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1997 BMW 318iS Track CarBenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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May 25, 2012 23:12:21 GMT
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I didn't mean to get this car, it just sort of... happened.  I got a desparate phonecall from my brother-in-law saying that their car had overheated and they were stuck without any breakdown cover. Being the helpful chap that I am, I went to the rescue with as much water as I could carry and a few tools. To cut a long story short, I got the car to safety and it was decided that seeing how the car was rough as a badgers ar$e, had very short tax and test, and was now rather broken, it wasn't worth him bothering with and I should have the problem car instead. It's a BMW 318iS with the M44 1.9 engine, manual 'box, 112k miles, dog rough and not a sniff of service history. Perfect for what I want it for... Now then, I had bought a Mercedes W202 with a broken auto gearbox with a view to converting it to manual and using it as a track car. It was to be a cheap, quick project. However, numerous obstacles with unexpected late-model electronics has meant that a simple trans swap has turned into a potentially costly, long-winded task. Faced with that, I found myself wishing I'd got an e36 instead. I should be careful what I wish for... The other day I had a little time to investigate...  ^ That'll be split, then... I ordered a new header tank from Euro Car Parts and fitted it.  ^ It was a bit of a pain to fit, but with some persuasion it went on. I've refitted it to the car, but not tested it yet as I ran out of time - I'll do that tomorrow. The main concern is that the split header tank was caused by the overheating, rather than causing it itself. I'll have to see - other suspects are the water pump and viscous fan coupling. I'll do a compression test on it too. Plans are the same as the W202's original "brief": strip it and track it, and do it all on the cheap. I'll throw some paint at it (with a roller... the bodywork is dented and scratched to hell), lower it and do other mods as I go along. I have some bucket seats, and other go-faster bits that were destined for the Merc, so they'll go on at some point too. |
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Last Edit: May 25, 2012 23:15:07 GMT by BenzBoy
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May 25, 2012 23:21:42 GMT
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looks interesting buddy. bookmarked...... just a quicky, not to be doom and gloom but most bmws ive worked on with overheating issues always end up with head gasket change after the 'leak' is repaired...... good luck!
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10mpg
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,253
Club RR Member Number: 204
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1997 BMW 318iS Track Car10mpg
@10mpg
Club Retro Rides Member 204
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These cars are awesome, great engine, Mtech suspension from the factory, and parts are so common they are cheap as chips...
Loved mine would have another any day, MUCH better idea for a track car, not as original I know but sadly there's a reason for that...
The engines are tough as old boots, timing chains can rattle at high miles, i would have suspected it'll be OK possibly at worst a head gasket but even they aren't too bad to do, there's tons of room round the engine...
Mine was well looked after but was still going strong as anything at 320k...
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The Internet, like all tools, if used improperly, can make a complete bo**cks of even the simplest jobs...
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rysz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,554
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Great news Dude,
It's funny how these things kind of just 'happen' when they do!
IIRC, coilovers are dirt cheap for these and wheels are not terribly expensive either depending on what you want!
Following this with interest!
Rysz.
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micrat
South East
Building a Kanjo styled Cinquecento :)
Posts: 1,176 
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miss my iS  such well balanced little cars, may lack the outright grunt of a 325/328 but i found it a better overall package in the real world, plus they seem a bit stronger, they can potentially do a head gasket but at least its just the gasket, on a 6 pot you need a new head as a rule!!! heres mine in its prime, found it on ebay the other week, crashed and being broken for parts    yours doesnt look that bad in the pics, i mean, its no minter, but the rear arches look solid, and they are normally the first thing to keel over and die... |
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1997 BMW 318iS Track CarHARDCORE
@hardcore
Club Retro Rides Member 190
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Bah I'm saddened that the Benz Track Mafia is a man down - but to be fair, this looks like an all together better proposition! ;D I look forward to seeing this develop  PS got any cool Benz shiz that might take my fancy?  |
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1997 BMW 318iS Track CarRobinxr4i
@robinxr4i
Club Retro Rides Member 143
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Excellent stuff, got quite a fondness for E36's now. As Rysz said eBay coilovers can be picked up very cheaply around £200 brand new delivered, okay it's not Bilstein or Ohlins but for the money you pay you can't go wrong! It makes the car much lower and stiffer. Also worth getting the eccentric lower arm rear poly bush, gives a bit more caster apparently the M3's had them as standard.
