First E30: '89 Lachssilber 325i Four Door

[BoostinEuros]

Great job and welcome to the E30 club. Looks like all she's missing is a 3rd pedal :)

[TFJR]

Wow, your car looks exceptional on the Ronals! Great choice. The paint and body look to be really nice as well, certainly nicer than mine. I like the tan combo with lachs, they play well together.

Thanks for the call out in your thread. I think if you add a 3rd pedal you'll enjoy the car even more as the engagement level goes way up. My new E30 is an auto, and while its great for traffic/daily use, I do miss using my left leg & right arm (all 4 limbs).

Keep up the great progress!

[e30_troy]

Great job and welcome to the E30 club. Looks like all she's missing is a 3rd pedal :)

Thank you - agreed!

Wow, your car looks exceptional on the Ronals! Great choice. The paint and body look to be really nice as well, certainly nicer than mine. I like the tan combo with lachs, they play well together.

Thanks for the call out in your thread. I think if you add a 3rd pedal you'll enjoy the car even more as the engagement level goes way up. My new E30 is an auto, and while its great for traffic/daily use, I do miss using my left leg & right arm (all 4 limbs).

Keep up the great progress!

Thank you - I'm indebted to the P.O. It must have been garaged most of its life. I go back and forth on the tan, I'm definitely jealous of your cloth sport interior...I think refreshing the wheel again with Leatherique, fixing the sagging headliner behind the rear-view, and replacing the driver's seat bolster where that tear is will make a big difference to the interior as well.


I think this is the year I gather the parts for the 5 speed swap. Getting the A/C working in time for summer will probably be the first priority in terms of $, though.

[e30_troy]

Update: Lachs Side Mirrors

One of the items on my to-do list for some time has been swapping the poverty-spec black side mirrors for ones that match the Lachssilber body paint. After scouring eBay and the forum for 6+ months, I'm starting to realize why people just paint these damn things.

The first set I ordered (from the UK) never showed up. USPS delivered the address label only. Luckily I had used a credit card for the PayPal purchase so was able to get the charge reversed.
Then I ordered a left side from the UK off eBay, and a right side from Germany from eBay. After placing the order, the German seller reached out to let me know the mirror wasn't actually lachs. So for a month or so I just had a left side sitting in my garage.
Then I ordered another right side from a local seller on eBay. He wasn't sure if it was lachs or not, so I ordered it ($30 dice roll). Turns out it was granitsilber. Yay eBay returns!
Finally, I found a right side in lachs on eBay the other day and ordered it.

Unfortunately when I first put the right side mirror on the car, I found the motor wasn't working. So I swapped out the motor from my old one into the lachs housing. Fun morning project:


Then, when I mounted the left side, the mirror would not move as far to the left as I needed it to go. Remember when I said this one was from the UK? So, duh, the left side mirror housing is shaped differently for RHD cars. Meantime, I've set it as far as it will go. It's not terrible, but eventually I'll have to procure a US-spec driver's side mirror in Lachs.

Learning something every day. Here are a couple pictures I took in my alley with the mirrors on. Pretty big improvement:

[2mAn]

Cars coming along very nicely!

[TFJR]

The color matched side mirrors are an excellent addition. I need to get my side mirrors repainted myself, I didn't have the patience you did in waiting it out for a nicer set!

[mike.bmw]

The mirrors look great. Hunting for the right parts can be fun. I did the same thing with my passenger side mirror (the housing was cracked when I bought the car). A few months of checking ebay and eventually the correct side/color came up.

[325e '87]

I cant believe you got that nice a car for $3k.

[e30_troy]

I cant believe you got that nice a car for $3k.

Thank you. I consider myself lucky. Right place, right time with a high volume eBay seller used to flipping much crappier cars that have been donated to charity. Of course with no service records, it's always a gamble, but all indications are that it was loved and maintained with care by the P.O.

[e30_troy]

Took parking in the rain for me to realize my pax side mirror is not in fact Lachs...looks to be granitsilber? :rippedoff:

[e30RS]

What a steal this car was! Wheels look superb.

[e30_troy]

FYI - I’ve got a feeler for sale post up for this car. PM me if you’re interested.

[e30_troy]

I'm thinking it's time for this car to find its next home. For Sale post here, PM me if interested. Car is in Santa Monica, CA.