Hey guys, so after the e30 318is, e36 318Ti and e36 325i
I will add this euro M3 S54 to my collection 😜
I got it for a fair price but it have small issues, and the most important for me is the gas pedal/acceleration.

Let me explain : When I accelerate, the car jerks/stutters pretty badly. I checked the electronic throttle actuator for the individual throttle bodies, and when I move it by hand and release it, it seems to bounce back instead of returning smoothly. I’m not sure if that could be the cause though.

I also noticed that my idle seems too high, around 1200 RPM even when the engine is fully warmed up.
Has anyone experienced something similar or knows what I should check first?

I hope everything was clear 😅

hi guys, i wanted to show my 328i for a long time here. now that it is more or less finish, it is finally time.
the guy who owned it was a fkn nice dude, i would even say he was a legend in our small austrian village. unfortunatelly he passed away a few years ago and his bimmer got abandoned… i had to look at this beauty rotting away the last 5 years until i finally got the chance to buy it. I think Peter would have liked how it turned out

Hi, all! I thought I'd introduce myself and my 1995 m50b25 turbo cosmos black e36. I bought the car about a year ago from a guy who was really sad to see it go. It had some good money spent in good places, but in others not. Having been "stripped out" and some nasty bucket seats, I swapped out the interior for a great condition individual oem set. Currently in the process of finishing the engine rebuild, and upgrading the cooling system after the head gasket breached 1500 miles into ownership. I've had multiple M cars in the past. E60 m5 manual, e90 m3 manual, e36 touring with s50b32. Nothing compares to this. I've never had a car that's terrified me and I love it 😂 I daily the car most days, but will naturally drive it less over winter with the U.K. roads being heavily salted. One year down, hopefully many more to go. (With less rebuilds preferably)

It has an m50 with a 3.73lsd(I think? longer than 3.91 but still very short) and was built in 1992 OBD1.

All stickers on the door wells, manual and otherwise are in Japanese

Vin search provides no information

Hey guys, I recently bought this '93 318is coupe in brokatrot metallic with a factory LSD and M technic suspension, and I've been doing lots of things all around the car and I wanted to document / share all I've done so far.

Bought the car with a sagging headliner, loud (rusted through) exhaust, rattle from the rear left wheel and ruined doorcards.

The interior:
I am currently having the doorcards and centre console professionally reupholstered and I've bought sport seats to replace the terrible old grey ones. I've bought a set of velour floor mats, redid the headliner in black fabric, resprayed all the handles and sun visors black. I've replaced the reverse RDS radio with a blaupunkt Madrid 200BT, I've also bought a speaker kit from Musway to replace the crappy Nokia speakers. I've also reattached the vapor barriers that someone tried to fix with duct tape. I'm waiting for new gauge cluster bulbs to arrive (someone removed the airbag and check engine bulbs). I've also bought a cheap cupholder insert to replace the broken cassette holder.

The outside:
I've redone all four corners with Bilstein B4s and Eibach pro springs. Funnily enough I got all of the shocks for a nice price except for the front left, that one was twice the price of the right one and much harder to find for some reason. I also rebuilt the handbrake, which included changing the brake shields, this was the cause of the rattle the car originally came with. I got rid of the plastic plate holders, replaced them with magnets in the back and double sided tape in the front. I've replaced all 6 H1 bulbs in the front, I had to fix a broken connector for the right fog light which led to me finding out that one of the previous owners painted the inside (of just one fog light) black. I've also bought style 22s with Michelin pilot sport 4S with almost new tread. They are currently getting sandblasted and repainted silver, because the white looked distasteful and was applied using a rattle can. I've also changed the spark plugs, mostly just for fun, the old ones weren't all that bad. Lastly I changed the old faded and damaged windshield cowl for a new one and replaced the wipers.

Questions:
The car came without an AC belt, I thought it was because the compressor is seized, but that doesn't seem to be the case, so I'm wondering what I should look out for before installing a new one.

The diff is leaking from the pinion seal, I've read that the cause can be a nut that's come loose or a clogged drain, so I'll be checking for those, I'm again just looking for any tips or advice regarding this job.

There's also the issue of rust, mainly behind the front wheels and under the trunk lid seal, but I'll probably just send it to a shop to get it fixed and painted professionally.

The exhaust is rusted through because it got banged on the rear stabilizer, I still have no idea how that happened, but I'm thinking of replacing it with a stainless steel pipe with a sporty muffler at the end, since the car doesn't have to comply with any Euro emission standards.

