Yet another rescued E36 328i M Sport project...
Discussion
carpetsoiler said:
...
Still got my eyes open for a splitter as well, but they're notoriously difficult to find.
Hi Sam!Still got my eyes open for a splitter as well, but they're notoriously difficult to find.
Found some on the link that Andy665 sent. £35 inc delivery - take a look and let me know what you think, found them in minutes on that site.
What do you think of recent posts about work we did and the diff swap?
Looking good. Nice to see one being looked after. I lost mine to someone mot paying enough attention in January and as people of noticed they are just not around any more as such the prices are definitely on the rise.
I've just replaced it with an e46 330, which is a lovely car but very different to drive. I'm sure that I'll get used to it, but at the moment, I honestly think that I prefer the way the e36 drives.
I've just replaced it with an e46 330, which is a lovely car but very different to drive. I'm sure that I'll get used to it, but at the moment, I honestly think that I prefer the way the e36 drives.
RickBristol said:
Hi Sam!
Found some on the link that Andy665 sent. £35 inc delivery - take a look and let me know what you think, found them in minutes on that site.
What do you think of recent posts about work we did and the diff swap?
That's cheap at that price, and it won't be broken. Get it from there.Found some on the link that Andy665 sent. £35 inc delivery - take a look and let me know what you think, found them in minutes on that site.
What do you think of recent posts about work we did and the diff swap?
The work was rewarding on yours actually. I like working on your car. Good to see the diff's in- need video proof of it working though!
RickBristol said:
dazz1871part2 said:
You can get real m3 wheels for £300 tops! My mate just sold he's mint set for £300. Reps go for around £150. I just sold mine for that.
Bargain! Will still have to wait a couple of months before I can do anything about replacing them, but has now been added to my list...Subject to the YOM of your car, the correct wheels are either BBS RC041 front plus rear (up to 96-97 iirc), or BBS RC041 fronts, RC042 rears for cars up to 98/99. The difference is that the RC041's are 7.5J width and the RC042's are 8.5J width.
Our track prepped 328 Sport came with the RC041+042 combo on a 98 plate. We managed to secure another set of RC041+042's for 200 quid. If you are lucky you may be able to secure a 041 set for around 200 in need of a refurb, more for the 041 + 042 combo usually. Refurbed sets on Ebay ask anywhere from 400 to 1K
They are really not that difficult to separate and refurb, so well worth buying a good round set and taking it apart yourself with a simple ratchet kit.Good dedication though, credit for opening the wallet.
Humour said:
As others have suggested, if you are intending to increase the value of the car come time to let go (I would question why bother after all that effort, but each to their own), the correct wheels from the factory will add more value than any M3 variants. Not to mention the BBS units are lighter than the forged M3 wheels.
Subject to the YOM of your car, the correct wheels are either BBS RC041 front plus rear (up to 96-97 iirc), or BBS RC041 fronts, RC042 rears for cars up to 98/99. The difference is that the RC041's are 7.5J width and the RC042's are 8.5J width.
Our track prepped 328 Sport came with the RC041+042 combo on a 98 plate. We managed to secure another set of RC041+042's for 200 quid. If you are lucky you may be able to secure a 041 set for around 200 in need of a refurb, more for the 041 + 042 combo usually. Refurbed sets on Ebay ask anywhere from 400 to 1K They are really not that difficult to separate and refurb, so well worth buying a good round set and taking it apart yourself with a simple ratchet kit.
Good dedication though, credit for opening the wallet.
First point: The front splitter was an option on the sport, as was the M3 front bumper with mesh below the reg plate. I'm not interested in making it look like a fake M3 - part of the reason those fake after market M3 wheels are going.Subject to the YOM of your car, the correct wheels are either BBS RC041 front plus rear (up to 96-97 iirc), or BBS RC041 fronts, RC042 rears for cars up to 98/99. The difference is that the RC041's are 7.5J width and the RC042's are 8.5J width.
