Yet another rescued E36 328i M Sport project...
Discussion
The brakes...
It felt a bit like Christmas this morning. I had numerous parcels turn up, and all within the first couple of hours of the day!
After the Alusil engine rebuild, and all of the upgraded parts fitted and getting it remapped, we should be looking at a performance upgrade to around 245 to 255 horses. Not bad considering that the car would originally have left the factory with 197...
So, it's gonna need a bit of extra stopping power. Having done quite a lot of research, and reading numerous threads, all roads were leading to e46 330i brakes, new brake lines, braided hoses and an e36 EVO servo and master cylinder...
This is the complete setup for the rears, including MTEC e46 330i 320mm drilled and grooved discs, second hand calipers and carriers - going off to be powder coated - new discs sheilds - also going to get powder coated for longevity - new caliper rebuild kit - new hand brake shoes and fitting kit and some lovey Mintex brake pads and a new pad wear sensor.
This is the setup for the fronts, including MTEC e46 330i 325mm drilled and grooved discs, second hand calipers and carriers - new rebuild kit - as you can see, they have already been to the powder coaters and been rebuilt - will be deleting the front discs sheilds for improved cooling - and some lovey Mintex brake pads and a new pad wear sensor.
Also managed to get hold of a second hand e36 EVO brake servo and master cylinder.
The discs are huge! And only just fit in the 17" RC041 wheels....
I'm going to get all of the brake lines replaced and new braided brake pipes made to finish the brakes off nicely too.
As a final part to this installment, I took the fifth - spare wheel - RC041 - ready to get sent off to be powder coated and laquered to match the other four that I've already done - see previous posts...
Next is getting the welding and new front wings finished and ready to go into the spray shop....
It felt a bit like Christmas this morning. I had numerous parcels turn up, and all within the first couple of hours of the day!
After the Alusil engine rebuild, and all of the upgraded parts fitted and getting it remapped, we should be looking at a performance upgrade to around 245 to 255 horses. Not bad considering that the car would originally have left the factory with 197...
So, it's gonna need a bit of extra stopping power. Having done quite a lot of research, and reading numerous threads, all roads were leading to e46 330i brakes, new brake lines, braided hoses and an e36 EVO servo and master cylinder...
This is the complete setup for the rears, including MTEC e46 330i 320mm drilled and grooved discs, second hand calipers and carriers - going off to be powder coated - new discs sheilds - also going to get powder coated for longevity - new caliper rebuild kit - new hand brake shoes and fitting kit and some lovey Mintex brake pads and a new pad wear sensor.
This is the setup for the fronts, including MTEC e46 330i 325mm drilled and grooved discs, second hand calipers and carriers - new rebuild kit - as you can see, they have already been to the powder coaters and been rebuilt - will be deleting the front discs sheilds for improved cooling - and some lovey Mintex brake pads and a new pad wear sensor.
Also managed to get hold of a second hand e36 EVO brake servo and master cylinder.
The discs are huge! And only just fit in the 17" RC041 wheels....
I'm going to get all of the brake lines replaced and new braided brake pipes made to finish the brakes off nicely too.
As a final part to this installment, I took the fifth - spare wheel - RC041 - ready to get sent off to be powder coated and laquered to match the other four that I've already done - see previous posts...
Next is getting the welding and new front wings finished and ready to go into the spray shop....
Edited by RickBristol on Friday 3rd November 19:37
Edited by RickBristol on Sunday 5th November 11:18
I think the money issue is largely irrelevant at this stage.
Person loves car, knows it is sorted and probably keeps it.
How many excellent condition or really well restored 328i sports are there?
They were near £30k cars, most in need of a an expensive refresh at least.
Good work as usual OP, I am still following with interest.
Person loves car, knows it is sorted and probably keeps it.
How many excellent condition or really well restored 328i sports are there?
They were near £30k cars, most in need of a an expensive refresh at least.
Good work as usual OP, I am still following with interest.
f1nn said:
I realise it is probably too painful to add up, or at least admit it to yourself...but what would you've spent so far?
It's no longer painful at all, actually!Around £9k... How does that grab you?
The car is never going to be for sale, but have an arranged classic car insurance payout of £8.5k if it gets written off. Don't start on that subject. Plenty of stuff about that in previous posts. AND it's contractual AND in writing,
Another 5 to 10 years and this car could realise a lot more than that.
Now, don't ANYBODY bring that argument up again - done that, been there, chucked the t-shirt in the bin a long way back....
skylarking808 said:
I think the money issue is largely irrelevant at this stage.
