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Coast to Coast, an e30 American adventure

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    Monday 17 September

    Today we ventured out to Sequoia, i really really liked this place!

    At this point we was kinda National Parked out but i am so glad we went to this, the road through the park was super fun.

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

    Heres a photo of a rock.

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

    This was a crazy fun road to drive, kept it sensible though of course.

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

    Now i know you guys have been in suspense ever since i mentioned i fitted the new door strip, well here it is in all its glory, featuring Jewish Racing Gold front fender

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

    I will fight a bear if i catch him coming after my snacks.

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

    Went to go see some of the giant trees that Sequoia has to offer, parked up and thought it looked pretty.

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

    Now whilst we was off to see the General Sherman which is one of the largest Redwood trees, on route we came super super close to mother and baby deer.

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

    At this point my camera ran out of battery, kinda pissed off as i knew you guys was all on the edge of your seats wanting to see above mentioned giant tree. i do apologise for this inconvenience.

    Nicholl did get this photo of me driving through a tree though so i hope that make up for it.

    Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr
    Last edited by benwalsh91; 10-01-2018, 06:48 PM.

    I drove my e30 from California to London!

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      Tuesday 18 September

      ??? what the fuck did we do???

      I drove my e30 from California to London!

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        Wednesday 19 September


        So we had an early start today on our way to Malibu, we decided to have a detour to Calabasas to see if we could do any spotting, no interesting people to see but i did see this gorgeous Porsche, dreams!!

        Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

        Stopped for a coffee, figured out our route and hit the road.

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        There was an important stop i had to make going down the PCH towards Malibu

        Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

        We was doing the typical tourist thing and was trying to see who's houses we could creep up on, we pulled up down a road to see who we could find locally on our phones looking at our maps etc i heard a rather loud bark... thought that sounds like a familiar noise.

        Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

        looked to the side and there was a great dane and a mastiff at a fence barking at us, I have a great dane and a mastiff myself back at home and was awesome yet weird to see the exact same combination here in Malibu, the owner came running out shouting but not telling us to fuck off, she was being super nice saying that they just wanted to say Hello, i asked if i could get out the car and come see them, she happily agreed.

        Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

        We spent around an hour standing here chatting to her about everything from places to see all over the world and of course her dogs. She was actually the wife of a famous special effects director/manager in the Movie industry, her husband had done films such as King Kong, Godzilla and Mission Impossible to name a few. she was super down to earth and just an all around lovely person. We hopped back in the car and went exploring you couldn't really see anything at all but was cool to know you was in some what close proximety (potentially) to someone who might be world famous.

        We carried on and was told about the University and that they had all the Flags on the mound.

        Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

        These flags just go on and on and on into the distance, each flags represents one life that was lost in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre. We took a moment and sat down and just really reflected on life and how lucky we are to be able to do a trip like this and all the people that we have met on our route and just really not taking it for granted.

        Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

        Filled the old girl up with gas and drove to my friend Chris's house who we are due to spend the next few days at to do some work on the e30.

        Chris lives in Palmdale.
        Last edited by benwalsh91; 10-01-2018, 10:07 PM.

        I drove my e30 from California to London!

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          Thursday 20 September

          So today didn't really consist of too much we had a bit of a lay in and spent the entire day checking over the car seeing what needed to be done/repaired. ordered any parts if needed and also removed the old fenders as we was replacing both the fronts.

          I had the fenders collected in the dark and they wasn't quite what was explained to me but i didn't know this until i properly saw them in the light. i was told they was both Genuine BMW fenders, one was a DOT-R (i think its called) so at-least that is BMW. the other was not, it didn't fit great and also the paint was so fucked. Unfortunately, the non BMW fender was the passenger side which was the main one i wanted to replace to get rid of the gold!!

          Pulled into the garage

          Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

          and this was with the non bmws fender just lined up to decide if i was going to fit it as is or strip the paint and paint it again. paint was badly burnt and just... was shit really.

          Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

          We decided to paint it which was fucking hell we had tons of issues with paint but we got there in the end.

          decided to take a break and go get some food, drove past some planes.

          Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

          after food we then decided to try and figure out what was happening with the lights.

          checked all the relays and stuff just didn't seem right, we looked under the wiring was a fucking mess to say the least.

          we then looked under the dash and most of the wiring looked like this...

          Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

          Honestly have no idea how the car hadn't gone up in flames.

          After working till about 3am on wiring we decided it was time to sleep.
          Last edited by benwalsh91; 10-01-2018, 10:19 PM.

          I drove my e30 from California to London!

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            Friday 21 September

            We got back to working on the car, i woke up around 9 am and went straight to the garage.

            Realised the paint had started cracking on the fender we just painted, something was reacting so my morning was spent sanding down the paint on the fender to get it flat and paint again.

            whilst i was doing this Chris was finishing up on the wiring.

            We also saw water marks on some of the hoses, the hoses was new so i knew something must be wrong, there was water leaking out of the thermostat, turns out that was fitted the wrong way around, rather not risk just turning that thermostat around we went and purchased a new one and new O ring and fitted it in the correct way. - To date no coolant has been lost so this is good.

            When we was doing this the washer fluid tank decided to crack randomly and water was everywhere. FUCK sake.

            We then took some time out of the garage and went to a local junk yard to collect some bits.

            Back to the car we was getting the fenders back on, we also changed and fitted new front discs and pads as they was rather low, i was under the impression they had recently been replaced but nope thats a negative.

            - on a side note whilst we was going over the car it appears to have had a short shifter fitted, 18mm rear sway bar and some other bits which i can't remember, the ARB wasn't actually connected though and the mounts had snapped so we welded up some new mounts and also re-inforced them. the drop link bushes are worn and rattling though which is rather annoying but we was running out of time.

            I hardly took any pictures on this day as we was just busy trying to get the car ready.

            also the IS front valance was so fucked i had hit it a few times and it was just falling apart so we decided to just rip the fucker off and just have the car without it.

            Now i was trying to get the car together in time to make it to the R3V LA meet.

            started the car and it was just cranking then BOOM!!

            WHAT THE FUCK

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            Yep, thats the fuel line. the car had carb fuel line fitted to it, not fuel injection. i literally have no idea how they hadn't exploded before hand and i am so fucking thankful they went bang when they did and whilst i was still in Chris's garage. we had time to run to the shop and get a load of fuel line (the correct stuff) and replaced it all.

            Honestly, could not that Chris anymore for his help over the past few days. I have no idea how this car hadn't gone up in flames previously with the fuel line like it was and the electric like they where too. fuckkkkk

            Here is Chris's e30, he also has a turbo's M30 e34

            This e30 also has a M30, looks super evil.

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            During the past couple of days at Chris's house we went to a local shop near his that sell a ton of funky and weird things. i bought a load of Sodas amongst other things.

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            And this lived up to its name! if anyone knows somewhere else i can buy it i would be super grateful.

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            Now, it was time for us to leave, it was getting late and i had to be at my friends Robs house in Downing, LA.

            We drive through Angels National Forest via Hidden Springs.

            What a road!! i really wish i could have driven it in the light, we pulled over at a vista point which gave us a great view of LA, couldn't photograph it very well but the view in our own eyes was amazing.

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            Got to LA i called Rob en-route to say lets get food, I'm hungry and so is Nicholl, and Nicholl turns into a right diva when she is hungry.

            Went through a list of places to eat in LA and man there is a lot of places to eat there. we settled for the Cheesecake factory. called Rob when we was 45 minutes away and typical Rob fashion he still wasn't ready when we got to his.

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            Rob finally ready we headed out, thankfully he drove so the e30 had the night off.

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            We had some manly drinks.

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

            By the time we finished this it was midnight and the restaurant closes then, we took our cheesecake to go!!

            Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr
            Last edited by benwalsh91; 10-01-2018, 10:38 PM.

            I drove my e30 from California to London!

