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E36's in PA can be a hit or miss. Typical Craigslist ads are written terribly and the cars themselves usually aren't worth the asking price. I'm not new to e36s at all. I've had somewhere in the 40+ range in the last 5 years.
After selling my project e39 540i6, I needed something to drive back and forth to work again. I stumbled upon a 95 318ti on Craigslist and decided it was worth my while. It took a few days to get in touch with the seller and get everything set up, but finally agreed to a time to come check the car out.
I typically trailer anything I buy, regardless if it needs to be or not. Since the ti was only an hour from me, I decided against trailering it. I arrived, took it on a quick drive and paid their asking price.
The details of the car are as follows:
1995 BMW 318ti
1-owner with documented maintenance record since new
Hellrot paint with the exterior being a 9/10
Slicktop
Manual
8/10 interior
The previous owners took excellent care of the car including keeping in the garage for most of its life. I'm typically not a fan of stickers on paint, but this one on the hatch I'm completely okay with. I'm hoping I can successfully transplant it next to the license place without damaging it.
The first thing to go was the US front license plate trim. I removed it and installed a Euro trim piece along with a UK plate I picked up from Orchid Euros.
I hadn't planned to do much to the car but clean it up, do some general maintenance and drive it. I picked up a pair of Hellrot sideskirts and started gathering some general maintenance items (oil, filter, valve cover gasket, etc).
Then a set ACS Type 2's popped up for sale locally at a price I couldn't refuse.
After buying these, I decided to make the car as close to 100% as I could get it.
ACS Type 2's
17x8 et38 215/45r17
Since the Type 2's weren't going to have an aggressive fitment, I decided against throwing the Racelands I had laying around on the car. I ended up trading the Racelands for H&R struts, H&R Sport Springs, and Bilstein rear shocks.
I swapped the suspension, tossed the wheels on and went for a drive.
The wheels needed balanced badly and 2 of the tires needed replaced so I swapped the steelies back on and put on the sideskirts.
I ended up buying a set of Breyton Inspirations (17x8.5/9.5) to rob 2 tires from and then later use on my 325i.
Driving the car for a few days I noticed a few things:
The headliner needs redone
The clock spring squeaks and is terribly annoying
The top hats on the struts I swapped on need replaced
Mechanically the car only has a few items that need addressed:
Oil leak from the valve cover and OFH (ive ordered gaskets/O-rings to fix)
Slight clunk in the rear when up/down shifting (after checking it out, I found the only thing it could be is the diff bushing)
Muffler is rusted out on the back and needs replaced
To address the above items, I started ordering/buying some parts:
Valve Cover Gasket
Oil Cap
Spark Plugs
OFH Gasket
OFH O-ring
Coolant Temp Sensor
Powerflex diff bushing
Diff Cover Gasket
I picked up a 4-spoke M3 steering wheel and a Remus catback to replace the rusty muffler.
As of now I am waiting on some misc. parts to come into the dealer and then I'm ready to dive back into this thing.
After selling my project e39 540i6, I needed something to drive back and forth to work again. I stumbled upon a 95 318ti on Craigslist and decided it was worth my while. It took a few days to get in touch with the seller and get everything set up, but finally agreed to a time to come check the car out.
I typically trailer anything I buy, regardless if it needs to be or not. Since the ti was only an hour from me, I decided against trailering it. I arrived, took it on a quick drive and paid their asking price.
The details of the car are as follows:
1995 BMW 318ti
1-owner with documented maintenance record since new
Hellrot paint with the exterior being a 9/10
Slicktop
Manual
8/10 interior
The previous owners took excellent care of the car including keeping in the garage for most of its life. I'm typically not a fan of stickers on paint, but this one on the hatch I'm completely okay with. I'm hoping I can successfully transplant it next to the license place without damaging it.
The first thing to go was the US front license plate trim. I removed it and installed a Euro trim piece along with a UK plate I picked up from Orchid Euros.
I hadn't planned to do much to the car but clean it up, do some general maintenance and drive it. I picked up a pair of Hellrot sideskirts and started gathering some general maintenance items (oil, filter, valve cover gasket, etc).
Then a set ACS Type 2's popped up for sale locally at a price I couldn't refuse.
After buying these, I decided to make the car as close to 100% as I could get it.
ACS Type 2's
17x8 et38 215/45r17
Since the Type 2's weren't going to have an aggressive fitment, I decided against throwing the Racelands I had laying around on the car. I ended up trading the Racelands for H&R struts, H&R Sport Springs, and Bilstein rear shocks.
I swapped the suspension, tossed the wheels on and went for a drive.
The wheels needed balanced badly and 2 of the tires needed replaced so I swapped the steelies back on and put on the sideskirts.
I ended up buying a set of Breyton Inspirations (17x8.5/9.5) to rob 2 tires from and then later use on my 325i.
Driving the car for a few days I noticed a few things:
The headliner needs redone
The clock spring squeaks and is terribly annoying
The top hats on the struts I swapped on need replaced
Mechanically the car only has a few items that need addressed:
Oil leak from the valve cover and OFH (ive ordered gaskets/O-rings to fix)
Slight clunk in the rear when up/down shifting (after checking it out, I found the only thing it could be is the diff bushing)
Muffler is rusted out on the back and needs replaced
To address the above items, I started ordering/buying some parts:
Valve Cover Gasket
Oil Cap
Spark Plugs
OFH Gasket
OFH O-ring
Coolant Temp Sensor
Powerflex diff bushing
Diff Cover Gasket
I picked up a 4-spoke M3 steering wheel and a Remus catback to replace the rusty muffler.
As of now I am waiting on some misc. parts to come into the dealer and then I'm ready to dive back into this thing.
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