***Editors Note: Let’s start the new year strong! This car somehow was missed in my constant perusing of the forums, but luckily we were able to not only kick start fixing a great thread, but also get to feature it here because it’s absolutely well deserved. Congrats and let’s get another solid year of E30s to feature! ***
1990 325iS
Color:
Alpine white
Interior color:
Crimson Red leather
Engine:
M52b28
Aluminum block Z3 engine - refreshed at 114k
Head machining by Kevin at Head Solutions
S52 intake/exhaust cams
AKG engine mounts
E34 oil pan/pick-up with VAC baffle
M50 Intake manifold and throttle body
Turner Motorsport manifold conversion
Early E39 fuel rail
Dbilas airbox
OBD2 tune and wiring harness mods by Markert Motorwerks
E30 325td mechanical fan/clutch
Driveline:
ZF 320 transmission
Valeo single mass flywheel conversion
3.15 Torsen limited slip differential
325e big guibo driveshaft
Rogue transmission mounts
Exhaust:
Stock OBD2 stainless manifolds
Syncro Designwerks downpipe
Custom 2.5” exhaust including a Flowmaster 2220125 catalytic converter
Stromung muffler custom made by Scott with a single 2.5” inlet
Suspension/Steering:
Stock strut housings modified with M3 swaybar tabs
H&R sport springs
Bilstein B8 dampers front and rear
E46 M3 upper rear mounts with MZ3 reinforcement plates
E30 M3 front and rear swaybars
NOS BMW solid rubber rear diff mount bushing
Lemforder Front control arms with E30 M3 offset bushings
Lemforder subframe and trailing arm bushings, Sachs strut bearings
Z3 steering rack, custom lines
Strut housings, subframes, backing plates, swaybars and spring tops powdercoated gloss black
Brakes:
E83 brake booster and master cylinder
2002 brake fluid reservoir
Ate re-man front calipers with Zimmermann rotors
NOS BMW rear calipers with Zimmermann rotors
Re-built e-brake assemblies with Ate hardware and shoes
Techna-fit stainless steel brake lines
Hawk Ceramic compound brake pads F+R
Wheels/Tires:
15” Nogaro Euroweaves (including spare)
Yokohama Advan V701 - 205/55/15
Exterior modifications:
Full glass-out respray with 2-stage PPG paint
Smooth front valence with fog-lamp blanks and 318i center vent blank
Genuine Reiger lower lip
Euro bumper trim front and rear
Dapper lighting LED low beams and NOS Cibie H1 high beams
Smoked front indicator lenses
LED license plate lamps
E30 M3 sport evolution outer and inner grilles
E30 M3/E30 touring roof mount antenna
Fiamm air horns
Ultra Racing strut brace
Red46 skid plate
Interior modifications:
M-tech 1 380mm steering wheel with E26 center emblem
Early under-dash panel and trim
E30 M3 clone cluster with digital voltmeter by E30 Clusters
BMW illuminated one-piece shift boot/knob
Euro non-OBC center panel
Clarion FZ-102E head unit
Alpine SPR-50C separates front with tweeters mounted in factory housings, stock rear premium, new wiring to head unit.
Re-covered rear speaker deck
E82 front rubber floor mats
Story behind the car:
This car was delivered in the State of New York to its first owner in November of 1990. It was eventually traded in with 56k miles and sold at auction, landing in Indiana with a new owner in May of 1996. Less than two months and two-thousand miles later the new owner stuffed it into a ditch. The car was declared a total loss by insurance and ended up at Zionsville Autosport. Dwight and his crew fixed the damage and then sold the car in September of 1996 to an enthusiast in the area. About 1999 or so I eventually met this new enthusiast owner through the BMWCCA and we became friends.
Fast forward to October of 2015 and my friend is looking to downsize his collection of cars and move to Florida. He can’t find a buyer and wants me to end up with the car. At first I hesitated…but eventually caved when I went to look at the car and realized it was really solid. At this point the car had 140kmiles and was still in great shape though suffering from several years of inactivity. My initial plan was to clean it up, do the usual maintenance; timing belt, filter, fluids, etc. and then drive it to see what else needed work. At this point things went a bit sideways.
About a month after getting the E30 in the garage, another friend ended up with a wrecked 1997 Z3 2.8 he was hoping to use as a parts car for his ’01 Z3 project. This wrecked Z3 had nothing he needed so he offered it up to me. Again at first I hesitated…and then started getting some bad ideas. I bought the Z3 and proceeded to part it out with an idea to do an engine swap.
Thanks to the R3v community, I was able to learn all about the bits and pieces needed to start a 24v swap and it began...I called it the Rolling Wreck simply because this car should never have survived and was now getting the heart of a mangled Z3. The late Pete McHenry was my inspiration for all of this….years ago at Gateway Tech (an annual BMW CCA event in St. Louis) he showed up with an E30 M3 into which he had swapped a 2.9 liter aluminum block stroker engine build from a mish-mash of M5x/S5x parts. He and I talked a lot about his build and after a short drive I wanted to build a copy…but I was a new homeowner and had zero funds. I never forgot that experience and when all these parts fell into place years later I was finally able to build something similar.
