Good day......E30 headed off to finally be repaired! 56K :(

[rwh11385]

YAY! :D My car is finally getting repaired!

Chris, ha, I won't be cruising much longer in the Buick!
Jordan, I would fix it myself, only don't really have the time, location, tools, not to mention experience to swap head or confidence to mess with timing belt. I feel better getting someone to do the work.

Here are some pictures!


My car before leaving its former resting spot.


Loading it up!


On the trailer. (Masking tape is to ensure hood stays on. I took it off earlier during my attempts to do work)


Almost ready to go!


En route to shop!

The mechanic buddy of mine is going to do a couple things while it is in there:
Swap the head for one rebuilt 40K miles ago.
Replace missing ABS speed sensor (thanks Ryan)
Cap & Rotor
Clean and paint Valve cover. Bead blast intake manifold. (Asked if I could pick them up, he offered to do them. With his experience, and my lack of space and the cold weather, I took him up on his offer)

When I get it back, I'll install:
JC Chip (used to have a Dinan, but sold it, bought JC)
Sparco Strut Bar
Euro Plate Filler

And Hoosier BMW Winter Driver Satefy School Feb. 28th!
And need to go to body shop for estimate to repair front bumper. Someone backed into me. :roll: But they are payin, so oh well.

I'm so excited it is finally going to be fixed! And just in time for spring too.

[UNHCLL]

I just posted in the Sig Thread, but I'll post here too.

Con Grat Du F00kin Lations!!!!! :firehop:
You know you love the Buick like a fat chick... she's cool when your alone, but you never want your friends to see you with her.

did you tape the hood down because it wasnt bolted on?

[rwh11385]

I just posted in the Sig Thread, but I'll post here too.

Con Grat Du F00kin Lations!!!!! :firehop:
You know you love the Buick like a fat chick... she's cool when your alone, but you never want your friends to see you with her.

did you tape the hood down because it wasnt bolted on?

Thanks. I'm hyped.

Yes, me and a friend took it off. And it's a pain to put back on....so it'll be unbolted until it's repaired. Makes the job easier for him too. He was worried a big wind would take it off tho, so we taped it.

[Clay'87IS]

Awesome. Would the Masking tape really hold it down?

[Super Eta]

Congrats!!

Glad i was able to help :P

Yeah the hood would defintally fly off if it wasnt taped.

I need to re adujust my hood or something its misaligned but its too much of a hassle to remove the hood and realign it so yeah it'll be held off for another day.

Goodluck, Ryan

[Digitalwave]

Looks great. I think the rear needs to come up an inch and the front come down an inch :)

[randomtask37]

so u decided to go for a rebuild rather than an m50? Im guessing that had something to do with money/parents. o well, once it running again u will be happy no matter what motors in there. btw, your rear suspension looks a little saggy.

[GaryE30]

Lookin nice, and congratulations. I noticed the saggy front bumper, and then I read your explanation.

-Gary :up:

[Werksmini]

Why didnt you do the mods before it left? Serously they take like all of an hour to do.

Have fun feeling the difference when you get the car back. Nothing like going from an american lump to an e30.

[rwh11385]

Ha, looking like I got a lot of replies while I was away.

Looks great. I think the rear needs to come up an inch and the front come down an inch

Good call. I made some measurements. The rear is has about an inch of tire tucked, and the front is about an inch above the tire. I was going to have him adjust the height, but he hasn't delt much, so instead I'll wait til April before driving school and go to a shop who is experienced in E30 suspension and adjust/align. (I'll probably start a thread about optimal adjustments when it returns, and I know my Spring rates).

My thoughts were 3/4" raise in back, and 1/2"-3/4" drop in front. Your estimates were pretty close to my thoughts. :)

so u decided to go for a rebuild rather than an m50?

yep. The cost of refreshening my head at the prestigous BMW shop would be quite a lot. ~$1600 someone else estimated. :shock: Hence, the M50 inticed me. However, that swap takes much more than just the cost of the engine, so in the end, finances and parents were not down for it. And besides....a car is more than just the engine. Therefore, I ordered my Sparco Strut Brace and signed up for Spring Driving School, which were not options if I attempted to go M50. And I got a deal on a pretty fresh cylinder head.....so I'm happy.

Why didnt you do the mods before it left? Serously they take like all of an hour to do.

I could have installed the strut bar a long time ago. I think it arrived like a month ago. However, it would require taking the hood off, and then I need a place to put it, and my dad didn't want me to scrape his gay Rendezvous with it. And besides, I want to feel the difference in handling before/after. And my trunk was filled with supplies/parts, so filler wouldn't be fun to install. And for chip, need premium in the gas tank before install. Plus, I want it running right first before I add the chip.

Thanks for all your interest. I really don't think I can comprehend the difference it will be driving the E30 after the while in the Buick.

p.s. Chris, thanks for the custom Sig. :up:

[Bill 84 318i]

Why pay a shop to adjust the height? Are you getting it cornerweighted?

Glad you're finally getting it fixed.

[rwh11385]

Bill, (or Aaron, or Stu) if you tell me how to adjust GC's I could do it. Well, except for the fact that the place who mounted my snow wheels used impact guns to put the wheels back on...... So besides that I could do that.

So I could do it myself in April. And folks are suggesting to get it aligned after adjusting height, (but I'm a little iffy on the neccessity) If I was getting it aligned, the shop might want to do it themselves.

[Digitalwave]

Since when do you have to take the hood off to put a strut bar on?

[rwh11385]

Since when do you have to take the hood off to put a strut bar on?

It was already off from me attempting to fix the engine at a previous time. I never got around, and didn't think it was a good idea to reattach it before getting the car repaired. Hence, I couldn't "open" the hood. I'd have to take it off.

That's it. When I get it back, i'll be happy to simply "open" the hood and install it.

[Rob]

you can honestly say you dont know how to adjust your ground controls? LOL