Another clapped-out sh*tbox (E30 318is)

[Vantablack]

I've had a bunch of people ask me to make one of these threads, so here goes.

The Whip:
NA spec 318is slicktop
M42, 5 speed
Brilliantrot exterior, Nicotine Stain interior
Produced June 28th, 1990
VIN: WBAAF9310MEE68640



Background:

I've spent the last 4 years traveling the world living out of a backpack. In early 2020 I was looking to move overseas permanently and had $30k saved to make the move. 2 days before my flight, all international flights were canceled indefinitely due to Covid. I knew lockdown would be more than 2 weeks, so I decided to pick up a good driver's car instead.

I knew I wanted something analog and fun, and eventually knocked my list down to an E30 318is, a 944 S2, or a Miata. Since I wanted a car that could still do car things, that knocked the Miata off the list. And I happened to find a good E30 before a good 944.

I bought this car April 1st 2020 with 95,6XX (correct) miles and zero rust. The cylinder head was cracked, the tach was wrong, and the exhaust was soaked with oil. But overall it ran alright. The engine was kind of glued together with silicone so I didn't know about the cylinder head at first. It had a wood shift knob but was otherwise totally stock. The car was owned by a doctor in Charleston, South Carolina and left in storage since 2002 until I bought it. Upon taking it out of storage, I drove it home 1,915 miles with zero preparation.

In the past year I have restored the car to good working condition with a LOT of outside help. I'll be excluding that maintenance from the list.

Modifications:
- Z3 steering rack
- 370mm Mtech2 steering wheel
- Custom cluster
- Z3 short shifter
- Supersprint exhaust
- D'sylva tune (93 octane)
- Oil catch can added
- Front strut brace added
- 4.10 LSD (factory 25% lockup)
- 15 inch Amil Gamma wheels

To-Do List
- Solid metal steering joint
- DSSR install
- Ground Control coilovers
- replace stock sound system (??? not sure what to do here)

Since I've had the car for about a year, here's some pictures of my experience with it to this point:

https://imgur.com/a/jxO4Vow

I will add more to this at some point. I'm open to fielding questions, although I have fairly limited technical knowledge.

Special Thanks

- Advice, direction, and guidance: getouth, Jordan, mike.bmw, agent
- Diff rebuild: https://danvillediffs.com/
- Cluster work: http://www.bavrest.com/index.html
- replacement cylinder head: roguetoaster
- Amil wheels: Michael P
- Mechanical work: https://www.facebook.com/RennSport-T...7854077915422/, https://www.bimmerbuddies.com/

- 318is facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/7351300863
- E30 Discord server: https://discord.gg/aTbkDEv

[roguetoaster]

Glad you got it together, hope you have a bunch of miles of happy motoring ahead.

[mike.bmw]

Looks great! That cluster is super cool. Any shots of the interior?

[Vantablack]

The interior is mint perfect but I hate it. It's that weird 20 years of nicotine stained walls color, and the pleather turned alligator skin material. I will take some pictures this week.

There's one exception- I was reading about solitions for the cracked dash somewhere, and I saw a forum post that said something like "it's not a real E30 unless the dash is cracked". And I kind of like that, so I might just leave it that way as a sign of affection.

[moatilliatta]

Sharing is Caring.

You can always swap a dash in for that one to crack later.

I think sound system depends on music. Or at least the limit you want to go to enjoy the music. Then factor and balance in weight, complexity, and cost.

I think the GC Konis is one of the best rides vs aggressive setup, but they tend to leak it seems, not everyone, and maybe they're better now. Any performance damper should be rebuilt 30-35K anyway.. But bilsteins just seem to keep going...
Hows the subframe bushings?

Tan interior is a tough one to pull off IMO, Love brown, but tan... Its tough to love it.

Looks like a solid chassis!

[Vantablack]

I think sound system depends on music. Or at least the limit you want to go to enjoy the music. Then factor and balance in weight, complexity, and cost.

First, thanks for the thoughtful reply. It has been immensely useful to talk to other community members if only to throw ideas around.

I picked up the well-known continental head unit already. I want to use the standard size 5.25in speakers but with no visible signs that the system has been modified (so like no trunk subwoofer). But I've already read extensively that the smaller speaker size lacks bass. I was hoping to find speaker suggestions to accommodate for this. I pretty much only listen to the radio and don't mind spending good money for the "right" approach to it.

The rear bushes are all fresh with the LSD swap. I went for factory rubber rather than poly. This is intended to be my only car and DD

Open to any and all advice!

[Victell]

Nice ride. Your mods are almost the same as mine, with the goal to be a good daily driver. I also opted for new rubber bushings instead of poly. Although I did go with solid rubber front control arm bushings (from e36 m3 I think) instead of the e30 oem ones that have voids in them.

