1985 325e White M3 Rep

[OttoB]

What a friggin' day... and tomorrow, headed to Stuart for the RennTech annual open house some 35+ mins north of WPB in Stuart, then back to WPB. Then to Naples (some 2.5 hours southwest) as my wife has a business location there and attending the Festival of Speed on Sunday.... So, I had to Uber back from the alignment place where yes - the wheels + tires have been there for weeks when the car should have been delivered by - after dropping off the car. Uber back to the shop when they called to let me know they cannot install the wheels (although mounted + balanced tires, and also did alignment), to then go to a local mechanic to see if they had any regular BMW bolts as they normally fix them there (but no dice)... Then drive the e30 to the warehouse, and Uber back to office. So, it certainly has been a trying day and my apologies for all these posts as I try to be proactive on getting as many issues addressed as possible. The goal remains to get all parts I want to source, in hand so when the car goes to where ever it ends up at, no time's a wastin' because more or different or new parts are needed, ya know?

As I tell my wife on a daily basis - Google is Your Friend! Found this snippet on what new bolts to get in order to replace the long ones that are on the car due to the 3/4 spacer:

• Older Compacts: E30 bolts (M12x1.5) can fit other older BMWs like the E21, E36 (non-M), E46 (non-M) if they share the same 4x100 pattern and are used with appropriate wheels.

So, I then quickly souurced them off eBay brand-new when I typed up e36 instead of e30, and presto - found 20 of them brand new for less than $30 shipped. The car will sit at the warehouse until the new regular-sized bolts arrived. Here are pics of the interior after it got some lovin' yesterday - cosmetically, the car is in surprisingly in very good shape and it definitely has been stored indoors for the past few years!











Please help a brutha out - the car does not have power locks, steering, windows, ABS, etc. The door locks do not work with the ignition key which is what the transportation company delivered the car a 2nd time with. The rear trunk lock is completely busted when they attempted to remove the broken piece of key. So, am I looking at this one then from eBay or what?

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

[OttoB]

it's a grafted on widebody, it's likely the cap lock wouldn't have been carried over.

No ABS either… so this was a basic e30, which is to be expected when they used a donor car to build this one up around 2020.

So, are either of the links off eBay that I posted earlier today good for the car to take car of the locking system on the car? Which one - door no. 1, door no. 2, or mystery on who knows what in door no. 3, Bob? A package like the ones offered is great, since the key is there as are the tumblers, door locks, trunk, etc.



On another note, they could not install the wheels. The car came with what seems to be 1 inch spacers which I had no way of knowing before taking it there to them. So, the existing bolts are too long and I have to get regular, standard sized ones instead!

Lastly - that license bracket link is exactly what I needed + thank you!!!!

[reelizmpro]

Although my 85 323i had central locking, I don't think it was standard on Euro cars. Sucks if this is the case here. Good point about the widebody. I guess the sure way to tell would be to look for the trunk and gas cap actuators inside the trunk behind the carpet panels.

Anyway, there is a special bracket that allows one to mount a 4 bolt US plate onto a 2 bolt euro car without having to drill. Mine sticks out a bit. I presume it is OEM as it is zinc plated and looks original.

It's the same idea as this...

https://yourlittlecncshop.com/products/bmw-rear-license-plate-bracket

[McGyver]

it's a grafted on widebody, it's likely the cap lock wouldn't have been carried over.

And that's why you get the big bucks

[kronus]

it's a grafted on widebody, it's likely the cap lock wouldn't have been carried over.

[McGyver]

This is the gas cap area and I don’t see anything?

Disregard my other post, you likely don't have central locking.

You would be looking for the black plastic part in the bottom left that has a rod that can come out to lock the fuel door by sliding into a little protrusion in the fuel door.

[McGyver]

Jumping into the central locking stuff!

Central locking means that locking/unlocking one of the doors or trunk with the key will unlock all the doors and trunk (usually). From inside the car, you can push down on one door lock and the other door will lock (same for unlocking, usually). You can also pull on the door handle to unlock/open the car (usually). (this makes breaking into an e30 really easy with plastic strapping) Central locking will also push out a rod to lock the fuel door shut. There isn't a button to press to lock/unlock. The system will not let you lock the car if the driver's door is open, this prevents you from leaving the keys in the car and locking yourself out. You can 100% lock the car with the trunk open, toss in the keys, close the trunk, and lock yourself out.

Driver's door - you can twist the key in the lock a little to actuate central locking, or turn it 90* and remove the key to "deadbolt" it. Now central locking is disabled and you can't pull up on the lock inside the car to unlock the doors. This lock is usually worn out and slightly broken, so people try to avoid using it. If you "deadbolt" the car and the lock breaks, you're fucked and its going to be REALLY hard to undo this since pulling on the door handle won't unlock the car. (break a window, rip off door card, fix it from the inside).

