318is Bastlerauto (2.3-16 content)

[fourmotioneer]

My MK1 GTI can be buzzy on the highway, which doesn't bother me, but sort of limits its usefulness among those with more reasonable standards of comfort. So, during summer of 2012 I started looking for something a bit more reasonable/fun and honed in on the e30.

I had always wanted a 318is, so I when I found one for sale an hour north of me, I drove up to check it out. It was the first e30 that I had checked out, and I ended up buying it.

The car wasn't perfect when I bought it. It had the following "issues" when I bought it:

• No stereo
• Black seats in a tan interior
• No headliner
• Cheap, useless HID's
• Rough idle
• Cracked HVAC panel
• Fogs not functioning
• Cracked dash
• Extremely weak wiper motor
• Broken interior door latches
• Seized driver door lock
• Missing front lip spoiler
• A bit of rust under battery tray area
• Weak subframe bushings
• Dented driver fender
• Torn driver seatbelt
• Dented trunklid

So far, I've addressed the following

• Replaced dash
• Replaced headliner
• Replaced stereo with OEM stereo
• Rebuilt driver door lock
• Replaced HVAC panel
• Replaced black seats with tan seats
• Replaced HID's with normal bulbs
• Replaced Wiper Motor
• Mess under the intake
• Oil pan gasket
• Valve cover gasket
• Replaced oil filter housing seal
• All new belts
• Removed Platinum plugs, went back to stock
• Replaced driver seat belt

I'll try to show some of that in photo form, but first, the car:

You can see the black headrests here:










With some friends:


With some friends in the dark:

[fourmotioneer]

The black seats were pretty easy to sell. I ended up driving them to NJ when I was home in PA for vacation.

Not the best fit for the tan interior, though I liked the seat model:



Getting some use by Benne and Bella:



Here is the best shot I have of the new seats. I drove 7 hours from York, PA to NYC and back to pick those up. Only casualty was the fan clutch. And fan. And shroud...

[fourmotioneer]

The dash went in at some point in January. I spent a few nights in the garage with a space heater and some Great Lakes Christmas Ale trying to figure that one out. I swapped an early dash into a newer car, so the knee bolster required some hot glue and new fasteners.

One thing that made the dash swap a bit easier was the fact that I had removed the glass in order to do the headliner at the same time. I was able to position the dash with what I would assume was less frustration than would be required with front glass in. I might have broken the front windshield in the process, but $25 got me some new glass, so I wasn't too upset.

Here's my only photo from the headliner process:



Here is the new dash going in:

[fourmotioneer]

190e 2.3-16

My brother got a 190E 2.3-16, so we took some photos when I went home. My dad had one when I was in high school. I like the e30 seats better, but I'm a big fan of the 2.3-16.

[word is bond]

I'm not a big Merc fan, but that's one of the ones I really like. Very cool pair of cars. Personally would've swapped the door panels and rear seats for black ones, rather than go back to full tan, but that's just me. Looking forward to progress photos. Taking care of a bunch of little things on my own 318is. Just a great little car.

[fourmotioneer]

I'm not a big Merc fan, but that's one of the ones I really like. Very cool pair of cars. Personally would've swapped the door panels and rear seats for black ones, rather than go back to full tan, but that's just me. Looking forward to progress photos. Taking care of a bunch of little things on my own 318is. Just a great little car.

I wanted to do a black interior, but the red/tan reminds me of a 90's Ferrari which is kind of cool. Hopefully I'll have some new photos Sunday night.

[fourmotioneer]

Better interior photos. I swapped in some natur vert seats up front, and a new dash, HVAC panel, OEM stereo, odo gears, and a leather e36 handbrake grip, which is surprisingly satisfying.

[fourmotioneer]

I picked up a nicer trunk lid from and finally got that on this weekend. Then, since the paint on the rest of the body was much more faded than the new trunk lid, I buffed the rest of the body. Since the is spoiler didn't match the new trunk lid, I opted to Plasti-Dip it black.

I tried to recreate the e30 M3 evo look with the graphite centers on the wheels. The color scheme doesn't look as good on 14" wheels, but I'm starting to appreciate it.

[mr ilia]

looks very nice. now you need to drop it.

[word is bond]

Well done, sir.

[Nick_S]

Man that car is coming along great! Glad the trunk lid went to a good home.

[fourmotioneer]

Man that car is coming along great! Glad the trunk lid went to a good home.

Thanks! That trunk lid traveled another 1000 miles or so before getting back to Indiana. I ended up putting it in a sleeping bag on my trip back.

[defaultName]

I think the wheels look good actually.

Any pics of the GTI?

[fourmotioneer]

I think the wheels look good actually.

Any pics of the GTI?

Thanks, I looked at them again today and was pretty pleased.

GTI with my brother's 2008 GTI:

[dougie30]

I'm liking the westy front end on the gti