SOLD
General:
1989 BMW 325i automatic 2-door coupe WBAAA2301K4578593
Alpinewhite II with tan vinyl interior
3.5l m30b35 motor with 53k miles from a 1990 535i WBAHD2313LBF69277
I bought the car from a person in Houston who had bought it from his father, who originally bought it in Florida; Autocheck supports this. The odometer was broken and read at 149,574k miles when I bought it, and had for some time; I replaced the odometer gears shortly afterwards. Based on Autocheck, I believe the mileage to be about 50k greater, so the mileage was really about 199,574. Current mileage indicated is 166k so it’s really about 216k. When I bought the m30b35 motor, I was told it had 36k miles on it and I haven’t found evidence to the contrary; Autocheck also supports this. Registration is good through 6/15 and inspection expires 10/15.
Build thread for the motor swap: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=262721
This was my daily-driver “spare car”; I am selling due to wife losing her job and I need to get rid of some debt.
Body:
All of the body panels have the original, matching VIN tags and the car has had a Ziebart rust preventive treatment as evidenced by plugs in the door jambs. There are the typical rock chips and a few small dents for a 25 year old car. There are 3 areas with slightly larger dents, however: 1) an area around the right foglight when I hit a stray cone on IH-610 - the valance was bent and the lip cracked; 2) a dent in the right rear fender at the body molding in front of the rear wheel; and 3) a small dent in the left rear fender low down at the door – the door is unaffected. Only two areas of corrosion – at the body seam under the right taillight behind the bumper and at the bottom of the left pop-out window where the window frame rubs the rear fender. Neither of these are perforations, only surface corrosion and have been unchanged since I bought the car in 2011. It appears that the sunroof was rubbing on the roof at some point, as there is an edge with thin paint and some signs of rust staining, but I have never known it to rub or scrape. The foglights were replaced with plastic-lens eBay units after I hit the cone mentioned above and the door lock system and telescoping antenna are functional as well. Door, trunk and window seals are in good condition and don’t leak. New front door inner window trim strip replaced on both sides. All the tools that came with a ’89 325i are present, including the tow hook, jack, lug wrench, chock and the tools in the tool kit.
Interior:
The vinyl upholstery is in excellent condition with no rips, tears or cigarette burns. The driver seat bottom could use a re-stuff but the front and rear seats are otherwise very comfortable and not “flat”. The seat-back shocks don’t work on both front seats and need replacing. (I don’t adjust my seat back so it has been rather low on the priority list) Dashboard and dash trim pieces with no cracks, new shift selector handle and a working, lockable glovebox. Clean headliner with no rips or tears and working crank sunroof with no leaks to date. Original AM-FM-Weather/Cassette radio with original user’s guide, code and tape cleaner. OEM tan e30 floor mats with no holes or worn spots, although they are difficult to keep clean. Aftermarket cup holders were added at some point; I removed them but the holes where they screwed into the door cards remain – the plastic door sealing liner underneath was undamaged, although it looks like the passenger side window regulator was replaced at some time in the past and the plastic liner was taped in this location. Both electric window regulators operate well without binding or excessive noise. Service interval display, checkpanel, cruise control, electric mirrors and rear defrost all work. The outside temperature sensor is new but there is still a break in circuit and the temp doesn’t read on the OBC. New heater core. Husco armrest in good-to-excellent condition with working, unbroken drink holders.
Engine/drivetrain:
At the time of the motor swap in 2012, I replaced the water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing, radiator, all radiator hoses, aux fan and switch and added a 9” Spal puller fan to aid with cooling since the fan and fan clutch are removed with the motor swap. I also installed a rebuilt 140A alternator and rebuilt starter, new battery, new coolant temp sensors, new crank position sensor and a new Bosch O2 sensor. Originally I ran the car without power steering but re-installed it later with new power steering hoses. The engine also has a new rear main seal, pan gasket, cam shaft seal, valve cover gasket and exhaust manifold gaskets, although there is a small oil leak at the upper front cover-to-head gasket. I installed a Fumoto valve for easier oil changes. I recently replaced the exhaust although I had replaced the hangers when I did the motor swap.
I replaced the automatic transmission input shaft seal, selector shaft seal and kickdown cable and seal, along with a new filter and pan gasket; it is filled with Redline ATF. As detailed in the build thread, I also replaced the A-clutch shaft seals, a known weak point in the 4hp22 transmission. The rear end is the open 4:10 ratio differential that is typical for automatic cars; there is a faint whine and slight clunk on deceleration that is also typical for e30s of similar mileage.
