1991 E36 325i Saloon

[e28525e]

I've been on the hunt for one of these for a while now. My brother had one about 14 years ago and I always have fond memories of it. I've had no end of BMW's but these always seemed hard to find and it had to be a standard pre-vanos manual saloon. I've owned 5 E36's, including a B3 Switch-Tronic but none of them seemed to quite match up to the memories. This one probably won't either but the poorly screwed together early interior, bumhole cloth seats and grey bumpers are certainly helping! I've popped a deposit down and should be picking it up in a week-ish.

I forgot to take any pics when viewing so these are from the listing.

The only options on the car are SE spec, so sunroof, rear leccy windows and headlight washers. Family owned and 60k miles!

Edited by e28525e on Friday 11th December 18:04

Edited by e28525e on Friday 11th December 18:12

Edited by e28525e on Friday 11th December 18:13

Edited by e28525e on Friday 11th December 19:19

Edited by e28525e on Friday 11th December 22:48

[0a]

Oh that’s lovely.

[ChrisCh86]

Looks lovely!

Hopefully you won't be turning this into a track day sl@g? Too many have seen their ends like that

[Gooly]

Thats absolutely bloody lovely. The early 325 saloons were the sweetest of the bunch IMO and I would absolutely love another one in a spec like yours. Hope you get to preserve it! The non vanos M50s are a lovely cammy engine too

[e28525e]

So glad you guys are on the same page as me! It will stay looking standard on the outside. I will probably put the later vented discs on the rear, install an LSD and some B6's to make it a bit more of a driving tool but that's it modification-wise. The early cars have a different suspension setup to the 93 onwards cars and is all a bit difficult to find now, so it makes sense to update it. I'll see if I can find an early 3-spoke non AB steering wheel, too. The one on it isn't a nice thing.

[e28525e]

Gooly said:

Thats absolutely bloody lovely. The early 325 saloons were the sweetest of the bunch IMO and I would absolutely love another one in a spec like yours. Hope you get to preserve it! The non vanos M50s are a lovely cammy engine too

Yes, I always thought the later m52 328i a bit of a let-down after the zingyness (is that a word?) of the M50. The 325i always sounded better too, apparently they don't make the original 325i exhausts anymore which had a better note..

[e28525e]

ChrisCh86 said:

Looks lovely!

Hopefully you won't be turning this into a track day sl@g? Too many have seen their ends like that

I have a turbo 635csi as a track slag, so don't worry. I always think non messed with E36's look fresh compared to every other modded heap.

[bgunn]

e28525e said:

Yes, I always thought the later m52 328i a bit of a let-down after the zingyness (is that a word?) of the M50. The 325i always sounded better too, apparently they don't make the original 325i exhausts anymore which had a better note..

M54 is even worse - I've not driven an original M50 car, but liked my E46 M52TU 328 Coupe a lot more than a friends 330..

Lovely car by the way!

[e28525e]

bgunn said:

M54 is even worse - I've not driven an original M50 car, but liked my E46 M52TU 328 Coupe a lot more than a friends 330..

Lovely car by the way!

Thanks. The M52 is a fine engine, it's just a little more refined than the m50, which can be a better or worse thing from wherever you stand. The M54 is just a little too complex for my liking, it has a fair few additions to help it pass emissions and they can be a pain in the bum. Very smooth when running well, though.

[Kettmark]

I've got an early e36 318is with 26k on the clock. Absolute timewarp condition. Just sitting in it takes me back & makes me smile.

[e28525e]

Kettmark said:

I've got an early e36 318is with 26k on the clock. Absolute timewarp condition. Just sitting in it takes me back & makes me smile.

Very cool. My mate had a Hellrot Red saloon, quite rare.

[Kettmark]

Mines lagoon green. Very early 90's! Seats feel like they've never been sat on.

[e28525e]

Kettmark said:

Mines lagoon green. Very early 90's! Seats feel like they've never been sat on.

M42 then, good engine. The build date on my 325i is 30-01-91, must be one of the earliest left on the road.

[Kettmark]

Mine's 93 on an l plate.

[JakeT]

Non-VANOS M50 and a manual. Cracking spec, that. These are about my favourite E36s. I even like those wheels now. You've done well to get one so tidy (As I'm sure you know) the drivers seat on these early cars end up looking crap in short order. Nice runner, this.

[Triumph Man]

Looks lovely OP, and nice to see a manual 6 cylinder saloon that hasn’t been chavved up!

My grandad had a 325 TDS and that made me fall in love with BMWs

[e28525e]

JakeT said:

Non-VANOS M50 and a manual. Cracking spec, that. These are about my favourite E36s. I even like those wheels now. You've done well to get one so tidy (As I'm sure you know) the drivers seat on these early cars end up looking crap in short order. Nice runner, this.

Yes, BMW got a lot of complaints about early cabin quality. I'll pop seat covers on them. The wheels are a guilty pleasure of mine. I don't know what it is about them but they are my favourite E36 wheel along with M3 contours.

[e28525e]

Triumph Man said:

Looks lovely OP, and nice to see a manual 6 cylinder saloon that hasn’t been chavved up!

My grandad had a 325 TDS and that made me fall in love with BMWs

Now, they're almost impossible to find! Especially manuals.

[MattEl325]

Saw this on eBay last night - lovely!

Another positive vote for the wheels.

[e28525e]

MattEl325 said:

Saw this on eBay last night - lovely!

Another positive vote for the wheels.

Cheers, boss! It had been in my watch list for weeks...in the end I convinced myself that if I saw it sell I wouldn't find another!