JackBenny's 1991 318is Project

[jackbenny]

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.

That was one of the things that was stuck in the back of my mind. The side moldings are no longer cohesive with the bumpers now that the black strips are removed.

I need to stay focused. Put the IS lip I have for the car and get the damn thing on the road. The money spent on one bumper could get me tires for the compomotives.

Still open to opinions though. Thanks for posting additional pictures. It does help. ;)

[MR 325]

Do the MTech front and rear, with the indent painted black to make it "look" like bumper trim.

[8380 Labs]

Do the MTech front and rear, with the indent painted black to make it "look" like bumper trim.

ghettttooooooo. :p

[MR 325]

ghettttooooooo. :p

I've actually seen a car with this and liked it. Can't remember who the hell it belonged to though!

[jackbenny]

Do the MTech front and rear, with the indent painted black to make it "look" like bumper trim.

One of the pictures I saw was a photoshop of that. I can't say I was I fan of it, but I appreciate the sentiment. ;)

I went back through all the pictures in the E30 Non M Racers thread looking for some inspiration but most of the cars I like are early cars with Tech1 kits if they even have one at all. It was that one thread poseted in the general discussion forum that linked to a racecar on ebay that had the tech2 kit that got me thinking about all of this.

On the other hand, I've put so much work into the body of the 318 that I would hate to hide it all.

[jackbenny]

So after reading through all 23 pages of the non-m racer thread...again, I found this car which looks to be a tech2 front and rear but no pods. While the color is a tad garish (coming from someone with a bright orange e21 that's gotta hurt) it doesn't look as bad as I thought but I'm still not sure I like it. The wheels are even "similar" to the th monos if you squint. Of course I may be completely wrong about the kit.

If it is an mtech 2 kit, are those skirts just the lower parts of the pods on the sides? I guess realoem calls it a covering (51712239730).

[flipper325es]

Whatever you do, make sure you always close the gas filler door. :)

[318isbmw]

Those look similar to Qimis's side skirts, which if I remember are aftermarket copy's of the lower Tech 2 kit.

[Iain]

Also look like Breyton skirts.

[Mfever]

when are we gna see some tires on those comps???? btw i spoke with martin a twice through email, since then he stopped responding to my emails i dont know why? he asked for my zip code and never emailed me back.

[jackbenny]

when are we gna see some tires on those comps???? btw i spoke with martin a twice through email, since then he stopped responding to my emails i dont know why? he asked for my zip code and never emailed me back.

December at the earliest. There are rumblings at work that I will be going back to Hamburg this year for a while and then another extended tour early next year. That's going to kill progress for a while no doubt. I will try and get tires for Christmas but if I'm not around, I'd hate to make my wife do all the color sanding and polishing. ;)

Doesn't it just kill you though when you recommend someone and then they do stuff like that though. I will say that Martin either didn't get some of my emails or they got buried. Sometimes he would email me back asking the same questions or I would have to do the same. Personally, I would just send him the same email and see what happens.

[Mfever]

He actually just sent me an email, hopefully gna get the ball rolling here.

[jackbenny]

He actually just sent me an email, hopefully gna get the ball rolling here.

and there you go. At least Martin didn't make me look like a complete tool.

Tonight I removed my pins from the X20 connector with my fancy dancy pin extraction tool. Sadly the locking ring was damaged but I guess it really doesn't matter since I'm putting the C101 on the end anyway. Hopefully I won't maul that one.

The harness is going to go slowly I'm afraid since my time will be limited to work on it. Looking at the calendar, with work, vacation and holidays, there's a potential that I will be home a grand total of 3 weeks over the next 6 months. I'm not a fan of that so hopefully my mad tyte negotiation skills will bring that number down. The car's been down with no engine for almost 12 months. I'm foaming at the mouth to get it back on the road and the forces of nature are conspiring against me.

At least Germany has good beer.:)

[SS350]

awesome!

Just went thru this thread a bit! I love how you went straight to the S52 from the 4 banger.

First off great job on all the little details, suspension looks amazing (i'd love to do that someday but for now i plan to drive mine in sleet and salt and snow!!)

Also, I really like the post and beam barn your family has. I got roped into building the one at home during school! (of course now it does keep my cars nice and dry).

Good luck deciding on ground effects, I almost think a full mtech 2 kit would be the best bet (stuck's car looked good) tho I agree with you the Tech 1 with euro bumpers is the nicest!

Some inspiration from Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slinky2000/464948805/sizes/o/

On color, I didn't repaint my car white because I didn't like the contrast of the black moldings running down the side so I went black. Next time who knows, avus blue probably. My neighbor also had an older BMW in inca orange that had me thinking for a while that I would do it to mine.

My gf however likes trucks (what a find in NE)... so her project will be her dads 85 GMC 3/4 ton, lifted with possibly a 5.3L swap (be a good surfboard rig :o). She and I are both mechanical engineers as well... its pretty sweet that you both were able to re-locate at the same time!!!!
She feels the same way about the bikes as your wife does and helped talk me into the S52 swap as an alternate outlet!!!!

keep up the good work.

[SS350]

By the way, the time management is key as you know, and the C101 goes better than you would think. I bought a new harness side plug and assorted pins, and prior to actually sticking the pins in the new plug ran the pins into the female body side receptacles to test everything out. Catch you on your next update. Enjoy Germany, buy the tech 2 kit and a tech 2 steering wheel while you are there, and ship us home some Euro S50B32's!!!