G'day all

[Cabdude]

G'day everyone - just joined the forum.

Bought myself a 1997 BMW 318i E36. No photos yet as my mechanic is flushing the coolant and replacing the fuel filter, both messy jobs that I didn't want to undertake in my driveway.

I used to own a 1981 318i coupe E21, which I remember fondly, but I've wanted an E36 ever since they came out.

[brettski]

Welcome on board. Good to see a fellow Aussie on this site. Hope that the 318i works out well for you. What kms does it have on it? Do you have any modification plans for the car?

[Cabdude]

Thanks mate,

It has 131,000 kms on it, which is quite low and seems genuine, and the interior is in immaculate condition. It even has the dinky fake wood trim

Problems;
Oil and filter change - done.
Air filter change - not done due to receiving the wrong size filter
Sorting out the cooling system, which I know is a perennial BMW problem - coolant flush and replace thermostat and possibly electric cooling fan.
Steering is vague - very un-beemerlike - possibly worn steering bushings.
Shocks tired - not too bad, but definitely original items and starting to show.
Boot CD stacker not powering up - I want to replace this but the wife is arguing why bother - clearly does not understand the importance of these things.
External door handle seals cracking - of course I need to buy the whole damn door handle assembly to fix this.

Future plans;
Restoring to as new, only possible change is to fit some VDO gauges in place of the sunglass holder compartment.

Can you point me in the direction of some good Aussie BMW parts suppliers?

Cheers

[carguy13]

the e36 is a great car. i love mine...although it's a huge piece of crap.
mine needs a ton of restoring...i recently blew my valve cover gasket...so i'm working on fixing that...

good luck and welcome to the site!

[witeshark]

[marti5]

Welcome along, enjoy your time here.