Person loves car, knows it is sorted and probably keeps it.
How many excellent condition or really well restored 328i sports are there?
They were near £30k cars, most in need of a an expensive refresh at least.
Good work as usual OP, I am still following with interest.
You know the score! Nuff said.... Person loves car, knows it is sorted and probably keeps it.
How many excellent condition or really well restored 328i sports are there?
They were near £30k cars, most in need of a an expensive refresh at least.
Good work as usual OP, I am still following with interest.
Latest update on the wheels and brakes.
Have managed to spend a second day in a row on the car. I must say that I'm really enjoying taking time out of running my business to indulge myself on my 'hobby'. Bit of a luxury for me..
Anyway, we started fitting the lovely new brakes today. Firstly, we removed the old disc so that we could remove the wheel bearing.
This enabled access to the old front disc protection plate. This is not going to be replaced, as it will help with cooling and after looking into this, everyone who has done the same has had no problems after 'deleting' this part. I will be replacing the rear protection plates with new ones, see post above, as they are required for the installation of the new hand brake shoe fitting kit.
The old front disc protection plate after being removed.
The disc carrier is now refitted.
And fitted.
Next the new disc was fitted.
Then the caliper carrier and new Mintex brake pads.
The brake caliper was then fitted.
Going to get the outer brake pad retaining clips powder coated in red, will be a nice little detail, IMO.
Took a couple of pics from under the car of the difference between the original setup and what the new setup looks like.
Original.
New.
Took the wheels and tyres to the tyre fitters.
The wheels and brakes are really going to set the finished car off very nicely.
It is really starting to feel that there is now light at the end of the tunnel...
Have managed to spend a second day in a row on the car. I must say that I'm really enjoying taking time out of running my business to indulge myself on my 'hobby'. Bit of a luxury for me..
Anyway, we started fitting the lovely new brakes today. Firstly, we removed the old disc so that we could remove the wheel bearing.
This enabled access to the old front disc protection plate. This is not going to be replaced, as it will help with cooling and after looking into this, everyone who has done the same has had no problems after 'deleting' this part. I will be replacing the rear protection plates with new ones, see post above, as they are required for the installation of the new hand brake shoe fitting kit.
The old front disc protection plate after being removed.
The disc carrier is now refitted.
And fitted.
Next the new disc was fitted.
Then the caliper carrier and new Mintex brake pads.
The brake caliper was then fitted.
Going to get the outer brake pad retaining clips powder coated in red, will be a nice little detail, IMO.
Took a couple of pics from under the car of the difference between the original setup and what the new setup looks like.
Original.
New.
Took the wheels and tyres to the tyre fitters.
The wheels and brakes are really going to set the finished car off very nicely.
It is really starting to feel that there is now light at the end of the tunnel...
Edited by RickBristol on Saturday 4th November 18:37
helix402 said:
Did you remove and refit the original front wheel bearings? Also did you grease the pads? (With lovely Ceratec/Plastilube not nasty Copperslip)
The bearings were replaced around 10k miles ago. The pads and calipers have only been temp fitted for the photos. Will all be done properly. Not going to all this trouble to cut corners...helix402 said:
All sounds great, I just thought that removing and refitting the bearing/hub unit could cause a problem.
Will bring that up with mechanic when I see him tomorrow.Got the rear end to tackle next. RTAB mounts, bushes, powder coating the trailing arms and diff subframe, control arms, drop links, etc...
Edited by RickBristol on Sunday 5th November 09:32
MitchT said:
Is that for the whole job thus far? I'm trying to get an idea of what mine's going to cost.
No. That should be for the whole job. Panels, welding, making good and painting - including blending-in. Doesn't include my time spent removing the interior and doors, wings and bonnet. Or, refitting the interior.However, the guy is only charging £30 per hour, instead of his normal rate of £55 per hour. He did this because it's a big job...
Bloody hell. 
That's some restoration.
Suddenly I feel normal! A mate of mine just sold an absolutely mint rust free 328i Auto Coupe rolling shell for 500 quid - in silver. If you'd known....
It really was perfect too - it was a non Sport model without the rust trap side skirts and underneath was like a 5 year old car - it had been stood in a garage since 2004/5. All the arches like new with the factory spot welds. Hey ho.
Just so you know, E36's never had an Alusil block. First was Nikasil (nickel silicon), a coating applied to the bores of the alloy block. After Feb/March 1998 this was discontinued and steel liners pressed in. V8's until around 1996 including early M62's used Nikasil too.
