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:
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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:

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Is it just me or is she really lean on left side? Maybe is just an camera angle or odd light?

Otherwise........whow! Your bimer is becoming a real eyecatcher! And with coils and so much negative camber in asociation with good tyres i bet she is a corner eater! Me like!
 
Is it just me or is she really lean on left side? Maybe is just an camera angle or odd light?

Otherwise........whow! Your bimer is becoming a real eyecatcher! And with coils and so much negative camber in asociation with good tyres i bet she is a corner eater! Me like!

It might be the camera angle but all E36s have a slight lean. Thanks for the kind words mate. Due to the rain I haven't been able to road test it properly but will report back asap.
 
It might be the camera angle but all E36s have a slight lean. Thanks for the kind words mate. Due to the rain I haven't been able to road test it properly but will report back asap.

Nah....thank you for posting pictures and reports! Can't wait for road review! Just don't take to much risk. One fliped Lude this week is more than enough among torquecar members.
 
Nah....thank you for posting pictures and reports! Can't wait for road review! Just don't take to much risk. One fliped Lude this week is more than enough among torquecar members.

We're expecting rain all week (typical English weather) so should be able to give it the beans next week. Don't worry I won't flip it, I have good suspension.
 
BOOM! Has it been corner weighted? If so I wouldn't worry about any leaning, it will probs be slight as it should be set up with your weight int passenger seat. If not, get it set up proper marra.

Not tempted to get fast road mounts? Love mine and think you might want them with the charger on :)

Oh yeah and let me know what you think of the tyres! Don't forget it will take a fair few miles to scrub them in.
 
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I know what you mean! In East London the entire stock of M-series cars seem to have been sold here in way or another if all the badges are to be believed :blink:

I was looking on Google images on actual genuine M-series calipers with the logo on them, thought it would have been a nice touch for your car. This was why I was a little surprised that you were actually using brakes from a Porsche, taking into account your doggedness for all things BMW. At the end of the day they are fantastic brakes and will look good any car :)


Prince, the 530D.. Do they make an 'M' version of one? I saw one out side where I work... Thought it was fake. Covered with M stickers and badges.
 
BOOM! Has it been corner weighted? If so I wouldn't worry about any leaning, it will probs be slight as it should be set up with your weight int passenger seat. If not, get it set up proper marra.

Not tempted to get fast road mounts? Love mine and think you might want them with the charger on :)

Oh yeah and let me know what you think of the tyres! Don't forget it will take a fair few miles to scrub them in.

Corner weighting is on the to-do list! I know Thorney Motorsport in Milton Keynes do it so I will probably pop in there one day. How much did your set up cost?

The Lemforder mounts are uprated anyway and have made a huge difference to engine. You could rock it quite easily before but now it's fairly solid.

I haven't even begun wearing them in yet but I'll let you know what I think when I've given them a good bashing. So far I can only tell you then hold their own very well in heavy rain.

:love:

The car looks fantastic! Worth the wait! :p

Thanks dude! It's getting there! :D

Prince, the 530D.. Do they make an 'M' version of one? I saw one out side where I work... Thought it was fake. Covered with M stickers and badges.

No they don't. :lol: The only M cars that should have the badges on are actual M cars, for example, M3 or M5. Other cars have Mtec bits on (from factory), but shouldn't have a badge.

Looking good and sitting pretty!

Thanks mate. I'm loving the kind comments. :D
 
Can't remember dude. I think it was around 200 for geo and corner weighting but that included us cutting the little toe arms at the back off (seized bolts) and fitting my adjustable ones. DRM in Kidderminster, popular with the Honda boys but they really know their stuff. There's always gravity but unless you're building a competitive race car its not worth it imo and costs around 400 I think!

DRM use the same top notch bleissbarth machine and intercomp scales as Centre Gravity anyway.
 
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Can't remember dude. I think it was around 200 for geo and corner weighting but that included us cutting the little toe arms at the back off (seized bolts) and fitting my adjustable ones. DRM in Kidderminster, popular with the Honda boys but they really know their stuff. There's always gravity but unless you're building a competitive race car its not worth it imo and costs around 400 I think!

