said:

Still loving your work, makes me feel bad for neglecting mine for a shortwhile

There was a stage when I just wasn't looking after this... it lasted about a month, if that, before she spat her dummy/spark plug out in a big way! you'll get back into it.

Sammo123 said:

Looking really good! What are those Recaro seats from?

Thanks labour of love! The Recaros are just Recaro Speeds, but on genuine BMW rails, I can get you the part number if you want? They aren't cheap, I know that much, but they have all the provisions for seatbelt buckles and the seatbelts themselves (on Tourings/saloons they bolt to the seat rail, odd).

[Sammo123]

carpetsoiler said:

Thanks labour of love! The Recaros are just Recaro Speeds, but on genuine BMW rails, I can get you the part number if you want? They aren't cheap, I know that much, but they have all the provisions for seatbelt buckles and the seatbelts themselves (on Tourings/saloons they bolt to the seat rail, odd).

Thanks for that Looks like I need to get saving! I have a 328i Coupe and a 318i Touring which I'm selling. I'm off to pick up a 318i Saloon next weekend then swapping the engine from the Coupe into it. I need the 4 doors but will hopefully get to do a few bits and use it for the occasional trackday. I've been looking into building up the 3.0 lump same as you're intending on doing. Seems like a simple enough engine to put together with some decent power available from it. Just need to find the time really!

[darrenw]

I really enjoy this and the other E36 threads.

Sammo123 said:

Thanks for that Looks like I need to get saving! I have a 328i Coupe and a 318i Touring which I'm selling. I'm off to pick up a 318i Saloon next weekend then swapping the engine from the Coupe into it. I need the 4 doors but will hopefully get to do a few bits and use it for the occasional trackday. I've been looking into building up the 3.0 lump same as you're intending on doing. Seems like a simple enough engine to put together with some decent power available from it. Just need to find the time really!

This is something I'd love to do with my E36 318i. I'll probably never get round to it but please document your swap on here so I can see how it's done!

[Sammo123]

darrenw said:

Sammo123 said:

Thanks for that Looks like I need to get saving! I have a 328i Coupe and a 318i Touring which I'm selling. I'm off to pick up a 318i Saloon next weekend then swapping the engine from the Coupe into it. I need the 4 doors but will hopefully get to do a few bits and use it for the occasional trackday. I've been looking into building up the 3.0 lump same as you're intending on doing. Seems like a simple enough engine to put together with some decent power available from it. Just need to find the time really!

This is something I'd love to do with my E36 318i. I'll probably never get round to it but please document your swap on here so I can see how it's done!

I've got to sort out a knackered Volvo that I bought first then I can get started on the BMW. Just need to pull my finger out and get out in the cold evening air occasionally and work on the cars!

[geeks]

carpetsoiler said:

geeks said:

Still loving your work, makes me feel bad for neglecting mine for a shortwhile

There was a stage when I just wasn't looking after this... it lasted about a month, if that, before she spat her dummy/spark plug out in a big way! you'll get back into it.

Its been sat since mid December I have been working out what to do next but really do need to do something even if it is just got out and start her up. I have however purchased a new set of wheels for her though that I am collecting in a few weeks!

Out of interest where did you get your carbonononon bits for the interior from? Ebay?

[carpetsoiler]

Sammo- basically, you need the M50B25 block, and the M54B30 crank/rod/pistons. Then just glue it all together. I'll be doing it over the next few months or so, just building the parts up at the moment- easy does it. I'm not exactly in a rush, the nigh-on fully maxed out M52B28 is quite adequate at the moment!

Geeks- get on it! It'll be worth it in the end. My best mate has been building his saloon up as well, that's turned into quite the monster now. The carbon bits I got from e36coupe.com forum, I've had some really good buys from there. They're quite expensive new- I paid about £40 for them all?

Edited by carpetsoiler on Monday 19th January 19:46

[manmaths]

Love reading the updates on this - I think it looks great.

I don't know that much about mechanical stuff - I was trying to follow what happened to the plug in your last update.

Did the spark plug actually come out of the cylinder head? What caused this?

[carpetsoiler]

manmaths said:

Love reading the updates on this - I think it looks great.

I don't know that much about mechanical stuff - I was trying to follow what happened to the plug in your last update.

Did the spark plug actually come out of the cylinder head? What caused this?

Thanks! Bit shabby round the edges, but she'll get there. once the performance/mechanical upgrades are done, I'll be sorting out the cosmetics.

The plug basically worked itself loose- it was helicoiled at some stage. All the plugs seemed a bit... loose... so I'm guessing #6 just took the brunt of it, for whatever reason. Then it totally stripped the thread on the plug, and bam. Engine dead.

[geeks]

carpetsoiler said:

Geeks- get on it! It'll be worth it in the end. My best mate has been building his saloon up as well, that's turned into quite the monster now. The carbon bits I got from e36coupe.com forum, I've had some really good buys from there. They're quite expensive new- I paid about £40 for them all?

Edited by carpetsoiler on Monday 19th January 19:46

Sir yes sir!

Have a build thread on here that shows what I have so far...

[carpetsoiler]

geeks said:

Sir yes sir!