Our track prepped 328 Sport came with the RC041+042 combo on a 98 plate. We managed to secure another set of RC041+042's for 200 quid. If you are lucky you may be able to secure a 041 set for around 200 in need of a refurb, more for the 041 + 042 combo usually. Refurbed sets on Ebay ask anywhere from 400 to 1K
They are really not that difficult to separate and refurb, so well worth buying a good round set and taking it apart yourself with a simple ratchet kit.Good dedication though, credit for opening the wallet.
...I love the look they have with lowered suspension and a splitter on THAT front bumper...
Second point: Have already determined this, and have already bought a refurbed set of RC 041s which are coming from my mate in Southampton next month, once he has finished getting the centres repainted. Have pics of them near the bottom of page 7, earlier in this thread...
Thanks for taking interest in my project though, you obviously know your stuff.
Edited by RickBristol on Thursday 21st May 18:00
Edited by RickBristol on Thursday 21st May 18:02
Hello again - after some six month's absence...
Well, after having a number of on-going issues with the engine's reliability - even got my mechanic to strip-down all the breather pipes and reinstall them, which made little difference - I eventually gave up and SORNed the car and stored it in one of my mate's garage.
After forgetting about the car ufor a few months, I eventually decided that I should be doing something with it and called my mate in Southampton and suggested - regrettably - that I send the car up to him, so that he could strip the car for its parts. His view was that after all the time, money and effort that I had put into it, that there was another path we could follow, as he had recently come into possession of an Alusil 328 engine...
So, we discussed what re-building the other engine would involve; the parts required, the possible up-grades, replacing the dual-mass clutch with a solid flywheel kit - including lightening the new flywheel. After furnishing him with £800 he came up with the following list.
Valeo solid flywheel kit - Eurocarparts. £300 currently.
Flywheel lightening - £70.
Conrod bearings - £55 inc. delivery (eBay)
Main bearings - £84 inc. delivery (eBay)
Piston rings - £93 inc. delivery (eBay)
Rear oil seal (next to gearbox) - £25 (local motor factors)
Head gasket kit inc. Head bolts, all gaskets, etc - £85 (eBay)
Sump gasket - £35
Timing cover gaskets - about £15 from BMW for the pair.
Heater return pipe O-ring seals - £5 from BMW.
Various other bits.
New M50 manifold conversion kit.
24 PSI Injectors.
New gearbox oil.
New coolant and engine oil.
All together now!
Happy days!
Well, after having a number of on-going issues with the engine's reliability - even got my mechanic to strip-down all the breather pipes and reinstall them, which made little difference - I eventually gave up and SORNed the car and stored it in one of my mate's garage.
After forgetting about the car ufor a few months, I eventually decided that I should be doing something with it and called my mate in Southampton and suggested - regrettably - that I send the car up to him, so that he could strip the car for its parts. His view was that after all the time, money and effort that I had put into it, that there was another path we could follow, as he had recently come into possession of an Alusil 328 engine...
So, we discussed what re-building the other engine would involve; the parts required, the possible up-grades, replacing the dual-mass clutch with a solid flywheel kit - including lightening the new flywheel. After furnishing him with £800 he came up with the following list.
Valeo solid flywheel kit - Eurocarparts. £300 currently.
Flywheel lightening - £70.
Conrod bearings - £55 inc. delivery (eBay)
Main bearings - £84 inc. delivery (eBay)
Piston rings - £93 inc. delivery (eBay)
Rear oil seal (next to gearbox) - £25 (local motor factors)
Head gasket kit inc. Head bolts, all gaskets, etc - £85 (eBay)
Sump gasket - £35
Timing cover gaskets - about £15 from BMW for the pair.
Heater return pipe O-ring seals - £5 from BMW.
Various other bits.
New M50 manifold conversion kit.
24 PSI Injectors.
New gearbox oil.
New coolant and engine oil.
All together now!
Happy days!
Edited by RickBristol on Friday 29th July 15:50
LanceRS said:
What problems were you having with the engine? Mine was on 172k and the only running problems I had were caused by a cam sensor and the a crank sensor.
If you look back into my thread, you will see that I already did both of them...Well, after having more work done on the car, it developed another running problem - namely - driving around under 2K revs was fine, but anything much over - e.g. 2.2K and it would imediately rev to 6.5K and would not come down, unless I put it into 1st, dropped the clutch and hit the brakes, and then it might behave, or switch the engine off...
I looked it up on-line and found that as these cars run on 'low atmospheric pressure', which means that if you get an air leak in any of the pipes; being split or loose, this can result in any number of problems, from stuttering, not starting, to the problem I had...
So that was when I decided to 'put it on the naughty step'...
Edited by RickBristol on Monday 7th December 21:56
Edited by RickBristol on Saturday 20th February 18:24
Anyway, on a lighter note - you always need one if you own one of these...
My mate has eventually come-up with as nice 98 325 Alusil engine that he is going to use to rebuild the new engine...
Look THAT one up, unless you already understand the implications...
Basically, the same lump, head, pistons etc as the 328 - the secret is in the increased stroke in the 328 which differentiates the two motors.... Try Wickipedia's view on this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M52 - if you find that hard to get to grips with!
My mate has eventually come-up with as nice 98 325 Alusil engine that he is going to use to rebuild the new engine...
Look THAT one up, unless you already understand the implications...
Basically, the same lump, head, pistons etc as the 328 - the secret is in the increased stroke in the 328 which differentiates the two motors.... Try Wickipedia's view on this - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M52 - if you find that hard to get to grips with!
Edited by RickBristol on Saturday 20th February 18:27
Right guys,
having sent the car up to my mate's in Southampton, he has started to strip the engine in readiness for removing from the car.
Before work begins.
Tools out, ready to start work...
M50 inlet manifold is removed for ease of access to rear connection point when removing the engine- also saves the scuttle from getting battered/dented. Throttle cable has also been disconnected from engine (remains with chassis, schoolboy error if you leave it connected!).
Disconnected the main electrical connections.
Radiator is out, car is drained of coolant and alternator cooling duct removed.
Not quite sure about using the boot as storage... I'm sure it will run out of space pretty quickly!
Exhaust disconnected (b
h of a job, will be needing some new nuts for those manifolds)
Starting to untangle the electrical components.
ECU removed from the bulk head and the loom fully disconnected from chassis and left with engine for ease of removal.
having sent the car up to my mate's in Southampton, he has started to strip the engine in readiness for removing from the car.
Before work begins.
Tools out, ready to start work...
M50 inlet manifold is removed for ease of access to rear connection point when removing the engine- also saves the scuttle from getting battered/dented. Throttle cable has also been disconnected from engine (remains with chassis, schoolboy error if you leave it connected!).
Disconnected the main electrical connections.
Radiator is out, car is drained of coolant and alternator cooling duct removed.
Not quite sure about using the boot as storage... I'm sure it will run out of space pretty quickly!
Exhaust disconnected (b
h of a job, will be needing some new nuts for those manifolds)Starting to untangle the electrical components.
ECU removed from the bulk head and the loom fully disconnected from chassis and left with engine for ease of removal.
Edited by RickBristol on Saturday 20th February 16:55
Now onto the donor engine that will be used as a basis for the rebuild, and some of the 'meatier' stuff to this part of the 'on-going' project...
My mate eventually came up with a nice clean 328 Alusil block, which we decided to use, instead of the above mentioned 325 lump.
And a shot of the all important Alusil blanking plate.
Starting to open up the 328 block. The oil pickup is in good condition and the baffle plate is in place, as expected.
The oil pump is in good nick, so are the chains.
The engine is in very clean condition. Barely any oil staining. A well looked after engine.
An overall shot of the 328 crank.
And a close-up. It's in fantastic condition with NO scoring (practically unheard of).
The pistons and main bearing caps, set out and in order.
This shot shows the overall condition of the inside of the block.
And a shot of the nice clean bit under timing cover!
The engine block and head about to be taken to the engineering works to be cleaned and skimmed, along with the M50 flywheel that is going to be lightened and balanced.
Should have some more pics to put up here in the next week or so as the cams have now been sent off to Piper for re-profiling.
Can't wait to see it starting to go back together!
My mate eventually came up with a nice clean 328 Alusil block, which we decided to use, instead of the above mentioned 325 lump.
And a shot of the all important Alusil blanking plate.
Starting to open up the 328 block. The oil pickup is in good condition and the baffle plate is in place, as expected.
The oil pump is in good nick, so are the chains.
The engine is in very clean condition. Barely any oil staining. A well looked after engine.
An overall shot of the 328 crank.
And a close-up. It's in fantastic condition with NO scoring (practically unheard of).
The pistons and main bearing caps, set out and in order.
This shot shows the overall condition of the inside of the block.
And a shot of the nice clean bit under timing cover!
The engine block and head about to be taken to the engineering works to be cleaned and skimmed, along with the M50 flywheel that is going to be lightened and balanced.
Should have some more pics to put up here in the next week or so as the cams have now been sent off to Piper for re-profiling.
Can't wait to see it starting to go back together!
Edited by RickBristol on Friday 4th March 10:14
IF... anyone is still interested, the list of works/upgrades for this part of the project keeps on growing!
I have currently shelled-out £1,600 towards the new engine parts and engineering works, including the new clutch and flywheel. There will be change out of this for other odds-and-ends that will need procuring as the rebuild trundles on...
I have currently shelled-out £1,600 towards the new engine parts and engineering works, including the new clutch and flywheel. There will be change out of this for other odds-and-ends that will need procuring as the rebuild trundles on...
- New top-of-engine injector cover - so that it gets around the mis-match between original M52 to M50 inlet manifold profiles.
- A short-shifter kit for the gearbox.
- Braided clutch cable for the new clutch.
- All new belts for the front of the engine.
Edited by RickBristol on Friday 26th February 22:28
If you must know - not including the original purchase price - somewhere around £4,000. But this car has had major bodywork as well as suspension, original wheels purchased and engine stuff done to it. Not for the feint hearted! But at least it isn't an M3 as it would have cost considerably more - way more!!!
Gonna be an exceptional beauty when its finished.
Still got the interior to replace at some point. And before anyone makes any ROI type comments, I passed that point some time back. ..
Gonna be an exceptional beauty when its finished.
Still got the interior to replace at some point. And before anyone makes any ROI type comments, I passed that point some time back. ..At last! Some pics of the engine parts after coming back from the engineering works... 
First-up is a shot of the cylinder head. It has been skimmed and cleaned.
Next is the engine block. It has also been skimmed and cleaned.
The M50 flywheel has also had a few kilos shaved off of it, and been balanced. Will find out how much lighter it is once I have spoken to my mate who had the work done.
As the sharper-eyed amongst you will have noticed, we are now NOT using the new Valeo flywheel that was shown in the list of new engine parts on the previous page. My mate came up with an original M50 flywheel that we decided to use instead. Also means that it's gonna save some cash too!
BTW, gonna real glad to see the back of the dual-mass clutch system too!
The cams are still with Piper and should be back - after re-profiling - in the next couple of weeks.
Its gonna be good to start seeing it all go back together...
First-up is a shot of the cylinder head. It has been skimmed and cleaned.
Next is the engine block. It has also been skimmed and cleaned.
The M50 flywheel has also had a few kilos shaved off of it, and been balanced. Will find out how much lighter it is once I have spoken to my mate who had the work done.
As the sharper-eyed amongst you will have noticed, we are now NOT using the new Valeo flywheel that was shown in the list of new engine parts on the previous page. My mate came up with an original M50 flywheel that we decided to use instead. Also means that it's gonna save some cash too!
BTW, gonna real glad to see the back of the dual-mass clutch system too!
The cams are still with Piper and should be back - after re-profiling - in the next couple of weeks.
Its gonna be good to start seeing it all go back together...
Edited by RickBristol on Friday 26th February 23:02
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