4-doors for mo' whores -- questions about a 318i purchase

[browntown]

Background: I have a stripped 85 "E" that has crappy paint and I find more rust issues the more I tear it apart. For the price of a paint job and the time involved, I'm really looking for a nice paint car to put the couple thousand dollars of never installed suspension goodies onto.

So I missed the boat on an 89 325i with 112k miles, didn't get out to see it in time.

Found an ad for a 91 318i 4-Door that appears to have good paint and interior. Don't care that it has no sunroof, really don't care about the 142k mile 4-banger (intend on putting in a built m30 or a s5x anyways).

Here are my concerns:

Did the 91 318 4-door come with 4 wheel disc brakes? Would my 85 "e" stuff swap over? Or would I be better off finding post 86+ 325 trailing arms for the rear discs?

Are the front brakes vented? What's involved in making that switch?

Can I put on a getrag 260 and bigger diff on the 318?

Will my life be come complicated when it comes time for engine swap because of the wiring for the 4-cylinder?

Are the strut tubes too small for my konis?

Should I just wait for another 325i to come around?

[fliplap]

Background: I have a stripped 85 "E" that has crappy paint and I find more rust issues the more I tear it apart. For the price of a paint job and the time involved, I'm really looking for a nice paint car to put the couple thousand dollars of never installed suspension goodies onto.

So I missed the boat on an 89 325i with 112k miles, didn't get out to see it in time.

Found an ad for a 91 318i 4-Door that appears to have good paint and interior. Don't care that it has no sunroof, really don't care about the 142k mile 4-banger (intend on putting in a built m30 or a s5x anyways).

Here are my concerns:

Did the 91 318 4-door come with 4 wheel disc brakes? Would my 85 "e" stuff swap over? Or would I be better off finding post 86+ 325 trailing arms for the rear discs?

Are the front brakes vented? What's involved in making that switch?

Can I put on a getrag 260 and bigger diff on the 318?

Will my life be come complicated when it comes time for engine swap because of the wiring for the 4-cylinder?

Are the strut tubes too small for my konis?

Should I just wait for another 325i to come around?

I can answer your brake questions.

Yes the 91 318i sedan came with 4 wheel disc brakes. Yes the front rotors are vented, rears are solid.

[gazellebeigem3]

fliplap is right. Everything (brakes, strut tube dia.) is the same as the 325. Wiring will be a little different but not a pita, as there are plenty or resources out there. Swapping out the differential is cake. The half shafts are the same just make sure you use the medium case (325) output shafts. The 260 will swap over but use the support bracket and the aluminum arm the cup goes into. You will find that the 318s is considerably longer. Personally i would jump on it to avoid missing another clean car.