My 1997 BMW 328i Sport Coupe

[Alex10391]

Another one on here...I've always loved these cars and reading these forums made the choice even more easy!

So, in January I got a company car with my Job. This allowed me to sell my car of the time, a 120d M Sport and purchase a weekend toy. I'd really enjoyed my 1 series so looked to BMW again, this time something a bit "classic". Knowing what a good all rounder these are, I started my search for a nice manual 328i Sport.

It wasn't too long before I found one up for sale at an independant in Shrewsbury. Admittedly, it was up for strong money and I probably paid over the odds but it meant getting an already well sorted car which I could enjoy straight away.

It's a 2 owner car, which the last keeper had for 15 years (a retired gentleman in his 70s, who I'm now directly in touch with). Not only does it have full service history but also a running spreadsheet record of all work carried out during his time with the car.

Here's how it looked when I first collected it.

BMW 328i sport on the garage pitch by AlexHull4, on Flickr

And filling up before taking it home (brother in the passenger seat)

328i sport filling up the day I bought it, February 2015 by AlexHull4, on Flickr

From the back on a nice saturday afternoon drive:

BMW 328i Sport rear by AlexHull4, on Flickr

And again:

My new 1997 E36 328i Sport Coupe by AlexHull4, on Flickr

Progress to follow...

[Alex10391]

One of my first investments was to get the BBS wheels refurbished. You can't tell from the original snaps but the lips had lots of bubbling and were really bugging me every time I cleaned the car!

I decided to go for grey powdercoated centres, re-polished and lacquered lips and silver centre caps, to give it a look similar to the E30 M3. Had these done at A1 Wheels in Wolverhampton by recommendation from the dealer I bought the car off. Really pleased with how they came out:

E36 Front offside wing by AlexHull4, on Flickr

IMG_4011 by AlexHull4, on Flickr

I've waxed these up and added some wheel seal but I have been warned the lacquer on the polished lip doesn't last for long. I'm tempted to get a set of winter wheels or just tuck it away for Winter to keep them good for as long as possible.

I also gave the steering wheel a good cleaning with a magic eraser, which bought the leather and the stitching up really clean but has left the wheel feeling a bit too smooth for my liking now.

Also note the period Nokia cradle - has been on the car since new. My first thought was to remove it but I'm now going to leave it in for retro value - I remember these well from my childhood, with company cars my Dad had in the late 90's and early 2000's!

E36 328i Sport interior by AlexHull4, on Flickr

[Alex10391]

The car gets very little usage, only the occasional weekend blast, so I thought it would be ideal to use it for a holiday to North Wales this summer.

Pictured here in Borth-y-Gest (near Porthmadog), the car got absolutely filthy on the way over which made me partially regret the decision!

328i Sport in Borth-y-Gest (dirty!) by AlexHull4, on Flickr

I couldn't let it stay this way for the whole holiday so bought some cleaning gear and used a local jetwash:

At a jetwash in Porthmadog by AlexHull4, on Flickr

Bringing it back near to the usual level of cleanliness:

328i Sport in Borth-y-Gest by AlexHull4, on Flickr

Note to self...dry weather use only from now on!

[Alex10391]

My only tweaks since have been fitting "plain" number plates (I'm sure you'll agree the GB before logos looked foul!)

I'd now like to find a way to get pre-2001 style font, which the car would've had on from new.
If anyone knows where I could source these from, please let me know?


Most recently, I've added an M3 Evo front lip which I think really sets the car off a treat now:

IMG_4269 by AlexHull4, on Flickr

1997 e36 328i sport august 2015 by AlexHull4, on Flickr

[junglie]

Lovely looking car - I miss my E36 328i.

I had a basic SE but it still looked great, went well and sounded great. I bought it for £1700 (if memory serves) with 117,000 on the clock and in good order. It was purchased as a 130 mile a day motorway and A road commuter for my wife and I considered it disposable. It was a great car at doing whst was asked of it and more - I prefered it to the E39 523i I was running for a similar commute in the other direction!

