First e30..Need advice

[Bryan///]

Hi everyone, I bought my first e30 a few days ago.Insurance says its 90' 325is through the vin# but it has bottlecaps, standard interior and, and 325i decal on the trunk..but i think it does have an lsd because both wheels turned slowly when it was on the lift...not sure about all that but anyway. I have a few things I could use some advice on...
*both front seats are shot.. should i buy parts to rebuild them or dish out a couple hundred more for some cheap recaros, or maybe some used ones on here and get seat covers if they dont match color?
*left front fog light doesnt work after replacing bulb..anyone experience this before and know where I should look for a wiring problem or w.e.?
*waterpump is squealing and a mechanic said its common in these models and replacement parts do the same thing sooner or later...i guess i should buy a new pump and belt anyway
*little surface rust on body and faded paint..i dont want it to get any worse and plan on having this as a track beater..should i let it sit as is for now or spend a lot of money on a nice restoration paint job, or maybe flat black is cheap? :)

Im sure there will be more but those are my main concerns for now..any advice would be appreciated.

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

Buy sport seats. If they don't match, paint them to match. Or don't...

[OniKyan]

Paint it candy pink, with colour matched eyelids, angel eye headlights and chrome tails.

[lambo]

No on the flat black. Just no.

[325ix]

Any color is better than flat black. Hot Rodders used to do it because they couldn't afford any paint. Flat black is a primer. A Maaco paint job is not that expensive.

[Cabriolet]

it does have an lsd because both wheels turned slowly when it was on the lift...

this means nothing. if you have an lsd both wheel will spin in the same direction. also on the back metal tag hanging off the differential there will be an "S." no "S" and it's an open differential.

*both front seats are shot.. should i buy parts to rebuild them

are they sports seats or comfort seats? basically bolsters or no bolsters. if sport seats. id recover them. Kevin Chin at seatkit.com is making ulpostery for my seats atm. (kit is a tad over $900 for 2 front seats.)

left front fog light doesnt work after replacing bulb

you could have a short, use a volt meter to see if it's getting current. also see if corrosion is causing an issue.

waterpump is squealing

it's dead! replace it asap. i had the same thing happen a few months back. also do the timing bet at the same time. if you are not sure how old the timing belt is, replace it!!! when that snaps, bye bye engine. replace the timing belt every 40-60k.

little surface rust on body and faded paint

get some rattle-can rust converter and go nuts. being that you are an EC guy, there's 100% change you have rust everywhere. check under the carpets for holes, check the sub frames, frame rails and bottom of the doors.

[Bryan///]

Thanks cabriolet, those are answers I was looking for, and I meant that both wheels were turning on their own in same direction..I don't have sport seats so I'll prob go after market, I was guns play it safe and buy the water pump and timing belt anyway. As far as my exterior, what product rust remover should I look for? I already looked everywhere in on and under the car and it's really not bad at all.

As for the Macao paint job.... I'd rather not unless someone has a good story about them for once

[erik the red]

Fog light check...

My recently acquired 318is also had a dead fog light on the driver's side; a quick look at the fuse listing showed separate fuses for left and right fogs, and the left one was blown. New fuse solved the problem.

Not used to the plethora of fuses on an E30; my 2002s have either six or twelve, not thirty!

cheers, and welcome to E30 ownership...

mike
'91 318is Briliantrot, "Erik"

[Click]

Just catch up with regular maint and get some sports.

Oil Change in the Engine, Trans, Diff. Might want to put new seals in the trans
Inspect guibo. If replacement is needed replace CSB at same time
New Timing Belt+Water Pump+Rad Hoses+Thermostat+Coolant+Belts
Check brake rotors/pads
Feel the wheel bearings
Inspect brake and fuel lines
Pickup a spare main and fp relay and store in glovebox