Hidden Green: Rebuilding and Autocrossing a BMW 328iS

I finally had my own garage. I finally had my own driveway. That meant that it was finally time for a fun car. Winning trophies in local H-Stock was fun, but driving a 90 hp car that treated mudflaps like a wear item wasn't.

I had just a few basic requirements: fit 6'-3" me with a helmet on, have a manual transmission, and be competent enough to do OK at autocross and the occasional lapping day.

That's how I ended up with an envelope full of cash, a three-hour bus ride from home, realizing I might have just made a huge mistake.

I went to test drive a '97 328iS in early December. It was below freezing and the car was on summer tires, but despite the lack of grip and blown shocks, the car felt solid. It had 116k miles, a thick stack of service history, and, most importantly for a car in Eastern Canada, there wasn't a hint of rust anywhere. I said I'd be back next week to pick it up.

After three hours on the bus, I'm waiting for the owner. He hands me the title and I start to think I might have made a big mistake. "Rebuilt Title." Everything looks straight, and thanks to an owner who trades cars on a monthly basis, I can see that the rebuilt brand is from at least six years before, so for $2,000, I figure it can't be worse than waiting 8 hours for the next bus.

Now to drive it home. On those same summer tires. And I haven't driven a stick in the better part of a decade.

I've had the car a few years and gotten lots of help from you guys, but I never did a build thread. So this is the start of the build thread for my 1997 BMW 328iS with the sport package and no factory sunroof. Possibly the only E36 in the world with powder coated green subframes.

So I got it home, but I had to wait a couple of weeks for the weather to warm up and really figure out what I had. Blown rear shocks, and old struts. Hood pins, because the dealer had wanted to charge the last long-term owner $800 to fix the latch. And a water leak that left me with a VIN plate that was submerged. Of course, that would crack the windshield before I could fix it.

I knew it had some blown bulbs in the cluster, but it turned out that some of them were not actually blown, just removed. I replaced the dead odometer bulb and got a pleasant surprise. What looked like 119 to the owner (and me) was actually 116 with some more light. The downside was that the CEL and airbag lights were replaced with paper towel, not just burned out.

The upsides: Even needing four new O2 sensors, the car still pulled well. There was still no rust on it. There were some dents and dings, and the paint looks like it's been sanded, but it was solid. The clutch was done at the dealer, with less than 10k miles on it. Other than the clutch, the car has been serviced for almost 10 years by a local shop that also runs a Targa Newfoundland car. A history check shows that it was a Florida car, and came to Canada in 2001. It arrived in Canada with the rebuilt title, but no idea why. The only signs of a wreck I could find were some light wrinkling in the spare tire well. I can deal with a car that was totaled that long ago.

Next up: Fixing the suspension, and adding some grip. And an endless search for water leaks.

Need pics in a build thread!!!

In reply to NGTD:

You're right. I couldn't find one before, but turns out I had one on Facebook. I've added it to the first post.

And here's a look at just some of the hidden green I'm going to run in to.