Ok, i don't know about anyone else, but i have a backup plan for my 318ti
http://www.318ti.org/forum/garage_ve...vehicle&id=512 in the case that anything were to total it (hail, car wreck, etc) and i thought i might share it to see what others might think
ok, so I've been thinking that in the event my car is totaled i would use the money from insurance to buy back my ti and buy a tired 2dr e30 (80's 3 series) preferably one built after 1988 (they changed a few things on the body). after buying the tired e30 for cheap. i would find a wrecked e30 M3, possibly one that was in a front end collision and cut the rear fenders off above the tail light and then fit them onto the e30 project car, id then find either OEM or replica M3 bumpers, side skirts, and front fenders to finish off the body mods. then last but not least i would repaint the car black. after all the body work is done, i would proceed to remove my supercharged m44 + transmission + all other related parts over to the e30. after finishing with the engine/tranny id move the suspension and wheels (i read somewhere that the suspensions are almost identical...could be wrong tho) then i would swap out as much of the interior as i could (probably only the seats, but id look into swapping the dash and console out as well, just to see if it could be done). after all of the swaps that can be made i would find a black rear seat to finish off the inside (provided that the rest of the interior is present and in decent condition). to finish off the project i would put a 318 on the trunk lid to finish off things so that i don't miss-represent (silly putting a m3 on something that clearly inst an m3). i left out many of the little details cause it would get even more tedious to have done so, but this car would be done to the 9s and nothing would be over looked.
it may seem silly to want to go to all of this work, but i love BMWs and it was a toss up between a 318ti and an e30. i chose a ti because i couldn't say no to the cars beautiful lines, and after driving the car i was hooked. so in the even that i would be deprived of my wonderful car i would want to carry on the 'spirit' of the car. When i got my 318ti, i moved the only movable piece of my e28 535i over (the shift knob) so i would want to do the same for the ti and move what i can onto the next car. the only reason i wouldn't get another 318ti is because you cant own 2 identical pairs of shoes and expect them to feel the same, and another 318ti wouldn't be the same as my first one.
for those that have hung in this long thank you for reading my musings, and if you have any comments, id love to hear them.