Thanks for checking out my E30 325iX. I'm looking for $9,900, and I'm in Alexandria, VA. Also, I just realized that I didn't get any full-car glamour shots; I'll get some when I get the car back from J&F Motors where it's getting a few things tidied up - bumper trim, exhaust mounting, etc.
For dozens of photos, see: http://NTWforE30.tumblr.com
"If this E30 is so awesome, why are you selling it?"
Do you remember the cartoons where in the eyes of a starving character another character morphs into a fully-prepared Thanksgiving turkey? Well, when I look at my E30, it looks like closing costs on a house we want to buy.
"The interior looks great!"
Thanks, here's a quick video tour of the interior (engine running):
"What work/parts did you put into it?"
Dashboard/instrumentation:
The dash, which you noticed is crack-free, is original (VINs match). Some of the lights were out, and the SI board didn't work so I pulled the dash to fix those things and the A/C which wasn't blowing cold. The A/C compressor-enable switch was bad, so I pulled it and circumvented it according to followed the BMW service bulletin from 1988. I found that the arms that move the recirculation doors had been forced through the recirculation doors, so I just pulled the doors and recirculation door motors. I damaged the blower fan a little, to it's noisy in speeds 3 and 4, but I decided to just use speeds 1 and 2 since the whole assembly was around $1,400 used. At this point I realized I was in over my head, so I turned it over to J&F in Arlington, VA who:
- replaced the speedo/odo gears. About 150 mi were lost in the downtime.
- replaced all dash lights
- converted the A/C to R134a and installed a new A/C drier
Seating, other interior:
When I bought it, the seats were in terrible shape so I had Key's Upholstery in Alexandria, VA make and install covers for the front and rear. In the eight months since then, I have yet to find a flaw in their work. And, they installed new seat-back struts on both sides so they don't flop back when you pull the adjustment handle.
I also:
- laid OEM floor mats and installed brand new M Tech II steering wheel from BMW Silver Spring
- installed new seatbelt receivers in the front - they were mismatched, faded and cracking
- had Unique Audio in Lorton install Kenwood KFC-1364S speakers, JVC Arsenal KDA95BT head-unit and new cabling. Nothing terribly special, but I didn't want to modify speaker openings.
- Installed a brand new rear center console. Previous owner had glued a remote control to the original.
- repaired central locking by replacing two of three lock actuators - all doors and trunk actuate the locks.
"Tell me about the mechanicals..."
When I bought it with 192k mi., the M20 was knocking, hesitating and not idling smoothly. After J&F Motors rebuilt the top end last summer, idle is rock steady and is as quiet as M20s get. Please see the receipts for all of their engine work.
- See this video of the engine starting from cold:
And here is a virtual test drive:
Rebuilt engine has only 4k mi. on it. They also:
- rebuilt the shifter to reduce side-to-side slop
- installed a new radiator and replaced all coolant hoses. You can see the newness of the hoses in photos; the labels still look new.
A local garage or I did the following:
- performed a tune-up including plugs, rotor, cap, coil, air filter, coolant level sensor, coolant temperature sensor and coolant level sensor in April. Even bought a E30 owner's manual because I was feeling saucy.
- had a local garage install an OEM (18101705783) exhaust (cat-back), motor mounts, and control arms. I can't say they did a great job mounting the exhaust. It should be refitted for appearance, but it isn't loose.
- had the 14" basketweave wheels replaced with 15" basketweaves which were straightened by the wheel-guy that BMW of Alexandria farms out to.
- BMW of Alexandria found that the cooling system recall had never been performed, so they performed it in Sept. 2012.
- installed 205/55R15 Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 installed within two weeks of buying the car so they have no more than 4k mi. on them.
Lastly, you'll see the crushed bumper trim - I did that on 3/8/2013 but took pictures anyway because the weather was so nice. This trim will be replaced before you receive the car.
Thank you for your interest, and feel free to ask questions!
P.S. Rust-free! No kidding. Happy to grab pics of any requested section when I get it back from J&F.
For dozens of photos, see: http://NTWforE30.tumblr.com
"If this E30 is so awesome, why are you selling it?"
Do you remember the cartoons where in the eyes of a starving character another character morphs into a fully-prepared Thanksgiving turkey? Well, when I look at my E30, it looks like closing costs on a house we want to buy.
"The interior looks great!"
Thanks, here's a quick video tour of the interior (engine running):
"What work/parts did you put into it?"
Dashboard/instrumentation:
The dash, which you noticed is crack-free, is original (VINs match). Some of the lights were out, and the SI board didn't work so I pulled the dash to fix those things and the A/C which wasn't blowing cold. The A/C compressor-enable switch was bad, so I pulled it and circumvented it according to followed the BMW service bulletin from 1988. I found that the arms that move the recirculation doors had been forced through the recirculation doors, so I just pulled the doors and recirculation door motors. I damaged the blower fan a little, to it's noisy in speeds 3 and 4, but I decided to just use speeds 1 and 2 since the whole assembly was around $1,400 used. At this point I realized I was in over my head, so I turned it over to J&F in Arlington, VA who:
- replaced the speedo/odo gears. About 150 mi were lost in the downtime.
- replaced all dash lights
- converted the A/C to R134a and installed a new A/C drier
Seating, other interior:
When I bought it, the seats were in terrible shape so I had Key's Upholstery in Alexandria, VA make and install covers for the front and rear. In the eight months since then, I have yet to find a flaw in their work. And, they installed new seat-back struts on both sides so they don't flop back when you pull the adjustment handle.
I also:
- laid OEM floor mats and installed brand new M Tech II steering wheel from BMW Silver Spring
- installed new seatbelt receivers in the front - they were mismatched, faded and cracking
- had Unique Audio in Lorton install Kenwood KFC-1364S speakers, JVC Arsenal KDA95BT head-unit and new cabling. Nothing terribly special, but I didn't want to modify speaker openings.
- Installed a brand new rear center console. Previous owner had glued a remote control to the original.
- repaired central locking by replacing two of three lock actuators - all doors and trunk actuate the locks.
"Tell me about the mechanicals..."
When I bought it with 192k mi., the M20 was knocking, hesitating and not idling smoothly. After J&F Motors rebuilt the top end last summer, idle is rock steady and is as quiet as M20s get. Please see the receipts for all of their engine work.
- See this video of the engine starting from cold:
And here is a virtual test drive:
Rebuilt engine has only 4k mi. on it. They also:
- rebuilt the shifter to reduce side-to-side slop
- installed a new radiator and replaced all coolant hoses. You can see the newness of the hoses in photos; the labels still look new.
A local garage or I did the following:
- performed a tune-up including plugs, rotor, cap, coil, air filter, coolant level sensor, coolant temperature sensor and coolant level sensor in April. Even bought a E30 owner's manual because I was feeling saucy.
- had a local garage install an OEM (18101705783) exhaust (cat-back), motor mounts, and control arms. I can't say they did a great job mounting the exhaust. It should be refitted for appearance, but it isn't loose.
- had the 14" basketweave wheels replaced with 15" basketweaves which were straightened by the wheel-guy that BMW of Alexandria farms out to.
- BMW of Alexandria found that the cooling system recall had never been performed, so they performed it in Sept. 2012.
- installed 205/55R15 Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 installed within two weeks of buying the car so they have no more than 4k mi. on them.
Lastly, you'll see the crushed bumper trim - I did that on 3/8/2013 but took pictures anyway because the weather was so nice. This trim will be replaced before you receive the car.
Thank you for your interest, and feel free to ask questions!
P.S. Rust-free! No kidding. Happy to grab pics of any requested section when I get it back from J&F.
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