And I also have a solid steering shaft bushing ready to go in. I've been hesitant though as I suspect it will add vibration and road 'noise' but not really increase feel very much.

In your imgur pics it looks like you have a poly differential bushing? How do you like it? Do you notice any additional noise inside the car?

Also thanks for sharing the 318is fb group. I didnt know it existed.

[moatilliatta]

First, thanks for the thoughtful reply. It has been immensely useful to talk to other community members if only to throw ideas around.

I picked up the well-known continental head unit already. I want to use the standard size 5.25in speakers but with no visible signs that the system has been modified (so like no trunk subwoofer). But I've already read extensively that the smaller speaker size lacks bass. I was hoping to find speaker suggestions to accommodate for this. I pretty much only listen to the radio and don't mind spending good money for the "right" approach to it.

The rear bushes are all fresh with the LSD swap. I went for factory rubber rather than poly. This is intended to be my only car and DD

Open to any and all advice!

I would focus on quality of speaker. 5.25 +/- and inch isn't going to gain much in bass IMO. And you wont ever get he bass you're looking for mostly likely ruined by even the newest ECO car systems that have rolled off the lot.

Maybe some gains with strategic sound deadening, but the only way for those speakers to sound better is to relive them of the bass with a woofer IMO.

If you want to stay rubber and want to gain some rigidity there are always the Group N rubber subframe bushings. Hows the rear alignment?

One of these maybe the simplest ways, Yet to test, to add some bass.

I got a little creative, and I think it weighs 13LBS

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Dl9FVO...BoCPBMQAvD_BwE

[Albie325]

Wow really nice find! I'm sure you put a ton of work in to get it to this point but compared to a lot of E30's I've seen I'd hardly consider it clapped out! Paint looks great and the mods you've done should really make it a fun car to drive.

Regarding the sound system, I upgraded my car with the same Continental head unit (which I think you're really going to like) as well as the stock premium sound system. Compared to the base speakers with the OEM head unit, the sound quality is night and day, I'm still shocked how good the 30+ year old premium speakers sound compared to the original ones. As moatilliatta said, it depends on your listening tastes and just how much base you really want, but for a daily just listening to the radio I think you'd be surprised with the stock premium setup.

What you gonna do with it when they open up international travel again tho?? Still thinking of moving abroad?

[Vantablack]

I'll try to go through ideas in order:

- The car had it's control arms replaced by the seller right before I bought the car. My guess is that it's just stock replacement, although I haven't really checked. That said, it handles well and I don't really have any issues with it right now.

I thought long and hard about the steering joint adding NVH. But then I was thinking, I also read a lot of complaints about the Z3 rack being "twitchy" which it isn't at all. My guess is that the Z3 rack is prone to installation error because there's a LOT of debate as to whether the 14mm spacers for it go above or below the rack during installation. Reportedly, incorrect installation leads to bump steer and squirrely driving characteristics. Mine doesn't do this at all. Honestly, I think some people forget that the Z3 rack actually came in the Z3 from the factory. My thinking is that the solid steering joint will probably not add NVH if installed correctly. And even if that's wrong and it does, I'll just swap it back since it's not that complicated. And report my findings here.

The car is currently in the shop having a bunch of touch-up work and small things done to it, but that work included the bushings + LSD installation. I will not have the car back until Wednesday, so I can test it then. My guess is that Danville Diffs went with poly for the bushing because it's easier and less likely to damage or break that thin ring around it. I never really asked though.

- I forgot to mention that I'm trying really hard not to add any weight to the car. Some minor things like the strut brace I think are unavoidable, but I don't want to add a subwoofer or anything like that. I went out of my way to find the small case diff over medium to save 20lbs for example. If the stock speakers are alright and the head unit is all that I need, I will probably go that route. Is it possible to find a new premium sound system, or will I have to buy used? I know absolutely nothing about sound systems.

As far as I can tell, the rear alignment is good.

- My goal is to move overseas still when the dust settles and it's okay to do so. Converting the cluster to metric was a part of that. I also plan to take my motorcycle, and sort of consider the two as a pair.



Again, thanks for facilitating the conversation guys. I love the ideas, and apologize for skipping a fair amount of information in my prior posts.

[mike.bmw]

I met up with Max at Katie's Cars and Coffee last weekend. He was stateside for a few weeks, visiting from Spain. I put together a story on BimmerLife here: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/10/05/lo...imited-meetup/

And here are some photos of Max's 318is!

20230930-DSC_1428 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230930-DSC_1309 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230930-DSC_1318 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230930-DSC_1307 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230930-DSC_1315 by mike.bevels, on Flickr