Prince's BMW E36 318is Coupe

Hi all,

I bought this car quite a while ago. Originally I got the car as my Civic was involved in an accident and I needed something to get me from A to B, but wanted something that would hold it's value. I travelled to Peterborough one very snowy evening to check the car and it was fine (mechanically) so I lowered the seller to £1200 and drove it away that night. After owning the BMW for a while I decided to keep it instead of the Civic.

I've quietly started my project over the last month or so and decided to share it with everyone on here. It's not the most powerful car in the world but right now it fits the bill perfectly.

The previous owner's work wasn't the best so I have to correct scratches, rust and the awful back box. I've already had to replace a blown manifold (common problem on the M42 lump) and replace the clutch thanks to the release bearing. He did have some taste though as M3 rear lights have already been installed and the car has lowering springs (which will do for now). The car also had the full tool kit, torch, warning triangle and first aid kit.

My plans are:

Cosmetics
- M3 Body Kit
- AC Schnitzer Mirrors
- MTEC Mouldings
- BBS Style 5s (Summer Use)
- Smoothed Boot
- Lashings Of Carbon Fibre

Suspension
- HSD Coilovers (Fully Adjustable)
- X Brace
- Eibach Anti-Roll Bars
- Powerflex Purple Poly Bushes
- Front Upper Strut Brace
- Rear Upper Strut Brace

Power (Aiming for 160bhp+)
- Scorpion Exhaust
- Simota Carbon Fibre Induction Kit
- Big Bore Throttle Bodies
- Remap

Brakes
- Either a 330i conversion or an M3 conversion

Interior
- Honda Integra DC2 Type R Recaros
- Sport Headlining Conversion

In the future I will look into the possibility of a turbo or an engine conversion.

This is how it looked when I bought it:
DSCF0058.jpg


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Obviously those awful eye brows had to come off, and that terrible M badge had to be removed.

So as soon as I had the time I removed them and gave it a clean:

E36_019.jpg


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E36_005.jpg
 
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Here is a couple of pictures of it in the snow. Even with almost bald tyres it performed very well in the snow, partly due due to the car being brilliant, and partly due to some amazing driving. I was able to get up hills other cars couldn't manage.

E36_033.jpg


E36_033.jpg


The first step in getting the project going was the M3 body kit conversion. I managed to pick up the front bumper from a seller on eBay and the side skirts and rear bumper from a forum member on another site. I patiently waited until I could get all the parts in the correct colour.

The front bumper was easy to do. Just a couple screws either side and 4 bolts behind the trim. Here it is with no front bumper:

E36_043.jpg


Finished:

E36_050.jpg


Next up I tackled the side skirts. Once again very easy, apart from clips that refused to go in. They soon changed their mind once I got the hammer out! 7 clips underneath and 2 near the rear wheel.

Before:

E36_045.jpg


During:

E36_047.jpg


After:

E36_048.jpg


Unfortunately after removing the side skirts I uncovered a few little areas of rust. If anybody can recommend a body shop then I would appreciate it as the rust really needs taking care of, especially on the rear arches.
 
M3 rep? Really?

Apart from that plans sound full of win.

It wasn't really my aim to make an M3 rep, but honestly it is the best looking kit available and looks much better than the rubbish already on there (another previos owner fail).

I would get AC Schnitzer mirrors but the cost is a bit stupid for just some mirrors.
 
The rust is nothing that a set of flared arches won't fix. I'm sure Timmy would be up for this but he's down in North Kent.
 
Next up was the rear bumper. Another easy task, just a little annoying that you have to strip the boot to gain access to the bolts. Whilst stripping the boot I found an old tooth and some powder that was either talcum powder or cocaine. I didn't get close enough to find out! The spare taken out was also the original!

Before:

E36_007.jpg


During:

E36_054.jpg


After:

E36_060.jpg


Also completed the conversion by fitting MTEC mouldings. I avoided the versions that said M3 as it's not an M3! Whilst I'm not a huge fan of having 'M' badges everywhere, it does look a lot smoother than the tatty originals.

E36_059.jpg


Next up I plan to freshen up a few little bits. I'm currently spraying the tray that holds the warning triangle and first aid kit as it clearly hasn't ever been cleaned. I'm also going to spray the parcel shelf as it has faded and now looks purple!
 
I did mean to cut out the rust. Whilst you're replacing the arches you might as well go a bit silly.
 
No way :mad: You need to sort it or it will only get worse until you have no M3 rep left! Didn't fancy an actual E36 M3?

I can't afford the insurance on anything bigger atm. I'm trying to concentrate on basically setting the car up for a bigger engine. I know the 325 and 328 engines are basically a straight swap. Doing it this way will allow me to consider a V8 conversion as well!

I did mean to cut out the rust. Whilst you're replacing the arches you might as well go a bit silly.

It's something I'll consider at the time. I had a feeling they'd have to be cut and replaced with brand new. Any idea on the cost?

What wheels are you thinking about?

I've got some awaiting tyres and brand new bolts. They are genuine BBS made for BMW E39s (5 Series). Here is a preview:

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exactly what i was thinking for it, proper split rims as well, nice one, they will looks the dogs danglies!
 
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I just read the bit about you finding an old tooth and some cocaine in the boot, who did you say you bought the car off of? :lol::lol::lol:
 
exactly what i was thinking for it, proper split rims as well, nice one, they will looks the dogs danglies!

Thanks mate! I can't wait to get them on.

I just read the bit about you finding an old tooth and some cocaine in the boot, who did you say you bought the car off of? :lol::lol::lol:

Haha! I couldn't believe it when I saw the tooth!
 
