1985 325e White M3 Rep

[OttoB]

Photo Dump # 1 of Items Purchased (limited to 5 pics per post):

1) even when the car was offered for sale in Car & Bids back in 2022, this car has had its roof antenna missing - so I immediately had sourced one from ECS Tuning:






2) On Black Friday, I called up Turner Motorsports and took advantage of the $40.00 off their Conforti chip - which thankfully for me after I received it - was able to verify that my ECU ending in 027 makes it compatible. I am honestly very, very pleased in how responsive and good this car drives. Plenty of pep and the exhaust note makes you think you are going faster than you are! I do not anticipate spending a lot of money to ever do an engine swap - that money is being swallowed entirely by the a/c install/new dash. I also went ahead and got a K&N since I do that on all my cars. This picture also includes a 3D printed rear ashtray delete panel I got off eBay since I prefer it over a closed 'lid'. And, some Bosch wipers I got from Uro Tuning as well which, I stumbled upon the moment I realized I really wanted an Evo II front lower lip they were offering for sale. Apparently, Uro Tuning offered the EVO II lower lip splitter for sale (I snagged the very last one ever) which is actually instead made by Condor Racing in Ft. Lauderdale. I have to go physically to pick it up but the images of my e30 from Cars & Bids had a lower lip splitter already installed but the seller swears he doesn't know anything about it... Most of these lower lips are offered from overseas although we all must pay extra for stuff brought in from yonder. It was very sensibly priced, which is why I bought it - I expect it to get beat up and comes in aluminum finish. I may just buy a faux carbon fiber wrap and do that so I can always add more film if/when it gets gnarly looking!





3) during the BAT auction when the world's shortest driving video was uploaded for this car, it showed several lights being lit up on the binnacle/cluster - with some gauges not working to boot! On the couple of times I have driven the car, it is annoyingly distracting to see so many lights flashing non-stop and I just want peace of mind. One of the BAT commenters pointed out that the binnacle/cluster actually instead belonged to a 325i (or maybe it was during the Cars & Bids auction?). So, I found the only Euro e30 325e cluster available and was listed as having been fully refurbished and polished via eBay Canada. I am really looking forward to driving this car without a never-ending Christmas tree light show! I am very pleased how excellent it looks :)








4) one fog light below was sourced off eBay Germany and the other one from the UK. Naturally they are mismatching so, I have gone ahead and ordered a new replacement Hella lens so the car's face can look 'normal' with both foglights appearing similar - which they clearly do not here. If someone wants the 2nd of these 2, once the install has been done, I will happily sell it. That second one came with incomplete brackets, so I had to get a set of 3D printed ones on the cheap.







5) I like good tunes like most people, but I do not need to be at some audio/stereo competition anytime soon. The exhaust on this car is plenty loud and staying - so, I found these OEM used tweeters and appear decent, so they'll be going into the car soon since I want to be able to enjoy listening to music even if the high exhaust pitch is full-on:

[OttoB]

Hang in there, theres always the mixed bag of 'things I want to do' and the 'things I have to do and wasnt expecting to do' when you buy a car essentially sight unseen... in the end you know it will be worth it, especially when AWDBOB is going to help get you sorted.

Earlier you asked about the pricing of the shop, normally I would say that feels high to me but if they were stacked with old BMWs in front I would be ok with it... if they had a bunch of F & G series cars and no E... well, I would look elsewhere. You mentioned Condor, I would ask him who he would suggest to help with the A/C installation. It’s like you said, sourcing the pieces will be fairly straightforward but the actual OEM-functions will require someone who knows 80s BMWs.

I did ask Condor… their response? Redline Bimmer Performance not far off where Condor is at. I like those guys but - BUT - I have between just 2 invoices for my e28 and e31 from about 10 years ago, more than $30,000.00 they charged me (back when I was younger and flush - neither nor now)! And of course, there were more than 2 invoices from them during the years I owned those cars (had an office close to them then, which I commuted a hour daily each way).

Can Redline do it? Yes - would I be careless enough to have them go at it for this car? Wouldn’t be my first few choices but may end up there after all if the local guy can’t incorporate wiring of a new a/c system into the existing wiring for mine. Not everyone knows these cars in/out.

[OttoB]

Geez... lots of moving parts all happening at once!

1) I heard back from the eBay seller offering the complete lock set with the link here - and he informed that it came out of a US Spec 1984 318i:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125990792047

This is a major problem for me as I cannot really drive the car all that much, since it is the kind of car that would attract unwanted attention by a bored, young(er) or old(er) car thief - if the car cannot simply be locked ever... Argh!!!