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Sierra - here we go again! He has an illness, it's not his fault.
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sphinx
Part of things
Posts: 219
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Looks like it'll be an interesting project.
The header tanks are known to warp over time so it might not be due to overheating. The seals on mine went, so I replaced them, then they started weaping...turned out it was warped/fatigued too much to form a seal. Ended up replacing the whole rad.
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tigran
Club Retro Rides Member
In rust we trust. Amen.
Posts: 6,444
Club RR Member Number: 142
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1997 BMW 318iS Track Cartigran
@tigran
Club Retro Rides Member 142
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May 26, 2012 11:27:48 GMT
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Excellent, welcome to BMW awesomness. As previously stated coilovers are ridiculously cheap for e36's and e46 3 series. Get onto driftworks, there are shed loads of E36's being broken on there with cheap used go faster stuff.
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1964 Rover P5 i6
1987 BMW 525e - The Rusty Streak
1992 Micra K10
2001 BMW E46 316i
2002 BMW E46 330Ci
2013 BMW F31 320d
2018 BMW G31 530d
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1997 BMW 318iS Track CarBenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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May 26, 2012 12:18:51 GMT
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Glad it's got RR's approval! ;D I would have liked to have done the Merc, and I would have been able to if it was an early car rather than a late one! Never mind - win some lose some eh?!
The e36 is a much more suitable, if more common, track car I agree. And cheap part is definitely a bonus!
Andy - I've got some W202-specific bits like new Koni lowering springs, a 28mm ARB from the Brabus (in fact, the whole front and rear suspension assembles)... can't think what else. It would be a shame to weigh in the 28k mile 2.3 M111 engine so I'll probably stick that to one side. The (completely rust-free) shell will be weighed in along with the extra doors, panels and cat, unless anyone wants anything before it goes.
The photo really flatters it - there are rusty scabs everywhere (although no rot luckily), dents all over the place, someone has keyed the bodywork and it's been badly sprayed over with an aerosol. Oh, and some retard has tried to break into the car using a screwdriver at the top of the (frameless) window.
It would take a lot of work to make this a decent road car, and it was destined for the scrapyard once the tax ran out in a month, so I'm giving it a second chance of sorts...
Today I refilled the cooling system and bled it. I'm just hoping that this has solved the problem! If it has done the head gasket then at least it'll be a straight(ish) forward fix. If the head hasn't cracked.
I'll try not to think about all that...
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Last Edit: May 26, 2012 12:24:07 GMT by BenzBoy
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May 26, 2012 12:35:39 GMT
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Can't wait till i get my ti ready for the track |
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"No............I think I'll stick with the Maxi"
Arther Daley
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,195
Club RR Member Number: 170
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1997 BMW 318iS Track CarChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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May 26, 2012 13:31:05 GMT
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Lovely engines they are. Not too long ago (when I was buying my 106 GTi) I almost bought the E30 version of this car . A better proposition indeed is this motor to the Benz. It shouldn't take as much hopefully to get the result you want either, especially having a balanced chassis in the mix . |
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glen62
Part of things
Posts: 100
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May 26, 2012 21:17:54 GMT
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Good work this seems a better proposition than the Merc. Is the Merc definitely going to the scrap yard in the sky? I suppose it would take too much work /hassle to put it back on the street, make a good tow car though........ |
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1997 BMW 318iS Track CarBenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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Unfortunately yes, the Merc is getting weighed. If it had been an early one, the tranny swap would have gone ahead and all would have been well. But it wasn't to be. Plus, I don't really have space for 5 cars. ;D After fitting the new header tank, I refilled the cooling system with water (didn't want to waste good coolant if it pee'd it all out again!), and bled the system. Bleeding took some time, but it gave me chance to get the engine nice and hot and see what happened. It all seemed fine and the needle never went beyond half-way. With that done I figured I'd chance the 40 mile drive to the workshop - what's the worst that could happen?! I took quiet back-roads, packed a gallon or two of water, left the heater on hot just in case, and kept an eye on the temp gauge. All was well and the car actually drives better than it looks! The ABS randomly kicks in at low speeds but apart from that, it was fine. Oh, and this happened:  So now it's back at base camp I can get on with stripping it. |
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,901
Club RR Member Number: 71
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1997 BMW 318iS Track Carbstardchild
@bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member 71
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Merc  BMW ;D  Good luck with this one - if you have half the fun I've had with my track car you'll have a bunch of memories that you'll hopefully never forget Door card - Self dissassembly  Still if the rest of the car lightens as easily you'll be laughing One thing from memory get yourself a piece of 3-4mm ally plate about 10 inches by 6 inches for a heel rest infront of the pedal area, you'll see what I mean when you get there and thank me the first time you do a track day |
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rob0r
East of England
Posts: 2,743
Club RR Member Number: 104
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1997 BMW 318iS Track Carrob0r
@rob0r
Club Retro Rides Member 104
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My old silver 318is (E30) was an unbelievable track car, unbreakable and it was given untold amounts of abuse. I should NEVER had sold it... If the guy who had it after me hadn't of smashed it up I'm sure it would be tracking for years to come. Ha, I remember giving you a lift back to your house in it after a Notts meet one time actually.
