Holy crap, haven't been here in a while. What's new?

[bimmerd00d]

I just picked up a '91 318i, and a '94 Suburban since i've been here last. Still rocking the E39 540i 6-spd for the most part, the 318 will probably be a DD soon. I still miss the E34's like . Brandon J mentioned JR had a 318, if you're on here anymore JR, how do you like it?

[Jr ///M5]

d00d....

How the hell are ya? The 318i? Nice choice. I bought the 318iS 8 years ago for $1300 with 61k miles. It didn't run and wouldn't start. I towed it home on a 10 degree January day and started to work on it. It took me the rest of the winter to go through all the systems, brakes, shocks, struts, control arms, fuel pump, tires, water pump, thermostat, radiator, shifter bushings, fluid changes, blower resistor, wipers, vacuum hoses (under the intake) blah, blah, blah, re-finished the wheels, cleaned it to exacting standards and even pulled the head to replace the profile gasket. After it was all said and done in the Spring of 2002, it was a great performing and great looking car. It served it's purpose saving the M5 from daily driving, and eventually found itself in the hands of my son when he turned 16. He is now 20 years old next month and still driving it back and forth to college in Cinncinnatti Ohio. It now has about 108k miles on it and has since gone through an exhaust system and a windshield. You won't find a cheaper car to maintain once you go through it and get everything back to snuff.

The M42 engine is one of BMW's best kept secrets. They will deliver 30mpg on the highway, a little less around town, but boy do they like to rev!!! Some of the technology that went into that little mighty mite is sodium filled exhaust valves to dissapate heat out of the exhaust valves. Hollowed camshafts insure redline revs all day long with no resonance thoughout the engine, producing smooth revs even at redline. Off the line, the 318i isn't much to talk about, but 2nd and 3rd gear above 3k rpm gives pull all the way.

Good luck with it, I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.

JR

[BennyM]

Hey dood,
I replaced my green 525im with a.....green 525im (minus the rust and the miles). I'm definitely still addicted to these E34s.

[MBXB]

Welcome back d00d!

[bimmerd00d]

d00d....

How the hell are ya? The 318i? Nice choice. I bought the 318iS 8 years ago for $1300 with 61k miles. It didn't run and wouldn't start. I towed it home on a 10 degree January day and started to work on it. It took me the rest of the winter to go through all the systems, brakes, shocks, struts, control arms, fuel pump, tires, water pump, thermostat, radiator, shifter bushings, fluid changes, blower resistor, wipers, vacuum hoses (under the intake) blah, blah, blah, re-finished the wheels, cleaned it to exacting standards and even pulled the head to replace the profile gasket. After it was all said and done in the Spring of 2002, it was a great performing and great looking car. It served it's purpose saving the M5 from daily driving, and eventually found itself in the hands of my son when he turned 16. He is now 20 years old next month and still driving it back and forth to college in Cinncinnatti Ohio. It now has about 108k miles on it and has since gone through an exhaust system and a windshield. You won't find a cheaper car to maintain once you go through it and get everything back to snuff.

The M42 engine is one of BMW's best kept secrets. They will deliver 30mpg on the highway, a little less around town, but boy do they like to rev!!! Some of the technology that went into that little mighty mite is sodium filled exhaust valves to dissapate heat out of the exhaust valves. Hollowed camshafts insure redline revs all day long with no resonance thoughout the engine, producing smooth revs even at redline. Off the line, the 318i isn't much to talk about, but 2nd and 3rd gear above 3k rpm gives pull all the way.

Good luck with it, I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.

JR

Nice! I replaced the mess of vacuum hoses under the intake the other day, and now she purrs like a kitten......that has marbles in her mouth. I need to replace that timing chain tensioner and then drop the pan to see if there are any bolts that fell out. I'm hoping not, and it's just the tensioner. Also, the interior is in PERFECT shape, it just needs a good cleaning. No cracks, rips, nothing. Just a few quirky window switches and a stuck glovebox latch. Any other mechanical quirks I need to know about? I found a great forum, www.m42club.com for the motor, and www.r3vlimited.com for the rest of the E30 generic stuff. Not sure if I had mentioned this before, but a few friends and I got into the www.24hoursoflemons.com thing last year. We built up an '84 325e and have been running it. We have a few more races this year and hope to do pretty well. A few pics of them below. I'll get some of my 318 when the weather improves a little here.