If this set is good, I just want to pull the trigger and get it installed asap. But, I am under the impression this is still not a 100% given that the 1984 set off the 318 would be a straight swap for mine?





2) I now went to the eBay Germany website since they obviously have Euro spec cars and found only a single vendor with 2 sets:

a) https://www.ebay.com/itm/286688361152 for $343.00 without including shipping or tariffs or whatever else to be tacked on, or labor to install; and


b) https://www.ebay.com/itm/286681137922 for the princely sum of $459.00.

BAT Shipping is supposedly handling this 'claim' but my problem remains the time it is unnecessarily taking vs. simply having gotten a car like any other, drive it/lock it, etc.


Got it registered yesterday and then went to a shop run by a European specialist who has done a lot of work over the years on e30's. Is $180 hourly rate high/low/or about right? He does a lot of race car setup and logistics as well.

Turns out that upon opening the hood, he discovered that this car never came with a/c! So, that is a big problem for me as I cannot drive cars without them, period. I had 'turned' the a/c on and blew warm air, so I thought it was a matter of needing r134 or something. But, turns out there is no condenser, compressor, evaporator, fans, brackets, wiring, switches, blower housing, etc.

So now - this is a project car. There is a difference between filling it up with freon/r134 and - not wanting to drive the car in SoFla heat because there is no a/c at all on it nor will there be for months.




3) This mechanic essentially told me that:

a) the entire dash has to come out which I knew would be inevitable as I want to replace it. There is an enormous crack in the dash that I have not managed taking a picture of (yet - barely touched the car as of last week) that I cannot stomach, aside from a chunk of it missing off the lower driver side corner.

b) so one thing is to replace the dash, but another is to replace the 325i binnacle cluster/gauges the car has - with lights all over the place and non-functioning gas gauge (could be fuel sender) or temperature gauge, and thus - requires that this be re-wired. I sourced a restored Euro 325e binnacle cluster off eBay from Canada and will post pics at some point for it and a few other things that have accumulated here at my office as of late!

c) in replacing the dash for a nice/new one, in replacing the cluster/binnacle with a refurbished one, we also need to install the replacement ignition lock column too!

d) in replacing the dash, the binnacle, the ignition column - we also have to see how to adapt to the wiring loom adding a/c to a car that never came with one.


So, I have my hands more full than I know what to do with... everything will get done, everything will get sorted, one thing at a time - but, I now do not anticipate being able to 'enjoy' the car for at least 3+ months and another $5K between parts and labor for a/c.


I am not committed to this mechanic yet, as much as having gotten high praise from another forum member. The best thing of this mechanic is that he is located 6 mins from my office and maybe 10 from my house! However, he warned me he is not wanting to take on a project and, I would essentially have to show/prove to him that I have all the parts needed to undertake the a/c install and door lock replacement.

The seller from eBay Germany offering the 2 sets (Google translate at play - surprised they were not listed on eBay UK, I actually literally go to eBay directly on different countries for stuff every now and then) just responded. The locks come from a 1986 model that did have central locking! So, there's that then...

[2mAn]

Most of the early 318s were 'poverty spec' as we like to call it which means no central locking. My own 84 318 did not have it

[OttoB]

I was thinking the 84 318 ebay ad would be a worthy purchase since it will all be matched already

Man I sure wish... is that the consensus with everybody? No doubt my car came with only basic, bare bones... So, does the US Spec 1984 318i that is offering the locking system a green light for same onto mine then? I showed the listing to the mechanic yesterday, he winced at it, and said ".. it could work."

What was the manufacturing date on which e30's all then came standard with central locking? If that is after 1985, it sounds like problem (for locks) solved for now and I get them?

[OttoB]

Yikes but not surprising since it's a euro car. Honestly, at this point, it would be worth it to source parts from a donor car. That way, you get everything you need including the little things that are easily missed. One of my M3's was a track car and had everything gutted except for the dash itself. I swapped the HVAC and central locking system over from a donor 325i.

On the sage, sound and sensible advice from Bobbie - I went ahead and pulled the trigger today already on getting a new e30 Complete Conversion Kit from A/C Solutions [Vintage Air] minus the auxiliary fan or condenser. Better to get 'new' stuff than remove parts off an abandoned car from 40 years ago where it boils down luck sometimes, ya know? The labor involved to get this a/c installed is not cheap, so can you imagine getting a kit off a parts car for it to then foreseeably go bad in a matter of weeks or months?!?! Heck naw!

https://www.acsolutions.co/products/a-c-solutions-bmw-e30-conversion-kit?variant=45471178391792

I am getting from Bobbie additional parts to complete the a/c system as well as a round of goodies I found last night off his eBay store now that are 'connected.'

