E30Rossi's Full Build - Overhaul - 5 Lug - Bay Shave - M54 Swap (Pic Heavy)

[E30Rossi]

Before


After! Needed a deep clean after this


Before


After! Much better

[E30Rossi]

Engine bay still looking great!


Finally cleaned up the interior with this piece!


Drove down to Wolfsgart and lost the bumper trim on the way down.
14 hours later, found it on the side of the highway and it was still in 1 piece
Just a little roughed up


Ending up winning 1st plate for classic BMW at Wolfsgart!

[E30Rossi]

Some more car show photos!

[E30Rossi]

Winter 2024, I scored a deal on some 3 piece wheels!
Time for some change after running the Style 32s for 5 years

There are Napre wheels, a small JDM company
17x8 +21 all around
Wasn't worried about the bent lip because I wanted to change for a staggered setup anyways


Got a deal because of the lip, which I was going to replace either way


Tires unmounted


Test fitting begins


The hype was real!

[E30Rossi]

Always wanted a proper set of wheels and this got me excited!


Disassembly begins




Sent them off for a full rebuild. Cast aluminum is not easy to work with and these wheels are very old




My wheel refinisher convinced me to go full polish instead of just powdercoating the faces!

[E30Rossi]

Sold the Style 32 wheels. Now was a waiting game!


Definitely was happy with my choice of going full polished!


They aren't perfect because of the material & age, but I love the look!


Done! Tires mounted

[E30Rossi]

First look with the wheels mounted!
Ready for 2025 car season!


Look at that shine!


Love the contrast with the dark colours of the car


Showstopper


Drove around downtown during F1 weekend here in Montreal
the E30 got more attention that all the Lambos and Ferraris around

[E30Rossi]

Next step was to install my Garagistic Smoked MHW Style Taillights


Love how these tie the whole car together!


SoClean show 2025



Fell in love with this setup instantly!
So many compliments

[E30Rossi]

Drove the car down to Vermont for my buddy's engagement party!
The roads here made me want to move





Can't stop staring at the car every second I got

[E30Rossi]

SVGNGHT Fall 2025


Visited my buddy's shop who's building an N54 E30!


Super sick lighting and setup


Then comes the end of the season of 2025
Where every BMW owner's worst nightmare happened
Driving normally on the highway
and boom, car overheated pretty bad


Emergency rescue
No idea what happened at this point
It was October 2025, so I just stored the car for the winter
and didn't look at it until Spring

[E30Rossi]

At this point, I had no idea what had happened
Fast forward to spring 2026, time to diagnose
I did a compression test and had low compression in cyl 2
I knew something was wrong and didn't have much equipment at the storage
So I moved the car to a buddy's garage
and we started the tear down


Removed the head, found nothing wrong anywhere


Dismantled EVERYTHING
Still nothing visibly wrong
Headgasket was good, Piston rings were good, Valves were seating, springs were good...etc.


Took the head to machine shop and they informed me that the valve guides were loose and the valves weren't seating 100% under pressure




Sourced a new head from a friend abandoning his project.
Already decked and cleaned and ready to go.
I decided this was easier and most cost effective than fixing the other head.

[E30Rossi]

Got everything back together and running again!
Thought I was ready for 2026
But when I put the oil pan back on, it was leaking pretty bad
Tried taking it off and redoing the seal but still leaks.

I was caught up with moving, and other responsibilities so the car sat like this until now.


Also found out that my flex broke and had a huge leak after the headers
And my revshift giubo that I should've replaced a long time ago, fell apart.


In the meantime, installed a new Nardi leather steering wheel which fits the style of the car so much better than the wood one.
And so much better to drive with!


Sourced myself a E36 328i driveshaft and OEM Giubo and all the vibration I had are GONE
Also got the exhaust fixed so she's almost ready for the summer, even if it's passing by so fast!

At this point, I thought all was good, but it overheated a little again.
Check the coolant and it's low even If i didn't drive the car more than back and forth from the garage.
Turns out my leak that I could never figure out...
is INSIDE the car. Carpet was soaked with coolant so looks like Heater Core or Valve gave out.

I have a feeling this was the issue since day one and what started off as a small leak turned into a big one now.
Next step is to get that sorted so I can make it to Wolfsgart this weekend.

[2mAn]

Solid update! The life of an E30. Gets used and gets fixed... and will get used again soon..

M54 block, so not sure what the situation is when you are bolting new heads on the car. I had to Timesert my Aluminum M52 block when we rebuilt the motor to make sure the head would fully bolt down

[Panici]

Damn those new wheels look killer against the black paint!

Sorry to hear about the cooling issues. But at least you've found the possible source.
Does the dash have to come out to swap the heater core?

[E30Rossi]

Solid update! The life of an E30. Gets used and gets fixed... and will get used again soon..

M54 block, so not sure what the situation is when you are bolting new heads on the car. I had to Timesert my Aluminum M52 block when we rebuilt the motor to make sure the head would fully bolt down

Exactly! I've accepted it at this point

Honestly, changing the head when very well! No timeserts or anything. Everything torqued nicely!