this should be easier than a paint job...

[bimmer630]

Got my "new" e30 home safely from conneticut this afternoon, bought it from a fellow R3v member, as a "Body Swap" to transplant my axles/running gear from my wrecked coupe. The engine on the new car misfires and blows oil smoke badly, and its got an automatic. my plans are

- swap my good lower mileage motor and manual trans into new car (I was thinking of simply unbolting the front subframe and lowering the rear/jacking up the front of the body, high up enough to roll the engine/trans/front axle out as a unit.. might be too much of a hassle but i can chop up the body where needed)
-swap in my front/rear subframes which are both set up with 5 lug e36 M3 stuff and ground control coilovers/ BBS wheels
-swap in everything else thats still good from my car (interior parts, etc..)


whadda ya guys think?
the body looks mint in this pic but its actually got a few minor issues, the r/s rocker was bashed in from running over a stump or something, and theres a few minor rusty spots under the battery and on the lower r/f fender, just like every e30 ive seen.. and the clearcoat is "crazing" in spots. can this be buffed out?

[bimmer630]

oh.. and i posted about this in the steering rack thread, but figured i'd add it to this one too...

The new car has an airbag, the old one doesnt, and ive put an e36 rack in the old car which I wanna use in the new car. From what ive seen people do, the firewall needs to be modified ONLY. (on airbag cars)
Is it possible to swap in the non-airbag column into the '90 body?

[george graves]

Nice dude.

[McGyver]

i want to know what happens to the lip of every late model car i've seen! ok, i've seen 1 with a nice is lip. but seriously, where do they go?

[jasonsnoddy]

i want to know what happens to the lip of every late model car i've seen! ok, i've seen 1 with a nice is lip. but seriously, where do they go?

+1 my is came with no skirts, no lip, and no weaves

[Kershaw]

i want to know what happens to the lip of every late model car i've seen! ok, i've seen 1 with a nice is lip. but seriously, where do they go?

they only snap in, so they are the first thing to go when you hit something on the freeway. or railroad tracks. or a pot hole. etc.

[325ix]

i want to know what happens to the lip of every late model car i've seen! ok, i've seen 1 with a nice is lip. but seriously, where do they go?

Good point! It's not like you ever see shattered is lips on the road but, they could have lost there lips years and years ago.

[audiquattrot]

trust me that Silver paint is not salvageable. Ask me how i know....

[bimmer630]

How do you know..?

I have the non IS lip still from the primered/red car. I Like Is lips but from the side the car looks funny to me with a low front apron, and a higher body line down the lower rocker/rear bumper

[audiquattrot]

my sterling silver has the same infamous paint 'checking' problem. Looks like fine scratches/cracking underneath the clearcoat. notorious on this color E30.

[bmw325csi]

i want to know what happens to the lip of every late model car i've seen! ok, i've seen 1 with a nice is lip. but seriously, where do they go?

I always wondered about the I lips. The IS lip is understandable but the I lip shouldn't fly off as easily.


OP nice base, good luck on the build

[McGyver]

^i dont think i've ever seen an i lip. i know my convertible lip is screwed in, but i have sort of fucked it with parking blocks...

[bimmer630]

Oh and neither of my cars in this pic are Is cars. My coupe is kinda a clone, it was set up with all the is parts later in its life

[bimmerboy12]

start a thread in the project forum and keep us updated...

[Uber E30]

Its pretty simple to see what happens to the lip. Next time when you park in a lot look at how many cars front ends are over the concrete divider blocks.