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E36 - Budget Project Car



Ben

ClioSport Club Member
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.

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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

ClioSport Club Member
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.

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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.

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

Ben

ClioSport Club Member
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.
 

Ben

ClioSport Club Member
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?
 

Ben

ClioSport Club Member
£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.

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Daniel

ClioSport Moderator
  Whichever has fuel
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.
 
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Ben

ClioSport Club Member
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!

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Ben

ClioSport Club Member
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

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

Ben

ClioSport Club Member
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

ClioSport Club Member
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.

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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.

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Ben

ClioSport Club Member
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.

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Ben

ClioSport Club Member
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.

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