This is my first e30 after owning many BMWs including an e36 M3/4/5 and an e39 M5. It was quite a departure from what I was used to, but I'm glad I made the purchase. It's a 1991 325i sedan, automatic (ugh), Sterling Silver Metallic over "Silver" Leather, limited slip, and glass sunroof, currently 114,7xx miles. You'll see in the first pictures that it had some good bones, but a horrible respray with tons of metallic saturation and third grade masking. It took me about a week to get rid of the over-spray. It was on EVERYTHING!
I detail as a hobby, so out came the Flex, Menzerna SIP, 106ff, Klasse AIO, some old blue Zymol, and FMJ. These products and a full weekend cleaned it up very nicely. I then shadowlined the chrome trim and other trim that should not have been painted with Plasti-Dip which also made a huge difference in appearance. For some reason, the body shop painted one of the winglets(?) behind the rear windows and left the other one with black primer. Since I didn't have any Sterling Silver spray paint at the time, I painted both with the Plasti-Dip and I actually liked it.
Now it was time to take care of some long overdue routine maintenance and some needed upgrades. New spark plugs, wires, distributor, rotor button, synthetic oil change, valve adjustment, valve cover gasket, timing belt and tensioner, viton oil seal, oil pan gasket, water pump, and ICV got it running like a champ!
I then focused on the suspension with new Billy Sports, H&R Sports, new sways, tie rods, control arm bushings, front and rear rotors, pads, and ss lines, front and rear strut braces. I also went with a freshly refinished set of authentic 16x8 ACS Type 1 on 205/50 - 16 Conti ExtremeContact DWS. Great tires btw, highly recommended.
For the interior, I sourced a set of MK2 Recaros and a M-Tech II wheel. Very tasteful and functional upgrades IMO. Those Recaros are superior to the comfort seats in every way.
I also addressed the lower portion of the exterior with a few coats of truck bedliner spray on the lower rockers, a full respray of the lower rear valence in Sterling Silver Metallic and truck bedliner spray. I then installed euro trim all around, a set of all red tails, Hella euro smileys with 6k HIDs, and euro grills.
I think I've got it to where it should be reliable and fun for a few years while I save for a S50/S52 swap. Thanks for looking, I hope you like the transformation!
I detail as a hobby, so out came the Flex, Menzerna SIP, 106ff, Klasse AIO, some old blue Zymol, and FMJ. These products and a full weekend cleaned it up very nicely. I then shadowlined the chrome trim and other trim that should not have been painted with Plasti-Dip which also made a huge difference in appearance. For some reason, the body shop painted one of the winglets(?) behind the rear windows and left the other one with black primer. Since I didn't have any Sterling Silver spray paint at the time, I painted both with the Plasti-Dip and I actually liked it.
Now it was time to take care of some long overdue routine maintenance and some needed upgrades. New spark plugs, wires, distributor, rotor button, synthetic oil change, valve adjustment, valve cover gasket, timing belt and tensioner, viton oil seal, oil pan gasket, water pump, and ICV got it running like a champ!
I then focused on the suspension with new Billy Sports, H&R Sports, new sways, tie rods, control arm bushings, front and rear rotors, pads, and ss lines, front and rear strut braces. I also went with a freshly refinished set of authentic 16x8 ACS Type 1 on 205/50 - 16 Conti ExtremeContact DWS. Great tires btw, highly recommended.
For the interior, I sourced a set of MK2 Recaros and a M-Tech II wheel. Very tasteful and functional upgrades IMO. Those Recaros are superior to the comfort seats in every way.
I also addressed the lower portion of the exterior with a few coats of truck bedliner spray on the lower rockers, a full respray of the lower rear valence in Sterling Silver Metallic and truck bedliner spray. I then installed euro trim all around, a set of all red tails, Hella euro smileys with 6k HIDs, and euro grills.
I think I've got it to where it should be reliable and fun for a few years while I save for a S50/S52 swap. Thanks for looking, I hope you like the transformation!
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