1989 Alpine II 325i Coupe

coldweatherblue · 03-03-2012, 07:57 PM

New member, new car. I'll be using the forum's resources a lot in the coming months so just wanted to make a thread for my car. This is my second E30. First was an '88 bronzit 325i Sedan that I drove from 2002-2008. Been looking for another well kept E30 for a while, finally found this car on the forum.

1989 AWII 325i Coupe.
Build date 10/88.
manual sunroof.
Mileage unknown, last OD reading 221k in 2006 (!!), current cluster is swapped and reads 76k.

other than a few dings the exterior is in pretty good shape!! No rust, california car all it's (long) life. Pretty sure it was repainted at some point (can AWII look this good after 23 years?) but it was a professional job, paint cleaned up well after a quick wash/wax.. needs a runover with the clay bar to get some of the junk out of the paint (white makes this obvious). So far the car seems mechanically sound other than blown front shocks (New suspension is on the way!!) and an off and on transmission oil leak (hasn't leaked since I swapped out the fluid, but going to replace the output, selector seals anyway). M20 pulls well, recently had a valve adjustment, probably one of the quietest M20s I've heard.

For the miles/age it's in pretty good shape. Only beef I have is finding some non-OEM parts under the hood (green coolant, autozone generic radiator, "hecho in mexico" hoses, chinese air filter, non OEM oil filter). I was a little hesitant buying the car because the maintenance history is really pretty unknown (know the timing belt/water pump were recently done but other than that know nothing about the car) but it drove well other than the blown shocks and I just decided to go for it..

plans right now are just SUSPENSION, fixing this transmission leak, getting the locking system working, touching up the paint (got keyed on the passenger side, wtf?), fixing the R high beam, and basic maintenance (fuel filter, air filter, coolant flush, etc etc).

Parts I need from the junkyard/parts car: Passenger seat belt buckle, headlight switch, cigarette lighter, 6 button OBC..

Future plans:
clean/sand/dye/refinish the leather iS interior.
needs new interior carpet.
replace stock 5.25 speakers w/ new 5.25 speakers, maybe try to fit 6x9s in the rear?
16" BBS RS wheels
my girl will probably make me fix the A/C and heater core...
eventually (be done with residency in 3 yrs) wanna do a 3.0 liter stroker.

for now it'll just be my daily! Feels good to be back in an E30!

rhE-30 · 03-03-2012, 08:07 PM

sweet whip.

Wschnitz · 03-03-2012, 08:11 PM

Looks purty. 220k+ miles... auto zone cheap under hood? Please fix this. Lol poor car.

coldweatherblue · 03-03-2012, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wschnitz

Looks purty. 220k+ miles... auto zone cheap under hood? Please fix this. Lol poor car.

yeah, one of the first things I noticed on test drive was that it got to operating temp in ~3 minutes. My old E30 (with genuine BMW radiator) took 3 minutes just to get out of the blue. New car runs about a mm over the center line on the temp guage, old car was always dead set on the hash mark to the left of center on the guage.

Herr Faust Schinken · 03-03-2012, 11:21 PM

Nice alpine white man , your just down the hill from me

ethirty325i · 03-04-2012, 12:40 AM

Sweet e30, lets see what you make it to.

!AjHoWzA! · 03-04-2012, 12:52 AM

Nice car man. Looks clean

Mauiwowi · 03-04-2012, 03:35 AM

that was for sale on here right? Looks way better than his pictures of it, i was also wondering about the 76k.

bmw325_num99 · 03-06-2012, 08:13 AM

Welcome to r3v. Looks like a real straight car, congratulations. Alpine is my fav e30 color.

mkcman17 · 03-06-2012, 12:36 PM

reminds me much of my car when i started. looks like a great base. and yes, AWII can look that good!

gverelli · 03-06-2012, 12:53 PM

beautiful start

N2MYE30 · 03-06-2012, 01:15 PM

So virgin.

GunMetalGrey · 03-06-2012, 01:20 PM

White e30's are the best! looks like a fun project

samiam3356 · 03-06-2012, 02:04 PM

nice pick up!

coldweatherblue · 03-06-2012, 06:37 PM

Thanks for the comments guys...

Was checking out the exterior today and noticed a small spot around the fender that's flaking off. Looked underneath and there was clean, bare sheet metal!!

Seems to me that it is original paint after all! Honestly can't believe how good the paint is for being 23 years and 220k+ miles old.. there is no clear coat failure, still shines great, just some rock chips, minor fender scraps and a key mark on the passenger side.

Just finished clay barring the hood, got a lot of the imperfections out. Will do the rest in daylight tomorrow.

Plan for fixing the key mark and rock chips at the moment: rubbing alcohol, primer, touchup, clear coat, wet sand w 1500 grit, buff out.. still gotta get the paint, time for a trip to the BMW dealership.

