1996 BMW E36 328i Coupe - we have history...
Discussion
JeremyH5 said:
Try Sheffield Triming Co in Attercliffe, Sheffield. They repaired a smaller cut in my MX5 soft top a few years ago. Last year they sorted the side bolster of my E38 drivers seat. I reckon they could take that roof off yours and see in a new panel. Might be more that you want to spend though!
Yes, the idea is to keep it quite cheap, but before you know it I’m sure mission creep will kick in as my heart conquers my head. I’d be loathe to replace the nice navy hood with a cheapo black plasticky eBay special, so if I go for professional repair or replacement I’ll probably end up being silly about it and spunking loads of cash 
The best case scenario was a nice tight seam, barely discernible from the outside, and nicely waterproofed.
Given the size of the cuts, the fact that they’re under tension in several directions, and the fact that I’m a cack-handed glue-monster, the chances of best case manifesting were approximately nil. Sure enough, the cut opened up and looked horrific. It definitely needs something over the outside. I’ve ordered some blue tent repair patches which will hopefully be a close enough colour match. For this weekend’s purposes though, it’s gone green.
As has the rear window
Super classy, I know. But… I know there’s plenty of waterproof gunk under there, and it only has to look better than a big flappy hole to be an improvement. It’s a low bar and I’ve just scraped over it by the skin of my teeth!
Given the size of the cuts, the fact that they’re under tension in several directions, and the fact that I’m a cack-handed glue-monster, the chances of best case manifesting were approximately nil. Sure enough, the cut opened up and looked horrific. It definitely needs something over the outside. I’ve ordered some blue tent repair patches which will hopefully be a close enough colour match. For this weekend’s purposes though, it’s gone green.
As has the rear window
Super classy, I know. But… I know there’s plenty of waterproof gunk under there, and it only has to look better than a big flappy hole to be an improvement. It’s a low bar and I’ve just scraped over it by the skin of my teeth!
For context, that was Derek in the wild, in Sheffield. I’m pretty happy with my photography skills (again, a very low bar), but I think that shot does highlight that the 18 inch wheels are in fact too big for him. He looks like Sonic the hedgehog with his disproportionately large feet. He’s still pretty though.
About 5 hours on the road today, mostly with the soft top up. It was the first time I’d driven it without the hardtop on, and I have to say it did feel a bit more refined than my fairly low expectations (there’s a lot of that going on, isn’t there?). Although it does fart out rotten plastic membrane confetti every time you touch it. Or look at it. Or think about it. The car is full of it again.
The kids like the option of having their little windows open in the back, whilst roof down at 70+ mph might be a bit much. Not all of the speakers work, but I’m sure that won’t be hard to remedy. I like that the worst bit of the interior is the driver’s seat, because I can’t see it when I’m sitting on it
The green tape didn’t get a chance to see off any rain, but it survived the journey and a couple of roof up/down dances. The last 20 minutes home after leaving the motorway was top down and the contrast in my kids’ reactions was hilarious. One adopted the foetal position and hid under his coat until it was over, whilst the other cackled like a mad witch who’d conjured the maelstrom, hair akimbo. They are different characters!
The blue tent repair patches had been delivered when I got home. Even I, a member of the colourblind hedgehogs guild of Vienna, could tell that they were totally the wrong blue. I’ve ordered a selection of others and will pick the best match when they’ve all arrived. No great rush. The green tape is holding and I’ve got no plans for road trips for a couple of weeks.
It was a successful first outing and the kids have decided they like it, so we’re onto a winner.
About 5 hours on the road today, mostly with the soft top up. It was the first time I’d driven it without the hardtop on, and I have to say it did feel a bit more refined than my fairly low expectations (there’s a lot of that going on, isn’t there?). Although it does fart out rotten plastic membrane confetti every time you touch it. Or look at it. Or think about it. The car is full of it again.
