Project Super-budget 1998 BMW 318Ti

Well, over the last few months I have sold my 2000 Mustang GT, Mazda 3 hatchback, and a E30 BMW 325. Recently I have been driving a 2000 Dodge Neon and it was taking its toll on my psyche. The time had come for a new vehicle.

I loved the utility of having a hatchback, but hated the FWD of the Mazda. I liked the power/sports car feel of the GT, but hated having to put premium in a car that got ~10 MPG. I loved the fun of the E30, but hated the lack of creature comforts in that particular car. And lastly, I hated the Neon.

So, I combined all of these the best I could, and picked up a 318Ti. It seems to be the perfect car for me personally. The particular example I got however needs a bit of work. The body/frame is really straight, but the paint is horrendous. The interior has a few setbacks as well. The door panels are missing/broken, and cost more that the car did to replace them. Oh and the car doesn't run...

The previous owner had posted the car for 1600$, with the caption of "this car in fair condition runs 2100$." This car is a was away from fair condition. Luckily I showed up with a trailer, and 500 bucks cash. The guy had lost his job and needed money. Before you start feeling bad for him, I am almost positive he lost his job because of a meth problem. Anyone who has seen a meth addict will know what I mean. Plus the car was between Ocala and Gainsville.

Here are a few Pictures of the car as I purchased it.

Magnet to Hold the fuel door shut/on. "Racing pedals" Original pedals in the door shell??? If you look close you can see the fan wiring coming from the engine bay to the front dash panel to the fan switch that the PO added..

A $500 BMW purchased from a drug addict sure sounds like the makings of a simple project with few costly surprises! Good luck!

In reply to pres589:

However, its probably still easier than dealing with a $500 ti that was gutted and with a dead ECU thanks to drive away protection that even BMW said shouldn't be there.....

Cuda, I'll check to see which door panel I have left I'll send it to you for only shipping......I still have several other interior parts if you needed them for the same deal......they're just taking up space.

pres589 wrote: A $500 BMW purchased from a drug addict sure sounds like the makings of a simple project with few costly surprises! Good luck!

If you clean under the back seats, you may find something to sell, to further reduce your initial cash outlay.

And, as on all e30s, pry up the shifter boot and look for stuff under there too.

jm3 wrote:

pres589 wrote: A $500 BMW purchased from a drug addict sure sounds like the makings of a simple project with few costly surprises! Good luck!

If you clean under the back seats, you may find something to sell, to further reduce your initial cash outlay. And, same as in an e30, pry up the shifter boot and look for stuff under there too.

In reply to yamaha:

I'll take just about anything you want to give me. There are a few small bits missing all together, and a couple of broken things.

Also, if I find any left over "merchandise" from the PO does reselling that count towards the challenge budget

Damn guess I'm gonna have to name my thread "the other $500 BMW 318ti budget build"

That hood looks pretty awesome actually! Great price

Such a good deal I am very jealous!

jere wrote: Such a good deal I am very jealous!

Well, we will see how good of a deal it is in due time. But looking through it today, it seems that most, if not all of the engine pieces are still with the car. So, I've got that going for me...

Cuda wrote: Also, if I find any left over "merchandise" from the PO does reselling that count towards the challenge budget

That'll go over well.....I'll check out what all I have in my garage loft this weekend and get back to you. They're grey(I think yours is too)

Well, I didn't get much done this week. I have been sick as a dog basically since I bought the car. But there were a few things that could not wait as far as I was concerned.

I gave the car a good scrubbing inside and out, but I think that there was some chemicals spilled on the car at some point. There are stains in the paint that look like break fluid and coolant. Oh well. I also vacuumed the car. It looked like that hadn't been done in a few years.

But most importantly the racing pedals had to go.

Also a little school spirit never hurts anyone.

My next project will be to get the sound deadening "glue" off of the door. That stuff is a nightmare though. Any suggestions?

Dry ice or propane torch with a paint scraper followed by aircraft paint remover to get the rest of the tar off.....don't pull the carpet up......you'll find a lot of that sound deadening under it.

BTW, I have a door panel, the rear side panels, and most of the trunk related panels.....I can't remember if I sold the console years ago though. I also have good power window motors and such.

The first three of many packages I have en route arrived yesterday. Unfortunately none of them contained the head gasket set that I need to get the car running. At least when the car is operational I will have some tunes to listen to.

@ yamaha, which do you think will be the least messy/easiest approach? the propane sounds like it would work, but I also envision myself setting the whole neighborhood ablaze. Also, Let me know how much shipping would cost to 32714. I can paypal you the money. No rush though.

If it's the same stuff used in Mercedes I would go with the chilling route. Heating it up makes it far worse. Chill with dry ice or leave the car outside on a cold night, then use a putty knife.

cool car! I remember a guy on another forum found one for a decent price at a lot, then when he noticed all the M suspension bits it turned out to be quite the killer deal. good luck man, get er back on the road soon.

Awesome, I love $500 restorations! I found pipes and a baggy of crack under the console of a car at work-it was a repo that came to us from the local auction-who knows what you'll find in there!

Hope you're feeling better, I'm looking forward to updates!

Cuda wrote: @ yamaha, which do you think will be the least messy/easiest approach? the propane sounds like it would work, but I also envision myself setting the whole neighborhood ablaze. Also, Let me know how much shipping would cost to 32714. I can paypal you the money. No rush though.

I'll have to dig the door panel out and look into shipping.....the door panels weigh next to nothing, but might get nailed with an oversize charge.

Cuda wrote: The first three of many packages I have en route arrived yesterday. Unfortunately none of them contained the head gasket set that I need to get the car running. At least when the car is operational I will have some tunes to listen to. @ yamaha, which do you think will be the least messy/easiest approach? the propane sounds like it would work, but I also envision myself setting the whole neighborhood ablaze. Also, Let me know how much shipping would cost to 32714. I can paypal you the money. No rush though.

Dry ice, hands down.

If it's the stuff on the floor/side panels like the darker red in the pic, a little bit of heat and paint scraper and it comes up pretty easy

If it's this stuff on the underside, it doesn't come off so easy - might do better with dry ice, otherwise a whole bunch of heat or grinder.

I just removed all of mine out of my car. Subzero temps overnight, a BFH with a few putty knifes, and some elbow grease got everything up.

Thanks guys! I think I will try the cold method first, not risk of fire fighters being needed. Unfortunately Orlando doesn't get the sub-zero temps so I guess I'll have to pony up the dough for dry ice. The parts truck has arrived with my gasket set, so now I am only waiting on the timing tool I ordered from Turner Motorsports. Hopefully this time next week I will be able to have this car running.

Is it strange to love a car you haven't even driven?

So, I am still waiting on the last bits to arrive before I can do the head gasket, but I did manage to get a few things done in the meantime.

New antenna grommet. Just in time to prevent water intrusion.

New radio. built in SiriusXM. Running the antenna is always fun. There is next to zero room behind the head unit so it was a bit of faff to get everything in there.

BTW, there's some plans/templates floating around on how to make your own cam/timing tool for a few bucks out of some sheet metal...I think GPS has a home-brewed version.

After living with mine for a couple of years - yes I understand digging this car. It's one of my all time favorite driving cars - just needs an extra 100 hp.

At first I thought Jeremy Clarkson was in your living room behind the Felpro box. Then I realized it was the TV.