E30 Adventures

[AWDBOB]

Most people on the road would never have noticed 4 e30s being transported together but for any car guys that saw you on the trip back probably would have been very interested in what was going on.

Bronzit looks like the best condition, hold true in person?

We were chatting about the same thing.... to a normal person we were just an annoying slow moving caravan, but to an enthusiast I'm sure it was a sight to behold. We passed a bunch of really nice Gbody autocross cars on 65 North that drove beside us for a while.

Yup- the Bronzit car was the active build happening when his son passed. It has a SETA bottom end with MLS gasket, ARPs, turbo manifold, Spec Clutch, and a bunch of drifty spherical front suspension goodies. My plan was to install one of the m20b25/g260 dropouts that came with the lot and get it back on the road!

There is a 99K mile '88 coupe in the bunch that was unassuming at first, and the more I checked it out the more I realized how nice it was. Will be interesting to see how it cleans up.

These were all southern cars that didn't have rust before sitting. It's a shame that they sat for so long, because when they sat, they started to rust. Still worlds better than a typical E30 these days, though.

[Reichart12]

Most people on the road would never have noticed 4 e30s being transported together but for any car guys that saw you on the trip back probably would have been very interested in what was going on.

Bronzit looks like the best condition, hold true in person?

[Mike36]

Great read! Ive pulled quite a few mission because of e30s, totally worth it for them.

[AWDBOB]

Thank you gents!!! This is what it's all about. The memories created during these experiences always stay with you, and adds depth to the ownership experiences of the cars we know and love. Stoked to get a few of these back on the road!

[CrustyE28]

This is what these cars are all about for me. The adventures, the memories, meeting new "E30 guys" and finding the old hoards of parts and finding them good homes. I think my last adventure was nearing 3 years ago when me and my Cousin drug a '91 318is out of a field near Jefferson City, MO. The car was severely rotted, but we were able to seal up some of the intake leaks to get it to run enough to build oil pressure and see it move under its own power. I had about 2 rolls of duct tape and a big caulk gun tube worth of RTV tied up into it as we drove it out of the fellers yard onto his dead end gravel driveway. In all the excitement of finding the car and getting it to sputter to life, we never thought to think about the brakes! As we go down this hilly driveway to a small circle turnaround, we found it didnt have any brakes! Luckily I was able to get it slowed down downshifting and it held together for a quick little clutch-kicked U-Turn. After feeling the diff lockup after all that time, we had to have it. Loaded up, back on the road to St Louis with a new to us E30, big grins, and a story to tell!

[laidback93]

Great write up. Thanks for sharing!

I'm trying to hold back from asking for parts. The urge is so strong... lol

[Panici]

Thank you for sharing! I love a good car-themed adventure.

Glad that Vinny got the cars & parts into the hands of enthusiasts.

[twright]

Great right up. The only thing I'm sorry about is not volunteering quick enough to be part of the party.

[808ETA]

That sounds like an awesome adventure! Love the e30 caravan.

[Kelso840]

That's quite a haul!

[e30austin]

thx for sharing, Bobbie <3

[Northern]

I was hoping for a r3v post about this! I miss days of car related adventures.

I think my last qualifying adventure was in like 2014, driving a few hours with Roysneon to pick up a complete M52+ZF swap from some hillbillies on the south mountain, only to have the ram on my engine hoist shit the bed and force us to manhandle a full drivetrain into the back of my old Mazda.
Roy also flipped an E36ti shell on its roof by hand while we were there, because why not.

That swap, despite sitting in the mud when we showed up, ended up being from a texas copart convertible and was hilariously clean.
It now lives in my silver car.

[mjweimer]

A great adventure with friends is always memorable - add in a fantastic background story and it becomes meaningful. The cars and parts could not have ended up in a better place, to be enjoyed by others in the spirit of Vinny's son. Thanks for sharing the story.

[kronus]

hell of a haul and a nice story. looking forward to the project threads, and glad they get to live on.

[Albie325]

Awesome story and message, hope Vinny takes solace in the fact that his son's projects went to a great home.