My '87 E30 restoration project (aka make it safe to drive and slowly restore)

[Frosty352i]

Hello, I'd like to share my E30 journey with you all and hopefully soak up some advice along the way. The last time the car ran or moved was 2017 and unfortunately, it's been sitting since then. I've finally mustered the courage to tackle this project as the car has been sitting it's been eating at me and apparently, itself (rust). A lot of circumstances caused me to let it sit and wait but that is in the past and only way to move forward is through hard work, focus and spending money. I named the car Renata.

So far what i have done is:
Washed the car
Removed the Hood insulation (stupid critters made a nest in there)
Removed Gas from the entire system.
Added 7 gallons of fresh fuel, a shot glass of marvel mystery oil, a mini bottle of fuel injector cleaner, and some HEET gas treatment (in case any fuel was left in the tank - doubt I got it all out)
Replaced Fuel Filter.
Oil and Oil filter change
Radiator and Engine block flush
used Distilled water because i plan on doing the timing belt, water pump and thermostat in a week or two when i get my parts)
Removed Front and rear calipers
Restored the calipers, sanded and cleaned - removed the bleeder valve and basted the insides with brake parts cleaner. Painted.
Restored the caliper mounts - same deal
Replaced the rotors, pads, rear flexy soft lines, set screws (1 broke!!! i tried to drill and extract it but with no prevail. I was able to extract the head of the screw in order to remove the rotor BUT i could not get the entire screw out
Rust treated the Front and Rear control arms
Removed lower bumper skid thing
Removed radiator bumper plastics
Installed new tires Michelin MXV3-A 195/65-14 89V
Disassembled and cleaned the throttle Body, Intake, ICU - everything connecting the to the throttle body.


I have identified a lot of parts that need to flat out be replaced so i have a bunch of parts on order from ECS tuning. The website seems great and my experience ordering stuff has been a breeze.
Waiting for parts:
Timing belt rebuild kit -
2 of each accessory belt
Front to Rear hard line delete kit, (during my brake fluid flush and bleed i found a pin hole leak at the T junction above the differential in the back. To avoid the head ache of bending new tubing and having to replace all the hard lines. I decided to purchase this kit.)
Complete exhaust hanger kit with OEM brackets
Air intake boot (mine has dry rotted and cracked)
All coolant and heater hoses
new clips for reinstalling the bumpers
Left interior door handle
Differential gasket kit
Speedometer sensor for rear diff
stainless steel braided front brake lines

My goal is to completely restore the car to near factory glory and slightly improve the driving experience while taking a few easy short cuts.

The brake hardline Pin hole at the T in the rear is an example of a short cut and hopefully its the right solution. I know i will struggle to get the brake lines apart without dropping the entire differential. I'm betting on this hardline delete kit to make my life easier and a set it and forget it solution.

Anyone have experience with this kit? its from Chase bay. my car has ABS so im assuming the kit will thread into the ABS unit and follow the original routing with the new stainless flexy lines and hopefully reach the rear end. I'll post a bunch of pictures of the project today

Currently the engine is running fine and has a solid idle. ill post a short clip of it idling on youtube to share with you all

[82eye]

great start. plan on replacing mounts and bushings at some point. these cars are great when they get new rubber.

[Frosty352i]

https://youtu.be/T-2DYnvBb_Q?si=olP0unE_0Q2Y3wNt

First start after cleaning all the throttle components and fuel stuff

[Frosty352i]

great start. plan on replacing mounts and bushings at some point. these cars are great when they get new rubber.

this 100% is on my mind. id like to get the car rolling a little bit before i take this on. I'd really like to drop my differential in order to properly seal everything with fresh gaskets / seals and rust treat the entire casing and all the components hiding either on or around the exhaust, differential, rear axle carrier and trailing arms.

Also due to family circumstances (i promise to leave these details out of this post) i can finally start to clear out trash out of the garage. My goal is to get the car rolling, clean the garage and tackle those major components inside rather than a crumbling driveway. first get it rolling with a fresh timing belt.

[82eye]

this 100% is on my mind. id like to get the car rolling a little bit before i take this on. I'd really like to drop my differential in order to properly seal everything with fresh gaskets / seals and rust treat the entire casing and all the components hiding either on or around the exhaust, differential, rear axle carrier and trailing arms.

Also due to family circumstances (i promise to leave these details out of this post) i can finally start to clear out trash out of the garage. My goal is to get the car rolling, clean the garage and tackle those major components inside rather than a crumbling driveway. first get it rolling with a fresh timing belt.

timing belt is crucial. getting it running well first is the right way to go about it. when it comes time to refresh the back, it's best to just drop the whole rear sub. brake lines, rtabs, sub bushes, diff upgrades, etc can all get done at once saving a lot of time over piecemeal. getting a garage in order will definitely help out.

