Neil's track build. (e36 & e46 content inside)

N

NeilP

Veteran
 North West London
Pretty simple train of thought here, one of the more inexperienced drivers on the forum.

The issue is there is the temptation to drive the hard as well, and somewhat push my limit.

So I started looking into track days and the idea of fast driving stresses and strain on my coupe was too much pain to bear.

Cue the need for a cheap (preferably rear wheel drive car, a straight six under the bonnet would be a bonus).

And behold I found an e36 323i!

12141648024_4248699957_c.jpg
25/365 Becase Racekor by NeilllP, on Flickr

There will be some regular posing involved (given the car had no mot/tax and is due a service) so I decided to document it all in a blog to save all the writing up time etc.

For those interested, the first post can be found here and will be updated (hopefully) on a weekly basis with an aim to get the car ready for the summer (shouldn't be too much of a task even considering I'll be doing everything myself)

Needless to say there would be less temptation now to push the limits with my Zed and give it all the love and attention it deserves (and no. it's not a garage queen either!)
 
Neil, congrats :thumbsup:
It's a good idea and will be less painful if it all goes wrong than it would with your Zed. I started off taking part in trackdays in my Westfield for the same reason. The best place to start is on an airfield day where there's lots of run off and no wild changes in camber or crests / troughs to throw you off line. http://www.motorsport-events.com are very well organised, well marshalled and pretty cheap. They would be a good starting place to build up your confidence and skills before you try a "proper" trackday which can be less forgiving if you run out of talent. They run the day as open pit lane after three initial 20 minute small group sessions. Depending on the track, you should see well over 100mph on the straights and there are usually some good tight technical areas between the straights.
 
Lovely, I had an E36 323i MSport Coupe and I still miss it - one of the best handling cars I've ever driven
 
I was going to offer a word of warning that these things always turn into a more expensive exercise than just running your own car on a dedicated set of wheels/tyres. Then i clicked the link and seen that you've already started down that path. Interior out, full track prep starting :lol:

I actually find just renting a Caterham for the day is the cheapest way to do a track day when the notion takes me now. Pick a track, pay £150, turn up, rinse it then hand the keys back and go home without having to worry about broken bits, tyres or any of that crap.

Quite often get people selling buckets/harnesses from their track cars on the 205 forum if you want me to keep an eye out.
 
Neil - congratulations!

The E36 is a great choice. I had a 318is Coupe which was underpowered but still was oodles of fun. I still miss it.

Looking forward to hearing your progress.
 
Great work Niel been wanting to do this myself. So i will watch and read your blog with interest. If i can help out at all i am more than happy to :thumbsup:

What tracks are you looking at doing? I am keen on doing a few in the zed this year. Their is a track near me in Abingdon big airfield with not much to hit!!
 
Was sneakily following this on your flickr feed and read the blog looks awesome! Love the E36 I was thinking of buying an E36 touring to carry my bikes and a few people the mini and Z don't really do the job might as well have two two seater cars when it comes to traveling with adults.

Will watch this with interest :thumbsup:

Should be great fun!
 
Thank you all for the kind words!

BMWZ4MC thanks for the link, looks to be perfect for a complete novice! I had planned on wanting to attend airfield events first (for the reasons mentioned)!

PerryGunn, I agree it's a wonderful car to drive, though it was only recently that I came round to accepting the looks of the e36. Mainly this was due to seeing far too many convertibles with 18" wheels on factory suspension tinted to the max with max power exhausts.

Mowflow, I did look into just renting, but I one of the main factors for having my own car was to give me an opportunity to learn basic mechanical work. Up to date, my past experiences only extended to electronics and basic maintenance (checking oil, swapping air filters etc), so it made sense to learn on a cheaper car than my Z4. If you do come across a pair of matching bucket seats I'd love to know about them!

Machine monkey Thanks for the offer Matt! Will probably once I get some confidence and experience be looking at Brands Hatch or Silverstone, both are pretty much an hour or so drive from where I am.

tomscott, I do have a huge soft spot for the touring e36 (once decked and on a nice set of wheels of course!) Joking aside, they are pretty bullet proof if looked after well and are super practical. There's a few members on Stanceworks running touring 323i's all with no catastrophic issues!

