1990 E30 Alpine White Convertible Build Thread - Airlift 3P, BBS RS

[douglascarter]

Hey guys! Very excited to share my E30 build with you all. I picked up the car back in the end of April and have gone balls to the wall since. This will be an ongoing build thread and I'll try to update it as soon as something new gets thrown on it.

Current Mod List:

• OEM euro bumpers F+R
• Startec tail lights
• Prazis air suspension
• Airlift 3P management
• BBS RS 16x9 16x9.5 (unknown offsets)
• R1 Concepts Slotted rotors + ceramic brake pads
• Garagistic Lug Stud conversion
• MOMO steering wheel hub
• MOMO 350mm Prototipo Steering Wheel
• Rennstall Type-2 Shift Knob
• Garagistic Polyurethane shifter kit

Upcoming Plans:

• Mtech 1 Kit (aftermarket from classiceuroparts, would have went oem if I didn't find a killer deal off Facebook!)
• Passenger rear quarter panel repair (was hit previously and the repair job was pretty shit, preventing the euro bumper from sitting flush against the fender).
• My own actual set of BBS RS (being rebuilt right now. Specs are unknown but they will be have polished lips with refinished gold centers and conical center caps)
• Reupholster the interior
• Engine mods? Not sure. I enjoy the car being the weekend cruiser it is and keeping it in its purist M20 state, but if I want to chase a little extra speed I may look into an S52 swap in the future? We'll see.

[douglascarter]

Start of the build history:

Car started off as a bone stock, Alpine White '90 Vert. I picked it up at 144k original miles in San Diego and drove it up back home to Orange County.



Nothing better than a crack-free dash!

[douglascarter]

First thing I did to the car was install a new soft top since the old soft top was pretty tattered. Went with a soft top from GAHH and had it replaced at a local upholstery shop.



Next order of business was a paint correction + ceramic coating. My paint correction skills are pretty crap, and having not worked with older paint before there are definitely a few hazy spots but overall I think it turned out nice. Car had lots of oxidation from not being corrected properly and it really helped brighten up the white and really bring back that gloss





(you can really see the color difference by comparing the trunk in this image with the color of the trunk in the new soft top picture)

[douglascarter]

With the car buttoned up, I went ahead and did a complete overhaul. This included Airlift 3P, Euro bumper conversion, Startec tail lights, and a brand new power steering rack (reman E30 rack, may consider swapping to Z3 down the road)

[douglascarter]

Last but not least, I am currently borrowing a set of BBS RS with gloss black faces and lips temporarily until my RS's are finished being built. Here are some pics of how the car currently sits!





The learning curve on this car has been absolutely insane considering how many different variants there are between all the years and different models (coupe, sedan, convertible), but it has definitely been fun thus far. The oldest BMW I've owned before this was an E92 (which is fairly modern), so you can only imagine what kind of hell I went through figuring out all the right components for my car (down to the end caps on the euro bumpers)

If you guys have any questions on anything please feel free to ask away and I'll try to answer it to the best I can! Stay tuned for the additional mods I have planned as stated in the top of the thread :^)

[kaiser16]

Love the vert! Keep the pics coming, especially with the re-upholstery!

[DEV0 E30]

Looks like many of the pictures aren't showing up for me, is it just me?

How are you liking the 3P setup? That's what is going on my touring.

[douglascarter]

Looks like many of the pictures aren't showing up for me, is it just me?

How are you liking the 3P setup? That's what is going on my touring.

They should be up now! It was visible on my computer but wasn't showing up on my phone either but I went and re-edited the posts so they should show up now

3P is pretty nice! The last time I had air it was when Airlift V2 was just coming out so the technically has definitely advanced. Ride quality is quite nice its surprisingly a little stiff but I haven't had the chance to mess with the dampers.

[Mike36]

Wow you move quick! Its coming along very nicely, I think I remember seeing that vert for sale, I recall it being priced to sell. You should go to the mid town meet tonight if you're in LA. Btw, are those eli's or marios's BBS's? Not that many black on black RS in socal. Also, what color will you be going on your's?

[douglascarter]

Wow you move quick! Its coming along very nicely, I think I remember seeing that vert for sale, I recall it being priced to sell. You should go to the mid town meet tonight if you're in LA. Btw, are those eli's or marios's BBS's? Not that many black on black RS in socal. Also, what color will you be going on your's?

It was listed on Offerup for about a day before I purchased it I think in Chula Vista. I heard about the meet but I don't think I'll be able to make it :(.

Not sure where the RS's were originally sourced from, but my buddy had them stashed at his place for a few years now and let me throw them on temporarily since they have just been sitting. Color is still kind of up in the air but I'm thinking polished lips with gold centers. I have conical center caps I wanted to throw on but may go a different direction!

[Lippy]

Love this! Any updates?