My 328 Progress Thread

[jimmybacon]

Hey folks,

I like E36's so I bought another one. Previously I had a silver 318is, some of you may remember it, some may not.
http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...t=19526&page=2
^^scroll to the bottom^^.

The 318 is sold and I now have a 328 to play with. Ive had it for a while now, just never got round to putting a build thread up. Its got a full black leather sport interior with black headlining which is nice and is barely run in at a mere 160,000 miles.

Body work is by no means clean, but fuck it - its fun to drive.

The plan is to build something that I think looks cool, but also something that I dont mind driving hard.

I dont have any pics from when I bought it, but it looked much like this



So Day1 I drove it home, Day2 coilovers and Style 32s went on



Next up was to change the leaky valve cover gasket





Got that sorted and then just enjoyed the car for a while. Huge difference in power compared to my old 318.
Then I spotted a set of Zender wheels on Gumtree about 30 mins drive from me. Wasted no time in scooping them up.

Test fit time





Cleaned them up a wee bit but they still need some re-furb to look there best



Next up, new brakes. Old ones were poo.

Out with the old...


...in with the new




Then went up to Driftland in Fife for the grand opening and ran into Scott, who kindly snapped some pics.





Scott has the pics from Driftland, didnt want to post them without asking him first.


Zenders came off for winter..



Then I did some skids



But an open diff and soft ass suspension did not make for easy drifting.
So I swapped in some KYB Merc C-class shocks that were about 5cms shorter than the shocks that came with my coils and also they're a good bit stiffer.



Also much less Droop...



After this I got the diff welded and since then Ive spent the last month or so skidding about in the rain.

Then we come to todays job. The front suspension was chappin' like fuck, so new arms and ARB links got fitted.

Hub off, outer ball joint out.



Arm off







The old ball joints were totally shot. So, I installed all the new parts and now shes back to sitting like this



Next on the list is an M50 inlet manifold and a mapped ECU.
Then camber adjustable top mounts.

Cant wait til we get some better weather and I can get my Zenders back on. This is the first time Ive ever done "winter mode" with any of my cars and it sucks.

Hopefully more stance related updates soon.

[Minuki]

Looking good Chris! Fire on with the pics, I don't mind

How does it drive with the welded diff?

[jimmybacon]

Cheers Scott!

Its a good laugh to drive with the welded diff. It understeers a wee bit in the wet if you go too quick in a corner, but you just floor it and it solves that problem.
Also skips about at slow speeds but you get used to it, worth it cos its so much easier to drift now.

[jimmybacon]

Some more pics from Driftland, taken by Scott (Minuki on S/W)




































Thanks again for the photos Scott!

[Minuki]

No worries man. Diff sounds fun! Looking forward to seeing it again this year

[jimmybacon]

Little update.

My plan for this weekend was to lower the car back down and get the Zenders back on, but this didnt work out. The coilovers are seized totally solid. So I've bought another set, which I will fit over the next few weeks.

Recently I also got some M3 sunflowers to use as winter wheels.



Also fitted my M50 manifold and a mapped ECU - which means I can now rev to 7200rpm.
Made up my own induction kit as well. Still need to make a heat shield for it tho.








Then I encountered a few problems.
The car seems to loose coolant from somewhere. Probably the radiator as it always looks a bit moist at the bottom of the expansion tank bit. The viscous fan coupling is fucked. The fan itself is also missing a blade.
So I reckon I need a new rad, fan and fan coupling.

But at the moment this is the least of my worries.


Something is broke...








Yep, snapped the output shaft at the inner c/v joint. FUCK!
Was out driving on Saturday night, clutch kicked in 2nd gear coming off a roundabout and BANG - shaft snapped. I guess after 160,000 miles the shaft are a bit weak and I was driving like a dick
Managed to drive home 1 wheel drive as the diff is welded so could still get power to one wheel.

So over the next few weeks I need to fix the drive shaft, fix the cooling system, fit new coilovers and make a heat shield. Fun times.

