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So after four years of membership on the SW boards I figure it's time I put up a build thread. A couple of weeks ago I sold my Mk1 Golf 16V and just over a week ago bought myself this. I didn't go out looking for an E36 in fact I had a huge list of other options, all of which were significantly more modern than the VW (not hard). That was the main objective. Before this I've never even had a car with working air conditioning and for the lady of the house that shit was not on anymore.
So I ended up with this. It's a 1994 BMW E36 318iS M Sport in Petrol Mica, a rare BMW Individual colour option. My particular car is a five-speed manual coupe and was originally owned by an odd bloke who went to town on the extras. Why he didn't just buy an M3 I'll never know.
It's got the full M3 bodykit including M3 mirrors, electric sunroof, M3 interior with alcantara and M3-like cloth trim, Bilstein suspension, plus cruise control and some other stuff. The photos below don't show the colour at all but I'll try to get some good pictures soon. The base colour is black as far as I can tell but there's a lot of blue/green and even purple over it. I like it.
The previous owner was a real meticulous guy and maintained the car fastidiously. I could tell from the moment he pulled it out of the garage and that's really why I went for it. I just don't like shabby cars and this is far from it. Exterior and interior are fantastic. Maintenance history is flawless, super low mileage and you can just tell that no-one has cut corners on it or run it on a tight budget. Even the BMW Style 24 wheels on it are legit, not copies.
It's not the most powerful thing ever but man it is so well built. It's almost twenty years old but the ride is sublime (shocks replaced last year) and there's not a single rattle or squeak to be heard inside. We'll see how long that lasts.
I haven't had time to clean the car so there are no new pictures just these ones from the online sale ad:
Don't worry, the M Badge is already gone (even though it was factory fitted). Now to the bad news.
I bought the car last Sunday. Drove it for most of the week until Friday after work when this absolute donut of truck driver merged into the rear driver's side quarter panel on the M4. I was ready to go postal. This bloke was a total peanut and had no idea he'd even hit me. I had to chase him down and get in front of him before he pulled over.
Luckily the car was already insured so it went in for repairs today. I'm getting a quote on having the rear spoiler removed at the same time. While that's in I'm building up a little pile of mods: ISC coilovers, M3 front lip and new stereo are all on their way. Got a few bits to buy from eBay too.
I feel like I owe it to the car to really mod it 'properly'. I've been to BMW and bought OEM fasteners for the front lip and new door trim clips and stuff like that. It's nice to have something like this where everything works as it should and I can work up from this base rather than having to go over all the problems like I did with the Golf.
So that's about it. I'll update as I go. Feel free to chime in with wheel suggestions, I'm still trying to make a choice.
So I ended up with this. It's a 1994 BMW E36 318iS M Sport in Petrol Mica, a rare BMW Individual colour option. My particular car is a five-speed manual coupe and was originally owned by an odd bloke who went to town on the extras. Why he didn't just buy an M3 I'll never know.
It's got the full M3 bodykit including M3 mirrors, electric sunroof, M3 interior with alcantara and M3-like cloth trim, Bilstein suspension, plus cruise control and some other stuff. The photos below don't show the colour at all but I'll try to get some good pictures soon. The base colour is black as far as I can tell but there's a lot of blue/green and even purple over it. I like it.
The previous owner was a real meticulous guy and maintained the car fastidiously. I could tell from the moment he pulled it out of the garage and that's really why I went for it. I just don't like shabby cars and this is far from it. Exterior and interior are fantastic. Maintenance history is flawless, super low mileage and you can just tell that no-one has cut corners on it or run it on a tight budget. Even the BMW Style 24 wheels on it are legit, not copies.
It's not the most powerful thing ever but man it is so well built. It's almost twenty years old but the ride is sublime (shocks replaced last year) and there's not a single rattle or squeak to be heard inside. We'll see how long that lasts.
I haven't had time to clean the car so there are no new pictures just these ones from the online sale ad:
Don't worry, the M Badge is already gone (even though it was factory fitted). Now to the bad news.
I bought the car last Sunday. Drove it for most of the week until Friday after work when this absolute donut of truck driver merged into the rear driver's side quarter panel on the M4. I was ready to go postal. This bloke was a total peanut and had no idea he'd even hit me. I had to chase him down and get in front of him before he pulled over.
Luckily the car was already insured so it went in for repairs today. I'm getting a quote on having the rear spoiler removed at the same time. While that's in I'm building up a little pile of mods: ISC coilovers, M3 front lip and new stereo are all on their way. Got a few bits to buy from eBay too.
I feel like I owe it to the car to really mod it 'properly'. I've been to BMW and bought OEM fasteners for the front lip and new door trim clips and stuff like that. It's nice to have something like this where everything works as it should and I can work up from this base rather than having to go over all the problems like I did with the Golf.
So that's about it. I'll update as I go. Feel free to chime in with wheel suggestions, I'm still trying to make a choice.
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