The car when I got it was a completely standard 1.8 BMW E30 "318i" (automatic). It had been written off by an insurance company after what looks like somebody drove over a curb or rock. There was minimal damage to the front number plate and lower valance (so minimal that I pulled it back by hand !). The sump was also smashed but there was luckily no damage to the engine so it must have been turned off pretty quickly after the crash (if you can call it a crash !). Anyway a sump and a number plate was bought and fitted and after a fill of oil off she went !. For the MOT all it needed was some rear brake flexible hoses :D.

After using it on the road for a while the torque converter gave up on me !. The car was parked up and left. Some time later I had made the decision to turn it into the track car I had always wished for.

It's a reasonably straight forward conversion with the main problems being;

You need to change the sump/oil pickup/dipstick and tube to a 5 series E34 24v item as the E36 24v sump does not have sufficient clearance to the front subframe.
You need to modify a bmw m52 tubular manifold/fabricate a custom manifold as steering column clearance is an issue.
The brake servo needs swapping for a Renault item (from a plastic winged clio) and you need a spacer inside the brake master cylinder.
It is advised to use the E36 steering rack also as the ratio is better and you will not need custom power steering pipes.
The wiring loom needs some modification (its not as scary as it sounds !).

I have treated the engine to;
K&N oil filter
A new water pump
A new alternator belt
A new fuel filter
NGK Iridium spark plugs
New inlet manifold and exhaust gaskets
New exhaust manifold studs/nuts
Good quality oil and friction reducer (slick 50).

The 2.8 makes around 190bhp in stock form but I will be running it with;

Chipped ECU
Performance air filter/silicone intake pipework
big bore throttle body
An M50 inlet manifold (much greater flow)
Recon (pink) fuel injectors
NGK Iridium spark plugs
Scorpion (twin pipe) exhaust exhaust system
Heat wrapped exhaust headers
No catalytic converters
A lightweight flywheel/paddle clutch
50bhp shot of nitrous

I have no idea what to expect in terms of power but the car will get a rolling road session once running.

Cooling
88 deg c thermostat
New water pump (metal impeller)
E36 323 (a/c model) water radiator
12v high output electric radiator fan with custom loom (in front)
M20 brown temp sender in M52 head
E36 318is radiator temp sender for fan control
Inline temp sender in top hose for aux water temp gauge

Chassis and Bodywork
Sound deadening removed and interior repainted
Some metal removed from rear seat area
Sunroof cassette removed
Rust removal/treatment carried out (rear arches yet to do)
Carbon Fibre (single skin) bonnet mounted with Q/R pins

Steering
Custom steering column/uj's for manifold clearance
Steering column rubber joint removed for improved feel
Bmw Z3 1.9 Steering rack (oem part/quick rack)

Wheels/Tyres
BBS RC041 17" split rims (7.5j front - 8.5j rear)

Interior
Original interior trim removed (carpets, rear seats etc)
Sound proofing removed and interior repainted
2 Sparco Junior seats
4 Point harness's + mounting plates
OMP suede dished 3 spoke steering wheel
3 auxillary gauges
Skateboard grip tape used in drivers footwell
Wiring re-routed from footwells
//M Aluminium pedals
//M gear gaiter + knob :)