[Evil Panda]

Go back to the Zender's please.

[SliPsY]

I really enjoyed reading this but sucks for the shaft:/

[Minuki]

Fuck man, this is getting good! 7200rpm sounds like a laugh

[jimmybacon]

Go back to the Zender's please.

Definitely will, Im dying to get them back on, I just need to fix the rest of the car first.

I really enjoyed reading this but sucks for the shaft:/

Thanks man, will get it sorted soon.

Fuck man, this is getting good! 7200rpm sounds like a laugh

Yeah its fun, the rev needle goes off the end of the scale. Sounds epic as well.
Just hope this shaft snapping isn't going to be a regular occurrence.

[jimmybacon]

Long over due update!

I fixed my snapped driveshaft by fitting a brand new driveshaft from Euro Car Parts, drove 50 miles and that shit snapped again.



Took it back and complained and got my money back.
I then did some more research and found that 325 shafts are apperently stronger.
So I jumped on ebay and picked these up. 2 x 325i shafts.



Got a spare just incase.

Then it was time for some new shitey coilovers to replace my old really really shite ones and some high quality ebay camber top mounts





It was about this time that I decided a daily would be a good idea. So I got myself a Jag.



Supercharged V8



Was a good laugh, but so bad on fuel
Had it for a few months then sold it for more than I paid for it.
Had to make room for the new daily.
1993 BMW 518i with only 65k miles A very rare find in Scotland where the roads are salted in winter and cars are lucky to make it to 15 years old never mind 21!



So having a daily meant I could concentrate more on drifty things.
Firstly I started by doing a crash, which smashed a rear wheel and bent the lower arm. So adjustable arms went on, no pics of this tho cos it was a real pain and I just wanted it done.





Got it all fixed and did some skids (first time driving at Driftland)



Did another crash





It happened right at the end of the day but thankfully nothing major broke, so I just cabled tied it all back on and drove home.



Whoops
Cleaned the dirt off to see what I was left with



DIY wheel alignment



The prop centre support bearing died when I was a Driftland, so I changed that. What a shit job to do on your driveway in the rain.
I only took one pic of the old bearing cos I just cracked on with the job and got it fixed.



Old bearing was totally pumped. Fired a new prop donut on as well.

Stripped it for more race car feels



Painted my bumper and headed back to Driftland.



Was a great day, felt like I learned a lot and I even managed to kill some tyres.





Spotted my old 318is too



Snapped another driveshaft



Put my spare in, so hopefully no more snappages.

Recently I've fitted some 15mm spacers up front and maxed out the camber to get it looking a bit wider. Also fired a Recaro seat in and a deep dish steering wheel.
I'll get some pics up tomorrow cos its dark now.
But i'll leave you with a bonus pic of when the car looked semi decent



Next plans are to just tidy things up a wee bit. Just cos its a drifter doesn't mean it has to look shit.
Then more drifting

[Honeyman328]

Looks like you have been busy breaking things then fixing them. I like your e34. I too have an e36 touring and a 96 e34 520 individual. 2 very different beasts

[jimmybacon]

Looks like you have been busy breaking things then fixing them. I like your e34. I too have an e36 touring and a 96 e34 520 individual. 2 very different beasts

Yeah, I had a look at your build thread - very cool car. I'm sure I've seen it in the flesh before, I think I may have sold you some seats at some point.

[jimmybacon]

Recaro seat bolted in and deep dish wheel for mad skids











Looks rough as a badgers arse just now, but after a good wash and all the missing trim clipped back on it should be fine.
Hopefully heading back up to Driftland on the 11th October for more skids

[Honeyman328]

Yeah, I had a look at your build thread - very cool car. I'm sure I've seen it in the flesh before, I think I may have sold you some seats at some point.

Yes don't live far from you. And you are correct, the seats in my touring were purchased from you

Gave the touring a full respray so looks a bit different now.

Amazing what a wash and trim replaced can do