Author Topic: tborner (Read 3330 times)

tborner · « **on:** November 19, 2011, 09:31:13 PM »

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums. My name is Tom, and I am a student in college, and I live near Pittsburgh, Pa.
I've just bought two '91 BMW 318is's, and I love them already. They both need work to get them on the road though, so I figure fixing them up will be a great learning experience for me.
The cars are basically twins. Both are painted Diamond Schartz with a black interior.

Car #1 has 57,000 miles, and has the stock BBS wheels. It was involved in a front end collision so it has an r-title, but it looks like all of the parts have been included to put the front clip back together. The PO says that the fuel pump has been gummed up with old gas from sitting. On the plus side, the interior is immaculate, and even the dash is crack-free. The body is decent shape, with a bit of surface rust that I need to take care of before the fenders go on it.

Car #2 has 198,000 miles, and is rust-free. The car was vandalized, and taillights, headlights, and window glass were broken. The car runs great, though. It drove nicely up and down my street!:D

I think I'll be fixing car #2 for a daily driver, and then getting car #1 together, and selling car #2. I'm looking forward to trying out autocross next summer!:cool:

Here are some pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60379734@N07/6366702381/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60379734@N07/6366703189/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60379734@N07/6366703971/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60379734@N07/6366700787/

Anyone have any glass?

DesktopDave · « **Reply #1 on:** November 21, 2011, 06:47:06 PM »

Welcome to the 'club! Nice to have another Pittsburgher too! I think there are three or four of us here currently. I'm down south in Bethel Park myself.

Looks like you picked up some good solid cars there. Fuel pumps are pricey...you might be able to save it if you drain the tank & soak it for a while in a bit of Techron or SeaFoam. I've heard the old timers use diesel, but I don't trust that.

I have glass, unfortunately nothing for a coupe though. Most of my spares are for sedans.

I'll donate some spare headlights & buckets if you need them though! PM me for my cell if you're interested.

tborner · « **Reply #2 on:** November 22, 2011, 09:35:44 PM »

Thanks for the offer, but I received three sets of headlights, among other things, with the cars, so I just swapped those in. I was looking at the sunroof on one of them, and it looks like one side is off of it's tracks. I can't even open the sunroof enough to get the headliner piece off so it can slide back. Has anyone ever experienced this?
Also, are the windshield and rear window the same for two-doors and four-doors?

DesktopDave · « **Reply #3 on:** November 22, 2011, 11:19:27 PM »

Your sunroof lifter blocks or cables are damaged. When you crank it back, a gear pushes the L&R cables apart & through the cassette tubes rearwards. The lifter blocks are bolted to the sunroof panel. They have a pin connecting them to brackets permanently crimped to the cables. The lifter block cams engage slots in the roof panel...that lowers the rear of the sunroof panel & then slide it rearwards.

I had the same problem. Unfortunately I had to cut the fabric sunroof headliner panel to get the bolts out, remove the sunroof panel & replace the cables. I have spares if you want to see how they all fit together before you start cutting.

Not to add more bad news, but I'm also pretty sure the F&R glass is different between the coupe & sedan, along with the fenders & hood. I'm not positive though, maybe someone will chime in.

Gerta318is · « **Reply #4 on:** November 27, 2011, 02:27:54 PM »

No, I was told fenders and hood are the same. Door glass is however different.

tborner · « **Reply #5 on:** November 29, 2011, 06:54:30 PM »

Thanks for the responses. I found a '86 318i parts car, which has all of the windows I need. The only thing different is that is has rear side windows that open. I haven't really looked at them to see if I'll be able to swap them into my car yet.

Gerta318is · « **Reply #6 on:** November 30, 2011, 01:50:41 AM »

They should swap. I dont think the early model cars rear pop outs are different enough to keep them from working.

tborner · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2012, 02:38:04 PM »

It's been a while since I posted! I've got a lot of work done on the cars (mainly one the one with broken windows).
Bought an '85 318i parts car, and put the windshield and back window from it in the '91. The door windows in the '85 don't use the scissor arms to open and close, so the window glass is slightly different. I think I'll be able to glue the aluminum mounts to the window and get it to work, but I'm not really sure what glue to use yet.
I took the sunroof, also. The lifter blocks were broken, and the arms that the sunroof panel connects to were also cracked. I removed all of the sunroof parts from the parts car, and they look the same, so I should be able to use them.
Unfortunately, I think one of the gears is missing a couple of teeth in the sunroof crank assembly, so I have to swap that too :mad:. I'm hoping that I wont have to take down the headliner. I'll check it out later tonight.

Here's some pictures of the parts car. It runs, but needs a fuel pump. I might gut it out and use it as a Le Mons car or drive it around the property

.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60379734@N07/6767187559/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60379734@N07/6767186719/
Sorry, can seem to get my pictures to work in the post.

DesktopDave · « **Reply #8 on:** February 05, 2012, 06:32:08 PM »

That old 318 doesn't look bad at all. You should flip it! They're nice old cars, just a little gutless. Those M10s will run a long time, nearly forever with regular oil changes.

Those sunroof cranks always break a few teeth, not sure why. Swap a power unit! I have a few I'll sell cheap if you want one.