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Just another e30 resto and eventual 5.0 swap.

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    Just another e30 resto and eventual 5.0 swap.

    Hello hello.. My name is Cory and this will be my documentation of everything I will be doing to this e30 that I have finally acquired after 3 long years of waiting for the perfect one. Shes finally here..

    (I've been told before posting here that many wish to not read but to look, so after this long post I'll be posting pictures and just brief descriptions. [emoji16])

    My back story..

    Okay so I have been looking for e30s for the past 3-4 years and everytime I seem to have found the perfect one, something always happens in my life where I either cant afford it, don't have enough time for the car, nowhere to put it, etc.. I've had to miss out on 4 different e30s and when I finally found this one, it was almost destiny that it would fall into my lap at the perfect moment in time.

    Back story of the car:

    SO! I went to look at this car in the dark the night after I messaged the guy from craigslist, the car looked decent enough and the price point was perfect so I knew I had to have it. Come to find out, its a one owner car, and has just been sitting for the past 10 years only because the guy was tired of replacing driver side windows for whatever reason. The owner and his buddy that was selling the car for him were both very great guys and fellow bmw enthusiasts as well so it had to be fate for me to have this car.

    My plans for the car:

    Originally I took interests in e30s because I loved the boxy styling however about 2 years ago I read a thread on stanceworks from a guy named stuartrussell.. I read that whole thread start to finish two times over that day and from that moment on I knew I had to have a e30 with a v8 in it. Bringing you up to speed now. I recently had a miata I was going to turbo but I was always between turbo miata and v8 e30 so I posted my miata for sale or trade for a 5.0 swap.. Low and behold a week before I found this e30, a buddy of mine says "hey man I have a 5.0 swap that I can trade you".. So I was like shoot.. why not ! the miata was just sitting anyways since I have a new car and also a bronco. so the miata was definitely at the bottom of my list for things to do especially since I was having the battle between which build I wanted.. Then, this Bmw just falls right into my lap as if it was fate and that brings us to right now. As you'll see, the car needs a good bit of work interior and exterior wise but I'm up against my first challenge now. which is getting the old girl to running condition again.

    I was assured that the car just needs fresh fluids, gas and a battery of course since she'd been sitting for the past 10 years with no love. I went to try and start the car with a newer battery and a jump box but both had been sitting for a while and had low charges. Just my luck. However the car did have enough juice for me to test the lights and everything else, which I was pleasantly surprised, everything worked minus the drivers turn signal that needed a new bulb. I'm trying to get her at least running so I can move it a little to make towing easier and save myself a couple bucks but we'll see what happens. If anybody has anything else to recommend to get this old girl started and running again just let me know. I will be updating this thread everytime something happens with the car.

    Lastly my current plans in order for the car are as follows:

    1. Get the car in running condition/towed back to my house.
    2. Change all fluids, bleed the system, tune up things.
    3. Rip apart the interior since (I forgot to mention that the cars driver window has been down for an undetermined amount of time) as you could imagine theres tons of nature that made its way into the car. She's going to need a GOOD cleaning .
    4. Buy new seats.. ive read the reviews on vaders and how theyre not some comfy for long drives however the PO has a minty fresh pair for a steal price so I may just go that route.
    5. Refresh the whole interior, its pretty mint however with having black vaders installed, the blue seats and interior will look a little off so I may have them reupholstered or maybe just buy new/used interior.
    6. I'd like to start prepping for body work and paint, which I will be doing myself, leaning towards either black, white, or a shade of blue.
    7. Purchase wheels, not sure what set up I will be going with on account of I don't know If I will be running fender flares, or custom widebody yet, or even just stock setup.
    8. I'm sure the suspension is pretty bad off since its been sitting for quite some time so id like to spruce it up a little bit but not too much right off since I will have to change it again once the 5.0 is installed eventually.
    9. INSTALL 5.0 EVENTUALLY
    10. Do all this in time for h20i and OCMD 2017

    These aren't any plans that are really totally set in stone, I'm sure there will be tons of bumps and headaches down the road with this car but just thought I would map everything out online and see how it goes. Hopefully this thread starts getting some good followers, honestly though I'm just doing it for my own documentation and also to keep myself motivated through it all. I finally got the car I have always wanted and now its time to make somethings happen


