Hey guys, been a member here for ohhhh, over 6 years now.....for some reason the mods let me post now :hitler: lol.
Thought I'd introduce you to my personal money-pit.
'89 eurospec 325 ix Touring, 220,000kms
It was imported 2004, I bought it in October 2006 for 10k. Should have paid ALOT less for the shape it was in but me being very impressionable buying my very first car at 22 and knowing NOTHING about bmw's or anything car related for that matter, I bought a car I shouldn't have. I was waaaay in over my head lol. DO I regret it? not in the slightest bit. I've made alot of good friends because of it and I wouldn't trade anything for how it makes me feel whenever I get behind the wheel. I love it.
Recaro Interior....YES the real Recaro
Headlight wiper system (not working)
Headlight aim (not working)
Individual Paint (Malachitegrun Metallic)
One of the first photo-sessions
where it spent most of it's time (at the shop)
Set of Civic rims I bought for winter thinking they would fit......nuhuhh.....YEah I was that much of a sorry newb lol
Ended up driving on the AZEV's that winter with Toyo Proxes.....not fun.
MOre photoshoot
My girlfriend (now wife) did an oil painting of this picture...
2 of the AZEV rims got destroyed (drivers side) after hitting a pothole at 130....
Picked up a set of MSR 103 reps with tires for dirt cheap
more photoshoot
rolling shot
not enough room on the road on one of the bimmer cruises here in Toronto a couple years ago
sanded it and repainted, not a big deal, looks like new.
The rims were starting to get to me with the rash
Good as new
Fun with a clay bar
Dr. Colorchip is amazing
Before
After
The right side of the valance used to look like the left side
When I got the car underneath the seats were full of cancer (small hole in the floor under the clutch)
so I ripped them out and grinded down/cleaned all the rust, repainted and done.
Interior shots
The bad news
It had oil in the coolant summer of 2010...
Took it to a Performance driving school in Sept 2010 at Mosport GP. It drove flawlessly.
Still drove like a top the next spring, I would flush the coolant every now and again and it was fine. Didn't have the funds or the time to rip off the head and start those kinds of repairs so I drove it till it finally went.
I went to the track again.....Well it finally went around turn 1 at Mosport, spilled coolant all over my tires and sent me into the inside wall.....F uck. Should have seen that coming. Well I kinda did (the hoses were sweating idiot) but justification is a powerful thing.
That was July...
Since then I bought a house (which had to be renovated), got married, bought a dog, and now have a kid on the way so the car was put on hold till now.
It's sitting in my tiny garage on jackstands waiting for life to be put back into it.
The old head was cracked
can you see it?
Have a shiny new rebuilt head waiting to go in
Tried a sandblasting with baking soda adventure one night....It worked okay but made more of a mess than what it cleaned.
what the engine look like before
What it looks like currently
IN the end I decided to get the valve cover, intake, t-stat housing and upper timing cover hot tanked cause the "mechanic in a can" degreaser shi t wasn't working for me.
I'll be getting all those back next week, hopefully along with rebuilt injectors I found on ebay.
Right now the new hoses, gasket kit, timing belt kit, and head are collecting dust until the injectors arrive.
Then I'll tackle the body damage. I bought a bumper/valance, 2 new fenders from the dealer (dirt cheap) and a hood from a buddy of mine. That will be painted/installed hopefully come spring time
Repair list since I've owned it
2 sets of CV joints
both ball joints
motor mounts
Fuel filter
exhaust
front subframe bushings
4 Koni adjustable shocks
Shock mounts
euro grill
kidneys
front euro bumper trim
foglights
dist. cap and rotor
fan clutch
timing belt
water pump
R12 to R134 air conditioning
oxygen sensor
4 rotors/pads
replaced under steering wheel dash.
rear speaker covers
tailgate shocks
hood shock
emblems
2 oil pan gaskets
transfer case fluid/diff fluid changed.
It's been a ride. I'll post progress as it comes.
Cheers!
Thought I'd introduce you to my personal money-pit.
'89 eurospec 325 ix Touring, 220,000kms
It was imported 2004, I bought it in October 2006 for 10k. Should have paid ALOT less for the shape it was in but me being very impressionable buying my very first car at 22 and knowing NOTHING about bmw's or anything car related for that matter, I bought a car I shouldn't have. I was waaaay in over my head lol. DO I regret it? not in the slightest bit. I've made alot of good friends because of it and I wouldn't trade anything for how it makes me feel whenever I get behind the wheel. I love it.
Recaro Interior....YES the real Recaro
Headlight wiper system (not working)
Headlight aim (not working)
Individual Paint (Malachitegrun Metallic)
One of the first photo-sessions
where it spent most of it's time (at the shop)
Set of Civic rims I bought for winter thinking they would fit......nuhuhh.....YEah I was that much of a sorry newb lol
Ended up driving on the AZEV's that winter with Toyo Proxes.....not fun.
MOre photoshoot
My girlfriend (now wife) did an oil painting of this picture...
2 of the AZEV rims got destroyed (drivers side) after hitting a pothole at 130....
Picked up a set of MSR 103 reps with tires for dirt cheap
more photoshoot
rolling shot
not enough room on the road on one of the bimmer cruises here in Toronto a couple years ago
sanded it and repainted, not a big deal, looks like new.
The rims were starting to get to me with the rash
Good as new
Fun with a clay bar
Dr. Colorchip is amazing
Before
After
The right side of the valance used to look like the left side
When I got the car underneath the seats were full of cancer (small hole in the floor under the clutch)
so I ripped them out and grinded down/cleaned all the rust, repainted and done.
Interior shots
The bad news
It had oil in the coolant summer of 2010...
Took it to a Performance driving school in Sept 2010 at Mosport GP. It drove flawlessly.
Still drove like a top the next spring, I would flush the coolant every now and again and it was fine. Didn't have the funds or the time to rip off the head and start those kinds of repairs so I drove it till it finally went.
I went to the track again.....Well it finally went around turn 1 at Mosport, spilled coolant all over my tires and sent me into the inside wall.....F uck. Should have seen that coming. Well I kinda did (the hoses were sweating idiot) but justification is a powerful thing.
That was July...
Since then I bought a house (which had to be renovated), got married, bought a dog, and now have a kid on the way so the car was put on hold till now.
It's sitting in my tiny garage on jackstands waiting for life to be put back into it.
The old head was cracked
can you see it?
Have a shiny new rebuilt head waiting to go in
Tried a sandblasting with baking soda adventure one night....It worked okay but made more of a mess than what it cleaned.
what the engine look like before
What it looks like currently
IN the end I decided to get the valve cover, intake, t-stat housing and upper timing cover hot tanked cause the "mechanic in a can" degreaser shi t wasn't working for me.
I'll be getting all those back next week, hopefully along with rebuilt injectors I found on ebay.
Right now the new hoses, gasket kit, timing belt kit, and head are collecting dust until the injectors arrive.
Then I'll tackle the body damage. I bought a bumper/valance, 2 new fenders from the dealer (dirt cheap) and a hood from a buddy of mine. That will be painted/installed hopefully come spring time
Repair list since I've owned it
2 sets of CV joints
both ball joints
motor mounts
Fuel filter
exhaust
front subframe bushings
4 Koni adjustable shocks
Shock mounts
euro grill
kidneys
front euro bumper trim
foglights
dist. cap and rotor
fan clutch
timing belt
water pump
R12 to R134 air conditioning
oxygen sensor
4 rotors/pads
replaced under steering wheel dash.
rear speaker covers
tailgate shocks
hood shock
emblems
2 oil pan gaskets
transfer case fluid/diff fluid changed.
It's been a ride. I'll post progress as it comes.
Cheers!
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