Enjoy it, the E36 is a fine car.

[Alex10391]

Next jobs as follows:

Get the car ready for it's MOT

- Issue with screen wash - can hear the pump but no water is getting to the jets (can anyone advise how I can sort this)

- New bonnet struts (current ones failed one day, giving me a nice bump on the back of the head!)

- Play in lower balljoints (advisory from last MOT) - Again can anyone advise the best parts to use for this? I'm thinking I'd be best off by replacing both lower arms.


Get new rubber window seals fitted - current ones are tatty.

Have small parking dents removed.

Cooling system overhaul (recommended around current mileage)

New clutch pedal bushing (currently squeaking away)

New gearknob

Suspension overhaul (one for next year)

[Alex10391]

junglie said:

Lovely looking car - I miss my E36 328i.

I had a basic SE but it still looked great, went well and sounded great. I bought it for £1700 (if memory serves) with 117,000 on the clock and in good order. It was purchased as a 130 mile a day motorway and A road commuter for my wife and I considered it disposable. It was a great car at doing whst was asked of it and more - I prefered it to the E39 523i I was running for a similar commute in the other direction!

Enjoy it, the E36 is a fine car.

Thanks, I think I've a post/thread by you about it?

Good to know that the engines are capable of some hefty mileage and usage, I hope to keep this for a while to come.

Very much agree what a fine car the E36 is... classy, well built and still look so cool today.

[Amirhussain]

Always had a soft spot for the E36, there's something pleasing about the design. Nice car OP

[junglie]

Quite possibly - I gave it away tona fellow PHer as it transpires.

[BigTom85]

Great looking car. I loved my old 328i saloon, and enjoying my current e46 325ti too.

I'd stick with Lemforder bushes and arms etc, I believe they made the OEM parts.

For the washers, pull the pipe off the back of the jets and see if they are getting fluid. Take the opportunity to replace the jets, you may even have heated ones, and if so the elements are almost certainly knackered by now.

[Alex10391]

BigTom85 said:

Great looking car. I loved my old 328i saloon, and enjoying my current e46 325ti too.

I'd stick with Lemforder bushes and arms etc, I believe they made the OEM parts.

For the washers, pull the pipe off the back of the jets and see if they are getting fluid. Take the opportunity to replace the jets, you may even have heated ones, and if so the elements are almost certainly knackered by now.

Thanks Tom - I have read something before about fitting E30 front arms to these - any ideas on this?

Will check that out with the washer jets.

[iacabu]

Very nice. Good choice on wheel colour too

[Podie]

Lovely

[LanceRS]

Lovely car, enjoy it. I really miss mine. As anyone who follows the threads on these will know, I cannot praise them highly enough. If someone else hadn't written it off for me, I'd still have it.
It was replaced with an e46 330 Clubsport which I love in it's own way but it's not the same.
Glad you have fitted the front lip, they look like something is missing without it..
As regards changing things because they might go wrong at set milages. You might find that one job quickly leads to another. A lot has been written about things that will definitely fail on you. In the 9 years and over 100k miles I drove mine, the water pump did not explode, the bushes did not collapse, in fact very little ever went wrong. I hope you have a similar experience with yours.

[SPT28]

^^^^^ What he said, fantastic car OP, enjoy it.

My old 328 is probably the one I regret selling the most but was right thing to do at the time.

This was mine by the time I'd finished tinkering.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Lovely, lovely cars - I still covet my brother's '98 technoviolet 328i Sport.

Please, please keep it standard.

I use some Poorboys wheel wax on my polished lip wheels, but definitely run some 16"s for winter, you will find the ride better too (my brother kept his winters on over the summer for this reason!).

Cooling system is a common problem with these - my '99 323 radiator just went, and my brother had a waterpump in his. Sensitive to suspension as well - bushes as well. Eibach Street Pro(?) seems to be well thought of although a bit harder than standard even when set to softest settings.

I absolutely love these cars, they just do everything so well.

Oh yes, before the winter clean out the arches and put a handful of grease up inside the lips to stop rust.