Have a build thread on here that shows what I have so far...

I know, I keep tabs on pretty much all the E36 threads on here. in fact, I have commented on yours.

If you need a hand sourcing bits/working out upgrades to do, just give me a shout.

[geeks]

carpetsoiler said:

I know, I keep tabs on pretty much all the E36 threads on here. in fact, I have commented on yours.

If you need a hand sourcing bits/working out upgrades to do, just give me a shout.

Ah so you have

You might regret the offer of help lol!

[carpetsoiler]

geeks said:

Ah so you have

You might regret the offer of help lol!

Not really lol. I'm helping someone on here get theirs up to scratch, currently refurbing a set of BBS RC041s for them- not an easy task getting them perfect. I've also practically rebuilt my best mate's one with him, in one day we did coilovers, front & rear ARBs, spark plugs, oil change, oil filter, fuel filter, coolant change, new radiator, new cooling system + relocation, new thermostat & stat housing, viscous fan delete, big bore throttle body... I'm at the stage now where I feel relatively comfortable just getting them done! E36s are basically a big Meccano set that happens to be able to move under its own steam.

[carpetsoiler]

MOT due on Saturday. Well, actually, it was due on the 24th, but I kind of delayed it for various reasons.

So, for the next week or so, transportation is this...



I'm really quite taken with it, the noise and pull are giggly good fun!

Next parts to get sorted out- yes, another set of wheels- they are the BBS RS740/741s from an E39. So, 17", 8J front, 9J rear. They're actually quite rare, and will look fantastic all done up. The rear bumper is a factory-fit AC Schnitzer item, currently in Madeira Violet but soon to be, well, um, silver.





Yep, the wheels will certainly be a bit of work... but I like a challenge. The weird splined tool to get them apart arrives soon.

I also finally got these on...



Back to a standard SE bumper until the Reiger one is completed too. Very happy with the wheels- I wasn't sure how they'd look on, but I'm sold on them.



That'll do for now... but I can say that the performance needs a bit of help. Up to 4,800rpm or so, the engine is strong and pulls well. Then, all power flattens out and it starts hiccuping/burping. It completely plateaus between 5,000rpm and 6,400rpm. A routine check suggests that the standard 21.5lb pink top injectors simply aren't up to the job- they run at 80% duty cycle when the car's standard, so I'm fairly sure they'll be maxed out now- bearing in mind she ran 233bhp with just induction, M50 manifold, lightweight flywheel and a straight through exhaust. Now, in addition to those mods, she's running the M3 Mishimoto rad, M3 cooling system, EMP water pump, viscous fan delete, big bore throttle body, M3 Evo exhaust manifolds, full M3 exhaust system, and the lairy cams.

This morning, some nice blue top 24lb injectors arrived from the States. These come recommended by most of the Yanks, who say most mods up to cams will be good for 21.5lb injectors... cams apparently require 24lb. I also have the 3.5" MAF to go with the injectors, just need the intake boot and- most importantly- a dedicated rolling road remapping session. And that will surely be fun.

[iacabu]

First time I've had a look at this thread...you got it for a bargain initially and it's really coming along. I think all the wheel choices get a from me too, particularly the Rondells, I always wanted an e39 with those on

Edited by iacabu on Wednesday 28th January 04:00

[MarkwG]

This might be a "aching granny to suck eggs" moment, but will e39s fit an e36? I ask because I've got both, & the e39 hubs are a different bore, I think? I'd hate to see you dive in with stripping them down without a work around for that one?

[iacabu]

MarkwG said:

This might be a "aching granny to suck eggs" moment, but will e39s fit an e36? I ask because I've got both, & the e39 hubs are a different bore, I think? I'd hate to see you dive in with stripping them down without a work around for that one?

Just need spigot rings to increase the centre bore.

[MarkwG]

iacabu said:

Just need spigot rings to increase the centre bore.

Ah yep, couldn't recall which way round it was, ta.

[carpetsoiler]

iacabu said:

First time I've had a look at this thread...you got it for a bargain initially and it's really coming along. I think all the wheel choices get a from me too, particularly the Rondells, I always wanted an e39 with those on

Edited by iacabu on Wednesday 28th January 04:00

Thanks! the Rondells were a nightmare, and probably my biggest mistake with the car- because at that moment I took my eye off the performance ball to chase looks... and it ended very badly!

Mark- the E39 is unique in that it has a 74.1mm centre bore, and everything else BMW-flavoured comes with 72.6mm. So, as iacabu correctly mentioned, some spigot rings do the job nicely. I can attest to this because I initially fitted the Rondells sans spigot rings... and it was like driving a Saab convertible from the early '90s. amazing what a 1.5mm-thick ring of metal makes on each wheel.

[iacabu]

carpetsoiler said:

Thanks! the Rondells were a nightmare, and probably my biggest mistake with the car- because at that moment I took my eye off the performance ball to chase looks... and it ended very badly!

I skimmed a bit of it looking at the pics but had assumed the offset probably caused a headache. It didn't look like it sits with handling in mind so that doesn't surprise me. I still like them though.

Looking forward to some more updates.