Yup I bought another... 1991 Convertible 325i

[shadowbethesda]

So I picked up another E30. I sold my last one because I was just tired of the expense but realized it was my own fault for seeking perfection at the ignorance of my wallet.


Forward to this week and I see this ad:





Needless to say I went to go see this car as soon as I could. The 71 year old owner has had it for 6 years and kept it garaged and covered. The interior is fair (normal rips in the drivers seat and a broken seam in the rear seat I can repair).

[shadowbethesda]

[shadowbethesda]

Iggee seat covers in my future...

[shadowbethesda]

First thing I gotta do is adjust the valves (way noisier than normal). The top is in good shape and there is no rust. This should make a nice daily driver.

And yes... This one is a 5 speed.

[Kevinl]

Change the oil with a high zddp oil to that helped tremendously on my car

[shadowbethesda]

I had a buddy of mine who builds engines come over and look at it. He's thinks the valves need an adjustment badly. On a plus note, he commented on how nice it was overall. More updates to come after I pull the valve cover.

[shadowbethesda]

Valves are all adjusted to cold spec... Still have a rattle that appears at exactly 1500 rpm whether the car is moving or standing (both in and out of gear)and disappears above that rpm. I am beginning to suspect a bad bearing in the water pump.

[shadowbethesda]

I finished the timing belt and water pump. The tensioner was bad, and it was only a matter of time till the engine





I also learned that the easiest way to bleed the cooling system is to simply drill a small hole at the top of the thermostat and back bleed the system.



New cap and rotor, thermostat, water pump and timing belt has the engine purring again.

Valves adjusted as well.

[shadowbethesda]

Ofcourse I couldn't leave it alone after that... Those sealed beams had to go...

[N2MYE30]

IF you plan on adding value to the car, just get the leatherseat.com covers. They are the ones on eBay.

[rcsoundn1]

More details on the seat "covers"

[Active16Bits]

More details on the seat "covers"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E30-325i-318i-325is-M3-SPORT-SEATS-CARDINAL-RED-UPHOLSTERY-KITS-CONVT-NEW-/261587828902?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3ce7d980a6&vxp=mtr

[N2MYE30]

More details on the seat "covers"

I went with these. You can see more details on my MT2 build.

[shadowbethesda]

I'll be honest. I was going to go the Igee seat cover route. between the seat buckle holders in the rear seat and the (what seems like) 15 piece front seats I am reluctant to recover seats again.