[Frosty352i]

timing belt is crucial. getting it running well first is the right way to go about it. when it comes time to refresh the back, it's best to just drop the whole rear sub. brake lines, rtabs, sub bushes, diff upgrades, etc can all get done at once saving a lot of time over piecemeal. getting a garage in order will definitely help out.

that is 100% the plan! im so excited and nervous about dropping the whole rear sub. once i can park it inside i will lift the car on jack stands as high as possible and drop the rear sub and refresh everything back there. hopefully i can start this in late July or Early August. after the rear and some break in driving time. i will be doing the same for the front. (the front seems to be in much better shape than the rear).

I have my homework ahead of me. This is all very new to me so I'm going to search around the forum for a walk through for dropping the rear sub. (if you know one already exists, toss me a link here. please and thank you)

[82eye]

I have my homework ahead of me. This is all very new to me so I'm going to search around the forum for a walk through for dropping the rear sub. (if you know one already exists, toss me a link here. please and thank you)

keyword search the diy subforum for threads or links to most things. get a bentley repair manual, as it's covered as well. it helps to have both resources.

https://www.rtsauto.com/e30-rear-subframe-and-subframe-bushing-removal-and-install/

[Frosty352i]

winning!! thank you so much

[82eye]

no worries. enjoy the car.

edit : i dropped the sub on mine and re-did everything. it's not so bad. most guys on here have done it at some point. no real special tools or anything, you can diy the bushes. i took the sub apart and had the main sub bushes put in at a shop for $40 cdn, but they can be done at home as well.

[Frosty352i]

Last night i received my first package from ECS tuning, it contained my OEM muffler hanger kit. Well it appears that FEDEX ran it over with a truck and then decided to rebox and deliver. all 4 hangers and two with the brackets were completely misshaped and crushed.

it has begun! asking for a replacement from ECS lets see how "smooth" this goes. was planning on dropping the muffler last night but that took the wind out of my sails. Tonight after work im gonna drop my muffler from the cat

EDIT: spoke with customer service. ECS is pulling through, sounds like they got my replacement ready to ship and gave me a free return shipping label.

[AWDBOB]

I would steer clear of anything from Chase Bays (and mostly Garbagegistic too).

Get a NiCopp 3/16” brake line spool and a quality flaring tool, spend a day to get it bent cleanly and it’ll outlast the car.

ECS is owned by a large gross investment group- if you can, try to support businesses who support the small community we have. I use RMeuropean, Blunttech, FCP euro, Guten Parts.

Is your car an ‘87 325i 4dr? If so, they’re one of my favorites.

Also, not sure how long you’ve owned the car and/or other E30s, but, the sooner you can safely enjoy the car, the better. Don’t get caught up in the restoration mindset, as these cars are meant to be driven.

[Frosty352i]

thanks so much for the heads up with ECS - i was unaware and will start looking for parts from those other companies.

This is a 87 and 4 door 325i. its really nice but has sat way to long. i've owned the car since 2010 but life caught up to me in my mid twenties and it unfortunately had to sit (about a decade). I drove the car a lot, put around 20,000 miles on it from 2010-2013. from 2013 i moved to Minnesota, leaving the car at my parents home. sometime around 2016 i transferred the title to my brother so he could drive the car as he fixed up his own. This was a mistake because he drove the car during winter and didnt clean it properly. the car last drove in 2018. Now that ive finally settled back at home, im focusing my free time on the car. I want to bring it back to life and prevent further damage from oxidation.

my goal right now is to get the car running safely. little things keep adding up. my first project was to get the brakes reconditioned and bled, found a pin hole leak at the front to rear T. that set me back. Found the Chase Bays front to rear delete kit, figured that would save me some headaches. i could return it and bend my own lines, just wish i did that from the start as ive been waiting for the kit to arrive to get the car ready for its first drive.

Over the winter i will be dropping the rear sub frame. the rear end needs to be reconditioned, im nervous about the project but i think the car would really benefit from it.

[82eye]

the whole rear sub refresh took me a wk doing it in the driveway. it's not that bad. it only took that long because i painted sub and rebuilt/painted the calipers at the same time. just get all the parts and bushings together ahead of time.

[Frosty352i]

OMG these web sites you suggested are great resources!!! thank you so much. Damn Google for suggesting ECS lmao. ordering 4 45mm sticker Emblems for my wheels

[AWDBOB]

In the event you wanted to delay the full brake line replacement until you pull the subframe, the hillbilly east coast rear brake line fix is a viable short (see: long) term solution

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/suspension-unsprung/brakes-subframe-arms/316841-e30-rear-brake-lines-and-t-junction-replacement-without-removing-subframe-diy