1991 BMW 318is - a car for the interim

[Turbowned]

Hey guys,

As some of you may know, I'm patiently waiting to order a BRZ and have it for the spring, and have just heard there is approx. a 6 month wait, meaning May 2013. I currently don't really have a winter-friendly car, so I went hunting. I used to have a 1989 BMW 325i that I loved but it was beat to hell and the straight six was a little too thirsty. I always wanted to get a 1991 318is, but have never been able to find a decent one, until now...

After weeks of Craigslist scouring, I have located a '91 318is in East Bumf#%k, Maine for the paltry sum of $2,000. It's apparently 90ish% rust free, with no rot or major rust spots beyond a few paint scratches that became surface rust. Small dent on the trunk lid and no front spoiler. Small rip in drivers seat, needs a cat-back exhaust, tie rod, and a power steering leak repaired. Two owners, 193,000 miles, full service records and manuals.

I'm headed up early tomorrow morning to beat the traffic and should complete the 5hr trip by noon, and drive the car down to Bavarian Autosports in Portsmouth, NH to pick up a slew of parts for it. Then it's over to Hooksett, NH to my friend's body shop to get the car touched up and painted. He'll have it for about a month, and I should see it before December.

I'm very excited to be in another E30; the driving experience they offer is superb, and it should make a great little daily driver to get me through the winter with. Hopefully when the BRZ arrives I can sell it and at least break even; clean examples go for $4-5,000 so fingers crossed.

Here's the specs on the car for anyone not familiar:

318is (1991) ENGINE/TRANSMISSION
M42 1796cc DOHC double chain-driven inline 4, 4 valves/cylinder
134 hp @ 6000 RPM
127 lb-ft torque @ 4600 RPM
Compression ratio: 10.0:1
Bore/stroke: 84x81 mm
Bosch Motronic 1.7 fuel injection w/ DME,
Exhaust control: 3-way catalytic converter with Lambda sensor

5-speed Getrag 260/5 (manual)
Ratios:1 (1/2/3/4/5/R): 3.72 / 2.02 / 1.32 / 1.00 / 0.80 / 3.71
Final drive: 4.10:1

CHASSIS
Front suspension: MacPherson struts, coil springs, lower control arms, swaybar
Rear suspension: Semi-trailing arms, progressive rate coil springs, swaybar

Steering: Rack and pinion, power assist
Steering ratio: 20.5:1

Front brakes: 260mm ventilated discs
Rear brakes: 262mm discs
ABS standard
14x6.5 alloy wheels on 195/65R14 tires

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 101.2 inches
Weight distribution, F/R: 54%/46%
Fuel capacity: 14.5 gallons
Curb weight: 2602 lbs



PERFORMANCE
0-60 mph: 9.8 seconds (dual-mass flywheel hinders 0-60 performance significantly)
1/4 mile: 17.3 seconds
Top speed: 122 mph (electronically limited)
Skidpad, lateral g: 0.83
Slalom: 64.0 mph
EPA fuel economy, city/hwy: 21/27 (owners have reported averages of 28-31mpg!)

318is performance figures from 8/90 Road & Track


And here's a few pics of the beastie in question (BBS wheels not included - I have a set of 14" meshies with new Hankook snows ready to go on):




Whadd'ya think?

[RaceR]

Its a very nice car! Great handling..
Hope its a bargain in real life too!

[bestwheelbase]

Cheap and fun. Has some imperfections already. Looks like a terrific winter beater. Good luck!

[Reason]

Nice e30! 1991 318is are actually the most desirable e30 other than the m3. Definitely a good deal to snag one for 2k.

Some of us 86 owners came from e30's and still keep them as winter cars!

[Guff]

I love El Jefes!!!

There was a nice turbo E30 for sale around here for $1600 but I don't pick it up because I am terrified of winter lol. That would be an interesting car to have in the spring though!


Good luck with your E30!!

[Turbowned]

Hahaha, El Jefe? Is that what they call them? Sweet, I can feel like a boss for real!

[Guff]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Hahaha, El Jefe? Is that what they call them? Sweet, I can feel like a boss for real!

Thats what my buddies and I have always called them!

Here's one at our local AutoX:

[Turbowned]

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...ntifier=165334

Perfect!

[empower-auto]

E30's are sweet. Looks like a decent grab. Life may not look so good when you need to service it though. Good thing you can dump it quick.

[Turbowned]

Well guys, it is done! I got up at 6am, picked up my friend north of Boston, hauled up to Milford, ME (5hrs from my house), gave it a good once-over and test-drive, and bought it. Stopped in Bangor for lunch, then drove 3hrs to Portsmouth, NH to get parts from Bavarian Autosport. Then another hour to Hooksett, NH to drop it off at my friend's body shop so he can fix a couple blemishes and respray it Alpine White (original color). Got home at 10pm last night... took a little longer than expected!

Dayummm this car is loud! The exhaust rotted off at the cheap catalytic converter so I put my earplugs in to lessen the the deafening drone. Surprisingly, the car is very clean though! No rust in the usual trouble areas, which is a miracle for a car that spent it's life in New England. I picked up a Motorsport front spoiler, fog light covers, taillight filler panel (black plastic piece that fills in the area between the taillights), new tie rod assy, UUC shifter and clutch pedal bushings, UUC clutch pedal stop and weighted stainless shift knob, and new Roundel emblems for the hood and trunklid. I'm going to put a Jim D. or Turner chip in it, fab up an exhaust, do the euro ellipsoid headlight conversion, and possibly swap out the dual-mass flywheel for a lighter 325i flywheel. That should be it! Can't wait

Here she is - doesn't look like much but she's got it where it counts, kid!


Here you can see the only rust spots on the car:


My friend Stefan demonstrating how much swag we'd have if we were living in the Middle East in the 90's with these cars. A-rab money!!!


And what does every Persian guy in the world want? WHITE BMW!

[Turbowned]

Some progress for my little project! I found a hairline crack in the oil pan, causing all the oil to slowwwwly leak out. Luckily I discovered it as the car sat for a couple weeks at my friend's shop, and not through driving it until it ran dry. I replaced the oil pan, gasket, upper and lower timing cover gaskets, front main seal, thermostat and water pump, and cleaned a ton of sludge off the engine. I also ditched the clutched mechanical fan for an electric unit.

Where'd all that come from?

Engine bay with fan removed:

Sludge, sludge everywhere:

Timing cover removed:

Several hours, cans of brake clean and a toothbrush later:

Accessories re-installed:

Electric fan installed:

All buttoned up:

[Turbowned]

While handling the mechanicals, the car was being prepped for paint. My friend Derek took care of the major dents, sanded down the rust on the trunk and other minor surface rust areas, and primed the repaired areas. He also took the cracks out of the OEM spoiler and got it all smooth and ready to spray. He just finished up buffing it yesterday, so I should be picking it up this week!










Alpine White II paint (OEM color):



Base coat laid down:




And the clear coat:


Here's a couple pics of the exhaust components going on the car. Magnaflow 2.5" resonator and muffler:

[ZDan]

Very cool! E30s make me truly despise what BMW has become. The current 3-series is a perfectly fine modern-day Buick

[streetwaves]

Great job man! Awesome to see the little car getting some much-needed love. I miss my '91 318iS. It was Alpine White also, and made me fall in love with e30s forever.

Make sure to post pictures post-paint job!