UPDATE

I got a little bit bored during the sunshine yesterday so went outside to find something to do. I just so happened to go in the boot and after shutting it realised the rear spoiler was bubbling quite badly. So I decided to remove it!

I had to undo a couple of bolts with surgical precision but it was very easy to do. I also discovered what an awful job the previous owner had done! The spoiler was only being held on by 2 bolts, even though there are 3 bolt holes on either side. The wiring was also ripped out (literally). This had originally caused problems anyway as the rubbish wiring job kept causing the brake fuse to blow. That meant the brake light on the spoiler wasn't actually wired up.

This is how it looks now:

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Initial reaction was that it looked kind of bald, but much smoother. I think once the car has been lowered it will look better.

More pictures:

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I will have to put up with these for the time being though:

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I'll be speaking to somebody tomorrow about smoothing it over for me as it's not a job I can do.
 
I would have left the spoiler on to be honest mate,

Still looks good though, I've always liked the E36's in red :)

Thanks mate! The spoiler needed completely respraying due to an awful job by the previous owner. You can't see in the pictures but the paint had cracked, flaked off and bubbled.
 
Update.

I now have Honda Integra Type R Recaros fitted instead of the BMW seats. The OEM seats were comfortable and perfect for long, relaxing journeys but didn't ever hold me in place properly as I took corners.

They needed custom subframes to be mated to the EK9 subframes I already had. The BMW subframes were un-usable due to how complicated the set up is.

Here are a couple pictures of them fitted:

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They are so much more supportive and they are very comfortable. I also think the black and red goes well with the rest of the car. The weight difference is quite vast as well. The Recaros are so much lighter.

Coilover update soon!
 
Very nice I do like the seats. You're going to turn this into a Honda aren't you! :lol: Is a VTEC lump the next item on your list ;)
 
The seats are very nice Prince I have always liked Recaro's, how much did they set you back with the new subframes if that is not to an impertinent question? :)
I was thinking along the lines of changing my own two front seats in the Autumn for more track day support and having them re-covered to match the rest of the interior. :)
 
Very nice I do like the seats. You're going to turn this into a Honda aren't you! :lol: Is a VTEC lump the next item on your list ;)

Hahaha!

There was no way I was selling them with the Civic! I wouldn't mind a VTEC actually, it would work well with the RWD!

The seats are very nice Prince I have always liked Recaro's, how much did they set you back with the new subframes if that is not to an impertinent question? :)
I was thinking along the lines of changing my own two front seats in the Autumn for more track day support and having them re-covered to match the rest of the interior. :)

The seats and the EK9 subframes were £650, then the custom frames were £160 (so a total of £810). The difference is amazing. It had been a while since I had driven in such supportive seats and when sat down it had that 'home' feeling. I will eventually have the rear bench, door cards, handbrake and gear stick gaitor all done to match.

If you wanted something similar the DC2 and Evo 4 Recaros are actually a Recaro Speed click here for example.
 
Yeah no doubt^^^

Also those seat are mega money, I think I might buy Cobra or Corbeau as there more in my price range, yours do look sweet though Prince
 
Thats easy to do...

Supercharger and turbo compound setups are easy to put together, the best ones though are a 2 turbo compound setup. Big turbo blowing though a small one....
There you go T, better low down torque and the mega high HP in one neat and easy setup... Sound tempting.... to me it does.....
 
D Class do some stunning interior work. Rip out the dash and go with spaceage digital dials and readouts.
 
Fair enough, I just thought I'd put my 2p's worth in :)
I've read quite a few times they are supposidly rubbish from various journalists, they say the M3 (in any shape or form) is epic but BMW always seem to do a half arse job of the brakes. Hell, the E90 M3 with it's 400 bhp V8 and nearly 1700 kg kerb weight still has single piston sliding calipers at the front!?!?! (so does the E46, CSL included and the E36 and the E30...) How many other sports cars do you know of in this era that has them? I highly doubt there many at all.... Even Meganes use 4 piston jobbies FFS!!
 
Fair enough, I just thought I'd put my 2p's worth in :)
I've read quite a few times they are supposidly rubbish from various journalists, they say the M3 (in any shape or form) is epic but BMW always seem to do a half arse job of the brakes. Hell, the E90 M3 with it's 400 bhp V8 and nearly 1700 kg kerb weight still has single piston sliding calipers at the front!?!?! (so does the E46, CSL included and the E36 and the E30...) How many other sports cars do you know of in this era that has them? I highly doubt there many at all.... Even Meganes use 4 piston jobbies FFS!!

A fair few of people are using a Porsche setup instead nowadays. That would be interesting but not really needed at this stage.

Right now I'm trying to figure out how to squeeze my ET10 rims under the rear arches! Anybody know anything about machining them?
 
I suppose that makes sense, I mean if your after 160 hp then the m3 brakes should be good enough, although I would still look into the e39 m5 ones though,

As for the wheels, What ET do they need to be? Google Lepsons they do wheel repairs that involves more than some putty and a spray can so they might be the people to talk to,

Maybe you could get your arches rolled?
 
160bhp is the target for this engine. Right now I want affordable but useable power. I will probably look towards an engine swap in the future. Current ideas are an M52 (328), S54 (M3 Evo) or something crazy (V8??).

I may have found someone to machine them for me. They need to be increased to ET20 to tuck under the arches. The current arches are already rolled, but also quite rusty!
 
yup if your trying to get them to fit under the arch then you would need to decrease them. increasing them from 10 to 20 will mean they are sticking out 10mm more
 
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