How bad was your e30?

[e30onBBSs]

I'm sure like me lots of people bought their e30 in less than great condition. What was wrong? What was good?
1. Passenger lock didnt work
2. Yellow oil light was on
3. no heat / defrost
4. no passenger seatbelt
5. No cup holder
6. No left front blinker bulb/ working connection at the time
7. No 5th gear
8. No high beam bulbs
9. cracked leather dash
10. passenger seat is (rusted?) in place
11. no power steering :)
12. exhaust was sketchily held in place

The GOOD
1. rwd sports car
2. lots of things to fix, exciting cuz it's my first car
3. decent sound system
4. starts and runs well (so far)
5. real, old school BBS's
6. welded dif
7. race exhaust that is loud but sounds great
8. already lowered to a sweet height
9. m3 wing
10. this wheel which I like more than stock
11. insurance is very cheap

So far I've fixed lots but still have a lot to do to make it practical. The driver side lock just went and the trunk doesn't lock either, but it's ready for inspection!

[Hooffenstein HD]

The bad. Blown M42.

The good. Blown M42 meant it was a cheap base for an M20B27i swap.
No rust at all being from the driest state in the driest inhabited continent in the world.

[rturbo 930]

Mine was pretty bad. Knowing what I know now, I never would have paid what I did (although it has no rust so I don't feel too bad).

Lets see if I can remember everything.

Shifter bushings
Broken shift knob (that was a nice surprise, as I shifted into second)
Driver's door lock
Central locking - as it turns out, the reason my pass. door lock didn't work is because the actuator was missing, the connector corroded, and one of the mounting holes in the door is mangled out to the size of a fucking quarter. Haven't fixed that yet.
A few speaker wires in the back have been messed with, gotta fix that.
Trunk leaked. Replaced vent seals. Still leaks.
Blower motor.
Blower motor resistor.
Windshield wiper linkage.
Just about everything in the suspension and brakes, still haven't fixed it all.
Rough idle, and leaked/burned a ton of oil. Then it started knocking. Fixing that right now.
Speedo didn't work.
Odo didn't work.
Gas tank leaked when full. Replaced seal on top of tank.
Seat belt receivers.

I think that's most of it.

Still needs new wheels and tires, wheel bearings, cv boots, maybe driveshaft, seat shocks, and a handful of other things.

My car was really neglected. But it has no rust whatsoever, which is a first for me. It's also loaded with options, and I love the color combo (schwarz/cardinal).

[joncrz]

Where do I start ...

1. Wiring was a rats nest because of an engine swap
2. door locks were possessed
3. Blinker fluid was low to non existent
4. RUST everywhere (good thing I own a body shop)
5. Suspension was crap becuase of the 2 inch clearance (#hellaflush)
6. Stock wheels
7 No Power steering
8. Idles like my grandma on her deathbed
9. No horn (still ahvent figured this one out)

The good

1. GC kit all around
2. compression between all cylinders was within 3 points of each other
3. AC converted
4. Turned on reliably until I started tinkering with it
5. THe bro factor
6. Shifts like butter (but still needs bushings)
7. HID retrofit plug fogs
8. 2 doors because who cares about whores
9. Decent sound system
10. Rebuilt odometer
11. Poly bushings all over

[JasonC]

Bad,
Needs top
Needs paint
Needed tires
Needed Monster stickers removed
Needed drain plug replaced
Needed exhaust, PO must of been the owner of this threads OP car. Cause it was pure shit..


Good,
Rust free
Face lift convertible
Looks like Kelly's car from 90210

[SubDad]

Ah, I love this question. I`m so smug...
In Ontario, Canada you have to get a safety check before the ownership can be completely transferred.
1986 E30 imported to Canada by diplomats in 2008: After I bought it it took me months to figure why it wouldn`t start, fixed that. To prep for the check I tightened the wheel lug nuts, replaced the battery and drove to the inspection place. Failed inspection because
1: Battery hold-down clamp not installed.
2: Odometer not working.