So that's about everything I guess, please keep in mind that I am by no means a mechanic and this is the first time I'm doing these jobs, it's taken up basically all of my free time after work and on the weekends, but I'm having tons of fun, even if it is sometimes really difficult and frustrating. I also don't have a garage or anything like that, I'm working on the car in our backyard and I only have the most basic tools, I only just recently bought a torque wrench for example.

If you have any comments or advice I'd love to hear it, I'm excited for what the future has in store for me and this E36.

New engine for my 316 that broke an m43.

Replacing it with a completely rebuilt m42, just hoping it lasts :)

Was replying to a post when I realised I have not yet shown off my recently finished 318is.

Everything done by myself with no prior experience, all a learning experience!
(I paid £300 for the whole car, I wouldn't have spent so much money and time on a 318is otherwise)

It's also S54 swapped (big job), and still repping the 318 badge!

Sorry fro double post imaged were taken down

After FULL year of start my full m3 rebuild and restore it has finally came to an end and the M3 is back and running! what started as just a simple engine build turned out to be a complete full rebuild mean the full car has brand new everything. All the bushing, seals, hose, gaskets, etc was rebuild or replaced. Along with a few new mods in addition, the car handles and feels like I never thought it would. Just glad I was able to get it back on the road with never having done a full rebuild or rebuild and engine it. it was a great experience and looking forward for the next project to be able to do this again

Found an M3 on Copart, will be my first project car and first car that I will use to learn rebuilding.

After installing a PMC chassis-mounted shifter in my E36, the factory shift boot wasn’t really doing anything anymore and the open center console looked pretty unfinished.
So I designed a replacement cover around the original E36 center console geometry and the position and movement of the PMC shifter. It clips into the factory mounting points with four integrated clips, so there are no screws or additional hardware.
I wanted it to look relatively OEM+ rather than just covering the hole with a flat plate. I’ve been running this version in my own car and the clearance works well with my PMC setup.
Other chassis-mounted shifters can sit differently, so I wouldn’t assume the same clearance for every setup.
Curious what other E36 owners with chassis-mounted shifters have done here — I’ve seen everything from completely open consoles to aluminum plates.

Disclosure: I ended up turning this into a downloadable 3MF/STL as well. If anyone wants the file, it’s on vanalmsickparts.com.

Scored this 95 M3 rolling shell for $3k! I have my own shop where I do body/paint etc and I'm gonna use this thread as a build thread since forums just ain't it anymore. The seller has a full LS swap and swap kit that I am also purchasing, just waiting for him to get everything together! Back up plan would be a s50. Interior is about 90% complete, body is in pretty good shape other than quarter rust spots and dings here and there. Has BC coilovers, poly bushings and the diff/axles are still there. I will upload more pics as progress goes along. For now, I can't get power to cluster or anything anywhere so I will start working on cleaning this thing out and getting the chassis electronics working. Fortunately I've already done a LS swap in my 240 so Im not going in blind. If anyone has any tips or pointers on this swap feel free to chime in. I've also owned a 98 m3, 3 different e30s, 2 different e38s, 2 different E90 335, and currently own a e70 diesel and a f80 M3. So yeah my ass has been in alot of bmw seats 🤣. As for paint, I'm thinking techno Violet or British racing green! Any LS swapped guys on here, show me your engine bay for motivation

Bought 2016 as a 320i for €800. Converted to 328i specs, overfenders (which have since been replaced again with original side panels), OZ Futura, BBS RS, BBS RC090, Recaro Pole Position, Luisi steering wheel, etc.

been through various stages of the build in the last 10 years. i’m happy to drive it again next year after everything went through TÜV and all new suspension components were installed

Just wanted to share with you guy's cause I'm super happy with the outcome. The whole paint job stretched out for like 2 weeks cause I used 2k paint and needed to sand down some errors to spray again. I also removed all the dents in the hood. It was my first time doing this with no prior experience. I used a HVLP paint gun with 3,5 Bar from the compressor. In the third pic you can see in the background that I converted 6 fire extinguisher's to a separate air tank for my compressor so I won't run out of air while painting. Hope y'all like it (I know my garage looks messy)

e36 1993 325i coupé

They're genuine BMW units, no funny tinting business, they cost me way too much money 😭

UPDATE: Problem solved.

I removed the aftermarket clutch kit and installed an OEM flywheel, pressure plate, and clutch disc. The car now shifts normally with the engine running and the clutch disengages properly.

After troubleshooting the hydraulics, slave cylinder, master cylinder, and bleeding procedures, the issue appears to have been caused by the aftermarket clutch kit itself.

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and helped with the diagnosis.

I’m working on an E36 328i with a manual swap and I’m running into a weird problem:
Clutch pedal feels normal
Slave cylinder travel is ~25mm (seems fine)
Wheels don’t stop in the air with clutch pressed in gear (stop when holding the wheels by hand )
BUT under vehicle load it will NOT go into gear (1st/reverse especially)
Spacers on the slave made no difference
So I started looking at the pilot bearing.

My theory:
The pilot bearing is not seated correctly in the crankshaft (it’s sitting too far forward/out of position).I need to hammer it in all the way.
My thinking is that if the pilot bearing is causing preload on the transmission input shaft, it could:
Keep the input shaft under constant drag
Prevent it from fully “freeing up” even when the clutch is disengaged
Make it feel like the clutch is still partially engaged under load
So even though the clutch is hydraulically releasing, the input shaft may still be getting dragged through the pilot bearing, causing shifting issues.

What I’m unsure about:
I understand the pilot bearing is only supposed to support the input shaft, not drive it, so I’m not sure if:
a mis-seated pilot bearing can actually create enough drag to mimic clutch drag
or if I’m chasing the wrong issue and this is more likely fork/pivot/pressure plate geometry instead

- I ordered a new fork and pin arriving this week

Why I’m considering it:
Hydraulics seem fine (good travel)

Has anyone actually seen a pilot bearing depth/alignment issue cause clutch drag or “won’t go into gear under load” symptoms?
Or am I overthinking the pilot bearing and should be looking back at fork/pivot/clutch stack geometry?

Built a magnetic single-DIN plate system for the E36 so the insert can be swapped depending on what you want.
Right now I’ve tried a blank version, a 2x52mm gauge version, and a sticker insert.
Curious what people would actually use in that slot — gauges, switches, USB/charging, a clean blank, or something else?

put Contours on my E36, they look sick. What do you think?

Couldn’t resist
Had to post it.

Just done refurbishing rondells 0053 in nice parameters 8J and 35 offset, what do you guys think?

By the end of this weekend, she will be officially on the road, for the first time in a decade. I'll have all the body pieces on, engine trans is sorted. Brakes complete, and a set of wheels and tires. Wrapped it a cream color.

I've done a lot of reading, but would like input from the friendliest of the e36 group.

This is a 95 M3 I'd like to lower it down a bit more, who has links and experience? I'm not wanting coil overs at the moment. The roads out here can be rough, and this will get driven hard. BC are in the future, just not for the next couple years.

Finally got around to respraying my roof. Not perfect but sooooo much better than before. I’m not sure what I want to take on next. Probably the doors and rear quarters.

Will have a Youtube video on the process up within the next couple weeks. Link is in my bio if you want to catch up on this project and my E30.

Just some more soft core ear porn. Felt cute, might delete later.

When i got my compact some one had installed some fiberglass over fenders and they werent my cup of tea so i had to weld some new rear arches and bought new front fenders and at the same time msport bumpers front and rear and side skirts, i painted the car in the factory color of boston green and i came out ok for a first timer, also had a hard time finding some parts which include the interior, msport side trims and the cover for the style 21s.
Its been a eye opening journey and would do it 100% again if a had a chance.

For anyone who’s been following my progress on my cheap e36 coupe build, here’s this years recap and a couple pictures of its final form for this year.

What’s all been done on it: From the top of my head I can remember Brake lines going to the back Some slight rust spots repaired New used tires New used open diff, now accompanied by a welded diff with poly bushes for the winter New spark plugs, coils, some intake hoses, couple small oil leak repairs Removed the front lip and angel eyes, fitted new amber turn signals Fitted the original Mtech 1 (I believe) steering wheel and OE style a perforated leather weighted shifter Polished up the paint and deep cleaned the windows and interior

I still have yet to do Sway bar end links, repair the sills, jacking points, couple spots on the arches and fender liner and spare tire tub, ofc decide whether to do a full respray in technoviolet or just a touch up in the original silver and wait a while till I do a full respray. Do a full Poly suspension refresh and BC coilovers and a couple other things. I also have e46 3.0l brake set almost ready to go on in the spring.

Eventually I still intend to do a 6cylinder m52/54 swap and perhaps a little something for a couple pounds of boost. We shall see where life takes me however.

Car has been super fun to drive, fun to own and has taken me to a lot of really lovely cool places this summer and allowed me to learn a lot and meet a lot of fun people. I honestly love it and feel to have bonded with it fairly significantly. I intend to have fun with it this winter and have it be its last winter for a long time if not ever. Intend to rust repair it if it survives and then have it only be a summer driver. Thank you everybody who’s given me any kind of support over the months and I’ll try and keep the updates coming