A very very good move in my eyes, the only thing that concerns me is how overheated it is. BMW engines (especially M20s) sometimes prefer to crack the head rather than blow the gasket. Check the turbulence of the water in the expansion tank and if the exhaust is blowing steam. The red E28 I overheated after RRG'09 was gushing out like a volcano. I have rescued a BMW engine recently using K-Seal, which at £12 a bottle is cheaper and easier than doing anything else if something is broken. I had my doubts about the longevity of K-Seal but I gave the engine enough abuse afterwards and all was ok.
I recently picked up a ropey looking '97 170K E36 328i touring as a daily/skip, the thing drives like it's brand new. If I hadn't got about three other track projects I would be coilovering it and getting some sort of locked diff in there.
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E30 320i 3.5 - E23 730 - E3 3.0si - E21 316 M42 - E32 750i
ETC
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1997 BMW 318iS Track CarBenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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Ian - thanks for the tip on the foot rest! And part of the reason I've been wanting to get a track car is watching you hurl your car around various tracks and having a blast!
Rob - I remember going in your e30! I was worried about possible head cracking, but I'm thinking that if it's done 40 miles and stayed cool it might be OK. However, I didn't check the water level once I'd got there.
When I was bleeding the system, there was all sorts going on in the header tank - water level would drastically drop and bubble but I figured that was air escaping. Also once I picked the revs up the water would gush into the header tank, but I assumed that was just the water pump shifting the water around.
I suppose looking at all ^^that^^ there could be problems, but I wasn't too worried at the time as the system was full of air.
I'll investigate further next time I'm there - I got the car silly cheap so if I need to do some more work to get it right then so be it.
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bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,901
Club RR Member Number: 71
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1997 BMW 318iS Track Carbstardchild
@bstardchild
Club Retro Rides Member 71
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Ian - thanks for the tip on the foot rest! And part of the reason I've been wanting to get a track car is watching you hurl your car around various tracks and having a blast! A friend has a 328i coupe as a track car and he asked me to drive it at a track day - bloody thing was fantastic and a total hoot but everytime I tried to heel and toe on downshifts my heel slipped into the gulley in the footwell where the loom ran - spoiled the driving experience for me and I nearly binned it once as a result - he didn't find it an issue at all but for me it really made driving hard work Next time I saw him I gave him a piece of alu chequer plate and said bolt or glue that to the floor . He did and the next time I drove it I was so much happier - he was too........ |
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10mpg
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,253
Club RR Member Number: 204
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1997 BMW 318iS Track Car10mpg
@10mpg
Club Retro Rides Member 204
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If it's grey i am after a glovebox assembly complete as mine in my wife's 328i is bust, they are a PITA to remove in one piece but if you manage it let me know!
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The Internet, like all tools, if used improperly, can make a complete bo**cks of even the simplest jobs...
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1997 BMW 318iS Track CarBenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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If it's grey I am after a glovebox assembly complete as mine in my wife's 328i is bust, they are a PITA to remove in one piece but if you manage it let me know! It's a grey interior yes - I'll have a go at removing it without breaking anything! ;D |
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such well balanced little cars, may lack the outright grunt of a 325/328 but i found it a better overall package in the real world, plus they seem a bit stronger, they can potentially do a head gasket but at least its just the gasket, on a 6 pot you need a new head as a rule!!!
