1987 E30 318i lachssilber metallic

[marc55]

Hi everybody!
My name is Marko and i come from Slovenia, Europe (country Goran Dragic is from:)). I figured since i've been asking people through pm's about some parts for the last couple of days i could at least introduce myself and my cars. :)

I bought my first e30 back in 2006 as a basic '87 1.8 116hp EU facelift version 2 door with no equipment whatsoever. Even the right rear viewmirror was missing from factory (on lower picture already added though).

In 2006 after one week of ownership:


I slowly started fixing up rust, adding OEM parts and so forth. Now it has:
-original A/C
-hydraulic steering wheel (e36 rack)
-2way alarm (non oem)
-central locking
-6button obc
-cruise control
-hirschmann electric antenna
-electric windows/heated mirrors
-bmwsoundsystem + rear windowshade
-LSD 3,46 (gotta switch it back to 4,10 )
.
.
.

I know all of these things were practically stock in every US spec e30 but here in europe is pretty big deal haha. :D

Here is how she stands today (pretty stock on the outside):



On my bbs mahle 15'' wheels:

Engine bay:

With my buddies:

[marc55]

Besides everything on the upper list im planning to add 13 button obc and some nice sport seats (leather with heating if lucky, otherwise plain fabric would be ok too). :)

Anyway because i still have a stock ride height and rear drum brakes im finally planning to put some aircooled discs upfront and in rear and rear stabilyzator. I sandblasted all the parts so now i just have to put everything together and order shocks and springs from ebay.

Here are all the parts from sandblasting and painted with rust neutralizor over problematic areas just to be safe:


Painted trailing arms and rear bridge:



The work on the brakes and ride height is being done as we speak. So far i refurbished brake calipers, rear trailing arms, front 'shock' holders,...etc.

New vs old brake lines:


Brake calipers in primer:


Covered in gold:



Then me and my friend changed all the ruber pards inside calipers with new ones. Procedure on the front girling calipers:


Old vs new:


This is how you can dismantle caliper cylinder with compressed air:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1JMqavUORc

The cylinder rubber changed:


Front calipers almost at the end:


New 10,9 hardness bolts:


Ready for assembly:


Done!:


Now the rear ATE calipers:


Cylinders in rear calipers were like new :O pretty rare sight here where winters + salt can be harsh :


Clear difference in rubbers between Girling and ATE calipers:


Assembling clyinder slightly differs here:


First part ready:


The end:



I did write a complete DIY for these but its in Slovene and you guys probably already have similar articles already. :)

[marc55]

A little bit of an update. I got all the new bushes, guibo, drive shaft bearing, shock bearings,...ready to go. :)


I still have to buy brake pads and disks... :???: money seems to keep flying out the window when it comes to e30. :D

O and i also bought a kit for moving the battery in the trunk (in europe available only in 325e, 325i, 324d, m3 and some later 320i:


Still more to come... :)

[marc55]

Another update. Yesterday i started piecing up rear trailing arms and subframe...bushings are in:




Meanwhile at the workshop :


I also found some pictures from last years e30 meet...i borrowed my friends rims with semislick tires for the occasion (i dont like the rims that much put the needed grip was outstanding):




Interior picture (seats are terrible i know...:D):

[Toodaloo]

Diggin' those wheels!

[marc55]

Thank you, which ones? haha :D The ones in the end are my buddies. I would like to have the ones you have but are muchos expensive. :mrgreen: Maybe someday.

[marc55]

Ok, new update.

I installed the obc i got here on r3v...i'm still super excited about it, there arent many lying around here in Slovenia. I had to fix the LCD light bar because one of the bulbs were fried. I put 3,2V LED's but i think the viewing angle isnt perfect 'cause some dark areas are still visible on the screen. I'll maybe upgrade it in the future with LEDs with better lightning angle.



Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1vOCfYcBSs

I also bought new wheels yesterday for season 2015. I spent all my money on rebuilding brakes, suspension and other crap so there didnt stay a lot for anything else. I got this wannabes style 5/rs wheels for 88$. Nothing special but better than plastic caps. Tires are shot though:

[marc55]

Update! I ordered lowtec 60/35 kit, changed glass to green since my car didnt have that option and aquired some sport seats. I'll post pictures when the car will be lowered...9 years on offroad springs/shocks was long enough.

[e30Brah]

Coming along nicely mate - great work on the write ups.

Keep it going!

[marc55]

Thank you!
There's a lot more to come. The car will get quite a trasnformation this year if everything goes to plan. :)

Update #2, i got map light mirror this weekend + another hirschmann electric antenna...i'll try to assamble one out of two in semi working condiion.:???:

[marc55]

Update!

I finally recieved yesterday lowtec 60/35 kit:


Picture of map light mirror:


And new front tinted window with green line on top:


I still have to put in my newly acquired sport seats, rear deck with integrated sunshade and bbs rear spoiler...Next month will be interesting. :)

[marc55]

A major update. I'll start from where i left on the last time i updated this thread.

I sanded and painted front break guards and sandblasted upper spring plates. There was a problem because what looked like an innocent patch of rust at the beginning turned into small rust holes:



Shock absorbers were ready for installation in struts:


Meanwhile we also painted springs from lowtec gray to a classic black:


Shocks in struts:


Rear trailing arms were also being assembled in the meantime (new break lines, new pads, new handbreak cable, new bushings,..the only thing left original are wheel bearings):



I couldnt wait to see the front drop although i didnt know what to expect since my car is 4cyl with ac, cc,... thats why i bought lowtecs for 6cyl cars.
Since i had to buy new upper spring plates anyway we had to test the height on old stock rusted spring plates so i can decide wether to buy plates for e30 or e90 depending on the height.
Before:

After:

I was very pleased with drop so the decision wasnt tough. E30 plates it is. :)

When we started dismantling the rear axle we ran into some more trouble. Unfortunately we found some rust areas which werent fixed properly in the past.

Rear axle mounting points (fortunately only surface rust, the lower part of the seal had to be cut though):


Some minor surface rust on cross member:


On the left side of the seal where we tried to support the weigth of the car, the edge of the seal was rotted but only in that 4inch area. This was the worst part. The rest of the seals are very solid, so that was good news:


Everything was welded, covered in wurth rust converter, primered, seams were sealed and covered with bitumen:







Upper coilover mounts were in surprisingly good shape:


After the hard work of rust grinding was finished, we started assembling break lines throughout the whole car. I wanted a complete new lines since my old ones started rotting in a couple places...it would probably be ok for another 10 years but why take the risk:


I also bought new ATE break discs and pads so it was time to finally finish front strut assembly together with calipers, springs,...and prepare them for installation on the car:





Real trailing arms were preassembled on rear subframe and were put on car together:


The rear axle is complete!



What i still need to look into are both output shafts and differential overhaul.

Cars look at the moment:



Its got a nice stance. Im gonna put a bbs spoiler at the back soon so we'll see how'll that turn up. :p

[marc55]

Another update! Yesterday i got a relatively rare bbs rear trunk spoiler. I have to fix it a bit here and there and slap a paint on it but all in all its in nice condition:





I also got an original bmw rear reflector plate. It has a piece missing and some cracks so it needs some work. I might sell it if someone is interested:

[Reichart12]

What a change you've gone through with the car! Always a fan of lachssilber builds. I didn't know Europe had facelift starting in 87.

[totheredline]

Beautiful car. Are you planning on keeping the m40B18?