Convertiblau! My 1996 BMW 328iC

[Jake]

I wasn't really looking for another car (seriously, at least) but I kinda always have my eye out for a flip candidate, hence why I once owned a Pontiac Firebird with paint falling off and a tie-dye seat bolster.

What started as "oh, here's a $Cheap 328iC that needs front end repair" turned into "if I just spend a little more I can get a kinda nice one" which got me on a bit of a Craigslist hunt. Even then, everything I found had high miles and was still kinda beat. Then I found this car. It was priced very fair (maybe a little on the cheap side, even) and I couldn't say no. I've been really pining for a convertible lately and at this price, well, let's just say I negotiated over iMessage while stuck in commuter traffic on the way home from work, and had agreed to a price and pickup time before I even made it off I-395.

So, ran up to Maryland on Friday afternoon with my trailer and picked it up. It belonged to a younger kid (21) and his dad who were working on it together, while the kid daily-drove it to community college. Now the son is going off to get his bachelor's degree and doesn't want to take an old BMW convertible to college, where it'd sit outside and he'd have no access to a garage/tools to keep it up.

His dad restores old Corvettes and was also working on a cheap, wrecked Mazda3 that'll be his daughter's first car soon. From dad's conversation with me, they did a lot of work to it recently and know their stuff pretty well and I felt good about buying it from them.



It's a 1996 328iC, painted Alpine White with "Blauviolett" leather seats/door cards/carpet. The interior is "love it or hate it" and I'm in the "love it" camp simply because it's a weird, 1980s color combo applied to a mid-90s car.



Best part? It's only got 107k miles on the odometer. :mrgreen:

I unloaded it from the trailer on Friday night and promptly drove to VIR for Chump Car in the Yukon, so tonight was my first time to really drive it a longer distance and get to know the car and the quirks. Before I took it out, I threw the Kenwood head unit from the M3 (which was also previously in Joey's M3) in it, and put my DSII wheels on, with some 12mm spacers I bought off a friend. The stock wheels looked goofy and had dry-rotted tires on them, and the DSII's have nearly new RS3's.



Good Stuff

• Almost everything works. Really.
  
• Even the A/C.
  
• The paint is pristine.
  
• The interior looks WAY better than a 19-year-old E36 ought to look. Seats have a little bit of cracking on the edges but are pretty soft. Going to Leatherique 'em soon.
  
• No unsettling shakes or shimmies (the cowl shake is pretty hilarious though) and suspension feels tight on off-ramps
  
• Lotsa stuff has been recently updated or replaced. I'm waiting on the full list from the PO, but rear shocks, full cooling system, fluids/plugs/filters are definitely new.

Quirks, aka Things I Should Fix But Will Ignore For an Unsettling Period of Time

• Convertible back window (plastic) is ripped out at the bottom right corner. Not sure if it's ripped out with or without the zipper involved. If the zipper is still attached to the cloth top, I can zip a new window in for cheap. If not, I'll have to have stuff sewn back together.
  
• Electric convertible top doesn't work via electricity. Motors are good, it's a bad microswitch. I have a lead on what to check, just need to spend some time looking at things. It goes up and down manually, but the tonneau cover doesn't latch fully so it looks goofy with the top down. Tonneau does stay shut at 80 mph though.
  
• ABS and ASC lights come on. 99% sure it's a bad wheel speed sensor. The PO replaced one, I replaced another tonight and will try a third. A friend of mine has the right scanner that can tell me which wheel to actually replace it on, but I have a few known good spares.
  
• Check Engine Light is on for code P1188, which is a generic emissions/vacuum code. PO gave me a list of everything he's done to try and solve it, and there are a few things to check that he didn't do yet. Need to get on that this weekend.

Sooo yeah, that's that. The plan is to drive it to work on nice days, take it on weekend drives to wherever, and generally enjoy the freedom of being topless in DC :lol:

[*insertusernamehere*]

Hot damn! :thumbup:

[Senor_Taylor]

What's that? Jake bought ANOTHER car? I don't believe it; he would never do something like that.

Anyway, welcome back into the Topless Toughies club. Refreshments are on the right. Sign in table is over to the left. Enjoy your stay for the next 6 months before you sell it.

You're totally going to have to let me drive that.

[Tyler.M]

10/10 would drool over again.

[PDenbigh]

Sweet!

[.RJ]

This is so awesome and I love it. Well done.

[JPolen01]

I was able to see this beauty in person right after Jake bought it. I can confirm that the blue top and blue leather are glorious in a epic 90s way and the paint is the most pristine I have ever seen on an e36. Should be a fun little car to bomb around top down in DC.

[Jake]

You're totally going to have to let me drive that.