The fact that the trunk lock didn`t and still doesn`t work was not a safety item.
Later I found one sheared bolt on the right front bushing bracket. I had the inspection place change that, and all fluids, even the old Euro blinker fluid.

On my previous E30 the problems started with `No Floor` and worked up from there.

[indecline]

$600 worth of late dmv fees

[Coupelx]

1- Timing belt broke 4 days after bringing it home.
2- brakes were shot and all 4 rotors warped
3- cv boots split
4- tires were bald or starting to separate
5- everything in the front suspension was worn far past safe
6- both front struts blown
7- everything leaks, friggin everything. Surprisingly the ac survived a conversion.
8- random wires chewed through or connected with wire nuts
9- fuel tank full of rust and dirt even though the tank itself is fine.
10- some kind of crappy fitting fiberglass bumpers and skirts.

[kronus]

"it leaks some coolant" actually meant you could wobble the water pump shaft far enough for it to make audible clinking noises.

also it had a 3-speed automatic and the guy told me it was a 4-speed.

[e30onBBSs]

Any pics of completed projects/ coming along projects? sounds like you guys have had tons of work as well!

[Panici]

Oh boy.

Here was my first attempt. an '86 325e.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=318526

Long story short, it ended in tears when I found out my frame rails were rusted through. It's been a good parts car though.




Now for my current car, '87 325is. (build thread in my sig)

Here's the bad:

• iS airdam needs paint and mounting
• AFAIK original springs and (obviously blown) dampers were on the car. I replaced with H&R/Bilstein.
• Driver's side front damper rusted off of hub assembly
• Front swaybar snapped off subframe
• Needed rear brakes, I replaced all around.
• Holes in driver's seat bolster
• Some small rust on trunk, exterior panels.
• Passenger side jack point rusted through into car.
• Driver's side trunk behind rear wheel rusted through.
• Unknown mileage timing belt and water pump
• Rear spring center locators rusted off
• Needed tires
• AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. (there is nothing physically wrong with it, I just hate it)
• Needs all bushings.
• Leaks gas when tank is full.

Failed safety miserably the first time. After a ton of solo wrenching, I got it to pass!
I did have the car on the road for two months before the snow hit. I still enjoyed driving it, even with the autotragic trans.



I need to replace LCAs (bad ball joint on pass side) before I feel comfortable driving it again. I can't blame the car for this, I suspect running lowering springs on ball joints that were from '87 (and at stock height since then) quickly lead to their death.


The car still needs a TON of work on other things.
It does have a lot going for it though, most notably the lack of rust, and low mileage. E30s around here are so rusty it's not even funny.


If you want some details and a ton of pictures, check out my build thread!

[SSR-125]

The bad:
- trans pops 1st and 4th every time
- needed a hood, valance, both fenders, drivers door, misc trim pieces
- paint rough all over the place
- rockers had misc dents scrapes ect
- exhaust scraping the floor and sagging
- windows went down and up really slow
- misfire and a hack job of wiring
- was originally an auto (reverse lights don't work and can start car in any gear)
Good:
- M52 swap
- Late model 325
- no real rust, just surface easy stuff to fix
- 5 speed
- coupe
- clean title
- ran and drove
- I was told it had germen engineering coilovers sleeves, went to go install some wheels and had GC suspension
- aftermarket audio
-mint nardi wheel
-$1500
-crack free dash

It's my winter project !

[Hooffenstein HD]

Any pics of completed projects/ coming along projects? sounds like you guys have had tons of work as well!

There's a whole sub forum for that.

[Sea Aych]

Bad: Auto
Worse: Wouldn't shift out of first for 15 minutes of driving

Other bad: Frame rail hole, most likely split when bottoming out since it's still all solid metal..
Rusty sunroof
Viper alarm assembled by a chimp and half-removed by an orangutan
All audio cables disconnected/cut except for the front kick panels

Good: Solid frame for a canadian car!
Great condition interior
M50 swapping now!

[Pantless Spency]

bought it with a blown head stud

some time later now it has a nearly completely rebuilt m20b27 runs like champ