The fuel pump was replaced as a preventative measure when I replaced the fuel filter and hoses and the fuel injectors were professionally cleaned and fit with new o-rings.
The air conditioning system has been overhauled with a rebuilt compressor, new drier, new expansion valve, new high- and low-pressure hoses, new o-rings throughout and it currently runs R12.
Recently I replaced the front brake pads, rotors and wear sensor as well as the rear pads and sensor; during the motor swap I replaced the vacuum valve serving the brake booster. The brake lining light circuit has a short in it, so I removed the bulb (bulb included with sale).
The wheels are Sport Edition CDs with 225-50 R16 Kumho Ecsta SPT tires; 20mm spacers on rear and 9mm on front and 75mm TUV bullet-nose studs all-around. The hex insert on one of the studs on the left rear is stripped, but the stud threads are fine. I have a few spare nuts that I will include. Due to the oversize tires, there is slight rubbing on the front fender liners at about half-way to full lock. Tires are at about 75% front and 30% rear remaining. Tie rod ends were recently replaced.
Rear shocks are KYB Gas-A-Just and front struts are Bilstein HDs; both of unknown mileage. I was in the process of determining the ride height I wanted by cutting off lengths of the stock springs. Currently the stock springs have 2 coils cut off; I think there is about a 1” drop front and rear. The car rides and handles well without bumps or squeaks or rattles.
Prior work:
There are several parts that looked to have been replaced not long before I bought the car in 2011, including the motor mounts, transmission mounts, guibo, center support bearing, control arms and control arm bushings/ball joints and a rebuilt power steering rack.
Other items included with sale:
- (5) 15” BMW bottlecap rims with (5) workable tires. Although not down to the wearbars, the tires are old and hard. One is the spare.
- Car cover
- Autocheck report for the car and the motor
- e30 & e34 Bentley manuals
- m30 swap guide and wiring diagrams
- Service and parts receipts from previous owners and myself
- Original owner’s and service manuals in original clear plastic sleeve
- 2 original BMW keys: one with BMW black plastic handle, one lit key with non-op light.
Cold start: https://youtu.be/SrzMDeJMw_s
Warm idle: https://youtu.be/3WPOw4Q8hWw
Exterior walkaround: https://youtu.be/dxmG7GG_C34
General:
1989 BMW 325i automatic 2-door coupe WBAAA2301K4578593
Alpinewhite II with tan vinyl interior
3.5l m30b35 motor with 53k miles from a 1990 535i WBAHD2313LBF69277
I bought the car from a person in Houston who had bought it from his father, who originally bought it in Florida; Autocheck supports this. The odometer was broken and read at 149,574k miles when I bought it, and had for some time; I replaced the odometer gears shortly afterwards. Based on Autocheck, I believe the mileage to be about 50k greater, so the mileage was really about 199,574. Current mileage indicated is 166k so it’s really about 216k. When I bought the m30b35 motor, I was told it had 36k miles on it and I haven’t found evidence to the contrary; Autocheck also supports this. Registration is good through 6/15 and inspection expires 10/15.
Build thread for the motor swap: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=262721
This was my daily-driver “spare car”; I am selling due to wife losing her job and I need to get rid of some debt.
Body:
All of the body panels have the original, matching VIN tags and the car has had a Ziebart rust preventive treatment as evidenced by plugs in the door jambs. There are the typical rock chips and a few small dents for a 25 year old car. There are 3 areas with slightly larger dents, however: 1) an area around the right foglight when I hit a stray cone on IH-610 - the valance was bent and the lip cracked; 2) a dent in the right rear fender at the body molding in front of the rear wheel; and 3) a small dent in the left rear fender low down at the door – the door is unaffected. Only two areas of corrosion – at the body seam under the right taillight behind the bumper and at the bottom of the left pop-out window where the window frame rubs the rear fender. Neither of these are perforations, only surface corrosion and have been unchanged since I bought the car in 2011. It appears that the sunroof was rubbing on the roof at some point, as there is an edge with thin paint and some signs of rust staining, but I have never known it to rub or scrape. The foglights were replaced with plastic-lens eBay units after I hit the cone mentioned above and the door lock system and telescoping antenna are functional as well. Door, trunk and window seals are in good condition and don’t leak. New front door inner window trim strip replaced on both sides. All the tools that came with a ’89 325i are present, including the tow hook, jack, lug wrench, chock and the tools in the tool kit.
