Alpine White E36 328 - the unlucky one
Discussion
Bought this a while ago for probably more than it was worth as I got drawn into the trap of it being white and looking awesome...
It's basically standard but has some cheap crap lowering springs on it (and the M3 wheels)
So, as well as what yo can see, the sale included a tatty set of the original BBS split rims, some M3 mirrors and an assortment of window trims to replace the perished ones on the rear windows.
It's also not quite as good as it looks in the pics, both passenger side arches are showing a bit of bubbling so I'm going to get that sorted ASAP. The front grilles don't match, either one is OE and one is a replacement or something has come unclipped so I'm going to look at that.
VERY shortly after buying it I had the clutch replaced (something which I was aware needed doing when I bought it) which is where my world of pain started...
The flywheel was shot, so I had that replaced too. I also had the car checked over to make sure everything was alright, it needed a wheel bearing, when they took it apart, the handbrake cable fell apart, then when they split the bearing from the drive flange, it was obvious that it hadn't been replaced in time and the flange had was severely damaged (it was like a spinning top on its side rather than a parallel cylinder), then the ABS sensor fell apart...
When putting it back together, the cause of the problem became even more apparent, the driveshaft end had been cross threaded which is why the bearing had been moving around, so I tried to get a driveshaft. 3 attempts later I got the correct one (who would have thought it would be so hard?).
It also had no diff oil in it so with that rectified and everything back on, I got it back.
Then I got a flat tyre.
Bought some amber rears on eBay on the understanding they were for check control. They weren't. So... I ended up hacking the clear lights apart to get the 'wiring' off the back of them, then using a glue gun to attach it to the ambers, so after 3 hours I was done and got them on.
Went to BMW Festival at Gaydon and was hugely disappointed. Cost me £30 to get 2 people in after I had to park in a random gravel car park a mile away, get a shuttle bus in and find the show half empty. Huge organisation fail IMO, turning people away.
Anyway, I bought some M3 GT corner splitters from MStyle for £15 less than their website so all was not lost. (other than the burger I had which cost me about £7 and was eaten by the swarms of wasps there)
So I'll get them on soon.
I had to do some ghetto arch rolling on the way there and in the car park itself with a jack handle and a breaker bar as I had some bad scrubbing issues because the arch is so badly bubbled
I've also bought some M3 'mesh' for the front bumper as I have nothing there and believe it or not it was the cheapest solution.
Booked a track day for November at Cadwell Park so I've got a few upgrades sorted
330ci discs, pads and retaining springs with 328 wear sensors, dot 5.1 fluid, 328 rear discs, pads, springs and sensors, NGK plugs, new front and rear drop links plus Castol oil and an OE filter.
Then I went a bit mental after persuading the Mrs not to buy cheap coilovers, managed to get her to buy these instead.
HSD Dualtechs (plus a 2 tonne low entry trolley jack) which I was intending to fit this weekend before I discovered I'd need spacers... They have arrived today at work but I've left my wallet at home :roll: so I'm going to have to wait now, probably until next Sunday.
I'm still having brake issues, the ABS pump is working when you press the pedal lightly and I can't trace the problem. I had the brakes checked over and cleaned up as they'd been painted on the car so the pads were not sliding properly, but the issue is still there.
Hopefully the new bits will sort it out, if not it must be a dodgy sensor or ABS ring.
As well as that I still have the annoying sweak when I walk away, it seems like an air leak almost but there are no other symptoms, it's literally only happening when I pull away when the revs drop slightly but it's EVERY time I do it and it's really frustrating.
I think the power steering pump is slowly dying too, it's getting noisy when it's warm, so that's more money to spend
Few pics of it all... old vs new-
They looked like this when I'd got them on -
drove 15 miles and this was the result -
Not sure how well you can see but the disc is blue and these are the pads, lost 1.5mm of pad in 15 miles
New calipers done on Sunday morning, with new discs and pads again.
also fitted the M3 GT corner splitters I got at Gaydon. Not sure about them but they're a 2 minute job to remove.
Fitted my 10mm h&r spacers to the front too, in preparation for the coilovers tomorrow along with the Z3M gear lever I won.
I also won and M50 inlet which I hope to have fitted before the trackday at Cadwell in November and I got a refund for my knackered calipers yesterday so all is not lost.
Hopefully the coilover fitting will go without a hitch!
It's basically standard but has some cheap crap lowering springs on it (and the M3 wheels)
So, as well as what yo can see, the sale included a tatty set of the original BBS split rims, some M3 mirrors and an assortment of window trims to replace the perished ones on the rear windows.