Passenger door - you can only twist the key in the lock to actuate central locking. This doesn't work if the driver's door is "deadbolted"

Trunk - Twist the key to actuate central locking, or turn 90* and remove the key to lock the trunk and disable central locking for the trunk. The trunk lock is usually in the best condition and most robust, so people tend to use this instead of the driver's door.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY suggest getting a remote lock actuator. Something like this. Central locking works by closing a circuit to tell the brain to lock everything. This device can be wired to apply voltage to the signal wire to simulate the same thing. I put it behind/under the speaker in the driver's footwell right next to the central locking brain. Its an easy hour of work from start to finish, and I haven't toughed my door locks in years. Plus, it's really nice to be able to unlock your car as you walk up or lock it while walking away. EVERY e30 owner should do it, its such a great creature comfort for less than $20.

[OttoB]

This is the gas cap area and I don’t see anything?

[kronus]

it's a 9/85 car (1229766 from the BAT ad), you should have central locking and thus need set #2.

parts diagram/list - https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=41_0581

[2mAn]

This is why I try to DIY a lot of stuff myself... Havent they had the wheels/tires for a week now? They should've been mounted and balanced you should have them installed already

Sorry for the troubles.

[OttoB]

The car is at the wheel/tire place and despite having an appointment, was told it might not be ready until Monday. The gas cap itself does have a lock and I had to unlock it the other day to put fuel in. The seats are manual, I doubt the car has power steering, and the locks seem to be individual. Could you please post an image of what the fuel door looks like if it has central locking with the grommet you mention or, if it does not? I have to then ask the tire guy to video chat with me because they are not open on the weekend and I would be looking at Monday afternoon, the soonest! Much appreciate your patience and continued support!

[AWDBOB]

You need to figure out if you have central locking or not before buying a lock set.

Easiest way is to open the fuel door and see if you have a black grommet on the lower left side of the opening, which would be the hole for the fuel door lock actuator.

If you have that, buy lock set #2.

#1 is for an ‘84 car which has slightly different door lock cylinders (pre 09/84 production).

[OttoB]

I have no idea whether the car has central power locks although it appears not. But, I was able to find 2 complete sets on eBay for sale that have key, tumblers for the ignition, both doors and trunk. Given that there is an insurance claim with the transportation company, could you tell me which of these 2 sets available for sale I should get? I prefer getting this going soon for peace of mind and cannot differentiate one from the other. Both offerings are asking very similar prices:

A) first option:

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

B) second option:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/157496348632

[AWDBOB]

The link you sent from Bimmer World indicates that it is out of stock. I don’t feel comfortable driving the car without working locks. In the link, it specified “Left”? What does that mean? For a LHD car?

I then did a Google search under the same description as the Bimmer World link and found a kit for the e30 but… says “Right” and oh - they want $113 just for shipping 😳🫣‼️

Can you please elaborate on whether these kits bring locks for ignition, doors, trunk and glove box? Forgive my being naive and if there’s a link with everything I need from someone having it in stock, mo’ better!

Found this from FCP - yes?


https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...er-51219556313

Left means left drivers side lock cylinder. That p/n is a repair/rebuild kit for the commonly broken pieces on the drivers lock cylinder.

Left and right lock cylinders are different.

That p/n was NLA for a long time, and was only recently restocked..... but went back out of stock today.

You can't buy a full central locking lock set any more.

The ignition tumblers fail/wear out so it's common to have a different key for the ignition than the doors/glovebox/trunk lock.

Path of least resistance will be to have a locksmith cut a new key for your door locks. They can also reconfigure your door locks to match your ignition tumbler lock.

When you do this, you'll likely find that your drivers door lock is exploded like most of them are, which you'd then need the 9061343 kit to remedy that issue.

The entire car can be locked/unlocked via the trunk if you have central locking, so a more affordable path could be purchasing a good used trunk lock with key and installing that in the meantime.

You have a 9/85 euro car, do you know if you have central locking or not?

[OttoB]

Dang - not sure what heck is wrong with the site. Found a link and tried pasting to the post above but no dice!?!

Is this from FCP good to go? Is there a difference also as to central locking or not? Anyway of knowing if mine is/has central locking or which to buy?

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...er-51219556313


And this one also for the trunk?

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-rep-kit-f-lock-cylinder-51249061876?ads_cmpid=21618909340&ads_adid=1663468 72277&ads_matchtype=&ads_network=g&ads_creative=71 0435931532&utm_term=&ads_targetid=pla-2338160550696&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm _medium=ppc&ttv=2&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=2161 8909340&gbraid=0AAAAAD3np3Vb-xQwHEkifEMiqs35BI-xZ&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_8TJBhDNARIsAPX5qxRzANJ26-hCLtW-JlfKizX6aBvptUAPMNGly9ebcEx4DKumuvZKC9oaAs9iEALw_w cB#fitment