Interior:
The vinyl upholstery is in excellent condition with no rips, tears or cigarette burns. The driver seat bottom could use a re-stuff but the front and rear seats are otherwise very comfortable and not “flat”. The seat-back shocks don’t work on both front seats and need replacing. (I don’t adjust my seat back so it has been rather low on the priority list) Dashboard and dash trim pieces with no cracks, new shift selector handle and a working, lockable glovebox. Clean headliner with no rips or tears and working crank sunroof with no leaks to date. Original AM-FM-Weather/Cassette radio with original user’s guide, code and tape cleaner. OEM tan e30 floor mats with no holes or worn spots, although they are difficult to keep clean. Aftermarket cup holders were added at some point; I removed them but the holes where they screwed into the door cards remain – the plastic door sealing liner underneath was undamaged, although it looks like the passenger side window regulator was replaced at some time in the past and the plastic liner was taped in this location. Both electric window regulators operate well without binding or excessive noise. Service interval display, checkpanel, cruise control, electric mirrors and rear defrost all work. The outside temperature sensor is new but there is still a break in circuit and the temp doesn’t read on the OBC. New heater core. Husco armrest in good-to-excellent condition with working, unbroken drink holders.
Engine/drivetrain:
At the time of the motor swap in 2012, I replaced the water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing, radiator, all radiator hoses, aux fan and switch and added a 9” Spal puller fan to aid with cooling since the fan and fan clutch are removed with the motor swap. I also installed a rebuilt 140A alternator and rebuilt starter, new battery, new coolant temp sensors, new crank position sensor and a new Bosch O2 sensor. Originally I ran the car without power steering but re-installed it later with new power steering hoses. The engine also has a new rear main seal, pan gasket, cam shaft seal, valve cover gasket and exhaust manifold gaskets, although there is a small oil leak at the upper front cover-to-head gasket. I installed a Fumoto valve for easier oil changes. I recently replaced the exhaust although I had replaced the hangers when I did the motor swap.
I replaced the automatic transmission input shaft seal, selector shaft seal and kickdown cable and seal, along with a new filter and pan gasket; it is filled with Redline ATF. As detailed in the build thread, I also replaced the A-clutch shaft seals, a known weak point in the 4hp22 transmission. The rear end is the open 4:10 ratio differential that is typical for automatic cars; there is a faint whine and slight clunk on deceleration that is also typical for e30s of similar mileage.
The fuel pump was replaced as a preventative measure when I replaced the fuel filter and hoses and the fuel injectors were professionally cleaned and fit with new o-rings.
The air conditioning system has been overhauled with a rebuilt compressor, new drier, new expansion valve, new high- and low-pressure hoses, new o-rings throughout and it currently runs R12.
Recently I replaced the front brake pads, rotors and wear sensor as well as the rear pads and sensor; during the motor swap I replaced the vacuum valve serving the brake booster. The brake lining light circuit has a short in it, so I removed the bulb (bulb included with sale).
The wheels are Sport Edition CDs with 225-50 R16 Kumho Ecsta SPT tires; 20mm spacers on rear and 9mm on front and 75mm TUV bullet-nose studs all-around. The hex insert on one of the studs on the left rear is stripped, but the stud threads are fine. I have a few spare nuts that I will include. Due to the oversize tires, there is slight rubbing on the front fender liners at about half-way to full lock. Tires are at about 75% front and 30% rear remaining. Tie rod ends were recently replaced.
Rear shocks are KYB Gas-A-Just and front struts are Bilstein HDs; both of unknown mileage. I was in the process of determining the ride height I wanted by cutting off lengths of the stock springs. Currently the stock springs have 2 coils cut off; I think there is about a 1” drop front and rear. The car rides and handles well without bumps or squeaks or rattles.
Prior work:
There are several parts that looked to have been replaced not long before I bought the car in 2011, including the motor mounts, transmission mounts, guibo, center support bearing, control arms and control arm bushings/ball joints and a rebuilt power steering rack.
Other items included with sale:
- (5) 15” BMW bottlecap rims with (5) workable tires. Although not down to the wearbars, the tires are old and hard. One is the spare.
- Car cover
- Autocheck report for the car and the motor
- e30 & e34 Bentley manuals
- m30 swap guide and wiring diagrams
- Service and parts receipts from previous owners and myself
- Original owner’s and service manuals in original clear plastic sleeve
- 2 original BMW keys: one with BMW black plastic handle, one lit key with non-op light.
Cold start: https://youtu.be/SrzMDeJMw_s
Warm idle: https://youtu.be/3WPOw4Q8hWw
Exterior walkaround: https://youtu.be/dxmG7GG_C34
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