1996 318ti Msport Individual to 328ti - Atlantis Blue,
Discussion
Not done a build thread on here before, but thought I'd put this up.
Got given this ti from a mate who was going to tour Europe in his camper van, I did a fair bit of work on it and he gave me this...
It was slightly modded when he got it, E46 M3 reps and lowered on Eibach springs.
First off, I lent it to a mate to take to the south of France for his honeymoon
It came back and was treated to a welded diff and a couple of drift days, no pics of me were taken, just my wife and the instructor, I was gutted!
After the first, the rear beam bushes were shot, as were the rear fronts so polybush came to the rescue, I now have a solid rear and more castor up front.
Then a trackday at Oulton for a bit of fun
This made me realise even more that the car was totally underpowered, I bet the wheels don't help either!
Some other purchases were made, a new set of shocks all round, and new top mounts. and some more polybushes for the ARBS.
The rear top mounts didn't last long, may have got the washers the wrong way around, so new alloy and poly mounts were ordered off the bay.
SWMBO bought me a 3.25 LSD for xmas, that is in now with a poly mount
Step up Mr 328i Coupe!
Engine is nearly out of the ti..
IT RUNS!
Z3M exhaust back boxes have been bought on the bay, I was hoping that they would bolt straight up but are 3" each so I am going to take it to a local custom exhaust place to get them to make a Y pipe and I'll have them both going into one back box and keep it looking standard, also saves me having to cut the boot floor out to make them fit. Hopefully should be sorted on Tuesday.
Pretty much all back together now, just the undertrays to put back on once the exhaust is completed and a few other little niggles. O
Front discs arrived so they have gone on along with the 328 callipers, also ordered new EBC OEM pads F&R, and hopefully I'll win some drilled/grooved rear discs later on at a decent price.
Wheels were already shagged when I got it, May pick up a better set once I've killed all the tyres I have for it, Already have some E34 cross spokes but they have some Colway race tyres on so will use them for track wheels/winter wheels when I can get some winter tyres for them. I quite like the look of the E46 M3 reps on the car, they are just cheap copies though, and they are knackered.
Cooling fan is on, just need to wire up a switch for it or get a new fan switch and wire it to a relay, hope it is big enough for the job, if not, will keep an eye on it and get a bigger one and cut the front cowl and support. need to mesh the bottom aperture to help save the rad as it is bigger than the 1.9 one
Some shots of the bushes etc that have been replaced... need to sort the leak on the diff though and get some more plates for it, could do with more than 25% lock up, doesn't even seem that much TBH
Also got some Bridgestone Potenza S001's for the rear in 235/40 18 from the front of the Wifes C63 as she has just had 4 new tyres today, 4mm left on them so should do for the 'ring trip.
Previous engine conversions have been
143vvc in a metro
and a Saxo VTS into a Berlingo (for work)
More to follow next week.
Got given this ti from a mate who was going to tour Europe in his camper van, I did a fair bit of work on it and he gave me this...
It was slightly modded when he got it, E46 M3 reps and lowered on Eibach springs.
First off, I lent it to a mate to take to the south of France for his honeymoon
It came back and was treated to a welded diff and a couple of drift days, no pics of me were taken, just my wife and the instructor, I was gutted!
After the first, the rear beam bushes were shot, as were the rear fronts so polybush came to the rescue, I now have a solid rear and more castor up front.
Then a trackday at Oulton for a bit of fun
This made me realise even more that the car was totally underpowered, I bet the wheels don't help either!
Some other purchases were made, a new set of shocks all round, and new top mounts. and some more polybushes for the ARBS.
The rear top mounts didn't last long, may have got the washers the wrong way around, so new alloy and poly mounts were ordered off the bay.
SWMBO bought me a 3.25 LSD for xmas, that is in now with a poly mount
Step up Mr 328i Coupe!
Engine is nearly out of the ti..
IT RUNS!
Z3M exhaust back boxes have been bought on the bay, I was hoping that they would bolt straight up but are 3" each so I am going to take it to a local custom exhaust place to get them to make a Y pipe and I'll have them both going into one back box and keep it looking standard, also saves me having to cut the boot floor out to make them fit. Hopefully should be sorted on Tuesday.
