Another new E36 :)

[nathancraigforsyth 0]

(I thought I had already posted this, but can't find the post so I don't think this will be a duplicate)

Hi fellas,

Went to an auction on Thursday last week to check out a 5 series BMW that turned out to be a dog, the missus saw this one and we sorta just put our hand up and ended up getting it... funny how that happens...

I brought her for $4300; this is a 1998 E36 320i Motorsport (whatever that means, assuming it's just the bodykit and interior). The thing I really like is that there are no badges on the car apart from the bonnet BMW badge and the three ///M badges on the front doors and bootlid.

She has done a lot of k's (187, which is about 112 miles) and has had 2 NZ owners, it is ex Japan (any issues with that?), the engine bay is immaculate; and I don't mean immaculate like "they got in there with a tooth brush, but you can still see little bits of grime where they couldn't reach" I mean "my god, it looks brand new."

I *think* I am going to take out a mechanical warranty for peace of mind, $890 for a new car equivalent warranty for a year covering everything mechanical and electrical bar the loom (but with a maximum $4000 per claim).

There is a cheaper warranty, don't know the price, but the maximum claim is $1k. Not sure what way to go yet as I am sure single repair jobs on these can easily escalate into multiple thousands, they are giving me until Monday to decide.

The car is virtually silent from any sort of noise that would indicate problems and the suspension feels very tight. The paintwork appears to be immaculate (though upon further inspection I imagine that I will find imperfections, it's an old car). Brakes feel good too. The one glaring problem is that the clearcoat on the boot lid is literally peeling off, but as it is such a small panel I guess it would be cheap as chips to get resprayed.

It was pissing down in Wellington on Friday afternoon when I had to pick the car up, and I was just a little spooked about sliding off the motorway or something; quick call to AA had me insured as usual. Funny thing was that I told her I brought it for $4300 and wanted 3rd party, fire and theft which was quoted at ~$247 per year. I then asked for a quote for full insurance and she offered $548 per year which I thought was fair, UNTIL she said that was with an AGREED value of $9000; I said "you know I ony paid $4300 right?" and she assured me that it was based on market value. Pretty stoked with that, some nice peace of mind really

Even though it was an impulse buy, I feel it was a good impulse buy. Hopefully I won't be made to eat my hat in the future.

I also ended up getting a new JVC headunit and it was really painless to install; went to the local Repco and they sell direct plug in head unit loom adaptors. Easy install really.

1, Undo the two retaining bolts

2, Slide out old unit

3, Spend half an hour tryig to get the old loom off the old stereo

4, Realise that the clip just needed some finesse to remove so I hit it

5, Plug loom adaptor 1 into the head unit

6, Plug loom adaptor 2 into the BMW plug

7, Plug loom adaptor 1 and 2 together

8, Turn on Stereo

Spent another 20 minutes trying to find space for the huge amount of plugs and looms that process created XD

This is what I brought for a total of $27 (that isn't the BMW one obviously), if ya's have had trouble manually installing car stereos into anything in the past make sure you check them out. No soldering iron burns here

Also, apologies for the cryptic username as I couldn't think of one; my current automotive passion is a 1995 Mitsu FTO with 2.5 twin turbo V6 (6A13TT) from a '97 Legnum. The Bimmer will be my daily unless I suddenly decide I love it as much and want to do something extreme to it which knowing myself will be the case XD

The purchase of a new daily means that this car is now coming off the road for some much needed TLC and rebuilding. Either going to build it as a racer or a show pony (got best innovative conversion in chch autosalon 06), not sure yet.

Edited May 23, 2010 by e36ttfto

[JFry 1]

Wow nice buy, welcome!

The insurance on these are funny, I think they're a bit behind the times with what they're worth

[JaseNZ 53]

Yeah who knows with insurance company's, When i changed from my e36 that was insured for $9.5k to have the e46 insured for 22k my premium's went down by over $300 per year.

[nathancraigforsyth 0]

Yeah who knows with insurance company's, When i changed from my e36 that was insured for $9.5k to have the e46 insured for 22k my premium's went down by over $300 per year.

Haha, that's whack.

