BMW 318is saloon

[sprouting]

Mark-insert old BMW said:

sprouting said:

What's happened to the compact?

Unfortunately I've been pretty unwell in recent months and I had to sell. If honest, I regretted letting it go but it went to another PH'er and hopefully he's enjoying it as much as I did.

I gave the E36 another thorough look over yesterday and I'm still very happy with it. I'll take some more detailed pics later, of the bodywork I want to address. I'm not looking for a garage queen though. I just want to address any rust and enjoy driving the thing.

That a shame but health comes first.

Hope you're doing better.

[Mark-insert old BMW]

sprouting said:

Mark-insert old BMW said:

sprouting said:

What's happened to the compact?

Unfortunately I've been pretty unwell in recent months and I had to sell. If honest, I regretted letting it go but it went to another PH'er and hopefully he's enjoying it as much as I did.

I gave the E36 another thorough look over yesterday and I'm still very happy with it. I'll take some more detailed pics later, of the bodywork I want to address. I'm not looking for a garage queen though. I just want to address any rust and enjoy driving the thing.

That a shame but health comes first.

Hope you're doing better.

Getting there, albeit slowly. Hopefully the E46 is going to give me something a bit more positive to concentrate on.

[Levin]

There's a common claim that the 318is saloons were built in South Africa and are susceptible to atrocious rust. Any I've ever seen have been on an 'S' reg, which kind of makes sense given very early E46s came on S plates too. Rooting around on forums I've seen people claiming to have found original documentation lurking beneath the back seats. It may be a nice little extra if your car has them, and if it isn't just the internet rumour mill working overtime.

I have a real hankering for an E36 in saloon guise, albeit probably an inline six to maximise its 'weekend car' potential.

[Mark-insert old BMW]

Well I've been giving the E36 (or Malcolm as he's been christened by family members for some reason) some love over the past couple of days and the signs are all pretty good. The cosmetics though, are going to take some work. The bodywork is peppered with scratches and parking dings with the worst being the front o/s wing top.

The only thing I want to sort this summer though, are the 2 rust spots on the n/s door bottom and front wing. Truth is I'm unsure how to go about it? Do I have a go or just go to a local body shop?

The last MOT had an advisory saying ''Offside Rear Inner inner sill has outer surface rust'' so I figured a coating of BILT HAMBER Hydrate-80 rust killer might be a good idea? Bilt Hamber Atom Mac is another of their products that have excellent reviews. Basically I don't have a garage so I need to do anything I can to protect the bodywork.


Mechanically everything seems in good order. I decided I'd change the oil and filter though, despite it being very clean, as I have no idea how old it is? The only service I know of for sure, was 15th October 2003 at Group 1 BMW, Kentish Town, London. Sadly the service booklet and owners booklet are missing. I plan on speaking with BMW archive and seeing if they can help?



This is the worst of the rust so any advice on tackling it would be welcome, or should I just get a professional?



Unfortunately I have an affliction that means that I cannot leave cars stock so with that in mind I have a few things planned. Mind you, my budget is minimal at best so they may take a while. I do have some old HSD MonoPro coilovers coming though.

Edited by Mark-insert old BMW on Sunday 30th June 08:36