Talk to me about the E36 318ti Compact

[Chris71]

I'm on the lookout for a small, cheap RWD car that I can use for autosolos and autotests. Until recently I had an E46 330Ci, which was lovely as a road car but hopelessly big and heavy for chucking around cones, so I sold it with the intention of getting an MX-5, but someone pointed out that the E36 Compacts can still be found for reasonable money.

I know the basic premise - shortened E36 with E30 suspension, but that's about it. Can anyone enlighten me on what they're like to look after? Is rust a major issue (as in a potential MOT fail)? Are they mechanically tough?

Also wondering how cheap/easy it is to fit an LSD?

[skypeller]

Owned one, worked on it, kept it tidy, thrashed it, great fun, reliable (or at least mine was), overhauled the cooling system, car couldn’t have been better for £900. Was a late model 2000-w approx 90k Miles
Sold with over 100k ... the guy drove it about 100yards and didn’t even negotiate (he’d seen a couple on the way to mine).
Off the top of my head the diff is easy to change for LSD, google about the rear bushes ... they fail and there is ways of looking to see if they’re pooped.

Very chuckable for a bmw (I have a 330ci currently and yes not exactly an autotest car .... I have a westfield for that sort of driving)

Nippy 1.9 16v engine a little lumpy in idle but pulled well for 143bhp @ 13 years old (at the time)

Rust wise- (mine had none but my old 328i e36 had);
-around bottom of bootlid above bumper
-sills jacking points
-bonnet edges
-rear arches

There’s not many modern cars that are easier to work on, fiestas, mx5’s maybe

Hope this helps, any questions fire away

[skypeller]

thrashing wise..... I don’t think I’ve driven a car much harder than that one....

Edited by skypeller on Wednesday 2nd January 13:32

[Chris71]

Cheers. That sounds good. I'm wondering if it might be a tiny bit big for the sort of thing I'm after (even my current Peugeot 306 is less wieldy than the 106s and Saxos that tend to win) but I'm determined to find something RWD. My Chimaera might work on the tarmac stuff, but there's no way I'm doing any of the grass events with it, so it's a Compact or an MX-5, I think.

[skypeller]

I just sold a chim around October time for my uncle. Was advertised on here.

Yes good choices I would be happy with either, compact feels really different to the e46... feels lighter! But mx5 will be very light!

Edited by skypeller on Wednesday 2nd January 13:31

[andye30m3]

I really liked mine, I drove it for about 6 months on the road with H&R springs and it was great fun on the back lanes.

Ended up converting it to compact cup spec and selling, keep looking out for another as a cheap and more economical replacement for my E46 330 but never seam to find much locally as I'd want a manual, M sport car.

[Chris71]

I am rather leaning towards the E36 Compact idea. An MX-5 would arguably work better out the box - available with a factory LSD etc - but I don't really want to be running two convertibles at the same time and a Compact could double as daily driver/bike transport.

[Kawasicki]

I have thrashed the older 1.8l version for extended periods in both E30 and E36. It was extremely robust.