Howdy everyone! Hope you're all doing well. I've picked up one of my dream cars, an E36 1998 BMW 328is, and I figured it would be good to document my progress with the car. As it sits, "Hans" has 189000 miles and is mostly stock. I truly am enamored with this thing and have had a blast working on it so far. Just a little background on me, while I've gone to college for Mechanical Engineering, I've never really had any intensive hands on experience working on cars. While I have done basic maintenance (i.e. fluid changes, brakes, light wiring), I've never done anything quite so involved as I plan to do with this car. I like to think of myself as adventurous/curious when it comes to these things, and cars have been my passion for as long as I can remember, so I've got quite a bit planned. My dream is eventually to be working in the automotive community, so I want to use this project to learn as much as I can, and have a better understanding of how cars work in general. If there seem like times where I'm just taking things apart without replacing anything, it's probably because I'm trying to learn how it all works together. I know I'll have a bunch of fun no matter what. With all of that said, here's what I've done so far:

I can remember the day I went to pick up Hans. Rented a truck and trailer and had an 8 hour adventure to bring it back to my garage space. I was on cloud 9, and couldn't believe I finally had an E36 I could call my own:





Ever eager to experience this ultimate driving machine, without having insured or registered Hans, I figured slapping on my daily driver's plate for a 3 mile drive to a gas station was a reasonable risk. As luck would have it, after an awesome drive on some backroads, once I re-started the car at the gas station, I heard a loud slapping sound. I immediately shut the car down and opened the hood to find that the A/C and accessory serpentine belts had shredded themselves. I'll never risk something like that again lol. Shouts out to AAA for the pickup. I guess I got the true BMW owners experience.



Back at the shop I began the teardown process to install the initial batch of parts I had ordered. Knowing the cooling system is a weak point on these cars, this included a new water pump, thermostat, radiator, hoses, and miscellaneous mounting parts. In addition, the idler pulleys, tensioners, and serpentine belts were addressed.





Only having graduated from college recently, I don't have a large financial resource to pull from in getting parts for Hans, thus Craiglist has become my best friend as I slowly acquire more parts that I need. Some of the things I've acquired so far include: an M50 manifold, 16" Style 5 wheels, and SPC rear control arms.







Another neat Craigslist find that I've actually gotten around to installing are Eibach Pro Street Coilovers:



I've also mocked up a DIY Cold Air Intake using 3" ABS piping, heat reflective gold tape, and a generic K&N air filter. I think it looks pretty spiffy, and it was fun to try my hand at basic fabrication.



Currently now though, I'm working on an engine teardown and head gasket job. And, while I've had the tools available to me, I've recently taken the motor out of Hans. It was a long process with some hang ups, but it finally came out. I have to say, of all the things I've done thus far in life, this has to have been one of the most rewarding. So proud to finally see it separated from the chassis, although I do think putting the motor back in will be much harder.



And that's basically where I am with Hans at the moment. With the motor out, the next step is to get it on an engine stand, take off the head, and get it to a machine shop for machining. While the motor is out, I plan to clean the lifters as best I can, replace the oil pan gasket, possibly replace rod bearings, and try to get any carbon buildup off the pistons. In addition, ARP head studs, a VANOS rebuild, and short shifter are in the works as well. I have done a compression test, and got 200 psi across all cylinders, which leads me to believe the block is in good condition. In addition, I've yet to see any smoke come out of the exhaust the few times I've run the car for extended periods of time, so I'm thinking the bottom end is still in good shape. Ultimate goals for this car are to use it as a weekend driver/occasional track and drift car next year, and I'm beyond excited to build something I can call my own. I'll try to post back here often with updates. Thanks for reading guys!!!