An E36 Investigation

[GunMetalGrey]

suspenceful said:

I guess. To me, that's a large investment on a car that still needs a decent amount of attention if your plan is to fully restore it. But it's your car/money!

I don't plan to go all out, just fix up the major things that aren't right about it (M3 badged side trim, lights, basically the stuff that makes it what it is)
It's kind of like if it came with a black leather interior, it would be worth finding one of the original interiors.

My ideal buyer is someone that is buying it because it is 1 of 150 made, so having the correct wheels will appease that buyer. 

Rekpoint said:

I know this in an unpopular opinion. Usually I wouldn't voice this about another car.

But I actually like the white paint matched trim.

Dont flame plz

Edit :  we need interior pics ️

Yeahhh, I'll just pretend I lost my flamethrower. 
Interior pics will happen soon. Gotta take the seats out anyway!

[YoungCR]

If you can buy the wheels and still make a profit I’d say go for it, they look great.

[GunMetalGrey]

Per request

Got the front bumper off and disassembled so I can fix the white paint on absolutely everything lol.

[Rekpoint]

I used rust-oleum Trim & Bumper Paint to paint my front m3 front lip and my m3 side trim. It turned on great. Has a texture to it so it looks very OEM. Scuff, clean and spray. I can grab pictures if you'd like! 

[YoungCR]

Looks pretty clean inside and out!

[GunMetalGrey]

The tear down continues.

I've got plenty of things to paint!

[suspenceful]

Find anything juicy during removal? Previous body work, accidents, rust, etc?

[Rekpoint]

Based on the rear bumper trim it appears it was painted without the trim being removed :c

[GunMetalGrey]

Rekpoint said:

Based on the rear bumper trim it appears it was painted without the trim being removed :c

Yeah there's stuff like this all over, clips that were broken at some point so someone decided to use double sided tape, trim clearly painted on body panels, weird screws instead of the proper hardware. 
Nothing that would be noticed with it assembled though.

[GunMetalGrey]

Just hanging out waiting for parts that Mr. Pat was so kind to help me out with! 
New interior pic to try out the new phone camera.

[GunMetalGrey]

I have painted so many feet of trim.....
Should have some shots of this with black trim coming up this weekend, and I look forward to that!

[Jdesign]

Im sure it will be a night and day improvement!

[GunMetalGrey]

I forgot to order side emblems so I gotta wait on those before throwing the side skirts on, but I did get the bumper back together. 
Looks much better already!

[B C]

[GunMetalGrey]

Things have been amassing near this stationary object, but at least trim is not white?

Got the intake stuff back on last night, with new hoses, boots, and a stock airbox. 
Mucho better. 

Connected the battery, and even though the low fuel light has been on since I bought it, it coughed right to life. 
Runs butter smooth!

Gotta get some fuel in it before trying to run it again though, cant imagine I'm doing the fuel system any favors. 

This has been new motivation to get it back on the ground and take it for a little drive to see how the rest feels!

[GunMetalGrey]

Made it out! 
It runs well, drives pretty well, but the speedo, gas gauge, and mpg gauge don't work.
Other than that, not bad. 

It will not start once it has been started, will only crank after you shut it off. Disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it solves that issue, but is obviously annoying. 
Trying a new ECU just out of curiosity. 

Mike had some K1's that I tossed on for visuals.

A bit more work and it will be time to sell

[Jdesign]

I have a question!

If this is a '94 325iS M-technic how come it has 96+ grills on it?  I personally think the pre-facelift grills looks better and will be period correct.  Im not bashing you, just something I noticed and wanted to ask/ bring to your attention if you haven't noticed. 

The wheels look great, Its a shame the originals are so hard to find.

Your starting issue sounds like a bad relay.

[GunMetalGrey]

Jdesign said:

I have a question!

If this is a '94 325iS M-technic how come it has 96+ grills on it?  I personally think the pre-facelift grills looks better and will be period correct.  Im not bashing you, just something I noticed and wanted to ask/ bring to your attention if you haven't noticed. 

The wheels look great, Its a shame the originals are so hard to find.

Your starting issue sounds like a bad relay.

Thanks for the relay suggestion, hadn't considered that. 

I am both annoyed and glad that someone caught the grilles. 
I have ordered three sets of grilles, and none of them fit. The last set was ordered by VIN so when they didn't fit I got super confused. 
A bit of thinking and I realized that the nose piece has been replaced with a late model, therefore the correct grilles to the chassis do not fit. The car is also not in original paint so replacing the nose panel is not really an option at this point. 

Tempted to see if I can make a template and do a bit of metal cutting to make the proper grilles work in the late model nose piece.

[GunMetalGrey]

Life lesson, don't investigate things.

This car now resides in Indiana.

[patsbimmer1]

GunMetalGrey said:

Life lesson, don't investigate things.

This car now resides in Indiana. 

That sold quick!  You had it up for a great price.