I was going to say "Howdy", but that's the title of 5 other threads

[Chip]

Hi, My name is Chip and I am currently in the negotiating phase of trading my 93 325IS for a pair of tis. I've been driving E36s since June 8th, 2008. My first was a 97 318IS, the second/ current car is a 93 325IS. I've done all my own mechanical work on all of the cars I've owned, as well as some (horribly horribly botched) body work. I'm an active member of the Bimmerfest forums, and occasionally drop in on Bimmerforums, though I don't like them as much.

A pictue is worth 1,000 words, so here is a brief photo history of my E36s.

Here's how the 318IS looked when I bought her:


Here's what happoned 6 weeks into my ownership of the 318IS:

This is the result of many many hours of me and a stupid amount of Bondo and an extremely silly color of paint that was accidentally sent to me instead of the darker blue I was after:

This is how the 325IS looked when I got her home:

Here she is after a black interior swap and style 32 wheels:

Here's the 325IS as she currently sits:

I've always liked the ti, the first few Bimmers I looked at were tis, but I ended up with ISs instead so far, but just recently the opportunity to finally own some of that ti goodness presented it's self, I found a guy with two tis, one Hellrot 96, the other a ShwarzII 95 the 96 needs an engine and transmission, the 95 needs a transmission (because it's an autotragic) and he is interested in an even trade for my 325. My plan for them is to immediately do a 5 speed swap for the 95 (I have all the parts on hand because I'm parting out a 318IS) and use it as a DD until I get an engine in the 96, once they're both running I'll sell which ever one I can get more money for and use most of the cash to do a pretty serious build on the other ti. The work done to which ever ti I end up keeping will consist of the following: Engine: 3 liter stroker engine, based on an M52, but with the rotating assembly from an M54B30 to get an extra half liter. Transmission: Will probably end up being a ZF 5 speed, though in a perfect world I would like a Getrag 420G 6 speed. Suspension: Coil overs.... Haven't settled on which ones yet, but probably FKs because they're probably the best sub $800 option. Braking: M3 calipers and OEM blanks/ ceramic pads in the front, hopefully something similar for the back, but I need to do research on M3 calipers on the back with the weird ti suspension. Steering: Z3 steering rack. (I'll probably reclaim the one I put in the 325 before making the swap) Wheels: BMW style 44 17X8 7 spoke (currently on my 325) Interior: E46 sport seats. Black micro suede headliner and pillars, black leather and/ or leatherette all over every thing else. Body: There's a Cali top in a local picknpull that I'm hoping to pick up for cheap and find a way to install. I'f I can afford it I might paint the car Daytona Violet. So that's the plan, feel free to comment, offer advise, or tell me I'm a dumb ass.

[tiFreak]

you can put Z3 M roadster brakes in the back, the catch is that you have to swap the entire rear subframe and trailing arms. if you don't do that I'd advise against M3 front brakes with stock ti rear brakes, it throws the bias off. I'd get a set of 325/328 front brakes, it's the same diameter but you get vented rotors instead of solid

[Chip]

Thanks for that. I was reading RCV7's build thread and he's using a Z3 roadster rear end and he's having to roll/ pull his fenders, is the Z3M rear axle narrower?.

[teetime4one]

greetings Chip...welcome to the Org.
good luck with your builds...sounds like you'll have a pretty sweet car once you're done.
my wife loves Daytona Violet (thanks James...it's all your doing buddy!).

[Chip]

Thanks man, I was also toying with the idea of Sierrarot, but that seamed a little boy racerish.
If I did go purple, what would be the groups opinion on the idea of a copy of the Clubsport seat colors, only all in leather, I really like the red/ black CS interior, but I think it might be a bit much in a purple car.

P.S. Right now I just have a lot of ideas ranging from cool, to insane, to stupid, so I'll probably keep tossing them out there for comment.

[tiFreak]

you could always go with purple, it was an available interior color but it's so rare that you're better off having them custom upholstered

few pics I found:

[Chip]

That's pretty sweet, I'll have to add that to the long list of possibilities.