POLL: What level do you plan on restoring your E30 to?

[Northern]

I did a dumb and voted before I read the description. Daily Driver Restoration is essentially a shitbox by the link's "Restored to Driving Condition" condition.
I think my 4dr will be in that category just because of how rough it is. Throw a fake MT2 kit at it so it has bumpers, and wrap it with the cheapest vinyl so it is a single colour.
Buy/reuse the cheapest crap to run a M52/G260 and work toward a full interior but be happy with the dash that has a bunch of holes drilled in it and ripped seats.

My coupe, I'm definitely going for more of the "street show" where I want to fix the trunk pocket rot, fenders, sunroof to look like it was never damaged.
Not really focusing on originality, but keeping it in mind.
Try to maximize rubber without adding flares, retain stock interior besides some oem+ stuff like ebrake handle/boot, integrate wideband into the cluster, etc.

[varg]

Given the limitations of the options I'd say "street show" is the level I'm aiming for. Initially I had one rust hole in the floor and paint on the agenda, but there was hidden rust under the headliner where the roof is rusting from the inside out around the sunroof cartridge, and once that broke through the upper surface I knew I was in trouble. Thank god I was smart and did the performance work before the cosmetics, if I had done a respray first and had that rust pinhole show up after spending all of that money I would have been pissed. Given the level of work required (glass has to come out to pull the headliner and repair the roof) the whole interior should come out. I will probably strip the car down to a rolling chassis before I send it off for paint and bodywork and have a rebuilt turbo M20 ready to go in when it returns. All in time, I'd say it will be a couple of years before I start that. As for the interior, it's in very good condition. The only work I'll need put in there is a upholstery job on the driver's seat and an upgrade to the existing speakers, which sound pretty good but with the car apart why not spend a few hundred more on some better sound. Who knows how much it will cost, probably a lot more than I'd like if I actually kept track, which I probably won't. That's the nature of loving cars and modifying them.

I've been going back and forth on the color I'll paint it for years but it will probably wind up Alpine White. I am no fan of how easily black shows flaws such fine scratches after dailying a mint black motorcycle for a while and seeing how fast it stopped looking mint.

[coldweatherblue]

I daily drove high mileage E30s from 2003-2008 then from 2011-2018.

The last one got a lot more love than the first one. Countless hours TLC and a fair amount of shop time. Very rough estimate $12k at the shop over 7 years and about $3k in parts for stuff I did myself. Car has >400K and everything is fairly tidy all considered so I'd say "street show" if you'd let a few body dings slide.

If nothing else, E30s are excellent survivors compared to a lot of modern cars. My car sits in the garage looking good and I have no plans to do a frame-off resto. Would just buy a 911 or something..

[Zambuzan]

Bought this car bone stock and this is what I've done within two short year and within the budget you mention. Full body work + paint job (B-grade) + eBay Mtech2 kit, suspension, maintenance, exhaust (loud hehe), manual swap, etc. "Street show" :)

[ZeKahr]

I'm just planning on restoring mine enough to be an enjoyable daily driver. Looking to get to the point of having working heat, AC, and a quiet engine. Going to also throw a new paint job and remove any and all rust. Sound system I'll probably leave alone. I expect to throw $10-20k total into parts and labor over the next 2 years before I'm satisfied.

What about you? How far are you planning on taking your restoration? How much money do you plan on dumping into your E30? How much time do you plan on spending on your restoration before you're satisfied? Please vote and comment below!

Restoration levels described here: https://factorycollision.com/2018/11...r-restoration/