George’s 318 — It’s Alive!

02 Feb George’s 318 — It’s Alive!

And it’s making some serious noise to let us all know that it’s ready to head back home. Let’s take a look at the video we took during its last few dyno pulls.

But first, allow us to say this about the above photo. Only at Fluid MotorUnion will the body shop test fit your pieces in-between dyno runs. Saving you time AND money! That’s how we do it. But, we digress…

This video has been a long time coming. What once rolled into FMU in pieces, taken away from another shop and sent to us to fix it, is now leaving a complete work, something the owner can get in and enjoy immediately.

This is George’s E36 318i. It features, obviously, a bespoke turbocharger setup with a whole bevy of upgraded and modified parts running off a standalone Haltech ECU. There isn’t much left stock on this car; everything from the intake manifold up front to the custom turndown tip out back gives the vehicle a totally different attitude than a normal 318.

This project has been a labor of love. From finishing the obscene amount of wiring, to finally getting these specific coilpacks to work with this motor (a first, as far as we know), George’s 318 is finally ready to hit the road, with 205.5 horsepower hitting the ground by way of a strengthened aftermarket rear differential.

Here’s a link to the larger version of the dyno graph, since YouTube’s embedding is all wonky.

Big numbers aren’t everything. The amount of power coming from this 4-banger, coupled with the diff’s gearing, makes for one quick car. And the sound, oh boy the sound. You can tell just how crazy it gets in the shots that feature the front of the car; once full boost comes on, the motor completely changes its tone. Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde.

George will be taking this car directly to Texas, as he’s temporarily relocating for work purposes, but we’re sure he’ll be back to us with a progress report as soon as he’s had ample seat time. In the meantime, enjoy the video!