M42B18 full refurbish and performance upgrade - need advice -

[sandu33]

Hello!!

Recently I have bought a BMW E36, 318is, Class 2 Limited Edition, 1994.
The car looks good, but under the chassis there is a lot of rust and need some work there. Interior is ok, only some detailes need to be fixed. But the real problem is under the hood...
I don't like how the car moves, not very agile as i have expected from a 140 HP car, and it goes from 0 to 3000rpm very slow. The fuel consumtion is over 15% most of time. The sound is horrible (the exhaust is stock and the catalyzer is missing).

I want to do a full refurbish and performance upgrade to this car and i consider that I should start with the engine.

I need some advices regarding:
1) which are the parts of the engine that certainly need to be changed?
2) which are the parts of the engine that may be saved?
3) which are the parts of the engine that need to be custom to increase the power or the efficiency of this engine?
4) what is comming up next after engine refurbish?

I HAVE TO MENTION THAT I WANT TO DESIGN THIS CAR FOR AMATOR DRAG-RACE, HIGH ACCELERATION, LOW TOP-SPEED, BUT IT HAS TO BE STREET LEGAL.

Thanks!

[Gerta318is]

I think it is hard for folks to respond here because you are asking for so much input.  What I would do if I were you, is search through the forum and then find relevant threads and ask questions.  A lot of what you are asking is distributed throughout the forum in one build or another.

[Slowered318]

I think you may have high expectations for a base model BMW. I got a few laughs when I ran 16's at the drag strip.

No doubt a well maintained 318 can be agile but only on par with, lets say, a Mazda Miata or Acura Integra. Personally I would consider a Lexus IS300 turbo or e30 325 turbo for "high acceleration". You really won't have much fun racing until you get into the low to mid 13's.