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Thread: Project: Second time's the charm

  1. #1
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    MINIz guy is offline #buttstuff2k14 BMW CCA Member
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    Project: Second time's the charm

    Or so I hope.


    I found a 1997 328i slicktop in VA. A day after I got home from school in STL, I drove down from NJ to pick it up. It isn't a perfect car, but it certainly is a clean body with an interesting history from its original owner. Now onto the pictures!


    Right after I bought it. Filling up at the gas station to bring back to NJ. Forgive the IG photo.



    Of course, like any E36, repairs had to be done! Sway bar swap, new thermostat and expansion tank. Also a look at how clean the underside is.






    It didn't stay stock for long. Put on my Star Specs and my Hotchkis front sway bar already.



    The old outgoing 318ti (for sale!) and my new 328i. Also my first BMW I drove, my parent's X5.




    Follow this build on Instagram @ndrewchow and Youtube @MINIzguy.

  2. #2
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    I cant wait to watch this all come to life. SJR/NJ is taking bfc by storm!

  3. #3
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    Sweet! Where in NJ are you? Any plans for your old 15" wheels?
    2001 Z3 3.0i -Oxford Green/Sandbeige
    2016 428xi -Estoril Blue II/Black
    2018 430iC- Estoril Blue II/Black
    2018 330it - Melbourne Red/Venetian Beige/Black

  4. #4
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    Mountain Lakes.

    The 15" wheels have brand new Michelin tires on them, but they're basically worth nothing to resell. I'm gonna probably keep them as all-season tires when autox season ends.

  5. #5
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    MINIz guy is offline #buttstuff2k14 BMW CCA Member
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    So I've done a lot since I've picked up the car. A lot of the cluster bulbs were burnt out on the OBC was missing lots of pixels, so I fixed all of that. The seat was stuck in a reclined position so I bought a new gear. And I also had a really funky locking problem but replacing the actuators and connecting one of the mechanisms that was loose fixed all of that.

    Today I did the headliner. I went all out and use 3 cans of glue and some foam backed headliner fabric.



    Next up is the clutch and control arms. I should be autocrossing it in GS soon enough.

  6. #6
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    Glad to see we're both bringing back '97's to life. How many miles on it and did/does it have HK? Mine had one installed, but the PO replaced all the speakers and ripped out the amp and head unit and installed a pioneer with cross overs and bazooka tubes. Luckily I was able to get my hands on an HK AMP and wiring harness out of a junked M3. Wired it all up this morning, removed the bazookas and it works great, and so does the HiFi button. HAHA.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    2001 Z3 3.0i -Oxford Green/Sandbeige
    2016 428xi -Estoril Blue II/Black
    2018 430iC- Estoril Blue II/Black
    2018 330it - Melbourne Red/Venetian Beige/Black

  7. #7
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    Code Sonderausstattung Optional Equipment
    S240A Lenkrad Leder Airbag Leather steering wheel
    S243A Airbag Beifahrer Airbag for front passenger
    S341A Stossfänger komplett in Wagenfarbe Bumpers completely in body colour
    S428A Warndreieck und Verbandstasche Warning triangle and first aid kit
    S458A Sitzverstellung vorne elektrisch Electr. front seat adjustment
    S473A Armlehne vorne Armrest front
    S534A Klimaautomatik Automatic air conditioning
    S540A Geschwindigkeitsregelung Cruise control
    S669A Radio BMW Business RDS Radio BMW Business RDS
    S676A HiFi Lautsprechersystem HiFi speaker system
    S686A Antennen-Diversity Antenna-Diversity
    S692A CD-Wechsler I-Bus Vorbereitung Preparation, BMW 6-CD changer I-bus
    S940A Sonderwunsch Ausstattung special equipment BMW Individual

    That's my build sheet. It says HiFi, but I don't have the button for it.

    Just passed 202k miles when I drove it back from VA. It was a military order and was in Germany and Guam the first couple years of its life.

  8. #8
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    Slicktop sedan?! That's a dream combo for me man. Congrats
    Current_SeeDee 1972 Type 114 Luna 1975 Type 114
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    1994 e36 Le-Ah 1987 e30

  9. #9
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    Very nice, I'm just a hair under 180K on mine. Looks like you have the Standard HiFi, hence no button. I see you don't have an OBC listed, does that mean you have the little analog clock there or the same clock that came in the 318i cars? Leather seating or Cloth? Also wondering with S940A special equipment BMW Individual applies to?

    *Just checked, its most likely your sunroof delete request.

    Code Optional Equipment
    S240A Leather steering wheel
    S243A Airbag for front passenger
    S314A Door mirror / driver's lock, heated
    S341A Bumpers completely in body colour
    S401A Lift-up-and-slide-back sunroof, electric
    S438A Fine wood trim
    S458A Electr. front seat adjustment
    S465A Through-loading system
    S473A Armrest front
    S494A Seat heating driver/passenger
    S534A Automatic air conditioning
    S540A Cruise control
    S554A On-board computer V with remote control
    S674A Hi-Fi System Harman Kardon
    S686A Antenna-Diversity
    S692A Preparation, BMW 6-CD changer I-bus
    S818A Battery master switch
    S925A Transport protection package
    Last edited by amancuso; 06-08-2015 at 06:46 AM. Reason: S940A explained.
    2001 Z3 3.0i -Oxford Green/Sandbeige
    2016 428xi -Estoril Blue II/Black
    2018 430iC- Estoril Blue II/Black
    2018 330it - Melbourne Red/Venetian Beige/Black

  10. #10
    MINIz guy's Avatar
    MINIz guy is offline #buttstuff2k14 BMW CCA Member
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    I has the lower end OBC. No analog clock but my OBC doesn't tell me much more than time, date and temp.
    Vinyl seating. And I bet my BMW Individual option code was just due to the way it was optioned. No fancy color or options, as you can see it is a fairly base model car. I drove 5 hours to pick this car up as I wanted it this way.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by MINIz guy View Post
    I has the lower end OBC. No analog clock but my OBC doesn't tell me much more than time, date and temp.
    Vinyl seating. And I bet my BMW Individual option code was just due to the way it was optioned. No fancy color or options, as you can see it is a fairly base model car. I drove 5 hours to pick this car up as I wanted it this way.

    Sounds good!
    2001 Z3 3.0i -Oxford Green/Sandbeige
    2016 428xi -Estoril Blue II/Black
    2018 430iC- Estoril Blue II/Black
    2018 330it - Melbourne Red/Venetian Beige/Black

  12. #12
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    I'm moving way faster than I usually do with cars.

    F1RacingStage2ClutchChromolyLtwFlyw.jpg

    That came in the mail today. I immediately booked an appointment with a new indy and scheduled a clutch job. I have an E53 X5 shift lever going in the car, so that should be an interesting SSK if it fits. They'll also be doing the passenger control arm ball joints and quoting me on AKG bushings installed.
    Last edited by MINIz guy; 06-08-2015 at 08:12 PM.

  13. #13
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    Lookin' good so far! Saw you are in Mountain Lakes... that's where my M3 came from. Small world and a very nice area. If you know where Briarcliff Middle School is, that's where I picked up my car.
    2011 F-150 FX4 | 1997 BMW M3 #404 GTS2 | 2006 BMW M3 Convertible
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  14. #14
    MINIz guy's Avatar
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    Wow that is a small world. I remember there being an M3 around town that one of the older high school kids drove. I also heard that it was for sale about 5 years ago, but wasn't able to find out more info about it through mutual friends. I guess you were the one that bought it!

    Yea, I grew up in Mountain Lakes and love it here. Many years were spent at that school.

  15. #15
    MINIz guy's Avatar
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    No update in a while so here goes one...

    FCABs, control arms and clutch are done. Doing the RTABs now with limiters.

    I learned that it will much easier to align the RTAB carrier without the rear spring in after fussing with it for 1 hour. I will finish the job up next week as my job will take me away all 4th of July weekend.

  16. #16
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    Beautiful car dude! Looking forward to seeing how it ends up!

  17. #17
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    A little grip, mad drifts and 130 mph all in one weekend!










  18. #18
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    I did a thing...

    uploadfromtaptalk1436932810453.png


    Shoot_01 001 by MINIz guy, on Flickr

    It won't be staying stock much longer.

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    Subscribed, this is gonna be good!

  20. #20
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    This thing happened too.

    uploadfromtaptalk1437164191586.png

  21. #21
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    Lsd, coilovers...I like where this is heading! Keep it up
    CBlock


  22. #22
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    Daily 94 E36 and 92 E30
    so now I know ho you knew where my car was from before I bought it! have you been looking for a while now?

    2008 135i FBO Pure600 Turbos

  23. #23
    MINIz guy's Avatar
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    I would scour Craigslist often for "the right" E36, even before I sold my 318ti. I found this slicktop a week before spring semester ended and decided it was it. I had this car for about 2 months before I could even register it since I couldn't sell my 318ti.

    The hard part now is finding the time to install all these parts. I work nearly 50 hours a week so I only get a few hours every night to do stuff. I may have to sacrifice an autocross or two just to get the parts in.

  24. #24
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    Last 2 videos of it running GS; onto STX once my parts get installed.





  25. #25
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    Just curious why you hid the prices.

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