My 328i sport

[andrewturner]

I bought my sport on 27th October 2004 from a guy in Kent who had owned it for 5 years. I'm the third owner and I bought the car with 122,000 miles showing on the clock. It has had a replacement engine due to nikasil at about 60,000 miles. My sport came with the following options;
- Full sports leather
- Traction control
- Lux Pack (seat nets, straps in the boot)
- Auto dim mirror
- Digital climate control
- Remote locking and full closure
- Avus suspension package
- Wider rear BBS alloys

Since it left the factory, the previous owner put a boot spoiler on it, which has sagged a little in the middle so I may replace or remove this in time, but other than that and a new alarm system, its completely factory standard.

When I bought it, although it had been looked after pretty well, it did need a tidy up, so I've done the following things to it;
- Replaced front fog lamps
- Had all 4 wheels refurbished - I decided not to split them and instead just have the lips polished and laquered. Not only was this cheaper, but also lower maintenance and less surface area which is likely to corrode again.
- replaced all 4 tyres
- replaced lower arms and ball joints
- Coolant change
- Brake fluid change
- new front hubs
- new front pads
- new gear knob badge and exhaust trims
- Generally kept it clean and waxed.

After I bought it


I work in central london, so for the last year it has only had occasional use, which means its much more fun to use on an occasional basis, it still makes me smile when i drive it!

In July 2006, my wifes car decided not to start, so I took my car to the station and when I came home from work, it had been hit by a lorry. I thought it was going to be a write off, however the insurance company decided it wasn't too bad and repaired it with the following parts;
- bumper
- inner bumper
- fog lamps
- front wheel arch
- grille
- Nosecone
- inner wheel arch
- alloy
- tyre
- rear bumper

After being hit


After being repaired





I've been reasonably pleased with the results, however it is going to another bodyshop after christmas to get the passenger door painted again, as I'm not pleased with the finish.

My plans for the car are to keep it as it is, maybe with the exception of a lip spoiler and a new headunit, however its such a good looking and performing car as it stands, i see little point changing it. although, an alpina527 manifold and induction kit may persuade me otherwise.

Here are some photos of my wheels after they refurbished.

I'm glad i got them done the way I did, makes cleaning and upkeeping them a bit easier.






Also, I've got a couple of photos of the interior. It's completely standard apart from the headunit and CD changer.




I have the dealer information below which is interesting

Reg Date 03/01/1997 Build Date Nov 1996 (Wk45)
Model : BG16 328SP Current Dealer 16284 Cotswold(C)
Colour : 314 Bright Red Selling Dealer 16284 Cotswold(C)
Upholstery : P7SW Black Leather
Extras :
(*=AG extra)
710 M Sport Driver Airbag 951 Lux Pack
314 * Heated D/Lock+Washer Jets 337 * M Technic Sports Package
428 * Triangle+First Aid Kit 431 * Auto-Dim Interior Mirror
441 * Smoker Package 473 * Front Centre Arm-Rest
498 * Rear-Seat Head Restraints 534 * Automatic Air Conditioning
554 * On-Board Computer 687 * Radio Fitting Preparation
710 * M Sport Driver Airbag 767 * Avus Package
785 * White Indicator Lenses 786 * "17"" Alloy Wheels-(29M)"
812 * GB Specification 863 * Dealer Network - Europe
880 * English Handbook 962 * Internal Ag Code


Any comments welcome.

[ol' dirty]

Very nice mate

[gad-westy]

Looks good mate. Had mine a few months and enjoying it although its an auto which isn't ideal so not sure how long I'll keep it. I can hear an Elise calling. Out of interest, did you pay much to get your wheels refurbed? Mine have seen better days so looking into the options.

[jay123]

looks good... too many e36's get chav'd.. good to see an original unmolested sport model

[sorrento205]

dont know much about the bimmers, but regarding the spoiler sagging, im pretty sure its how the spoiler is meant to look. I think its on the M3's of that shape and has often caught my eye whenever i've been behind one. I also think its a bit of an optical illusion due to the 3rd brake light in the middle of it.

[blackscooby]

Looks fantastic.

A few years ago I had a '98 E36 328 coupe. Loved it, sounded fantastic as well.

[peaktorque]

My bro. has just purchased a 1998 (S reg) red 328 sport just like this! Same wheels and all. The only problem with it apart from the ASR (see my thread) is a rusty rear wheel arch! He is over the moon with it . Quite a "tool"

[andrewturner]

Thanks people.

Re. the spoiler... i tempted to remove it anyway. so watch this space.

I'd highly recommend a 328i sport if you're after an e36, however it does lack the feel of an e30.

still with 193 bhp, it goes well and try and find a manual with an LSD.

mine has asc/t which is a but annoying.

[jagdpanther]

The E36 328i Sport was always a firm favourite of mine and yours is a very nice example despite the truck damage!

Lovely

[neil_cardiff]

andrewturner said:

Thanks people.

Re. the spoiler... i tempted to remove it anyway. so watch this space.

I'd highly recommend a 328i sport if you're after an e36, however it does lack the feel of an e30.

still with 193 bhp, it goes well and try and find a manual with an LSD.

mine has asc/t which is a but annoying.

Do not, I repeat, not, remove that spoiler - the coupé just looks wrong without it when wearing the the M-Tech kit...

Mine is exactly the same, bar the fact I've got the annoying M badge on the back (meaning every bloody car numpty thinks its an M3 and so are chuffed if they keep up/beat it).

You'll struggle to find models with LSD on, only the very early models had them, and to be honest, LSD doesn't mean I miss out on sideways action - I've proved that it can hold its tail out when needed

Regarding the ASC - just turn it off when you want control of the car - I leave it on when in zombie mode, but any other time (i.e. when wet) I turn it off, and enjoy learning to handle the car in low grip conditions...

I've only briefly driven an E30, however I can say, comparing this to similar aged cars, that the Sport is pretty well set up, and has a nice compromise in ride over control. I've been out for some higher speed hoons recently, and she can certainly move when hustled, and providing you drive around the weight and power, it's able to keep with much bigger kit (i.e. E60 M5 in the wet - although not sure how hard it was being driven in the corners). I quote:

_Batty_ said:

Good to meet you all, loved the M5 Daz, and Neil, your Sport looked rather quick thankgod it wasn't modified after the car park after the Corvette hit it

I've grown very attached to mine, and when I'm ready, its convinced me that an E36 M3 is the only way





p.s. I've got the beige interior

Edited by neil_cardiff on Tuesday 2nd January 12:59

[andrewturner]

very nice car neil and some good points.

I do like the look without the spoiler, but a popular mod is to put the lip spoiler on it from an e46. so maybe I'll look at that route.

an M3 is tempting, partcularly so when looking at used prices, however for my limited use 3-4k per year, I can't jusify the insuance cost doubling! - Yes I've checked!!

Anyway, thanks everyone for the kind comments.