Am I insane? Thoughts on E30 total restoration. PLEASE HELP.

[PKile]

You just posted it so let's hope shes never heard of Google ...lol

Where's your e36 rack ?

Luckily she doesn't google BMW stuff very often...she still works so she doesn't have much time to snoop on the Internet. And as for the E36 rack, I figured I'd drive it awhile with the E30 rack so I would appreciate the E36 rack that much more. Besides, this is my ongoing retirement project so I have to spread the work out and make it last!

[Rontgen]

This is VERY sound advice...from a noob no less :D

:p Noob to the E30, but not to car projects that are hopelessly behind schedule and laughably over-budget.

It's amazing how the "2x the $ and 3x the time" equation never seems realistic in the beginning, yet always seems to ring true in the end...

[jeffnhiscars]

I don't mind knowing the total, but God help me if my wife stumbles on the information!

You just posted it so let's hope shes never heard of Google ...lol

Where's your e36 rack ?

[PKile]

You forgot to mention your shiny new seat shocks...but if you factor in the savings from all the lattes, tequila and cocaine you didn't do because you were busy fixing your car, you came out ahead....and yes, of course you are insane...just like the rest of us :)

You got that right, Jeff! Speaking of vices (other than my 5" Wilton) my wife knows I'm not boozing or catting around because she always can find me in one of 3 places...my garage, the local Pick and Pull, or the parts counter at BMW!

[PKile]

I don't mind knowing the total, but God help me if my wife stumbles on the information!

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Im 20k+ in my "total" restoration and i still don't have a interior

[Todd Black 88]

You are only insane if you total up the amount you spent on it.


I did a spread sheet on my M3 refurb, and got about half way through the stack of receipts and accidently hit the total button.

I looked at it for about 30 seconds and then deleted the file. I don't want to know.

[jeffnhiscars]

I am about ready to re-implant the engine and trans in my 92 325iC. The car was purchased in April with a great interior, decent laguna green repaint, and no discernible rust, but had 233,000 miles of mechanical neglect and previous owner stupidity. The major jobs I've done are as follows...

Fully rebuilt and balanced engine with full valve job
Rebuilt BMW tranny (original howled 1st -3rd gears)
New control arms and bushings
New strut inserts
New tie rod ends and rack boots
New steering column u-joint
Replaced front crossmember (original swaybar broken off)
New full exhaust with cat
New oil cooler and lines
New flywheel and clutch
New clutch master and slave and flex line
New gas tank with all new fuel and vent lines
New front brake pads
Front caliper rebuild kits
Stainless braided brake lines all around
Reconditioned driveshaft
New 15" Euroweaves and Dunlop Direzzas
Hella BiFocals and Cibie H1 high beams
New A/C condenser, dryer, and flex lines
CD43 head unit
Along with all that came a truckload of new hoses, hardware, clips, fasteners, and trim bits., not to mention new fluids, filters, sealants, lubricants, manuals and special tools to accomplish all the tasks, and a 1,700 buck machine shop bill.

If I subtract out $6,000 for the car purchase and DMV pound of flesh, that leaves a grand total of $17,000, not counting my labor (this is my retirement hobby, you understand). Judge for yourself if I am insane...

You forgot to mention your shiny new seat shocks...but if you factor in the savings from all the lattes, tequila and cocaine you didn't do because you were busy fixing your car, you came out ahead....and yes, of course you are insane...just like the rest of us :)

[88BlackS-ETA]

Insane, no. Enough money, only if you do all the labor yourself (except engine and tranny rebuild). Any M20 can go for ever if you do the maintenance on it correctly. I pretty much did a 'frame up' resto and it took a long time and wasnt fun. They only thing I didnt do was remove the undercoating or the engine wiring harness. Total coast: not adding it up because I dont want to know.

Stripped straight down to metal does take a long time (I know from experience). So like you and others said, get a straight shell with good paint.

