first post, intro

[Insane E30]

Hello all, been reading and following on this site for a while now, but never took the time to register until now.

bought a 1985 BMW 325e (i know run of the mill) last year, had a fun year too, learned the hard way that you need to listen to people and change the timing belt, luckly after that happened i took note and got a "fresh" head locally and redid the top end, at least cleaned and replaced nearly all the parts with quality german made parts. so now she runs really good.

so now with the new year i'm ready to start taking care/rebuilding it (now i'm not doing anything crazy like frame off) but i want to take care of it til i need to rebuild/stroke the motor with I top end and custom pistons...

so hi all and thanks for having an awesome board!

also its really cool to see all the NC guys out there, it seems like a big group!

[Slidewayzz]

Welcome, tuck those bumpers!

[Insane E30]

thats the plan! i'm keeping the DB's unless i just find a killer deal on something to replace them with, but i really dig the DB with the right valance

[325ix]

Kinda hard to do a frame off on a unibody...

Welcome, enjoy your stay!

[JasonC]

Welcome. What are you planning on stroking the engine out too?

[BoxDriver86]

Glad to see another NC member. Check out NCeuro.org and the Southeast forums for happenings, regional classifieds, etc. There are a lot of good folks in the NC E30 community willing to lend a hand whenever it is needed.

Welcome!

[Insane E30]

thanks all, i know i can't do a frame off, it would be throwing the body on a rotisserie, but in either case the body has no rust other than where the tire jack goes in the trunk, and i'm going to cut it and reweld a new piece in to fix it.

i came from old american muscle cars, mostly buick. my main car was a 1972 Buick skylark that i resto'ed and turned it into a gs455 stage 1, it was very torquey and a lot of fun, but after having a house payment and driving a longer distance to work and marriage, well you know, life...i sold it and was into jeeps for a while.

now i've got the 1985 325e and my wife tells me i'll be buried in this car (just because i've owned like 15+ cars and shes tired of switching)

my plan is do a either 2.8l or 2.9l stroker, nothing crazy, but along with megasquirt i would like to hit around 180~ whp.

really this year will all be about fixing the suspension, upgrading brakes, updating the interior, and hopefully a paint job.

thanks for the link boxdriver86, i will check it out.

[N2MYE30]

Keep us updated! Hope to see you around.

Welcome aboard.

[dannyyisntt]

Welcome aboard. Becareful E30's are like the hotel California of cars: "You can checkout any time you like, But you can never leave."

[Insane E30]

haha, well the last year has taught me a lot, had the front end stripped somewhat down to replace the head, timing belt and stuff up front. when i bought it it was almost a joke because my buddy kept telling me to go BMW...well i got the car, then without looking at anything i swapped an ebay chip in the ecu...well come to find out i had the number 2 plug on the distributor was melted, the rotor button was barely hanging on, then my timing belt snapped...

so now i'm going to treat the car right and fix it up with proper parts and start a plan, right now stroker motor...between getting it to better than factory handling and stopping, then more power, i think it will be a good car to own.

thanks for all the welcomes

[ForcedFirebird]

Welcome, tuck those bumpers!

thats the plan! i'm keeping the DB's unless i just find a killer deal on something to replace them with, but i really dig the DB with the right valance

Don't tuck them. Polish them...

http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq202/Forced_Firebird/Bimmer/wottechpics006.jpg

[slaterd]

I'm having mixed emotions about that. It feels right, but I feel dirty for thinking that...

[N2MYE30]

Don't tuck them. Polish them...

http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/q...echpics006.jpg

How do you polish them to look like that!? That looks great. Link for diy?

[Insane E30]

my DB's aren't worth polishing, they have little cracks in them. that does look very nice on your car though!

plan is to scuff them up and paint them with some black bumper paint and do the same with the surrounds, then tuck them in

[ForcedFirebird]

I'm having mixed emotions about that. It feels right, but I feel dirty for thinking that...

;)

How do you polish them to look like that!? That looks great. Link for diy?

They take a while since they are clear anodized. I used a 7" polisher/sander with 220 grit to rip down to bare aluminum (that went fast) then a D/A to get them smooth. Actually got bored doing it and ended up paying a local polishing company $200 to finish them up.

my DB's aren't worth polishing, they have little cracks in them. that does look very nice on your car though!

plan is to scuff them up and paint them with some black bumper paint and do the same with the surrounds, then tuck them in

Thanks!

The anodizing is cracking/yellowing, they are extruded aluminum.

If you leave them raw make sure they are waxed or clear coated or the will oxidize fast.