newb here

[Wiglaf]

what's up guys. after years of drooling over e30's i finally picked one up last week.

not sure how long this ad link will work:

http://www.automotive.com/1988/65/bmw/3-series/325i/ohio/burbank/206135950/113/index.html?filter=postalCode%7c44107%7c&order=yearrev&index=0

it's a 1988 325i convertible, white, manual transmission. it's bone stock and in excellent condition.

they knocked $900 off the price when it overheated right before my test drive. i fixed the leak at the gas station across the street and got her home. :)

so i've been reading a lot of threads just trying to get my battle plan together on this car.. first thing being the bumpers. i like the m1tech kit a lot but the others are nice too. i'd like the full front+side+back to match and be lower to the ground though.

on the interior the check panel cover is missing and a bunch of nickel and dime shit.. really quite excellent for 1988. :)

[JJe30]

Welcome to e30's and the site

[brandondan1]

Nice vert! Welcome to the R3v.

[Fanzotti]

You're ready brother! Dig the interior color! Good luck.

[StereoInstaller1]

Hello and welcome to R3V.

Plastics/MTek2/Kopi's/Billy/H&R is all you need to look JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER VERT AROUND!!!!

I say go Testarossa/aluminum wing/13" Dayton 100 spoke/gold trim.

YO!

Or, maybe not.

Anyway, welcome to R3V.

Luke

[mtechnik]

She looks like a good deal . Welcome to E30dom, you've made it!

Enjoy R3VLimited

[schmidty]

Sweet, Enjoy.

Mtech kits are $$$$expensive$$$$. Tuck and paint those bumpers for now! :D

[JPL]

^ what he said.

[Wiglaf]

Sweet, Enjoy.

Mtech kits are $$$$expensive$$$$. Tuck and paint those bumpers for now! :D

no kidding, i was thinking about doing this. :)


can you guys recommend a good source for extra fenders and bodykit parts?
I'm thinking of doing something custom with the wheel wells but would prefer to do it on extra peices in case i fuck it up or it just doesn't look good.

[Court M3]

Sweet, Enjoy.

Mtech kits are $$$$expensive$$$$. Tuck and paint those bumpers for now! :D

Nice find BTW

[325iCabrio]

Nice car. I've got an '88 vert myself. I'd love to do an MTech 1 set with euro bumpers, but my wallet doesn't allow me to do so. From what I've read, the sideskirts are impossible to find.

But if you really want to do it, I'd check out eBay's overseas sites; www.ebay.co.uk & www.ebay.co.de. They have some unique stuff over there.

[Hick]

another ohioian. im down in columbus, osu campus. good luck with her.

[pilotskillse30]

Big welcome to the club, sweet vert.

[schmidty]

can you guys recommend a good source for extra fenders and bodykit parts?
I'm thinking of doing something custom with the wheel wells but would prefer to do it on extra peices in case i fuck it up or it just doesn't look good.

what r u thinking of doin? Just find a junk yard near by and find some there. or buy a cheap parts car and pull em yourself. Your better off doin that rather then buyin new fenders.

[Wiglaf]

well since you asked...
what i had in mind was getting some nice front and rear bumpers, then doing a mild-mannered widebody mod to the fenders. but instead of the m-style where the whole fender kinda bulges out (that i havn't seen on an cabrio yet btw) what i think would look pretty good is if the wheel lip arch thing on the fender jutted out about 3" or 4" instead of 1". on the front it would taper down to stock as it meets the bumper, on the insides it would drop straight down to a custom no-frills sideskirt. i'm playing with the idea of having the exhaust port down there ahead of the rear wheel but not sure how i feel about that one yet. if not it'll be a very plain peice down there. i'll keep the angles on the fender arches the same so that the ride height will remain pretty much the same but it will appear to be dropped a bit with bigger wheels (basically the arch opening will shrink down).. they'll hug the wheel all around instead of just at the top. i also want to raise the rear arch height to match the front, not covering up the top of the wheel so that they look more symmetrical. for some reason those particular things about the fender arch shapes bug the hell out of me when i see lowered rides.

hopefully that isn't too hard to follow.. before i do anything i'll try to mock it up in photoshop to see if it looks good or not. I'm pretty decent at working metal and welding, I'm sure I can swing it if I dive in.