Project Overly Ambitious

[DesertBMW]

Regarding the E30- I shipped it out from California in early 2023. I drove it around a bit and even took it to one of FCP Euro's cars and coffee events at Lime Rock where I got to park it on the racing surface. Then a local kid started asking questions about it and I ended up selling the car to him. He drove the car down to South Carolina for school, drove it for a few months, then sold it to someone down there. I quite miss the car as it was my first car and I owned it for 19 years, but at the same time am not that upset that I sold it. It was an incredible build, and I am super proud that I made it happen- it is by far the biggest project I've undertaken.

Not being able to help myself, in late 2023 I bought a 1994 740i that a previous owner had swapped a 420G into. Honestly...it feels like a bigger more comfortable version of my E30 considering it has near as makes no difference, the same engine and transmission. Guys- the E32 is just. so. fucking. solid. It really is a big leap up from E30s in terms of ride and build quality. That being said, IT'S BIG, and it's not even the LWB. I recently bought my wife an E46 Touring (that's also been manual swapped) and find myself reallllllly enjoying driving it because of its size. I just prefer the 3 series size factor, apparently.
I like the idea of an E36 or, even better, building a 2.7L (or bigger) M20 and getting back into an E30. I really like that latter idea.

Anyways, time will tell. Thanks to everyone who chimed in on this thread and helped me out in getting the E30 build done, I couldn't have done it without y'all.

Reason why you think stock E32 feels a lot better than your E30 is because your swap was never done right. As soon as I saw you had solid motor mounts and half of suspension was all aftermarket poly urethane garbage, I knew you hated to drive the car. It probably felt like driving some old school pickup truck. Most people that do M60 swap into E30 do it the bare minimum way just to get it running and just to say they did the swap. Bone stock 318i E30 that you had with M42 engine felt way better than any E32. The E32 feels like driving a van. I drove a lot of cars in my life, nothing feels better than E30 remember that.

[jpod999]

I'm here to put a close to this thread.

Since my last post::

• My wife and I purchased a 36' diesel pusher motorhome, moved a bunch of our stuff into it, and left California at the beginning of June 2021
• Traveled for four months and 10k miles
• Bought a house in Connecticut in Jan 2022
• Sold said motorhome in 2023

Regarding the E30- I shipped it out from California in early 2023. I drove it around a bit and even took it to one of FCP Euro's cars and coffee events at Lime Rock where I got to park it on the racing surface. Then a local kid started asking questions about it and I ended up selling the car to him. He drove the car down to South Carolina for school, drove it for a few months, then sold it to someone down there. I quite miss the car as it was my first car and I owned it for 19 years, but at the same time am not that upset that I sold it. It was an incredible build, and I am super proud that I made it happen- it is by far the biggest project I've undertaken.

Not being able to help myself, in late 2023 I bought a 1994 740i that a previous owner had swapped a 420G into. Honestly...it feels like a bigger more comfortable version of my E30 considering it has near as makes no difference, the same engine and transmission. Guys- the E32 is just. so. fucking. solid. It really is a big leap up from E30s in terms of ride and build quality. That being said, IT'S BIG, and it's not even the LWB. I recently bought my wife an E46 Touring (that's also been manual swapped) and find myself reallllllly enjoying driving it because of its size. I just prefer the 3 series size factor, apparently.

While I consider myself a BMW fanboi dickhead, I also just like anything that's cool. One of my favorite cars ever is a Mercury Marauder, for example. Now that I am 'out from underneath my E30', so to speak, I want to experience other cars. I've got a friend that's quite intent on taking the E32 off my hands, so I think I'm going to let him. What I replace it with is a matter of what's happens to pop up. I'd love an aforementioned Marauder, or an 80s Suburban, or a MKI or MKII Volkswagen, or a Fox body. I've also never had a I6 BMW (my E30 started as a 318i, then I had an E39 M5, then I swapped a V8 into the E30) and driving my wife's E46 makes me think I need to change that. I like the idea of an E36 or, even better, building a 2.7L (or bigger) M20 and getting back into an E30. I really like that latter idea.

