My 318is mini project

[MattBimmer]

Hey Guys I bought this car from a guy who works for BMW at the Spartanburg plant. When I bought it, it had a couple dents on the fenders, a drilled area right behind passenger door that made a dent and rust spot. How it got there is beyond me. The tail lights are aftermarket and will likely be exchanged for stocks later on, but I havent found any for a good deal yet. One got water in it and rusted some bulbs out, but I cleaned it today and replaced the bulbs so now the tail lights look the same again.

ANY WAY here we go the PICS:
The day I brought it home


The dents can be seen on both fenders and the drill spot as well. Also the lip and fog panel is missing.



Dents are gone, then I moved to little things before school.

Started Removing the foam heat shield as it made a huge mess in the engine bay.

[MattBimmer]

Didn't know how to put all the pics in

I finished off cleaning the Heat Foam, and cleaned up the interior and try to clean the carpet etc. Sanded the head gasket, and then painted the spark plug cover black with red BMW lettering.







Also you can see where that drill spot was taken out. Looks perfect now.

[MattBimmer]

Then realized the control arms and tie rods were dying

Like I said I had to replace the control arms and tie rods as I would hit pot holes bumps etc and the steering would go haywire. I bought an FCP kit and I am really pleased since installation. So took it to my buddies, also my Girlfriend bought me some fog lights to install in place of those panels.



The E28 is my buds

My Girlfriend gave me a Euro plate, and it represents my Grandpa's intials and birthdate. He gave me my first E30 and I unfortunately sold it. This car is trying to be rebuilt as a tribute to him, so don't hate on the bottlecaps later on.

This is it with the fogs, control arms, license plate installed.

[MattBimmer]

After my steering alignment the radiator cracked

Driving home from the Alignment shop the cars plastic radiator sides cracked. I got lucky and found a new one online for 75 bucks. I got it and installed it, then bled the system, HOPEFULLY I did the bleed correctly and got all the bubbles out. It has done great so far so the new radiator is huge relief to have done. (Remember I just started wrenching) I am a newbie at working on these things so every little project is a step towards learning more about how to work on these E30s.







Then I found a set of bottlecaps to bring it back towards stock. The wheels and tires were only 100 bucks and the Tread on them were great!

My Dad liked it so much he went and bought an 87 325i. (one owner with 103k miles)

[MattBimmer]

FINALLY This is how it sits now

My Girlfriend posing with the Bottlecaps. Still left to do is the Tailights and the Lip. I have a lip, I just have to get it put on.

[LuckyHenriksen]

Nice job cleaning up that car. You should find some 14'' weaves for it! Also, if you are looking for a set of factory tails I have several for sale, and don't mind shipping.

[MattBimmer]

Yeah I know I let a set of weaves on michelins slip through my fingers a while back. And My zip code is 29671. PM me about prices. Also do the tails you're selling have the light tray as well?

[Eurospec]

Those bottlecaps look so much better... whew, what a relief.

Keep it up!

[Pantless Spency]

Those bottlecaps look so much better... whew, what a relief.

Keep it up!

yeah bottle caps are much better than those atrocious wheels that were on there, those looked like they belonged on a ford focus haha.

keep up the good work that car is looking very nice! i wish my tan carpet was that immaculate :P

[MG325i]

nice slick top! keep up the good work. wish i had a girlfriend that bought parts for my e30 ;)

[!AjHoWzA!]

Very nice! It does look a lot better with those bottle caps on it.
Any more plans for it? Possible suspension swap?

[MattBimmer]

Yeah I will be back to work in the summer and I will be looking to buy some Billies and HR springs. But during the school semester I wanna clean all the interior really well and try and get those tail lights swapped.

[Nick_S]

Great start. Looks much better already!

[davem]

Nice work man and don't worry, if you need help this website is like an encyclopaedia for these cars.

[MattBimmer]

Update: The tail lights are gone! Got the new ones in there and they are the factory and are AMAZING!
I have to give a shout out to LuckyHenrikson! He sold me the tails for a great price, they shipped fast, and I would definitely refer anyone to buy things from him. 100 percent feedback from me.