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Old 02-08-2018, 12:55 AM   #1
Hawkster
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Exton, PA
Posts: 75
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Exclamation '97 318ti w/ S52 swap - Selling as parts/project car or Parting out

I haven't posted to this forum in about 9 years, apparently. I'm selling or parting out my S52 swapped ti. This car needs some serious love.

I originally bought the car in 2005. In 2006 the M44 spun a bearing, so I picked up a wrecked '98 M3 to perform the transplant. In ~2011 I sold the car to a technician at the shop I worked at. He put about 5,000 miles on the car, and broke a lot of things. This past summer, I purchased it back from him. The car has been very, very poorly looked after. My plan was to fix it back up to it's old glory. Due to some rearranging of my vehicles as a result of divorce, I ended up needing to use the Ti as a daily driver. After DD'ing it for a few months, I've realized I just can't do it anymore. I need to sell the 318ti so I can buy a more family-appropriate daily driver.



The specs:

'97 318ti with a 10/96 build date
'98 S52 with a 01/98 build date
Full M3 front suspension and brakes
H&R E36 M3 Race fronts, H&R 318ti Sport rear springs
E30 325es 2.93 Medium Case LSD
Kassel Performance "Ultimate Swap Tune" w/ EWS Delete
Scorpion Axle-back exhaust for E46 330i
Custom "Boser" hood that I fabbed before I sold it last time (see Bad section)
Mileage - Engine 202,xxx Body 26x,xxx

The good:

Anything in this section marked "New" has been installed in the past 3,000 miles
The car passed NJ Emissions/Inspection 3 weeks ago
Does not burn any fluids (but does leak, see Bad section)
New HD Rubber Trans Mounts w/ Enforcer Cups
New BFGoodrich Comp 2 A/S Tires 215/45/17
New Serpentine belt and tensioner pulley
New (generic) all-aluminum radiator - flushed coolant at the same time
New Mishimoto ASC Delete Silicone Intake Boot
New Deka AGM Miata battery located in trunk
New black kidney grills
New H1 LED Bulbs
New Depo Smoked Front Corners
New (unpainted) M3 replica front bumper
E46 Coupe Black Leather Power Seats
Rear diff pinion bearing was replaced by the previous owner


The bad:

Has two very minor coolant leaks (2 separate drops on the ground, about the size of a quarter each, after sitting over night). One is from the fan switch on the radiator, the other seems to be coming down from the thermostat housing.
Has a minor oil leak. I believe it's from the valve cover gasket. I have *not* looked into it any further. I'm 3,000 miles on this oil change, but have not had to add oil yet.
Driver's headlight has a crack on the inside of the glass. Cosmetic, doesn't affect beam pattern.
Passenger headlight mounting tabs for corner marker cracked and fell off on a -7F night.
Needs an alignment, and possibly new tie rods.
Suspension needs freshening, badly (see Other section).
ZF 5-speed trans suffers from the notorious 5th gear detent problem.
Has a clunk on acceleration. I believe it's the drive shaft center support bearing (see Other section).
Interior is pretty beat up, aside from the seats that I just installed. All the panels were dyed black years ago. Time has taken a toll, the dye is wearing off in many spots.
VANOS *may* need replacing. I don't hear the "marbles in a can" noise, but low end power is lacking a bit.
Ignition cylinder 'spins' unless you turn the key just right. Once you get used to it, it's a non-issue, but it's there. Been like that since I bought the car originally in 2005.
Door keys do not match the rest of the car.
The body needs some love. The bodywork around the eyelids and nose panel from the Boser hood is cracking. Nothing will need to be rewelded, you'll just have to sand out the cracked body filler and give it a good skim.
The guy I sold it to painted it with a single-stage red paint right after he bought it from me. He did a terrible job, and then left it to sit in his driveway for 5 years. The paint is shot, absolute trash. You could buff it to bring the shine back a bit, but the pigment has faded along with it.
Hood cable is tight and needs to be replaced.
A/C was never reinstalled after the swap (see Other)

The Other:

I've got a ton of parts for this car. Some new, some from a junk yard, some that were taken off by the PO and never reinstalled. A quick list--
Complete spare S52 engine harness.
Random interior trim bits, and a LOT of interior trim screws.
TWO used A/C compressors
Used A/C Condenser
Used A/C Lines
Fog lights w/ yellow Lamin-X
Spare interior door handles
Used Bilstein front struts -- unknown mileage but still rebound
New "Assembled by ECS" Guibo and Center Support Bearing Kit
New M3 front LCA bushings
New IAC hose & elbow
New fuel filter

I think that's about it. I'll edit and post anything else I think of below this line.

Now the important part --

Buy the whole car, with all parts listed in "Other" section - $2,500
Buy the whole car, with no extras included - $2,000
Buy the "swap" (engine, trans, dme, harness, driveshaft) - $1,700

I WILL offer other parts for sale from the car IF someone buys the engine and trans. Otherwise it'll stay complete.

I'll add more pictures this weekend when it's light out and not raining.
https://imgur.com/a/di0SR

I've been out of the BMW scene for many years, so let me know if I'm way off on my price points. I know back when I bought the wrecked M3, S52/ZF combos were going for $3-3,500.

I'm open to offers and discussion. You can reply here, or TEXT (don't call) 609.three six two, twenty 1 ten
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