Short version: bought a "non-running" 318iS for $500, had been sitting for a year, put in a good battery and it started right up. No sunroof, black headliner, fucked paint and valence. Any M42 suggestions?
Last week the cable guy sees my bimmerphile display of grills, center caps, etc in my garage and says his brother has a 1991 318iS for sale: $500.
He says it doesn't run and has been sitting for a year. He bought it from a mechanic and had a problem where it wouldn't start. He had it diagnosed as a bad battery cable and replaced it. Didn't have any problems for a while then it wouldn't start again. He couldn't figure it out so he left it to sit in this barn/garage.
The paint is bad: fading and peeling on the hood and roof. But the body is very rust-free, which here in Iowa is very surprising. I figured what the hell and bought it from him, hoping I could clean it up and get it running. Best case scenario I rescue this car from some careless guys and give it a new life. Worst case scenario, salvage what I can and scrap the rest.
The dash is totally cracked and the sport seats need replaced/recovered.
Oh yeah, and it is sans-sunroof! And to boot it had this black headliner. It looks nice and clean install, but I thought that no E30 ever came with a black headliner?
They left it sitting with the ebrake on, so the driver rear wheel was seized. First thing I did was give it a power wash and took out all the ebrake stuff on that side to free up the wheel.
Then last night I threw in the good battery from my 86, and it started right up! Total fucking score, I couldn't be happier about that. I'm thinking they had an electrical problem or something because there is a security system installed and it looks like a bad install on a cd player. Whenever I replace the dash I'll just try and unhook any aftermarket shit that I can find.
The front valence is smashed and missing the lip, the driver door has been hit, and a couple small dents on the passenger door and trunk lid. Bottom line was that it had nearly no rust and any that I could find was surface only.
Next step is getting it rolling and all general maintenance. I'm new to the M42 so any general tips would be appreciated.
Last week the cable guy sees my bimmerphile display of grills, center caps, etc in my garage and says his brother has a 1991 318iS for sale: $500.
He says it doesn't run and has been sitting for a year. He bought it from a mechanic and had a problem where it wouldn't start. He had it diagnosed as a bad battery cable and replaced it. Didn't have any problems for a while then it wouldn't start again. He couldn't figure it out so he left it to sit in this barn/garage.
The paint is bad: fading and peeling on the hood and roof. But the body is very rust-free, which here in Iowa is very surprising. I figured what the hell and bought it from him, hoping I could clean it up and get it running. Best case scenario I rescue this car from some careless guys and give it a new life. Worst case scenario, salvage what I can and scrap the rest.
The dash is totally cracked and the sport seats need replaced/recovered.
Oh yeah, and it is sans-sunroof! And to boot it had this black headliner. It looks nice and clean install, but I thought that no E30 ever came with a black headliner?
They left it sitting with the ebrake on, so the driver rear wheel was seized. First thing I did was give it a power wash and took out all the ebrake stuff on that side to free up the wheel.
Then last night I threw in the good battery from my 86, and it started right up! Total fucking score, I couldn't be happier about that. I'm thinking they had an electrical problem or something because there is a security system installed and it looks like a bad install on a cd player. Whenever I replace the dash I'll just try and unhook any aftermarket shit that I can find.
The front valence is smashed and missing the lip, the driver door has been hit, and a couple small dents on the passenger door and trunk lid. Bottom line was that it had nearly no rust and any that I could find was surface only.
Next step is getting it rolling and all general maintenance. I'm new to the M42 so any general tips would be appreciated.
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