The kids like the option of having their little windows open in the back, whilst roof down at 70+ mph might be a bit much. Not all of the speakers work, but I’m sure that won’t be hard to remedy. I like that the worst bit of the interior is the driver’s seat, because I can’t see it when I’m sitting on it
The green tape didn’t get a chance to see off any rain, but it survived the journey and a couple of roof up/down dances. The last 20 minutes home after leaving the motorway was top down and the contrast in my kids’ reactions was hilarious. One adopted the foetal position and hid under his coat until it was over, whilst the other cackled like a mad witch who’d conjured the maelstrom, hair akimbo. They are different characters!
The blue tent repair patches had been delivered when I got home. Even I, a member of the colourblind hedgehogs guild of Vienna, could tell that they were totally the wrong blue. I’ve ordered a selection of others and will pick the best match when they’ve all arrived. No great rush. The green tape is holding and I’ve got no plans for road trips for a couple of weeks.
It was a successful first outing and the kids have decided they like it, so we’re onto a winner.
skylarking808 said:
Agree about 18" wheels on E36's.
My first 328i had MV1 type 18's and it just looked out of proprtion. I ended up with 16's and it handled much better. Reckon 17's are about the optimum for that size of car.
My first 328i had MV1 type 18's and it just looked out of proprtion. I ended up with 16's and it handled much better. Reckon 17's are about the optimum for that size of car.
Agreed, an E36 can look pretty badass on 16s
As far as Derek and his clown shoes go, I may have a solution. He needs four tyres, so why not buy some 17 inch wheels with half decent tyres on them for not much more than the cost of four new tyres? Then make up the difference by selling the 18s. Sometimes my genius frightens me.
shalmaneser said:
17s are the perfect size wheel for the e36 imo. Style 32s for me, other (wrong) opinions are available!
Car looks great with the top down!
Great shout on the Style 32s, but…Car looks great with the top down!
How about some Style 24s?
Painted… erm… ivory? I mean… why?
This is the result of my moment of genius, buying wheels with tyres for not much more than the cost of four new tyres. I was congratulating myself on this coup all the way home, right up until the point that I realised I’d forgotten to factor in tyre sizes. Although these lovely… ivory… wheels are an inch smaller than my current clown shoes, they are wrapped in truck tyres. 225/55 17s. There was no way they were going on Derek with those monstrosities on! The overall rolling diameter of the new wheels is significantly larger than that of the old.
I guess even my genius has limits. Like the inability to think beyond the end of my nose.
So… thinking cap on. Do I…
1. Keep the sexy weird wheels and get some part worn tyres in 225/45 17. I’m pretty sure they’d then fit, but this somewhat negates my genius plan of getting wheels INSTEAD of tyres. Or,
2. Sell the Style 24s on to a truck driver with weird taste in wheel colour and go back to square one.
1 is obviously the wrong answer and that’s why I’m leaning towards it. Derek would be super fancy wearing those…
Northbrook said:
I think you should keep the new wheels as they are.
There must be an E36 lift kit available, no?
Funnily enough I was just scratching my head and wondering what manner of freaky vehicle they came off, with 55 profile tyres. I can’t see how they’d fit on any E36!There must be an E36 lift kit available, no?
I messaged the seller to ask, just out of curiosity. He never had them on anything but the guy he bought them off apparently had them on an E36 convertible with no issues… I need pictures or it didn’t happen
skylarking808 said:
haha.
How many times have i made impulse decisions using man maths, and then creating more work....
If the 17's are OEM, not warped, or damaged I would say they are still a very good buy
After a bit of internet investigation, I have a high degree of certainty that they are not OEM. To be fair, if they were then it would have been the steal of the century! How many times have i made impulse decisions using man maths, and then creating more work....
If the 17's are OEM, not warped, or damaged I would say they are still a very good buy
They are in pretty good shape though. Perhaps worth keeping and getting some tyres for…
shalmaneser said:
Also a lovely choice! They need to be silver though, how good are you with a spray can?
Erm… average. I do have a track record though of making rubbish things just marginally less rubbish, so if we can all agree that they’re rubbish as they are then I’ll happily get a rattle can and make them slightly less so. 
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