RE: Shed of the Week: BMW 323i Coupe
Discussion
What a lovely looking car. The E36 was about 100KG lighter than the E46 that replaced it, so a manual one of these even with just 170BHP would still go quite well. The E46 323i got to 100MPH in under 20 seconds, so a manual one of these would still be on the pace compared with, say, the ubiquitous 320d. The auto less so. I seem to remember that automatic BMWs of this era were quite a lot slower than their manual equivalents, like 3 seconds slower from 0-100 in the case of the 325i
Nice to see an unmolested E36 though, they're quite rare now.
A neighbour was running a similar vintage 328i coupe as a daily until recently. It looked tired, but it still sounded wonderful, even just trundling down the close. A BMW six of this era still has one of the most distinctive engine notes of all.
I'd want a 328i personally. Faster than the 320i and 323i, with no economy penalty
Good shed though.
I'd want a 328i personally. Faster than the 320i and 323i, with no economy penalty
Good shed though.
Edited by Limpet on Friday 20th July 10:24
Nice car apart from the colour and the auto box, bodywork looks in good nick too.
Absolutely no-one died, once you knew where the buttons were you knew where the buttons were forever, no navigating through sub-sub menus to turn your heated seats off.
Jimmy Recard said:
Jonny TVR said:
what a huge amount of buttons .. how many people crashed trying to press those!
No more than those who crash using a touchscreen, I would wager!Miss my 325i - bought it for shed money in 2008, it came with dirty beige interior so added dark headliner, dark carpet, SE leather with door cards, and a 328i exhaust. I gave it a good service, a new rocker gasket then moved it on for reasons that escape me. According to DVLA its not been seen since 2011.
Don't those bottle caps look so right?
Don't those bottle caps look so right?
Mr-B said:
Jimmy Recard said:
Jonny TVR said:
what a huge amount of buttons .. how many people crashed trying to press those!
No more than those who crash using a touchscreen, I would wager!You can actually scroll through the OBC options using the indicator stalk (but of course no HUD) so you'd have to look down for details.
Ah the good old E36 coupe!
Had most iterations of the E36 (including the slug-paced 318 TDS) over the years.
Also I had one like this in Morea Green, but was manual.
Went well enough and was quite fun to drive.
I would like an early (1992) 325i - those engines made a lovely note and were more reliable.
Good 328i Sport examples are beginning rise in value and popularity now.
Had most iterations of the E36 (including the slug-paced 318 TDS) over the years.
Also I had one like this in Morea Green, but was manual.
Went well enough and was quite fun to drive.
I would like an early (1992) 325i - those engines made a lovely note and were more reliable.
Good 328i Sport examples are beginning rise in value and popularity now.
I think the fuel economy comment in the article is a bit skewed. I owned a 1997 316i Compact and a 1995 320i Touring; a colleague had the 323i Coupe; all were manual, and the two 6 cylinder cars had identical economy. There wasn't much in the performance either (I recall a side by side acceleration test at one stage). The Compact averaged about 35mpg, the 320i was about 33.
crashley said:
Many fond memories of my old 323 (S490 GAN, where are you?)
Nice shed.
well https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ shows that the MOT expired in jan 2017Nice shed.
pSyCoSiS said:
I would like an early (1992) 325i - those engines made a lovely note and were more reliable.
Yes, I also had a 325i (M50 engine), as you mention, really great sounding (mine had a Supersprint back box as well). Iron block iirc so notably heavier than the later M52 engines. Still had the weak waterpump/cooling system issues (but no Nikasil problems).Jonny TVR said:
what a huge amount of buttons .. how many people crashed trying to press those!
That is a LOT of buttons. Hilarious amount. Conversely, however: https://uxdesign.cc/why-touchscreens-dont-work-in-...A customer took his 323i Coupe to his local dealer for a new block and pistons under warranty.
It left as a 2.8. The dealer was doing so many block and pistons that the Technician picked the wrong box and fitted a 2.8 bottom end.
Customer was not informed car ran perfectly.
Until the engine seized as the oil pump nut hadn’t been tightened enough.
I was a Technician a the dealership at the time (not my error!)
Second rebuild it became a 323 again.
It left as a 2.8. The dealer was doing so many block and pistons that the Technician picked the wrong box and fitted a 2.8 bottom end.
Customer was not informed car ran perfectly.
Until the engine seized as the oil pump nut hadn’t been tightened enough.
I was a Technician a the dealership at the time (not my error!)
Second rebuild it became a 323 again.
I'm still running a 1998 323i 'Sport' touring auto as my daily. Paid £1,500 for it 7 years ago. It's full of rust now despite my best efforts at the start (I've long since stopped caring), bits of trim are missing and the aircon doesn't work but I still love it. When I bought it I also had a modified 328i Sport that I'd 100% still have now had the rust not got to it. In fact, had I been in my current financial position back in 2013 when I scrapped the 328 I may well have stripped it down, dipped it and sorted the rust. I'd probably have spent way less money that I have on my Westfield and 996 that followed.
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