It's also not quite as good as it looks in the pics, both passenger side arches are showing a bit of bubbling so I'm going to get that sorted ASAP. The front grilles don't match, either one is OE and one is a replacement or something has come unclipped so I'm going to look at that.
VERY shortly after buying it I had the clutch replaced (something which I was aware needed doing when I bought it) which is where my world of pain started...
The flywheel was shot, so I had that replaced too. I also had the car checked over to make sure everything was alright, it needed a wheel bearing, when they took it apart, the handbrake cable fell apart, then when they split the bearing from the drive flange, it was obvious that it hadn't been replaced in time and the flange had was severely damaged (it was like a spinning top on its side rather than a parallel cylinder), then the ABS sensor fell apart...
When putting it back together, the cause of the problem became even more apparent, the driveshaft end had been cross threaded which is why the bearing had been moving around, so I tried to get a driveshaft. 3 attempts later I got the correct one (who would have thought it would be so hard?).
It also had no diff oil in it so with that rectified and everything back on, I got it back.
Then I got a flat tyre.
Bought some amber rears on eBay on the understanding they were for check control. They weren't. So... I ended up hacking the clear lights apart to get the 'wiring' off the back of them, then using a glue gun to attach it to the ambers, so after 3 hours I was done and got them on.
Went to BMW Festival at Gaydon and was hugely disappointed. Cost me £30 to get 2 people in after I had to park in a random gravel car park a mile away, get a shuttle bus in and find the show half empty. Huge organisation fail IMO, turning people away.
Anyway, I bought some M3 GT corner splitters from MStyle for £15 less than their website so all was not lost. (other than the burger I had which cost me about £7 and was eaten by the swarms of wasps there)
So I'll get them on soon.
I had to do some ghetto arch rolling on the way there and in the car park itself with a jack handle and a breaker bar as I had some bad scrubbing issues because the arch is so badly bubbled
I've also bought some M3 'mesh' for the front bumper as I have nothing there and believe it or not it was the cheapest solution.
Booked a track day for November at Cadwell Park so I've got a few upgrades sorted
330ci discs, pads and retaining springs with 328 wear sensors, dot 5.1 fluid, 328 rear discs, pads, springs and sensors, NGK plugs, new front and rear drop links plus Castol oil and an OE filter.
Then I went a bit mental after persuading the Mrs not to buy cheap coilovers, managed to get her to buy these instead.
HSD Dualtechs (plus a 2 tonne low entry trolley jack) which I was intending to fit this weekend before I discovered I'd need spacers... They have arrived today at work but I've left my wallet at home :roll: so I'm going to have to wait now, probably until next Sunday.
I'm still having brake issues, the ABS pump is working when you press the pedal lightly and I can't trace the problem. I had the brakes checked over and cleaned up as they'd been painted on the car so the pads were not sliding properly, but the issue is still there.
Hopefully the new bits will sort it out, if not it must be a dodgy sensor or ABS ring.
As well as that I still have the annoying sweak when I walk away, it seems like an air leak almost but there are no other symptoms, it's literally only happening when I pull away when the revs drop slightly but it's EVERY time I do it and it's really frustrating.
I think the power steering pump is slowly dying too, it's getting noisy when it's warm, so that's more money to spend
Few pics of it all... old vs new-
They looked like this when I'd got them on -
drove 15 miles and this was the result -
Not sure how well you can see but the disc is blue and these are the pads, lost 1.5mm of pad in 15 miles
New calipers done on Sunday morning, with new discs and pads again.
also fitted the M3 GT corner splitters I got at Gaydon. Not sure about them but they're a 2 minute job to remove.
Fitted my 10mm h&r spacers to the front too, in preparation for the coilovers tomorrow along with the Z3M gear lever I won.
I also won and M50 inlet which I hope to have fitted before the trackday at Cadwell in November and I got a refund for my knackered calipers yesterday so all is not lost.
Hopefully the coilover fitting will go without a hitch!
Ok so my M50 manifold arrived
and in the package was this -
HEL braided clutch hose designed for clutch delay valve removal, which was a nice surprise...
Got the coilovers on too, started off like this
So easy to fit and really good to set up, the camber is the only pain as you need to remove the whole unit to get to the top mount because of the design of the turret but when they're set up properly, they won't need adjusting so it's fine.
Went a bit low to begin with
but surprisingly it was only about 7-10mm too low, raised it slightly on the front and it's spot on now.
before and after
So I'm happy with that now.
