Cirrusly Blue - The Daily Driver E30... now SUPER powered

[E30335i]

Welcome to the cirrus club



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[sjsilves]

Another Cirrus Blau e30

I recently picked up an e30 project too. Similar to you, I'm trading up from a 2007 e90. I love the e90, but there's just something about the vintage e30 styling that fits me better. Your thread caught my eye because our scenario is so similar. I narrowed my search for a 4 door 325i. It had to be straight and relatively stock. 5 speed manual and sport seats are a must, but those can be added later. I ended up with a Cirrus Blue '87 325i, Auto, Sedan. Completely stock with blue interior worn comfort leather seats. It has the normal faded/peeled paint of it's age, but it's straight as an arrow.

Once the e30 is daily drivable, I'm unloading the e90. I had a minor setback when the timing belt snapped a few weeks after I bought it. Luckily, I found a recently new head from a wrecked donor. I got it back on the road this weekend:).

So far, I've done the following:

• New Control Arms (with poly bushings - mistake??)
• Sound System (Pioneer deck, Cerwin Vega component speakears, Alpine dual coil sub, 2 Crunch amps - it all sounds great!)
• Timing Belt (should've done it sooner!)
• Head
• Water pump and Thermostat
• Belts, Hoses and Gaskets
• Brake Master Cylinder
• ABS Pump, Module and Relay
• O2 Sensor

On the short list of things I plan to do:

• Suspension (I like the IE springs and Bilstein Sport)
• Wheels and Tires (16x7 or 16x7/8 staggered)
• Front Sport Seats (Reupholsted in indigo blue leather to match the rear)
• Manual Swap ( I already have the pedals, hydraulics, flywhel and clutch)
• 'IS' Front Spoiler with Fog lights
• Repaint (Original color)
• Steering Rack (I have a nearly new e30 rack, but I'm considering an e36 upgrade instead)

When I drove it home, every light on the dash was lit up, plus half of the check lights. I'm down to just the CEL. The code it flashes is for O2 Sensor Malfunction. The problem is that I replaced the O2 sensor, but it still isn't working.

I look forward to see your project progress.

The attached image of the engine is after I replaced the head, cleaned it up and painter the intake and valve cover.

[2mAn]

Jesus that ipod is a dinosaur

It’s vintage bro

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Jesus that ipod is a dinosaur

[mjweimer]

Nice. All stickers equal +5hp.



MJ

[2mAn]

Took the car out to a gtg and its interesting to see the different paths the E30s go...

Here’s mine though in all of its glory


Does it look sportier? Because it should. I upgraded my auto trans to the sport model


It wasn’t too hard actually


I immediately noticed the difference, but I still want the 5 speed done

[2mAn]

am interested in that set of e36 tie rods when/if you decide to sell em. Still need new ones haha. Planning on throwing them in during the swap cuz I'll also be swapping in treehouse CABs for header clearance.

got any new plans for the m20? or still keeping it secret?

PM sent, Im definitely selling them. I already ordered the lock rings so the new person (you?) wont be surprised with the BS I was. They wouldve ordered just the lock rings but it wouldve taken much longer than just getting the entire assembly. Im annoyed but I'll get over it.

As for now with the M20, Im pretty happy with it other than the fact that I feel like Im smelling it burning oil. If this motor will last, the plan would be to replace the headgasket as I know it has a minor leak (though it could be getting worse since Ive been driving it hard). If it lasts to the head gasket r&r I will probably throw a cam in and reflash it. If it doesnt, Im likely to swap it with something else. Just not 100% sure on what yet. I want to buy a front subframe and test out a few different swaps I have in mind, but I need more space to do it... Just day dreaming right now. Still moving towards a 5speed swap next though, hopefully in 3-6 months or something.

Please don't do loctite. Previous owner did that to my rack, I ended up ruining the rack trying to remove the inner tie rods.

Yea, I would never do this. I thought about it, but I had to just accept that it was going to be properly fixed. Locktite doesnt belong on a steering rack IMO

[earthwormjim]

You could of just used red loctite instead of the lock rings. Its what i did on the DD. I bought a set of the lock rings put them on hammered down the edge and then one day the car felt funny so i threw it on the lift and found my inner tierod was laying in the boot and just getting pushed by the rack when it needed to be moved for steering. How I didn’t crash is beyond me.

Please don't do loctite. Previous owner did that to my rack, I ended up ruining the rack trying to remove the inner tie rods.

[wworm]

am interested in that set of e36 tie rods when/if you decide to sell em. Still need new ones haha. Planning on throwing them in during the swap cuz I'll also be swapping in treehouse CABs for header clearance.

got any new plans for the m20? or still keeping it secret?

[wworm]

am interested in that set of e36 tie rods when/if you decide to sell em. Still need new ones haha. Planning on throwing them in during the swap cuz I'll also be swapping in treehouse CABs for header clearance.

got any new plans for the m20? or still keeping it secret?

[ThatOneEuroE30]

You could of just used red loctite instead of the lock rings. Its what i did on the DD. I bought a set of the lock rings put them on hammered down the edge and then one day the car felt funny so i threw it on the lift and found my inner tierod was laying in the boot and just getting pushed by the rack when it needed to be moved for steering. How I didn’t crash is beyond me.

[2mAn]

Cirrusly Blue - The Daily Driver E30

Initial impressions are good. I didnt really get a chance to hit some twisties with it because I had to pick it up today on my lunch break... my two hour lunch break :rofl: Its definitely faster than the E30 rack

Im a little annoyed because it turns out I was missing the lock rings on the new tie-rods so JMP had to buy brand new tie-rods, then they had to r&r the "old" ones before they aligned it.... This alignment job cost me about 4x what I expected it to. I told them to give me my old ones back so now I have a "brand new" set of tie-rods and I just ordered the lock rings from blunt so I can sell a complete new E36 tie-rod setup and try and recoup some of that money

Rack linkage modified using Garagistics pieces


Also finally had the red46 skid plate installed too... looks like someone forgot to trim the zip tie holding the boot.... at least they put one on, they didn’t on the other side, so I have to add one ASAP

[earthwormjim]

What year m3 is it from. I have a 95 m3 in my euro car and i really like it. Some say its least desirable of the racks but for price i got it for. It works for me

95 M3 rack is the slowest E36 rack, but it's still light years better than any E30 rack. So if you got a good price, still a nice upgrade.

[2mAn]

What year m3 is it from. I have a 95 m3 in my euro car and i really like it. Some say its least desirable of the racks but for price i got it for. It works for me

It’s the 96-99 one 3.2 turns LTL

[ThatOneEuroE30]

What year m3 is it from. I have a 95 m3 in my euro car and i really like it. Some say its least desirable of the racks but for price i got it for. It works for me