The History
Some of you may know that I sold the Aluminum Monster. Basically over the years I had overbuilt it to do what I originally wanted it to do and then with it simply being a track car, I had been daily driving a '08 C350 for over a year and I had grown bored of it. It was a great car, but it was too new for me. When I bought a "new" car that was to be the racer, the monster was left sitting in the garage. I missed daily driving an E30, and basically within a 24 hour period, I sold both the Daily Benz and the Aluminum Monster. The story behind selling the Monster is also an interesting one, but thats for another day.
I had a plan and I had to be more deliberate this time with what I bought and how I modified it. You see, I love modifying and this time, I wanted to start from scratch, but needed to make sure I didnt take away from the daily driving ability of the car. I loved how my '86 ES rode with its upgraded suspension and solid rubber bushings. Firm but not rough. Add A/C and a manual and you have a perfect E30 to daily.
The Plan
Both of the previous E30s were already modified when I bought them. The things I was looking for this time was a 4door 325, that was original and hopefully was a manual and it needed to have A/C. I knew that it would probably need work to function properly, but I didnt want to have to start from scratch. To make matters worse, I was sticking to a tight budget because I needed racecar money for the racecar. I found a few good candidates, but I didnt get that feeling until I drove this one. The Winner
I was a pretty sure the winner was going to be a 1986 Arktikblau 325e. However, it was ~300 miles north and I was getting frustrated with the seller. He had basically bought it out from under me, and was flipping it. Thats fine because its still in my budget, but I was going to fly and drive a car that I wasnt totally confident in. Then suddenly, this one popped up on craigslist. craigslist1 by 2mAn
craigslist6 by 2mAn
craigslist8 by 2mAn
Theres good and bad in all of these pics. Clearly this isnt a factory color, and its an auto. BUT, its either a 325i or its a SuperETA and the cluster looks like its a 325i, so thats good. The seats arent the right ones, but they are sport seats and look brand new.
I took an Uber with the cash stuffed into my sock since it was in a slightly sketchy part of LA. Met the owner and looked over the car. Interior looked really good with the exception of the cracked dash. Engine bay had turned an odd green as a result of the yellow cosmoline caked on the cirrusblau engine bay. All the components on the motor looked new and the valves sounded really good. Drove it and its what I expected for a cheap E30. Most of the stuff worked and some didnt.... like the odometer. And the pass window. The tires looked horrible too. I lowballed him and he took the offer. It included dealing with the DMV and a smog, so I was happy. Stereo also didnt work, but on my drive home I was checking the glovebox and upon closing it, the stereo kicked on. Drove it home and remembered that I had to run some errands. Figured this was the right place to take a pic and an appropriate end to the first post of the car.
Getting started by 2mAn
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