Question; what should be the first things I look into checking/doing to ensure it is in the best condition it can be? It feels like it thumps into 2nd gear when just coasting along or with very minimal throttle on takeoff. When it is a bit more spirited takeoff it is smooth. When I say thump it feels like when you hit 2nd when launching an Evo5. Nothing metallic, just feels like the transmission may need a service. Would blockages cause that?

[JFry 1]

That's most likely the Jatco Jerk. Common for auto Jap imports. Mine has it also, and it's a quite expensive fix. There's more info in this thread:

Thread

I have been living with this by using the winter mode of the transmission, so that it starts off in second gear and skips first altogether. Once it's warm its usually pretty good.

[Cale 36]

Welcome the the forum, nice e36.

[nathancraigforsyth 0]

Thanks Quail, appreciated

That's most likely the Jatco Jerk. Common for auto Jap imports. Mine has it also, and it's a quite expensive fix. There's more info in this thread:

Thread

I have been living with this by using the winter mode of the transmission, so that it starts off in second gear and skips first altogether. Once it's warm its usually pretty good.

Thanks for the link mate, I believe that is definitely the case too. I have heard that the Germany supplied gearboxes for these are superior, does anyone know what the part number/model number of the gearbox would be? Is it even worth trying to find a 2nd hand one?

Before anyone mentions a manual conversion I'll say that this car is for both myself and my fiance who is going to learn to drive in it manual isn't an option at this time, perhaps later on down the track.

JFry, how long have you had yours? It looks identical to mine. They really are a beautiful car. Has yours got a sunroof? How many k's?

[JFry 1]

Yep, the ones that came in the nz new ones (from memory they're a ZF box?) didn't have the same problems. Should be a fairly simple swap, especially if you've done a motor swap

I've had mine for just over a year, has a sunroof, done 200,000ks. Does yours have the black front chin spoiler, or am I just seeing the shadows?

Yours is the fourth 320i that I know of with almost the same specs, they all look identical

[nathancraigforsyth 0]

I've had mine for just over a year, has a sunroof, done 200,000ks. Does yours have the black front chin spoiler, or am I just seeing the shadows?

Good question... ima gunna go and have a look

EDIT! Yeah, it is a black chin spoiler; it appears that it may have been attached to it as a separate item. Also looks like it may stick out a bit further. I will eventually get pics of the car, but the camera is at home and I am taking it to CHCH to store it for a week or so. Photos to come after I shift down there.

Edited May 24, 2010 by e36ttfto

[dirtydoogle 383]

Nice looking E36 mate, interesting FTO too, does it torque steer like crazy with the 6A13?

[crazyarab 6]

Welcome

[nathancraigforsyth 0]

Cheers guys

does it torque steer like crazy with the 6A13?

Practically no torque steer at all, well, as long as I don't let go of the steering wheel; but nothing like other FWD turbo cars I have driven. I have the standard 4 speed tip gearbox in it, the ratios are a little too short (I think, as in it revs out too fast and lower trap speeds), but I pulled a best of 12.99 @ 11_ at Ruapuna after getting all the piping replaced (13.856 @ 100 flat was previous best with standard IC/intake/exhaust piping), lost my slip though so no proof ><

What will it do now? Probably a 16 if the gearbox doesn't break

I think I said above that its coming off the road as soon as I get it back to Christchurch and I'll be getting the gearbox reconditioned.

Just want to also say that this website is awesome, so much information readily available. Also, I love my new bimmer... bit of a bugger about the jatco jerk but what do ya expect for $4300, looks like I may just grab a replacement Jatco from Brent once I have secured a house with a double garage

Oh, one last thing that I am loving, even though I haven't brought any parts for the bimmer, and may never to keep the resale value, it's great finally having a car where everything doesn;t have to be custom made like is necessary for the FTO

Off the shelf parts = win for me

EDIT! couldn't remember the trap speed, was 11<something>

Edited May 25, 2010 by e36ttfto

[dirtydoogle 383]

That's going pretty well! I've never seen a conversion like that done to an FTO before.

[nathancraigforsyth 0]

I won't clutter up this bimmer board any more with lolmitsi stuff, check out this thread if you want to have a bit more of a closer look;

TT FTO

It's an old link that I don't update any more...