DRM use the same top notch bleissbarth machine and intercomp scales as Centre Gravity anyway.

£200 sounds reasonable. It's definitely something I want doing. Kidderminster is a little far but do-able if nobody else fits the bill. Cheers! :D

Loving the new bits, how's it feel to drive now? :)

All I can so far is it feels a lot more solid. I've only been able to drive it in th pouring rain so can't really comment yet.

Well I'm impressed :) that's quite a transformation Prince. :bigsmile:

Thanks mate!

Looking sweet buddy. :)

Cheers mate. I really appreciate the kind comments. Especially when I'm starting to lose a little bit of enthuiasm for the project atm. I seem to sacrifice my own needs for the sake of the car so I'm fed up of being pot less. Once the brakes and 'charger are on I'm quite looking forward to just driving it!
 
Egsactly, mate! Whole point should be to tune the car to your preferences and then enjoy driveing it. Not being in endles circles of planing, buying, dismantling and posting pictures. ;)
 
Oh man i'm stuck between which I prefer. The new rims make her look real professional and it is without a doubt a lush look but the old rims had... something about them. Nice to see the new internals as well. Damn your engine mount took a battering .
 
Oh man i'm stuck between which I prefer. The new rims make her look real professional and it is without a doubt a lush look but the old rims had... something about them. Nice to see the new internals as well. Damn your engine mount took a battering .

I maintain my old rims looked better, but they offered no clearance for a BBK so had to go. As soon as I saw the LTW5s I knew they'd look good, and they are above all else, functional.

There was no way I could almost double the torque and do nothing about the mounts. The other one was worse, I just didn't take a picture.
 
Nice work as usual mate,
Couldn't believe the state of those mounts though....

Also to note I believe that Lembforder make the OEM stuff for Mercedes, so I've been told....
 
love the way she is sitting it looks like it could go round corners like it was on rails.your doing a great job on her .cracking project to see how far you have come with it.its worth the open wallet surgery.no pain no gain.lol.look forward to future mods.lets hope this rain goes away so you can enjoy the fruits of your labour.
 
Nice work as usual mate,
Couldn't believe the state of those mounts though....

Also to note I believe that Lembforder make the OEM stuff for Mercedes, so I've been told....

Thanks mate. They were pretty bad. Definitely worth keeping an eye on as you won't know until it's too late.

Lemforder do a lot of BMW stuff as well. Mix that with a discount from ECP and job done!

love the way she is sitting it looks like it could go round corners like it was on rails.your doing a great job on her .cracking project to see how far you have come with it.its worth the open wallet surgery.no pain no gain.lol.look forward to future mods.lets hope this rain goes away so you can enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Thanks mate. I've been able to have a bit of a play and so far reports are good. Corners well and holds the road very well at 'motorway speed'.
 
Finally been able to test them out. The grip feels very good. There just seems to be a lot more of it. The car handles like it's on rails atm and holds the road great at high speeds. Very impressed as it's probably driving the best it ever has.

Isn't it great when after all this time of ownership and all that money spent, the car just keeps surprising you! :bigsmile:

Marvellous stuff Prince :)
 
Isn't it great when after all this time of ownership and all that money spent, the car just keeps surprising you! :bigsmile:

Marvellous stuff Prince :)

Thanks Oz. Next up will be the brakes. I'm about halfway through preperation work then it'll be paint. I've ordered a few goodies as well including a couple of additions for the 'charger and rear discs. :D
 
Well I've been busy over the last couple of weeks. Getting a full set of calipers prepped and painted has been a pain in the arse with all this rain but finally they are ready. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking...

I used a red primer.
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A great tip (see here) for where to get some good caliper paint.
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Now painted red.
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Porsche decal (I bought these).
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I had to be very precise and patient for this part. I also applied laquer once the decal was stuck on.
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All done (you can also see the colour match vs the hell rot).
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These are the pads I'm using...