Only if you dress like you're going to the country club, the yacht club, or the set of Miami Vice.

[SlimKlim]

Want to touch.

[WRXtranceformed]

Haha awesome, with the matching top too....you fancy huh

[Jake]

I got an email from the PO, detailing what he did to try and chase down the P1188 code. Sounds like I have a few things to look at but any thoughts would be appreciated.

1. bench tested MAF and its operating within spec (swapped another MAF from different E36 no difference)
2. removed and checked intake/MAF to throttle body boot for dry rot/cracks, none detected
3. Replaced oil separator (pcv) and grommet as well as all oil separator hoses to intake boot, front intake.
4. Smoke tested the whole vacuum system and can see no leaks
5. cleaned throttle body completely, checked all TB gaskets and they look good.
6. checked gas cap for broken seal, etc, . it fits well and seems to seal well
7. Replaced both pre-cat sensors (one of them bench tested bad the other good)
8. bench tested secondary air system valve at exhaust, tested ok, replaced gasket
9. replaced small vacuum line from secondary air system valve to intake tube
10. removed, checked and cleaned IAC valve, checked grommet to intake for cracks etc. no problem found; replaced IAC supply hose
11. removed and checked vacuum canister and replaced all vacuum lines to and from canister
12. replaced fuel filter
13. visually I cannot see any cracks in the exhaust around the pre cat o2 sensor area
14. replaced valve cover gasket and seals
15. visually inspected intake tube from air cleaner box to TB, no cracks, holes, etc.
16. checked secondary air system, including exhaust valve and small vacuum hose, all good.
17. swapped the 1/2/3 coils with 4/5/6 coils to see if p1188 code (bank 1) moved to P1189 code (bank 2), erased code and it threw 1188 code within 10 miles
18. did same thing with fuel injectors as 17 above same result; cleaned all fuel injectors while i had them off
19. one hose i did not replace that could be the culprit is the dip stick tube to pcv hose (its cheap)

Otherwise, he did all of this to it:

- 2 new rear shocks
- 2 new rear lower control arm bushings
- new bosch water pump, thermostat (92 c), thermostat housing
- new aluminum radiator, upper/lower hoses
- new drive belts

[Beej]

Yeah I totally dig the weirdness of the interior color - be curious to see what leatherique does. Sounds like it was well looked after, and the DSII's are a nice improvement already!

Do you have to fix the CEL to get it inspected or do you 'garage' it elsewhere?

[Jake]

It's garaged in Harrisonburg, right next to the M3

Not sure if the CEL can be lit or not for inspection, given I don't have to bother with emissions. I think it's OK to have it on. Planning on running it through inspection this weekend, maybe sooner if I have a minute.

EDIT: The CEL can be on for safety inspection, given it's garaged elsewhere. There's a shop behind my neighborhood and they do inspections starting at 8, so I'll run it by tomorrow morning.

[.RJ]

You're totally going to have to let me drive that.

Only if you dress like you're going to the country club, the yacht club, or the set of Miami Vice.

I have a linen summer suit and pastel t-shirts, I'm in.

[Senor_Taylor]

Only if you dress like you're going to the country club, the yacht club, or the set of Miami Vice.

I have a linen summer suit and pastel t-shirts, I'm in.

I'll just put on some of my golf clothes and throw the bag in the back seat so everyone can see that I'm going golfing on a Tuesday at 11 AM.

[ScottyB]

so swanky, i love it. looks nice too with those new wheels!

how's the overall experience compared to a normal 3 series? do you notice the chassis rigidity difference in normal driving? big difference in noise level with the top up compared to a tin top?

[Senor_Taylor]

How do the back windows work when the top is down? Do they roll down or are they a part of the roof somehow?

[Jake]

so swanky, i love it. looks nice too with those new wheels!

how's the overall experience compared to a normal 3 series? do you notice the chassis rigidity difference in normal driving? big difference in noise level with the top up compared to a tin top?

It's zippy enough and is definitely a BMW with a straight six under the hood. Nice and torquey everywhere. It feels a bit heavier and less athletic compared to the coupes/sedans, but it takes off-ramps like a champ. Chassis is definitely more flexy but not unbearably so.

I uh... haven't driven it with the roof up yet. With the roof down, it's definitely noisier than the coupe and sedan :lol:

[Jake]

How do the back windows work when the top is down? Do they roll down or are they a part of the roof somehow?

They are powered and roll down into the quarter panels. There's a button next to the regular window buttons that lowers/raises all four at once.

[BLINGMW]

I uh... haven't driven it with the roof up yet. With the roof down, it's definitely noisier than the coupe and sedan :lol:

Correct answer. :thumbup: