New to BMW E30s

[Jinaman]

Howdy yall ive been a big fan of E30s since i was a kid, for last last few years ive been running a hand me down Honda 4 door, not a bad car but a little on the bland side. Last month after collecting my return I decided to buy a 1984 325e.
I fell in love with the car the moment i saw it roll up. It needs its fair share of work but overall i feel its not a bad start. I have no end of leaks im still looking for, minor leak on the hg, thrashed sports seats and bad clear coat on top. But so far no rust, tranny shifts super smooth, lsd rear and clean title.
So far ive jb weld patched the tails, ordered fel-pro top end kit, arp studs, Started recovering the sport seats in suede, and painted the hood black as a temp fix.
Unfortunately this is a budget build as most college cars are, but i intent to eventually making the e30 a autox stormer.
Any opinions or comments

A shot of the day i picked it up


After shots with minor progress


















A few shots of the the work so far

[Pantless Spency]

nice car!
and is that poop on your tail light? haha.
welcome.

[619E30]

Welcome! Can't wait to see some progress

[325ix]

That looks like a very decent start. I hope you did the timing belt! Is it an auto or manual?

Good luck and welcome

[Jinaman]

nice car!
and is that poop on your tail light? haha.
welcome.

Lol its JB weld my first attempt at fixing my trunk leaks, turns out my seal is bad too

The headgasket is bad so ive got it parked while i wait on parts, in the mean time im using this rainy weather to find my leaks but everytime i plug one i find more water, i found some in my glove box today????

No gigantic plans out of the box yet, going to overhaul the eta motor then dump the remaining cash into suspension and maybe a couple new speakers
8-)

BTW anyone have a recomended brand for a tbelt kit ie belt pump and tensioner

[DREWHALL]

I've used Continental belt and tensioner kits, for the pump get OEM or a known quality aftermarket. As long as it's metal impeller. Try germanautoparts.com if you haven't already. They're one of my main suppliers, customer service is great and prices aren't bad either. Could also use blunttech.com, pm blunt on here he can help you out. You may have better luck with obscure items through him.

[5Toes]

Bremerton guy?

[Jinaman]

I've used Continental belt and tensioner kits, for the pump get OEM or a known quality aftermarket. As long as it's metal impeller. Try germanautoparts.com if you haven't already. They're one of my main suppliers, customer service is great and prices aren't bad either. Could also use blunttech.com, pm blunt on here he can help you out. You may have better luck with obscure items through him.

Awesome thanks, ya I'm planning on staying stock eta for a while and want to make sure this rebuild lasts a while. I was planning a 327i build but cant find a lot of literature on it. Also i was told by a guy on CL I needed a ES block

Bremerton guy?

I wish, I'm across the sound in Bothell. But Iv'e been trying to find the local E30 crowd.

[DarkWing6]

I wish, I'm across the sound in Bothell. But Iv'e been trying to find the local E30 crowd.

Move to Tacoma, we're all down here. ;)


Looks like a nice start and you're making good headway. Trunk leaks can be a ton of things. Start by pulling the taillights and checking the condition of the gaskets going around them. Sometimes even simply cleaning them can fix it. Also check the drains along the sides and make sure they aren't clogged (I think they were there on '84s).

[Jinaman]

Move to Tacoma, we're all down here. ;)


Looks like a nice start and you're making good headway. Trunk leaks can be a ton of things. Start by pulling the taillights and checking the condition of the gaskets going around them. Sometimes even simply cleaning them can fix it. Also check the drains along the sides and make sure they aren't clogged (I think they were there on '84s).

Lol i might be moving out there this summer
So far on the trunk i found the drives tail leaks, i tried patching it but there is still water in it. the gasket was soaked so i dried it and sprayed it with underbody coating ( trying to be cleaver) i think that was the problem, The trunk seal is toast, as for the drains they all seem plugged and painted over. i didnt want to pull those unless i really needed to.

As for the tbelt kit, weres a good priced place to pick those up

Got a porsche 944 front valance in a gold similar to the bronzit color for free today, figured id try butchering it to see how that would look, its not as agressive as the is valance but its also free, if it looks like crap i can always scrap it

Similar to this

[kingston]

You can do a 327i swap with your curent block, but it's not ideal, due to the ETA pistons. There's lots if info on this boartd if you search 327i swap.

I'd also recommend Levent at GutenParts (ZM Blue Devil on this forum) for parts, both OEM and rare "Unicorn" parts. He's tremendous to work with.

Welcome aboard!