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              Saturday 22 September

              So i heard that Mooneyes is just down the road from where Rob lived, and i really really wanted to go!!

              Nicholl wanted to go to Long Beach so we agreed to go Mooneyes on route to Long Beach.

              We had plans in the evening so we had to be back to Robs for a set time.

              Now a little back history, i originally started talking to Rob back in 2012 but never had we actually met but became amazing friends over this time, he was just someone that you can rely on no matter what its about and what time of day it is, i have so much time for Rob and he is probably one of my closest friends yet he lives half the world away. I have actually known Rob for longer than I've known my wife!!

              Now, when we get up to leave the house we came out of our room to a table full of breakfast, this is amazing and totally unexpected!!

              after a good amount of food we rolled out to the car and set off for our first stop, Mooneyes.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              First of all we checked out the gift shop, and yes i got some gifts, for me.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              And then we made our way over to the machine shop but checked out what was in the parking lot before hand.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              A little fun fact, the first Shelby was built in the Mooneyes warehouse, to get funding Carol needed to build multiple cars, he did not have the money for this so he built the one car and kept repainting it in different colours, he showed the photos of this one car in different colours to make his financial backers think he had more than just the one.

              Now, inside the machine shop they had a couple of their drag cars, the blue car recently came back from a long stint in Australia racing.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              And the Yellow car is more of a show car these days as its old technology and no longer fast enough to keep up with modern day dragsters, this is a reproduction of one that crashed previously, the crashed frame was hanging from the ceiling.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

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              Then we was let loose around the rest of the shop, that everything is all hand made over here is incredible. love it.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

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              Now this is NOT a Harley Davidson, top points who can tell me who made this and where.

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              This was casually chilling outside the shop as we was leaving.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              After Mooneyes we then went down to Long Beach

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Heading back from 2nd street (i think) we saw a couple cool cars go past.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              After Long Beach we then cruised back to Robs as he was hosting a car meet that evening.

              Now the cars are not going to be to the taste of most the members of this forum, i personally appreciate most car styles no matter where you come from or whatever your taste. different strokes for different folks.

              No hate here please this isn't what this thread is about.

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

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              Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr
              Last edited by benwalsh91; 10-02-2018, 12:33 AM.

              I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                Sunday 23 September

                Today was mainly a chilled day, we caught up on a lot of sleep and when we woke we just relaxed spent time around the house with Rob and also our friend Paul flew in from the East coast which was fucking awesome so we was just catching up all day

                Snapped some pics of the e30 since we tidied it up.

                Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

                Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

                Whilst eating dinner (BBQ) we decided we should go out and do something, We went to the local arcades played a ton of Initial D and also went round a few of the machines, all round awesome fun night, plenty of laughs where had and i think my face still hurts from smiling so much.

                Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

                Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

                Having Fun, i am in the middle in the green shirt.

                On the way home we decided to pull in for some ice cream, was so damn good.

                Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr

                Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr
                Last edited by benwalsh91; 10-02-2018, 12:53 AM.

                I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                  Monday 24 September

                  Venice Beach, dinner with everyone

                  I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                    Tuesday 25 September

                    Hollywood (shithole)

                    Petersen

                    shopping

                    Paul and Brandon for dinner

                    I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                      Wednesday 26 September

                      chilled with Rob & Paul

                      Fitted shifter.

                      cleaned car

                      packed to leave

                      dinner

                      drove to San Bernadino

                      Wigwam

                      I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                        Thursday 27 September

                        Palm Springs.

                        little bit of route 66

                        drive to Las Vegas

                        Slept a lot

                        I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                          Friday 28 September

                          First day in Las Vegas

                          walked a lot

                          Hard Rock Cafe

                          I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                            Saturday 29 September

                            Magic Mountains

                            Welder up

                            Counts

                            food/show/drinks

                            I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                              Sunday 30 September

                              Creamberry

                              hoover dam

                              Route 66

                              I drove my e30 from California to London!

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                                wow if even one of those issues popped up on my e30 during a road trip my gf wouldnt be getting back in the car with me.

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