Restoration Oppurtunity 90 ix opinions/advice

[1990ix]

Here is a bit of info on the situation: My step dad bought his 1990 ix brand new. It saw about 8 winters in Canada, and then when he moved to California, it saw 6 years of sun/ heat.
The car has been parked (back here in Canada for the last 10 years ) It has been started from time to time and moved back & forth to keep from everything going stiff/seizing up.
The car has 176845 km or 109886 miles on it. It has had a few parking lot fender benders ( nothing serious, but did get some new fenders& doors )
All in all, that is low milage for this car, and it has spent a large part of it's life parked.
I have not been under it,but I am sure it is pretty solid. It does have paint issues , The california sun did a toll.
It is a 5 speed manual, and I believe all original except lowered suspension, shocks and a performance chip.
This car has been offered to my 15 year old son for FREE. They do not drive it, and have 2 other BMW's .
Currently , it needs some TLC since it has been sitting. Both the hood and fuel tank door are ceased shut, as well as the tires are very old , and need to be changed. Once we can get the ceased doors open, we can look at changing all fluids.
The timing belt was done.
My son being 15, does not have much money, but considering it is free, he just needs to get it up and going, and we can slowly work on it. Any advice for this project would be much appreciated.
Cheers !

[Kershaw]

Is turning down a free e30 ever even a consideration?

[613EDRTY]

Is turning down a free e30 ever even a consideration?

Agreed! Take it, help your son bring it back to life!

[1990ix]

lol- deffinately not going to turn it down, just wondering how much time , effort and most of all $ this will take. I just spoke with insurance, and they said it will probably be a few thousand a year to insure him, but I guess if the car is a freebie, it's not so bad! Next thing: How the heck I'm going to open the hood, and fuel filler door!

[chuckdizzle]

lol- deffinately not going to turn it down, just wondering how much time , effort and most of all $ this will take. I just spoke with insurance, and they said it will probably be a few thousand a year to insure him, but I guess if the car is a freebie, it's not so bad! Next thing: How the heck I'm going to open the hood, and fuel filler door!

For the hood, get a long flathead screwdriver and insert it into this spot behind the headlight grill, driver's side.



Turn clockwise and the hood will pop.

[1990ix]

Thanks a bunch, we will have to give that a turn! Thanks eh!

[Alaska Ted]

Do it!!!

My son and I have been working on an 89 ix for the past year. We have a post on this page titled "first ix". I recommend getting the car and working on it with your son. Get a Bentley's manual and do a bunch research on sites like this. The car really isn't all that difficult to work on. My son has little to no mechanical experience and I have a very limited amount of experience. Use the book and if that doesn't make things clear, do a search on this site or Google and you will probably find what you are looking for. If you still can't find it, ask these guys and they will point you in the right direction. I'm convinced that some of them know these cars better than the German engineers that designed them. Best of luck!! Post a few pictures when you get a chance.

[6A LDY]

^^ what he said! The ix community is especially helpful and willing to give advice to keep these cars on the road. Good Luck!

[Alaska Ted]

Timing belt

Just reread your original post. In it you stated that the" timing belt had been done". I think all here will agree that you should do it again. Its probably the first thing you should do. If you loose the timing belt in these engines, the valves will drop into the cylinders and cause catastrophic damage to the valves and sometimes pistons. My son and I had never changed a timing belt before, and it wasn't very difficult. Read the book and watch videos. Piece of cake. My son's car has been an awesome project for us to work on together. In fact, it has been so much fun, and so much fun to drive, I think we are gonna restore the 1990 ix parts car that I picked up about a month ago. Have fun, fix old Bimmers!

[chuckdizzle]

When I first bought my IX, I found the IX Registry which was a series of newsletters and it had technical articles, DIY procedures and other material from owners.
here's the link: http://home.earthlink.net/~hainesinutah/iX/

It's a good resource for those IX-specific tasks jobs that aren't in the Bentley service manual.

[dubdub]

Ugg... maybe I am the only one, but there is no such thing as a FREE ix. Even in the best of shape, it will still need a lot of work. Pretty much every piece of rubber on the car will need to be replaced, if it has been sitting that long without maintenance.

Ontario makes the ix extra valuable, but you need to be aware that the transfer case, front axles, front spring perch strut-thing, and front differential can be exceedingly expensive for an IX. All the non-ix bits run up the cost of repairs. I have spent way more maintaining my IX over 8 years than I did with my es over a similar (or longer) period.

[1990ix]

Thanks guys, We are very well aware this car will not be "free" to maintain, what car is right? But , if it means he gets a pretty cool car for 0$ out of pocket, he can afford parts a little easier. Grandpa who happens to be giving him the car, happens to be an engineer with a lifelong passion for BMW's. He has no issues opening it right up and doing what needds to be done. The other nice thing is, we have EVERY receipt for the car, all maintenance records which is great considering he is the original owner. With Grandpa's knowledge, and my son's passion to get this thing going, I think this will be a great project for 3 generations to work on. i'll get some pics soon-Cheers !

[1990ix]

Ugg... maybe I am the only one, but there is no such thing as a FREE ix. Even in the best of shape, it will still need a lot of work. Pretty much every piece of rubber on the car will need to be replaced, if it has been sitting that long without maintenance.

Ontario makes the ix extra valuable, but you need to be aware that the transfer case, front axles, front spring perch strut-thing, and front differential can be exceedingly expensive for an IX. All the non-ix bits run up the cost of repairs. I have spent way more maintaining my IX over 8 years than I did with my es over a similar (or longer) period.

Why is this more valuable in Ontario? Is there that fewer of them here? Or just greater demand?

[Kershaw]

They're really quite good in the snow.