1989 325is
Alpine White/Cardinal Red
VIN: WBAAA1302K4143057
267k on chassis, swapped at 251k
Clean Title
S52, OBD1
ZF 5 Speed
3.23 LSD
Z3 Steering Rack
KA Motors Intake
Manzo headers, Megan 3” muffler
Heat and AC
Price: SOLD
Mods under my ownership:
MTS Technik Street coilovers w/ camber plates and powerflex rear trailing arm bushings
Garagistic front and rear strut braces (painted AW)
16x8” et 23 Style 5, refinished by EWheelworks with metal waffle conversion (to run BBS caps), polished lips, painted centers (I have blue or black BBS caps, you can pick one), running w/ 42Draft design 18/20mm adapters
Kuhmo Ecsta 205/45 (basically brand new, less than 1k miles on them)
Renown Monaco steering wheel w/ white stitch
Shift boots w/ white stitch
Brushed aluminum pedals
Garagistic mount w/ fire extinguisher
Black carpet set (main carpet is gray)
IS side skirts (front lip, skirts, and strut braces all painted together)
BMW Motorsport door handles
Recent maintenance and fixes:
differential rebuilt
battery
alternator
transmission selector shaft seal
belt, tensioner w/ new idler pulley
oil pan gasket
power steering feed hose
power steering fluid
brake fluid
motor oil 2x
heater control valve
coolant
Sadly selling my S52 swapped ’89 325is. I bought the car on BAT a little over two years ago and had it transported to NJ (listing included). It caught my attention because of the quality of the swap, dream color combo, and being originally a California car (less rust). Since I’ve had it on the east coast, it’s been 100% garage kept, no winter or salt. I spent the last two years enjoying it, tweaking some things to my liking and trying to get it to the perfect looking and reliable e30 spec for me. In the past 6 months specifically, I put a bunch of money into this thing (thinking I was keeping it long term), but some life events have led me to part ways with it, so my loss is your gain here. I really just rarely drive it and it sits in the garage (only 4k miles in the last 2 years). I just did coilovers, refinished style 5s, rebuilt lsd, alternator, battery, fixed some leaks, among other things. It’s not perfect but it shows really well and would be a great car for someone who wants a clean swap, clean interior, very little rust, and is willing to put in a little effort to bring this thing to 100%. This car gets looks and attention everywhere. It's a really cool package having a more modern and reliable drivetrain and steering rack in an older car, but still having that old school raw feel. It is an absolute rocket and such a blast to drive. The sound and pull of the S52 are intoxicating, it is definitely an addicting experience. It starts right up and runs like a top. Idles quiet and smooth. The exhaust is pretty loud and it screams at higher revs. Handles great. I have owned a handful of other cool BMWs including a Z3M, E39 M5, and E90 M3 and this beats them all in pure “fun factor”.
The drivetrain is rock solid. I addressed a few leaks including trans, oil pan, power steering, and everything is sealed up now. Also replaced a squeaky belt and pulley last year and replaced the alternator and battery just last week. The differential, which was very noisy when I got the car, was rebuilt by diffsonline with new gears. Upon inspection it was found that the pinion bearing was incorrectly set and there was damage to the gears. Everything was replaced and it is perfectly quiet now. The motor swap, while done very nicely, didn’t include heat or AC at the time, both of which the PO installed (and did a quality job) and both work well.
The interior is super clean. Not sure if the seats were reupholstered but they are in fantastic condition, nearly perfect. Most of the interior wear is on the door cards but honestly looks very “patina”. There is one small crack on the dash which hasn’t gotten any bigger since getting the car. Overall the interior looks (and smells) pretty great. I added a fresh steering wheel, matching shift boots, shift knob, pedal set, black carpets, and a white extinguisher with garagistic mount just to freshen things up to my liking.
Exterior wise, I’m not sure when the car was resprayed but it presents pretty well, aside from some cracking/flaking in a few spots. The trunk lip spoiler has a bit of flaking as well. I added quite a few photos so you can see the condition. When I compare to the BAT listing photos, none of the paint imperfections have gotten any worse, which is nice. For what it’s worth, this was never something that bothered me being an older car and the fact that it hasn’t gotten any worse was reassuring to me. I also added the IS skirts and strut braces and had everything sprayed together – front lip, skirts, rear valance, and braces.
