Opinions : Should I sell my current E30?

[wholethingoff]

I made a mistake buying a project E30 that was in horrible condition 4 years ago.

It had an SR20DET, fancy Skyline brakes, I was 20, I got excited and bought it for $4k. I thought I'd have it fixed up soon enough and it'd be an awesome daily driver that could do skids and what not.

I ended up taking it to a horrible body shop that decided it'd be a good idea to paint the car before even assessing the rust repair.

They did a terrible job at that too.

So I pulled my car out and because I had spent my money on paint already I figured I'd deal with the rust issue. That costed me a lot of money because it was way worse than I had ever imagined and there's still more of it.

I still kept pushing through and getting all sorts of things replaced. A lot of parts turned out to be a pretty rough shape.

My friend was helping me out and he had some input that now I regret.

So now as it stands.

I have probably have spent over $16k on it.

The engine is too loud. (I don't know what it is)
The exhaust is too loud. (3 inch because I wanted power)
The ride quality is horrible. (I think it's the spacers and shocks?)
The car vibrates above 80 kmph.
The front wobbles a bit under braking.
There is some leak in the turbo probably.
The fuel pump is going out.
The fuel lines failed twice but I haven't replaced the whole thing yet.
There is rust in the trunk.
There is rust in the transmission tunnel.
There is no central locking.
The power windows don't work.
The wheels are rubbing into the body constantly.
There are no keys to the rear trunk lock. (so it stays unlocked)
The tachometer only reads oil temperature and fuel level.
The fuel tank is rusted too and probably has fuel evaporate out of it.

I bought some bushings for the car which are yet to be installed.

I'd like some advice.

I am considering on bailing out of this entirely for a loss and use public transport, get a new car, or a four door E30 with an M42.

Or do I just push through?

Some pictures:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eb6tud8os3...20AM.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jejgrxd7n6...20AM.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/je0uwx69w6...20AM.jpeg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5divg9idot...20AM.jpeg?dl=0

[ThatOneEuroE30]

that hacked up mt1 valence makes me wanna cry.

[stonea]

$16K?!?! As in USD? Thats a lot of money to have this many problems with the car. You would have been better off buying a stock 325i and done Ground Controls, Massive's BBK, S54 Swap, New Paint, and New Interior. I'd say sell it before you sink anymore money into that car, but also you've put way to much into it to even get a fraction of it back.

[Brezzi]

should prob just burn it

[2mAn]

At this point a lot of the problems could seem they could be fixed. We all make mistakes and it gets expensive when you're paying someone else to do the work. If you could sell it, whats the most you think you could get? If its worth the loss, sell it and start with a better shell, but if not, just keep going and finish what you started

[2002jm]

16k??

Not sure if he meant 16k usd....hope not. I would part it out and buy a better rust free car later and fix it up...the rust will cost you a ton of money to fix...unless you have lots of friends:)
jm

[anabolice30]

I'd have gotten rid of it a long time ago.

[Dj Buttchug]

Dude thats a notch top SR from either late s14 or s15. That is badass.

A number of the issues you stated can be fixed with proper fitting wheels and good suspension. Sounds to me like everything was Egay'd and now you are reaping the benefits of shitty parts and hack job installs. That exhaust muffler is terrible.

More pics of engine bay.

[c0rbin9]

I would never put a sizable amount of money into a car with rust. Only if the car is so rare that you can't find another one should you mess with a rusty chassis, and even then always addressing the rust before anything else. Otherwise, it's cheaper and easier to just get a different car with a rust free body.

I have two rules about the car hobby that, in general, keep me out of project car-induced financial ruin. The first is to never spend large sums on modifications UNLESS I plan on keeping the car indefinitely. It CAN be worth it to you personally to spend money on customizing the car with no expectation of return - its just the price you have to pay to have a car done how you want it to be done, not how a previous owner did it. If the car will only be kept for a few months or years, however, having the parts be exactly the ones I chose isn't worth the price premium and equity loss versus just buying a similar but not exactly congruent car already modified. The second rule is that I don't finance cars or buy cars that are still depreciating. Luckily this is easy for me as I like cheap old cars anyway.

Short version: Project cars never have any upside. Only make a project out of a car you plan to keep indefinitely.

[wholethingoff]

that hacked up mt1 valence makes me wanna cry.

Yeah and theres a decent crack right in the middle of it too.

[ButtJuice]

Jesus.

[wholethingoff]

$16K?!?! As in USD? Thats a lot of money to have this many problems with the car. You would have been better off buying a stock 325i and done Ground Controls, Massive's BBK, S54 Swap, New Paint, and New Interior. I'd say sell it before you sink anymore money into that car, but also you've put way to much into it to even get a fraction of it back.

It does have upgraded power and brakes. SR20DET could be tuned for much more power and it has Skyline R34 brakes by doing something that I realized was really shoddy. Redrilled hubs for 114.3.


I am feeling that. Probably could just lay low save up and then get an M40 powered 4 door or something.

Or should I part it out?

[wholethingoff]

should prob just burn it

The fuel line did burst once and I did once or twice wished for it. Then my ego came back.

[wholethingoff]

At this point a lot of the problems could seem they could be fixed. We all make mistakes and it gets expensive when you're paying someone else to do the work. If you could sell it, whats the most you think you could get? If its worth the loss, sell it and start with a better shell, but if not, just keep going and finish what you started

The problem is. The list kept on getting bigger and bigger. What I set out to do 3 years ago didn't get solved and I found more issues.

I'll do a feeler.

Not sure if he meant 16k usd....hope not. I would part it out and buy a better rust free car later and fix it up...the rust will cost you a ton of money to fix...unless you have lots of friends
jm

Over 16k USD.

Dude thats a notch top SR from either late s14 or s15. That is badass.

A number of the issues you stated can be fixed with proper fitting wheels and good suspension. Sounds to me like everything was Egay'd and now you are reaping the benefits of shitty parts and hack job installs. That exhaust muffler is terrible.

More pics of engine bay.

It was hard finding a decent muffler for a 3-inch where I live.

https://www.youtube.com/user/mongoosecage/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0

Theres a couple of videos on my Youtube channel just me trying to diagnose issues. The only difference now is the valve cover paint.

I would never put a sizable amount of money into a car with rust. Only if the car is so rare that you can't find another one should you mess with a rusty chassis, and even then always addressing the rust before anything else. Otherwise, it's cheaper and easier to just get a different car with a rust free body.

I have two rules about the car hobby that, in general, keep me out of project car-induced financial ruin. The first is to never spend large sums on modifications UNLESS I plan on keeping the car indefinitely. It CAN be worth it to you personally to spend money on customizing the car with no expectation of return - its just the price you have to pay to have a car done how you want it to be done, not how a previous owner did it. If the car will only be kept for a few months or years, however, having the parts be exactly the ones I chose isn't worth the price premium and equity loss versus just buying a similar but not exactly congruent car already modified. The second rule is that I don't finance cars or buy cars that are still depreciating. Luckily this is easy for me as I like cheap old cars anyway.

Short version: Project cars never have any upside. Only make a project out of a car you plan to keep indefinitely.

Up until now I have had no intentions of selling it especially because it would confirm the loss.

[Dj Buttchug]

we need detailed pics of rust areas to properly give advice op.