Advice needed!

[kway]

I wouldn't bother modding it if it's just a flip. You're never going to get the same money back that you put in. Detail the shit out of it, lose the pinstripe and bumper stickers, put a front lip on there, and call it done.

Plenty of people would kill for a clean, unmolested, low miles E30, there are less and less of them out there these days. Maybe they want to mod it themselves, maybe they just want a clean unmolested low miles E30. By personalizing it, you're really just limiting your pool of potential buyers.

Just my $0.02

[NOMAD]

Are you building it to keep or building it to sell? If you are building it to sell, I'd say restore it to showroom stock so that it looks like it just rolled off the lot. The only ones that make money modding cars are the parts sellers and the parts installers.

YES!
Great advice. I'd say keep it to good BMW parts, replace all (or main) rubber bits on the suspension, Put billy shock/struts, I'd probably go with sport because it's not all that much more than the regular and is a good selling point (kinda feels like a freebie). But then again you don't want to overly stiffen the ride as some buyers are not "18 year olds who want a track car".
Stock springs are ok or something mild to help with the lines of the car. Having the entire suspension worked over with all new bushings and tight alignment will make it feel amazing.

Keeping it to BMW replacement parts with receipts makes a good impression on buyers. All new fuel lines, vacuum lines, coolant hoses filters, fluids, gaskets, seals and even weather stripping will go a long way in making the car look stellar. Replacing all the usual culprits that are known weak spots, timing belt, tensioners, WP, T-stat, valve adjustment etc.

Then do a good deep detail of the engine, engine bay, hose dressing, undercarriage, exterior and interior. That is probably the single most important thing you'll be able to do. If there is not a speck of dirt on it, even with no maintenance, buyers will be floored!

You have to balance everything with "how much money am I putting in so I can get X amount out"? People will pay a high price for a car that is practically off the showroom floor with new bits. They'll feel that all they need to do is buy the exhaust and springs of choice and go have fun.


And for goodness sake, leave windows untinted, especially not a metallic tint and don't rattle can the trim either. If you want to do something do it right. Get read shadowline and swap it if you feel the need.

[blunttech]

I wouldn't bother modding it if it's just a flip. You're never going to get the same money back that you put in. Detail the shit out of it, lose the pinstripe and bumper stickers, put a front lip on there, and call it done.

Plenty of people would kill for a clean, unmolested, low miles E30, there are less and less of them out there these days. Maybe they want to mod it themselves, maybe they just want a clean unmolested low miles E30. By personalizing it, you're really just limiting your pool of potential buyers.

Just my $0.02

this is good advice. clean it up and make it stock looking. you will get the most return for your money.

[NOMAD]

I wouldn't bother modding it if it's just a flip. You're never going to get the same money back that you put in. Detail the shit out of it, lose the pinstripe and bumper stickers, put a front lip on there, and call it done.

Plenty of people would kill for a clean, unmolested, low miles E30, there are less and less of them out there these days. Maybe they want to mod it themselves, maybe they just want a clean unmolested low miles E30. By personalizing it, you're really just limiting your pool of potential buyers.

Just my $0.02

True. The only thing I'd say differently is that most of what i ever see is people who lowball and want something for nothing. They bitch about any slight flaw, knock asking prices down by 50% or more but then are ultimately happy with a junkyard queen that leaks like a sieve.
Maybe it depends on where you live though.:tsk:

[PatrickMcHugh]

Thanks again folks. I think i'm going to go with the 5 speed swap and go from there. I need to peel those stickers off and have that rear bumper repainted along with the new IS lip. As for the suspension, it's all in great shape, the PO replaced the a bunch of stuff a few years ago and really kept up with the car.

What do you all think about a black pinstripe?

[smonkbmw]

there isnt anything wrong with the "shitty ebay crap". just depends who you order it from. seller name FCPGroton sells lemforder bits. ive bought from him for 2 cars now. quality bits.

[Mulholland]

put the momo in they look better and go with a 4.10lsd rear end. i was really happy with mine. if your doing a 5 speed swap why not use a 6 speed some one on here did it not to long ago and use a lighten flywheel

I hope the OP disregards this post entirely. A 6 speed is pretty pointless, and so is a 4.10 diff, both lead to nothing but more shifting. 3.91 diff is perfect for your car, 5 speed swap will indeed yield fantastic performance gains, you will also need to change driveshafts as if i recall the automatic is some 4inches shorter or longer than the manual. Struts, springs, and sway bars, hell yes, and do it right. Lip kit, hell no, not running the drop it'll just get beat to shit anyways. Short shifter, screw the aftermarket and just go with z3/modified z4 shifter. All of the stock ground effects, chin spoiler, side skirts etc, are far more valuable and tasteful than some crap kit. It's a mint car keep it mint. shadowline is crap, don't ruin the chrome, it's a big part of what the E30 is. If I were you I wouldn't bother going turnaround, go mint repstore and sunday driver then sell it years from now once it becomes more and more of a gem. Don't molest it with a bunch of crap. Keep it clean, keep it simple, and keep it stock in apearance if you want money for it.

