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-   -   Hello from Wisconsin (http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=43935)

MikeF 09-21-2017 04:06 AM

Hello from Wisconsin
 
Hi! I've been searching off-and-on for a nice TI for almost a year now. First "discovered" them back around 2012 or 2013 when I was looking for a lightweight RWD project car with well-balanced handling. Previous to that I had never really even considered buying a BMW or any other "fancy european car". I ended up settling on an e21 at that time; which I loved, drove a ton, still have, and continue to work on. I've owned a couple bimmers since then, but still wanted a TI. I guess it the weird combination of practicality and sportiness. It's like a Z3 without the hairdresser jokes, plus you can realistically haul a fair amount of stuff with it. Nice examples are hard to find, especially up here in the rust belt, but I finally found one that hit the sweet spot for me in terms of price vs condition. Not my dream TI, but it's going to (hopefully) serve primarily as a daily driver. High-miles (which I actually think is desirable for an old car: old cars with low miles haven't been driven, and once you start driving them you'll find out they need ALL of the maintenance done). PO was a dog lover, but only had the car for a year. Even so, the seats are trashed. However the rest of the car is pretty clean by rust-belt standards. Prior to that the car was enthusiast-owned and appears to be very well maintained. https://i.imgur.com/EdpYPqG.jpg https://i.imgur.com/kIMElBf.jpg https://i.imgur.com/OYBvkSP.jpg http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/...psyajz1roc.jpg Future plans for the car are unsure. I have a full set of Bilstein Sports and lowering springs that I pulled off a junkyard Ti a few years ago that I will probably wait until spring to install. Would like to do an aluminum-block M52TUB28 or M54B30 swap someday, but for now just plan to drive and enjoy the car. -Mike

anassa 09-21-2017 06:46 AM

Welcome Mike!

Looks like you have a nice ti to get started on! Take your time! It took me 4-5 years before I got around to swapping my compact and now that its swapped and its been ~9 months I am still working on getting it smog legal!! So take your time. Its a process!

But make sure to post up your progress, even if this forum gets slow sometimes. =D

FunElan 09-21-2017 02:21 PM

Welcome! Looks like you got a great car. I'm down the highway in Chicago if you ever need anything.

apexspeedtech 09-21-2017 05:27 PM

Welcome! I'm from Madison but have lived in So Cal for the last 18 years (done with snow) but what a great car, enjoy blasts out to Mount Horeb, the backroads to Lacrosse and all the other great Southwest Wisconsin drives, I still take road trips out there yearly!

E30-M3 09-22-2017 01:01 AM

Nice shot of Devil's Tower correct? Welcome to the site.

MikeF 09-22-2017 02:57 AM

Thanks for the warm welcome.

That's El Capitan at Yosemite. View from the top wasn't bad either:

https://i.imgur.com/7xXODjd.jpg

Back in 2015 I was going through a bit of a rough spot. Quit my job because it sucked. When the landlord found out I didn't have a job he kicked me out. So I took my lemons and my savings and turned it into lemonade by finishing the m42 swap on the e21 and going on a 6-week road trip. Hit up about 20 states and drove 10 or 12k miles. Camped a lot to save money. Did a bunch of hiking. Wasn't quite the transformative experience I was hoping it would be, but it was good to take some time off and get away from everything.


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