Sir_Dave
ClioSport Trader
Well, with job uncertainty around the corner, in January I tentatively put the cup up for sale. It sold within a few days at a decent price to the 1st chap who contacted me. 10 months & 25k after I bought it … at which point I was carless & had to borrow my bros 1.1 106 …
If you're interested, the Cup project thread is here: http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=372380
And now, onto the current stead. As it happens, jon_r had just bought a lovely red 328i Sport (his journal is here: http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=384056) and as he brought it along to one of our rolling road days, that got me thinking; sport’s were now considerably cheaper than the £8k i paid in 2004 … Then by pure chance, whilst browsing www.northloop.co.uk I found a 328i Sport that seemed like a bit of a bargain. The pics were awful & in all honesty, it looked like a bit of a shed, but I arranged to go and see it anyway, it was a massive amount cheaper than everything on PH/Autotrader at the time as well …. I turned up to be faced with this:
It looked alright tbh, 3 of the wheels were knackered (despite being refurbed 12 months previously) as the lacquer had lifted and water had seaped behind, but it was solid car underneath. The paperwork confirmed a full BMW history, with Munich Legends & the chap that sponsors the technical section of Northloop looking after it for the past 4 years. The chap who was selling it was a pilot, as was the previous owner (his mate), so it had been well looked after over its 125k miles; 90k of which were in the 1st 4 years, with pootling about ever since. My girlfriend proclaimed that it was a shed, but I was blinded by the Avus Blue paintwork, surprisingly high level of spec and, potential …
After some bartering, a deal was done involving 12 months MOT & some cash … so a week later my girlfriend and I went to pick up the beast.
Car: 328i Sport in Avus Blue, R reg with March ’98 build date, 125k & Alusil block.
Purchase Date: 14th February 2009 - my Valentines present to myself.
Specification: Full black leather inc. doorcards, leather armrest, full climate control, 18 button OBC, electric sunroof, anti-dazzle mirror & heated washers/mirrors.
Purchase Date: 14th February 2009 - my Valentines present to myself.
Specification: Full black leather inc. doorcards, leather armrest, full climate control, 18 button OBC, electric sunroof, anti-dazzle mirror & heated washers/mirrors.
Was a lovely drive home, I think at 26 I now appreciate the Sport more than I did at 21, effortless mile munching ability & a decent turn of speed when needed. In all seriousness, I probably have a bit more driving ability now as well, so the transition to RWD doesn’t faze me as much, after the Z3M I kinda got used to sideways lol. So, a week went by, I gave it a basic clean:
Then the rejuvenation started. Firstly with some lovely ebay front indicators, not the last word in fitting, & tbh swopping everything over was a pain, but they improved the front end no end.
Next I purchased some new mats from Rossiters to replace the ‘slightly worn’ originals. After being quoted £95 from BMW for new mats I wasn’t expecting much, but the fit & quality is excellent, even coming with new fixing points – much recommended.
I also took some time to fit my trusty Pioneer headunit (8 years old!) & ipod connector, Parrot handsfree & Pogo Alert speed camera detector; needless to say, it now looks like the starship enterprise at night lol.
Now it was getting somewhere, so definitely time to freshen up the leather. After ‘borrowing’ the Liquid Leather cleaner & condition that Sarah bought for her TT, I got to work. As you can see, theres a pretty marked improvement in colour between the before & after shots, although with black leather the difference is obviously not as marked as when used with silver! The feel of the leather is also far better, but that’s quite difficult to show in a photo, so you’ll just have to trust me lol. In all honesty, I thought I was going to have to use the scuffmaster as well tbh, and whilst it might improve it a bit more, im quite lazy …
The final fix for the interior was the rear boot netting, kindly pilfered from the clio before it was sold, I now have a decent way of stopping all that junk flying around the boot:
Now the interior was up to an acceptable standard, it was time to move onto the outside. As per usual, ebay came to the rescue & a brand new BBS RC041 (CHECK) appeared complete with an unused Michelin Pilot Sport tyre. When no one else bidded on it I was a rather happy bunny tbh. Unfortunately the tyre was 10 years old, so had to go in the bin, but hey, you cant have everything.
As luck would have it, after a quick look in the boot, my own spare wheel was also brand new & unused. Bonus. 2 x new Continentals later & I had 3 perfect BBS wheels on the car & a knackered one in the boot as a spare. So now I just need to sort out the other wider rear that’s a little worse for wear – actually it’s the worst ive ever seen one of these wheels – so it’ll be off to BJV Engineering at some point in the near future for a refurb back to original spec. I might add trying to find a new RC042 on ebay is nigh on impossible, the RC041 is easy as they are provided as spares in the boot… The offending wheel is below, truly naff:
So with most of the little bits sorted on the car & rather a lot of time on my hands – I was made redundant the day before I picked it up – I decided I should go home to Cornwall (near Lands End to be exact) and spend some time with my family. As it happens it was the hottest week of the year so far, so I spent a lazy 4 days out in the sun giving it its first proper clean. Im no detailer, so it consisted of a good pressure wash off, then bucket & sponge (I’ve now purchased a Chemical guys cleaning kit inc. Sheepskin mitt so don’t worry!), followed by Megs Clay/Quick Detailer and 2 coats of Autoglym SRP. Everything was then sealed with Autoglym EGP. Tyres & plastic was then done with Turtle Wax tyre dressing … pikey, but its all I had lol.
To be honest, I think its turned out alright, Avus is such a great colour, changing from light blue to dark blue to purple depending on the angle of the sun. Needless to say, im pretty happy with my ‘shed’ so far.
My question is & after winning another bargain on ebay, do I fit the avus spoiler or not? My last Sport had one & I originally wanted to get one on it asap, but now its placed on there (perfect colour match I might add), im not so sure … so its currently unfitted and left in my bedroom back in Cornwall.
Unfortunately, whilst I was in Cornwall the windscreen decided to provide itself with an 8” crack overnight, although that was sorted by National Windscreens for my £50 excess, so it wasn’t the end of the world. It also gave me an excuse to buy some funky new flat wiper blades.
So whats next?
Firstly a service, after 3k miles in the past month, the inspection light has appeared, so I’ve bought 8 litres of Motul 8100 X-Cess & an oil filter from Opie Oils, along with the necessary fuel filters & other service items – thanks to e36coupe.com for the service schedule print off! After that, well the rear BBS needs refurbing & I want an M3 Evo lip spoiler to finish off the front. Then its just BOGE springs & ill be happy. Eibachs would be nice, but the drop they give seems to be pure pot luck & they’re extra monies. Everyone fitted the BOGE ones when I first joined in 2004, so they must do something right. I’ve also got some Phoenix Gold Components that I bought for the clio (but never fitted) and some Philips 6x9s that I found in my cupboard in Cornwall, so just need to get some 6x9 adapters now I suppose; ebay no doubt lol. Oh and the parcel shelfs purple, no doubt some satin black paint will sort that though …
After that, well there’s always the BBTB, Manifold, remap & Dave F. That would give me 225bhp or so, but I think that extra £700 would be better off put in the M3 fund to be honest. The 328 engine is never going to give the fireworks that truly excite, its too smooth for its own good & tbh my old Z3M had an engine to die for.
Sorry about the long read, but hey, thought I had better do it properly. It’ll be updated as & when required. Thanks for reading. Dave 
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