Finally... Another e30 in my life, "Franklin"

[Balkans e30]

I've been lurking on here for a while, and even before I registered an account, I lurked :) I had a e30 that I ended up selling about 2 years ago, and since then I've always told myself I'd get another one once I graduated college and got my career rolling... and that is exactly what I did.

Drove out 2 hours to Greensboro, NC this morning and picked up this little fella.


85' 318i. Body/paint is almost in perfect condition. Doesn't run though.

So... as my plan has always been, gonna be completely stripping this vehicle and doing a full restoration with my dad. I've always wanted to do the m60b40 swap, as long as I can find the right donor car, other option is the m30b35 and do a little turbo action ;D

I'll post more pics of the car/interior/etc in the next few days. Also, I'm planning on making this my build thread/personal journal

Cao!

[Ether-D]

+1 for m30. Period correct-ness rules. And nice little car you got there. Good color too.

[freeride53]

big six. big six. big sex.

[Butler]

Nice! I feel like I don't see silver e30 very much.

[Balkans e30]

Thanks, I didn't like the color very much until I saw it in person and now it's grown on me. M30 would be great, all depends what kind of deal I can get on a donor car

[e30saam]

Another Polaris e30! A few monthes ago, I had only seen like 5 Polaris cars in the 3 years of my e30 ownership. I have no idea what has been going on, but lately I have been seeing a quite a few Polaris silver cars popping up for sale. Polaris is the best color, not biased at all. Haha. Clean Car OP.

[Balkans e30]

Thanks brotha, the color is definitely different, I hadn't seen it prior to finding this car. I'm debating whether to paint it Delphin Metallic or leave it Polaris.... cause the delphin has been my favorite color on e30's for as long as I remember

[Ether-D]

Don't color change. If that paint is perfect, buff it and be done.

[Andy.B]

Don't color change. If that paint is perfect, buff it and be done.

So are you saying he shouldn't take a grinder to it, strip the paint off, and do a ww2 bomber theme?

Seriously though, I like the color, and if the paint is on good shape, leave it be. I've repainted two cars in the past out of necessity, but I'll try to avoid it whenever possible. A full paint job is an expensive time consuming project that is quickly undone just by driving the car... Stone chips, parking lot dings, unintentional scratches, etc. My cars paint is less than 6 months old and already has its fair share of blemishes.

[Balkans e30]

All good points guys and that's what I've decided to do. Leave the body/paint alone cause it's in good shape and just worry about the interior and under the hood

[Balkans e30]

Got him running last night, and suprisingly it ran very nicely. Drove it around my house for a little bit just for fun. Then it was garage time again, and we started removing parts from the engine bay. I'll try and get some pictures today.

[Balkans e30]

Woke up this morning and decided to have a productive e30 day...

Engine and transmission are out and ready to be sold! And that's my helper, he relaxes while I do the work :D


I managed to find a local seller (15 mins from me) that was selling a crack free dashboard. So first thing this morning, I picked up this bad boy for $160


Also, ended up removing the driver and passenger seats. Once those were out, all of the carpet was pulled out. I was very surprised by the condition of the shell under the carpet, needs some cleaning up and maybe a little re-painting. Planning on buying new carpet and seats once the engine swap, etc is finished.




And that's all the fun for today.