E30 318 questions/ Calling all Bimmers!

[Drummerboy]

My parents are buying me an '84 BMW 318 for graduation. I believe its called a 318i, its a 4 door.

Its going to be my daily driver for the next 4 years in College. and I know it needs a water pump and somethings wrong with the a/c, which i want, so i'll figure that out. But is there anything I should know about this car? Certain parts prone to go out? weak points?

And Also, what are some light modifications I can do to keep it reliable, yet more fun. I know these sound like basic questions, but I know nothing about bmws. Ok, time to recap.

Questions:
1)Any weak points on this particular engine/tranny/chassis?
2)What should be the first modifications?
3)Where to buy parts?
4)(flame suit on) Is this car carb or FI?

(I've only seen the car once, and i was driving by)

Oh and to those who will say im spoiled because my parents are buying me a car... I'm the '09 Valedictorian of all the Faith Academy campuses on the south side. lol, i think i deserve it.

[81911SC]

I don't know BMW too well but I'd shit myself if it was carbed so I'd say either cis or Fi.

[Revmaynard]

FI, it's the M10 engine. It was in production for along time. You can find a lot of parts online.

[Drummerboy]

Nobody else knows anything about this car?! where are the 1574238472 people that bought e30's!?

[Master Shake]

My parents are buying me an '84 BMW 318 for graduation.

Oh and to those who will say im spoiled because my parents are buying me a car... I'm the '09 Valedictorian of all the Faith Academy campuses on the south side. lol, i think i deserve it.

either way, you are still in high school and got a turbo lude.

think that is enough?


anyway, good luck with this.

[Sport1.3]

Questions:
1)Any weak points on this particular engine/tranny/chassis? The engine is bullet proof....literally. But like everything BMW it has to have been taken care of properly. Check the repair records if there are any. Take it for a nice long drive and get it warmed up, listen for loud top end noise etc etc.....also research e30tech.com and r3vlimited.com for better e30 info than importatlanta has to offer

2)What should be the first modifications? Tune up and then leave it the hell alone if you want it as a DD

3)Where to buy parts? SOOO many places. My fav is www.rmeuropean.com or pelicanparts.com


4)(flame suit on) Is this car carb or FI? Definitely Fuel injected

dawt

[Thighs]

m10s will NEVER die if taken decent care of. if the car has any service records, thats a MAJOR plus. if the wiring under the hood looks like its not factory, dont buy the car. theyre messy from the factory, but if you see butt connectors or spliced wires, run. make sure all the lights/wipers/etc work. if theres any check lights on (the little display in the ceiling), ask why theyre on and check any fluids that are related to them if theyre on. the odometer isnt gonna work, so ask about the approximate mileage of the car. power windows? test them. check for rust around the rear lights and behind the rear wheels under the bumper. the power steering pump will probably leak a bit, but not enough to worry about. when you drive it, make sure you wind it out pretty good in 2nd and make sure it doesnt act weird under WOT. listen for wheel bearings and diff/tranny noise.

all the rest of my knowledge applies only to 325's, so thats all i can really help you with. its gonna be a REALLY slow car, so be prepared lol.

[Drummerboy]

its gonna be a REALLY slow car, so be prepared lol.

Well im fine with that, after college i plan on swapping the 2.5 from the 325 (m20, right?) then building it for boost, boosting, LSD, etc.

[Thighs]

yeah m20 FTW. all you need for boost is a 325e bottom end with a 325i head, youre good for 21lbs and ~420 whp.

[stillaneon]

My parents are buying me an '84 BMW 318 for graduation. I believe its called a 318i, its a 4 door.

Its going to be my daily driver for the next 4 years in College. and I know it needs a water pump and somethings wrong with the a/c, which i want, so i'll figure that out. But is there anything I should know about this car? Certain parts prone to go out? weak points?

And Also, what are some light modifications I can do to keep it reliable, yet more fun. I know these sound like basic questions, but I know nothing about bmws. Ok, time to recap.

Questions:
1)Any weak points on this particular engine/tranny/chassis?
2)What should be the first modifications?
3)Where to buy parts?
4)(flame suit on) Is this car carb or FI?

(I've only seen the car once, and i was driving by)

Oh and to those who will say im spoiled because my parents are buying me a car... I'm the '09 Valedictorian of all the Faith Academy campuses on the south side. lol, i think i deserve it.

