My cabrio...a work in progress. Opinions welcome.

[VacMan]

Hey all,

I bought this cab about 2 months ago in KC and drove it back to socal. It was a great drive but it was immediately obvious the PO was not a car guy. He bought it totally modified and just drove it into disrepair. When something went wrong he got it fixed at an indy, but only if he couldn't fix it with wood screws and/or tape. Seriously.

When I bought the car this is the mod list it came with:

Engine Work:
Conforti Chip
K & N Hi flow intake kit
8mm Silicone Ignition wires
Stahl long tube headers
Hi flow twin cat
Bosal Brospeed muffler
Short shift kit and boot
Sanden A/C conversion kit

Suspension and Brakes:
BAV autosport springs and Stress Bar,
Bilstein HD struts with new body bearings
Boge Turbo gas shocks
Eibach sway bars
Urethane links
M3 control arms and caster bushings
New wheel bearings
New rotors
Metalmaster brake pads
Stainless steel brake lines
TSW Hockenheim R 16” x 7” alloys with PZeros


Body and Interior:
Completely repainted in original 2 step factor Glasurit paint
Hand painted pin stripes
Racing Dynamics air dam with M3 fogs
325is factory rear spoiler
Completey reupholstered in premium grade leather
Premium audio
M3 steering wheel
New roof (1999)
Full EVO-3 form fitting cover and convertible cover (BavAuto)
BAV auto leather e-brake boot
M3 leather shift knob
Gauge Co white faceplates
BAV auto premium floor mats
Smoked factory tail lights and side markers
Viper 360 Alarm System with Keyless Entry
Factory BMW E30 Windscreen (very rare)

Noteworthy Maintenance:

New motor mounts, lower radiator hose, bypass hose, air suction boot, engine fuel T hoses, new si board, printed circuit board, oil pressure switch, clutch master and slave cylinder, valve adjustment (170,000), new power steering pump, new radiator, new timing belt (148,000), new lower front seal.
Professionally maintained

It looked like this:









Since then I have added smoked Hella smileys, euro grills, changed the cardinal interior to black (except seats), put the stock airbox back on, replaced the cluster, shadowlined the trim, installed a Magnaflow cat and 14830, got Racing Hart reps from Ian 318is (thanks!) and undid pretty much every stupid thing the PO did in the 4 years he owned it. I plan on tucking the bumpers this weekend or next and then it will be time to put Bilstein Sports on. The car handles extremely well but the damping front and rear leaves a lot to be desired. It also still needs a bunch of seals, grommets, plugs and the like to tighten everything back up.

I took some (crappy) pics tonight when I got home from work. I need a tripod badly if I'm going to take pics in low light conditions. Regardless, you can see the most obvious changes by viewing these pics. I've got an area picked out for some really cool pics once I get the bumpers finished.

With no further ado:















Thanks for looking.

Tim

[thereisnoyun]

wow

gorgeous... I have the black too, with cardinal type red for cards and speaker cards. Really nice. I wish I kept my chrome, but it was kind of beat up to the point of now return so I shadowline those too...

what other plans do you got?

[GarrettM]

Those seats are really red in the 2nd pic.

[backtrail69]

Love the interior with the black door panels. I really don't like the red door panels. Diggin the front spoiler as well. Good looking DB car.

[VacMan]

Those seats are really red in the 2nd pic.

They're a perfect match for factory cardinal, it is weird how they photographed by the PO. They look much darker in person.

gorgeous... I have the black too, with cardinal type red for cards and speaker cards. Really nice. I wish I kept my chrome, but it was kind of beat up to the point of now return so I shadowline those too...

what other plans do you got?

Thanks for the kind words. I'm still trying to get it where it needs to be. I have black mats on order from Mel as part of the group buy. I need to get a new top eventually; at that point I'll probably tint the windows. I'm keeping an eye out for different wheels since I really just bought these to get rid of the weaves I took off the bronze bomber and replaced with the Hockenheims. I shadowlined the lower strips, but kept the uppers for the contrast and match to the wheel lips.

Love the interior with the black door panels. I really don't like the red door panels. Diggin the front spoiler as well. Good looking DB car.

Thanks. Yeah, I almost didn't buy the car because of the red interior but after seeing an E46 M3 in person with red seats and black interior I knew what my plan was.

[JasonC]

I like the car, but the big bumpers are killing it. Even if they will get tucked. A set of euro bumpers on it would be sexy.

[TwoJ's]

Very nice man. I don't even mind the DB's too much.

And yeah, those seats are wood inspiring.

[ian e30 318is]

The car looks awesome and youre welcome for the wheels. they look sick.

[CleanAzzE30z]

I never knew Cardinal Red Interior could look so fucking good. I like what youve done with the place!


Mariano

[chucko]

Love the red seats. An Mtec 2 kit would really make your car look hot, kinda like the one below.

[MA325is88]

Real nice Tim! I'm glad the panels worked out for you!

[Garageaholic]

I fucking love those seats....

beautiful car...

[vlad]

seats are nice ! And you keep it clean.

this does not make any sense to me :

Bilstein HD struts with new body bearings
Boge Turbo gas shocks

???

struts and shocks are the same thing, unless you have Bilstein in the front and Boge in the back or vise versa...

also, the "Factory BMW E30 Windscreen (very rare)" is still available from the dealer ;)

nice car NTL !

[Garageaholic]

also, the "Factory BMW E30 Windscreen (very rare)" is still available from the dealer ;)

Yeah, isn't it available from www.bavauto.com for like $320

[Digitalwave]

Wow dude, I am speechless. Your car is so clean, classic, and subtle looking. You chose your mods wiseless and you made an E30 that looks near-mint but without a lot of over the top mods. I applaud you.