My 85 Euro imported 325e

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  • cb750r
    Noobie
    • Jan 2026
    • 16

    #1

    My 85 Euro imported 325e

    So, I bought and have a car titled as an 86 325es, after doing a VIN decode, knowing the owners manual has deliver and first services done in Germany, before being sent to Vancouver Island in BC Canada, knowing my car lacks several things that makes an ES an ES like the 2.93 LSD, Air con, my car has a BBS Valance not an Mtech1, the rear spoiler is Mtech but not body colour matching... Pretty sure the ES was a North American thing not a Euro option.

    So I think the S was just added to the trunk at some point to make it look "cooler" and because the ES weren't available in 85 someone along the line insured it as an 86... I'm technically the 4th owner, however owner #2 never registered it before his passing, his friend helped the widow sell the rest of the guys collection and bought this one. He refreshed suspension, clutch, rad etc and drove it with the BMW club for a year or 2 but he's in his 80's and listed it in December, I knew the seller, had a friend inspect it and bought the car sight unseen.

    Here's the happy new car nerd the day after I got it, photo thanks to my dad. His dad, owned a Bronzit e30 sedan, he let me take the wheel on the last leg of the drive to my cottage more than a few times back in the day before I was of legal driving age. So I have fond memories of driving with my Grandad in an e30.


  • cb750r
    Noobie
    • Jan 2026
    • 16

    #2
    The car is in great shape, however I couldn't find record of how long ago in years the timing belt had been done, even though the mileage was low, a lot of the hoses and vac lines looked original. So I did a lot of preventative maintenance, with timing belt, tensioner, cam seal, water pump, hoses, cap/rotor/wires/plugs, fuel hoses, fuel filter, leaking power steering pump hose, vacuum lines all replaced. after a few drives I noticed the external fuel pump sounded odd, diagnosed that the in tank pump wasn't running so replaced that. feels a lot better, but I have an external pump ready to go on the shelf. I did the Diff and trans fluids, bled the brakes etc as well. Gotta do something in the winter months in Canada, I usually wrench on my motorcycles but this thing was a treat to work on. I put some Maxilite X spoke 16x7" and some Conti Extremes DWS06+ and this thing has better handling than it should! (it has pretty fresh Bilstein B4's and Eibach springs on it.) She's now drip free and drives great.

    Comment

    • cb750r
      Noobie
      • Jan 2026
      • 16

      #3
      Oh the last photo had the old wheels still... here's last weekends Sunday drive:

      Comment

      • 2mAn
        Señior Mod
        • Aug 2010
        • 20453

        #4
        Looks great and with the preventative maintenance done, this is good to go for a long time. Enjoy and welcome!

        Just needs some r3vlimited stickers now lol
        Simon
        Current Cars:
        -1966 Lotus Elan
        -1986 German Car
        -2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

        Make R3V Great Again -2020

        Comment

        • BadDays
          Advanced Member
          • Dec 2024
          • 104

          #5
          Good christ this is one sweet ETA! Welcome to the forums!

          Comment

          • cb750r
            Noobie
            • Jan 2026
            • 16

            #6
            Originally posted by BadDays
            Good christ this is one sweet ETA! Welcome to the forums!
            Thanks, it wasn’t cheap but I’m confident with how easy it’s been to work on and how little rust (one tiny bit where a rear mudguard was installed and started to rot the lip) that it was worth it.

            Comment

            • Lovespeed
              Noobie
              • Jan 2026
              • 37

              #7
              Welcome to da club! Those wheels were a necessary upgrade!

              Comment

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