frink's build thread
 

long time lurker, figured i would put together a build thread. been into BMWs for about 7 years, started with an e28. also have an e46 wagon 5-speed that the wifey races around in. cars have been a life-long obsession. i tend to do most if not all of my own wrenching at home. good times!

car is a 97 318ti, silver on black, sport, 5-speed manual. 200k+ miles. owned it for a little over a year before the mod bug hit. started out like so, we had euro tails/corners on hand (father in law is a ti fan too):
http://i.imgur.com/TgTjhqPl.jpg

may '13: clears, ddm angel eyes, black m-tech trim
http://i.imgur.com/0n9F6H5l.jpg

august '13: ground control front coilovers, eibach rear springs, blackout b-pillar
http://i.imgur.com/hakKTfKl.jpg

december '13: m3 front brakes, stoptech pads, slotted rotors, style 44's, m3 mirrors, m3 wheel, vaders, euro glovebox/steering wheel tray, zhp shift knob
http://i.imgur.com/yaeRaczl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/DvcqzEil.jpg

september '14: new headliner, style 65 reps, lip spoiler, fog light deletes (driver fog decided it didnt want to live, exited on the fwy, turns out the bracketry was all kinds of broken and zip tied together by PO)
http://i.imgur.com/iTe7GiTl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rE6Daksl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UPdOvCZl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/iIHHBb6l.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Q9RJ2fYl.jpg

future plans: tint, restoration bits (a-pilar trim, cowl trim, front grill), rear suspension rebuild, motor swap

Looks great, man! Keep us posted, it's always nice to see a car progress.

Looking good! What motor are you planning to put in?

Nice build, nice to live in salt free environment.

s5x, dream is s54 but m/s52 is much more likely.

Can't wait to see more=) So far so good

Congrats and can't wait to see this build results.

True that, I also dream of the s54 humming at 8k rpm in my car with a 6spd and 3.73 three clutch lsd in the back, yum!

Undate on the progress when you get a chance.

got the tires mounted/balanced on the wheels. fronts are all i put on as i need to roll the rears first. fitment is on point IMHO. Will probably go lower once I convert the rear to adjustable springs (is h&r now)

http://i.imgur.com/SqrpUPol.jpg

Looks good=)

finally put the grill in the mtech bumper. lost the last one to a tire chunk on the freeway over 3 years ago...

http://i.imgur.com/UblVCCm.jpg

Looking good - front fitment is perfect!

Did your mounting pins sheer off when you lost the first bumper grille too? They should have had a better way of securing those in the bumper=/ Glad to see you got around to installing a new one=)

yup, every one on the driver side and the top were gone. I used zip ties and well-placed holes in the bumper to secure it. cant really tell unless you are up close, and the bumper has its fair share of scrapes and cracked paint, so i wasnt very concerned about putting holes in it.

Finally swapped the upper seat frame to fix the original millpoint front seats. The upper frame had cracked a weld, causing an awesome seat twist that was messing with my back. I had borrowed my FIL's black Vaders but he needed them back for his Clubsport.

This was a very VERY simple swap. 2 screws, pull the headrest and pull off the recline lever on the upper, which allows the seat back to be removed. Then pop the wire out of the recline lever. The cloth and foam padding come off as one piece after you pull the cloth off the tabs on the back of the frame. Then the frame itself is 6 bolts to come away from the lower. Reverse to install.

http://i.imgur.com/9Ky234cl.jpg