A well travelled e30 - Cali to London. 84 coupe

[benwalsh91]

This is fantastic!

Thanks man, truly was a trip of a lifetime.

Great thread! I was following along with the trip on Instagram, looks like it was a great trip! I had messaged you on IG when you were looking for a Colorado license plate, let me know if you still want it.

Hey man, sorry i struggle keeping up with my instagram messages as they get a little hectic.

thank you for the offer i have a colorado one now, there is just a couple that i am missing and need to hunt down.

• Oklahoma
• Louisiana
• South Carolina
• North Carolina

this is amazing

Subscribed. This is awesome.

Thank you. I would give anything and everything to do it again.

Trip of a lifetime! Fantastic read. You're a lucky man. If I proposed to my already soon to be wife we drive cross country in a mystery e30, I'd be a dead man!

It all depends on how you sell it.

but remember America to me is like Europe to you.

so if you said to your wife.... "want to go spend 3 months travelling around europe" i am sure she wouldn't say no. Don't even mention the car. You mention the car a few weeks before you fly out but you sell it in the way that its a vintage car cruising the back roads through the country. Know your audience.

This is almost exactly what I want to do except in a 325ix or a mullemobile 3rd gen Camaro.

I can only suggest doing it man, honestly i would give my left nut to do this again! If you do decide to do it, or want to look into it more please feel free to drop me a message i can give you an idea on what this cost and also things you need to look into etc.

Wow what an awesome adventure!

Absolutely stunning trip! Impressive and fantastic updates.

Thank you!! i got a bit more to update you all with i just wanted to leave the last post on a little bit of a cliffhanger, like an ellipsis i was trying to build suspense.

[e30RS]

Absolutely stunning trip! Impressive and fantastic updates.

[BoostinEuros]

Wow what an awesome adventure!

[econti]

This is almost exactly what I want to do except in a 325ix or a mullemobile 3rd gen Camaro.

[hotbascosauce]

Trip of a lifetime! Fantastic read. You're a lucky man. If I proposed to my already soon to be wife we drive cross country in a mystery e30, I'd be a dead man!

[rzerob]

Subscribed. This is awesome.

[iwantspeed]

this is amazing

[jtheilbrun]

Great thread! I was following along with the trip on Instagram, looks like it was a great trip! I had messaged you on IG when you were looking for a Colorado license plate, let me know if you still want it.

[mike.bmw]

This is fantastic!

[benwalsh91]

So, first stop in Florida was Tallahassee, was a really cool town and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Whilst driving around we tried to head to the coast as there was recently a hurricane we wanted to go through take a look and potentially see if there was anything that we could do to help.

came across all these old rusted out trucks in some field, was super cool!!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

It was then Halloween where we spent the evening at our friends house in Tampa, they had young kids so we went trick or treating with them and then after that we had a few drinks. As it was our Honeymoon we went as dead husband and bride, Ft. e30

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

and before we left our friends place he wanted to get a photo of me with the e30, i dont like photos of me at all but i quite like this photo.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

and yes, that belly developed by all the American food. my god i miss the food!

had breakfast with a bunch of friends after a Cars and Coffee, perks of having a "compact" car

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

After Tampa we headed South!! as South as we could get and we hit up the Keys, so beautiful down there.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

After the keys we then headed up. First stop was Miami, explorer the grafitti but didnt head to far into Miami as at this point we had spent a while in Florida and wanted to head towards Georgia and the Carolinas.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

First Stop outside of Florida was Savannah.
Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

got "papped" driving along the "old" historic streets.

We then headed across to Helen, my lord i love Helen. this was my second time exploring this area and i could never get bored there. Southern hospitality is a true thing in this neck of the woods.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

After helen we was heading towards Nashville, Tennessee.

But you can not go from georgia to tennessee without driving a certain road.

that road is the Dragon!!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

It was wet, greasy, slippery and so much fun!! i had also been here before but in the summertime, it was much busier and you could drive a lot quicker on the roads.

I went back up to the middle to pull over get out the car, stretch our legs and have a look.

as i pulled into the vista point. bang. the car broke and then a strom started to roll in. No cell signal either.

fucked.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Something had snapped. Was this the end?

[paynemw]

This is cool.

[benwalsh91]

After our time in Colorado we visited Vail and also Denver, spent about a week in Denver and decided it was time to leave. But there was something i HAD to do!!

pikes peak, yep lets get this little 325e up pikes peak!!

it was insane, we took it easy as the snow was still with us, we had such a good time and was an experience to remember.

kind of pissed off the shut the road just short of the summit. But nonetheless so glad i was able to do it!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

After pikes peak we drove towards the "million dollar highway" has anyone ever done this road? because you really need to.

again miles and miles of incredible views. we kept stopping walking and just exploring.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

We was definitely far away from the California hot weather and beautiful beaches now but we are in a different kind of beauty!

After we left Colorado we headed to New Mexico, didn't do too much car related stuff here, my car was idiling funny and a few other issues which i met up with my good friend Matthew Jet who also has an early model e30 which is incredible. We changed the ICV, car had a different style airbox in so he had one for the correct period and car so we fitted that and done some other bits and pieces to the car.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

The shifter road had become loose again so we tightened that back up, gave the car a clean and hit the road. next state - TEXAS!!

along the way we drove through some Route66 again.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

We stayed in Amarillo, ate a big arse steak and then headed out to Oklahoma for a bit as i wanted to go to a couple of shops...

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

first shop on the list was the FNA StreetOutlwas Firehouse.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

and then to Dallas where we went to GasMonkey

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Went to the GasMonkey Bar & Grill which for the record does some seriously amazing food and really recommend people to go eat there.

we then went to ArcLight Fab, for those that don't know this is Aaron Kauffmans new shop. We met Aaron and he took about an hour out of his day to talk to us, personally show us around his shop, all the projects and was truly interested in our adventure and gave us some places we should go and check out. What a decent guy!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

spent some time at the Texas State Fair. Coming home we hit what felt like a crater in the road. i am pretty sure the floor of the car hit the floor. the wheel was fucked and i could feel the air was going down and going down fast. i put my foot down and made it to the hotel. got out the car, looked at the tyre and decided that's tomorrows problem and went to bed.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

The tyre was fine but the rim itself was fucked!!

thankfully had a spare wheel in the trunk. fitted it and the tyre was perishing and was destroyed. it made me get round the corner to a local tyre shop, went to a small independent place as i would rather help them out and give them my money and was more of an experience and they got it done quicker when i said i would give them an extra $10 to do it asap!

used the spare rim and fitted the tyre off the busted wheel, good as new and off we went! this time down towards Austin and San Antonio.

At this point all the travelling had caught up with me. We had a week down in Austin/San Antonio and flu had hit me or something. i was truly fucked and felt so rough.

We managed to get out for 2 days and do Austin and then San Antonio, wish i could have explored more but in reality i needed a rest!!

we then headed across to Houston where we met up with some friends and then Mississippi to Alabama and then Florida!!

whats that i see?

is it, no it cant be, but it really is, thats the SUN!!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

[benwalsh91]

Our time in LA wasnt car related, i parked the e30 at my friends house for the week and we just went everywhere in one of his cars, done the touristy things. Hollywood is a shithole, Venice beach isnt what i was expected. Ate too much good food and went to the beach. Lots of smiles was had and tons of memories made with great people. exactly what a trip like this is made for.

My shift knob had completely town apart by this time and was being a royal pain in the arse, Mooneyes was just down the road from my friends place and it was somewhere i really wanted to go. I know it isnt to everyones style but i needed a new shift knob and i tried to get a more subtle one to go in the car. a memory of our time in LA

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Personally, i love it, it fits super comfy in the palm of your hands. burns you to hell and back when the car is left in the sun and its balls cold when your in somewhere that's been snowing or below freezing (Colorado)

We stayed in a TeePee around Palm Springs area and then headed out to Las Vegas.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

The road to vegas. No Aircon, we both drove there pretty much just in our underwear, it was over 100*f and it was fucking hot to say the least.

had a fun drive though.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

one of my favourite photos of the car to date:

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

We then spent 3 full days in vegas. Had a good time, done stuff that wont be documented on the internet. and then we left and headed towards flagstaff where we would spend the night and then on to Utah.

Cruised along on Route66 for a bit and got some photos in an old gas station.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Utah, we stayed in Zion national park and what a bloody beautiful place to go and visit.

some places was super busy but we found some secluded spots. went and explored, got some photos of the car.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

I also really really like this photo.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

We went towards Moab and visited "hole in the rock" which was really interesting.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Car still surviving having really no issues with it, just kept taking on more and more miles like a champ. onboard computer reading average MPG as 29 too!!

After Utah we headed to Colorado!!! honestly such a beautiful state.

until a storm hit us.

Cali car, summer tyres, we found out that the heater doesnt work along with the aircon not working.

found a place to stop to warm up and get food... this is how the car looked.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

a wee bit cold and miserable.

[benwalsh91]

We flew from London to Oakland airport on 05 September 2018 where my good friend Steve who had collected and looked after the car for me picked us up from and took us back to his place just North of Oakland near Sacramento.

First impressions of the car...

Looked much cleaner in photos but i had an idea on what i was getting into, the wife not so happy with the purchase. Thankfully she got on board with the car and fell in love with it.

first full day in California 30+*c (not sure what that is in Fahrenheit) and this English idiot decides to wear all black...

