My E36

I've owned my E36 for a while now. It's a 1996 318is coupe and I haven't really been able to do much to it, but I've been slowly building a plan to turn it into something more like what I envision for it. I really like, as does everyone else, the supertouring-era E36 318 cars from BTCC

and JTCC

especially and I'm trying to build something akin to a street-able version of one of these racecars. I've started to compile a shopping list so now I just have to save enough money to buy the parts and build the car!

There are a few problems to resolve first before I can start improvements though. After a recent trip to have its MOT done, I've noticed the OSR drivers jacking point has gone through and the gap between the arch and the top of the wheel is significantly lower than I ever remember it, to the point where it scrapes the tyre on a hard left. Most pressingly after that, everything rubber bar the tyres is getting past worn out now and needs replacement; the giubo, engine and gearbox mounts, bushings, exhaust mounts, sway bar end links, suspension top mounts, etc... so this should be next on the list after metalwork. Then I can start on undoing the more banal bodges like the random lengths of wiring attaching various points on the car for seemingly no reason and the sunroof control panel not fitting back in place because the headliner is about 3 times thicker than it was originally and not glued on properly.

When I've finished repairs I've got a good long list of improvements I'd like to make. I'd love to sit it on some good AP or KW suspension,

fit an LSD, some nice 17" TSW Hockenheims, change out the rear arms for uniball, make my own exhaust, retrim some Recaros or Brides in a nice fabric and replace the back bench with a carbon panel, carbon doors, bonnet, and boot lid, a carbon cam cover that's a replica of the Alfa Romeo Twin Cam valve cover,

etc... Eventually I think it would be fun to do a carbon roof skin, dry sump so I can drop the engine a bit,

solid mounts for engine and gearbox, start some serious engine work, ITBs, weld in a roll cage, find some nice BBS LMs, fit a standalone ECU, etc... and see if it still drives on the road. I'm really drawn by the hillclimb cars of Europe and, as mentioned, the supertouring cars from the mid-late 1990s so I'm basing a lot of my style for the car on these influences. I don't think its unreasonable at all to try and make the car something like one of those because they already exist. Granted these are built by proper race teams, but, they have to do that every day multiple times over at the absolute highest standard; I only have to do it once.

I'd also love to make the engine bay much cleaner and less cluttered, but I've yet to see a really tidy E36 engine bay, as opposed to the hundreds of VW bays I've seen which are almost free of everything apart from the engine itself.

Images used from: https://www.shpock.com/en-gb/i/WQ9Kb6Cb1xmjC2KH/bmw-e36-e46-e39-felgen https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=oLXIslLWMjI&ab_channel=AutoWerksofAmerica http://www.supertouringregister.com/register/vehicle/533/ http://www.moreschi.info/motori/bmw_m42.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Twin_Cam_engine https://www.supertouring.tv/post/supertouring-retrospective-bmw-e36