First E30 / Thank you R3V members

[jtharp]

Hello everyone. I bought my first e30 this past year, selling my e46 to enjoy the vintage, SOHC magic of a high-mileage M20.

With the help of several members on this forum, this car is feeling newer every day, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country tomorrow. I just passed 250,000 miles this past week, and, with the exception of a front cam seal leak and a dirty engine bay, this car is tip top, doesn't smoke, and has never failed to start.

Here's what I've done thus far:

1. High Beams didn't work (replaced with higher amp fuse)
2. 17" wheels it came with didn't suit the car (bought 15" euroweaves and spacers to fit the front offset)
3. Euroweaves missing 2 center caps (purchased off another R3V member last year)
4. Steering was loose and rattling (DIY fix based on forum advice, feels brand new)
5. Small leak around trunk seal (tiny rust hole-- JB Weld for the win)
6. Front speakers sucked (Polk dB shallow mount 6.5" coaxials fit the factory location without modification)
7. Corbeau seats in front were nice, but I was looking for a stock look. Sold to a R3V member and bought new black sports from another R3V member.
8. Car leaked gas all over the road when filled completely (20 min fix with an O-Ring on the top of the tank)
9. Dinan chip
10. K&N Filter
11. DIY Valve Adjustment
12. New Platinum plugs
13. Transmission seals (this, I confess, I left to Signature BMW in Kirkland, WA)
14. Replaced airbag steering wheel with Mtech I wheel purchased from another R3V member

Here's a few recent pics. Overall, I just wanted to say thanks for all of the help, and I hope to learn enough about these cars to return the favor some day.


-JT

[agent]

Good job! There is certainly lots of good info available here once you figure out how to weed out the nonsensical jibberish.

[samiam3356]

Congrats on the pick up!

[StereoInstaller1]

Congrats on the car...but you need to get busy taking some decent pictures, those are crappy. Can hardly tell what color or condition the thing is in!

Don't forget that that whole "community" thing includes YOU sharing...and shitty pics don't share much...so get on with the whole "good" pics thing.

You plan on making some of the meets we have up here? If you are in Seattle, there are bunches of meets, filled with weirdos who like these crappy old cars too. Go say Hi, you will never believe how this forum can change your life.

Welcome to R3V!

Luke

Welcome to R3V!

[KrayJoeArmstrong]

what tyre size on your car with the euroweaves?

[jtharp]

what tyre size on your car with the euroweaves?

Pretty sure they're 205/55/15's, all season falkens for now, as the rims came with two of them with decent tread left.

[MoreMayhem]

You sound like me when I talk about my e30. It's like a love affair.

What O-Ring did you replace on your gas tank? I get gas leaking when tank is full too, and the dealer was no help...

-MM

[jtharp]

Congrats on the car...but you need to get busy taking some decent pictures, those are crappy. Can hardly tell what color or condition the thing is in!

Don't forget that that whole "community" thing includes YOU sharing...and shitty pics don't share much...so get on with the whole "good" pics thing.

You plan on making some of the meets we have up here? If you are in Seattle, there are bunches of meets, filled with weirdos who like these crappy old cars too. Go say Hi, you will never believe how this forum can change your life.

Welcome to R3V!

Luke

Welcome to R3V!

Hi Luke,

Thanks! You're absolutely right... It wasn't until I started this thread that I realized I've only taken a few pics of the car. There's quite a few more things I'd like to do aesthetically and mechanically, and I think this will be the summer to put in the time and money to get it to be truly photo-worthy.

I'll keep that in mind about the meets as well. It'd be good to meet a few like minded enthusiasts

BTW, it's a sterling silver 1990 325is, black leather/vinyl interior (fronts that I bought were vinyl), short shifter installed by previous owner, stock suspension, stock bodywork, stock m20 (with exception to the dinan chip and k&n).

Plans for this year are:

-Install new front LCAB's (already purchased)
-Bilstein sports / H&R springs
-Dist cap/rotor
-Exhaust manifold gaskets (mine just began to disintegrate at the spark plug heatshields)
-New passenger front fender (PO hit something and dented it up a bit)
-New IS front lip
-Deep clean the engine bay
-Clean and paint valve cover satin black
-Build and install custom sub box to fire through the ski pass
-Install new stereo and amp to crossover and amplify the F&R speakers


Future plans:
-S50/52 or an M52B28 (depending on $$$)
-Refresh the fading factory paint and repair rust bubbles on sunroof (again depending on $$$)

I honestly think I may never sell this car. It's too much fun to have for so little money.

[cbouchez]

S50/52 or an M52B28 (depending on $$$)


Same here ^^^

[jtharp]

You sound like me when I talk about my e30. It's like a love affair.

What O-Ring did you replace on your gas tank? I get gas leaking when tank is full too, and the dealer was no help...

-MM

Well... As of this morning, I've apparently got more work to do, as I now have a small lake of gas under the passenger side of my car. However, it's not smelling nearly as bad "in" the car as it did before, so perhaps I've solved half of the problem. The part I replaced was part #7 at the link below. I know the leak is coming from the top of my tank, so I might replace the sender seal as well to see if that cures it.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AJ93&mospid=47318&btnr=16_0046&hg=16&fg=05