03-03-2012, 07:57 PM	#1
coldweatherblue Advanced Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: chattanooga Posts: 100	1989 Alpine II 325i Coupe New member, new car. I'll be using the forum's resources a lot in the coming months so just wanted to make a thread for my car. This is my second E30. First was an '88 bronzit 325i Sedan that I drove from 2002-2008. Been looking for another well kept E30 for a while, finally found this car on the forum. 1989 AWII 325i Coupe. Build date 10/88. manual sunroof. Mileage unknown, last OD reading 221k in 2006 (!!), current cluster is swapped and reads 76k. other than a few dings the exterior is in pretty good shape!! No rust, california car all it's (long) life. Pretty sure it was repainted at some point (can AWII look this good after 23 years?) but it was a professional job, paint cleaned up well after a quick wash/wax.. needs a runover with the clay bar to get some of the junk out of the paint (white makes this obvious). So far the car seems mechanically sound other than blown front shocks (New suspension is on the way!!) and an off and on transmission oil leak (hasn't leaked since I swapped out the fluid, but going to replace the output, selector seals anyway). M20 pulls well, recently had a valve adjustment, probably one of the quietest M20s I've heard. For the miles/age it's in pretty good shape. Only beef I have is finding some non-OEM parts under the hood (green coolant, autozone generic radiator, "hecho in mexico" hoses, chinese air filter, non OEM oil filter). I was a little hesitant buying the car because the maintenance history is really pretty unknown (know the timing belt/water pump were recently done but other than that know nothing about the car) but it drove well other than the blown shocks and I just decided to go for it.. plans right now are just SUSPENSION, fixing this transmission leak, getting the locking system working, touching up the paint (got keyed on the passenger side, wtf?), fixing the R high beam, and basic maintenance (fuel filter, air filter, coolant flush, etc etc). Parts I need from the junkyard/parts car: Passenger seat belt buckle, headlight switch, cigarette lighter, 6 button OBC.. Future plans: clean/sand/dye/refinish the leather iS interior. needs new interior carpet. replace stock 5.25 speakers w/ new 5.25 speakers, maybe try to fit 6x9s in the rear? 16" BBS RS wheels my girl will probably make me fix the A/C and heater core... eventually (be done with residency in 3 yrs) wanna do a 3.0 liter stroker. for now it'll just be my daily! Feels good to be back in an E30!

03-04-2012, 12:40 AM	#6
ethirty325i Noobie Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 39	Sweet e30, lets see what you make it to. __________________ 87' 325i vert - first e30 and definitely not my last.

03-04-2012, 12:52 AM	#7
!AjHoWzA! E30 Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Camas, WA Posts: 1,116	Nice car man. Looks clean __________________ '91 318is

03-04-2012, 03:35 AM	#8
Mauiwowi Wrencher Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: issaquah Posts: 217	that was for sale on here right? Looks way better than his pictures of it, i was also wondering about the 76k. __________________ Girls, you can't be the first, but you can be next 325ix

03-06-2012, 08:13 AM	#9
bmw325_num99 Grease Monkey Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 380	Welcome to r3v. Looks like a real straight car, congratulations. Alpine is my fav e30 color. __________________ 1990 325i 2005 Subaru Outback Limited 5sp 1986 325es (Sold) http://etasport.tripod.com http://community.webshots.com/user/bmw325_num99

03-03-2012, 08:07 PM	#2
rhE-30 Wrencher Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: San Jacinto Posts: 238	sweet whip.

03-03-2012, 08:11 PM	#3
Wschnitz No R3VLimiter Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 3,191	Looks purty. 220k+ miles... auto zone cheap under hood? Please fix this. Lol poor car.

03-03-2012, 11:21 PM	#5
Herr Faust Schinken R3VLimited Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Yucaipa California Posts: 2,166	Nice alpine white man , your just down the hill from me

03-06-2012, 12:36 PM	#10
mkcman17 R3V OG Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 7,125	reminds me much of my car when i started. looks like a great base. and yes, AWII can look that good! __________________ 1989 325is AWII/Cardinal 2.7i, 272* cam, M50 maf, headers, full 2.5" exhaust, 8# flywheel 1999 540it Sport Titansilber/Black

03-06-2012, 12:53 PM	#11
gverelli Mod Crazy Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Montreal, Canada. Posts: 765	beautiful start __________________ G.Verelli

03-06-2012, 01:15 PM	#12
N2MYE30 R3V Elite Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 4,774	So virgin. __________________ October COTM 2011 My coupe resurrection

03-06-2012, 01:20 PM	#13
GunMetalGrey E30 Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,200	White e30's are the best! looks like a fun project __________________ Click here for more info! Click to order!Brace W/ Mounts $90 Standard Brace Feedback Please!

03-06-2012, 02:04 PM	#14
samiam3356 E30 Mastermind Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: SEC Country Posts: 1,962	nice pick up!

03-06-2012, 06:37 PM	#15
coldweatherblue Advanced Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: chattanooga Posts: 100	Thanks for the comments guys... Was checking out the exterior today and noticed a small spot around the fender that's flaking off. Looked underneath and there was clean, bare sheet metal!! Seems to me that it is original paint after all! Honestly can't believe how good the paint is for being 23 years and 220k+ miles old.. there is no clear coat failure, still shines great, just some rock chips, minor fender scraps and a key mark on the passenger side. Just finished clay barring the hood, got a lot of the imperfections out. Will do the rest in daylight tomorrow. Plan for fixing the key mark and rock chips at the moment: rubbing alcohol, primer, touchup, clear coat, wet sand w 1500 grit, buff out.. still gotta get the paint, time for a trip to the BMW dealership.