I’ve been around this car in one way or another for 22 years and plan to hold on to it for many more.
1990 325iS
Color:
Alpine white
Interior color:
Crimson Red leather
Engine:
M52b28
Aluminum block Z3 engine - refreshed at 114k
Head machining by Kevin at Head Solutions
S52 intake/exhaust cams
AKG engine mounts
E34 oil pan/pick-up with VAC baffle
M50 Intake manifold and throttle body
Turner Motorsport manifold conversion
Early E39 fuel rail
Dbilas airbox
OBD2 tune and wiring harness mods by Markert Motorwerks
E30 325td mechanical fan/clutch
Driveline:
ZF 320 transmission
Valeo single mass flywheel conversion
3.15 Torsen limited slip differential
325e big guibo driveshaft
Rogue transmission mounts
Exhaust:
Stock OBD2 stainless manifolds
Syncro Designwerks downpipe
Custom 2.5” exhaust including a Flowmaster 2220125 catalytic converter
Stromung muffler custom made by Scott with a single 2.5” inlet
Suspension/Steering:
Stock strut housings modified with M3 swaybar tabs
H&R sport springs
Bilstein B8 dampers front and rear
E46 M3 upper rear mounts with MZ3 reinforcement plates
E30 M3 front and rear swaybars
NOS BMW solid rubber rear diff mount bushing
Lemforder Front control arms with E30 M3 offset bushings
Lemforder subframe and trailing arm bushings, Sachs strut bearings
Z3 steering rack, custom lines
Strut housings, subframes, backing plates, swaybars and spring tops powdercoated gloss black
Brakes:
E83 brake booster and master cylinder
2002 brake fluid reservoir
Ate re-man front calipers with Zimmermann rotors
NOS BMW rear calipers with Zimmermann rotors
Re-built e-brake assemblies with Ate hardware and shoes
Techna-fit stainless steel brake lines
Hawk Ceramic compound brake pads F+R
Wheels/Tires:
15” Nogaro Euroweaves (including spare)
Yokohama Advan V701 - 205/55/15
Exterior modifications:
Full glass-out respray with 2-stage PPG paint
Smooth front valence with fog-lamp blanks and 318i center vent blank
Genuine Reiger lower lip
Euro bumper trim front and rear
Dapper lighting LED low beams and NOS Cibie H1 high beams
Smoked front indicator lenses
LED license plate lamps
E30 M3 sport evolution outer and inner grilles
E30 M3/E30 touring roof mount antenna
Fiamm air horns
Ultra Racing strut brace
Red46 skid plate
Interior modifications:
M-tech 1 380mm steering wheel with E26 center emblem
Early under-dash panel and trim
E30 M3 clone cluster with digital voltmeter by E30 Clusters
BMW illuminated one-piece shift boot/knob
Euro non-OBC center panel
Clarion FZ-102E head unit
Alpine SPR-50C separates front with tweeters mounted in factory housings, stock rear premium, new wiring to head unit.
Re-covered rear speaker deck
E82 front rubber floor mats
Story behind the car:
This car was delivered in the State of New York to its first owner in November of 1990. It was eventually traded in with 56k miles and sold at auction, landing in Indiana with a new owner in May of 1996. Less than two months and two-thousand miles later the new owner stuffed it into a ditch. The car was declared a total loss by insurance and ended up at Zionsville Autosport. Dwight and his crew fixed the damage and then sold the car in September of 1996 to an enthusiast in the area. About 1999 or so I eventually met this new enthusiast owner through the BMWCCA and we became friends.
Fast forward to October of 2015 and my friend is looking to downsize his collection of cars and move to Florida. He can’t find a buyer and wants me to end up with the car. At first I hesitated…but eventually caved when I went to look at the car and realized it was really solid. At this point the car had 140kmiles and was still in great shape though suffering from several years of inactivity. My initial plan was to clean it up, do the usual maintenance; timing belt, filter, fluids, etc. and then drive it to see what else needed work. At this point things went a bit sideways.
About a month after getting the E30 in the garage, another friend ended up with a wrecked 1997 Z3 2.8 he was hoping to use as a parts car for his ’01 Z3 project. This wrecked Z3 had nothing he needed so he offered it up to me. Again at first I hesitated…and then started getting some bad ideas. I bought the Z3 and proceeded to part it out with an idea to do an engine swap.
Thanks to the R3v community, I was able to learn all about the bits and pieces needed to start a 24v swap and it began...I called it the Rolling Wreck simply because this car should never have survived and was now getting the heart of a mangled Z3. The late Pete McHenry was my inspiration for all of this….years ago at Gateway Tech (an annual BMW CCA event in St. Louis) he showed up with an E30 M3 into which he had swapped a 2.9 liter aluminum block stroker engine build from a mish-mash of M5x/S5x parts. He and I talked a lot about his build and after a short drive I wanted to build a copy…but I was a new homeowner and had zero funds. I never forgot that experience and when all these parts fell into place years later I was finally able to build something similar.
I’ve been around this car in one way or another for 22 years and plan to hold on to it for many more.
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