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The 318is

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  • The 318is

    Figure I'll make a build thread for this here since most of the mods are going to be stance related.

    I bought this thing in July of 08 with a blown headgasket for $500. It sat on the side of my garage for a year while I did other things to other cars.

    poor guy


    I (actually my friend Mike, lol) blew up my other car this June and decided to get this thing going for the time being while I built up a new engine for the other car. It turned out to be a cracked head instead of a blown head gasket, so I bought another m42 that had a blown bottom end and swapped the head. I had just bought new springs for the other car before it blew up, so I threw them on this for the time being. They sat ok, but I still wanted it lower.



    I was limited with shock travel though, so I bought some bilstiens from a 325IX to try out. I was going to shorten the housings and lower the spring perch, but right about the same time my friend offered me a straight-up trade for his ground controls. Of course I couldn't pass that up so I traded him the springs and sold him my normal length Bilstien sports. Running stock shocks up front atm lol. He let me borrow his wheels for a few days too.



    I still want to go lower though, but stock travel and oil pan height are still limiting me. The shocks have 1/4" of travel right now, lol.

    I've been collecting parts to lower the front more- I'm just waiting on the new upper spring perches from GC to come in the mail. I also got some offset control arm bushings so the tire has a little more room to turn.

    The oil pan is going to be my next hurdle though, as I plan on lowering the front another inch and I have 1.5" of oil pan clearance right now. I'm going to raise the engine and transmission about a half inch, and I have a skid plate from a Mercedes ML320 that I'm going to try to make work. I'm hoping to get everything installed next weekend, then it's on to body repairs.

    I'll post more updates when they happen.

  • #2
    Looks soo clean.
    Allen
    flickr / Twitter/Instagram

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    • #3
      lol travel.


      looks good as always though man

      Flickr

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      • #4
        Thanks, I wish it looked as clean in person as my crappy pictures make it look, lol.



        Some other non-stance related things I have done.

        Swapped the trunklid with a 318i right away to get rid of the spoiler, put half of the chrome 325i window trim on and wired up the projectors that came in the trunk.

        I'm going for a red and black theme, so I got a set of perfect crimson carpet and door pulls for the interior. I stitched up a leather shift boot with red stitching, but I think I want to redo it with red leather and black stitching.

        I've had one rear turn painted red since I got it running. I've been trying to decide if I want to make them both red or leave the amber, but I decided and got around to doing the drivers side today, lol. I also got some red pinstriping that I want to try on once I wash the thing.

        And I have pictures of none of this, lol.

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        • #5
          Looks clean for a E30 red and black thats my favorite 2 tone colour as well, look forward to the next updates
          Last edited by slimadi; 10-13-2009, 05:25 AM.
          Live,Breathe,Build,Believe,BMW!

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Byron View Post
            put half of the chrome 325i window trim on
            This seems like reverse progress.

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            • #7
              Contrast is your friend

              Plus it goes so well with polished lips

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              • #8
                lookin good

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                • #9
                  Upper perches arrived today

                  Lower tomorrow hopefully, plus I may be doing the rest of the chrome.


                  Anyone got a spare pan? That things not going to be happy around here lol.

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                  • #10
                    I'd say it's probably worth having a custom skid made up if the pan is really that low.

                    Can't wait to see final results though.

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                    • #11
                      Well I lowered it today... kind of.

                      I cut the housings down an inch and lowered the collars a 1/4" from where they were, but the shocks being not blown actually raised the car lol. I need to spin them down the rest of the way, but its pouring out

                      It rides so much better though not being on bumpstops all the time, lol

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                      • #12
                        nice love the e30's

                        Jacques Cousteau could never get this low

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                        • #13
                          Well it's down all the way now and I'm at the exact height I was before

                          It's just sitting on the bumpstops. I'm really tempted to go all out and cut the housings another 2 inches, but then the point of this car as a winter DD would be non-existent.



                          decisions decisions

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                          • #14
                            you could use it as a snow plow

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                            • #15
                              love this thing

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