318ti Club Sport - Las Vegas to Portland and DIY Restoration Jurney
 

Hi guys, after having liked 318's for years I have finally joined the club and grabbed a 318Ti Club Sport! I'm not new to BMW, I used to own a e46 M3 for about 6 years. Now I needed a good commuter that is gas efficient but still has a bit of cool to it and a little fun to drive, and the 318 was a perfect fit.

I live in Portland, OR and found a Club Sport in Las Vegas that I really liked that I thought was a fair deal. This was also a perfect excuse for me and my wife to get away for a few days and have a good time:biggrin:. Me and my wife flew in, and after picking up the car had a great time for a few nights in Vegas. We then drove back to Portland, with an overnight in Susanville, CA where my sister lives. Great trip, and the car ran flawlessly.

The car is in overall good shape, but does need quite a few things here and there to bring it back close to how it was 20 years ago. I will be updating this thread with my efforts in restoring the car! I will very much appreciate any help along the way:wink:.

Restore todo List:
 

So the very evening I got home, I could not wait to jump into working on the car and gave the headlights a much needed sand and buff.:biggrin:

Here is a rather detailed list of items/issues that I will be working on takeing care of on the car:

Mechanical

Oil leak(from filter housing I believe) -DONE
Alignment
Transmission fluid Change
Diff fluid Change
Break fluid Change

Exterior

Paint front/rear bumpers, mirrors - DONE
New Wheel center caps - DONE
Side Trim M badge - DONE
Wiper trim - DONE
Side Trim clips - DONE
Door vinyl - DONE
New Mirror Glass - DONE
New Antenna seal - DONE
New Fog lights - DONE

Interior

Reattach door cards - DONE
Fix Headliner
Get Key fob - DONE
New Steering wheel emblem. -DONE
Steering wheel cover - DONE
Fix Dash light - DONE
Attach 3rd Break light - DONE

I really want to get a Key Fob remote so that I can open and close the doors. I did some research into this but unsure if the Club Sport needs a 2 or 3 button remote. Any one know???

Congrats! What year is the car? OBD 1 is 3 button | OBD2 is a 2 button , I have a alarm module for a obd2 with the LED i will gladly send to you, just gotta get a FOB which I know where to get them for cheap.


Oil leak(from filter housing I believe)
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20854

Side Trim M badge
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3594...5012671624999/

1995.

That is pretty brave to fly out and drive that distance. Glad it went well. Cool car.

Your list looks "normal". If you don't know that the cooling system has been addressed in the past 5 years, you'd be wise (and money ahead) to replace.

Yup, the car is a 1995 the only year the Club Sport was made. The car has had a lot of recent maintenance, and does have a new cooling system, valve cover gasket, belts/tensioners, and alternator.

I figured that the car was solid, and that's why I felt it was safe to drive home. Honestly seeing how in the middle of nowheare we where most of the drive I might have thought twice about it. But that was part of the adventure, and now will always be an awesome memory and story to tell.

I just pulled the glove box and the car does not have a keyless entry module at all:( Good news is that I did just order a lot of the parts that I need to know a bunch of items off my todo list:biggrin:

Today I did my first mod to the car by removing the spare wheel and tools for a 37lb weight savings! Now before anyone asks what I will do if I have a flat, please keep in mind that essentially no new BMW comes with one. My wheel size is different anyhow form the spare so I would not be able to use it on the rear.

Did a full detail of the interior today, and it looks so much better. One of the big selling points of this car was how nice the interior is for being 20 years old. No tears in the upholstery at all:smile:

I need to get around to doing that. I wouldn't feel safe using my spare anyway since it's almost 20 years old, and nobody makes that size tire anymore.

Great looking Clubsport, hope you have lots of fun!

I have an extra module and wiring light for a OBD2 with the harness, missing (2) things. PM Me I have an idea for you.

I was thinkign about doing that again as well.. but has any found the stock tire size? I kinda want to see if we can maybe find a tire size that fits.

eurohb thank you for the links you provided and I don't think I can send PM yet as I'm new to the forum. You can email me at: v.fedosov@comcast.net. Thanks.

Today I took off the door cards and re-glued all of the clip posts. It will be nice to have non rattley doors. I also spent 2-3 hours doing touch up paint on the car, it really needed it. I will eventually need to get the entire car repainted. Maybe in a few years...

Emailed you sir. How did you glue the clips? Hot Glue doesn't work I might just JB weld them on.

I epoxied on the clip posts. Put the door cards back on today, its so much better having a non rattly solid feeling door. Trunk light was not working, I fixed that today as well. Still waiting on the parts to arrive to move onto other things that need to be taken care of.

My airbag light stays on for about 1-2 minutes after the car is fired up and then goes out. Anyone have any idea as to what that may be?

My Airba glight stays on as well, hope you enjoy the parts .

Thank you for the parts sir. Did a sample paint job on the rear hatch trim to see if the new paint would match and if it's too cold in the garage. Paint turned out well, and was a great match concidering I have not even buffed the car yet. The mirrors are next!

I have a complete OBD-I alarm system, fobs and everything, that came off of my '95 after it got wrecked some years back. Where it is, exactly, I'm not sure as I have BMW parts in about three different locations at the moment. Willing to let it all go, when I eventually come across it. Perhaps this is an incentive to start cleaning out the garage and attic... Let me know if there are any other parts you're looking for- especially that might be 1995 MY specific. I completely stripped my '95 down to the shell before I sold that for scrap.

Bryan- hook me up on info. where to get a two-button fob... one of mine is dead. Thanks!

PM Sent! Thanks.