Alusil is something quite different. It's an alloy with a very high silicon content used to cast V12 and post 1996 V8 BMW blocks and the cylinders were bored and honed to expose the silicon particles for the pistons and rings to run it without any extra coating or steel liners pressing in.
US market 328i's and 2.8 Z3's (and early 528i E39's) had iron blocks because BMW knew the high sulphur content in US fuel would destroy the Nikasil coating as it had done of the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega. The rusty steel tab you see in the corner is where the crank TDC sensor fits on US market cars and it was used on the final 1998-1999 E36 Tourings, Coupes and Convertibles. They used an M52TU (E46) crank.
What you have is a steel liner block, standard after @3/98 and a warranty/goodwill replacement on cars built before that.
Every day is a school day!
That's some restoration.
Suddenly I feel normal! A mate of mine just sold an absolutely mint rust free 328i Auto Coupe rolling shell for 500 quid - in silver. If you'd known....
It really was perfect too - it was a non Sport model without the rust trap side skirts and underneath was like a 5 year old car - it had been stood in a garage since 2004/5. All the arches like new with the factory spot welds. Hey ho.
Just so you know, E36's never had an Alusil block. First was Nikasil (nickel silicon), a coating applied to the bores of the alloy block. After Feb/March 1998 this was discontinued and steel liners pressed in. V8's until around 1996 including early M62's used Nikasil too.
Alusil is something quite different. It's an alloy with a very high silicon content used to cast V12 and post 1996 V8 BMW blocks and the cylinders were bored and honed to expose the silicon particles for the pistons and rings to run it without any extra coating or steel liners pressing in.
US market 328i's and 2.8 Z3's (and early 528i E39's) had iron blocks because BMW knew the high sulphur content in US fuel would destroy the Nikasil coating as it had done of the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega. The rusty steel tab you see in the corner is where the crank TDC sensor fits on US market cars and it was used on the final 1998-1999 E36 Tourings, Coupes and Convertibles. They used an M52TU (E46) crank.
What you have is a steel liner block, standard after @3/98 and a warranty/goodwill replacement on cars built before that.
Every day is a school day!
Ok. Thinking about this properly.
Sill panels from BMW: £880 for both.
Front wings from Euro parts platinum range: £160 for both.
Cutting off the old sills, welding on new ones, fitting front wings - including reinforcing the jacking points, stone chip application and priming: £1,500.
Repainting and blending the bodywork: £600.
Total: £3,140
This doesn't include my time or the bits I bought such as replacement trim bits or numerous clips...
Sill panels from BMW: £880 for both.
Front wings from Euro parts platinum range: £160 for both.
Cutting off the old sills, welding on new ones, fitting front wings - including reinforcing the jacking points, stone chip application and priming: £1,500.
Repainting and blending the bodywork: £600.
Total: £3,140
This doesn't include my time or the bits I bought such as replacement trim bits or numerous clips...
Edited by RickBristol on Sunday 5th November 17:28
RickBristol said:
f1nn said:
I realise it is probably too painful to add up, or at least admit it to yourself...but what would you've spent so far?
It's no longer painful at all, actually!Around £9k... How does that grab you?
The car is never going to be for sale, but have an arranged classic car insurance payout of £8.5k if it gets written off. Don't start on that subject. Plenty of stuff about that in previous posts. AND it's contractual AND in writing,
Another 5 to 10 years and this car could realise a lot more than that.
Now, don't ANYBODY bring that argument up again - done that, been there, chucked the t-shirt in the bin a long way back....
iSore said:
....
Mate, thanks for the lesson, interesting, but understand this stuff. It wasn't an Alusil block, it refers to the upgraded bore liners....The 'rusty nut' is a way of identifying the later improved block. Interesting to actually know what it was for. And as far as the school day stuff goes.... I tell all the guys that work for me, "if you learn one thing, every day you are at work, for the rest of your life, you're doing well"...
Edited by RickBristol on Sunday 5th November 17:55
f1nn said:
I'm very (pleasantly BTW) surprised that your "only' £9k in, what with buying the car, the respray, the engine rebuild, all the parts, the best part of 3k by the time sills are on and painted...I actually think you've not done too bad.
Not out of the woods yet. I reckon that sorting the RTABS, all rear suspension poly bush replacements, possibly the RTAB consoles, powder coating the trailing arms, anti roll bar, diff subframe, other bits and stiffening the bodywork diff subframe mounts will probably add another £2k?...Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff