E36 - Budget Project Car

[Ben]

Let's clear this up from the start, this car is a 318i auto, and it is slow and sounds crap. However, the gearbox is smooth and there is some potential (I think). We spotted the car a few years ago and it's been stood since 2011, a cheeky question as to what they planned on doing with the car was asked and a few months later we towed it away for a grand sum of £250. It's a '97 Calypso Red E36 and it looked like it was green with all the growth that was on and inside the car.

The car had been stood for so long the tyres were shot, but with a battery swap and a quick service she started up and idled nicely. To be continued...

 

[Ben]

We tested the fully automatic roof and it also worked perfectly, however there is a small tear in the rear plastic screen so this is due to be replaced in a few weeks at a local upholstery company who have to sow the new screen in. As mentioned previously the tyres were shot so they needed replacing but I really didn't like the original wheels, they felt too small with the factory fitted M-Sport body kit so I found some Style 30's with some good quality Hankook rubber on for a steal at £80. Gave the car a good decontamination and put the new wheels on and it already looked a million times better.

Surprisingly there's very little rust, a few small bubbles but nothing major. We swapped out the BMW emblems front, rear and on the wheels so everything is looking factory fresh. And here's a miserable picture from over Christmas parked up with the V40 on the drive.

I'm looking forward to the summer for some mid-life crisis top town action!

 

[Cookson]

I love a good E36

 

[David172]

What a difference from when you picked it up - lovely colour too.

 

[imprezaworks]

Yeah looks great. Nice house too.

 

[Ben]

Cheers for the comments chaps. I’ve ordered a few bits and bobs for the E36 over Christmas so I thought I’d get a total spend going. So far it’s:

- The car and transportation home - £250
- Oil, filters, spark plugs - £45
- Wheels - £80
- Badges all round - £30
- Missing front splitter, not yet fitted - £45
- Bosch wiper blades - £15
- New rear screen, not yet fitted - £130

Total so far is - £595 and a bit of elbow grease. I can’t see me spending much more on it apart from consumables. It needs a full machine polish and some rust treatment but that can wait I think.

 

[imprezaworks]

What do you think it's worth

 

[Ben]

I’m not sure due to the engine and box combination but it’s fairly low miles for the age (104k). I’d like to think I could get close to a grand for it if I decided to sell, what do you think?

 

[Alastair.]

£1500 all day long that’ll be in the summer.

 

[Ben]

£1,500 would be nice! Managed to fit the missing front splitter today, I think it looks much better. It’s booked in for the rear screen to be replaced next weekend.

 

[imprezaworks]

Much better.

How much is the rear screen setting you back.

 

[Bluebeard]

Have you done the Cambelt??

 

[Ben]

Much better.

How much is the rear screen setting you back.

£130 fitted, it’s not a glass screen so the guy has got to cut this one out and stitch the replacement in. The price isn’t too bad I don’t think.

Have you done the Cambelt??

Timing chain on this one which is apparently lifetime. Should I be looking at changing it?

 

[Bluebeard]

Timing chain on this one which is apparently lifetime. Should I be looking at changing it?

Ahhh, I see. There's a few different engine variants on the 1800. Majority are Timing chain iirc, with the earlier ones Belt. I just assumed they were all Belt.

 

[Donny_Dog]

Passed the MoT with no issues?

 

[Waitey]

Passed the MoT with no issues?

Passed in October...

 

[cat171]

Nice save and turnaround

 

[Ben]

Passed the MoT with no issues?

Had a few advisories for bushes which I need to address but nothing too serious.

 

[Gray]

Nice find! - Was it local?

 

[Ben]

Nice find! - Was it local?

Cheers Gray! Yes it was local to my mum and dads, my dad walks the dog on that route everyday for years so he’s had his eye on it for a while.

With the terrible weather this week and me stupidly putting the soft top down for a quick drive at the weekend I made the split even bigger so had to do some temporary water proofing. It only has to last until Saturday but what a mess it looks!

 

[Ben]

Got the new screen fitted this morning. Much better!

