e30 in College?

[cferb]

Yes, no, maybe.... I dunno. I love my e30 but, it sucks not being able to spend as much money on it as I would like.

Pretty much my experience. I got most of the modding out of the way before I had no money. Was great for me in college though. There's a reason I've had 4 of them and been driving them off and on for the last 10 years.

[E46Twist]

Well I bought an e30 to go with my e46 and I'm in college. I am totally rebuilding it and it cost A LOT less than just PM on my e46. The e46 is sex machine and the e30 is the beast.

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Tapatalk 2

[freeride53]

hot beezies @ usf. i can confirm that.

[bataangpinoy]

Had my first when I was 15, non running, auto car. it was my dad's, and it was the car that my dad drove my mom to the hospital with when she went into labor with me. that car was my dd and I ruined it and turned it into a dedicated drift car.

Bought my second (parts car) when I was a freshman in college. Sold off all the shit and had it crushed, more rust than good metal.

My third and current(my touring) was acquired when I was a sophomore in college. This one is particularly expensive because of its driveline, but it wouldn't be if i had something more common place.

My other car is my s13 coupe, which is a summer/track car only. for a while i had my s13 reg'd and on the street to break in the engine and work out some bugs. I ended up using it to move in for the semester lol I used the touring to move out for winter break.

So I've had two cars at a time throughout college, its a bit tough to manage both time/money wise. I don't really spend money on anything else but my health, girlfriend, hygiene, rent/tuition and my cars. No cable (netflix ftw), internet is part of tuition, unlimited data plan.

[Vivek]

@ lil baby vivi, where are you goin in 6 months?

Not sure. Looking at asu, usf, scu, trinity (Texas), chapman...right now I have no clue. I got into all of those with scholarships except scu I got wait listed.

[BobombETA]

I drove eta's through college because of a 400 mile a week commute. Even when they were "broken" they still got me back and forth to school getting 34 mpg on the highway.

If you get one... keep a small stock pile of relays, fuses, sensors, switches etc... If you can get your hands on one in a junkyard/part out, you should be able to get a pile of spares on the cheap. It's not a bad idea to keep this stuff in a bag in your trunk along with your Bentley manual (buy one), some basic tools, a quart of oil, and a jug of coolant.

And I'll restate the obvious: replacing the water pump, timing belt, and new fluids all around will go a long way.

[freeride53]

@ lil baby vivi, where are you goin in 6 months?

btw here are some very cliche college e30 photos


Me & my roommate's Schwarz E30's by sina.pour, on Flickr


en route to the island for rope by sina.pour, on Flickr


seeing familiar faces by sina.pour, on Flickr


meeting another r3ver in carmel by sina.pour, on Flickr

[Vivek]

Take the car for a PPI, yeah? How do those work? Tell the seller I want to take it in for an inspection and take the car to the shop?





I wouldn't be happy driving an autobox for that long :? Is the swap something that would be too much to try to do myself?

A PPI should tell you everything you need to know. My dad's car had one once, and the shop reported a whole laundry list of stuff that was 'wrong' with it, and advised it was worth very little . For an exceptionally clean e30. In like 25k+ miles he's owned it, the only thing that's ever really been wrong with it was that one half shaft fell off once, which was our fault for not torquing it properly.

[325ix]

Yes, no, maybe.... I dunno. I love my e30 but, it sucks not being able to spend as much money on it as I would like.

[Das_Uber_E30]

Well, I drive autobox as well. I like it, but I like the shifter too. The swap isn't that complicated, but you need a lot of parts and a free week end.

I hope you don't have all thumbs...You will need some technical experience and a good helping hand.

Read this: http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108141

[Boule30]

OP its a 25 year old car on average (mines 27 this coming june) there is no guarantee on anything. thats why the buying process is so important. i speak from experience just ask me how i own a stock looking 5 digit car but the first car looks good and sounds good as long as the "rebuilt" engine is really rebuilt

Take the car for a PPI, yeah? How do those work? Tell the seller I want to take it in for an inspection and take the car to the shop?

Its not expensive for a good 5 speed, but labor might bight you. my recommendation is run it till the trans dies and then worry about a swap

I wouldn't be happy driving an autobox for that long :? Is the swap something that would be too much to try to do myself?

[brbahner]

So no on the rusty one huh?
100% fine with working on a car in college, I was just worried about major things breaking and leaving me carless for any period of time
The ladies think the miata is "cute"
But that's alright, the car's not what gets them anyway

OP its a 25 year old car on average (mines 27 this coming june) there is no guarantee on anything. thats why the buying process is so important. i speak from experience just ask me how i own a stock looking 5 digit car but the first car looks good and sounds good as long as the "rebuilt" engine is really rebuilt

OP please don't do this. A rusty car will just be a pain to work on and 100% not worth it. Bolts are hard enough to remove without them being rusted to shit, and you'll be kicking yourself every time you round off a rusty bolt or nut and have to spend 10x the normal time removing it.

Dealing with this right now in my battery tray :curse:

This is exactly what I want to hear! Lol
That car is automatic though, what's the cost of swapping the transmission?
And as for the right tools, are there any special tools I need?

Its not expensive for a good 5 speed, but labor might bight you. my recommendation is run it till the trans dies and then worry about a swap

[Boule30]

First off, make your font a normal size like so. You can pick your spring rates and adjust the koni dampers, so it'll be as soft or stuff as you'd like. Spring rates are something that you have to choose from the beginning (although you can easily swap them out with different springs) but the dampers are all the same and you can adjust those to whatever you'd like. And don't mind Marco, I'll be in college in 6 months anyways

My bad, I'm on mobile and my font looks tiny compared to everyone else's posts. I was just trying to fit in :'(
Hopefully this is better.
Cool stuff, looks like coilovers will be on the list.

[Vivek]

How's the ride; stiff, soft? Or is that something that you can adjust with coilovers
Yeah yeah yeah its probably inevitable
I guess what I mean to say is I won't be doing anything drastic like swapping the engine or boosting it
Stuff I don't need is the best kind of stuff anyways ;D

First off, make your font a normal size like so. You can pick your spring rates and adjust the koni dampers, so it'll be as soft or stuff as you'd like. Spring rates are something that you have to choose from the beginning (although you can easily swap them out with different springs) but the dampers are all the same and you can adjust those to whatever you'd like. And don't mind Marco, I'll be in college in 6 months anyways

[mbonanni]

Vivek isn't in college. Don't listen to him or trust anything he says.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk