E36 Coupe update (with pics!)

[charlesthomson]

So I've had my 323i coupe for a couple of weeks now( here's my original thread) and have finally got around to getting my camera out...

















So far apart from giving it a good clean, I've swapped to the sunflower wheels and changed the gear knob for the ZHP E46 one which is a fantastic upgrade. I even got £30 for the old one on eBay!
I also changed the rear speakers for a pair of 6x9s that were lying around which has made a massive difference to the sound for almost no cost.

She's booked in for a service on Tuesday and having a new water pump at the same time (I bought the part with the intention of fitting it myself but decided that might be a bit ambitious).

Other things that are still on my list of things to do are:

- Install a new alarm - no idea how much I should pay for a cat 1 system, anyone got a recommendation?

- Swap the driver's door window regulator which makes a horrible noise when it finishes closing

- Change the rubbers around the rear windows and both doors - any idea where to get those from? I haven't had much luck with google so far...

- Change the exhaust - I still haven't worked out whether I need to just swap the back box or the whole system. Someone said that the 328i exhaust would be a straight swap, is the 328i one the same as the M3 exhaust? Are all aftermarket stainless exhausts 'noisy' or is it possible to have the 'proper' sound and for it to be more resistant to corrosion? The stainless one that's on there at the moment is starting to drive me nuts.

- Get new mats, even though I only need the driver's one. Again, can anyone recommend a place to get these? Ebay only seems to have ones without the correct fixings that clip into the carpet?

So far I have absolutely loved having it, I have wanted an E36 coupe since I was a kid and hasn't disappointed. Part of me wishes it was a 328i sport but I keep telling myself it basically is one but with 20 fewer bhp, no OBC and cheaper insurance...

Cheers

Edited by charlesthomson on Wednesday 23 February 16:40

[htid]

Car looks great in the pics. 328 exhaust is not the same as the M3. The rubber seals round the windows I got from BMW, didn't cost much. As for the Matts I got mine on ebay and the clips into the carpet you just unscrew the old ones and srew in the new ones so shouldn't be a problem, I did exactly the same.

[billzeebub]

for the carpet mats I can recomend Motormec in Suffolk. I have used them several times for my E36 Beemers and I can report that they are very good quality. My latest set arrived today.

I am picking up a mint 1999 323 Convertible next week in the same colour as yours but beige leather interior, last sold in 2008 by a main dealer and..yours looks very nice also..the Sunflower alloys look stunning, but I bet they are a bh to keep clean

[htid]

billzeebub said:

Sunflower alloys look stunning, but I bet they are a bh to keep clean

Yep, I use an 'EZ Detail Brush' on mine

[sprouting]

Your not missing 20 bhp.

325i 2,494 cc (2.494 L; 152.2 cu in) 6cyl DOHC 24V Petrol 192 PS (141 kW; 189 hp) @5900 rpm 245 N·m (181 lb·ft) @4700 rpm
245 N·m (181 lb·ft) @4200 rpm M50B25
M50B25 8.0
7.5 233 km/h (145 mph) 1991–1993
1993–1995
328i 2,793 cc (2.793 L; 170.4 cu in) 6cyl DOHC 24V Petrol 193 PS (142 kW; 190 hp) @5300 rpm 280 N·m (210 lb·ft) @3950 rpm M52B28 7.0 240 km/h (150 mph) 1994–1998

[steve_bmw]

the 323 has 170ish bhp, it has a m52 engine mot m50.
nice car, looks tidy, i just sold my 323i coupe. great cars!

Edited by steve_bmw on Wednesday 23 February 18:12

[billzeebub]

are you planning on giving your car the full M3 look?..mirrors, front splitter/mesh? I personally love the E36 wing mirrors and you can get a set new and painted/fitted for £200. I am looking for some 17 inch alloys, I don't really mind which out of the later M3 Style, the Sunflowers you have or the Cross Spokes.