 

[Krarl]

Easily worth £1500

Trying to find an E36 without half of it being made up of tinworm is rare nowadays

 

[Jack!]

Can the rag top be dyed or something to get it back to a dark black?

 

[Ben]

I need to keep attacking it with the soft top cleaner. Unfortunately it was parked under a tree for years so there’s algae still engrained in the pile. It does come out but it’s taking a while. Will look into some fabric die but in all honesty I’d like to get a hard top conversation if one comes up cheap. They look miles better with the hard top on.

 

[Ben]

Does anyone have the ability to check what options this car had when it was built?

 

[KitsonRis]

Appartently this works http://bimmer.work/ but it won't do my E34. However https://www.mdecoder.com/ does....says I have a Diesel Particle Filter but it is a petrol.... Just need the last 7 digits of you VIN.

 

[Ben]

Awesome, thanks mate will give it a go!

 

[Ben]

Comfort And Interior Equipment

S428​	Warning Triangle And First Aid Kit​
S441​	Smoker Package​
S431​	Interior Mirror With Automatic-Dip​
S498​	Headrests Mechanically Adjustable, Rear​
S481​	Sports Seat​
S473​	Armrest Front​

Multimedia

S687​

Radio Preparation​

Driver Assistance And Lightning

S556​	Outdoor Temperature Indicator​
S520​	Fog Lights​

Wheels And Drive

S255​	Sports Leather Steering Wheel​
S246​	Manually Adjust. Steering Column​
S282​	BMW LA Wheel, Sport-Spoke Styling II​

Environment And Safety

S863​	Dealer List Europe​
S395​	Rollover Protection System​
S812​	National Version Great Britain​
S399​	Softtop, Electromech. All-Autom.​
S341​	Bumpers Completely In Body Colour​
S880​	On-Board Literature, English​
S850​	Dummy-SALAPA​
S380​	Hardtop-Preparation​
S314​	Door Mirror, Driver Lock, Heated​
S388​	Softtop, Black​

 

[Ben]

The car has two rust scabs on the drivers door, so with this being a budget project I decided to give it a budget fix.

Sanded them back and applied some Hammerite Kurust followed by a few light dusting of primer.

I had some Calypsorot aerosol mixed up and gave it a few coats then finished off with some lacquer. It’s not great but it will stop the rust getting any worse, I’ve been on the look out for used panels but they don’t come up often in this colour.

 

[Rob]

Really nice work! That’s a half decent paint job too!

Do love this thread. I’ll pm you to buy it in the summer so I can rock about smoking cigars a listening to NWA or similar.

 

[Ben]

Still got this however due to the lockdown it’s not moved for 4 weeks and the battery was flat so there must be a drain somewhere. Bought a cheap trickle charger from a recommendation on here yesterday and after a few hours on charge it fired up happily. It’s filthy and with the nice weather we’ve had I could of enjoyed some top down action but fingers crossed we’re all allowed out over the summer.

 

[Ben]

Decided to give the E36 a wash tonight. Unfortunately due my job situation I think I’m going to be putting it up for sale once lockdown is over. Pretty gutted but it won’t get used enough for me to keep it.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

At least @Rob will be buying this off you without any fuss as he mentioned....

Easy sale.

Bosh

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Really nice work! That’s a half decent paint job too!

Do love this thread. I’ll pm you to buy it in the summer so I can rock about smoking cigars a listening to NWA or similar.

Can't believe he's messing you about on eBay as well as here, @Ben-

 

[Ben]

Can't believe he's messing you about on eBay as well as here, @Ben-

eBay gimps name was Rob too!

 

[Rob]

Give you a grand.

 

[Ben]

Sorry @Rob, a deposit has been taken from a guy on eBay 😆

 

[Christopher]

Cracking turnaround, that!

 

[MarkCup]

Give you a grand.

'old owt yer aaaand...

 

[M90SR]

'old owt yer aaaand...

ALLLLLDDDD AAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTHHHHHH YEEEEEEERRRRRRRR AAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD