Ownership Verified: Someone stole my trunk and 2 cylinders - a compact winter beater

A light flywheel really is one of the best mods one can do for a car that gets driven in a sporty manner. Nothing hurts me more than people ripping through the gears and wearing the clutch and gearbox while the revs don't drop quick enough.

Fantastic that even your light flywheel has been .. even lightened some more.
 
A light flywheel really is one of the best mods one can do for a car that gets driven in a sporty manner. Nothing hurts me more than people ripping through the gears and wearing the clutch and gearbox while the revs don't drop quick enough.

While that is true, keep in mind that changing from a dual mass to a single plate flywheel also introduces all kinds of extra vibration into the transmission, which would normally be taken out be the flywheel springs.
 
I thought it's just a parts hauler like any Escort or Astra? :p
 
The "new" instrument cluster that features the fuel consumption meter is installed in the car. For it to work properly i have to install a wire that is missing. Going from pin 21 on the white dahboard connector to pin 24 of the 25pin connector in the engine bay.



Also, cleaned the interior after a few months.
 
It was time to perform some fixes that have bothered me since i bought the car.

The mounts for the foglights were broken, so the fogs were hanging in there by a ziptie each :) This of course neccesitated the removal of the front bumper. I grabbed the opportunity to clean everything and add the plastic cover piece under the bumper, that was missing on the passanger side. The screws holding it all together were rusted to hell and back, so i snapped 5 bolts. Luckily the e30 parts box offered rust free replacements out of the surplus. They were covered in wax after installation.








Next i replaced the rear rubber arb bushings with PU ones. Also derusted the brackets slightly and after installation covered everything in wax, to prevent it from rusting in the future.



Finally i decided to add some color to the front of the car by using yellow tint foil on the foglights and high beams. I think it looks awesome. :)




After inspecting the bushing on the diff, i decided to order new PU bushings for the suspension. Fuck it. Probably none of those were ever changed and it'll make so much difference to the way the car drives. After all, untill the e30 is back on the road, i do need a car that is fun to drive in the mean time.
 
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Work continued today. The main task was to install the strongflex PU bushings on the front lollipops.

Here we see ice painting them:


Painted wheel bolts:


New PU bushing on the left, old antique rubber stuff on the right:


Installation pics:



Final result sprayed with wax that strangely looks like cum :)


Car drives much better now.

Next on the todo list is to install PU bushings into the rear axle. This will probably be a job requiring slighlty more time. Probably next weekend.
 
The difference is marginal. And i'd need to do a wheel alignment after doing that, which i do not plan to do just yet.
 
Last beauty shots with winter wheels:



Front brake calipers have been refurbished and are awaiting installation. Fresh ATE brake pads fitted:

 
So, when turning car on and while maneuvering it was clear that the belt driving the auxilliaries is slipping, so a replacement belt tensioner had to be installed. The old one was probably the oem one. No slippage anymore :)





 
Some beauty shots:




Today i was witnessing some drifting action:




Over the weekend the car is getting the front brake upgrade and all bushings in the rear suspension will be replaced with polyurethane stuff.
 
Time for some upgrades to bring the compact up to scratch.

First i upgraded the brakes. The compact did not have vented discs so the original setup needed to go and i installed vented discs and calipers from an e46 320i.




I have changed the bushings in the front suspension to PU already, so the rear was next. This was quite a big job. Especially getting all the old bushings out was not easy. That's why i first employed fire, after that didn't work, some slave labour came in to help.



Ice drilling out the bushes on the rear trailing arms, while l3v4rt is holding them down:


All done and ready to be installed:



The next task was to repair my parking mishap and tackle some small rust spots. This turned out to be a 3 day job... Thanks so much to l3v4rt for his dedication and effort!





Back on the road again:


The car needs to be polished now, especially the transitions to the newly painted areas.

The handling improvement is very noticeable.

To do (in order of importance):
- changing the seals around the chain drive box on the engine
- changing clutch and flywheel (already have both)
- changing engine oil, transmission and diff oils
- strut brace (at the cost of free)
- redone steering wheel, headliner and a pillars

All of this shall be finished till ringmeet.
 
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[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]One part of our recent trip to Slovenia was taking part in a one-day roadtrip planned by Ice and nicjasno. I guess the guys had been thinking of a drive to the Julian Alps for quite some time, and as we spent a week in Slovenia, it was possible for us to meet up and go see some mountains and rivers and serpentine roads.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]I had thought it would be nice to be able to passenger in the compact, but in fact nicjasno threw me the keys and told me I could drive it with my girlfriend, while he would travel in the Audi. And not only had he detailed the interior for the occasion, but he also compiled a retro playlist on the SD card. The Kienzle cued up What a Wonderful World as we climbed up the Vrsic Pass serpentine roads.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]I have been a proponent of the E36 compact for quite some time, as I find it underrated and largely unfairly derided. Some fans of the saloon and the coupe find the truncated trunk ugly, while it has less cargo capacity than the long-roof touring. But judged on its own merits, I find the compact a good all-rounder that is largely more modern than the E30, while offering engines that would drive up the price of an E30 immensely these days. It is the BMW I would buy now.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]On the mountain roads circling the Triglav national park I found the beige compact to be an enjoyable performer. The 16-valve engine has loads more spirit after 4000rpm than the disinterested eight-valve versions, and nicjasno's compact appeared solid and slack-free. It's not in show condition, but it's nevertheless an honest-looking car currently kept by an understanding owner who has addressed its pressing needs. The simplified dash matches my taste, as do the body's dimensions, and there is not one thing I would change about a decent condition 318ti compact, especially when coupled with attractive E46 wheels. In nicjasno's car, both the steering and shifter felt tight for an old BMW, and even the A/C worked!
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[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Again, I must thank nicjasno for making time for the trip and letting me drive his car like it was mine. At first, I nannied it, learning its traits mile after mile, but as I built trust in it and a pizza appointment in the capital hastened our return schedule, I really got on it. At no point did it feel lurchy or insecure, but a capable, direct 1990s hatch with life between its licence plates.[/FONT][/FONT]
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Me and ice had another roadtrip today over the Jezersko alpine pass. Many twisty roads. The car performed very well and i am starting to like tre raspy exhaust noise every time i floor it (which was many times).




There is a noise developing in the rear though. Not sure what exactly it could be. I will have the car on a lift on monday to investigate. I suspect a diff/halfshaft issue, since the noise doesn't appear when driving over bumps and when cornering.
 
I've to admit I'm really starting to warm on the Compact, mainly thanks to discussions on this thread. To my eye it has always looked fine and I've never had anything against it, but for some reason I haven't ever really paid attention to these. But what public said is totally true, Compact offers many E30 strengths in more modern package. :)
 
I think it looks a bit odd but I always had a soft spot for it, specially the 6-cylinder version, but they all seem like a lot of fun!
 
My first case of a flat tire.


It was leaking in 2 places.


Also, a mans 2 best friends:
 
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