Picked up some wheels too, cheap and nasty Z3 wheels the same as these, 7.5" front and 8.5" rear and pennies to buy so I'm going to get another set for wet track day use and use the ones I've just bought for dry track day use
Having a bit of a nightmare with brakes still, ABS is playing up so I've got 2 new s
t shields, 2 new wheel bearings and all the associated bolts to go on next week, then it's having a proper geo set up and that will be that for the rest of the year, other than using it!
and in the package was this -
HEL braided clutch hose designed for clutch delay valve removal, which was a nice surprise...
Got the coilovers on too, started off like this
So easy to fit and really good to set up, the camber is the only pain as you need to remove the whole unit to get to the top mount because of the design of the turret but when they're set up properly, they won't need adjusting so it's fine.
Went a bit low to begin with
but surprisingly it was only about 7-10mm too low, raised it slightly on the front and it's spot on now.
before and after
So I'm happy with that now.
Picked up some wheels too, cheap and nasty Z3 wheels the same as these, 7.5" front and 8.5" rear and pennies to buy so I'm going to get another set for wet track day use and use the ones I've just bought for dry track day use
Having a bit of a nightmare with brakes still, ABS is playing up so I've got 2 new s
t shields, 2 new wheel bearings and all the associated bolts to go on next week, then it's having a proper geo set up and that will be that for the rest of the year, other than using it!You've not had much luck with it so far, have you? 
if I didn't know better I'd say it didn't like being touched!
Did you upgrade the flywheel when you had it done? I swapped mine out for a solid conversion that was machined down to 7.8kg, revs like a bd now.
Keep up the good work. Those BBSs are actually quite fun to refurb if you're a bit of a masochist. I'm in the process of sorting my set out; the lips polish up beautifully with an Oakey drill-mounted sander & £30 drill-mounted metal polishing kit from ScrewFix. Worth a shot.
if I didn't know better I'd say it didn't like being touched!Did you upgrade the flywheel when you had it done? I swapped mine out for a solid conversion that was machined down to 7.8kg, revs like a b
d now.Keep up the good work. Those BBSs are actually quite fun to refurb if you're a bit of a masochist. I'm in the process of sorting my set out; the lips polish up beautifully with an Oakey drill-mounted sander & £30 drill-mounted metal polishing kit from ScrewFix. Worth a shot.
Done a few bits -
Window trims replaced as they looked grim and were letting water in
replaced my incorrect front grille with a £5 scrapyard special!
blagged these from a supplier through work, nice freebie...
and arranged my wheels into a neat row
Then I had the front brake st shields replaced, both front wheel bearings replaced and all 4 abs sensors cleaned up, the car was plugged into a scanner and the wheel speeds measured in a straight line to check they all worked the same. They did. So, the problem I've been having seemed to be solved.
Mrs took it to work for 2 days and then came home one lunchtime where she had exactly the same problem again, which is frustrating as it looks like ABS pump! Pulled the ABS relays and the problem didn't happen so that definitely looks like the issue to me.
I've got a few bits to do this weekend before it goes for geometry - going to get some weight out of it, probably strip the rear end for now, then set the height again and have the geo done. I'm also doing the short shift, might do the brake lines and clutch hose too but not sure, might wait til I fix the ABS fault.
Also booked another trackday, Bedford GT circuit on the 14th of December (!) so I need to get some tyres sorted for that, if the 5 spokes clear the brakes that is.
Window trims replaced as they looked grim and were letting water in
replaced my incorrect front grille with a £5 scrapyard special!
blagged these from a supplier through work, nice freebie...
and arranged my wheels into a neat row
Then I had the front brake s
t shields replaced, both front wheel bearings replaced and all 4 abs sensors cleaned up, the car was plugged into a scanner and the wheel speeds measured in a straight line to check they all worked the same. They did. So, the problem I've been having seemed to be solved.Mrs took it to work for 2 days and then came home one lunchtime where she had exactly the same problem again, which is frustrating as it looks like ABS pump! Pulled the ABS relays and the problem didn't happen so that definitely looks like the issue to me.
I've got a few bits to do this weekend before it goes for geometry - going to get some weight out of it, probably strip the rear end for now, then set the height again and have the geo done. I'm also doing the short shift, might do the brake lines and clutch hose too but not sure, might wait til I fix the ABS fault.
Also booked another trackday, Bedford GT circuit on the 14th of December (!) so I need to get some tyres sorted for that, if the 5 spokes clear the brakes that is.
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