Saved a euro 316i

[einstein57]

So there was this car for sale but know no one wanted to buy it because it was in pieces. The owner wanted to just part it out but i could not let that happen. I saw the car in person several months ago at a meat an i told myself that car is dieing for an m20 swap. Well the m10 died on him a few months later and he started to take on a m20 swap. But bogged down with not having a car and an unwilling landlord played his hand. The car started its life as a bahama beige with tan interior. It was painted black back in 92.

Prior owners pics













He started swapping out the interior from a late model 318is. Not sure why he got rid of the 316 hvac panel. This is a non a/c car so the us spec hvac is pretty much pointless. Oh and no drivers seat.








Came with some sleeves but i'm not 100% satisfied with the fit and finish. I'll be taking them out and installing some GE coilover and camber plates. The good news it did come with some eibach 5" 650 rear springs. I'll probably just sell them though.






Engine swap started.

[einstein57]

Car went straight from the sellers house to the castros. They tore through the car so fast that i did not get a chance to really get any pictures.

Car came with a new Raybestos clutch disc, resurfaced flywheel, sachs pressure plate (think its a gripforce stage 1 kit) but no throwout bearing. Luckily castros had a new Sachs in stock. They also put in new tranny mounts and new motor mounts. It still had the 316i mounts in place.








The Car came with a new center support bearing but it came with with the wrong driveshaft. It was too short so it was either the original 316 unit or an autotragic. Good news is they had a rebuilt one on the self to toss in along with a new guibo. They also retrofitted a newer style shifter assembly instead of the dinosaur plate that the old cars came with and tossed in an e36 m3 shifter. Feels great. Did not have a chance to get pics though. But its all coming out again to replace the selector rod seal.







Also this car did not come with a muffler or a catalytic converter. Not that it would have stayed on for long but one needs to be there long enough to break in the clutch. Once again castros to the rescue. This is one of the cleanest mufflers i've seen in a long time. Pics do it no justice. Oh and 316i sub-frames don't have an exhaust bracket. And the chassis dos not have the provisions to mount both i hangers either. Hence only one in the photo. But thats all coming out for some reinforced late model stuff.

[einstein57]

Well unfortunately the the engine and engine bay were not degreased before the m20 was put back it so i gave it a quick once over with some degreaser and an electric pressure washer. The engine bay was not well prepped when it was painted the first time so there were a lot of chipped and rusted areas. Pressure washing it took off a lot of paint.



















Lots of sanding and wire brushing






Lots of rust converter and Undercoating





More sanding








You can't tell from the pics cause of the indoor light setting but thats black primer





And some gloss. I'm going to let i cure for a couple weeks before i wet sand and buff a few blems. Not sure if i'm going to cleat coat it. And i plan on applying another couple layers of undercoat to smooth out the appearance. The can i was using was really old and the nozzle spray pattern was awful.

[ethrtyiS]

yayyy. this thing is going to look crazy good when done. the first GE car.

[Vivek]

2nd? I love those euro bumpers.

[MR 325]

So happy to see this happening. If you hadn't of bought it, I was about to!

[2002maniac]

very nice! Good save!

[grippymonkey]

very cool!

[nickflic3]

Car fell in to the right hands; cool project Nigel!

[Simon S]

:up:

[Killacortes]

Car has so much potential This is gonna be as bad ass ride!

[funcrew]

Euro slicktop awesomeness. Is it a California-registered grey-market car?

[einstein57]

Yes sir. Has a C.A.R.B. sticker already on the car. "Officer the turbo was on the car when it was Ref'd back in 1986."

[petrolhead]

What you're doing with the "rust converter" is you're basically covering it up. The corrosion underneath will continue, trust me..
And of course the paint wont stick.
Replacing the battery tray isn't as difficult as one might imagine (I managed to do that on my project shell so it can't be rocket science :P )

BTW I have one that looks a bit like your car. :)

[T3rd Ferguson]

i wanted to buy this car so bad but it was just on the wrong coast. can't wait to see what you do with it! reminds me of my old euro 325i (minus the mt1!)