[AWDBOB]

Hang in there, theres always the mixed bag of 'things I want to do' and the 'things I have to do and wasnt expecting to do' when you buy a car essentially sight unseen... in the end you know it will be worth it, especially when AWDBOB is going to help get you sorted.

Earlier you asked about the pricing of the shop, normally I would say that feels high to me but if they were stacked with old BMWs in front I would be ok with it... if they had a bunch of F & G series cars and no E... well, I would look elsewhere. You mentioned Condor, I would ask him who he would suggest to help with the A/C installation. Its like you said, sourcing the pieces will be fairly straightforward but the actual OEM-functions will require someone who knows 80s BMWs.

I got a random call from a Miami number and it was Otto. Apparently he met OG R3Ver Gary Ruffin, who lives in his neck of the woods, and he gave him my number. Tiz a small world indeed

[2mAn]

Yikes but not surprising since it's a euro car. Honestly, at this point, it would be worth it to source parts from a donor car. That way, you get everything you need including the little things that are easily missed. One of my M3's was a track car and had everything gutted except for the dash itself. I swapped the HVAC and central locking system over from a donor 325i.

I was thinking the 84 318 ebay ad would be a worthy purchase since it will all be matched already

[reelizmpro]

Yikes but not surprising since it's a euro car. Honestly, at this point, it would be worth it to source parts from a donor car. That way, you get everything you need including the little things that are easily missed. One of my M3's was a track car and had everything gutted except for the dash itself. I swapped the HVAC and central locking system over from a donor 325i.

[2mAn]

Hang in there, theres always the mixed bag of 'things I want to do' and the 'things I have to do and wasnt expecting to do' when you buy a car essentially sight unseen... in the end you know it will be worth it, especially when AWDBOB is going to help get you sorted.

Earlier you asked about the pricing of the shop, normally I would say that feels high to me but if they were stacked with old BMWs in front I would be ok with it... if they had a bunch of F & G series cars and no E... well, I would look elsewhere. You mentioned Condor, I would ask him who he would suggest to help with the A/C installation. Its like you said, sourcing the pieces will be fairly straightforward but the actual OEM-functions will require someone who knows 80s BMWs.

[OttoB]

This now only moves me to about 3pm yesterday. After being floored with the news I have to once again install a/c on an old BMW (had it undertaken on my old e28 but - that one had been removed to lighten the car and originally came with it), I called a contact given to me by the local forum member who had recommended me that mechanic shop. AWDBOB a/k/a Bobbie!

Turns out, I had purchased off eBay the other day a set of rear seat headrests but - had no idea it was him - until we spoke for a while yesterday afternoon. Bobbie is in tune with the door lock situation and now with the a/c situation. He is volunteering on getting me setup with the a/c via A/C Solutions plus parts he has that Vintage Air does not offer. However, the wiring situation remains in limbo and have to place my trust that this mechanic can sort it out, even when there is limited and/or conflicting information in this regard (of introducing a/c into a car that it did not come with).

Ivo Christov from Holland helped me source a few parts for my e28 a good 9 years ago or so... Last night, I emailed him to see if he can source a set of door locks since he is very knowledgeable and reputable about these cars. If the forum members here feel that the $300 one off eBay from that 1984 318i is compatible, much less crap to deal with on my end vs. sourcing one from Germany or Holland!

Because I cannot park the car anywhere, I returned it back to the warehouse last night. The wheel bolts as of yesterday were set to arrive this Saturday but then this morning, got an email from eBay indicating that they are out for delivery today. Yesterday was such a shit show as it took me from 10am to leave to the DMV appointment, to then have a 'quick' lunch in the governmental building at the DMV where due to rain, 100 other people also decided to eat there?, to then head to the mechanic to look over the car, and come back to the office around 3pm.

So, I will be chipping at things on my own in 2 weeks' time or so when I am off work. I will likely get the new wheels installed next week. And later on, install the new turn signals, antenna, kidney grill, maybe headlights, raise the Evo rear flap, go to Condor Racing to pick up an Evo III lower lip, etc. This car ain't going anywhere anytime soon and I am still reeling in from an unexpected, strong kick in the nuts, 2 times :(

But when it's all said and done, it will hopefully have all things working as they should while looking decent, as we now approach real M3 territory (for a neglected one) when I complete all of the anticipated necessary work, aside from all the extras I want on it. However, I have no doubts about a finish line or - a light at the end of the tunnel - will be there with enough effort, perseverance, resources, time, and good workmanship! I am in it for the haul, folks!