Fronts (Pagid RS4s).
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Rears (Axxis/Stoptech).
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I also bought some handbrake shoes. I went with these (as BMW shoes are over-priced).
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Comments welcome.
 
Those calipers look amazing, the finish is brilliant. Unfortunately I don't have the patience for spraying, always goes wrong. :) You're going to stop so fast you'll need your face pinning back after a few years.
 
Those calipers look amazing, the finish is brilliant. Unfortunately I don't have the patience for spraying, always goes wrong. :) You're going to stop so fast you'll need your face pinning back after a few years.

I'm not patient either but wanted to do it myself. I'm planning a front end blow over next year so I figured if it went wrong it wouldn't really matter.

I can't wait to get them on!
 
Calipers look absolutely marvellous Prince, a job well done! :)

Just a quick pointer; spray the calipers with several coats of clear laquer. This will help aid protection against chips from taking the wheels on and off and having them catching on the calipers in the future.
This also helps with chip protection against enthusiastic car cleaners with high pressure water hoses who thrust the end through the wheels to get to the back of the wheels and catching the calipers on the way through :sad2:

Buy some of the red paint as a touch up pen just in case.
 
Calipers look qaulity bud! And some sound advice from T9 as per usuall. ;)

Whats next on your list? Are you on purposely holding off on that charger' mate? Seems like years when you mentioned it! :lol:
 
Gotcha!
So what's next after the brakes? Do you finally get the charger on?

That's the plan, and then get it dyno'd. :D

Calipers look absolutely marvellous Prince, a job well done! :)

Just a quick pointer; spray the calipers with several coats of clear laquer. This will help aid protection against chips from taking the wheels on and off and having them catching on the calipers in the future.
This also helps with chip protection against enthusiastic car cleaners with high pressure water hoses who thrust the end through the wheels to get to the back of the wheels and catching the calipers on the way through :sad2:

Buy some of the red paint as a touch up pen just in case.

Already applied laquer ;). Did it after the decals were stuck on. But thanks for the tip anyway. I'm sure others will learn from it.

Calipers look qaulity bud! And some sound advice from T9 as per usuall. ;)

Whats next on your list? Are you on purposely holding off on that charger' mate? Seems like years when you mentioned it! :lol:

There were more important things to do before the 'charger and things that needed attention before I could install it (engine mounts for example). Once the brakes are fitted there is nothing standing in the way!
 
Very nice, personally would have left the fittings and line for a bit of contrast. RS copyright infringement much? lol.

Let us know how you get on with the RS4-2's, the RS14's are meant to be the bollox.
 
Very nice, personally would have left the fittings and line for a bit of contrast. RS copyright infringement much? lol.

Let us know how you get on with the RS4-2's, the RS14's are meant to be the bollox.

Just a bit. :lol: ;)

I originally left the bleed caps masked up so they'd be black, but the tape came off one and I accidentally sprayed it so I did them all like it.

I'm really eager to try them out. I've only heard good things about the Pagid RS range (not to be confused with Pagid's budget range). Considering the cost I'm expecting them to be brilliant!
 
I finished the rear calipers today. By no means are they Porsche calipers but they'll do nicely for the rear. They are 328 calipers meaning I can use vented rear discs (318is rear discs are solid). The handbrake shoes and the lines are the same so for the sake of £50 for the calipers it is worth the upgrade.

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Here you can see the comparison between the single pot BMW calipers vs the 4 pot Porsche calipers.

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I also popped to BMW today and whilst I was there got a brand new (free :D) key ring to replace my original one. It's been bugging me for ages now so I'm quite pleased.

Old.

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New.

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calipers are lookin nice mate when we gonna see em on the motor.we love piccys of the car try to get the ladies to get in the piccys as well.lol

Thanks mate. The fronts are being fitted tomorrow with the help of a mate of mine. The rears will be done when the discs turn up.

It's not long until show season so I'm sure the women will get on the bonnet soon. :lol:
 
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