Econti's Lazurblau 318is twin builds

[econti]

So this is my E30.
I was looking for E30s for a while, and almost bought a 318is for 2k but didn't.
I then needed a car, so bought a MA70 Supra. That was good, really good, but wasn't perfect for me. I really wanted a 318is. After having driven a reasonable amount of early BMWs with M20s, and testing the 318 with M42, I wanted an M42 version.
So, I kept looking for cars.
Eventually someone that I knew in passing through the internet said that he was selling his 318is.
He was in a different state to me, but that didn't matter. This one was pretty cheap for Australia ($4500) and it seemed good.
So, flights were booked and a friend and I flew up and drove it 1000km home.
Didn't even break down once, and completely fell in love with the car.

Once it was home it sat around for a few weeks while I did the head gasket on the MA70. I finally have rego however, and what a car it is to drive.

Currently is:
1991 318is
Sunroof, power windows, central locking
Some sort of chip
Custom headers and exhaust, loud but sounds pretty good
Aftermarket springs with adjustable perches in the front, not sure what brand springs
M3 springs in the back, but have a pair of aftermarkets with adjustable perches that match the front to go in that came with the car
Stock sports seats with sweet sheepskin covers as the seat fabric is borked
Spare set of basketweaves with bald tyres

Plans are to do E36 rack conversion (is the normal rack quick enough for the track?), M3 control arm bushings, a nice set of wheels with some good tyres, LSD, and to build a turbo M42 that I can drop in once I'm done with our novice driver laws in a year (hopefully).

Enough talk, now pics.

[N2MYE30]

Looks like a great platform to start a project. Nice color too! :up:

[FL318is]

NICE COLOR!

Great little car. Look forward to seeing where you take it. How's the interior?

[RocketJohn]

Great color!

Enjoy it!

[Vincent Brick]

Lovin' that blue.

[econti]

Thanks for the complements guys. I'm completely in love with it at the moment. So goddamn fast through the corners for a near stock car. And so incredible to drive.

Also, added to the list of things I want to do, is a half cage, bucket seat and 4 point harness.
I'm thinking that the half cage will be weld in so it's actually safe, and I'll cut carpets around the mounting points, so it won't be too ridiculously noisy. Back seat will be removed though.

NICE COLOR!

Great little car. Look forward to seeing where you take it. How's the interior?

Interior is pretty good. Seats are torn so they've got the seat covers, but the rest of it is in good condition apart from the dash. Rear seat is mint.

-edit-
And just because, a pic from 5min after I bought it, with the basketweaves on. Do have the centre caps for them but they're not white. I think I'll only be keeping them for skidpan though, some 16s are on the to do list.

[davelarge]

Nice!

I think that's the same colour as mine, I wish mine was that clean though!

[butters]

Very nice example.

E36 rack conversion (is the normal rack quick enough for the track?)

Saw this and had to comment. My 2 cents are that no, the normal E36 rack is not quick enough for the track. I'm quite used to it now and after being in a modern BMW, it feels awfully slow. With a smaller steering wheel maybe it would be better on the track, but I wasn't loving it in my airbag car when I hit the track for the first time recently.

[nick_318is]

Looks like a great car. The stock rack is fine on the track. I upgraded to a z3 rack and love it, it makes the car feel more like a go-cart.

[wazzu70]

The regular E36 rack is just fine on the track (road course) and is much better than the factory E30 unit.

[econti]

Nice!

I think that's the same colour as mine, I wish mine was that clean though!

Lazurblau metallic. It's in really good condition, only a few scrapes on the roof.

Very nice example.

Saw this and had to comment. My 2 cents are that no, the normal E36 rack is not quick enough for the track. I'm quite used to it now and after being in a modern BMW, it feels awfully slow. With a smaller steering wheel maybe it would be better on the track, but I wasn't loving it in my airbag car when I hit the track for the first time recently.

I was thinking of going to a smaller deep dish wheel when I get bucket seats. If anything, it'll be a massive improvement on the stock rack. I figure that with the E36 rack if it means that I can leave my hands where they are on the wheel for most corners then I'll be ahead of where it is currently, with having to shift position for almost every corner.

Looks like a great car. The stock rack is fine on the track. I upgraded to a z3 rack and love it, it makes the car feel more like a go-cart.

If I could find a Z3 rack here for a decent price it would be amazing. There's currently 1 on ebay for $500 and that's it.



Also, in regards to steering, if I was to fit an E36 rack and do a power steering delete, what's the steering like in terms of how heavy it is? I used to daily drive a car with no power steering and that wasn't too bad, but I've driven an E21 with none and an M20 in the front and it was really really heavy. So heavy that it wasn't pleasant. I've also driven a few others and have found them to be a mix of this is nice and this is awful.

[wazzu70]

My car had no PS and an E36 rack for years as a daily driver. Never bothered me at all. Feels much more connected.

[butters]

E36 rack is great. I would just recommend going straight for the tightest Z3 rack as long as you're going in there.

[MPLFoster]

That color is fantastic. almost makes me wanna respray my alpinweiß...

[econti]

I had noticed that when I went over bumps there was a clunk from the front driver's side suspension assembly.
Jacked the car up, and the wheel was wobbling a ridiculous amount while the control arm was not. Bad balljoint(s).
Ordered a pair of control arms.



Got cracking on with it. These cars are so simple that it was not a difficult job at all.
However half way through, I found that despite what I was told by someone you can't actually re-use the bushing on the end of the control arm.
Shit.
On to Gumtree and someone a few suburbs down was selling some bushings that didn't get used in his car.
$85 and an hour later I was back home with some big chunks of polyurethane in hand.
Into the freezer they went, and fell right into the lollipop that they locate into. No press needed.



All back together easy as, and what a difference it makes. Going from balljoints which had 5mm of verticle movement (!) to ones which are nice and new is amazing. The steering is much more communicative and precise, and it's even nicer to drive. Bumps also aren't worse than before, which I was surprised about given the solid bushing.
Would recommend.

Excuse shitty iPhone photos.