Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Martin and the Ricer

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Martin and the Ricer

    I finally pulled the trigger on a car yesterday. A 318is.

    I affectionally named it Ricer because of the annoying riced out civic sounding magna flow the previous owner put on it.

    The car was an hour and a half away from my house, the pictures showed the car being really dirty and yes, yes it was. But the PO also sent me a pic or two of the car after a good car wash and it looked pretty good. He also gave me his mechanic's info, a certified BMW mechanic, and the shop told me some of the preventative maintenance done on the engine that made me feel good about the car.

    Once i got to the car, first impressions weren't good, it's sitting on these nasty stretched tires with this bad offset on the rears. The car also sits a lot lower than i want it to and it was very very dirty. The seats were decent but almost everything else needs care and restoration.. The previous owner was a young guy that didn't seem to care much about it, bought a new WRX a year ago and left his 318is pretty abandoned. Broken Odometer shows 136138, but the carafe shows a rollback and some weird mileage. Regardless, the engine felt well maintained.

    But then i drove it, red lined it on a straight away, and knew this was the car for me. I don't think it was the best deal i could've gotten, but i have no regrets, pulled the trigger and made a deal for 4k.

    So about the car

    Color: diamantschwarz - metallic
    Interior: Unknown grey cloth, could someone help me ID it please
    Wheel: Unknown

    The engine pulls strong, made the drive back home no problem. It has one small slow dripping leak, im hoping its the oil pan gasket. The lifters make a lot of noise, so i figured they're probably dirty, then i went to my buddy's shop and he asked me what i oil it was running, i forgot to even check it when buying the car. It was BONE FRIKING DRY. When we took off the oil cap a little bit of white smoke came out, so we instantly put a quart of oil in and i drove it home and parked it. So i'm hoping the ticking came from having no oil in the car, but i also worry this isn't the first time the car was driven oilless and the lifters could need replacing.

    One of the PO tried to also roll the fenders, like you can see in the pictures, but did it the wrong way like an idiot. I'm hoping this can be easily rolled back into place, it'd suck to have to replace the panel.

    So today I'm gonna give the car a nice wash and start pulling apart the interior to thoroughly clean everything. For now, i think i may buy a dash cover and cover up that ridiculously cracked dash, but i do plan on eventually replacing it with a crack free one.

    My plans are to drive this car, i don't want a garage queen, i want to drive it all over the west coast and go on some awesome adventures with it.

    My immediate plan is to do a lot of deep cleaning, get some of the smaller things done, like missing trim pieces, etc. And plan and save for a full suspension overall. I'm gonna take the wheels off and see what type they are and if there may be any grace in keeping them and slapping new tires on them, but i'm not the biggest fan of them so i might end up selling them and buy a set of style 5's.

    Oh, one thing you guys might be able to help me with, the key won't go into the driver's key hole. It works everywhere else. Do you think someone broke their key in there? Do i need to take off the door card to begin finding out what's wrong?

    Here's pictures from the first day.
















    #2
    car has potential. trash bin those wheels and tires asap

    Turbo M42 Build Thread :Here
    Ig:ryno_pzk
    I like the tuna here.
    Originally posted by lambo
    Buttchug. The official poster child of r3v.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Musij View Post
      ...One of the PO tried to also roll the fenders, like you can see in the pictures, but did it the wrong way like an idiot. I'm hoping this can be easily rolled back into place, it'd suck to have to replace the panel.
      Those front fender lips actually don't look rolled - they look like they were randomly pulled down by the tires when turning sharp when going up a driveway. I see this a lot on lowered cars with wide tires and/or wheels with too little offset. It looks fixable.
      Randy Walters

      2021 Mazda 3 Sedan Premium AWD
      1988 325is (w/89 bumpers, recently sold)
      1989 325is (Broadsided long ago RIP)
      1996 328is (Sold to Matt J)
      2003 530i Sport (Spare car now)
      2005 X3 (little woman's car)
      Driving Instructor BMW CCA L.A. & S.D. Chapters
      Multiple L.A. & S.D. Region SCCA Autocross Championships

      Comment


        #4
        Solid base dude. You're right around fair with the price you paid and 318is' are starting to get really desirable.
        A deep cleaning and some fender work with new wheels will do a lot.

        As mentioned, those fenders weren't rolled.
        The wheels are ESM's.
        You have Silver Sport interior in great condition in comparison to other 20+yr old E30's.
        The center console, where your e-brake is, is from an E36.

        1991 325iS turbo

        Comment


          #5
          that looks 24V swappable! I'd say you purchased a decent car that just needs some lovin'. DITO on the fenders... have them properly rolled and you should be in the clear.
          Paynemw
          1986 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - Sold!
          the ebb and flow of 325is ownership - In RVA
          1988 BMW 535is - RIP but my dream BMW

          Comment


            #6
            Good news! No milkshake from the oil change! Bad news, the magnet caught these 2 pieces.

            I have to pull the head don't I?

            Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

            Comment


              #7
              So found a few things here and there after giving it a good clean. Passenger side and read window seals leak. A little bit of rust creeping up the front lip of the hood, but that's about it from what I didn't know.

              Obviously the metal in the oil pan is a big alarm, so I'll have to see what my options are ASAP.

              Here's your typical gas stating pic after cleaning her up.

              Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

              Comment


                #8
                She cleans up pretty good, hard to tell from the one pic though, we need many more!
                Car looks ok too..

                Comment


                  #9
                  RE the key situation.

                  Spray some lubricant in there. INOX or WD-40 or similar. INOX preferred as WD isn't the best.
                  If that doesn't work, something's inside. Pop the lock off and if you're feeling brave disassemble it yourself, or take it to a locksmith.

                  Source: I am a locksmith


                  Regardless, great buy, I of course am very biased towards the 318is after also falling in love with the first time I redlined one
                  sigpic

                  (clicky on piccy to get to thread)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by tak7 View Post
                    She cleans up pretty good, hard to tell from the one pic though, we need many more!
                    Car looks ok too..
                    I see what you did there.

                    So updates on the metal in the oil pan, shot a few text to some friends that are mechanics and they all said that if that it looks like a guide pin or a seal keeper. And of course they said if that big of a metal went through the engine cycle, it would have obliterated a piston. So they're guessing someone dropped it and figured itd be easier to just pull it later. I'll still try to see if someone can stick a camera in there and see what's wrong.

                    Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Here's some morning shots.

                      Day 3 with her and I'm more and more satisfied with car. I drove it hard last night at a windy road right off my street and it handled it like an absolute champ even with the bad wheels.

                      However I went to go get gas and after filling up I tried stepping on it on first and it hesitated a lot. Then everything went back to normal, any thoughts?

                      Here's some morning shots

                      Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk











                      Comment


                        #12
                        shes good lookin. Good find
                        95 7.1L 16V E36 M3
                        Motorsport Hardware ***Wheel studs and Spacers!!!--->FOR SALE 4/5 Lug Stud Conversion Kits available CLICK HERE
                        LIKE my Facebook Page! CLICK HERE

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Excellent start, and glad you finally found one.

                          I too had a 91 318is, and it was excellent.

                          Your interior is absolutely fantastic. Take good care of it.

                          I'd ditch those wheels. I'd either learn, or pay someone, to actually roll your fenders.

                          Glad to see you started a thread. I'll stay tuned.
                          My previous build (currently E30-less)
                          http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=170390

                          A 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4x4 Offroad in Inferno is my newest obsession

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by econti View Post
                            RE the key situation.

                            Spray some lubricant in there. INOX or WD-40 or similar. INOX preferred as WD isn't the best.
                            If that doesn't work, something's inside. Pop the lock off and if you're feeling brave disassemble it yourself, or take it to a locksmith.

                            Source: I am a locksmith


                            Regardless, great buy, I of course am very biased towards the 318is after also falling in love with the first time I redlined one
                            They're so fun to redline around corners!

                            I actually looked in there for the first time and yep, broken key. Can I pop the lock off without taking the door card off?? ( Not near my car so I can't Invision it )

                            Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by MR E30 325is View Post
                              Excellent start, and glad you finally found one.

                              I too had a 91 318is, and it was excellent.

                              Your interior is absolutely fantastic. Take good care of it.

                              I'd ditch those wheels. I'd either learn, or pay someone, to actually roll your fenders.

                              Glad to see you started a thread. I'll stay tuned.
                              Yeah! Tried talking him down but he stood strong. I saw potential though so I think I paid the value.

                              Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X