out of an e39 into an e36?

[yng_750 247]

So im liking my 540 especially now that i hve spent enough money on it to make it reliable.

after my track session last week im really missing a low slung manual.

so im thinking an e36 328i coupe would fill this void if i sold the e39.

having a look around i would prefer an e46 but i think they are still a little pricy for the kind of driving i have planned.

so back to the e36.

i have seen a couple of stunning examples for around $8k and a few high milage one for 2K-3K.

im thinking i would be better off waiting for a decent one to turn up for lower cost with a tidy body as i would look at modifying it anyway.

i have looked around and from the various brands, superpro, nolathane or powerflex i can do most of the main suspension bushes for $500-$700.

Does anyone know of a supplier who does all the other neglected bushes like diff mounts etc or am i stuck with getting new oem rubbers?

so the way i figure it if i can spend $7-$8K on it i could very easily buy one for about $3k then redo all the bushes, and decent maintenance reqime on the box/engine.

So to those more familiar with e36s does this sound like a decent plan or am i just in for a nightmare if i buy north of 200,000kms?

[Eagle 1662]

AKG motorsport do a alot bushings

[qube 3570]

Going by kms isn't really a good indication of how well maintained a car is. A lot of people will agree with me on this.. Just look for one that ticks the other boxes. Such as sedan or coupe, sunroof or not, msport, leather or cloth seats, etc. 200kms or more is very normal for an e36 now so look for one that's not molested (very difficult now) and maybe owned by an *older* person rather than a kid. I had a look at a 1996 328i coupe few weeks ago owned by a 18-19 year old kid. It was so rough I didn't even feel like I was driving a bmw.

Michael might come in here and he will probably say something like the e36 he found was the highest kms of 5 or how many he looked at buy drove the best because it was owned by a person using it to drive to and from work long distances.

So treat it case by case and don't ignore the higher km examples.. You just never know what you might find..

[Michael. 2313]

Michael might come in here and he will probably say something like the e36 he found was the highest kms of 5 or how many he looked at buy drove the best because it was owned by a person using it to drive to and from work long distances.

So treat it case by case and don't ignore the higher km examples.. You just never know what you might find..

Haha, thank you Kyu.

This is too right, condition over ks any day ^

Getting an E36 with the Motorsport kit is a must, my only regret with mine is that it was a non M version so I've had to add a kit together, seems easy enough but practically it ends up costing around $1500-2000 once you get all the correct bumpers and add on top the paint & the right mounting part costs.

Same goes for the interior, expect to have to replace or repair trim and cloth on the door cars, and roof linings.

Suspension wise, I'd be inclined to suggest you stick with rubber M3 bushes or similar, those nolathane ones are HARD and do really make a for an uncomfortable ride/feel, direct sure, ideal on a track but not if it's mostly going to be on the public roads.

You might also need to do the tie rods and lower control arms, those aren't cheap if you want the OEM quality and life span, I recall mine were approaching $850 NZ to replace those four OEM parts with M3 ones, std type are a bit cheaper but not drastically.

[yng_750 247]

thanks guys, great advice.

obviously its lower and stiffer but does the m3 actually have significantly different suspension geometry or just higher quality parts and bushs.

[Michael. 2313]

thanks guys, great advice.

obviously its lower and stiffer but does the m3 actually have significantly different suspension geometry or just higher quality parts and bushs.

Bit of both, more caster and camber up front, and larger components, even hub bearings are larger.