    Here she is, my backyard find rescued from what was soon to be her grave




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    #2
    Alright so I managed to get some time alone with old girl and it's looking like lots of potential.. Today I managed to put the newly charged battery in so I could try cranking the car over. Starter sounded great and I didn't want to get the car actually started yet because I'd like to put in a new filter and check out all the other fluids as well. Plus, the car was completely dry of gas anyways. So that happened and I went on to try to take the car back from the environment that was taking control of the car. I dusted all the webs and random bee hives, little nests and whatnot out of the car. Also was able to remove the back seat and all that goodness as well to start with the deep clean back there.. believe it or not once you guys see the interior after its detailed, I will really only have to end up buying new front seats and putting in a new headliner. Don't care so much that the dash is cracked since it's damn near impossible to get one at a decent price let alone a backyard find like this one. Lastly before it started raining, I was trying to unbolt the driver side seat and the rail is of course locked up so I couldn't slide it forward to get to the rear bolts. She still needs one hell of a vacuum and lots of deep cleaning goodness but I'm happy with the little bit of progress that I had in the short time before it rained.

    Here's some pictures from the day.





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      #3
      Sweet! Subbing to this! Good luck homie.


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      e30Ls1 Swap IG: 1dirty30

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        #4
        Originally posted by Reyhan335 View Post
        Sweet! Subbing to this! Good luck homie.


        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


        Thanks man! Hoping to get the fuel filter installed tomorrow and then some fresh gas as well as a little seafoam treatment. Hopefully she'll show some life. [emoji16]


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          #5
          Why worry about the og motor if you're going to just pull it anyways


          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
          e30Ls1 Swap IG: 1dirty30

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            #6
            Originally posted by Reyhan335 View Post
            Why worry about the og motor if you're going to just pull it anyways


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            Because I'm not from the area I'm living currently. So when I go to do the paint and the motor swap, I'll be going back and forth to jersey. It'd be nice to be able to drive her back instead of towing her with my bronco.


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              #7
              Update from yesterday..

              So I went to replace the fuel filter today only to realize that all the clamps were rusted to hell and I'd have to cut or grind them off. Also wasn't planning on replacing the fuel pressure regulator but it's right there and I already had to cut the lines so might as well I guess. That's pretty much when I stopped for the day because I have to order the fpr online.

              Here's some pictures for you non reading people. :)




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                #8
                We're still waiting for GF pics, dude.

                Edit, I just read that you were waiting for 3 years to find the perfect e30 and you got this!?

                POR QUE BROO?
                Current Collection: 1990 325is // 1987 325i Vert // 2003 525i 5spd // 1985 380SL // 1992 Ranger 5spd // 2005 Avalanche // 2024 Honda Grom SP

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by MrBurgundy View Post
                  We're still waiting for GF pics, dude.


                  Lmao my girlfriend?


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                    #10
                    Yeah, man. I didn't make the rules here, you'll be a forever noob if you don't
                    Current Collection: 1990 325is // 1987 325i Vert // 2003 525i 5spd // 1985 380SL // 1992 Ranger 5spd // 2005 Avalanche // 2024 Honda Grom SP

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by MrBurgundy View Post
                      Yeah, man. I didn't make the rules here, you'll be a forever noob if you don't


                      Aha. You're right. Pics coming soon.


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                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by mrburgundy View Post
                        yeah, man. I didn't make the rules here, you'll be a forever noob if you don't
                        lol

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by MrBurgundy View Post
                          We're still waiting for GF pics, dude.

                          Edit, I just read that you were waiting for 3 years to find the perfect e30 and you got this!?

                          POR QUE BROO?


                          What's the point of being a dick?


                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                          e30Ls1 Swap IG: 1dirty30

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by MrBurgundy View Post
                            We're still waiting for GF pics, dude.

                            Edit, I just read that you were waiting for 3 years to find the perfect e30 and you got this!?

                            POR QUE BROO?


                            Eh I mean. By perfect I meant by the price and the chassis condition. I wasn't gonna pay $2-3k to mess up a perfectly good e30 by throwing a 5.0 in it. In the long run I'm gonna end up spending that money anyways but at least it'll be a learning experience for me and I'll be able to say I built this thing from the ground up. This car really was a diamond in the rough. The pictures make it a 1000% worse than it actually is condition wise plus I do paint and body anyways so I'm not even worried about that department. I understand where you're coming from tho lol.


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                              #15
                              Just another e30 resto and eventual 5.0 swap.

                              I see, great way to learn!

                              Anyways, good luck with the plans and welcome to r3v!


                              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                              Current Collection: 1990 325is // 1987 325i Vert // 2003 525i 5spd // 1985 380SL // 1992 Ranger 5spd // 2005 Avalanche // 2024 Honda Grom SP

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