Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[mike.bmw]

Some updates...

Coil Packs
I've been hearing a tick from my engine bay for the last 6 weeks. At first it was intermittent. Then it was consistent and correlated to the RPM. It wasn't easy to pinpoint with the hood popped, but was very audible inside the cabin. I spent nearly an hour with a screw driver (cheap stethoscope) trying to find out where it was coming from under the hood. I was about 10 minutes from pulling the oil pan when I realized it was the coil packs. One of the "new" Bremi coil pack bases had come apart. I believe the tick was the coil pack arcing. I wish I had taken of a photo of this as it's quite unbelievable.

If we're keeping score that's 3 of 4 coil Bremi pack failures. I sent them all back for a refund and I'm running the stock coil packs (again) and the engine is tick free. At some point I'll just order the Bosch coil packs.

Sunroof Spare Parts
As I've said in the past, the dealer installed a Webasto Starlite 4 sunroof in my car back in '91 to sell it. These aren't made anymore. Parts are hard to find as I've been casually searching for years.

The last few weeks I've stepped up my search for spare sunroof parts. Nothing is broken at the moment, but I'd like to have spares on hand to include the motor, seals, glass, frame, etc. After a few days of calling wrecking yards I stumbled across The Sunroof Doctor. I chatted with Rick, presumably the owner, on the phone about the Webasto Starlite 4. The Sunroof Doctor stocks seals for these, purchased from Webasto many years ago. Excellent.

Here's the crazy part (to me). While I'm on the phone with Rick, he tells me that Webasto provided OEM sunroofs to Ford/Lincoln in the 80s and 90s. The Webasto Starlite 4 sunroof glass, frame, seals, track, etc are interchangeable with the:
- 1987-88 Ford Thunderbird/Mercury Cougar
- 1988-1994 Lincoln Continental

Holy smokes! So I've been searching for years for Webasto Starlite spares when I could've been searching for Thunderbird, Cougar, and Continental parts cars. Sure enough, 20 miles form my house a guy was parting a 1988 Thunderbird and had the sunroof assembly. I took the trip and chatted with the guy for 30 minutes about his collection of Thunderbirds/Cougars. Nice fella. The sunroof spares he was selling were rusty so I passed. I was able to inspect them and confirm they are the same parts in my sunroof.

Enter ebay. I found the spare moonroof glass/frame on ebay. $100 shipped to my door. It's nice to have a spare on hand. The seal is even in better shape than mine. The only difference is the chrome trim ring around the glass, which I can remove and/or scuff and shoot black if I ever need it.



Sunroof seal
The existing sunroof seal needed to be replaced. I ordered a replacement from The Sunroof Doctor. The seal on the spare glass/frame I ordered was in excellent shape, so instead of installing the new seal I just swapped the glass/frame. I'll keep the extra, new seal as a spare.



Stromung Exhaust Group Buy
The Group Buy was a success. I'm not sure on the final numbers because some people placed orders outside the forum, but I believe we were close to 30 commitments for exhausts. We achieved the full discount. I'm excited to get mine installed!

Small Case S4.10
I ordered a stud kit from Condor Speed Shop. I'm in the process of researching gear oil. I'll order some new washers for the drain and fill plugs. Hoping to install this in the next month! In the meantime, I installed the stud kit (took less than 2 minutes).

[mike.bmw]

Interesting! I always thought the 318is came with LSD standard but I guess I was wrong. Good to know that the original buyer of mine spec'd it with the LSD from new.

Ya I though the same as well, learn something new every day. Looking good on the Ronals!

Thanks! Yep, LSD was an option on the 318is. If you have one consider yourself lucky as it took me a while to find one!

That's so cool you took your daughter with you dude. She'll remember that for the rest of her life. You're a good dad.

I'm hoping she doesn't lose interest in "car stuff". Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of kid specific activities, but it's nice that we can have fun with one of my hobbies.

been a year or so since I've had the thought of purchasing an E30 and this thread is the exact replica of what I have envisioned in my head. I've read through the whole thread and wished it didn't end! I haven't pulled the trigger or made up my mind on the 318 or 325. Your build has changed my perception and has made me feel that either choice is a win/win in my book because these machines are beautiful either way! great build!

Good luck with your search and thanks!

#1 key to success, good and loving parents that can show you the ropes in life. Nothing will set you up better!

Hope so!

[Jokester]

That's so cool you took your daughter with you dude. She'll remember that for the rest of her life. You're a good dad.

#1 key to success, good and loving parents that can show you the ropes in life. Nothing will set you up better!

[rjsimeon]

been a year or so since I've had the thought of purchasing an E30 and this thread is the exact replica of what I have envisioned in my head. I've read through the whole thread and wished it didn't end! I haven't pulled the trigger or made up my mind on the 318 or 325. Your build has changed my perception and has made me feel that either choice is a win/win in my book because these machines are beautiful either way! great build!

[Danny]

That's so cool you took your daughter with you dude. She'll remember that for the rest of her life. You're a good dad.

[KIRIEIW]

Interesting! I always thought the 318is came with LSD standard but I guess I was wrong. Good to know that the original buyer of mine spec'd it with the LSD from new.

Ya I though the same as well, learn something new every day. Looking good on the Ronals!