If you must do big brakes (which you have absolutely NO need/real use for with stock engine anyways) then you should have a vast array of wheels to choose form going with a 5lug swap, which will give you a vast array of tire choices. Performance tires won't matter much from a sale point because no matter how lightly they are used, they are still used.

but it's all personal preference. If you're keeping it for you, do whatever you want to it, give it wings if you want. If you are planning on making money off it, I would keep it stock and mint and just hang onto it for a few years as a wise investment. The kind of people interested in suspension work and short shifters aren'y looking for 70k mile cars. We track the rat's, please, either garage and pamper the mint ones or sell them to someone who will and buy rat e30's to molest and track. Have fun doing whatever you do. :D

[george graves]

You''l loose your ass trying to flip a 20 year old car if you mod it.

And as far as the low miles - my 240k car actually looked WAY better than that car. I don't see anything special there.

Maybe with a cut and polish - it will shine like a gem - then someone will pay $3k for it unmolested.

You got pink-er-rot on the bumpers, and mirrors, and bird shit stains on the hood that has made it's way deep into the clear coat - and that is only what I can see from your pics. I hope you didn't pay more than 2k for it.

(Sorry for being harsh - I hope you take it with a gain of salt)

[Apex381]

there isnt anything wrong with the "shitty ebay crap". just depends who you order it from. seller name FCPGroton sells lemforder bits. ive bought from him for 2 cars now. quality bits.

There is everything wrong with "shitty ebay crap" and yes I have bought from FCP groton. They send you parts that look like shit, that also fit like shit, and are more likely to fail. Also I dont know who you dealt with but they are complete asshats to do business with. I stick with BMA, no funny business and they wont try to send you Hamburg Technic or generic parts. Maybe you got lucky.

[Mulholland]

There is everything wrong with "shitty ebay crap" and yes I have bought from FCP groton. They send you parts that look like shit, that also fit like shit, and are more likely to fail. Also I dont know who you dealt with but they are complete asshats to do business with. I stick with BMA, no funny business and they wont try to send you Hamburg Technic or generic parts. Maybe you got lucky.

Regardless of where you get your goods and wares, from the way you talk it sounds like your people skills wouldn't exactly entice some customer service rep or secretary to want to be nice or helpful towards you.

There isn't anything wrong with "ebay parts" obviously if you buy a turbonator exhaust tip insert you're buying something stupid, but you can buy stupid shit anywhere. If you buy stupid shit and you're a complete moron, yes I don't advice doing any shopping on ebay. If you are an intelligent informed consumer who does their research then by all means use ebay as a shopping source.

Ebay is no different than going to an auto yard pick n pull or any flea market type car event. More often than not you get what you pay for, and buyer beware. If you don't know what you're looking for and what to check then buy new. Used goods are for conscientious buyers who know what they need, and want to buy it from someone who no longer needs it. Obviously no one can produce a "chip" for 2 dollars that gives you !!!70+hp!!! and increases your fuel economy.

I am very sorry if you are not an intelligent buyer and get fucked in the ass by ebay scammers. The only complaint anyone should have about ebay is it's unwillingness to resolve conflicts and such for bad sellers, but this is true for almost all companies and businesses. you can't make everyone happy so unless it is making a lot of users unhappy, or someone very important unhappy, or drawing in a lot of bad media, nothing changes. that's life, get over it, and learn to shop intelligently.

:ot:

[PatrickMcHugh]

No offense taken. I'll get all the paint straightened out. I attacked the engine bay last night and there's no longer a speck of dirt.

Also, Zinnabarrot doesn't have clear coat does it?

You''l loose your ass trying to flip a 20 year old car if you mod it.

And as far as the low miles - my 240k car actually looked WAY better than that car. I don't see anything special there.

Maybe with a cut and polish - it will shine like a gem - then someone will pay $3k for it unmolested.

You got pink-er-rot on the bumpers, and mirrors, and bird shit stains on the hood that has made it's way deep into the clear coat - and that is only what I can see from your pics. I hope you didn't pay more than 2k for it.

(Sorry for being harsh - I hope you take it with a gain of salt)

[Jamil]

I think these cares have a single-stage paint so it doesn't have a base color and then layers of clear-coat on top. The plus side is SS paints are very restorable. My Zinno E30 was a hazy pink when I got it, I couple of polish and wax sessions and people were asking if it was repainted, it looks brand new. Except for the plastic pieces like the mirrors, you shouldn't have any problems fixing the paint.

[PatrickMcHugh]

I took the advice, I left it stock and have diverted my efforts to cleaning.

Here she is minus the stickers, and after i've cleaned the wheels and paint like crazy.

I still need to repaint the mirrors and bumper and I still need a lip spoiler.

Must... Not... Keep... For myself...

[NOMAD]

Looks good!
Detail and deep clean the engine bay and undercarriage yet?
Are you going to take it to a shop to paint the bumpers or DIY?

[PatrickMcHugh]

Looks good!
Detail and deep clean the engine bay and undercarriage yet?
Are you going to take it to a shop to paint the bumpers or DIY?

I have detailed the engine bay, not the undercarriage yet.

I am going to have a paint shop do the bumpers. I can't wait to see it when it's done!