My $200 89 IX

[Conrad311]

Conrad311, this is some motivation for you, i refinished the wheels and now they look like:

Damn those are sexy, what did you use on the lips?

[straight6pwr]

Damn those are sexy, what did you use on the lips?

stripped clearcoat with aircraft stripper, sanded down 300 grit - 600 grit - 1000 grit - 1500 grit - light steel wool, then used an aluminum polish to shine them up. its not a mirror finish, which is what i wanted.

[Conrad311]

slow progress

So ive been crazy busy this last week with various jobs, mostly a 55 chevy truck im redoing the engine on. Any way ive been waiting for parts to come but i finally got around to getting the engine pulled. heres the progress

rear engine e30!?! not the best plan...



collecting a pile of parts


cyl head to be used


the exhaust was the easiest part for once :]


new brakes are in transit


all in one piece out the top is deffinately not the easiest way to take it out..


the blocks getting torn down tomorrow, and brought to the machine shop for a dip in the hot tank, and having the deck checked and machined if need be, and a good hone of the bores. New bearings and rings were just ordered. Gonna see about getting the front shafts splines lengthened while im at it. rather do it right the first time than take it apart again cause something went wrong. still gonna be under a grand when its back together :-D

About it for now. I got some 6x9 xplods fitted to the rear shelf, custom spacers to make em fit not the best look, but the stocks were shit and i have a spare shelf with premiums. and replaced the stock tape deck with an eclipse unit i had layin around too.

debating wether i should do the suspension now or wait till after winter in new england?? roads around me suck so i think im gonna wait on it.

Also pondering if i should get a skid plate or not.. any one know if the race skid plate fits on an ix?

[Conrad311]

Back from the dead!

Yes i know i dropped the ball on this one for a while but life got in the way, as it has a tendency to do. But this is not another project started and bailed on!

Never really stopped, just slowed way way down and have been chipping away at it.

So heres a quick recap of the last year:

Had this


Stripped this donor rwd lump for head and guts


took this redone head


box of pistons from rwd


cleaned up ix block


let them sit for 6 months


got some free time and added in a little of this


and some magic and made this:


and this girl has been waiting patiently while ive been trading lights and wheels to my black car... but she will be whole again soon :D


thats it for tonight. shes on the roll-back now, bringin her to work after the holiday weekend.

[Pantless Spency]

where is that oil cap from? looks sick.

[bernzpeed]

lucky bastard. good find. good luck with your rebuild.

[e30damen]

Sweet steal of a deal!

[Garageaholic]

Great rebuild. So after the initial $200, how much have you spent on the restoration?

[Conrad311]

where is that oil cap from? looks sick.

thats from a 2002 that was sitting in a local yard, stripped it and polished it

and for the total investment, im right around $750. probably will be some where around 11-1200 by the time shes titled, registered and insured. not to shabby, oh and countless hours of me going through every little thing

[Simon S]

mad props..

[cbouchez]

Nice deal!

[LuckyHenriksen]

Fucking shit. Greatest deal ever. Be sure to give it the ol' jack test once you get it back on the road, if it has a good VC I am gonna kill myself ;)

I just spent like 10 times more that you paid for that car on a wrecked one, just to get the t case with good VC

[FutureE30]

I can't believe this

[Motorsports]

thats from a 2002 that was sitting in a local yard, stripped it and polished it

and for the total investment, im right around $750. probably will be some where around 11-1200 by the time shes titled, registered and insured. not to shabby, oh and countless hours of me going through every little thing

Still a sweet deal, am looking for a 4dr IX myself.

[Conrad311]

so I didn't get her in the shop to day, im dead in the water with a w124 diesel benz that i don't have a supper-skinny long-dong 22mil diesel injector socket for and cant get the leaking injectors out of. anyway, I just bolted up all the rest of the goods for the engine, intake, timing stuff, pulleys, ect

crappy cell pic cause im a tard and lost the camera (note 76 el dorado vert getting a new top in the background) 502 ci of fluffy junk ;)


and started doing other piddly stuff for it new ball joints in the CAs. this was one of the most stubborn ive ever encountered...


hopefully ill have a much better update tomorrow :)