Wish me luck and a shout out to Bobbie - small world it is, ain't it?

[OttoB]

Geez... lots of moving parts all happening at once!

1) I heard back from the eBay seller offering the complete lock set with the link here - and he informed that it came out of a US Spec 1984 318i:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125990792047

This is a major problem for me as I cannot really drive the car all that much, since it is the kind of car that would attract unwanted attention by a bored, young(er) or old(er) car thief - if the car cannot simply be locked ever... Argh!!!

If this set is good, I just want to pull the trigger and get it installed asap. But, I am under the impression this is still not a 100% given that the 1984 set off the 318 would be a straight swap for mine?





2) I now went to the eBay Germany website since they obviously have Euro spec cars and found only a single vendor with 2 sets:

a) https://www.ebay.com/itm/286688361152 for $343.00 without including shipping or tariffs or whatever else to be tacked on, or labor to install; and


b) https://www.ebay.com/itm/286681137922 for the princely sum of $459.00.

BAT Shipping is supposedly handling this 'claim' but my problem remains the time it is unnecessarily taking vs. simply having gotten a car like any other, drive it/lock it, etc.


Got it registered yesterday and then went to a shop run by a European specialist who has done a lot of work over the years on e30's. Is $180 hourly rate high/low/or about right? He does a lot of race car setup and logistics as well.

Turns out that upon opening the hood, he discovered that this car never came with a/c! So, that is a big problem for me as I cannot drive cars without them, period. I had 'turned' the a/c on and blew warm air, so I thought it was a matter of needing r134 or something. But, turns out there is no condenser, compressor, evaporator, fans, brackets, wiring, switches, blower housing, etc.

So now - this is a project car. There is a difference between filling it up with freon/r134 and - not wanting to drive the car in SoFla heat because there is no a/c at all on it nor will there be for months.




3) This mechanic essentially told me that:

a) the entire dash has to come out which I knew would be inevitable as I want to replace it. There is an enormous crack in the dash that I have not managed taking a picture of (yet - barely touched the car as of last week) that I cannot stomach, aside from a chunk of it missing off the lower driver side corner.

b) so one thing is to replace the dash, but another is to replace the 325i binnacle cluster/gauges the car has - with lights all over the place and non-functioning gas gauge (could be fuel sender) or temperature gauge, and thus - requires that this be re-wired. I sourced a restored Euro 325e binnacle cluster off eBay from Canada and will post pics at some point for it and a few other things that have accumulated here at my office as of late!

c) in replacing the dash for a nice/new one, in replacing the cluster/binnacle with a refurbished one, we also need to install the replacement ignition lock column too!

d) in replacing the dash, the binnacle, the ignition column - we also have to see how to adapt to the wiring loom adding a/c to a car that never came with one.


So, I have my hands more full than I know what to do with... everything will get done, everything will get sorted, one thing at a time - but, I now do not anticipate being able to 'enjoy' the car for at least 3+ months and another $5K between parts and labor for a/c.


I am not committed to this mechanic yet, as much as having gotten high praise from another forum member. The best thing of this mechanic is that he is located 6 mins from my office and maybe 10 from my house! However, he warned me he is not wanting to take on a project and, I would essentially have to show/prove to him that I have all the parts needed to undertake the a/c install and door lock replacement.

[OttoB]

As suspected - since this car seems to have originally been a basic one(no cruise control either) with limited options - then take a look at the back end of the taillights which confirms that this car came out of the factory without power anything:





I am off to get the car registered finally and then to stop by a shop recommended by a local forum member who vouches for the owner's knowledge and experience on these e30's.... The list of to-do's has grown considerably but one thing at a time. Now I can go ahead and purchase this set of locks from eBay - yes?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125990792047

This is a gratuitous shot from picking it up earlier today along with another one of my whips...

[kronus]

we can't really tell you conclusively, because we don't know how this car was equipped.

it's hard to tell if the central locking isn't working or straight up doesn't exist, without doing some inspection. as mentioned, the easiest thing to do would be to pull the trunk panel that's under the taillights, and see if there is an actuator (red/tan plastic thing about the size of half a pack of cigarettes with a rod coming out of it going to the lock). If there is, you have central locking. If not, you don't.

[OttoB]

H-E-L-P, please!

I have an insurance claim with the transportation company for the driver having broken off the key in the trunk lock. I need to source the parts and buy them but cannot without the continued guidance of you guys. Is the link to the post immediately above this one the 'right' one to get for my car since there is no power/central locking?

Thanks in advance for your patience and help :)