JackBenny's 1991 318is Project

[jackbenny]

I have a solution for that rear valence...


*ahem*mtech2kit*ahem*


Awesome work,
Julien

Heh, I just saw this today for some reason. I should pay more attention to my thread! I did consider the mtech2 kit but I honestly prefer the look of the stock 318is. That's not to say I think the tech2 kit is ugly, I have seen many good looking cars with it. It's just not me.

Once the texture gets applied back there and the bumper is in place, I think it will look pretty good....I hope. :)

Thanks for the compliment. ;)

[Massimo]

On a side note, the Missus has been getting into this BMW stuff so we looked at getting her a project of her own:



Finally got that orange 320. One of the most painful car purchases I've ever made. Total flake of a seller. Luckily it's in the hands of an enthusiast. We will rebuild and swap the M42 into this beast. So far HER plans are to tuck the bumpers, fix the brakes and try on the basketweaves to see how they look.

Has the IS interior...



And a 100 screaming , angry horses on a good day.



It's not the greatest repaint but it will do and she wanted an orange car. I've convinced her to lower it as well so this should be a fairly economical build. So far I've removed the hacked in alarm system, fixed the tail lights and the turn signals. Only thing not working is the reverse lights. I'll trouble shoot that this weekend. Poor truck will have to go outside I'm afraid.

That's it for now. I might maintain an E21 build thread here if there's any interest.

Nice used to have a 318i my self I resprayed it alipne white II thought the rest of the car was no where near as good a shape as that. Just so you know swapping an M42 in to the E21 is apparently a big job, If it was me i would get rid of the fuel injection and go and get some nice side draft webbers. Then get rid of most of the hose's. Would make for a lot easier job and parts are cheaper on the M10 then the M42. When i find a pic of my old car ill post it up.

Anyways loving the thread just about everything you do is what i want to do to my car especially the wheels.

Thanks for the insperation.

[TrentW]

I was hoping you'd get that 320. The interior looks so clean. My wife had two of them before I met her, totaled the last one. Supposedly it wasn't her fault.

As for the db seller--I totally feel for you, but you were meant to have it. Sorry it was so painful.

[jackbenny]

Nice used to have a 318i my self I resprayed it alipne white II thought the rest of the car was no where near as good a shape as that. Just so you know swapping an M42 in to the E21 is apparently a big job, If it was me i would get rid of the fuel injection and go and get some nice side draft webbers. Then get rid of most of the hose's. Would make for a lot easier job and parts are cheaper on the M10 then the M42. When i find a pic of my old car ill post it up.

Anyways loving the thread just about everything you do is what i want to do to my car especially the wheels.

Thanks for the insperation.

I keep going back and forth on whether i'll stick the M42 in or go carbs with the M10. Cold starts are atrocious right now so either I have a vacuum leak or a grimy WUR. I wanted to troubleshoot it this weekend but my neck was killing me. I might do carbs in the interim before deciding what to do with the engine. I can't say i'm too scared to swap the engine, but I really love that 2cam 4 banger. Time will tell. For now, I just want it running decent and make it safer.

The plus side is that it is registered and plated now.

[s_ribs]

From what I hear, an M42 in a E21 is so much fun that it's worth the hassle! I agree with you on the M42 being a great little motor. It will really shine in a lighter chassis.

[Schnitzer318is]

From what I hear, an M42 in a E21 is so much fun that it's worth the hassle! I agree with you on the M42 being a great little motor. It will really shine in a lighter chassis.

Agreed... then turbo it with 10psi and really wake it up. :)

No, in all seriousness I think the m42 in that car would be alot of fun. I dyno'd 136 at the wheels with my m42 before doing the turbo. Might be worth the hassle as stated.

[s_ribs]

Feel free to shoot me a pm so we don't clutter this thread, but what did you have done to get 136 at the wheels? Those are very strong numbers!

[2002maniac]

Great project :)

[jackbenny]

Virtual Update

Work was accomplished this past weekend on the car but unfortunately, I wasn't able to take part in it. This weekend consisted of me running a car show at work on Friday and doing landscaping the following two days. Would I have preferred to be working on the car? Absolutely, but it just wasn't in the cards.

First off, gratitous shots of the E21.



I managed to clean up the car a bit but it is in dire need of a machine polish. The good news is that I tucked the front bumper which made a huge difference.



I sadly have a power drain in this car that is making my life miserable. Coupled with a cold start issue, it makes the car not so fun until it gets running. Once warm, the thing is a riot to drive. Luckily, one of my coworkers has two sets of mikuni carbs (40 and 45's) and the manifold to go on that m10. I think I'll grab a set for myself and my father so we can have some weber-like goodness.



While I was slaving away digging massive holes in the back yard for trees of various sizes and building a trellis to hide my power meter and trash can, my father and uncle elected to paint the engine bay, trunk and door jams. I was sad to not be there and see the first color applied but my dad was kind enough to take pictures. He sent a few to me via email...



We should all be familiar with this view by now. Everything get masked off in preparation for the paint.





Let's say we get some paint on there, huh?

















Clearly I want to go and check out the car soon. In early November, the wife and I will head down there to prep it for paint and install the engine. The car is scheduled to be painted in early December but currently I will be on a cruise when that happens. Part of me wants to be there for it and part of me just wants the car back. We'll see what I decide to do I guess.

I may update the post with more pictures when I get them.

That's all for now...

[s_ribs]

:up:

[dvs909]

Here's kinda a cool idea for the bumpers if you can get away with it in your state. my buddys old E21. he removed the front bumped and placed fogs in the supports to cover the holes.

[jackbenny]

Here's kinda a cool idea for the bumpers if you can get away with it in your state. my buddys old E21. he removed the front bumped and placed fogs in the supports to cover the holes.

Interesting. I'm not sure my wife will prefer it over euro bumpers but it doesn't hurt to run it by her.

[jackbenny]

The absense of the E30 makes one have crazy thoughts and do crazy things.

The damage done to the rear bumper still needs to be fixed or replaced all together. It's also no secret that the front valance had a few nicks in it too. Many have suggested that an Mtech2 valance and bumper combination would do well to hide those issues. I finally narrowed down what I don't like about the Tech2 kit...the sidepods/cladding. I prefer the existing look. But I looked at the Mtech2 cars again and I think I like the bumpers. Do I have money for them? Probably not if I want to get the engine running this year.

So I searched the forums. I was looking for Mtech2 cars that didn't have the pods installed. Of course Qimi's old car came up and it does look good in pictures. So my thought is, Mtech2 front bumper and valance, Mtech2 rear bumper/valence, is side skirts and the is deck spoiler.

I'm I crazy? Would this look remotely good or should I stop huffing paint?

Did I happen to miss some pictures in my searches?

[318isbmw]

baklie_e30 has something similar w/ just the tech 2 valances front and rear but stock bumpers w/ the green car. Yes I know the car's a completely different style w/ the stretch fenders but looking past that.

[8380 Labs]

baklie_e30 has something similar w/ just the tech 2 valances front and rear but stock bumpers w/ the green car. Yes I know the car's a completely different style w/ the stretch fenders but looking past that.

that green car is all stock plastic bumper stuff other than the lower front valence.

for what it's worth, in my personal opinion if you're going to run the mtech 2 kit you have two options, and they are both pictured above.

the full bumper/valence combo with no side pods looks very odd with the stock skinny side moldings.