my first car (lots of pics, 56k good luck)

[niq_nak]

well after months of waiting, my dad and i finally flew up to virginia to get my uncles 1990 325is. once we got there the car looked like crap, paint is real messed up, seats were pretty bad, and the carpeting was really bad, the dash was in great shape though other than being dirty. a coke or something had exploded in the car i guess cause there was coke or something all over the passenger side dash, door panel, and dried puddles on the carpeting and on the driver side carpeting as well. my uncle basically just completely stopped taking care of the car, and only used it to cart around his dog because he now has a 98 M3. so there was also dog hair everywhere. anyways, my dad was worried the car wouldnt drive well, but after we got some ATF fluid in her, she drove amazingly, like my dad said "she drives like a bmw". so we started the drive back down to orlando, fl. my dad and i switched off, it was my first time driving on the highway and ever driving a stick besides around the neighborhood, but i did alright. when we got home I started on the interior, got the driver side seats out and got everything vacuumed and cleaned out the trunk. then today at around 11:30 i started on her again, but decided to take some pics so heres what she looked like at 11:30 this morning.







Heres the driver side after the dash being vacuumed and the seat taken out


Driver side floor after vacuumimg


Passenger side after vacumming the dash


Passenger side floor right after taking the seats out, the driver side looked the same except less coke stains


The front seats arent that bad, drivers seat is pretty messed up, but the passenger seat is ok


The rear seats look pretty good, just cracked and theres one cigarette burn.


Trunk after being vacuumed

anyways, today I put about 8 hours in cleaning the car
cleaned and conditioned the rear seats
cleaned out the tracks on the front seats then cleaned and conditioned them
cleaned off the dash, took the ash trays out, etc
cleaned both door panels
started cleaning the carpets

tomorrow when i get home from school im going to finish the carpets, put the seats back in, wash the outside, and get some "after" pics of everything, then it goes in for paint on tuesday or wednesday.

i need a good amount of little things for the car, wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction. i need bmw center caps for the wheels, new front seats (what other model bmw seats will bolt in), floor mats, and of course, ill be looking for an iS lip.

anways, im very excited about the car, im 16 and this is my first car :D

[Jordan]

A good steam cleaning will get out the soda stains. Be prepared to clean several times, as it will keep coming back over and over until it is ALL gone.

[KenC]

You don't need new front seats, just get them reupholstered.

[niq_nak]

thanks, i got out most of it today, just gotta finish it up tomorrow, im scared to see what its gonna look like after its dried though.

car also needs a lot of mechanical work on little stuff, ac, sunroof, etc, that should all be done by the end of the week

and the drivers side front seats needs to be replaced, i think. my uncle was a pretty big guy so the sides on the drivers seat are pretty bent outwards, would that be fixed with reupholstering?

[Erick]

sounds good! Another e30 in the FL area! :)

[nando]

so when are you taking that thing off road? ;)

not bad for a first car, just don't crash it!

[Jand3rson]

not bad for a first car, just don't crash it!

That's kind of a crappy stupid thing to tell someone. I doubt he planned to. :D

[KenC]

and the drivers side front seats needs to be replaced, i think. my uncle was a pretty big guy so the sides on the drivers seat are pretty bent outwards, would that be fixed with reupholstering?

Yes, you can repair the bolsters when you reupholster.

[Ryan Stewart]

Not a bad first car, maybe not a brand new one but definately a good start and a great car to learn on. Restoring it and maintainting it will cause you to appreciate it more.

Oh, and its obvious that since you spent 8 hours cleaning it that you are screwed. You are now destined to piss away every spare dime for the next 4 years building the E30 into something unique to you. They are like a Succubus, they do it to the best of us. :twisted:

[ETA fro]

my uncle was a pretty big guy so the sides on the drivers seat are pretty bent outwards, would that be fixed with reupholstering?

i made mine a bit better a few weeks ago. stand in front of seet and place hands on sides of bolsters, push together. repeat if needed.

or you can replace them, your call.
goodstart on the car though, keep up the good work