E30 318is

[Jeddy 0]

Interesting that there were only two people bidding and it only went for 6k.

I appreciate there arent very many of these left, but has this auction finally shown the true value of these cars?

There are plenty of people saying they are worth alot more, but that doesnt appear to be the case does it?

The guy who was selling said that there were 65 bidders/watchers. Alot of which i imagine were from here. I wonder if it was in for sale in Aucks if it would have sold for more/less being a bigger market cause would cost a few hundy more for transport/flights. Edited August 28, 2008 by jeddy

[bmw.maniac 1]

Will do so this weekend weather pending. Anyone got any good tips for getting the red to look great? Its slightly faded in parts and will get it resprayed at some point but not yet.

Autoglym Paint Renovator is GOD if you can find any, and a decent power buffer.

I have an incredible dvd of this Pommy groomer attacking the most faded red BMW you have ever seen. The results are magnificant.

[Palazzo 478]

Any half decent polish/restorer should do the job. My convertible bonnet (zinnoberrot red) was completely faded to a nice shade of pink. Couldn't change it by hand.

I used Shell (yes, really) Polish Restorer the first time around, with a power buffer and it transformed the car. I have subsequently used Meguiars Fine Cut over the whole car and it brings out a brilliant red shine.

Good luck, looks like a nice car.

[Apex 693]

Sounds good. I would clean it first, as in Paint cleaner or a clay bar, then polish it with some decent polish then start applying wax, one coat every wash will soon build up a good defence. These cars don’t run a clear coat as far as I know so make sure you keep waxing it to protect her.

Very nice car BTW, I bet its very fun to drive, being a light 4-Cylender I bet the turn in on these things would only be second to the M3!!

[Palazzo 478]

Ooops. Yeah, as Apex said, wax finishes the job. Meguiars Gold class (?) seems to have a nice finish.

[Apex 693]

I use Meguiars gold class because I get it for cheap and it smells great but any Carnauba wax is all good.

When you have the car nice and shiny with no imperfections simply apply the wax by hand (as in get handfuls of it and rub it in) then wait an hour for it to set and then buff it off. It is really easy to do.

The Hard part will be polishing, getting red back to red requires a bit of elbow grease.

[martyyn 2]

The guy who was selling said that there were 65 bidders/watchers. Alot of which i imagine were from here. I wonder if it was in for sale in Aucks if it would have sold for more/less being a bigger market cause would cost a few hundy more for transport/flights.

The number of watchers means nothing, I had over 200 on my ipod but only half a dozen that put a bid in. Same with this, only two of you appeared to be seriously bidding on the car. For something as rare as this I wouldnt have thought a couple of hundred to get it transported would really have been an issue.

I think youve bought a brilliant car so please dont think Im trying to run it down. All Im saying is that here is a car that lots of people have said is worth plenty of money but its actually gone for a perfectly reasonable sum.

There were a couple of people on the auction telling him it was too cheap but with only two people bidding, the market of buyers is obviously a very small one and I think a true market value has been found.

Good luck with the paint restoration, it will look stunning when finished

[kiwi535 538]

The number of watchers means nothing, I had over 200 on my ipod but only half a dozen that put a bid in. Same with this, only two of you appeared to be seriously bidding on the car. For something as rare as this I wouldnt have thought a couple of hundred to get it transported would really have been an issue.

I think youve bought a brilliant car so please dont think Im trying to run it down. All Im saying is that here is a car that lots of people have said is worth plenty of money but its actually gone for a perfectly reasonable sum.

There were a couple of people on the auction telling him it was too cheap but with only two people bidding, the market of buyers is obviously a very small one and I think a true market value has been found.

Good luck with the paint restoration, it will look stunning when finished

true words...

The 540 i was looking at he had heaps of watchers too,in the end i was surpridsed i was the ONLY bidder.In the end only the money talks......

[Jeddy 0]

I wouldn't be expecting an LSD, they were only an option on those cars

According to Realoem it has one but will have to jack it up and check

[kiwi535 538]

According to Realoem it has one but will have to jack it up and check

should have an S on there somewhere...

[Mark 178]

According to Realoem it has one but will have to jack it up and check

It has one. Check the link Tastic posted above.

[Mike 1]

it also has an open diff listed too? link

Theres a reasonable chance it got one from factory being an iS, and if you're lucky it hasn't been swapped out by a previous owner. Just dont be too suprised if there isn't one there. Sweet deal if there is though, will probably be 4.10 small case

It has one. Check the link Tastic posted above.

Gotta be careful with info from US sites, they have quite different specs sometimes. They're pretty bad in that if it was the case for them then the rest of the world must be the same. ie- I've been told I'm full of sh*t for having a 1987 M10 318 (last year for M10 was 85 in the US)

http://www.esatclear.ie/~bpurcell/318ischassis.html

Doesn't really matter anyway, if its got one its one one, jed can tell us when he's done skid. Still a sweet little car.

Edited August 29, 2008 by Mike

[kiwi535 538]

it also has an open diff listed too? link

Theres a reasonable chance it got one from factory being an iS, and if you're lucky it hasn't been swapped out by a previous owner. Just dont be too suprised if there isn't one there. Sweet deal if there is though, will probably be 4.10 small case

Gotta be careful with info from US sites, they have quite different specs sometimes. They're pretty bad in that if it was the case for them then the rest of the world must be the same. ie- I've been told I'm full of sh*t for having a 1987 M10 318 (last year for M10 was 85 in the US)

http://www.esatclear.ie/~bpurcell/318ischassis.html

Doesn't really matter anyway, if its got one its one one, jed can tell us when he's done skid. Still a sweet little car.

real oem is a US site but i beleive the info is legit,if you punch in the vin it should link to the BMW info.

[tire 10]

This may help with cleaning

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.p..._Cleaning_Guide

That E30zone wiki is good.

[Cale 36]

Great buy Jeddy! Congrats.

Now you have to paint that rocker cover RED.

[tire 10]

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/318iS

"The 318iS did NOT come with a limited slip differential as standard but was a small case differential with a 4.10 ratio." - that from E30 zone

[hank_bukowski 0]

It was an option.

[Jeddy 0]

Had a quick look under the car today to check the diff and looks like it might just be standard 4.1, was very hard to tell from tag.

Also gave it a ok clean and i can safely say im an amateur car cleaner/groomer. Need to take a course or something. Looks much better than before but wouldn't call it mint.

I dunno about a red cover but the current ones quite dirty so might clean it up at some stage and give it a paint but will decide on colour at a later date.

Compared to the 320i its sooo much more/better at everything. the 320 feels like a tank.

[e30plz 1]

Had a quick look under the car today to check the diff and looks like it might just be standard 4.1, was very hard to tell from tag.

LSDs are for girls anyway, Real men do the one wheel skids.

Haha, Nice buy anyway, Put up pics when you've got it all pretty.

[Jeddy 0]

Will take a few pics when i've got time and the camera.

Also another question, what is the best manual for the iS/m42? Would it be beneficial to get the e36 bentley manual?

Also other than the August 2007 Total BMW mag do any other issues feature the iS?

Edited September 1, 2008 by jeddy

[isis 16]

e36 bentley will only cover the engine

e30 will cover everything else

[Jeddy 0]

e36 bentley will only cover the engine

e30 will cover everything else

I have the e30 one already but for the engine is the bentley going to be the best one?

[Mark 178]

A PDF copy of the E36 Bentley can be found with a quick Google search. It's good, but don't take it as gospel, it often skips steps and brushes over certain topics.