96 E36 328i resoration project

so I'm starting to think the motor in my car is the m50 not the m52. I really dont have anything to back it up but is there some way to check? engine code stamped somewhere or something?

What makes you thing that?

The 328i engine is only an M52. The differences include the oil filter cap is plastic, and the intake manifold has no spaces between the channels. The M50 has a metal housing and cap, and has gaps between the channels. The M52 uses a plastic valve cover gasket. The M50 uses a metal one.

From the pics it def. appears to be a m52..oil cap, intake manifold etc.

The easiest way to check is by looking at the oil filter housing and oil cap location. And if someone were to have put an M50 into your car, they would have needed to also convert it to OBD1, etc. Trust us, you have an M52. Everything shown in the engine photo indicates an M52.

Ok good im happy with the m52. It just seems alot faster then it should be with only a intake and exhaust. But im compairing it to a 325i i had 5 years ago. So who knows, ive been driving a truck for the last 3 years so maybe it just seems really fast haha.

Well if you ever want to go a drive to compare M52's let me know!

Im going to take you up on that one of these days haha

Sounds good. Theirs talk on Prohect Technik of a summer meet in early August. Date hasn't yet been finalized. Hopefully I will have a replacement shock by then.

finally got some time off today so i went down to the shop and sprayed the grill bumper and passenger fender. (the drivers fender is bent and will be replaced later) here's some pictures
the last one is as the car sits at the moment. I took it for a boot today, took it around a corner and put the car sideways. scared the crap out of me! but I corrected and it turned out so be a pretty sweet drift!! no bumper weight reduction FTW!

I want to put my car sideways sometime, but I'm too chicken to do it -.-
Lookin good so far.

Looking good,
RawrRawr...don't be chicken...its a blast

I'm still rocking 4x4 status, I've never replaced the shocks and springs, so I'm not very confident. I'll do it on snow, but not on pavement.
And the fact that I'm 17, I'll do something stupid and over correct...

Yea, its def. scary the first time. Im only 23 so im still just a big kid

Ives heard of something called the golf tee trick, can someone tell me what it is and weather its safe or will it ruin anything over time? also I've having an idle issue that points to the Mass Air Flow sensor, I've checked for vac leaks and haven't found any, any more suggestions before I drive into that $360 sensor? thanks in advance. also I ordered my rockers yesterday so they will be here next week! woo hoo then we will see how bad the rust is behind the rockers and if its spread to the floor boards or not. I'm gunna try and post a video of the car running in a few days (fingers crossed I remember)

The golf tee mod is for making the exhaust a bit louder at low RPMs on the 328s. The 328s are the only E36s which have a vacuum actuated flap in the muffler which opens up somewhere above 2500-3000rpm (I forget exactly where) to help with mid-range power. By pulling the vacuum line off the muffler and plugging it with a golf tee (or similar), you can keep the exhaust flap open at all times to make the stock exhaust a little more aggressive sounding. But it's a barely noticeable difference from within the car, but is noticeable from outside under load (acceleration). It's one of the first things I did to my 328is when I bought it. As long as you have the vacuum line fully plugged, it won't cause any other issues.

interesting mod but kinda useless for me, my 328 has a magnaflow exhaust, not sure if the new muffler has that valve, guess I'll have to stick my head under and take a look. wouldnt you loose Torque from doing that mod? sounds like you would be by opening up the exhaust like that in the low rpm range.

this is inspiring... http://www.alpina-archive.com/?page_...on-B3-3.0-#079

If your car has a Magnaflow cat-back, it won't have the valve. Not sure about lost power, but either way, I doubt it would change things enough to be perceptible by the butt-dyno.

brought the car into its new home today, the back of the shop. boss let me clear out a spot for it, said I could keep it there till its finished!! woohoo! well thats going to make things easier. so I started by pulling off the hood, I'll start pulling off doors and the such next week, a quick pic of where she sits.

Front drivers door off today

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Bimmer App

got into taking the drivers side rear door off and ran into a seized pin on the door stop. so yeah still haven't got that out. so I took a break from that any took off the trunk lid and all the wiring to go with it. the trunk itself is looking great just a few more things to dismantle then its ready for the rust bullet. I'm going to see tomorrow if I can get to the other side of that door stop and unhook it from the inside. it would be alot easier if I could get to it. anyways heres pics of what all happened today. I'm gunna flood this forum with pictures, hope no one minds the trunk has a bit more rust then I thought but that seems to be the way this project is going to I dont know why I'm surprised anymore. any advice on how to clean up vinyl panels? they all have a few scratches on them, can you use a heat gun and meld them back in or should I just take it to a guy to get fixed professionally?. thanks for the input thus far.

Originally Posted by B1MM3R

Yea, its def. scary the first time. Im only 23 so im still just a big kid

I'm only 25 in oct, haha we are all big kids, just a quick note why I'm posting a million pictures of everything, I'm hoping that people that are looking to do any kind of restoration to an e36 will look at these posts to see how everything comes apart I'll try and make notes on how to do it and all that.

Great thread, interesting read. Keep up the good work

Lot of work but in the end you'll be proud and happy of the final product.

Originally Posted by DannyRPM

Lot of work but in the end you'll be proud and happy of the final product.

ya thats kinda why Im going full restoration, I dont want to look back and wish i did more.