Pretty much all back together now, just the undertrays to put back on once the exhaust is completed and a few other little niggles. O
Front discs arrived so they have gone on along with the 328 callipers, also ordered new EBC OEM pads F&R, and hopefully I'll win some drilled/grooved rear discs later on at a decent price.
Wheels were already shagged when I got it, May pick up a better set once I've killed all the tyres I have for it, Already have some E34 cross spokes but they have some Colway race tyres on so will use them for track wheels/winter wheels when I can get some winter tyres for them. I quite like the look of the E46 M3 reps on the car, they are just cheap copies though, and they are knackered.
Cooling fan is on, just need to wire up a switch for it or get a new fan switch and wire it to a relay, hope it is big enough for the job, if not, will keep an eye on it and get a bigger one and cut the front cowl and support. need to mesh the bottom aperture to help save the rad as it is bigger than the 1.9 one
Some shots of the bushes etc that have been replaced... need to sort the leak on the diff though and get some more plates for it, could do with more than 25% lock up, doesn't even seem that much TBH
Also got some Bridgestone Potenza S001's for the rear in 235/40 18 from the front of the Wifes C63 as she has just had 4 new tyres today, 4mm left on them so should do for the 'ring trip.
Previous engine conversions have been
143vvc in a metro
and a Saxo VTS into a Berlingo (for work)
More to follow next week.
It does look a bit Estoril in the pics but in real life, it changes with the light (not pearlescent) Google Atlantis blue and you will see what I mean.
I think I will be going for some E36 M3 wheels, either the Contours or the sunflowers, will be after the 'ring trip in September though, either way, it needs new wheels!
I think I will be going for some E36 M3 wheels, either the Contours or the sunflowers, will be after the 'ring trip in September though, either way, it needs new wheels!
Thanks, I know it's a rare colour and spec, I know of 2 others, at least 1 of those have been written off.
Are they any good on 16's as I have a set of style 30's on the 328i, I'll keep them when it is scrapped and maybe look out for some tyres.
There is plenty of grip with the 18's and it was predictable enough with the 1.9 in, we'll see what it's like with the current engine after Tuesday, Hopefully nothing has changed much!
Are they any good on 16's as I have a set of style 30's on the 328i, I'll keep them when it is scrapped and maybe look out for some tyres.
There is plenty of grip with the 18's and it was predictable enough with the 1.9 in, we'll see what it's like with the current engine after Tuesday, Hopefully nothing has changed much!
It was originally a 1.4 8v, 75Bhp once, on 180k and still going strong. Once the 120Bhp saxo engine was in it, it went like the proverbial off a shovel! Tried it with the Saxo box first and the ratios were all wrong so popped the OE box in and it was a little rocket for what it was. A new MX5 got shown a clean pair of heels!
The Metro was even better!
The Metro was even better!
So, yesterday saw to the exhaust being sorted, the standard 328 backbox was 'fitted' to get me over to Wigan with the left hand Z3M back box. a company called Danmar did the work, which is fine for the price.
Old vs new...
Now all I need to do is find the cap...
I got home to see the new front pads and rear drilled & grooved discs have arrived. The discs were a snip at £26 delivered. I'll get these fitted as soon as the rear pads arrive
The brake fluid has been changed to Dot5.1, 1 bleed nipple had to be heated to remove and the others were looking tired so they have been replaced. A new exchange front calliper was fitted because the nipple had snapped, I'll get the other swapped when funds allow before the 'ring.
And finally a spare e34 bbs is on it's way complete with a centre cap, only 2 more centre caps to find cheap now...
Old vs new...
Now all I need to do is find the cap...
I got home to see the new front pads and rear drilled & grooved discs have arrived. The discs were a snip at £26 delivered. I'll get these fitted as soon as the rear pads arrive
The brake fluid has been changed to Dot5.1, 1 bleed nipple had to be heated to remove and the others were looking tired so they have been replaced. A new exchange front calliper was fitted because the nipple had snapped, I'll get the other swapped when funds allow before the 'ring.
And finally a spare e34 bbs is on it's way complete with a centre cap, only 2 more centre caps to find cheap now...
Thanks Fab, Yes, I presume the spoilers are OE and have been there since new I guess, here's some pics of them and the part codes.
Bottom spoiler. Sorry, it's not had a clean for a while!
Top Spoiler
I'm running 328 Callipers upfront, standard rear, Mtec brakes drilled and grooved fronts, ebay junk drilled and grooved rears awaiting fitment this week sometime.
