Ben's e36

[Benwalsh91]

so back in september 2012 i purchased my first BMW off one of my best friends, his parents bought it brand new and garage kept it the entire life of the car.

it was super clean e36 coupe, none sport and only a baby 4 banger engine... but that won't be staying.

My mum had an e36 compact which probably started my love for the platform but there was no chance i was going to get a compact and my friend said this had to go as they only had room for one car at there place and there brand new car was due to be delivered the next day....

so i basically got the car for free. win win.

about 3 days after i got the e36 my mums engine went bang in hers. i already had a different car and the plan was to keep this one off the road and build it as and when i had the time and the money.... so i said that she could use the car whilst she looked for a new one...

almost 4 years later i finally get the car given back.... bodywork still extremely good condition but unfortunately the engine sounds like a bag of nails and all the suspension was well and truly fubar, but that didn't bother me as the engine wasn't going to stay and the suspension sure as hell wasn't going to stay either.

luckily i don't need to drive to work as i work in the centre of london so i get a train in and this just sits waiting for me to work on it as and when i get the time....

[Benwalsh91]

My previous car which some my recognise from my instagram - benwalsh91



I wanted a fresh start on this body shape to do it from ground up and not miss anything.

I am in no rush to get this done but i am really looking forward to getting behind the wheel again of an e36.

[Benwalsh91]

So the plan is to just order parts in stages and build it as and when, i am in no rush i just want it done properly...

gebuine M sport bumpers ordered along with side skirts tracked down and i also got hold of the M sport wider bump strips for the side.



all red rear lights i also got tinted front turn signals but they ended up getting changed a few days ago for clears





i don't plan on touching the interior for a while but a set of LUX seats came up for sale for silly cheap with the extended padded leather door cards. they will not be staying in the pale grey i will be getting them changed but the interior is going to get looked at later down the line...

the standard seats are so just flat and not the greatest for support.



so out them came.




slapped the new seats in i will get to the interior later on but couldn't pass up on the bargain.



so moving back onto exterior i done the headlight trick. being in the UK luckily we have the glass bosch headlights which are easy to separate so out they came and tinted the insides.... think they just have a much better look to them. personal choice.



finished product.

[Benwalsh91]

at this current point in time the front, rear bumpers, skirts and mirrors are currently in for paint, a friend of mine does painting and body repair but has allot on at the moment so i just gave him the bumpers which are easier for him to store, as you can see from the photo above the bonnet has some paint issues which will be getting sorted when he has the room at his he will be getting the car.

i then went on to look at the suspension and i was working out what needed replacing and i thought sod it, may as well just replace it all so contacted my good friend Ben who runs Hack Engineering i put in quite a costly order for the following:

CA Tuned coilovers
CA Tuned rear camber arms
Meyle lower arms
Meyle track rod ends
Powerflex FCABs
Powerflex RTABs
Full braided brake lines

also purchased e46 330 front brake callipers and carriers so along with that purchased EBC brake pads front and dimple/groved discs.

the above list of parts should be here in the coming week so as soon as they arrive i plan to rip all the old out give it a good clean and scrub.

[Mehowski]

Yes man! Glad to see you've made a thread for this build, I'm real keen to see how it pans out for you mate

In contrast to you I'm a big fan of the silver leather interior

[Wilz_vagroots]

Progress is good, look forward to them bits getting here bro

[Benwalsh91]

Picked myself up a new daily.



I have been making a list for bits I need from BMW. Some new trim and replacing all the seals on the car as they are a bit worn and brittle and also a few other bits to just to make sure the basis of the car is all clean and proper before more changes are made.

[cblock406]

Well your last e36 looked pretty great! Can't wait to see this finished.

[foxster]

Lookin' great already. You've owned some pretty sweet cars!

[Amgcdi]

good thread....

[fackinsteve]

Awesome taste man, extremely look forward to the outcome

[Benwalsh91]

Thank you guys!

this car is the car I plan on keeping and not just selling on in a few years so I really plan on doing it all properly and not cutting corners with it so it will be a long build but hopefully soon when the parts start flowing in I should make some good movement on it.

As the car is a 316 I am trying to replace as much as I can. Essentially every suspension component will be getting removed and replaced with new, either an upgrade or a genuine BMW part.

Got hold of some e36 m3 anti roll bars front and back and also ordered some powerflex bushes to go with them.



I will be taking them to get powder coated along with some other parts before they go on the car.

[Mähks]

Great to see something from your cars out of instagram

[imschwaggy]

more!

[Benwalsh91]

So a set of seats came up for sale which I really liked, so I did a buy.

Will be getting rear bench and door cards trimmed to match



The material is similar to the BMW m rain