So you are the smartest of all the lazy people who would rather buy a diploma from an unaccredited school than get one for free??

Not bashing, just wondering.

And I have heard that the water pump is the worst part about those cars when maintained.

[stillaneon]

And I think the "i" in 318i means fuel injected..

[Thighs]

And I think the "i" in 318i means fuel injected..

i think its supposed to, but by the same logic i guess my car is fuel "enjected"? lol.

and the water pumps are fine as long as they are replaced as they should be and the owner doesnt buy a cheap one with the plastic impeller.

[Revmaynard]

i think its supposed to, but by the same logic i guess my car is fuel "enjected"? lol.

and the water pumps are fine as long as they are replaced as they should be and the owner doesnt buy a cheap one with the plastic impeller.

"E" stands for "economy", because the E is the lower compression M20 for mpgs.

[Sport1.3]

"E" stands for "economy", because the E is the lower compression M20 for mpgs.

Technically the "e" stands for "Eta," the Greek character for efficiency.

[Sport1.3]

i think its supposed to, but by the same logic i guess my car is fuel "enjected"? lol.

and the water pumps are fine as long as they are replaced as they should be and the owner doesnt buy a cheap one with the plastic impeller.

"i" does in fact mean "injection"

[Cool Cat Racing]

Don't bother modifying it unless you want to spend some money and build the engine. Nothing you will do that's bolt on will make much of a difference. As for an M20 swap, just do an S52 swap and turbo that. M20's are pretty old tech and S/M motors are getting pretty cheap.

[j0natell0]

faith academy is easy as fukk. but congrats

[2turbo4u]

Damn dudes give him some slack, at least he's graduating from high school unlike so many of these kids on our streets today.

[Drummerboy]

So you are the smartest of all the lazy people who would rather buy a diploma from an unaccredited school than get one for free??

I don't know where you got the idea it wasn't accredited. I personally spoke in front of the SACS committee for our annual review. Every school has one. And you can throw all the under handed comments you want to, but at the end of the day, im still the one headed to law school on a full scholarship.

faith academy is easy as fukk. but congrats

Trig is still Trig regardless of how you look at it. I Don't see why so many people are so quick to hate on private schools. have you SEEN the public school system in Georgia?

Damn dudes give him some slack, at least he's graduating from high school unlike so many of these kids on our streets today

Thanks. QFT

[Bruce Leroy]

Why not save money and just drive the lude while you are in college? Its already boosted, and should be cheaper to maintian than a bmw... Especially an 84.

[ksniperfox]

used to have an e30 318i. 2 door, but same thing. bought it for $1200, did nothing to it but maintenance. drove it for a year and got my money back.

like everyone says, pretty bulletproof little cars. IMO, if you spend anything extra on it, just get anything cosmetic or mechanical back to good shape. when theyre clean, they look like baller ass little cars. and yes, it is slow as balls. the dash is prone to cracking. but for mid 80's cars, i was very surprised with all the options it had.

i would like to get into a bmw again after im done with the s2k. be sure to negotiate the price down for the ac and water pump. it is about to be summer and not having ac sucks. congratulations on graduation and good luck in law school.

[Drummerboy]

used to have an e30 318i. 2 door, but same thing. bought it for $1200, did nothing to it but maintenance. drove it for a year and got my money back.

like everyone says, pretty bulletproof little cars. IMO, if you spend anything extra on it, just get anything cosmetic or mechanical back to good shape. when theyre clean, they look like baller ass little cars. and yes, it is slow as balls. the dash is prone to cracking. but for mid 80's cars, i was very surprised with all the options it had.

i would like to get into a bmw again after im done with the s2k. be sure to negotiate the price down for the ac and water pump. it is about to be summer and not having ac sucks. congratulations on graduation and good luck in law school.

paying $1000 for it as is, unless we can negotiate something. Needs tires and a water pump before its driveable. Then it needs a/c, seats and a paint job. No rust, just fade. its been sitting in the sun for about a year.

Thanks for the helpful insight.

[ksniperfox]

paying $1000 for it as is, unless we can negotiate something. Needs tires and a water pump before its driveable. Then it needs a/c, seats and a paint job. No rust, just fade. its been sitting in the sun for about a year.

Thanks for the helpful insight.

i would offer 650ish. all those parts are not cheap. and the car wouldnt really be driveable as is. you can get driveable cars for 1k...