Schwarz '90 Coupe Build

[derz]

Hey everyone, I am a long time lurker who finally picked up his first e30. I got into these cars about 6 years ago in high school. Couldn't pass up an e36 I found, so that has been my project for the past few years. I finally sold it to make room for this, which is my dream car. I've spent countless hours reading people's threads so I figured I would start my own. This is my 1990 325i that I bought earlier today. It is a little rough around the edges, but it is mostly original and pretty well taken care of. Its still rocking the m20b25 and has about 210,000 miles, although the odo just broke. I am happy with the condition, especially for a NE car. I bought it from the 2nd owner, both were older gentlemen who babied it and kept up with the maintenance.

Some of the mods done are:
Bilstein Shocks
H&R Springs
Dinan Chip
Cold Air Intake
Magnaflow Catback
4.10 LSD
Recent maintenance, including timing/other belts and hoses

Its got a few quirks like any old BMW, but I am excited to work on this when I am home from college. My plans are to fix the small problems, like the driver's door gasket, slight oil leak, temp gauge malfunction, and some squeaky belt.

As far as future mods, I am thinking:
Airbag wheel delete, probably replaced with MTech-1 or Nardi/Momo
Pop-out window conversion
All red tails
is lip
5 lug conversion
Either 17" Style 5s or Style 32s
Upgrade the seats, I am thinking about just finding sport seats but bucket seats are kinda appealing
Suspension bushings
Sway bars
Euro Smileys

I have no clue beyond that what I want to do in terms of forced induction, 24v swap, etc. It'll be a while before that is a realistic option. I'll post more pics once I get the car home in a couple days.

[roguetoaster]

Looks like a great starting point. Take your time, mod slowly, it generally will hold your interest for a longer time, and result in fewer regrets.

[2mAn]

Not a bad starting point at all. I would suggest doing plenty of research before doing any mods and get the maintenance done ASAP, when was the last time the timing belt was done?

Welcome

[derz]

Not a bad starting point at all. I would suggest doing plenty of research before doing any mods and get the maintenance done ASAP, when was the last time the timing belt was done?

Welcome

PO said 180k and its at 210k. I have no way of verifying this so I will do it asap in order to get a baseline. Anything else you'd recommend right off the bat?

[2mAn]

PO said 180k and its at 210k. I have no way of verifying this so I will do it asap in order to get a baseline. Anything else you'd recommend right off the bat?

Typically water pump and timing belt are the things to knock out first. Chances are you'll see stuff "while you're in there" like the v-belts, coolant hoses, etc

If the valve tick is a bit noisy, might need a valve adjustment, but other than that just deal with the issues as they appear and enjoy it!

[derz]

Finally drove it home today!
The car took the 2+ hour drive surprisingly well. The 4.10 LSD had it screaming a little bit on the highway but it was bearable.
After a good amount of time behind the wheel, a few things are apparent. this is definitely a 30 year old car. Once i get it inspected, the suspension will have to be addressed.

[derz]

[derz]

Pretty productive now that I have had a break from school.
Replaced the brake pads and rotors.
Got a new hazard light switch from ebay and spent 45 minutes trying to get the head unit out
Took off the airbag and steering wheel, pulled out the gauge cluster and replaced the odo gears
picked up some pop out windows for a crazy deal
oil pan cleaned/ gasket replaced
currently working on the timing belt
now in serious financial jeopardy lol
pics below

[derz]

Picked up these sport seats a few weeks back for a solid deal, but unfortunately the struts need to be replaced. Hopefully they’ll come in soon because the comfort seats currently in the car are all sorts of jacked up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[derz]

This is how it’s sitting currently. Replacing the clutch, changing diff fluid, and tracking an abs gremlin are top priority right now. Once I finish this semester I’ll have a lot more funds to play with and I’m shooting to do a 5 lug swap, z3 rack and shifter, and a few other little things Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[derz]

Had to order new struts for the sport seats. They’re not perfect, but a definite upgrade from the mismatched comfort seats. My plan is to eventually get a black or cardinal interior so these will work for now. Also sold a set of style 5s I had lying around. I’m likely gonna use that cash to get a set of CCW style wheels as street wheels. Eventually I’ll get a lightweight set, but that’ll come later.

[derz]

Reviving my thread since I have other responsibilities to avoid. It’s been a while, and I have basically just been driving the car when I’m home from college. It hasn’t given me too many issues luckily, aside from not starting back in December. Turns out the engine ground wire was frayed and basically shot. Easy fix luckily. It’s sat since January. My dad has helped me out and has been chipping away on bits and pieces. Unfortunately it needs to be inspected this week, but in PA if you’ve put less than 5,000 miles on your car you don’t need smog for that year, which is one less thing to worry about. Still chasing an ABS system gremlin, but we’ll wait and see if it passes. This summer I’ll hopefully have more time/money to waste on this car, so I’ll keep the thread alive.