Anyways, time will tell. Thanks to everyone who chimed in on this thread and helped me out in getting the E30 build done, I couldn't have done it without y'all.

[36brua]

Took it around the block recently, first time it had been out of the garage since five posts above. I forgot how at home I feel in that driver's seat- this was and is my first car (purchased in April 2004) and it just feels right.

We should get all the norcal m60 cars together I know there are about 5 of us now

[bmwman91]

I feel you on the cycle of feeling like selling the E30, and then immediately changing the mind upon driving it. I also have had mine since 2005, and all sorts of trials & tribulations with an engine build, spending years wondering if the car would start or leave me stranded. Thankfully, some free time courtesy of COVID also gave me the chance to sort things out properly, and man I love the car again. Granted, it gets driven a lot less since I have a more reliable and efficient daily now, and adult life duties do call more than they used to, but getting in the E30 and slinging it around is always a reminder of how fun the car is, and of younger (simpler) times lol. We are all turning into old guys it seems.....yay, middle age.

[jpod999]

Took it around the block recently, first time it had been out of the garage since five posts above. I forgot how at home I feel in that driver's seat- this was and is my first car (purchased in April 2004) and it just feels right.

[e30austin]

glad to hear you still own the car and are able to mess about with it. don't sell it - you will regret it later on.

[jpod999]

Baby #2, Oliver, was born about an hour and a half after my last post. It's strange that I haven't posted here in over 14 months now.

The pandemic has given me a chance to work on the car again- with no grandparent help in watching the kids, my wife and I have taken to switching off over weekends to give the other a chance to have some kid free time. I've been spending my time in the garage.

Here's what I've gotten done so far:

• replaced heater core valve, using new o-rings
• fixed coolant temp gauge wiring- the pins have to be switched in the connector
• replaced all fuel pump, fuel level sender seals
• replaced all soft fuel lines on tank
• replaced fuel filler neck hose

In the long-term, I'm not sure what the plans are for this car. I've fallen a bit out of love with it, but, I also haven't really driven it in over a year so...

[jpod999]

You know why that happened right ? Car read this thread, and wanted to teach you a lesson for even thinking about selling her. ;)

Welp. Baby #2 will be born today, baby #1 is 16 months old. Gonna be busy for a while.

[Jean]

You know why that happened right ? Car read this thread, and wanted to teach you a lesson for even thinking about selling her. ;)

[jpod999]

I took the car out yesterday thinking it may be the last time before baby #2 arrives- I got 1/4 mile down the road and it died on me. Immediately prior it kind of bucked and lost all power momentarily, the check engine light flicked on during each instance. When it finally did die, I was able to coast the car into a neighborhood and pull over- tried cranking a few times but no luck. I walked back home and grabbed a gas can. Dumped two gallons into the tank and it started back up. On the way back home I put a mile or so on it and it bucked one more time, only happened under load- it would drive normally under steady driving.

The tank was low and I was on my way to the gas station, but the light wasn't even on! I haven't yet done any further investigation, I'll probably have to wait for a while as we are expecting the baby no later than 3/14.

[jpod999]

As much as I would like to, probably not.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Would anything else you buy get tracked sooner?

[jpod999]

Thanks dude! It almost seems like false advertisement at this point as the photo is from 2010ish and I don't have the wheels anymore

I'm still going back and forth. On one hand I've hard the car for almost 15 years and it's my first car that I've put a lot of effort into. On the other hand it almost never gets driven and most certainly won't see a track for another couple of years.

[jeenyus]

Well your the car in your signature has been the most beautiful thing for me to look at while scrolling through posts. A second baby is going to be a handful, certainly. I have a 3 year old and she deserves a large allocation of my time. Two would most certainly give me grey hair. But that's a small price to pay for a family unit as well, especially when it's a place of joy and safety.

[jpod999]

When in doubt, get both

That’s the ideal situation for sure!