1992 325i Vert (Alpine White) from West Virginia!

[Steele77]

Realized I hadn't updated this in awhile, so here are some updated pictures, fresh parts, etc.



1992 BMW 325i Vert
Alpine White
131,000 Miles








I've always liked E30s and searched quite a while for a decent car to work off of, but ended up finding one for about the same cost as an Xbox One and a couple games.. It's been an interesting project to learn from, and has come quite a long way over the past month. When I originally purchased the vehicle, the convertible top was torn quite badly, and the vehicle had been sitting outside for quite a few years. Strangely enough, the chassis has no rust, and the only rust I encountered was some minor surface rust below the rear passenger seats, which has already been repaired.

Exterior:
Replaced Passenger Taillight
Replaced ALL Exterior Bulbs
Replaced Rocker Panel Moldings
New OEM “IS” Lip
Freshly Painted ‘IS” Trunk (Need to Install)
New Convertible Top
US Ellipsoid Headlights (Need to Install)
Fresh Detail

Interior:
BMW 325is Black Seats
Completely removed and cleaned Interior
Repaired surface rust below rear seat
Alpine CDE-143BT Head unit
Alpine SPS-510 Speakers
Bypassed Factory Amp and Replaced Wiring
Raceland Wind Deflector

Suspension:
Raceland Coilovers
Modded Strut Housings (Removed 2 inches)
Replaced Ball joints
Replaced Control Arms and Bushings
Replaced Tie Rods
Replaced Sway Bar Endlinks
Replaced Strut Mounts
Replaced Passenger Front Wheel Bearings
Replaced Rotors and Pads

Engine and Drivetrain:
New Gates Timing Belt and Tensioner
New Water Pump
New Thermostat
New Radiator Hoses
New V-belts
New Valve cover Gasket
Fresh Valve Lash adjustment
Fresh Coolant Flush
Fresh Oil Change w/ Magnetic Plug
New Giubo
Fresh Rear Differential Fluid w/New Gasket
New Radiator
Fresh OEM head
New Headgasket and Headbolts

Wheels and Tires:
MTechnica Turbo 16x8.5 +15
Falken Ziex ZE912 205/45/16


I still have a few projects to get done, an IS trunk I still need to paint/install, as well as install my Ellipsoid Headlights; but lets look at some pictures of the progress to this point:

When I looked at the car for the first time.






Pictures of when I got it home:





Started ordering some parts:



Made some progress on the surface rust:


My wife had a day off, and was able to get the carpet looking new! I also found some perfect replacement seats for the car:


Installed the coilovers and other suspension components:


Had the top replaced:


My wheels finally showed up from MTechnica/MemoryFab:


Had a buddy detail the car for me, the paint turned out 100x better than I ever dreamed! All original paint turned out awesome!


The missing Rocker Panel Molding was starting to bother me.. BavAuto saved the day!



First time out on the new wheels and tires:


Front end still needs to come down a bit, but it's starting to get there!


On a Saturday cruise with my wife:


Finally added some tunes:



Guess which Cylinder had a leak?

[frankenbeemer]

I love it, especially the wheels. Looks like the top was installed right too.

[Mjk12us]

Good work so far, I definitely dig those wheels big time! How do you like the race land coils?

[Steele77]

Thank you! And the Racelands were a cheap option since the struts were basically destroyed, but so far they ride a lot better than I ever expected. To be honest, they ride better than the Bilsteins, BCs, and Buddy Clubs on my prior vehicles, but I wouldn't exactly say handling/performance wise they are that good. They get the job done for my e30 cruiser, but I wouldn't recommend them for someone who is going to Autocross :)

[CorvallisBMW]

Nice transformation! What is the top material? It looks more like vinyl than canvas.

[Steele77]

Nice transformation! What is the top material? It looks more like vinyl than canvas.

It is more of a vinyl type of material, but installed really well. I can't remember if it was a Robbins or Easy-On, but it turned out well I suppose. It came from Topsonline.com

[Brezzi]

Hey man really great progress from looks awesome from one fellow vert owner to another.

What are your wheel and tire specs?

[Steele77]

Hey man really great progress from looks awesome from one fellow vert owner to another.

What are your wheel and tire specs?

Just updated the original post with my ongoing list of renovations :)

[dirtbag30]

very nice.

[Steele77]

Updated with more pictures and what's been done to date.

[325ix]

Those wheels look great! Welcome to R3V.

[SteadyAim.]

Always loved those wheels by MemoryFab. Looks great!

[fresh_TD]

Nice..you put in some work..has to feel good, specially when you do your own

Sent from my Samsung Note 3

[pilotskillse30]

i love it, especially the wheels. Looks like the top was installed right too.

+1

[Steele77]

Decided to cut my strut housings and get some fresh pictures since it's starting to warm up!