I have the receipt from the swap and logs of the work done by the PO (also included in the BAT listing photos). I would have loved to hang onto this but this one is better enjoyed by someone, not sitting around. This is a third car for me and I don’t have the time to enjoy it properly or give it the attention it deserves. Overall it’s a very clean car with quality parts and modifications, but as would any 33 year old E30, especially one modified to this extent, has some things that are worth addressing. None of which to me are show stoppers, but I prefer full disclosure when selling a car like this so there are no surprises.
I also have the factory underpanel (removed for skidplate), drivers side highbeam (removed for intake), a euro clock (couldn’t match the color to the rest of dash so never used), and some other random parts I’ll include. I don’t have the stock wheels aside from the spare which is in nice condition. I’ve tried my best to give an honest description of the car so there are no surprises, no secrets. I hope the next owner will enjoy this as much as I have (I guarantee you smile at first start up). I've also included some walkaround, in car driving, and outside car driving videos so you can hear how it sounds. I’ve covered everything I can think of at the moment, but I will try to answer any questions that come up. Located in central NJ. Thanks, Nick
Alpine White/Cardinal Red
VIN: WBAAA1302K4143057
267k on chassis, swapped at 251k
Clean Title
S52, OBD1
ZF 5 Speed
3.23 LSD
Z3 Steering Rack
KA Motors Intake
Manzo headers, Megan 3” muffler
Heat and AC
Price: SOLD
Mods under my ownership:
MTS Technik Street coilovers w/ camber plates and powerflex rear trailing arm bushings
Garagistic front and rear strut braces (painted AW)
16x8” et 23 Style 5, refinished by EWheelworks with metal waffle conversion (to run BBS caps), polished lips, painted centers (I have blue or black BBS caps, you can pick one), running w/ 42Draft design 18/20mm adapters
Kuhmo Ecsta 205/45 (basically brand new, less than 1k miles on them)
Renown Monaco steering wheel w/ white stitch
Shift boots w/ white stitch
Brushed aluminum pedals
Garagistic mount w/ fire extinguisher
Black carpet set (main carpet is gray)
IS side skirts (front lip, skirts, and strut braces all painted together)
BMW Motorsport door handles
Recent maintenance and fixes:
differential rebuilt
battery
alternator
transmission selector shaft seal
belt, tensioner w/ new idler pulley
oil pan gasket
power steering feed hose
power steering fluid
brake fluid
motor oil 2x
heater control valve
coolant
Sadly selling my S52 swapped ’89 325is. I bought the car on BAT a little over two years ago and had it transported to NJ (listing included). It caught my attention because of the quality of the swap, dream color combo, and being originally a California car (less rust). Since I’ve had it on the east coast, it’s been 100% garage kept, no winter or salt. I spent the last two years enjoying it, tweaking some things to my liking and trying to get it to the perfect looking and reliable e30 spec for me. In the past 6 months specifically, I put a bunch of money into this thing (thinking I was keeping it long term), but some life events have led me to part ways with it, so my loss is your gain here. I really just rarely drive it and it sits in the garage (only 4k miles in the last 2 years). I just did coilovers, refinished style 5s, rebuilt lsd, alternator, battery, fixed some leaks, among other things. It’s not perfect but it shows really well and would be a great car for someone who wants a clean swap, clean interior, very little rust, and is willing to put in a little effort to bring this thing to 100%. This car gets looks and attention everywhere. It's a really cool package having a more modern and reliable drivetrain and steering rack in an older car, but still having that old school raw feel. It is an absolute rocket and such a blast to drive. The sound and pull of the S52 are intoxicating, it is definitely an addicting experience. It starts right up and runs like a top. Idles quiet and smooth. The exhaust is pretty loud and it screams at higher revs. Handles great. I have owned a handful of other cool BMWs including a Z3M, E39 M5, and E90 M3 and this beats them all in pure “fun factor”.
