After recently selling my first e30 in May due to rust, a few weeks later a deal popped up near me that was too good to pass up. Went to see it in person within an hour of being listed on facebook and bought it on the spot.
1991 318is in brilliant red slicktop with ~130,000 miles, and very importantly rust free. Quite a rarity for MN. Guy owned it since 09 and it sat neglected for a few years.
Andddd its official. In my driveway, right where my old 325i was parked. Spot did not stay empty for long.
Few things about the car. It is very original, and by far the cleanest e30 I have bought out of the 4. A lot of original paperwork was included. Still has the original floormats. Was told by the seller the car needed brakes badly. More on that later.
The car came with a shit load of spare parts as the seller was moving.
Wasnt thrilled about some of the stuff, but there was definitely some good stuff hiding in the stash. Notable parts include...
Mtech 1 spoiler
Maplight
Clean hvac panel
And two 15" center caps which I learned were worth $250 when I was offered that price for them
Alright, onto fixing the car. New headlights, orange turn signal covers and sidemarkers, and the cca badge and is lip from my old 325i.
There was an ecosystem growing in the turn signal housings lol
Zhp knob for EVERYTHING. Also from the 325i.
And out with the airbag wheel.
Now on to some mechanical fixes. First thing I tackled was the mess under the intake. Every intake hose was cracked, including the boot. No idea how the car idled.
Valves looked good. Injectors looked like they were recent replaced as well so I didnt touch them. There are 4 spare rebuilt injectors in the part stash as well.
Much better.
New fuel filter
And now suspension and brake time. Car came with new rotors and pads so just had to buy suspension stuff. Ive installed this vogtland/kyb setup in 3 of my e30s and its a very nice combination of performance to comfort.
Time to get started.....oh.
Both front rotor screws were fucked and took quite some persuasion with a torx and sledgehammer to come loss. Eventually got them both thankfully.
Remember when the seller said the car needed brakes? He wasnt kidding.
Muuuuch better. Not sure how I feel about the rotors, but they came with the car and the center parts are painted to prevent surface rust so whatever.
And the rears.
And perfect ride height obtained.
And thats where we are currently. Upcoming plans for the car:
-New thermostat and water pump (rad was recently replaced)
-Try and find fabric to repair the front seat
-Control arms and tie rods eventually. Ones in the car are still ok but id like to have it all new
-Get a fuel line replaced that goes to the filter. It was leaking a bit and I was able to cut the hose end off for a temp fix.
-Drive it maybe? The M52 from the 325i I sold is going in my vert soon so I have a feeling I will be driving that car quite a bit.
Anyways, thanks for looking. I am not active on here much but I do like to track all the progress on my cars here. Nice to have the documentation to go back on.
1991 318is in brilliant red slicktop with ~130,000 miles, and very importantly rust free. Quite a rarity for MN. Guy owned it since 09 and it sat neglected for a few years.
Andddd its official. In my driveway, right where my old 325i was parked. Spot did not stay empty for long.
Few things about the car. It is very original, and by far the cleanest e30 I have bought out of the 4. A lot of original paperwork was included. Still has the original floormats. Was told by the seller the car needed brakes badly. More on that later.
The car came with a shit load of spare parts as the seller was moving.
Wasnt thrilled about some of the stuff, but there was definitely some good stuff hiding in the stash. Notable parts include...
Mtech 1 spoiler
Maplight
Clean hvac panel
And two 15" center caps which I learned were worth $250 when I was offered that price for them
Alright, onto fixing the car. New headlights, orange turn signal covers and sidemarkers, and the cca badge and is lip from my old 325i.
There was an ecosystem growing in the turn signal housings lol
Zhp knob for EVERYTHING. Also from the 325i.
And out with the airbag wheel.
Now on to some mechanical fixes. First thing I tackled was the mess under the intake. Every intake hose was cracked, including the boot. No idea how the car idled.
Valves looked good. Injectors looked like they were recent replaced as well so I didnt touch them. There are 4 spare rebuilt injectors in the part stash as well.
Much better.
New fuel filter
And now suspension and brake time. Car came with new rotors and pads so just had to buy suspension stuff. Ive installed this vogtland/kyb setup in 3 of my e30s and its a very nice combination of performance to comfort.
Time to get started.....oh.
Both front rotor screws were fucked and took quite some persuasion with a torx and sledgehammer to come loss. Eventually got them both thankfully.
Remember when the seller said the car needed brakes? He wasnt kidding.
Muuuuch better. Not sure how I feel about the rotors, but they came with the car and the center parts are painted to prevent surface rust so whatever.
And the rears.
And perfect ride height obtained.
And thats where we are currently. Upcoming plans for the car:
-New thermostat and water pump (rad was recently replaced)
-Try and find fabric to repair the front seat
-Control arms and tie rods eventually. Ones in the car are still ok but id like to have it all new
-Get a fuel line replaced that goes to the filter. It was leaking a bit and I was able to cut the hose end off for a temp fix.
-Drive it maybe? The M52 from the 325i I sold is going in my vert soon so I have a feeling I will be driving that car quite a bit.
Anyways, thanks for looking. I am not active on here much but I do like to track all the progress on my cars here. Nice to have the documentation to go back on.
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