1997 E36 328i Sport

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Discussion

Smanks

Original Poster:

3,100 posts

186 months

Friday 23rd May 2014
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Purchased around 18 months ago - my second 328i. The car is bog standard, apart from a de-baffled airbox and golf tee'd exhaust.























Bodywork is in excellent condition; rear arches were tidied up last year:





Also had the BBS wheels refurbished last year so they are spotless (apart from the hexagonal centre nuts which have a bit of scuffing):



Bank holiday Monday job - refurbish dodgy wing mirrors:



Mileage is 110k. It has had quite a lot of fairly recent work, including the dreaded brake lines for its current MOT, as well as a recent new clutch and I believe a new DMF. Generally the engine is pretty sound, and has had a recent thermostat, camshaft position sensor & CCV, but I do suspect there is a minor vacuum leak, having recently noticed a missing clip on the airbox, as the idle can be a bit bouncy, and previously I had issues with the idle dropping as the car slowed, resulting in cutting out, but it has not done that for a long time.

Unfortunately the nearside window has died, and the clutch pedal has become a bit creaky occasionally so I suspect the bushes could do with renewing. I also sometimes get the "Brake Light Circuit" error message which I know is simply a switch behind the brake pedal but it is so infrequent that I usually just forget about it! Also I am keen to try and reduce wind noise from the pillarless doors if anyone has any ideas.

Other than that it is in excellent condition and I have no plans to change it from standard.

Edited by Smanks on Friday 23 May 21:06

StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Friday 23rd May 2014
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Very nice, nice to see one without the yucky grey interior as well.thumbup

Smanks

Original Poster:

3,100 posts

186 months

Friday 23rd May 2014
quotequote all
The interior is actually in very good nick, apart from the classic driver's seat bolster wear, but I can live with that.

StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Friday 23rd May 2014
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Its a beautifull car fullstop, I had one very similar, rust killed it, not the 220k miles.frown

Smanks

Original Poster:

3,100 posts

186 months

Friday 23rd May 2014
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I just checked the logbook, today is exactly 2 years since I bought it. Where does the time go? eek

ManaghGB

680 posts

182 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
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Why do people keep posting threads on these?! frown

Makes the wait to find a good one even harder.

LanceRS

2,171 posts

136 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
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[quote=ManaghGB]Why do people keep posting threads on these?! frown
Because they are so good. I've had mine for over 8 years and 100k
It's starting to look slightly less fresh than it did but I cannot think of anything I would want to replace it with.

Op, nice car.

richard300

1,085 posts

208 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
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Very nice car - Great colour and spec (I like the Wood trims)!

I think that good examples of the E36 328i Sport will start to see values rise (if they haven't already)and become desirable cars - Much in the same way that E30 325i Sports have been, for a long time.

storminnorman

2,357 posts

151 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
quotequote all
ManaghGB said:
Why do people keep posting threads on these?! frown

Makes the wait to find a good one even harder.
Yup! I suddenly felt an attraction to these after parking next to a lovely black one the other day. An afternoon on various classifieds and the majority are track slags or scraping the floor.
Lovely car op, jel

Dannbodge

2,160 posts

120 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
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Very clean and Tidy.

Nice to see that other people are looking after them as well. Love the wood trims too.

Smanks

Original Poster:

3,100 posts

186 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
quotequote all
Thanks everyone.

I do plan on keeping it for a while as I like the fact that I hardly see any other Sports on the roads! Also for a 17 year old car the bodywork is in great condition.

150bhp

904 posts

171 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
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Lovely looking but what is a golf tee'd exhaust??

Smanks

Original Poster:

3,100 posts

186 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
quotequote all
Not entirely sure how it is done, but apparently you can use a golf tee to keep the exhaust flap open, which would usually be closed until 2.5k RPM. It sounds nice and burbly on idle smile

150bhp

904 posts

171 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
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Ahh right, nothing wrong with a bit of extra burble!

150bhp

904 posts

171 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
quotequote all
Ahh right, nothing wrong with a bit of extra burble!

McSam

6,753 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th May 2014
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Smanks said:
Not entirely sure how it is done, but apparently you can use a golf tee to keep the exhaust flap open, which would usually be closed until 2.5k RPM. It sounds nice and burbly on idle smile
If you take a look up the tailpipes, in the right-hand pipe you can see a butterfly valve (which is usually open with the engine off anyway). That's what normally closes when you key on, and opens past 2500rpm. Right behind the back box there's a little round control unit for it, which is vacuum controlled by a small line that plugs into the top of it.

You just have to disconnect the vacuum line, plug it with a small screw or, because they fit perfectly, a golf tee! Now the valve stays open at all times and you get a richer note in the low range smile


Anyhow - lovely example, I really really like it. Not usually keen on silver on an E36 so it must be good to overcome that! Looks much fresher than mine and it's nice that the arches have been taken care of. Should be good for years!

Smanks

Original Poster:

3,100 posts

186 months

Sunday 25th May 2014
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Cheers

I too think it should be good for a while as it's not a daily driver - I only use it for approximately 2k miles p/a. I don't particularly like silver either but I think it works well with this shape.

I was looking forward to sorting the mirrors out today but I hurt my hand quite badly yesterday frown

carpetsoiler

1,958 posts

164 months

Sunday 25th May 2014
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That is very, very tidy. Like it a lot!

Carry on enjoying it, they're excellent cars and are very underloved. Too many people going on about how amazing E30s are... they may well be, but they're not as good as an E36!

PHuzzy

2,747 posts

171 months

Sunday 25th May 2014
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What a spanking example. I wish mine was as nice as that. biggrin
I'm getting the dreaded tin worm around both rear arches.
The wheels look fab, unfortunately mine didn't come with them. frown

Leins

9,415 posts

147 months

Sunday 25th May 2014
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Very nice OP, I like that a lot!