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Picked up my first e30

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    Picked up my first e30

    After trying to find some advice here and searching for the past month I picked up one tonight. It's a 91 318is. Odometer stopped working at 104K and the owner said it's had maybe 40K miles since so hopefully under 150K total. Has black sport seats in great condition. Driver side bolster only has one small crack and both sides have a bit of the back leather coming off. Should be fixable if caught early.

    The car appears to be originally from Germany judging by the German business cards for the original salesman and the fact that when I pulled the center console up, there was a .50 German coin! Interior is in pretty decent shape, dash is cracked as per usual, the gauge and stereo bezel needs put back together right and a thorough detailing. It also appears to have been a southern car it's whole life till a few years ago so there is practically no rust at all! Has a UCC short shifter which feels awesome. Newer Bilstein struts and H&R springs.

    The bad-
    paint is faded. I detail cars so I'm not too worried, it should come out pretty good when I'm done.
    Needs a new muffler welded in, pretty loud currently.
    And the worst of it. Took a small hit to the front some time back, dented the corner of the hood and fender and cracked the grill (he gave me new ones). And the other day the lower valance apparently fell off and got drug for a bit . Going to fix what I can of that and hit the pick and pull to see if I have any luck or browse here for a decent IS valance and/or lip.

    Unfortunately in my excitement and getting in while dark I only snapped a few and nothing of the whole car.

    The worst of it


    Seats


    Interior coming out


    Ohhh looky here!


    More pictures to follow. I've got some decent plans but mostly just bringing it back to life for now.
    91 318is M50 swapped
    05 Honda Pilot

    24V swap thread
    http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=302524

    #2
    Looks decent. Good luck in your journey. Bon voyage!

    Comment


      #3
      Well here it is.





      Interior looking much better.


      Seats all out. Cleaned up and treated with leather conditioner. Cleaned the seat rail and sliders too.



      Hopefully getting a new muffler welded on today or tomorrow then it's onto the exterior which will be a chore and finding a new front bumper.
      91 318is M50 swapped
      05 Honda Pilot

      24V swap thread
      http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=302524

      Comment


        #4
        good progress, welcome
        sigpic

        Comment


          #5
          Welcome aboard. Nice start!

          COTM

          Comment


            #6
            I like that shift knob alot, and the car certainly has potential!
            Originally posted by Wh33lhop
            If you actually stay within your budget, you are not a true car enthusiast. True story.

            Comment


              #7
              Thanks guys. New muffler tomorrow. Going to try and find a bumper this weekend. See if I can't pull the fender out a bit. Doesn't need to be perfect. Put the new grill in and repaint grills and kidneys. Put the interior back together and then start buffing the paint. The paint is faded but looks like it still has plenty of life if given a bit of TLC. Picking up a roof rack off a friend too. I ride mostly BMX but also road and mountain. Doesn't seem like I can fit much of a bike in the trunk of this thing, ha.
              Last edited by Nick_S; 04-14-2011, 09:54 AM.
              91 318is M50 swapped
              05 Honda Pilot

              24V swap thread
              http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=302524

              Comment


                #8
                Nice. I thought about emailing that guy. I hope you didnt pay asking price, its was a little steep.

                That paint will come back to life pretty easy.


                Originally posted by vlad
                Do you know anybody else who built that many bad ass E30s?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Hick View Post
                  Nice. I thought about emailing that guy. I hope you didnt pay asking price, its was a little steep.

                  That paint will come back to life pretty easy.
                  No I would have never given that. Even if he hadn't run the bumper over, ha. Aside from being neglected for a bit it's in good condition, it's going to look 10x better when I'm done with it. Just looking for a new bumper if you know anyone selling one.
                  91 318is M50 swapped
                  05 Honda Pilot

                  24V swap thread
                  http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=302524

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Ha ha I remember seeing that for sale too. How somebody forgets to bolt a bumper on is beyond me. At least it looks like it went to a good home. Looks good so far!
                    sigpic

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by mtechrisII View Post
                      Ha ha I remember seeing that for sale too. How somebody forgets to bolt a bumper on is beyond me. At least it looks like it went to a good home. Looks good so far!
                      Ha yea I was wondering that myself. Made it pretty easy for haggling on price though. Figure I'll pick one up somewhere. And def at a good a home. I tend to take pretty good care of my vehicles. Here's what's normally in my garage. It's an 02 SVT Focus with 150K, supercharged etc etc.

                      quick cell phone pic
                      91 318is M50 swapped
                      05 Honda Pilot

                      24V swap thread
                      http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=302524

                      Comment


                        #12
                        nice focus! ive always liked those


                        Originally posted by vlad
                        Do you know anybody else who built that many bad ass E30s?

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Well got my exhaust sorted out. Went with a dynamax super turbo muffler as recommend by here as well as I ran one on my Jeep. Cheap and sound decent.

                          After quieting down the car I could hear that one of my wheel bearings is humming pretty good so that's next one the list. Overall though from what I've driven it so far it's great. Love the way it drives, the gearbox feels great, LOVE the seats. Can't wait to start bringing the paint back to life and fixing the light damage up front.
                          91 318is M50 swapped
                          05 Honda Pilot

                          24V swap thread
                          http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=302524

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Subscribed!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Sub'd, interested to see how the paint turns out for you

                              Comment

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