Performance wise Ive heard the manifold replacement makes the car more responsive in the higher rev range but slightly blunts it's performance lower down. I think a good replacement exhaust may be my first performance improvement along with the restrictive airbox

[Smike]

Looks really nice chap.

The weighted E46 shift knob works well doesn't it.

Get a Z3 rack as well - makes a nice difference

[charlesthomson]

Cheers guys.

I'll check out motormec, I doubt they'll just sell me a driver's mat though!

I am missing 20bhp because it's a 323i not a 325i...

Don't think I'm going to go with the manifold conversion, I've heard it's not entirely straightforward and what you get at the top end you lose lower down. Doubt it helps the fuel economy either! It's plenty fast as it is for now anyway, quicker than what I had before.

Don't think I'm going to swap the mirrors and grill either, partly because I don't want to pretend to be an M3 (I don't mind looking like a 328i sport ), and partly cost... And I don't think the mirrors look that bad especially considering you can see more in them than the M3 ones!

What about exhausts then? What have you guys got on your E36s, and where do you get hold of an original 328i exhaust?

[billzeebub]

I was directed to Supersprint, by the guy at Milltek, who I used for an E36 M3 exhaust. (Milltek don't offer non-M3 E36 systems). Though I haven't followed up yet. I saw a couple of other people recomend them on a BMW forum.

Regarding the mats I also doubt someone other than auction sites would sell singular mats..also when buying individual it is hard to match style/colour..if not try a set of anthracite (black). I always go for the contrast. I had same interior colour as you in my 318iS and had the black ones. They look good with the light grey you have cos the dash and other bits are black too. The other bonus of contrasting mats is it gives people (passengers) a clue about where not to put their feet!

[andy665]

I've got an Eisenmann exhaust on my 328 - fantastic quality system and a lovely sound

[charlesthomson]

billzeebub said:

I was directed to Supersprint, by the guy at Milltek, who I used for an E36 M3 exhaust. (Milltek don't offer non-M3 E36 systems). Though I haven't followed up yet. I saw a couple of other people recomend them on a BMW forum.

Regarding the mats I also doubt someone other than auction sites would sell singular mats..also when buying individual it is hard to match style/colour..if not try a set of anthracite (black). I always go for the contrast. I had same interior colour as you in my 318iS and had the black ones. They look good with the light grey you have cos the dash and other bits are black too. The other bonus of contrasting mats is it gives people (passengers) a clue about where not to put their feet!

I'm glad you say that about the mats as I was thinking about a black set but wondering if it would look any good.

I've just checked the supersprint site and a new one from them looks like a bit more than I can afford at the moment.

Why are thing like this and this so cheap? Are they just rubbish or would they do the job?

[sprouting]

ooops should get some new glasses

[charlie85]

billzeebub said:

for the carpet mats I can recomend Motormec in Suffolk. I have used them several times for my E36 Beemers and I can report that they are very good quality. My latest set arrived today.

With Motormec have you gone for the 'Royal City' or 'Sprint Plus' mats? Would there be much difference?

[billzeebub]

can't remember which name and have thrown packaging/receipt away, they were the only ones they do for the E36 Convertible, priced around £42 plus VAT/delivery..they definitely do a coupe version of these

[charlie85]

billzeebub said:

can't remember which name and have thrown packaging/receipt away, they were the only ones they do for the E36 Convertible, priced around £42 plus VAT/delivery..they definitely do a coupe version of these

Thanks, I'll definitely give those a go.

Frustratingly in the last day I've developed 2 problems.
Firstly my fuel gauge has got stuck on the red light with the dial showing empty, which is where it was before I filled it up. Any idea why that has happened?
Secondly my doors have become more and more difficult to open, so much so that today the driver's door refused to open rather embarrassingly. It only opened when I wound the window down and opened it using both the inside and outside handles at the same time. It's now just about started working again, but it feels like the 'click' point at which it opens is right at the end of the 'travel' of the door handle rather than at the beginning. Is this a common problem and is there a fix?

[Smike]

charlie85 said:

Thanks, I'll definitely give those a go.

Frustratingly in the last day I've developed 2 problems.
Firstly my fuel gauge has got stuck on the red light with the dial showing empty, which is where it was before I filled it up. Any idea why that has happened?

Check the wires on the sender under the rear seat - most likely need re-soldering

[Smike]

charlie85 said:

Secondly my doors have become more and more difficult to open, so much so that today the driver's door refused to open rather embarrassingly. It only opened when I wound the window down and opened it using both the inside and outside handles at the same time. It's now just about started working again, but it feels like the 'click' point at which it opens is right at the end of the 'travel' of the door handle rather than at the beginning. Is this a common problem and is there a fix?

Does it feel very stiff? Try lubing all the mechanism with some white spray grease

[4rephill]

charlie85 said:

Thanks, I'll definitely give those a go.

Frustratingly in the last day I've developed 2 problems.
Firstly my fuel gauge has got stuck on the red light with the dial showing empty, which is where it was before I filled it up. Any idea why that has happened?
Secondly my doors have become more and more difficult to open, so much so that today the driver's door refused to open rather embarrassingly. It only opened when I wound the window down and opened it using both the inside and outside handles at the same time. It's now just about started working again, but it feels like the 'click' point at which it opens is right at the end of the 'travel' of the door handle rather than at the beginning. Is this a common problem and is there a fix?

Can't help with the door issue but the fuel gauge problem will be due to a wire breaking on the fuel sender located underneath the rear seat on the drivers side.
You can replace the sender unit with a new one if you wish but most times all that's needed is to repair the broken wire as described below:

First disconnect your battery.

Pop the seat base up and off (it only clamps down) and remove it from the car, lift up the insulation and you'll see a large round plate held in by four screws.

Take the plate off and you'll then see the top of the sender unit held in by a large "crown" nut (it's about 5 inches in diameter). Disconnect the electrical plugs and carefully remove the fuel pipe by removing the hose clamp (you may have to cut the clamp off very carefully as the original factory clamp is a crimp on affair so have a replacement jubilee clip of the right size available. Also have an old towel round the pipe to soak up the small amount of fuel that may still be in it!).

Next you need to undo the nut by tapping it round anti-clockwise (Mine was very tight to undo but it eventually came undone).

Have a water tight plastic bag ready to put the sender unit in as it will be dripping with petrol!.

Once the nut is off, lift out the sender unit out of the tank, taking care not to catch the float on the opening in the tank, and place it in the bag. Check the condition of the rubber seal sitting underneath the nut, if it's damaged or perished you'll need to replace it.

On the under side of the sender unit you'll see the wires for the plugs and you should see one of them no longer attached. Dry off the fuel from around the wires and then carefully solder the wire back onto it's pin (Mine was a pain in the arse as it was at the back, behind the other wires).

Once the pin is reattached, refit the sender unit back into the tank (this part is a bit fiddly as you have to tilt and rotate the sender unit to get it back in without catching the float anywhere, don't try and force it though because if you bend the float arm you'll get false fuel level readings!).

Refit the "crown" nut tightly (with the rubber seal underneath it!), reconnect the fuel pipe and tighten the clamp up fully and then reconnect the plugs. Reconnect your battery and check that the repair has worked. All being well, refit the plate, put the insulation back down and refit the rear seat.


NOTE:

1) Your cars interior will stink of petrol for a few days but the smell should subside. If it doesn't subside after a week or so then you may need to replace the rubber seal under the nut if you haven't already done so.

2) The repair might sound a bit complicated but it's actually quite simple. The hardest parts are removing the fuel pipe clamp and refitting the sender unit into the tank.

3) These instructions are only a basic guide and any attempted repair is wholly at the owners risk!.

4) If you've managed to set yourself/the car or both on fire then you've made a mistake somewhere!.

[S3_Graham]

what have you done with the old Sunflowers then matey?