[PKile]

I am about ready to re-implant the engine and trans in my 92 325iC. The car was purchased in April with a great interior, decent laguna green repaint, and no discernible rust, but had 233,000 miles of mechanical neglect and previous owner stupidity. The major jobs I've done are as follows...

Fully rebuilt and balanced engine with full valve job
Rebuilt BMW tranny (original howled 1st -3rd gears)
New control arms and bushings
New strut inserts
New tie rod ends and rack boots
New steering column u-joint
Replaced front crossmember (original swaybar broken off)
New full exhaust with cat
New oil cooler and lines
New flywheel and clutch
New clutch master and slave and flex line
New gas tank with all new fuel and vent lines
New front brake pads
Front caliper rebuild kits
Stainless braided brake lines all around
Reconditioned driveshaft
New 15" Euroweaves and Dunlop Direzzas
Hella BiFocals and Cibie H1 high beams
New A/C condenser, dryer, and flex lines
CD43 head unit
Along with all that came a truckload of new hoses, hardware, clips, fasteners, and trim bits., not to mention new fluids, filters, sealants, lubricants, manuals and special tools to accomplish all the tasks, and a 1,700 buck machine shop bill.

If I subtract out $6,000 for the car purchase and DMV pound of flesh, that leaves a grand total of $17,000, not counting my labor (this is my retirement hobby, you understand). Judge for yourself if I am insane...

[jeffnhiscars]

The total cost is going to be influenced greatly by the starting condition of the car. Do yourself a favor and find a clean, rust-free body with good paint and you'll save thousands. Body work and paint can easily become a financial black hole.

If you want an is, I say buy an is. They aren't so rare that you need to spend the $$ trying to turn an e into an is. The is will also include a limited slip, so that'll save some $.

Be patient and be ready with cash in had to scoop up a good deal on a clean E30. I recently did just that on a $2500 1990 325is. It ran, but not well and had great paint and no rust. I've pulled the motor and transmission and am doing a fairly comprehensive rebuild of the car. Granted, I'm doing all of the labor but I should be in the $5-6K total investment range when it's done. It won't be a show car, but it'll be really clean and mechanically reliable.

Good luck!

This is VERY sound advice...from a noob no less :D

[StereoInstaller1]

General rule of thumb is to add up the costs and time beforehand, as you've done.


Then double the cost and triple the time.

/thread

[Rontgen]

The total cost is going to be influenced greatly by the starting condition of the car. Do yourself a favor and find a clean, rust-free body with good paint and you'll save thousands. Body work and paint can easily become a financial black hole.

If you want an is, I say buy an is. They aren't so rare that you need to spend the $$ trying to turn an e into an is. The is will also include a limited slip, so that'll save some $.

Be patient and be ready with cash in had to scoop up a good deal on a clean E30. I recently did just that on a $2500 1990 325is. It ran, but not well and had great paint and no rust. I've pulled the motor and transmission and am doing a fairly comprehensive rebuild of the car. Granted, I'm doing all of the labor but I should be in the $5-6K total investment range when it's done. It won't be a show car, but it'll be really clean and mechanically reliable.

Good luck!

[rturbo 930]

As for $15,000 not being enough, would you mind elaborating? Since I'm basically replacing the entire drivetrain/suspension/brakes/etc with "new" parts, what am I missing? Are you saying that I should anticipate $20-30,000 worth of unknown x-factors?

Are you doing the work? Do you have experience? If you can do it, you may be able to do it all for maybe 25k, since it's not a total resto. Or who knows, maybe you'll come in under budget. But I doubt it. It's never, ever as simple as just buying some parts and installing them.

Check these builds out:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=366843

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=251334

[BHT2109]

rturbo: No plans for frame-up at this time. As I wrote in the bottom, I realize it's not TOTAL; perhaps "thorough" would be a more appropriate term :)

As for $15,000 not being enough, would you mind elaborating? Since I'm basically replacing the entire drivetrain/suspension/brakes/etc with "new" parts, what am I missing? Are you saying that I should anticipate $20-30,000 worth of unknown x-factors?

Thanks for the feedback guys!! Keep 'em coming!