The drivetrain is rock solid. I addressed a few leaks including trans, oil pan, power steering, and everything is sealed up now. Also replaced a squeaky belt and pulley last year and replaced the alternator and battery just last week. The differential, which was very noisy when I got the car, was rebuilt by diffsonline with new gears. Upon inspection it was found that the pinion bearing was incorrectly set and there was damage to the gears. Everything was replaced and it is perfectly quiet now. The motor swap, while done very nicely, didn’t include heat or AC at the time, both of which the PO installed (and did a quality job) and both work well.
The interior is super clean. Not sure if the seats were reupholstered but they are in fantastic condition, nearly perfect. Most of the interior wear is on the door cards but honestly looks very “patina”. There is one small crack on the dash which hasn’t gotten any bigger since getting the car. Overall the interior looks (and smells) pretty great. I added a fresh steering wheel, matching shift boots, shift knob, pedal set, black carpets, and a white extinguisher with garagistic mount just to freshen things up to my liking.
Exterior wise, I’m not sure when the car was resprayed but it presents pretty well, aside from some cracking/flaking in a few spots. The trunk lip spoiler has a bit of flaking as well. I added quite a few photos so you can see the condition. When I compare to the BAT listing photos, none of the paint imperfections have gotten any worse, which is nice. For what it’s worth, this was never something that bothered me being an older car and the fact that it hasn’t gotten any worse was reassuring to me. I also added the IS skirts and strut braces and had everything sprayed together – front lip, skirts, rear valance, and braces.
I have the receipt from the swap and logs of the work done by the PO (also included in the BAT listing photos). I would have loved to hang onto this but this one is better enjoyed by someone, not sitting around. This is a third car for me and I don’t have the time to enjoy it properly or give it the attention it deserves. Overall it’s a very clean car with quality parts and modifications, but as would any 33 year old E30, especially one modified to this extent, has some things that are worth addressing. None of which to me are show stoppers, but I prefer full disclosure when selling a car like this so there are no surprises.
- The front passenger side fender liner is a bit mangled and hanging lower, which is causing a lot of tire rubbing on that corner.
- The drivers side upper window trim is off the car. I haven’t been able to get it back on properly. The trim was painted by a PO and is flaking in some spots but still looks good. I will update this if I am able to get it back on prior to sale.
- The drivers door lock was replaced so you need to carry two keys. Unfortunately the passengers door lock has been getting jammed recently too and I suspect might also need replacing. I haven’t gotten to it because I rarely drive the car and can usually keep an eye on it even if I can’t lock it properly.
- The power locks and power mirrors don’t work. The central locking units often go bad in these. Never bothered me locking the car manually. Not sure about the mirror switch, it is connected but could just need a new switch.
- The cluster works fine including the odometer, but the fuel gage sometimes “dies” and shows empty. A little love tap to the top of dash will usually pop it back to normal reading. Minor annoyance.
- The OBC doesn’t work. I bought a euro clock to replace it but couldn’t get the black to match the rest of the dash so never installed. I’ll include with the car.
- The antenna doesn’t work so no radio. Otherwise the aftermarket stereo works and the Bluetooth is a nice addition. That said, stereo is not necessary in this car in my opinion 😉.
- There is some amount of rust present in the battery compartment. There is evidence of some body work in this area from a PO, which was documented in the BAT listing. It’s definitely not bad by E30 standards but something to keep an eye on, especially if you are planning to keep the car outside or drive in the rain. I tried to snap a few pics under the car to show its condition a few days ago. No rust to be concerned about on the chassis/structurally.
- The passenger side rear wheel sit a bit closer to the body. This might bother you especially if you care a lot about precise wheel fitment, so is worth disclosing. I looked over the car on the lift with my mechanic and couldn’t pinpoint the reason and didn’t see anything of concern. This was also disclosed to me on the BAT listing. Never really bothered me, it looks great either way.
I also have the factory underpanel (removed for skidplate), drivers side highbeam (removed for intake), a euro clock (couldn’t match the color to the rest of dash so never used), and some other random parts I’ll include. I don’t have the stock wheels aside from the spare which is in nice condition. I’ve tried my best to give an honest description of the car so there are no surprises, no secrets. I hope the next owner will enjoy this as much as I have (I guarantee you smile at first start up). I've also included some walkaround, in car driving, and outside car driving videos so you can hear how it sounds. I’ve covered everything I can think of at the moment, but I will try to answer any questions that come up. Located in central NJ. Thanks, Nick
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