Hi All,
Recently picked up a 1987 325i convertible 5 speed. I’ve owned a 2018 340i xdrive for the last 4 years which has grown my love for BMWs. I’ve lightly modified the car to make it the perfect DD for my needs. This includes a tune, mild drop, OEM BBK, lighter and wider wheels/tires, and M3 lip spoiler. The only thing I’ve missed is driving stick since the car is auto. All my past cars have been stick which include a 93 300zx, 04 GTO (400whp), 05 GTO (550whp), and a 13 G37s coupe. I’ve had the itch for a while to get a second car that’s manual, drop/targa top, and fun to drive. Initially, I was looking to get an M roadster or e46 M3 convertible. My hesitation was both the initial purchase price and maintenance costs. I opened my search to any manual BMW convertibles and found a nice e30 20 minutes away from me. After a test drive and some further research, I fell in love with the platform. The fact that they are so easy to work on and parts are insanely cheap just sealed the deal for me.
A little about the car. It was purchased new in Seattle and the original owner kept the car until 2001. It was then purchased by the second owner in California who owned the car until 2019. The second owner traded it in and it end up on used car lot in Arizona where the third owner bought it and had it shipped to NJ in 2020. The car has about 95k miles and came with a fat stack of receipts since new which includes r134a conversion in 2018 and a new convertible top in 2007. The car has practically 0 rust and no accidents on the Carfax. The front seats looked like they were from a 10 year old car and the dash has no cracks. The car has a number of smaller issues which allowed me to pick the car up for a good price.
The issues:
Here are some pics from when I picked it up
Recently picked up a 1987 325i convertible 5 speed. I’ve owned a 2018 340i xdrive for the last 4 years which has grown my love for BMWs. I’ve lightly modified the car to make it the perfect DD for my needs. This includes a tune, mild drop, OEM BBK, lighter and wider wheels/tires, and M3 lip spoiler. The only thing I’ve missed is driving stick since the car is auto. All my past cars have been stick which include a 93 300zx, 04 GTO (400whp), 05 GTO (550whp), and a 13 G37s coupe. I’ve had the itch for a while to get a second car that’s manual, drop/targa top, and fun to drive. Initially, I was looking to get an M roadster or e46 M3 convertible. My hesitation was both the initial purchase price and maintenance costs. I opened my search to any manual BMW convertibles and found a nice e30 20 minutes away from me. After a test drive and some further research, I fell in love with the platform. The fact that they are so easy to work on and parts are insanely cheap just sealed the deal for me.
A little about the car. It was purchased new in Seattle and the original owner kept the car until 2001. It was then purchased by the second owner in California who owned the car until 2019. The second owner traded it in and it end up on used car lot in Arizona where the third owner bought it and had it shipped to NJ in 2020. The car has about 95k miles and came with a fat stack of receipts since new which includes r134a conversion in 2018 and a new convertible top in 2007. The car has practically 0 rust and no accidents on the Carfax. The front seats looked like they were from a 10 year old car and the dash has no cracks. The car has a number of smaller issues which allowed me to pick the car up for a good price.
The issues:
- The top doesn’t go down (release handle not engaging in back seat, he also mentioned that when it did work, it would get stuck most of the way down)
- The windows need to be adjusted as they’re slightly off and snag the edge of the top on the passenger side if the window is all the way up
- Pitting/flaking on the chrome wheels
- Windshield locking strip is brown
- Faded BMW logos
- Stereo isn’t connected (the car had subs which the last owner took out, but the radio wasn’t hooked back up and there’s still an aftermarket amp attached)
- Back rest of the back seats are split at the seam and the leather is bone dry in the back
- Torn shift boot
- Faded side mirror
- Timing belt hasn’t been replaced for atleast 10 years to my knowledge
- Fuel gauge works intermittently and the odometer stopped working in 2019
- Crumbled antenna grommet
- Sagging steering column kick panel
- Installed a timing belt service kit from FCP Euro and had the valves adjusted (threw in a timing cover gasket and some other random seal someone recommended in the reviews on FCP; had this done by a local specialist)
- Replaced the locking strip (don’t EVER try to do this on a 45 degree day as I learned the hard way. This was a pain in the ass but after lots of frustration, a 60 degree day, and a ton of dish soap, I got it in)
- Replaced the shifter with a garagistic vintage knob and an OEM leather shift boot (someone used rubber cement or something similar to keep the old knob in place. I had to rip apart the old knob and use a heat gun to get this off)
- Replaced the faded logos throughout
Here are some pics from when I picked it up
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