All the way from the UK.. '88 325i cab

[RetroAde]

Hi from Ipswich, UK.

Here's my OEM 325i cab, totally original and currently having a bit of a tidy up.
Been mine for over a year now, my first E30 although not my first 80's BMW, also had a 635CSi and a 728i.
Only 2 owners and been really cherished all its life, it was a perfect find. The history file is superb.

E30 scene is booming here in the UK, but non rusty cars are getting harder to find and Sports and M cars are fetching silly money. A decent E30 M3 goes for around £20k here. 325i cabs are far cheaper.

Anyhows, nice to meet fellow E30 heads and hope you like the motor.

Ade

[CorvallisBMW]

Welcome!

[MPLFoster]

great looking cabbie! Welcome!

[Matt341]

Great Color!

[JoshF]

nice

[getouth]

^^+1

[UlrichFennec]

Aw yeah.

Good to see another Glacier Blue cab.

[RetroAde]

Thanks for all the comments, it's a pretty unusual colour combination but works so well. Came out the showroom with some nice options too, the aero pack and rear headrests are particularly sweet options to have on the car.

So far I've serviced the car, new horseshoe seal, new indicator lenses, new steering rack, most of the rear suspension is new and being a valeter/detailer by trade I'm slowly working on the paint and bringing the interior back to new condition. The leather has been a labour of love, but a programme of intense cleaning / feeding has slowly brought it back.

As soon as I can raise the cash (need to sell my little Del Sol to raise funds) it's going to have some bodywork done, new sills, new rear arches and a new rear valence. I also have a new heater motor and instrument cluster lined up, would you believe it's cheaper to buy a tested refurbed cluster (£70) as opposed to repairing the old one, the gear repair kit alone is over £100. It's also getting new speakers (it's still got the factory originals fitted with the paper cones) and I need to find a new rear ash tray assembly, it's the only part of the interior that's broken. Wheels are getting a refurb and finally while it's apart being welded and painted I'll work on the chrome which looks fine on top but is a bit pitted underneath and I'll repaint all the bumper inserts.

I always tend to run 80's cars, I grew up in the 70's/80's so I'm slowly working through my hero cars from when I was a kid. What I'll say for the Beemers is that even today they handle daily duties so well, only the Mercs I've owned carry their age so well. Drive an 80's Ford and compare it to your E30 and you'll see what I mean. Then there's the M20 engine, it just sounds so damn sweet. We take it for granted today but 30 years ago that engine was so advanced you might as well told the buyers it came with a flux capacitor. Over here GM and Ford were pushing out cars with wheezy I4 engines that took nearly 20 seconds to reach 60mph and struggled to reach 100mph top end, and British cars were in their death throws, only Jaguar / Land Rover survived.

Long term is to hang on to this car, my son has his eye on it but he still has three years at Uni so it may end up being his 21st birthday present in a couple of years time. The Del Sol was to be his but once he saw the E30 he lost all interest in it.

Anyhows, thanks for reading.
Ade.

[N2MYE30]

Nice cabrio! Im very partial to the Glacier Metallic blue. ;) Post up some more pix.

Welcome aboard! :up:

[markseven]

That car is perfect. Love it.

728i? Did they sell a 718i in Europe?

[RetroAde]

That car is perfect. Love it.

728i? Did they sell a 718i in Europe?

718i? No sir, we got 728's, 733's and 735's. Oh, and a few Alpina built cars sold through Sytner BMW.

[RetroAde]

[RetroAde]

[RetroAde]

[RetroAde]

My other retro, Honda CRX 1.6 ESi
170K miles and still tight as a drum.