Hello! White late model coupe from the bay

[rzerob]

Change the headgasket for a elring or oem and put copper spray on it. Just get the head resurfaced and new gasket, call it a day

[sonomabimmers]

I've read your build thread and i love your car especially being from the north bay. to me your car seems like the perfect candidate for an m5x/s5x swap i think it would be awesome.
my 2 cents

definitely grab a cheap daily parts getter if you can though...

[efficient]

Change the headgasket for a elring or oem and put copper spray on it. Just get the head resurfaced and new gasket, call it a day

I mean goetze headgasket.

[Toodaloo]

Hello! White late model coupe from the bay

Long time no see everyone...

I've been so busy with work and school, and was hoping to take a break from r3v to focus on the car and finish restoring the wheels and complete the interior before making another post.

Well...

I have installed the Wilwood BBK and it's simply amazing. I never knew the car could stop so well! It's simply stunning how much of a change the brakes made in the mountains. No more brake fade for me! (Sorry for the poir quality snapchat photo/filter. Never got around to shooting better photos)

The interior is about half done. Door cards are finished, and I'm mid way on the front seats.

I've polished the lips, purchased deeper barrels and the centers are ready for powder coat.

Neither project is finished, and I was hoping to have them done within the next two weeks to make it out to a few shoes before summer ends.

It appears there will be some delay :(

My commute to work is a short 12 mile drive, however the daily 10 minutes of 3k rpm highway driving took its toll.

Last Friday I noticed my coolant level was low. Thinking it was simply the air being bled off over the past 7 months from when I fixed a small coolant leak from the thermostat (I bled it all properly, but didn't think twice about it really.) topped off the overflow tank and two days later had the low coolant light come on once more. Drive the e30 home and onto the ramps. My coolant cap had very little pressure release when I opened it up, so I instantly started looking around for leaks. Checked the heater core first, then the throttle body cold start heater housing, and all the other lines. They all seemed to check out fine to me. Inside, I was expecting the worst, and left the worst till the end. Fighting the thought of the possibility of the dreaded milkshake.

I open the oil cap to find the one thing I really didn't want to see...


Just as I was about to finish with the big modifications to go onto the car (16x9 BBS RS' and suede/m rain interior) my headgasket decided to go.

The head was rebuilt a few years back. I don't have any proof, however the head looked super fresh. No wear on the cam lobes, the inside of the head was fresh and clean, I burnt maybe half a quart of oil between a 4K mile oil change, and after meeting with the m20 God, Eric Burger, he said the head definitely had to have been rebuilt after looking through the oil cap a few months ago. The weakest part of the rebuild was the choice in gaskets. Eric told me that he recognized it to be a Victor Reinz gasket. Notorious for leaking. 2 months later, what do you know. Leaky leaky.

Sigh...

The past few months I've been considering selling the car for a newer e46 m3. However I could never bring myself to it. Simply having this car as a daily driver pains me. It's constantly complimented by friends, and other enthusiasts young and old. That really means a lot to me, because when I got it; it seemed pretty trashy and I was constantly made fun of for buying "an old shitty Bimmer". I've put countless hours into restoring it and lightly modifying it to high standards with a great attention to detail and am proud of myself every time someone says something nice about it. Especially knowing that I did it with my own two hands.

It's a terrible feeling to leave the car in a lot and come back to find a new door ding or small scratch when I put so much effort into keeping it at its highest potential.
I know almost every square inch of the car... The countless late night hours, love, dedication, and thought I have put into it make it nearly impossible for me to part with it.

So R3v, what should I do?

Replace head gasket/partial rebuild?

Swap?

Sell the car after fixing it and buy myself a newer car that I don't have to constantly worry about while I'm in school?

Fix the car and find another daily?


Thanks again for all the support. The community has been so awesome and supportive. I'd love to hear some feedback from you guys and get some opinions of what my next steps should be.

[Trev]

Great build man! I have a strong desire to find a late model e30 now..

[alas]

Ooh, I know the answer!! (At least I hope) :)


-E

[mr.]

My oh my am I I'm excited

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[Toodaloo]

Hello! White late model coupe from the bay

Holy crap, that door panel looks awesome.

Thank you man! I love how it came out!

That door panel is incredible. Good job dude!

The way it came out looks almost as if it could have came offered from the factory

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Thanks! That's really awesome to hear. I want it to look OEM plus! Like a super wild factory option

Those door panels look incredible!

I wrapped my rear parcel shelf in suede as well and it was much more difficult than I anticipated so I feel your pain. I'm interested to see in the future if a stretchy material makes it any easier.

Thanks! Haha, yeah it was a pain. I actually plan to redo it with an early parcel shelf and delete the third brake light and replace it with something a little... Umm "different". Think formula drift and tesla ;)

These latest updates are phenomenal. I hope you don't mind when I steal some of your ideas for my seat belts and door panels. :)

Thanks man! I've really been putting in work on this interior. It's starting to show little by little! By all means go ahead, I got the OK from my upholstery guy on the belts so if you're interested I can help you over PM.

Sorry for the very brief replies guys. Finals are almost over, my last two exams are tonight at 6pm and tomorrow at 8am. Stressing out!

I'll give you guys a few little hits as to what I've been up to in the past week. One of which I'll be picking up tomorrow night ;)

Here are some hints!








Once I finish up with finals I'll have a proper update :)

So ready for summer! I'll have the car finished aesthetically (for now), and might start adding some power mods if my wallet allows :D

[mlor]

These latest updates are phenomenal. I hope you don't mind when I steal some of your ideas for my seat belts and door panels. :)

[dillon7]

Those door panels look incredible!

I wrapped my rear parcel shelf in suede as well and it was much more difficult than I anticipated so I feel your pain. I'm interested to see in the future if a stretchy material makes it any easier.

[mr.]

That door panel is incredible. Good job dude!

The way it came out looks almost as if it could have came offered from the factory

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[rzerob]

Holy crap, that door panel looks awesome.

[Toodaloo]

Looking AWESOME. I love the red seatbelts!

Thank you!!! Love your username!

Great reply, looks like you have really thought about it and done your research down to the last detail. Well done

look forward to more updates :)

I did my best to research it before I bought all the materials! Got a little carried away with some things and ordered too much thread, but oh well!

Looking good man!


-E

Thanks Ericson!

When you have a half dozen plans for your build and you see them all played out in 5 minutes of clicking through a build thread.. D: Great work!

Thanks! That's just further inspiration, now you've got to take the initiative and make those plans happen! I would love too see what you have in store!




Here's a little sneak preview of the first door panel I got started on today. I'll finish the rest of the interior after finals!

(Mind that it isn't clean, has a crease I'll steam out, and isn't completed)

[JEMichaels]

When you have a half dozen plans for your build and you see them all played out in 5 minutes of clicking through a build thread.. D: Great work!

[alas]

Looking good man!


-E