Mooshoomobile V2.0 - E30 318is

[Jonnymooshoo]

Hi Everyone, :D

Very happy to be here. I just sold my long term project a 2004 VW R32 and I had many thoughts as to what might replace it.

After a long project that took me 4 years to complete I considered "settling down" with a stock car and over the past couple of weeks have been going back and forth between e46 M3's, Audi S5's and porsche 996's. I've always been a fan of e30's but as you guys all know they're so hard to find in good shape. It wasn't till a friend sent a craigslist ad my way yesterday till I knew I had to jump on this car.

I messaged the owner last night as I was leaving for a business trip today. He had six people lined up to view the car on a wet rainy Saturday so I knew I had to jump on it quick. I rushed to the bank on my way to the airport and left money with a trusted friend to make an offer for me if everything checked out.

Now here she is, my minty fresh '91 318is. for 300,000km on the car it's in great condition. It vibrates a little on idle and the seat bolsters need replacing but that will be addressed in good time.. with a little help from my friends and hopefully from a few of you.

My plans for the car are to fix up the interior, wheels, and stance. Most likely there will be an engine swap in a year or two. (LS1, S54, 2JZ?)

12636905_10153412784032939_2054372579_o by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr

12364240_10153412783532939_426614566_o by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr

12637222_10153412784572939_2061761710_o by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr


The R32 just before I sold her

Pasmag Spread by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr

Pasmag Spread 2 by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr

2004 VW R32 Turbo - Skytrain Station by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr

- DSC00427 by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr

[efficient]

Nice vw

[e30abe89]

E30 is definitely the way to go

[ClassThirty]

very nice cars! I used to be a vw guy - owned 1 mk1 gti and 2 mk2 gti's. switched over to bmw 12 years ago and no regrets. welcome to the e30 club.

[getouth]

Sub'd

[3MPowered]

You scooped this from under the nose of a friend of mine! Looked like an awesome purchase! Looking forward to seeing what you make of it.

[17sd]

I saw the ad for this car on Craiglist too.
It is a nice clean E30.
If I was in the market for one, I would jump on it too.
Nice purchase.

S54 swap will make it really sweet.

[OOMPH!]

Beautiful color and interior! Congrats! If you're going to do a swap I'd stay BMW and go with the S54.

[Jonnymooshoo]

Thanks guys! I'm keeping my options open for engine swaps for now.

Hey, should this car have IS sideskirts like this car?

[Jonnymooshoo]

Can anyone point me in the right direction? Vortex used to have quite an extensive wheel and tire fitment page sorted by widths and et's. Does anything like this exist for the E30's?

I'm trying to figure out what the most aggressive I can pull off on this platform.

Thinking of 16x9.5 16x10.5 but not sure of the exact ets
Would love to run the biggest lip possible
Not adverse to some camber -3 to -4 if necessary to sit lip

Will be most likely running air ride

[stonea]

Nice looking little 4 banger. I would love to see something really different engine wise. If you're ever looking to sell those seats let me know!

[CubbyChowder]

It doesn't really seem like IS models actually came with the IS skirts, at least from what I've seen (I could be totally wrong). They're about $300, you can buy them new from CAtuned which actually built the blue E30 you posted above.

As far as wheel/tire fitment goes, here are a few threads to get you started:

Official Wheel/Tire Fitment Thread:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=83125

E30's on 16's Thread:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=152080

I owned several MKIV's over the years and even an R32 for a very short while a few years ago and loved that car so much. My automotive enthusiasm began with MKIV's so they will always hold a place in my heart. Good luck on your E30 build, I've never looked back personally.

[Reichart12]

This car seems to be in good hands after seeing the R32. Jealous of your seats now.

[Jonnymooshoo]

Thanks for all the helpful responses guys!

As we're on the topic of seats, this is one of the things that need to be addressed.

12633161_10153412729107939_7520628_o (1) by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr

Just how rare are these Uberkaro seats?

I showed the damage to my upholsterer and he said he might have the perfect upgrade for me. He's currently got a pair of VW Mk2 Recaro seats he's recovering in suede and mk6 VW plaid.

12632911_10153873916678908_1352651106_o (2) by Jonathan Leung, on Flickr

I have to say there's some appeal to giving an homage to my VW roots by going this direction and being mk2 seat it is period correct for the upgrade; but if it's at the expense of giving up on a pair of rarespec seats that I already have then maybe it just makes more sense to repair the sponge and fabric with OEM BMW fabric.

Thoughts?

[stonea]

I can't speak for the rarity of the Uberkaro fabric, I've just always liked it. I looked into going with the VW plaid route and honestly I don't think there is anything wrong with it. They're both German car manufacturers and Recaro both made seats for them. Some people might hate you for it, but those same people are going to hate a 2JZ or LS1 car also and a stanced one at that, haha. I even got VW sample patches sent to me, and almost bought some fabric but I changed the direction I was taking my car. I might be interested in the Uberkaro fabric/seat skins.

Some guy on a FB group posted these pics and thats what got me started in the VW direction. I like the fabric you posted better though. I think the guy from www.ninestitch.com did these seats. I know he's on the forums, just don't know his username.