ok, so I've been a bit rash and bought myself an new toy.

E36 M3 Convertible.

I had a saloon a while back and it was a nice car (which I shouldn't have sold). I know that the car is not the best of breed and the coupe is the one to buy, but I wanted a soft top, and it fit the bill.

its an old car so there will be bits and bobs which need doing over the winter but it seems to run OK and ive had one before so know the pitfalls and problems.

List of Jobs to get on with:

1 - pre emptive vanos rebuild from mr Vanos.
2 - check underneath for inevitable leaks and fix (the garage I'm buying it from is doing a diff leak)
3 - compression check the head (was pinking a bit under light load, so could be looking at a new gasket, but was fine when I nailed it so could be vanos related or fuel)
4 - adjust the valve clearances
5 - get under it and treat any bottom side rust with a flap disc and jenolite and paint with something good.
6 - there was a couple of small nicks in the soft top, which the garage are repairing, but it might need a new roof, so that been priced up.
7 - oil change, gearbox oil change, brake fluid change, coolant change.
8 - full polish.
9 - source a tin top for it and paint in body colour if needed.
10 - put on my MVJ plate

so thats a good amount to be going on with!! There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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....and let’s hope we have a cracking summer  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

indeed,

thats another job on the list.....Swap the ditch finder tyres on it for some proper rubber to avoid crashing in the rain. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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Sounds like fun, had a tin top one as a company car and always fancied a convertible, have been put off by the inevitable reliability issues, is it worth it? cheers

Pick it up next week.

Hopefully it will be worth it! Only time will tell.

There will be some issues but I’m going into it with eyes wide shut, one thing which always used to put me off was the gearbox. Used to be the commonly known truth that you couldn’t rebuild them, but there is a chap down the road from me in Worksop who can strip and do a full rebuild or service or part etc. Which is nice and he seems a helpful chap.

It’s about a grand per item,

Full gearbox rebuild £900
Clutch and DM flywheel £850
Head gasket somewhere in the region of £800-100
Mr Vanos £?
Wheels refurb and tyres £700
New hood £950 fitted
Brake lines should be cheap tho...... There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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have you priced in loss of ncb when it goes off road around the first corner ??? lol nice fun but dodgy as fook !

New car new policy zero no claims..... quote of £250.without too much shopping around.

Priced in some better boots that’s for sure!! There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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Enjoy !

so the garage has been cleared out in preparation for the M3, new trolley jack purchased as I was down to just the sprinter jack and some things Re-arranged so I could use the full depth of the garage.

For fun and games tried to get the FF in the garage, I though it would be too tall to go through the door, however the problem was somewhat different.....

parked like this the door will shut, just......

Click image to enlarge

Well, well, another E36 enthusiast! I've got an M3 Evolution Coupe (Imola Individual, also known as the Gtii) and a 328i convertible. Well done that man on what sounds like a really nice buy and project.

Really interested to hear that the Getrag 6 speed can now be rebuilt, not that mine needs it (only done 140,000 miles, so it's fine!). As to the soft top, if you're replacing it, get the tension straps replaced as well, common issue that stops the roof working properly without manual assistance - ours on the 328 is on the cusp (so to speak).

I'd be surprised of there were any head gasket issues on the S50B32, it's the S54 in the E46 M3 that suffers in this respect, but worth checking anyway. If the vanos isn't making too much noise you can leave them quite a while, very rarely actually fail, just rattle and growl a lot!

You'll need to drop the fuel tank to do the rear brake pipes properly as well (you probably already know all of this!).

Definitely worth a good rust rootle underneath.

Have fun and keep us posted. Drives:
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue - Stornoway Grey
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue SE - Zermatt Silver
1998 BMW E36 M3 GTII

Thanks for the heads up, I was aware of the need to drop the fuel tank for the brake lines, Im not sure of their condition as yet, they were noted in the MOT as slightly corroded with some copper grease applied.

the roof mechanism seemed to be working fine, the roof went up and down OK, im waiting to see what the preair to the small nicks in it comes out like before I decide on that.

these are the guys who do the Getrag boxes. I emailed them and a chap called Neil came back pretty quickly with a quote and some useful info of things to try before a rebuild. http://www.all-gears.co.uk/ no affiliation, was just interested that it could be done if needed. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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Ok so the M3 has arrived, it seems to run well and the majority of the rusty bits have been taken care of.

One issue I noted was that it had a very lumpy idea when hot. I have had a think and some relevance was pulled from these pages. What do the petrol 4.4, td6 and the 3.2 in the M3 have in common.... go on guess....


well the answer is pants PCV hoses. The M3 has the cyclone separator however the hoses to and from it had gone so new ones have been ordered and hopefully this will cure the problem. a bit of spannering later and its all apart waiting for the new parts tomorrow, along with a tidy up of the intake plenum it will hopefully start ticking over propertly.


Im also thinking a new thermostat may be in order as it runs a bit too hot before the fan kicks in, not into the red but certainly up into the top of the 3rd 1/4. It had a new water pump not too long ago (as well as other stuff) so its either that or it needs a new electric fan thermostat.

EDIT - Jurys out on the new PCV hoses, was better mostly, but did have a bit of lumpiness. Have also had a look and the engine has a vicious fan as well as an electric one. The viscious coupling is very loose even when hot. So one of them is on the shopping list.

Have got a throttle position sensor coming as well as that is an original part and could be contributing to the rough idle. The other option may be Vanos seals which are on the job list when I can get hold of Mr Vanos. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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So in the 3 weeks of ownership I've so far had it out a few times and sent it to the repair man an equivalent number of times.......

The stiff gear change has been sorted with a new clutch and I had the DMF replaced while it was apart, so thats all good. Still need to drop the box oil tho.

Managed to find a tin top, which is the wrong colour but close enough for the time being, its been in the BMW specialist all last week having an inspection2, and a few other things looked at. The rough running seems to have improved slightly, and might get better when Mr Vanos sends me a set of valve seals...... they are on the way!

I have sprung a leak in the exhaust manifold, which is a bit of a PITA but we will see if it can be welded.



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I have a load of stuff coming from Germany in the form of brakes shocks and bushes, and have spotted a small rust hole in the underside of the front wing (common failure) and have a got a patch pannel for that too. SO when it gets back I will have a good few days of work fitting the relevant bits. Its not got too spend as yet, the car was priced right to reflect the issues, so when its all done it should be one of the better ones out there!! There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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Looks Great NMJ

I treated my self to this a few weeks ago and try to get the roof down as much as possible.
Handles like a go kart comparied to the RR.

Nice colour combo

It was a toss up between an E36 and E46. Came down on the side of 36 as I’ve always had a soft spot for them, I had an M3 saloon back in the early 00, and it was great. I’m not sure that it will be an investment on which I’m going to see a return but at the end of the day I’m not going to lose money on it. That and it’s a 321bhp fag packet. So it’s got quite a bit of grunt, which is fun, and will keep me busy in the garage for a good while tinkering. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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