EBC Ultimax pads front fitted, rears will go on this week. Can't really comment on them as I've only done 150 miles on the fronts. I'll possibly uprate the pads if these turn out to be junk.
Yes, the diff made a difference, I prefer the welded diff for drifting, it was also perfect in the snow earlier in the year but for normal road use I prefer the LSD. Not keen on any open diff to be honest, especially on track, it's so easy to spin the unloaded wheel (I am an aggressive driver with NO mechanical sympathy!), as said previously, I would prefer more lock up so I would advise getting the extra plates fitted before it goes in, I would also prefer a bit longer gearing (now 3.25:1) as it sits at 3k at 70mph with the 225 40 18's on, so it will be a bit higher with the slightly smaller rolling radius tyres I plan to fit in the future (for better lock)
Thanks for the offer, I'm keeping the OE airbox thanks but need the snorkle for it, the bits for the alternator vent and the plasic with the vent for the front panel as they were removed for 'weight saving' from the previous owner of the 328, along with the injector and cam cover covers.
Bottom spoiler. Sorry, it's not had a clean for a while!
Top Spoiler
I'm running 328 Callipers upfront, standard rear, Mtec brakes drilled and grooved fronts, ebay junk drilled and grooved rears awaiting fitment this week sometime.
EBC Ultimax pads front fitted, rears will go on this week. Can't really comment on them as I've only done 150 miles on the fronts. I'll possibly uprate the pads if these turn out to be junk.
Yes, the diff made a difference, I prefer the welded diff for drifting, it was also perfect in the snow earlier in the year but for normal road use I prefer the LSD. Not keen on any open diff to be honest, especially on track, it's so easy to spin the unloaded wheel (I am an aggressive driver with NO mechanical sympathy!), as said previously, I would prefer more lock up so I would advise getting the extra plates fitted before it goes in, I would also prefer a bit longer gearing (now 3.25:1) as it sits at 3k at 70mph with the 225 40 18's on, so it will be a bit higher with the slightly smaller rolling radius tyres I plan to fit in the future (for better lock)
Thanks for the offer, I'm keeping the OE airbox thanks but need the snorkle for it, the bits for the alternator vent and the plasic with the vent for the front panel as they were removed for 'weight saving' from the previous owner of the 328, along with the injector and cam cover covers.
I used the ZF gearbox out of the 2.8, along with the front half of the 328i prop, it bolted straight up with no messing. I believe you can use the M3 'box too if you use the front half of the prop too. I presume you had the Getrag and now the ZF?
Have you tried changing the oil? Are you still on the small case diff and small shafts?
I've got some E34 BBS with track tyres on but not tried them yet. I'll kill what tyres I have on the 18's before I go and get some 17's and see if I get any improvement, I haven't had any understeer yet on the 18's, there is decent rubber on the front already and some hand me downs from SWMBO's C63 ready to fit to the rear which will be done in the next week or so.
The only outing planned is to the 'ring the end of September, I may do a drift or track day or two when we are back, probably at Oulton as it is only 30 mins away and a decent track. Hopefully more next year...
Have you tried changing the oil? Are you still on the small case diff and small shafts?
I've got some E34 BBS with track tyres on but not tried them yet. I'll kill what tyres I have on the 18's before I go and get some 17's and see if I get any improvement, I haven't had any understeer yet on the 18's, there is decent rubber on the front already and some hand me downs from SWMBO's C63 ready to fit to the rear which will be done in the next week or so.
The only outing planned is to the 'ring the end of September, I may do a drift or track day or two when we are back, probably at Oulton as it is only 30 mins away and a decent track. Hopefully more next year...
I'd say get the 6 speed if you can stretch to it, if not, the ZF will do the job. 100% get a LSD, either 2.93 or 3.07. I bet it picks up well as it is but must monster fuel on a run! go for the E30 325i/M3 drive shafts, there is a bit of faffing about with the ABS sensor so remove it until the shafts are out and set the clearance when it goes back in.
I've got a bit further, rear discs and pads are on, they are getting better but think the rest of the callipers need replacing very soon! and... Oil & filter change.. Air filter ordered as I've realised I don't even have one!
I've got a bit further, rear discs and pads are on, they are getting better but think the rest of the callipers need replacing very soon! and... Oil & filter change.. Air filter ordered as I've realised I don't even have one!
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