M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
FAQ / REFERENCE => Member Profiles => Topic started by: iamnail on May 12, 2007, 02:54:33 PM
-
Just found this list today (via e30tech, which I found via E30digest) and thought I'd jump in...
My wife and I have had our Diamond Black 91 318is since it was only 3 years old. Over the years, I've changed a few things...in no particular order:
Factory fog lights, factory CD changer, Alpine speakers & monster cable wiring, Supersprint exhaust, K&N cone, JimC chip, E36M3 shifter, Turner/H&R sport springs/Bilstein shocks, window tint, factory MTech side skirts (not the same as the later ragtops), E30 M3 seats, custom paint job (smooth & glossy all the way to the bottom), pleather e-brake boot,15x7 Borbet type-H wheels (currently wearing Dunlop SP5k tires).
I just got the LSD diff installed this last weekend. Huge difference. The ellipsoids from the 89 325ix are next.
This was our first BMW. I've since had an 85 318i, 87 325is & 89 325ix. I traded the 325is for the E28 M535i Euro that I have now.
Out of all, the M42 is the most fun, even compares favorably to the MINI. If only it had more power and less bodyroll and quicker steering and more than two moving window and A/c that worked worth a crap...it would be perfect.
Neil
'91 318is
'86 M535i
'03 MINI Cooper S
'83/84 Rabbit GTI
'97 Town & Country dogmobile
-
welcome, glad to see anther d-swartz 318 join our forum! do you have pictures? sounds very clean.
ps, thicker sway bars will definetly take care of that body roll for you:) .
-
Welcome to the boards!
Sounds like you're quite the E30 fanatic!
-
post pics of the fleet!
-
Welcome. I want to see some pics!
-
Sounds awesome, and welcome!
BTW love the M535's, aren't they fairly similar to the E28 535is's that have in America?
PICS PLEAZ!!
-
Welcome to M42 club. Agreed on the 318i relating to the Mini. I drove my aunt's Cooper S today and it's fun, but I still love my E30.
Pics of all your cars ASAP!
-
Thanks for the warm welcome! It's nice to find a group of hopeless fans of the M4x. I though I was the only one.
I am quite fond of the E30. No matter how old they get, they still look good. One of the most visually balanced cars ever, IMHO.
The E28 M535i is the first production "///M" car (i.e., not hand-built). It is different than the Euro 535iS in the body kit and options only. It got more of the optional goodies as standard - sort of a pre-loaded iS. They have a separate VIN series, too, which is how some purists differentiate between a seerate model and option package.
I traded my bronzit/nature 87 325is for this car to Jeff Krause in Whiteland, IN in 2002 because I thought that it would be perfect for me. A larger version of the E30, which it pretty much is, but I miss the little cars, which is where the MINI comes in. I couldn't find a 325is or 318is around here, and we wanted a MINI, so I bought it to replace the E28, which I will put up for sale as soon as it's detailed, but as it turns out, after 5 years of waiting and test driving, I find that as fantastic as it is (and it *is* fantastic), I prefer to be pushed, rather than pulled, and my wife, who formerly would lay down her life for the 318is now pines for the MCS so much that she wants to sell the E30 and get another MINI.
I can't let that the E30 go, so I may have to trade cars with her and let her have the MCS.
If I do that, then it'll be sporting some new sways, the ellipsoid lights, and quite possibly an air pump on the intake plenum .
I had a scare a few weeks ago with a knocking in the engine, which sounded a lot like the knock that my old G200Z Impulse did when it ate a rod bearing.
I flushed the oil last week and will do it again next week after I put a few miles on it, but so far no metal or platic shavings and no more noise, other than the typical M42 rattles, so I think it was the timing tensioner. Someone a few hours away has a good engine if needed, and I may buy it anyhow to have a spare. They're getting kinda scarce.
I'll post picks of all the cars here today.
Neil
-
Here's a photo of the 318is, shot with my old Olympus digital. It has focusing issues, as you can tell.
(http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/P1190482.JPG)
-
Obviously I don't know how to operate a forum, so I'll do it old-school.
