giovanni.joubert
Member
Yikes, where do we start?
The beginning?
My parents bought me a 1999 e36 318is for my 17th birthday (which I had to repay, great parents :highfive
My initial impressions were, the heck? Everything felt so old, my dad knew my all-time dream car has always been an e46, why this thing then?
(Reflecting back, I see that I was obviously oblivious to how large part of your life your car, especially your first car becomes,
and didn't understand the magnitude of the gift)
Car getting checked out by PG-glass for insurance roadworthy test (all lights are a go)
After two weeks of ownership, both brake lights fail (the irony). I realize that to live with this car, I’m going to need to DIY.
(Have no previous automotive experience, heck at his point I wasn’t able to drive the car yet)
Culprit: Brake light switch under pedal, new one from Goldwagen.
Well, if its DIY we are doing... Next order of business: fix the horrid sound
(my model only has tweeters in the door and mids in the kick panels)
Added kicker speakers to the kick panels (pun-intended), cheap sony 6x9s in the back for a little bass
(if not distortion lol) & a JVC Bluetooth head unit that at least has the right hue for the interior (but still breaks the look entirely).
I am pleasantly surprised to say my sound is the best out of our family’s fleet (F10 5-series, Ford Ranger) and that for a grand total of R3000?
Not bad. Not quite my Bowers & Wilkins in my room but hey, enjoyable enough to crank it up on a road trip.
One morning (probably whilst still fixing the sound, don’t think I had my license yet)
I realize that the battery isn’t happy anymore, have to jump it every now and then.
Just a few days later, we’re out with the car, the entire family for a dinner at Turn and Tender @ Menlyn Maine,
what a horrid experience, crappy ribeye steak for double the price.
To make matters worse, on our commute home, the car starts overheating.
The cherry on the cake is, while we are waiting for the flatbed on the side of the road,
we can’t even turn the hazards lights on, because the battery has run dead.
This incident made my parents rethink the old car for a young lad, thinking it’s too unreliable/unsafe.
But, turns out, all we needed was a lekker mechanic (to aid our lack of knowledge). And we found one! Eugene my hero!
Replaced the radiator and most of the cooling system, shocks & battery. Just in time for me to start driving it as I turned 18 and got my license.
(The car has been purring perfectly since then!)
My girl spraying the whole interior with confetti as I drove to her the first time after I got my license.mgwaiting:
A few other cosmetic changes I made:
I replaced the sunburnt/cracked badges with the new metallic ones found on newer cars (like the F10)
Had to stick it on with lekker double sided tape (as it doesn’t have those pegs) but flip, the quality is so good!
Also, notice the stripes in the previous picture.
This is how Watson (nick name) has looked for almost a year since then:
But then, I had an urge..
In comes @FiRi@Rennzport who hooked me up with an M3 bumper & bootlip.
Bumper coming home after it has been sprayed
Obviously it going to be a DIY..
Before and after:
And that about wraps up the eventful part of the story, I can now drive, I can somewhat fix things and the car is behaving so well.
This measly old 4-pot 318IS has become my best friend. It’s saved my life a couple of times (thank you ABS), and has grown with me.
It’s the ultimate driving machine. Every pull away feels like a drag race, when actually you are barely keeping up with traffic hehe.
He has so much emotion. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let him go.
This then starts my photo log on the forum: (Sucks to start it with a dirty car, but if I don’t start now then I never will)
(Almost forgot about this. also an upgrade, ZHP shift knob, best thing ever)
:ty:
The beginning?
My parents bought me a 1999 e36 318is for my 17th birthday (which I had to repay, great parents :highfive
My initial impressions were, the heck? Everything felt so old, my dad knew my all-time dream car has always been an e46, why this thing then?
(Reflecting back, I see that I was obviously oblivious to how large part of your life your car, especially your first car becomes,
and didn't understand the magnitude of the gift)
Car getting checked out by PG-glass for insurance roadworthy test (all lights are a go)
After two weeks of ownership, both brake lights fail (the irony). I realize that to live with this car, I’m going to need to DIY.
(Have no previous automotive experience, heck at his point I wasn’t able to drive the car yet)
Culprit: Brake light switch under pedal, new one from Goldwagen.
Well, if its DIY we are doing... Next order of business: fix the horrid sound
(my model only has tweeters in the door and mids in the kick panels)
Added kicker speakers to the kick panels (pun-intended), cheap sony 6x9s in the back for a little bass
(if not distortion lol) & a JVC Bluetooth head unit that at least has the right hue for the interior (but still breaks the look entirely).
I am pleasantly surprised to say my sound is the best out of our family’s fleet (F10 5-series, Ford Ranger) and that for a grand total of R3000?
Not bad. Not quite my Bowers & Wilkins in my room but hey, enjoyable enough to crank it up on a road trip.
One morning (probably whilst still fixing the sound, don’t think I had my license yet)
I realize that the battery isn’t happy anymore, have to jump it every now and then.
Just a few days later, we’re out with the car, the entire family for a dinner at Turn and Tender @ Menlyn Maine,
what a horrid experience, crappy ribeye steak for double the price.
To make matters worse, on our commute home, the car starts overheating.
The cherry on the cake is, while we are waiting for the flatbed on the side of the road,
we can’t even turn the hazards lights on, because the battery has run dead.
This incident made my parents rethink the old car for a young lad, thinking it’s too unreliable/unsafe.
But, turns out, all we needed was a lekker mechanic (to aid our lack of knowledge). And we found one! Eugene my hero!
Replaced the radiator and most of the cooling system, shocks & battery. Just in time for me to start driving it as I turned 18 and got my license.
(The car has been purring perfectly since then!)
My girl spraying the whole interior with confetti as I drove to her the first time after I got my license.
mgwaiting:A few other cosmetic changes I made:
I replaced the sunburnt/cracked badges with the new metallic ones found on newer cars (like the F10)
Had to stick it on with lekker double sided tape (as it doesn’t have those pegs) but flip, the quality is so good!
Also, notice the stripes in the previous picture.
This is how Watson (nick name) has looked for almost a year since then:
But then, I had an urge..
In comes @FiRi@Rennzport who hooked me up with an M3 bumper & bootlip.
Bumper coming home after it has been sprayed
Obviously it going to be a DIY..
Before and after:
And that about wraps up the eventful part of the story, I can now drive, I can somewhat fix things and the car is behaving so well.
This measly old 4-pot 318IS has become my best friend. It’s saved my life a couple of times (thank you ABS), and has grown with me.
It’s the ultimate driving machine. Every pull away feels like a drag race, when actually you are barely keeping up with traffic hehe.
He has so much emotion. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let him go.
This then starts my photo log on the forum: (Sucks to start it with a dirty car, but if I don’t start now then I never will)
(Almost forgot about this. also an upgrade, ZHP shift knob, best thing ever)
:ty:
