"new" 318ti

Can't believe how hard it has been to find a decent shell to fix my 318ti up with. My car is mechanically superb.. but thanks to an improperly repaired body after an accident, rotting away to nothing. The floor is already gone on the passenger side and the passenger wheel well is following suit.

I picked this baby up not far from the Zoo in Philly. It looks abandoned and possibly stolen/stripped, but I have the title. Gotta love a city where you can leave a car on the kerb without a drivetrain, no front suspension,and almost no interior.

So once I get her home.. I have my winter project. First up will be smoothing out the body's small amount of dents and getting her read for a covering of Calypso Red

Awesome grab!! Leave it black

did I mention that I only paid $150 for it? It's probably going to cost me the same amount to get it home.

As for black.. I already have a black saab.. do I need a black BMW?

Oh.. and something I could not have tried. I will have three cars once my current Ti get's stripped

1977 Fiat Spider

1987 Saab 900 Turbo

1997 BMW 318ti

$150???

Congrats . . . If I was close, would drag it for you for a beer or two.

Nothing wrong with having black cars . . . it looks like the Mafia stays at our house.

• Black cars = 780, 740i, 530i and Dakota
• Blue car = 350i
• Red cars = 318is and VFR800

Wow, looks nicer than mine! Good score! Mine was 100 bucks and needed about the same work.

And it does kinda suck when the tow home is more than the cost of the car.

And it does kinda suck when the tow home is more than the cost of the car.

AAA? I use the crap out of mine. Great buy!

Strike_Zero wrote: - Black cars = 780, 740i, 530i and Dakota - Blue car = 350i - Red cars = 318is and VFR800

One of these things is not like the others

Nice find - sending you a pm...

EvanB wrote:

Strike_Zero wrote: - Black cars = 780, 740i, 530i and Dakota - Blue car = 350i - Red cars = 318is and VFR800

One of these things is not like the others

Hehe . . .

Strike_Zero wrote: Awesome grab!! Leave it black

this

...unless you're spraying the jambs and the engine bay--even then, the paint won't be as good as what the factory put on.

Paintless dent removal and a good pro-level polishing.

GREAT get, though. So basically, for $6k, you'll have something absolutely fantastic.

Good luck with it.

Black isn't a bad car to color change--you just neatly mask the engine bay, door jams so that it looks like the factory could have done it that way. all GMs had black engine compartments until the 80s, IIRC.

good luck!

looking for the same project car as well, good luck with it

the beauty of the colour change.. the car will just be a rolling shell. No interior, no engine, no glass. The painter will only need worry about masking the rear glass (the hatch is a pain to take apart) and some wiring in the engine bay will need to be bagged. Everything else will be expose for shooting.

I really thought about leaving it black.. but honestly, it is a pain in the ass colour for people who do not enjoy washing their cars

you need some theme music to encourage you........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OpSlTLB7Zc

heh.. thanks. The streets he is running down look a LOT better than the ones this car is on. Ok during the day, but the next block down, all the rowhomes have padlocks on the doors. Not the kind of place I would want to be late at night

Crazy how a car can stay in good visible shape like that in a city like Philly lol. I love the Ti's, my friend just picked one up with the cali top. And I can't argue with wanting to go calypso. My favorite color behind estoril.

thanks. I picked up my 96 because it was calypso. It is one of my favourite colours and one of the most overlooked in the BMW palette. Most people seem to go for Estoril

One of the things I love about this site is the love for TIs.. everywhere else, especially the BMW sites, they are pretty hated

They love the ti on the e30 sites. Great for 5 lug conversions.

Good luck. Sounds like a fun project.

I will have pictures of the car on the trailer monday. Went to uhaul, rented a pickup and a 12x6 Utility trailer. The Ti is only 14 feet long and without engine, trans, interior, or suspension, will need to be yanked up onto it. A car trailer would be unweildy in Philly AND the flat floor of the Utility trailer will be easier to get it out.

It was also $30 cheaper than the car trailer

I never really understood this car, always thought it was a 1/half BMW... wtf happened to the rest of car behind the backseat.

Beginning to appreciate tho.

Nice find. Show us the build as it goes.

it was BMW's attempt at a "City" car.. hence it is 8 inches shorter from the rear wheel back to make it easier to park in town

mad_machine wrote: it was BMW's attempt at a "City" car.. hence it is 8 inches shorter from the rear wheel back to make it easier to park in town

Perhaps you mean 18"? A full-size e36 is definitely quite a bit larger.

mad_machine wrote: One of the things I love about this site is the love for TIs.. everywhere else, especially the BMW sites, they are pretty hated

The Ti is an awesome car. The front grip of a standard e36 and the slideability of the semi-trailing armed e30.

The first time I drove one, it was like . It turned and slid without wrestling the steering wheel.

mr2peak wrote:

mad_machine wrote: it was BMW's attempt at a "City" car.. hence it is 8 inches shorter from the rear wheel back to make it easier to park in town

Perhaps you mean 18"? A full-size e36 is definitely quite a bit larger.

nope.. from bumper to bumper the Ti is 166 inches. The Sedan is 174.5. It only looks that much smaller

I poo-poo'ed TI's for years and then drove one for a customer of the detail shop I worked at. The power was low but the car felt and drove great. It a great feeling of being really solid and stable. I was, and still am, impressed.