Yet another rescued E36 328i M Sport project...

[RickBristol]

VinceFox said:

Relocate that air filter down behind the front bumper on the end of a hard pipe and route some air at it, you'll gain a little bottom end feel back.

Already on it! comming to my engine bay soon...

[RickBristol]

carpetsoiler said:

JordanTurbo said:

Also you mentioned the shocks you fitted were Bilstein B12s? Aren't B12 shocks yellow and come with matched Eibach springs?

I thought the silver shocks with Bilstein's own springs is the B10 kit.

They are B10s. It's my old suspension kit.

Thanks for clearing that up guys. It doesn't do to 'not' know what you're talking about when discussing technical stuff - IMO!

All part of the learning curve...

[VinceFox]

RickBristol said:

Already on it! comming to my engine bay soon...

Nice, addictive sound

[Robb F]

carpetsoiler said:

The B10s are excellent for a compromise between handling and comfort. I loved them when they were on mine, somewhat worried that coilovers will ruin the ability to cruise somewhat.

HSD's are great for this, adjustable damping settings too

[2013BRM]

JordanTurbo said:

RickBristol said:

2013BRM said:

Love this thread, my partner has a 2.8 Z3 that is going to be given the manifold mod including remap, I can't wait

Hmmm...

My mate bought an original Z3 M a few years ago - after selling his Audi S3 in order to buy it - and was really pd-off as he complianed that the Z3 M had far too much power for the car and didn't handle that well, as a consequence...

Worth thinking about before you up-grade?

I'd be willing to bet his opinion had more to do with him no longer being able to plant his right foot when ever he wanted, like he could in the 4wd S3, than the Z3M handling badly.

Either way the Z3M has a lot more power than an M50ed 2.8 is going to make so I wouldn't worry about the chassis being overwhelmed.

I can imagine the Z3M being a real hoot because of the power and primitive chassis but the car is pretty communicative and I believe the power will be under 240bhp once modded. One thing I am already having done is some powerflex bushes on the rear of the front lower wishbones as it tramlines like a nutter

[RickBristol]

OK folks, it's been a while, but I now have some up-dates for this thread...

First off I had a problem with the engine limiting itself to 4,500 revs and was informed that the problem was most probably down to a faulty crank position sensor. So off I go to the BMW dealer.



£115 later, plus £35 to have it fitted, have solved the rev-limiting problem, BUT, then had another issue with the engine not being happy if I pushed it hard - was 'kangarooing' and very 'stuttery' at the low-end rev range...

SO.... Back to the garage I go and, after explaining my new problem, the mechanic asked if I had also replaced the cam position sensor - as they are electro-magnetic sensors - that can deteriorate over time - and provide input to the VANOS system, that they both need replacing at the same time! Gggrrrrr...

SO, off I go to the BMW dealer.



Another £115 later, plus £30 to have it fitted, I have now solved the other issue...

The message to take away from this is: If you need to replace one, you also need to replace the other - something the guys at BMW didn't realise...

[RickBristol]

Next...

Have replaced the second bonnet catch



Which also decided to fail. Surprisingly, only cost around £18 for a genuine BMW part... Why fit anything else!

Also decided to replace the driver's-side indicator lense as I had noticed that the original had a broken seal and was letting in water.



This cost aroung £15 for a genuine BMW part - bargain!

[RickBristol]

Boot lid wiring........

I'm sure that many E36 owners have been down this road....

This is what I found:



Pretty much, ALL of the wires were damaged/broken.

So I stripped and re-connected the boot-lid wiring loom wires:



Taped them up:





And guess what!?!?????

The boot central locking still would'nt F******g well work! - Today I'm not sure if I love or hate my BMW...

'I'm sure that many E36 owners have been down this road....'

[RickBristol]

Now onto something much more interesting - and a LOT less frustrating...

MY NEW RC041 WHEELS...

If you were to have read through this thread, or looked at some of the pics of my car, you may have realised that some complete ARSE had - in the past - sold the wheels that the car originally left the show room with and replaced them with fake M3 wheels:



So in order to try and return this car back to its original - concourse - condition, I did some research and found out that the original wheels that it was originally sold with should have been BBS RC041s...

So off to the Internet and E-Bay I go...

F*** Me! Anything in decen condition is around £1,000 to £1,200.......

However, I had a word with a mate who managed to come-up with these for £400:





Very nice, in good nick and cheap, but... The centres are dark grey... Not suitable for my car, SO...

I have paid £85 for new Gold bolts - and have had the wheels stripped, sand-blasted, ready for re-painting in silver:







Will add more updates as the work on the wheels progresses...

Edited by RickBristol on Thursday 25th December 16:54

[RickBristol]

My mate - Sam from Southampton - will be comming to Bristol in the New Year, with the re-furbed RC041 wheels, my new cold-air induction kit, replacement Bilstein B10 front suspension, re-mapped ECU chip and will also wire-up the brake lights on the boot 'Rainbow' Heckspoiler - rear wing - in English...

Will then look at changing the disc pads with Red-Dot replacements as mine are wearing low.

[AM7]

Interesting thread - just read it all start to finish!

I have to say the restoration is impressive, I'll be looking at E36s in a year or so and the mods/work you've done looks spot on. I'm surprised it needed so much bodywork though, it looked pretty tidy in the initial picture. Were the rust issues serious or did you just want it all neatened up regardless?

Are there any future plans for further mods/tweaking?

[dsme94]

Some good work been put into this, I'll be doing an m50 swap over the festive period and will be putting mines into the bodyshop come the new year to get wee bits done + undersealing. Looking forward to your future updates.

[RickBristol]

AM7 said:

I'm surprised it needed so much bodywork though, it looked pretty tidy in the initial picture. Were the rust issues serious or did you just want it all neatened up regardless?

The rear arches had rust bubbles appearing on the external paintwork, and after closer inspection found it was comming through from the inside. The only way to 'stop the rot' was to cut the arches out and get new panels welded on. Rusty rear arches are one of the numerous common problems with E36s.

Don't be put off from owning an E36 - mine is a lovely example, now, and a real scream if you drive it hard. They are also, surprisingly, quite reasonable when it comes to the cost of genuine BMW parts. However, owning one requires reasonably deep pockets.

Edited by RickBristol on Friday 26th December 14:03

[Escy]

Like I said before, that bodyshop is amateur hour. They've applied all that st to the arches and look at what you've been left with. There was no need to apply it so thick and so high up the arch, it's lost all definition, compare it to the last photo.

[sc0tt]

I'd have thought that would be cracking within a few months

[Stinkfoot]

Its a great thread but i would definitely have some concerns over the amount of filler / fibreglass used on the arch. Surely a skim at most ?
I had new arches fitted to Stag years ago and they did not use anywhere near the amount used here.

[anonymous-user]

sc0tt said:

I'd have thought that would be cracking within a few months

Looks bodged to me.

[celger7]

Great looking car mate,well done!

[Theoldfm]

There may be a lot of filler in that arch, but I am sure that it will be ok and very surprised if it did crack - looking at the whole thread I would say that this is turning into a really lovely car - not another 328i sport lost at all... Don't be so mean!

[carpetsoiler]

Theoldfm said:

There may be a lot of filler in that arch, but I am sure that it will be ok and very surprised if it did crack - looking at the whole thread I would say that this is turning into a really lovely car - not another 328i sport lost at all... Don't be so mean!

Agreed. I've worked on it, seen it in the flesh, and it's a lovely old thing. Soon to be even lovelier...