Given I've some free time at the moment while studying gets underway again, more work was carried out today...

http://e36tracktoy.blogspot.com/2014/01/interior-clean.html
 
Machine monkey said:
Great work Niel been wanting to do this myself. So i will watch and read your blog with interest. If i can help out at all i am more than happy to :thumbsup:

What tracks are you looking at doing? I am keen on doing a few in the zed this year. Their is a track near me in Abingdon big airfield with not much to hit!!
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Monkey (and Neil), the company in the link I posted run trackdays at Abingdon. It's one of their better tracks and usually books up early. Its the closest track to me, so I'll likely be testing my suspension and brake mods there this summer and tinkering to find the best set up. Let me know if you're thinking of booking a day and I'll see of I can make it too. I usually run my Westy and Zed together if the weather is dry. If others are interested too, we could have a mini-meet!
 
BMWZ4MC, thanks! Shall give you a heads up when I get around to choosing/booking a few days this year!

More updates for those following. Just a round up of one week of ownership!

http://e36tracktoy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/sitrep-one-week-in.html
 
Thanks!

Currently looking at just updating it weekly rather than every time I do something to the car. I figured it would make for more interesting reading (not to mention pictures, because everyone loves pictures)

In the mean time, anyone care to chip in regarding what coolant would be best suited (including dilution ratios)
 
NeilP said:
Thanks!

Currently looking at just updating it weekly rather than every time I do something to the car. I figured it would make for more interesting reading (not to mention pictures, because everyone loves pictures)

In the mean time, anyone care to chip in regarding what coolant would be best suited (including dilution ratios)
Click to expand...

Loving the blog and the car!

I had a techno violet e36 328 convertible a few years back and have had a soft spot ever since.
 
chrisba, :thumbsup:

Techno is a gorgeous colour! A friend of mine had an 36 coupe in it and it was stunning. (Shame that colour has a higher value otherwise I'd be in a techno e36 right now!)

And for those following, this week's progress. (Be kind, it was my first time attempting mechanical work of this nature!)

http://e36tracktoy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/new-parts-and-service.html
 
Following this with interest, hope to do it myself someday! Keep it up!
(Will you do a round up of approximate costs once it's ready for the track btw? Like to know how much I would be looking at roughly to do something similar!)
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement Andy!

I am indeed keeping a tally on how much has been spent. Looking to release the figures near enough when the car would be ready for the track (and obviously continuing to update it as and when is required)

The budget is about £2200 for everything and currently am half way through the budget after all the major service items have been purchased. (Leaving £300 for any emergency repairs and such).

Next step is to find a seat and a harness. Will probably be going down the new route given I've not found any seats going second hand that have a general consensus of good reviews.
 
Another update!

New plugs and clean manifolds.

http://e36tracktoy.blogspot.com/2014/02/dirty-plugs-and-grease.html
 
£800.

No tax or mot, brakes were shot on all 4 corners, overdue on a service (as you could see in the pics) but the mileage stacked up and it came with an m50 manifold (increased airflow) as well as a bigger throttle body, a few spare breather hoses, a pair of tinted rear lights as well as a pair of m3 side skirts.

Oh and the Alpinas are genuine.

If I were to sell of those bits the car itself would be a few hundred quid.
 
NeilP said:
£800.

No tax or mot, brakes were shot on all 4 corners, overdue on a service (as you could see in the pics) but the mileage stacked up and it came with an m50 manifold (increased airflow) as well as a bigger throttle body, a few spare breather hoses, a pair of tinted rear lights as well as a pair of m3 side skirts.

Oh and the Alpinas are genuine.

If I were to sell of those bits the car itself would be a few hundred quid.
Click to expand...

Got yourself a bargain there then!

Are you going to keep the Alpinas or go to something more "track focused"?

Have you decided on whether to fit the M50 manifold yet?
 
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