Swoxy's 318iA Convertible

[Swoxy]

I had the ABS/ASC pump changed, which instantly solved the problem and cleared the other codes. I bought it from a breaker on eBay and had it fitted by my local mechanic, the ABS and ASC lights haven't illuminated since.

I had a fun spring in the car, I even used it as an impromptu car to rush the groom to the wedding I was best man at when his planned transport got stuck in traffic ...



We replaced the front pads ...







I parked near Liverpool Street one night and returned to find this ...



I used T-Cut to remove the marks but the door was creased, it looks much better here than it did in real life ...



It's now two and a half years and nearly fifteen thousand London miles since I got the car, and two years since I carried out the refurbishment at the start of the thread ...



I've been very busy of the past couple of years and have only carried out mechanical works. It isn't a fast car, is isn't a frugal car - it's the look and the feel of it that makes me enjoy driving it. Cosmetically, it was starting to get tatty - the door was creased, there was a deep key scratch in the nearside rear wing from before I got the car and the rear bumper had split on the corner where someone had bumped into it. I was starting to get bored.

I'd been looking at other options since the start of the year. I decided that, if I was going to replace it, it would be a drop top E46 - either a 320Cd, 330Cd or 330Ci. I couldn't find what I wanted within my budget - facelift, auto, not modified, interesting colour, black carpet and NO GREY LEATHER. I thought about spending a little more, but I found it hard to justify replacing my car that would do the same job as mine, when mine didn't really have anything wrong with it. Also, there are a lot of E46s around where I live - I like having an E36.

Erm, the solution was obvious. RESTORE my car. Whilst my refurbishment a couple of years ago had tidied the car up, it was now time to take the car back to looking, and most importantly feeling, like a new car, as much as realistically possible.

I had thought about changing the wheels, but I couldn't find anything by BMW that I liked and was practical (sadly, Style 37s don't fit without a lot of work) and I didn't want aftermarket wheels, it's a well specced late model and I'd rather keep it as it is - I think it still looks fairly classy and I feel comfortable using it for work and play in the city. I had seen these and wanted to give the car that 90s, Beverly Hills look - it's a girls car anyway, I may as well embrace the look rather than fighting it, so I went back to The Tyre Place to borrow some wheels that they have for sale and I sent mine to BJV Engineering to be powder coated in black chrome last Saturday ...







I then it to a body shop to have the entire nearside (creased door, keyed wing and split bumper) and the mirror caps resprayed, and the rest of the car machine polished.

I borrowed another car for the week and look forward to the following weekend. Yesterday, I went to collect my wheels ...



I then went to collect the car (it still has some polish residue) ...







I went back to The Tyre Place to have the wheels swapped - laying them out, I was so excited (the inners are in black, giving a great contrast) ...









So, this is how it looks ...







I need to order replacement badges for the bonnet and wheels. Are aftermarket ones from eBay any good, or shall I go with genuine?

Edited by Swoxy on Sunday 7th October 22:14

[VinceFox]

Looking good Swoxy, glad you decided to keep it. Just shows how sharp a standard e36 in the right colour can still look

[Swoxy]

What do you think? ...



















I was browsing the classifieds on PH a couple of weeks ago and the next thing I knew I had bought this Individual 330Ci, this website is dangerous ...

Edited by Swoxy on Wednesday 17th April 17:52