Let the madness begin

[IronmanE30]

Hi,

Here is a shot of the cabbie that I picked up about two months ago.

We have been working on it every weekend since getting the car in shape to be my daily driver.

Yesterday I picked up this 1991 325I for a part car.


I called my son who talked me into getting an E30 and he said "Let the madness begin".

OMG, I am sooo hooked. Looks like more shop time for us over the next few weeks and after we get what we need off of her some parts will show up in the parts forum for sale. It gives me such a good feeling taking off the old parts and using them instead of just crushing this fine old car at the wrecking yard.

Cheers,

Jim

[ben312]

Clean looking vert. Welcome to r3v.

[PaladinReed]

Welcome Jim. Is your son part of our little community here? e30brickverts ftmfw!

[N2MYE30]

Why do you need a parts car? That cabrio looks clean. Tranny?

[TexasTerp]

great lookin vert! Welcome to the obssession that is e30's can't wait to see you progress

[IronmanE30]

Hi All,



It's been a great day!


Ben321, thanks for the welcome and the complement!

PaladinReed, I actually have two sons that are members. It’s their fault that I got hooked on the E30. Brian, my son’s forum name is SpecraceM5 and my other son’s uses /\/\att, I think. Arlene, my wife has an E39 so we are totally a BMW family.

N2ME30, The vert may look good in the pictures but it is an old car with lots of things that could be improved. A lot of the things were going to be junk yard stuff but hopefully the ’91 325I will the parts I need. The tranny story is kinda long from my point of view. The rear seal is leaking a little bit and my goal, as impossible as it may seem, is to have no leaks. We have done the tear down twice to try to get the nut (125 ft/lbs torque) off of the rear main shaft of the tranny and it will not come off. We have tried three different impacts with way too much PSI, breaker bars and have beaten the hell out of the nut and our sockets. I now believe that the PO’s BMW master mechanic used some lock tight on the nut. Our next try will be a little heat to the nut which will surly waste the seal. If we can’t get it off with that method we are out of ideas so the other tranny is our backup plan. If things go good we will have a 5 speed swap so either way it’s a win.

TexasTerp, I can tell you have the sickness. We picked up the car today and I have been walking around it for an hour looking over the treasures. Tomorrow I will start working with the air chisel so we can get a stock rim back onto the right rear of the car and scare my neighbors by cruizin a totaled car through the neighborhood.

I found out that a 17 year old girl driving dad’s Range Rover spaced out and hit the E30 which was parked in front of the PO’s home. Both vehicles were totaled. The more I look at the E30 the more I respect the fine German Engineering. The reveal on the front of the doors and hood are still perfect on this old parts car. Have a good night!

Cheers,

Jim

[OrganicMechanic]

you have an invite...

[Conki]

Welcome! After this, there is no turning back. I hope you are prepared.

[straight6pwr]

this is madness! no, this is E30!

[IronmanE30]

Thanks for the responces, Friday I hacked the munched panel and Saturday my son took it for a drive. It looks like the car came with LSD so the vert will be going posi. The compression was about 170 in all but one hole which was 162. Tomorrow I will add a little oil to that hole and try it again. The other thing I found out was that none of the body panels will exchange but the vert panels have only slight door dings and are not in too bad of shape.

I changed the motor mounts on the vert this weekend, one of which came out in two pieces so I guess it was time. The bolt on the trans mount also broke so we replaced them too. She is getting pretty tight but there are still some rattles and squeeks that I would like to resolve. Next weekend we are putting the new springs and shocks on to get her a little lower.

Cheers,

Jim