[Alex10391]

LanceRS said:

Lovely car, enjoy it. I really miss mine. As anyone who follows the threads on these will know, I cannot praise them highly enough. If someone else hadn't written it off for me, I'd still have it.
It was replaced with an e46 330 Clubsport which I love in it's own way but it's not the same.
Glad you have fitted the front lip, they look like something is missing without it..
As regards changing things because they might go wrong at set milages. You might find that one job quickly leads to another. A lot has been written about things that will definitely fail on you. In the 9 years and over 100k miles I drove mine, the water pump did not explode, the bushes did not collapse, in fact very little ever went wrong. I hope you have a similar experience with yours.

Thanks - there may well be something to be said for that! I generally tend to agree and forums can scare people into thinking a huge variety of things will need replacing at once.

However given that the car seemingly doesn't want for much else, I think for £500-600 a thorough refresh of the cooling system would be good to keep the car "future proof" and for peace of mind.

SPT28 said:

^^^^^ What he said, fantastic car OP, enjoy it.

My old 328 is probably the one I regret selling the most but was right thing to do at the time.

This was mine by the time I'd finished tinkering.

That looks gorgeous - rare colour there?

[Alex10391]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Lovely, lovely cars - I still covet my brother's '98 technoviolet 328i Sport.

Please, please keep it standard.

I use some Poorboys wheel wax on my polished lip wheels, but definitely run some 16"s for winter, you will find the ride better too (my brother kept his winters on over the summer for this reason!).

Cooling system is a common problem with these - my '99 323 radiator just went, and my brother had a waterpump in his. Sensitive to suspension as well - bushes as well. Eibach Street Pro(?) seems to be well thought of although a bit harder than standard even when set to softest settings.

I absolutely love these cars, they just do everything so well.

Oh yes, before the winter clean out the arches and put a handful of grease up inside the lips to stop rust.

Rest assured it is being kept standard. I've had a variety of sporty cars and always go for the original, standard, clean look.

Thank you for the tip on the grease inside the lips, sounds a good one! I do keep them very clean - hosed and brushed out every other time it's cleaned, so there's not much opportunity for dirt sit.

Have also just replaced the front lower arm bushes which has made a nice difference - much sharper

[Alex10391]

Updates - recent work carried out;

• All parking dents removed (there were about 8 in total!)
• New E30 Lemforder lower arms and eccentric solid rubber bushes fitted. BIG difference to the turn-in steering - a great deal sharper.
• Passed MOT without advisory

Next steps;

Cooling system overhaul (anyone had experience of this and how comprehensive to go?)
New gas bonnet struts (mine have failed!)
New badges
New gearknob
New OEM black tailpipe trim
New rear quarter window seals

[iSore]

Alex10391 said:

Updates - recent work carried out;

• All parking dents removed (there were about 8 in total!)
• New E30 Lemforder lower arms and eccentric solid rubber bushes fitted. BIG difference to the turn-in steering - a great deal sharper.
• Passed MOT without advisory

Next steps;

Cooling system overhaul (anyone had experience of this and how comprehensive to go?)
New gas bonnet struts (mine have failed!)
New badges
New gearknob
New OEM black tailpipe trim
New rear quarter window seals

Water pump and a radiator. The rads are dead easy to swap but you may find bleeding the cooling system to be an absolute cow - some just are, mainly those with air con. The secret is to refill through the top hose, and really slowly.
A Nissens rad is best. The pump is simple enough to change providing it comes out easily. With the four 10mm bolts out and the pulley removed, clout the hub left and right a couple of times to loosen the pump in the timing cover. Then wind two of the 10mm bolts into the threaded ears to draw it out gradually. A BMW pump is a nice idea but a Circoli pump for about a third of the price is just fine. It's worth picking the seals from the belt tensioner rollers and regreasing them.

I would also remove the sill covers and the front arch liners, thoroughly cleaning all the mud and st out. I use grease on mine on reassembly, better than nothing! Keeping the rear arches clean is a weekly task on these.