Meant to post this back in March when I got the car but just have been slacking. I purchased this 1989 BMW 325I sedan as fun reliable daily that would not require much maintenance nor attract unwanted attention from thieves and police. Found her all the way up in Maine of all places from a previous owner that needed something with more space for his DJ equipment. He was deep in the boons of Maine, and coming from long island NY it was going to be a Long trip. I mean LOOOONG (6hrs each way)
there she is just as advertised
lock and loaded!!!
on her way to her new home
time for a little TLC. Hard compound and polish to bring back that red!!
shampoo and vacuum the carpet back to freshness(dont forget to remove the seats, previous owner had a dog)
With some of the cosmetics out of the way time to tear into that 25 year old suspension!!!
my other toy ;)
Might as well do the "hard" side 1st. New factory sub frame bushings, trailing arm bushings, hubs, bearings, upgrade to a IS LSD and steel braided lines with Bilstein Sport struts and H&R race springs
refurbished the original axles while they were out.
rear done!!!
fresh front end overhaul..
Rear bumper and rear body was sprayed black by previous owner for some reason and thinner wasnt really getting rid of it so I prepped and hit it with Krylon red that matches pretty close...
Front valance was busted to shit too. Till I got my new one ready I figured I would just get this one more appealing.
Far from perfect but better than before.
Scored some IX rims rims that fit pretty nice. just needs new properly sized rubber
Stripped and time for gunmetal coats
new rubber for the street!!!
Wasn't getting any bleed from the rear and found that the line was basically dead all the way to the ABS module. so I ordered another used one and hoped for the best!!! In that bottle is what came out the rear lines after the module swap and bleed.
DIY shadow line trim upgrade...
Brand new OEM front valance, IS rear trunk spoiler and drivers side fender
prepped and ready with fresh stone guard on the lower front valance ...
my boss stayed late on a rainy Friday night to help spray these panels (booth had a leak issued from outside hence the huge puddle)
Saturday luckily was dry and sunny which was great install day!!! Also a perfect time to upgrade the condenser for
new front IS lip ;) and used fogs from the forum!!!
Happy with the color match on the fender to the door and hood. Not bad match considering the fender was shot in 2 stage waterborne paint and matched to 25 year old original single stage paint
Resprayed the under coating guard on the rockers and rear bumper.
All done for now.... Only thing left that I really want to do is put in rear head rest, and spec e30 front/rear sway bars &brakets. Not pictured was when I installed a factory radio, swapped to an e36 m3 steering rack and island engineering oil pan baffle and oil scrapper kit. It was 90 degrees, I was by myself during that install and did not have the time and or patience to document ;)
there she is just as advertised
lock and loaded!!!
on her way to her new home
time for a little TLC. Hard compound and polish to bring back that red!!
shampoo and vacuum the carpet back to freshness(dont forget to remove the seats, previous owner had a dog)
With some of the cosmetics out of the way time to tear into that 25 year old suspension!!!
my other toy ;)
Might as well do the "hard" side 1st. New factory sub frame bushings, trailing arm bushings, hubs, bearings, upgrade to a IS LSD and steel braided lines with Bilstein Sport struts and H&R race springs
refurbished the original axles while they were out.
rear done!!!
fresh front end overhaul..
Rear bumper and rear body was sprayed black by previous owner for some reason and thinner wasnt really getting rid of it so I prepped and hit it with Krylon red that matches pretty close...
Front valance was busted to shit too. Till I got my new one ready I figured I would just get this one more appealing.
Far from perfect but better than before.
Scored some IX rims rims that fit pretty nice. just needs new properly sized rubber
Stripped and time for gunmetal coats
new rubber for the street!!!
Wasn't getting any bleed from the rear and found that the line was basically dead all the way to the ABS module. so I ordered another used one and hoped for the best!!! In that bottle is what came out the rear lines after the module swap and bleed.
DIY shadow line trim upgrade...
Brand new OEM front valance, IS rear trunk spoiler and drivers side fender
prepped and ready with fresh stone guard on the lower front valance ...
my boss stayed late on a rainy Friday night to help spray these panels (booth had a leak issued from outside hence the huge puddle)
Saturday luckily was dry and sunny which was great install day!!! Also a perfect time to upgrade the condenser for
new front IS lip ;) and used fogs from the forum!!!
Happy with the color match on the fender to the door and hood. Not bad match considering the fender was shot in 2 stage waterborne paint and matched to 25 year old original single stage paint
Resprayed the under coating guard on the rockers and rear bumper.
All done for now.... Only thing left that I really want to do is put in rear head rest, and spec e30 front/rear sway bars &brakets. Not pictured was when I installed a factory radio, swapped to an e36 m3 steering rack and island engineering oil pan baffle and oil scrapper kit. It was 90 degrees, I was by myself during that install and did not have the time and or patience to document ;)
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