I hopped on this bandwagon.

[CrJdMc]

Well the story is this, i had my old 1972 vw bus, (which is still mine) but i needed a daily. so i bought a datsun 280zx for 400, put another 100 into it and was planning on keeping it. I have been wanting an e30 for a really long time. I have often saved up for one, then blew it on the bus. but then i saw this 1987 325is, it needed a center support bearing and tranny mounts. It was listed for 1500, so just for the hell of it, i went and listed the datsun up for 1500. sold it the next day fro 1000, and i offered the guy with the e30 800, and now its mine. here is the list i made for the car.
-Fix C.S.B(already bought)
-Relpace tranny mounts(already bought)
-Lowering springs(already bought)
-Sell basket weaves and get something nice.
-Sand down the car and re-clear it.
-Mtech 1 Goodies.
-OEM light projectors.
-Taurus side skirts.
-Engine chip.
-Dash cover ( the stock one is cracked)
-///M interior goodies.
-Decent head unit and subs.
-Lower
The car already has a ebay cold air intake and a fart can exhaust, but the exhaust is getting changed soon. I am currently half way through installing the drive shaft. Now here are the pics.











So the reason i am on here is to get suggestions for the car. And please tell me how to treat this e30 right while on a budget. Thanks for reading guys!

[MaksV]

-Fix C.S.B(already bought)
-Relpace tranny mounts(already bought)
-Lowering springs(already bought)
-Sell basket weaves and get something 16x8.
-Sand down the car and re-clear it.
-Mtech 1 Goodies.
-OEM light projectors - these are called ellipsoidals or ellips for short
-Engine chip.
-Dash cover ( the stock one is cracked)
-///M interior goodies.
-Decent head unit.
-tuck diving boards
-Change Exhaust

Made a few adjustments to your list. good luck,.

[e30runner]

Adding to your list of easy and cheap mods.
-tint windows
-all red tail lights (i used VHT red lense paint from autozon/pepboys in 2-3 light coats)
-all black plate filler
-black kidney grill
-shadow line trim

[Dozyproductions]

man... the e30 is a bandwagon? Will be waiting for the band to lose money and separate due to un workable differences.

[CrJdMc]

Thanks al ot guys! and i am not sure how to tuck the diving boards. but i will figure it out soon enough i guess. and thanks a lot for the advice guys! this is going to be my daily in about 9 months when i get my license, so it will not be show car quality.

Edit: i cant believe that i didnt talk about that exhaust, i really dont like it at all. i am getting rid of that asap.

[jw 325ic]

This car shouldnt have clear. Just polish it and itll shine like new. And please dont put ford side skirts on it lol. Anyhow, beautiful car. Love the 87 325is, had one myself in red with tan but the front spoiler was missing.

[CrJdMc]

the hood does have clear for some reason. i am polishing the whole car. and the people who undercoated it got it all over the car so that will be a task The taurus side skirts are kinda fishy with me as well but from what i hear they look good! Thanks alot for the advice!

[rightcoastbias]

Good idea to replacing the drive shaft bearing and transmission mounts together as they work in tandem. I would suggest inspecting the guibo. As the CSB died, confirm the guibo is not worn or frayed and is installed properly with arrows pointing towards flanges (See Pelican's Guibo install). Also, make sure you preload the driveshaft (See Pelican's driveshaft bearing install).

Take this with a grain of salt, my philosophy is the best thing you can do for your car is to make it mechanically sound. A well-maintained e30 will provide more driving pleasure than any of the polished turds posted all over this forum.

Here's a nice mod list:
- Find out when the timing belt was last changed or change it.
- Track down any vacuum leaks and replace vacuum hoses.
- Replace front control arm bushings (OEM solid rubber; not E30 M3 offset).
- Check if the front control arm ball joint jackets are blown out. If so replace with new control arms with ball joints pre-installed.
- Inspect rear shock mounts. Replace if worn.
- Bleed the brakes.
You get the idea.

If you have time:
- Rear subframe, trailing arm and differential bushings. Very worth it.
- Rebuild the brake calipers (cheap and easy).

Adding to your list of easy and cheap mods.
-tint windows
-all red tail lights (i used VHT red lense paint from autozon/pepboys in 2-3 light coats)
-all black plate filler
-black kidney grill
-shadow line trim

This will look sick when you save up and paint it matte orange.

[mbonanni]

May I ask why you say not m3 offset CAB's?

[CrJdMc]

yes, i heard the timing belt would be a necessity. i would do that. and i would take my time on this thing, this will be my pride and joy. i may want to switch to ///M front and rear brakes in the future, and then have the 5x120 bolt pattern.

[FunfGan]

And please dont put ford side skirts on it lol.

Just ford engines, right ? :o

[rightcoastbias]

May I ask why you say not m3 offset CAB's?

E30 M3 offset bushings increase front caster for high speed stability. While this is good for sweeping corners of open road racing, if you're going to autocross or mountain runs, you simply don't need this. "It says M on it, it must be better."

[Court M3]

Agree maintenance is the first step, then make it look better. You have nine months to work on it.

Save and do it right the first time. Get is skirts from Blunt, no "for the time being" crap.

*edit* Nice find though

[CrJdMc]

thanks guys! and Stewart! you found my thread! lol

[agent]

i am not sure how to tuck the diving boards. but i will figure it out soon enough i guess.

If you want tucked DBs you should have bought a late car.

this is going to be my daily in about 9 months when i get my license, so it will not be show car quality.

Bandwagon? Really? Hopefully a real enthusiast will relieve you of it before it gets too far gone.