1991 BMW 318is - a car for the interim

[bestwheelbase]

@Turbowned it's shaping up nicely! This is going to be a good car until your BRZ arrives.

[Wes B.]

@ Turbowned -- Do you plan on doing anything to the interior?

[Turbowned]

Thanks for the comments, guys! I'm going to keep plugging away at it until it looks as close to original as my meager budget will allow

Originally Posted by Wes B.

@ Turbowned -- Do you plan on doing anything to the interior?

The interior is in good shape, but the OEM shift knob fell apart so I replaced it with a UUC heavyweight stainless shift knob like the one pictured here:


I'm hoping that e-brake handle is compatible, too, because I want to add that. I'll be replacing the airbag steering wheel with a MOMO steering wheel; I'm undecided on the style but I'll probably buy a used Monte Carlo or something similar. There's a couple cracks in the dash and a minor crack on the driver's seat that I want to address, so I'll probably find a vinyl repair specialist for that. Other than that, just a solid afternoon cleaning everything and it should look great!

Also, I'll be getting rid of the steelie dans and putting my old basketweaves on (with brand new Hankook Winter iPike tires)

[Turbowned]

MOAR PROGRESS! Got the car home last night after getting everything buttoned up and putting the finishing touches on the paint. Paint got buffed and polished, all the black trim pieces were touched up, and everything re-assembled. The exhaust got put on yesterday (it's too damn loud, argh. Gotta change to smaller diameter piping. Also want to ditch the crush bent piping for mandrel-bent), and bled the cooling system and confirmed the electric fan I installed works properly. Got home without issue (though the car is making some funny noises from the suspension/brakes) and I'll continue working on it from there!











I'll post completed pics after I give it it's first hand wash and detail the interior. Stay tuned!

[streetwaves]

Coming along great man. Definitely looking forward to more pictures.

Looks like we're kind of following the same plan: e30 to tide us over until we're finally in a BRZ. But I think I'll keep the e30 around and try to decide whether the BRZ or the e30 is the daily driver.

[Turbowned]

Updates! 1/13/13: Baby's first bath (and clay bar, and polish, and wax). It was a nice 50ish degrees out on Sunday, very uncharacteristic of January in Mass (Then yesterday it was 61!), so I took advantage of the weather to prep my car for all the road salt and crap that it'll have to endure this winter. I don't think the car has seen winter driving before, judging by how clean the undercarriage is.










Plasti-dipping the wheels because the clear coat is almost gone:


Interior mostly out, hoping a good steam clean will get these stains out


Trim discoloration; think I'm going to paint the door handles and map pockets black:


Cleaned up the dash, still have to address the cracks but it's all clean now - lots of q-tips needed to get those heater vents clean!


Pics in the garage after clay/polish/wax and cleaned windows inside and out:



Right now I'm painting the inner wheelwells black to cover up the overspray and will be undercoating the car shortly. Then more mechanical work - steering rack, gearbox and diff. fluid change, brakes, etc.

[Purdue FR-S]

Wow this is awesome!

I'm gonna go ahead and bet you'll be a little hesitant to pick up the BRZ by the time May rolls around? ^.^

[Ryephile]

Awesome rebuild. Great to see an E30 being taken care of. +1 the bitter sentiments of @ZDan in regards to what BMW has stooped down to these days compared to that car.

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by Purdue FR-S

Wow this is awesome!

I'm gonna go ahead and bet you'll be a little hesitant to pick up the BRZ by the time May rolls around? ^.^

Hehe, you're kind of right. I almost wish the twins were never conceived so I could continue to pour money into this and my MR2, but I gotta have a BRZ. There's a Galaxy Blue Limited 6MT parked right next to my desk in the showroom, and I'll be damned if one like it isn't my driveway by the end of spring!

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

There's a Galaxy Blue Limited 6MT parked right next to my desk in the showroom, and I'll be damned if one like it isn't my driveway by the end of spring!

That and the 318is and you'll be set for years. Years!

[Huss]

I appreciate e30s had 6 of them. But the e30 crowd is full of douchbagry!

[Asterisked Accolade]

I'm not a BMW person at all, it has to be said. However, these particular era BMWs are very appealing, even to me. I love seeing it restored and i'm sure it'd be a very fun HPDE and/or AutoX car. Enjoyable topic.

[streetwaves]

Again, kudos to you on this build. Awesome job! By the way, where'd you get the rear Euro license plate filler? I'm liking it a lot. I've also been a fan of black iS lips as opposed to body-matching, so I like that too.

[cmspooner]

I loved my e30 318...I might have a set of bottle caps at my friends house if you are interested? You are brave or stupid to make that a winter car...be prepared it will definitely be "exciting" to drive when it gets slippery out.