Purchased a '97 Sport - $2014 GRM Challenge
 

So if any of you are familiar with Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, they put on a competition every fall down is Gainesville Fl. I've done it many years, a few times with an E30 and a few times with a turbocharged Jeep Cherokee (you need to see it to understand it haha).

Well this year I wanted to take it easy since those previous builds took countless hours out of my life. So I wanted to find a 318ti to fix up and drive down to the event (no trailer). After looking at several, I found one that is quite clean for the age/price. Just a couple of small surface rust spots.

It has 144k and has the M-tech bumpers and mirrors...but I'm not 100% convinced it is a Sport because of the seats (any ideas?). Not that it really matters because I plan on getting aftermarket springs under this.

One major problem is the coolant was low so I poured water in...and it came right back out of the back of the engine. So now I get to go elbows deep to replace that damn rear coolant fitting. yay...

So any suggestions on how to build this up on the cheap?

Thanks!


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On the trailer coming home
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Already made my first of many visits to the parts counter
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I got 98 318ti Alpine white M-tech package and my seats are red/black heated...the center is red.

Hmm, maybe the seats you got got swapped? Not sure.

The exterior matches (front and rear bumpers, side molding, and optional rear spoiler), but the interior does not. It would be black with two-tone cloth/leather sport seats. The interior could have been swapped, or the exterior. You could find out for sure by posting in the VIN decode thread: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18444

Regardless it's still a nice looking car for the price! Hope you have a lot of fun and enjoyment with it :cool:
Be careful too that there's no damage to the engine as a result of the coolant rupture, things can go bad pretty quickly if it was allowed to overheat.

nice spoiler! look like it's an original M spoiler

The gray dash tells me that the interior has not be replaced and that this car is a base model with a bunch of m-tech parts added. Good luck with your mods. John

Yeah I am still a little nervous about that because I haven't driven it much. It needs a few things repaired before I can get it out driving for a significant amount of time. I am going to be real mad if I replace that rear coolant fitting and it doesn't run right. :frown:

I have a thorough inspection last night and aside from a few small items the underside is in amazing condition.

So one item I need to replace is the cat back. It is rotted in several places. I've been having a heck of a time finding a reasonable price replacement. I would love to upgrade while I'm doing it but aftermarket systems are crazy expensive. Cheapest replacement I've found is $260 and it's a stock replacement with the resonator. Does the 318 get loud with that removed? Also does a 318i cat back fit? No right?

Oh how about swapping parts from an E36 M3? I have low mileage front control arms and tie rod ends I replaced since I had to do my OPN and the M3 is my baby. I also have front and rear M3 sway bars. I don't think the rear bar will work at all since it is E30/Z3 rear suspension. What rear bars swap in for an upgrade? The front bar should fit, but the bar mounts to the strut on the M3...so do M3 struts bolt in to a ti?

Thanks

Do you guys think M3 valved shocks will be too much? Found some "Stagg" struts and shocks for reasonable price.

Just imbalanced due to the stiff front/soft rear Nice looking car, whats your screen name over on GRM?

Where in mass was that? A vacant house is not common here in the state. You could do an engine swap for some extra power.

doing M3 stuff is gonna be to stiff it's designed for having the weight of the six up front. you could use some old oem m3 struts and cut the tops of an put in koni inserts and use some ground control springs and height adjusters.

I had been considering that car to convert it into a lemons car back in the spring.

That's my vote also. The seats are definitely not "Sport" seats because they don't have the sliding thigh bolster.

You might consider selling the spoiler and side mirrors to gain some cash to work with.

If you look at the door cards you can see if its the gray and black style, or the red and black style. Since door cards are hard to come by, decent ones anyway, it can be an indication that it is either original m-tech exterior with swapped out interior, or a base with upgraded exterior parts. If you are going to keep it stock might as well do a coolant system overhaul since they tend to break if never replaced. Do necessary upgrades if you can while it's apart. Check the oil filter housing for leaks. Valve cover for leaks. Thermostat housing for leaks, heck replace it while you're there since they can be stuck open or closed if it's old. Replace intake boots. And any vacuum lines. It'll be worth it in the end once you're done because it will be more reliable and you have ease of mind that it's taken care of.
In regards of the exhaust, I'm sure a shop can make you a new one for cheaper than buying a stock one at $250+. I've seen a super sprint for sale a while back. Stromung exhaust is good too. Keep looking and you'll get lucky in what you find.

You know a buddy of mine. Pete D he told me about your project. I think you should buy his 3.0L and put it in your Ti.

Yeah I know Pete he's a good guy. He's renting a room to my best friend. If I were to keep the ti I would drop in an M50/s50. But I need to free up driveway space so this is likely be going at some point.