Not quite retro but i;ve noticed a few E36's popping up on here so I thought I would post this up for those who are interested!
So for the last 5 years my 1986 Saab 900 has been a fantastic and very reliable daily driver. I've clocked up nearly 50k in it but recently I've been fancying a bit of a change for my daily driver. I'd like to give the Saab a bit of a rest and put it on a limited millage classic insurance policy.
I started looking around at slightly more modern dailys, I looked at a few newer GM saabs which didn't do much for me! My neighbor mentioned to me that he was getting rid of his 328i touring. A car I hadn't really considered but after a bit of a look around and check all the usual stuff I made him a cheeky offer of £300 which was agreed so long as I also undersealed his new car (a 2000's suzuki blob!). As purchased:
Problems well for £300 there were a few problems. The car as mot til the end of the year but has been losing coolant for quite some time and had started to run hot. My not very mechanically minded neighbor decided that he wanted out before it cost him to much money. A bit of googleing reveled that these 2.8is don't like getting hot so first port of call was a compression check which revealed all the compressions to be nice and even. Next look for the water loss which appeared to be coming from the water pump. So I ordered a pile of bits from various places. So removed and flushed the radiator, flushed the heater matrix and block. Removed the heater valve thing which was seized up so no heater! Unseized it and cleaned it up and its all good again. I fitted a new thermostat + new aluminum housing, new water pump. Filled with fresh antifreeze and the engine runs at the correct temp and the heater works! Fitted a new Rocker cover gasket and gave it a bit of a service. Also replaced both the aux belts and replaced most of the idlers. Spent some time getting the bumpers to fit properly and daft things like fitting a screw or clip in all the undersheld fixings that were missing.
With it running nicely I decided to have a go at detailing! I got my self a clay bar and actually used the various polishes I have sitting on a shelf in the garage gathering dust! Came up pretty well I think.
Current expenditure is sub £500 including all the parts and a couple of partworn tyres! I'm not sure where to go with it now use it as a standard daily or get it lower to the ground with some BBS cross spoke wheels!?
So for the last 5 years my 1986 Saab 900 has been a fantastic and very reliable daily driver. I've clocked up nearly 50k in it but recently I've been fancying a bit of a change for my daily driver. I'd like to give the Saab a bit of a rest and put it on a limited millage classic insurance policy.
I started looking around at slightly more modern dailys, I looked at a few newer GM saabs which didn't do much for me! My neighbor mentioned to me that he was getting rid of his 328i touring. A car I hadn't really considered but after a bit of a look around and check all the usual stuff I made him a cheeky offer of £300 which was agreed so long as I also undersealed his new car (a 2000's suzuki blob!). As purchased:
Problems well for £300 there were a few problems. The car as mot til the end of the year but has been losing coolant for quite some time and had started to run hot. My not very mechanically minded neighbor decided that he wanted out before it cost him to much money. A bit of googleing reveled that these 2.8is don't like getting hot so first port of call was a compression check which revealed all the compressions to be nice and even. Next look for the water loss which appeared to be coming from the water pump. So I ordered a pile of bits from various places. So removed and flushed the radiator, flushed the heater matrix and block. Removed the heater valve thing which was seized up so no heater! Unseized it and cleaned it up and its all good again. I fitted a new thermostat + new aluminum housing, new water pump. Filled with fresh antifreeze and the engine runs at the correct temp and the heater works! Fitted a new Rocker cover gasket and gave it a bit of a service. Also replaced both the aux belts and replaced most of the idlers. Spent some time getting the bumpers to fit properly and daft things like fitting a screw or clip in all the undersheld fixings that were missing.
With it running nicely I decided to have a go at detailing! I got my self a clay bar and actually used the various polishes I have sitting on a shelf in the garage gathering dust! Came up pretty well I think.
Current expenditure is sub £500 including all the parts and a couple of partworn tyres! I'm not sure where to go with it now use it as a standard daily or get it lower to the ground with some BBS cross spoke wheels!?