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

after spending the day in the small town of Vacaville sorting out the paperwork to insure and register it. Was actually much easier than anticipated, i went to AAA rather than the DMV. I managed to get Insurance, break down cover and register the car within about 40 minutes!! they didn't really ask too many questions, i figured it was a small town and to be honest they didn't really care much.

getting used to driving a manual car on the WRONG side of the road and the WRONG side of the car i got used to it quicker than expected. Spent the day with my friend Steve and headed to our hotel for the night. the next day we was to head to San Francisco!!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

San Fran, WOW, Stressful!!! first day really driving the car getting used to everything. old car, manual, everything was on the opposite side to how i've been driving for the past 10 years. All the images i have seen of the SF hills and streets do not do justice to just how crazy steep they are!!!

but we did manage to go down Lombard street a couple of times before it got overran with tourists, there was still quite a lot there but not as many as later on in the day.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

We then struggled to find somewhere to park, i refused to pay the extreme amounts that people wanted for parking in SF so we found some street parking. got some food, explored the pier and other parts of San Fran, it had been a stressful day so we headed for the coast!!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Some of you may have seen in previous posts the wanky old shift boot this car had. Well Matt over at 2m made me up some new ones which i fitted to the car! quality is honestly amazing!!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

still trying to get used to the size of some of the vehcles in America.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Now, at this point we went a little bit backwards and we drove from the top part of the PCH across to sonora where we would then make our trip to Yosemite and Mammoth lakes

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Sonora and the Sonora Pass was absolutely beautiful.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

If anyone is up in NorCal i really urge you to go drive and experience this road.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

It was at this point i really felt that i had made it, i felt that this trip was really happening. The trip i had dreamt of doing for years.

We was finally out in America, exploring and hitting the open road. Only a few cars passed us and we pulled over to just take it all in. It was crazy, it almost felt as if i was having an out of body experience whilst parked up on the side of this amazing road looking out over the forest.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

we hopped back in the car and just drove the bends and cruised until the car got hot. We pulled over again and i tried to let the car cool down, we went for a walk in the surrounding area and just didn't let the extra hot car bothered us, i would look at it when we got to civilisation.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

ended up just being a bit low on oil and also topped up the water. (later on we found out the thermostat was put in backwards)

We then hit up Yosemite what a beautiful part of the world!! only got one photo with the car.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

after spending a couple of days in Yosemite we done the long long drive to Santa Cruz where we would start the decent down towards LA along the PCH!!

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

From there we drove Big Sur, explored the national park and just enjoyed the coast.

More gas and cleaned up the millions bugs on the windshield.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

We went to Sequoia (i think) and drove through a tree.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

We now got to Lancaster, this was the stop before i got to LA. we had a long weekend staying at my friends house Chris who i believe is on the forum.

Now Chris really saved my arse with this car. I can truly say the car WOULD NOT have made it much further without his help and assistance. And I can not thank him enough for this.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

Got the car into his garage. There was quite a few things that we knew we had to tackle and quite a few things that surprised us.

Now, the lights wasnt properly working. just the main beams wouldnt work on there own they would only work if i put full beams on which meant all 4 of the lights would then be on. and i didnt want to be that guy, so for the first few weeks i was driving will my full beams on but i had the inner two lights unplugged which meant only the outer two lights would be on.

The wiring was a shit storm, it was a bloody mess...

a small wiring fire later and fixing the issue we had a success, albeit only for a short time and then i had to revert back to my previous driving of having the inner lights unplugged and driving with the full beams on.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

We also had other work to do which involved fitting the new front fenders, also the passenger side inner door handle was broken meaning i had to get Nicholl out the car each time by walking to her door and opening it. Although this made me look like a gent it was getting annoying so we welded up what needed to be done and that was fixed.

new fenders on, and also removed the front IS dam as i had smashed it to pieces a few hours prior getting to Chris's house pulling into see the elephant seals on the PCH too quickly and there was a nasty big dip which absolutely killed it. sad times.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

also painted the lower kick pannels, put new brakes on the car.

whilst under the car we noticed the shift linkage was loose so we tightened this up and there was a rattling from the rear which was the rear ARB mounts which was destroyed. it turns out there is a larger rear ARB on the back but couldn't work out what it was. this was dark blue but may have been painted. also there is no ARB up front...

turned the car on to leave Chris's to head down to LA where i would be staying for a week. car wouldn't fire, heard a bang, Chris got wet...

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

yep, that's the fuel line. someone had fitted the wrong fuel line into the car so we replaced it all, i literally have no idea how the car got so far and also how lucky we was that it decided to go in Chris's garage and not in the arse end of nowhere.

Untitled by Ben Walsh, on Flickr

out of the garage and off we left much later than expected but thankfully the car was in tip top shape.

This is where i will leave it for now...

[Tzantushka]

Exciting!

Watching National Lampoon's Vacation is essential pre-trip training.