91 318is Brilliantrot - So much to refresh --> M52 swap
My goal for this build, other than wrenching experience, is to have a super reliable swapped E30 that I can drive on the weekends, enjoy the simplicity of it and eventually get into autox events. I want everything to keep either an OEM or OEM+ experience and feel.
I have always enjoyed build threads especially when there are a lot of pictures. Hopefully it's enjoyable. Maybe someone will catch a mistake happening and let me know. Everything I put on this car is either OEM or very well reviewed aftermarket stuff. This thread also acts as a picture journal for me, my friends and family. Almost everything here has been seen before and that's fine with me.
Back story:
About 7 years ago I started appreciating the style and idea of the E30 and the idea of owning one eventually popped into my mind. I just moved out of my parents’ house and was in college. I went to a local car meet and there was someone there that had an E30 there. I talked to him for a while and then when he went to move the car around the parking lot I asked if I could be a passenger. It was so silly, but I really just wanted sit in the car while it moved. There was something that was calling me. Side note - The E30 really helped develop a big appreciation for not just other older BMW designs but from other European manufactures as well.
I initially wanted the E30 to daily drive, I have an E90 that I baby and that has a lot of sentimental value that I never intended on daily driving. I eventually ended up commuting with a motorcycle and then being able to car pool which allowed me to take on an E30 that was a lot more of a project. I wanted it as more of a project since I’ve only done routine maintence on my motorcycle and I never turned a wrench on a car to do anything more than change out wheels or take off a bumper to change out headlights.
From 7 years ago to about 2 ½ years ago, June 2013, where I was finally able to purchase an E30, I moved across country, graduated college, found a good job and bought a house, left that job and then found a place I could have a career at. I finally got myself into a situation where I could buy one and work on it. I had a hard time finding one that didn’t have the E30 tax and was a plastic bumper year.
I finally found one. The owner was an E30 enthusiast and kept everything stock but the radio and speakers. He talked about what maintenance he did to the engine, which seemed decent. The car had 248k on it. The problem was everything WAS stock… Very little seemed to be replaced on the car in the last 100k or even in the car’s existence. I bought it for $2,400, at least $500 more than I should have but I was eager to own a plastic bumper E30, which are hard to find in AZ.
My goal for this build, other than wrenching experience, is to have a super reliable swapped E30 that I can drive on the weekends, enjoy the simplicity of it and eventually get into autox events. I want everything to keep either an OEM or OEM+ experience and feel.
I have always enjoyed build threads especially when there are a lot of pictures. Hopefully it's enjoyable. Maybe someone will catch a mistake happening and let me know. Everything I put on this car is either OEM or very well reviewed aftermarket stuff. This thread also acts as a picture journal for me, my friends and family. Almost everything here has been seen before and that's fine with me.
Back story:
About 7 years ago I started appreciating the style and idea of the E30 and the idea of owning one eventually popped into my mind. I just moved out of my parents’ house and was in college. I went to a local car meet and there was someone there that had an E30 there. I talked to him for a while and then when he went to move the car around the parking lot I asked if I could be a passenger. It was so silly, but I really just wanted sit in the car while it moved. There was something that was calling me. Side note - The E30 really helped develop a big appreciation for not just other older BMW designs but from other European manufactures as well.
I initially wanted the E30 to daily drive, I have an E90 that I baby and that has a lot of sentimental value that I never intended on daily driving. I eventually ended up commuting with a motorcycle and then being able to car pool which allowed me to take on an E30 that was a lot more of a project. I wanted it as more of a project since I’ve only done routine maintence on my motorcycle and I never turned a wrench on a car to do anything more than change out wheels or take off a bumper to change out headlights.
From 7 years ago to about 2 ½ years ago, June 2013, where I was finally able to purchase an E30, I moved across country, graduated college, found a good job and bought a house, left that job and then found a place I could have a career at. I finally got myself into a situation where I could buy one and work on it. I had a hard time finding one that didn’t have the E30 tax and was a plastic bumper year.
I finally found one. The owner was an E30 enthusiast and kept everything stock but the radio and speakers. He talked about what maintenance he did to the engine, which seemed decent. The car had 248k on it. The problem was everything WAS stock… Very little seemed to be replaced on the car in the last 100k or even in the car’s existence. I bought it for $2,400, at least $500 more than I should have but I was eager to own a plastic bumper E30, which are hard to find in AZ.
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