318is Restoration/Economy mode

[E30stan]

After driving my 1989 325i for 5 years or so, i decided i need something a bit more economical. My 325i was refreshed with a short shifter and 4.10LSD and while this was fun, it became a drag of a daily driver. The power steering still needs to be fixed, thats another story.
Here's the beast(notice the awesome wheel setup:)




After scanning local craigslist, i found a 1991 318is nearby selling for 2k, after inspecting the car, the only problems appeared to be the faded paint and tons of neglected filth everywhere.
Here is the condition after a thorough detailing.



Not that bad for $1,300! Continuing, i changed out the oil, plugs, battery, inspected all the hoses and such. I noticed it came with an open 4.10, which surprised me for being an is. I didn't pass inspection, here in jersey, so i poured in some injector cleaner and topped off the tank. I went 300 miles before the fuel light came on, which is better then getting 250 out of the 325i. Didn't pass inspection a second time still so thats when i prepared to replace the catalytic converter. I ordered a cheap magna flow off ebay, it worked before on my 325. I found a practically free 2.93LSD that i decided i would install for maximum fuel economy.


Those pictures are after wire brushing a football sized amount of rust and grime of the pumpkin:) I soaked it in rust remover and will paint in the coming days. I ordered the poly bushing from revshift ($57 shipped) and ordered the output flange seal and o-ring along with the paper gasket for the cover today. Since my 325i diff also leaks i decided to order two sets of seals and gaskets to reseal both while I'm at it.
So, heres the teardown process from all of today in 95 degree weather:0







More rust than i would care to find, but nothing beyond repair. My cousin lives next door and he has a 325 shell on its way to the crusher soon due to structural damage in the rear, which i may hack up to my hearts content.
Since i always enjoy seeing people's work environment, here's what I'm working with.



Tommorrow marks the the wire wheeling process, and cutting of metal which I'm not looking forward to because its going to be another scorcher. Stay tuned for more updates.

[E30stan]

Finished grinding all the rust i could find, then sprayed all the patches with rust protectant then primer.

The passenger rear floor turned out to be mostly surface rust.

Passenger front floor needs plenty of patches welded.

Here's the passenger corner, needs a patch.

Touched up the corner area.

Touched up the spots of surface rust on the valance, then ended up spraying the whole thing gloss black.

The driver rocker panel area was bashed in, probably a curb hit by PO, and under the fuse box was touched up as well.

Driver floor corner,more holes to weld up.

The driver floor needs more patches, joy.

The toughest patch job i predict.

Finally, the surface rust in the rear under the taillight was not too severe.

Now I'm waiting for the differential bushing and seal kit, and the catalytic converter.
Next on the list is to get the sheet metal patches ready for welding, painting the 2.93 diff, removing the small case 4.10, and spraying the carpet and rear shelf black.
The rear seat also leans to the left side, so gotta look into that. That's all for now, stay tuned.

[325ix]

Nice work so far. You are going to hate that 2.93 diff with the 4 cyl. It is going to be slower than molasses around town.

[PootieTang]

seriously, a 2.93 with the m42's relative lack of torque is gonna make things a real bitch. the 4.10 should be fine as long as you're light on the gas

[tehwickerman]

yea, as stated 2.93 will be the suck. 4.10 is fine if you drive economically... i can get around 30 mpg out of mine.

[E30stan]

Nice work so far. You are going to hate that 2.93 diff with the 4 cyl. It is going to be slower than molasses around town.

seriously, a 2.93 with the m42's relative lack of torque is gonna make things a real bitch. the 4.10 should be fine as long as you're light on the gas

yea, as stated 2.93 will be the suck. 4.10 is fine if you drive economically... i can get around 30 mpg out of mine.

I've never seen it done before, besides maybe I'm subconsciously preparing for a s52 or the like:)

[tehwickerman]

I've never seen it done before, besides maybe I'm subconsciously preparing for a s52 or the like:)

then you're subconsciously confused as to why you bought the car in the first place.

[E30stan]

then you're subconsciously confused as to why you bought the car in the first place.

the point is 1300 plus a free diff= economy experiment, I'm well versed in 4.10 economy after peddling around in my 325 for years but decided to go lower to make driving easier, that said I'm looking forward to test my hypothesis.

Anyway, repairing rust is incredibly time consuming but I'm sure that all the effort will repay with peace of mind. I finished prepping all the patches to be welded later this week.


Guess what color the donor shell is:)


I aligned the small case next to the medium case based on mounting points and you can see the axles will come out further towards the rear of the car.