The M535i:
http://www.hitze.com/neil/e28m535i.html
The Rabbit GTI(s)
http://www.hitze.com/neil/gti.html
91 318is
I haven't gotten around to stirring up web pages for the rest, so a few uploaded pics will have to do for now.
http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/318is/P1190482.JPG
87 325is The Borbet wheels on this were originally purchased for the 91, but looked better in this car.
http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/325is/462.jpg
A photo of Jeff swapping the plates on 1/1/2002. Astute observers might notice the 320i touring in the garage behind. I was going to trade the E28 for it, but decided to wait and go for an E30 coupe. It's now owned by Mike White, owner of the E30 Digest list. Nice guy, he is.
http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/325is/P1010465.JPG
03 MINI Cooper S These were from the dealer's ad page. Ironically, the same dealer from which we bought the 318is 12 years ago.
http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/mini/mini_1.jpg
http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/mini/mini_2.jpg
http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/mini/mini_3.jpg
http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/mini/mini_4.jpg
89 325ix as it looked when I bought it. I had the thought of repairing it, but it was a slushbox, and converting to a real transmission would be a nightmare.
http://www.hitze.com/neil/car_photos/325ix/P5140858.JPG
-
That E28 is awesome, so's the E30.
How'd that guy import the E30 touring over here??!!
-
Thanks for the compliments! It's by coincidence that they are both Diamond Black. Also a coincidence is that the MINI and Rabbit are also black.
I don't know any details about the touring's importation. Jeff bought it pre-imported, but chances are that he knows the back story. Mike might know, too. Jeff replaced the 2 liter baby 6 with a 2.5, added (5 lug) E30 M3 suspension and some other goodies.
Jeff also has the Dakar Yellow E30 M3 convertible with an S50 M3 drivetrain.
Any E30 nut in the Indy area has seen this car.
There was a white 318is with M3 suspension in the Indy area, too, but I don't know whether it's still around or not. The owner sold it for an E30 M3.
Neil
-
Wow, you've got quite a collection! Love the rims and the skirts on the 318is.
-
Thanks again! I found those skirts the day that I got my copy of 2000 ETK. I was the first person to ask for one at the dealership! Not the last, though.
They found the skirts in St Louis. It took them a few days to locate, but it was worth the wait. They were the second to last set showing up on BMW's dealer parts network, which means that there were likely still some lost and hidden away.
I've been browsing the archives and photos here and I'm pleasantly surprised at how much M42-specific info you all have collected. It's a well done forum, too. If only I'd found it earlier...
Oh, and some of the cars look great, too. I'll get some better photos of the E30 and E28 up after they're detailed.
Neil
-
Thanks again! I found those skirts the day that I got my copy of 2000 ETK. I was the first person to ask for one at the dealership! Not the last, though.
They found the skirts in St Louis. It took them a few days to locate, but it was worth the wait. They were the second to last set showing up on BMW's dealer parts network, which means that there were likely still some lost and hidden away.
I've been browsing the archives and photos here and I'm pleasantly surprised at how much M42-specific info you all have collected. It's a well done forum, too. If only I'd found it earlier...
Oh, and some of the cars look great, too. I'll get some better photos of the E30 and E28 up after they're detailed.
Neil
LOL! My 318is has the same (skirts) arrived yesterday and the same rims. I got the BMW roundel hub plate and stuck them over the Borbet. The M car looks amazing. Welcome to the club. BTW, you can attach pics easy. Just look below this text posting box when you reply. Look in the Additional Options, go to the Manage Attachments bar, click. Then browse, upload and there it is.
-
Just look below this text posting box when you reply. Look in the Additional Options, go to the Manage Attachments bar, click. Then browse, upload and there it is.
yeah, yeah, yeah, showoff. :p You just had to attach a desktop wallpaper version too. ;)
-
Thats whats known as "ballah obvious."
Good to see an E30 with same rims and how the skirts will look.
-
Nice fleet of cars man. A special note of appreciation for the 83 gti - drop a 16 valve in there? ;)
Beautiful 5 series and loving the 318is (go figure). I also just got the same skirts from the factory - they really make all the difference.
Welcome!
-
No 16 valve drop in the GTI's future. This one is making an estimate 105-110 hp, and that's plenty for it to do what I want.
I had two complete GTIs until I sold the other engine & trans. I would really like convert the second one to rear drive (I could have gotten a perfect 924 for nearly free, too. ), but no space for a years-long project.
I have a teenager and his dad coming to look at the GTI this weekend. I never thought I'd look forward to a kid getting one of *my* cars.
Most have no appreciation for cars, let alone the niche cars that I tend toward, but this one seems different. One of his first 2 questions were what work he could (not had to- could) do on the car, and the other was what SCCA Solo class would it be in. Almost brought a tear to my eye.
Neil
Hey, I can operate a forum after all! Thanks for the tips. This is a Photoshop edit that I did a while back, before Terry Sayther's shop built a real one.
*that fuzzy area on the roof is from the source photo*
-
Got any pics of the real one?
-
Ask and ye shall receive. He has a short write up on its conversion from a 325iT.
http://www.terrysaytherauto.com/yet_another_e30_project_car.htm
"Mine" is a little different in that I kept a portion of the rear spoiler.
Neil
-
That thing is amazing.