DELIVERY!!
OK OK, I can fill you in... It's in my possession, I'm pretty gobsmacked someone is asking about it after all these years. It's the best car I've ever had and it's one of my biggest regrets. This story doesn't end well...
I bought it around 2007 as an ex road rally car and it was in pretty bad condition. I got a one way train ticket from Colchester and the seller picked up from Bristol Temple Mead station. I paid £350 and drove it all the way back to Loughborough the same night where I was at university at the time. The car had mud/gravel rally tyres fitted to the rear wheels and I span out on a roundabout near to Loughborough on the trip home!
The car drove fantastic and I kept it maintained it to a very high standard mechanically but the bodywork was always poor. I took it on many track days at RAF Marham, Curburough, Haynes Motor Museum and did a few drift days too. After finishing university I ended up using it for a 110 mile round trip commute daily, I then bought a Passat diesel as it was so much cheaper to run. I still used the car as a weekend fun car taking it to many summer shows and track days. The car never let me down and only went through a few ball joints and one clutch.
I ended up selling the car around 2010 to a girl who wanted to start drifting. I had prior to this I bought an E32 735i manual as my next track/drift car. Being freshly graduated on a low income I couldn't keep both and selling it is my biggest car regret of all time... Soon after selling it I actually attended a drift day at Norfolk Arena in the 735i and the 735i was totally unreliable, I got two runs and the clutch slave exploded ending my day. Meanwhile the 318is turned up to the same event and was doing laps all day... That was a pretty big kick in the teeth, I had sold my most reliable and fun car which I loved, I've not had anywhere near the same track time due to unreliable cars...
And we get to the sad bit. The girl came from Thurrock and there is a big drift scene down there and it was sold onto a local BDC driver and the car's demise happened at a "King of the Ring" event at Essex arena. It was involved in a pile up on track and took a huge shunt into the wall. On hearing about this I offered to buy it back sight unseen on the basis of fixing it back up to it's former glory but it was in such a bad way it could only be used as parts.
Both front chassis rails were bent, all panels were bent, metal engine mounts had snapped, gearbox mounts were torn out. It was toast. I stripped it for the engine and interior and not much else was saveable. I was totally gutted. The best bits are going to live on in my E21 316 which I'm fitting both the engine and interior too. The shell still lives on my farm waiting to be scrapped.
Some might sneer over the history of the car and what it's been used for but I had an absolute blast. H220 RDW is sorely missed
if you have further questions feel free to ask!
Picture history!
The day I bought it, trip home 2007
Lethal!!
Farm 2007
Loaded up ready for RAF Marham 2007
RAF Marham 2007
Uni 2007
Farm 2007
Parents lawn 2007
Clamped in London 2008!!
Retro Rides 2008
Retro Rides Pub Meet 2008(?)
RAF Marham 2008
RAF Marham 2009
RAF Wimbish drift day 2010
Curburough Sprint Track NASC Spring Nats 2009 or 2010
Haynes Motor Museum track, Retro Rides 2010
As I bought it back after the King of the Ring incident
How it sits now stripped on my farm
and swap the reg numbers by transfer.