I installed the rear bumper back on along with the valance and lights.

Now I'm waiting for the differential seal kit and bushing before i can install the 2.93. As soon as the catalytic converter is shipped ill have my buddy come over and help with all the welding on the car. In the meanwhile i am planning to spray the interior black after I'm sure the carpet is dry from washing. More updates later this week.

[grippymonkey]

I do 33-34mpg Highway with a 4.27 in my 1991 318is. I would be willing to bet you will be swapping out that 2.93. You will certainly get better gas mileage at some points, but I would be willing to bet you are going to be pressing the pedal down to the floor like crazy just to make the car go. I would rather have the gearing match the power of the car than try to work it one way or the other too much. Btw my Highway MPG actually went up about 2mpg's with the 4.27 over the 4.10 because it took a little effort off the motor trying to stay at a steady speed. Now the gearing matches the revs/power better and the car just cruises along nicely.... not to mention the car is faster whenever I need it!

I'm pretty sure the mid to higher 3.xx diffs are pretty proven on these cars to get nice MPG's. I would just stick to that.

Also a 4.10 mated to a M20 and a M42 are two totally different things. This is just all from what I've learned with messing around with my 318is for over a year now and doing a load of LA to SF and LA to LV trip during that time.

[E30stan]

I do 33-34mpg Highway with a 4.27 in my 1991 318is. I would be willing to bet you will be swapping out that 2.93. You will certainly get better gas mileage at some points, but I would be willing to bet you are going to be pressing the pedal down to the floor like crazy just to make the car go. I would rather have the gearing match the power of the car than try to work it one way or the other too much. Btw my Highway MPG actually went up about 2mpg's with the 4.27 over the 4.10 because it took a little effort off the motor trying to stay at a steady speed. Now the gearing matches the revs/power better and the car just cruises along nicely.... not to mention the car is faster whenever I need it!

I'm pretty sure the mid to higher 3.xx diffs are pretty proven on these cars to get nice MPG's. I would just stick to that.

Also a 4.10 mated to a M20 and a M42 are two totally different things. This is just all from what I've learned with messing around with my 318is for over a year now and doing a load of LA to SF and LA to LV trip during that time.

point taken, time will tell

So spent most of today pressing on a spray can.

Gloss black on the differential.

The fabric spray applied nicely on the shelf and carpet and disguised most stains.

The carpet and rear shelf took 3 cans at about two coats total, looks great for $23.


I got a little carried away and sprayed the grills, kidneys, headlight trims, rear speakers, front kick panels, rear shelf grills, brake ducts, valance trim, and the trunk and wing. I know, i know, it was a big improvement over the faded clear from before:)
More updates later this week when i get into the welding phase.

[Brilliantrot 318is]

Impressive work on the carpet, I will have to do that with mine also. I feel bad for you guys on the east, your guy's cars are so vurneable to cancer. Keep up the good work

[E30stan]

I decided to rattle can the faded hood while i was spraying parts.

Heres the outcome, better then before and will do before a proper respray.

The differential bushing and seal kit finally came in so started dissasembly.

Can you notice the newer flange seal design the dealership uses now?

The rev shift bushing looks great and should last long, installation was easy too not even requiring the lube provided.

Started taking apart the small case for fun.

Hopefully tomorrow my buddy danny can help me out with all the welding, heres the catalytic converter that came in too.

Thats it for now, I'm contemplating which steering rack to buy because i figure better to take care of that now before my semester starts. Theres a company in cali that remans e36 racks, but I'm waiting for a reply from them. Until next time.

[CreamBeam]

i feel your pain with all the rust mine looked very similiar when i bought it, but its coming along nice work.

[E30stan]

Finished most of the welding today.





Fenders are mounted, along with the rest of the front. Tommorrow I'll begin installing the carpet and the rest of the interior. Wow, what an adventure it's been eliminating the pesky rust. I really envy the southern and western states for their lack of rusted vehicles!
Didnt have the proper tools to change the catalytic converter, so that will have to wait until the following week. Hopefully the remanufactured rack I ordered will come in before then. More updates on that next.

[E30stan]

Finished installing the carpet yesterday, it turned out better then i expected.

Yea, i know the shifter looks out of place, but function over form.

I started troubleshooting the leaning passenger side seat, but could not figure out yet why the seat leans more on the left side.

Here is a shot of the front, i decided to stay with the original chrome grille.

Now, I'm waiting to reinstall the exhaust system, and my remanufactured e36 steering rack should come in next week. More updates when i actually get some work done.