[Powling]

Interesting! I always thought the 318is came with LSD standard but I guess I was wrong. Good to know that the original buyer of mine spec'd it with the LSD from new.

[mike.bmw]

Keep it coming!

Thanks, Simon!

Why a small case, out of interest? Be warned that friends have had them blow up behind a M10 on a track

Wondering the same, I would only assume for weight savings?

The 318is came with a small case 4.10 open diff from the factory. A small case 4.10 LSD was optional. As my car has the open diff, I've been wanting to replace it with the correct small case S4.10.

Yes, the E30 medium case diffs will bolt right up and are more plentiful (not to mention more gear ratios to choose from). Call me crazy, but I just wanted to find a diff the car would've been optioned with. Plus the weight savings is always nice as the M42 can use all the help it can get. ;)

[Jokester]

Why a small case, out of interest? Be warned that friends have had them blow up behind a M10 on a track

Wondering the same, I would only assume for weight savings?

[econti]

Why a small case, out of interest? Be warned that friends have had them blow up behind a M10 on a track

[2mAn]

My buddy who came along last time couldn't make it, but my daughter jumped at the idea of coming along. As with all my parts road trips, wings were for lunch. Same Buffalo Wild Wings chain as last time, which was only a few miles from the pickup location. Much eye-spy and 20 questions was played, much Raffi and Rocknoceros was sung. It was some great one-on-one time with my daughter.
....
In closing, this was a very long winded post. If you've made it this far, good for you. I mostly keep this thread going for myself as I like to look back on it from time to time and recall the fun experiences with friends and family. The next major updates will likely be a diff installation and an exhaust installation. Or perhaps I'll post-whore some photos. ;D

Trimmed down the "long winded post" but left the pieces I wanted to comment about. The first is that I love how involved your daughter is, its something I picture for my someday child. Being a gearhead is likely in her future, if not then just knowing how to DIY basic car stuff... but the time together is heartwarming

As far as sharing the long winded posts with us, I dont think any adult minds it one bit, as we are all here enjoying and loving our cars. I appreciate the details you share with us. I use my build threads for basically the same reason. Its fun to go back and see previous pics, journeys, headaches, etc

Keep it coming!

[mike.bmw]

A couple of things...

Maintenance

Knocked out some maintenance a couple weeks ago:
- oil and filter change (Mobil 1 15W-50, Mahle filter)
- air filter change (Mahle)
- spark plug change (NGK BKR6EK)
- checked and adjusted the tension and condition of the drive belts
- cleaned and lubed the Girling slider pins in the calipers
- swapped out a melted brake wear sensor from the last track day
- re-lubed the backs of the pads to eliminate some brake pad squeal

The goods:



5th Wheel

I decided to order a 5th Ronal LS to keep "just in case". I left a nice review for Performance Alloys and they asked if I had any pictures of the wheels on my car. I sent some along (because I'm a photo whore) and they used them on their Ronal LS page:



5th wheel:



Road Trip for Small Case S4.10

Today I took another ~240 mile road trip, similar in distance as the trip for the BBS RS001s. After a long off/on search (nearly 2 years), a fellow R3V member, Vfrinterceptor, reached out and said he had a small case S4.10. He sent along some photos, we agreed on a price, and setup a time for pickup today.

My buddy who came along last time couldn't make it, but my daughter jumped at the idea of coming along. As with all my parts road trips, wings were for lunch. Same Buffalo Wild Wings chain as last time, which was only a few miles from the pickup location. Much eye-spy and 20 questions was played, much Raffi and Rocknoceros was sung. It was some great one-on-one time with my daughter.

I took my 2015 328 M Sport Wagon for the trip. It was 10 degrees out, extremely windy, and we hit up IKEA on the way home so I needed some space. The car was pelted with rocks, sand and salt from the previous snow storm as well as some road debris so I'm glad I wasn't in the E30.

Vfrinterceptor is a great guy. I had forgotten/didn't think to bring rope to secure the diff. He gave me some rope he had as well as used his tie-down skills to secure the diff. A good thing too because there was a near pile-up on 95 that required some hard braking (no, I wasn't following too close).

The route:



The small case S4.10 is in great shape. I barely need to clean it (but I will anyway). I plan to change out the fluid (any recommendations?) and order the Garagistic stud kit for installation. I'll get around to installing this in the next month or 2. Hopefully the stud kit makes it an easier one-man job.

The small case S4.10:



In closing, this was a very long winded post. If you've made it this far, good for you. I mostly keep this thread going for myself as I like to look back on it from time to time and recall the fun experiences with friends and family. The next major updates will likely be a diff installation and an exhaust installation. Or perhaps I'll post-whore some photos. ;D

[Zeemz]

Ronals look awesome and great shots of the car. The Stromung will be an awesome addition as well!

[mike.bmw]

The Ronals look fantastic on your car! Very nice. My wife & I plan to move back out to DC in the next year or two. I look forward to seeing your car in person one day!

Cheers

Thanks! The photos in your thread and comments on tire choice made this an easy decision. :) I'd definitely like to check your car out too.

In other news I've started a Group Buy for the Strömung Catback.

[TFJR]

The Ronals look fantastic on your car! Very nice. My wife & I plan to move back out to DC in the next year or two. I look forward to seeing your car in person one day!

Cheers