My first e30: 1990 325is bronzit

[Stephen]

Looks good, good sir

[ak-]

A+ Brett.
Looking forward to see the end result :up:

& let me know if you want some fog light standard bulbs on the cheap.
I have a brand new extra pair that I don't need, and my used ones that I won't be needing soon.

[mammoth_e30]

now thats dedication. quite a bit of work, good job.

if you want to keep your speedo working semi correctly, use this for tire sizes.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Thanks, i like how that tire size calculator shows the width change as well.

Looks like a very good platform to start on. As soon as you have maintenance completely aside, definitely consider painting your side & rear lower rocker panels.

It'll freshen up the look of your car.

Yeah the more I look at things the more i want to paint the whole car, we will see.

the fonts in this thread are trippin' me out. Congrats on having a bronzit with the shiny side still up :)

That font is a bit different as almost every post uses Veranda, I've always liked the arial narrow font. you ever hit up any of the socal meets? I was working with robmespeedy on saturday and somehow your name came up.

[kronus]

the fonts in this thread are trippin' me out. Congrats on having a bronzit with the shiny side still up :)

[Bimmerista]

Looks like a very good platform to start on. As soon as you have maintenance completely aside, definitely consider painting your side & rear lower rocker panels.

It'll freshen up the look of your car.

[Kershaw]

even sold my 2008 Acura TL type-S to give me more cash flow.

now thats dedication. quite a bit of work, good job.

if you want to keep your speedo working semi correctly, use this for tire sizes.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

[mammoth_e30]

With that said, hello all! I’ve been on here a bit and read enough posts to know being a noob on here can be dangerous when it comes to making stupid comments and asking those types of questions, but sometime the most obvious things are harder to figure out.

Anyways many of you have already helped me with a few things on my car and you have my thanks. When I purchased the car the guy had a lot of verbal info but some of it was hard to confirm before he flew off to his new job in Singapore.

Anyways here’s my story et cetera, et cetera….

Bought the car in September ’09 thru craigslist. I had read a lot about the bronzit color being hated on but when I saw the car something just told me it was a good place to start. At the time I didn’t need it as a DD and I knew it needed work but it was the best local one available at the time and was basically an impulse purchase. The car came with:

226k estimated at 240k because odometer stopped
5 speed conversion with 4.10 LSD (late model tranny)
Vogtland sport springs
Bilstein sport shocks
Euro HID smileys
Clarion headunit with 10" sub
Momo steering wheel
MarkD performance chip
14” refurbished BBS basket weaves & 10mm rear spacers


Pics are old, but the only exterior changes are my paint getting worse, fogs (no more racing mesh) and tires. Notice I have no pics looking down from above where all the clear coat is peeling away.







The list of work it needed quickly grew once I took it to get it smoged. Bam! Exhaust leak, needed new catalytic converter, and more oil leaks than I had originally anticipated. At first I took it to a local BMW mechanic because I had very few contacts but have since started doing a lot of the basic work on my own or doing it with a friend. Here is what I have accomplished so far:

Engine / Drivetrain:

• New catalytic converter
• Fixed exhaust leak at manifold
• Oil filter housing reseal
• Oil pan gasket
• Oil Pressure sensor
• Timing belt, water pump, front engine seals & drive belts
• Alternator (after the new battery doh!)
• Fuel filter
• Clutch slave cylinder
• Swapped for lower mileage 4.10 LSD (100k)
• New spark plugs (NKG), distributor cap, rotor and coil (all Bosch) and Ireland Engineering wires
• Replaced damaged AMF
• K&N air filter

Suspension / Wheels etc:

• Pagid Red front and rear break pads
• BavAuto Polyurethane Front control arm bushings
• Replaced front passenger wheel hub
• Falken RT-615 Tires
• Replaced damaged basket weave

Electrical:

• New battery
• Fixed odometer
• Fog lights
• Temp sensor
• Misc switches replaced
• 3 way Eclipse kick panel speakers
• Went back to stock rear deck speakers (from clunky 6x9 boxes)
• Replaced check light panel

Interior:

• Carpet cleaned (previous owner was a smoker)
• Leatherette Sport Seats
• Glove box latch fixed
• E-brake center console replaced

And the to-do list:

Suspension:

• Ireland Engineering (or comparable) sway bars & reinforcement kit
• Ireland Engineering Front strut brace and possibly rear at some point.
• Replace bushing as needed

Engine:

• Clean out the engine bay (looks like it may have never of been done)
• Possible problem with power steering pump but still working
• AC is acting up, need to address

Electrical:

• Fog light bulbs
• Repair service indicator board

Interior / Exterior:

• Non-cracked dashboard
• Euro grills
• Replace pitted windshield
• Clear coat from a previous paint job is quickly peeling away. When the car gets painted this summer I will do the following:
• New IS lip (already in my possession)
• Take the bumper trim and moldings back to black
• Install and paint lower front valence (bent from curb before purchased, hence no lip either)
• Repaint blacked out chrome due to half assed job by previous owner

I am leaving many of the cosmetic items till this summer when I have got all anticipated mechanical deficiencies out of the way and have it prepped to be a DD/trackable car.

I’ve really enjoyed working on the car and have become nothing short of obsessed compared with many of the other cars I have owned in the past, even sold my 2008 Acura TL type-S to give me more cash flow.

Cheers!
Brett k