Bought a POS, this is R3Vs fault

[2mAn]

I almost bought something fancy and expensive, but then the check didnt clear, luckily I had already spent a little time with the POS and was smitten with her charm...



Its a properly neglected E30, but it does have some goodies. As usual, I had a few ideas of what I wanted to do, but I also really needed to clean up a lot of faded plastics. Thats easy, so that was step one. A fresh bottle of SEM Trim Paint was ready for action.







The car didnt have a cat, but came with the factory downpipe that has a stock ETA cat. Called a friend to weld it...





While he did that, I wanted to see how hard it would be to remove the black paint from the bumpers. Shockingly, paint thinner worked fairly well!...





After that, I decided to use some more SEM Trim paint on ... trim.






That was a decent start, but it was time to actually spend some money!

[2mAn]

Basically, the Bottlecaps had some HARD tires that were 6 years old. Sadly the SSRs cant/ wont make a return, so I went hunting and decided that I am going to aim towards SpecE30 mods. Decision was made to purchase a set of wheels from Phils Tire Service for a great price on Brand new wheels.

Bottlecaps are only good if you're building a Rally E30...



Hard to tell, but basically the upgrade was a net zero penalty in weight. Huge upgrade in grip, looks and function so I am happy.



Tires were provided by rcompoundusa, a set of 205/50/15 Nankang CR-S v2



The other 'mod' was to remove the beatup Sport Seats and install my Recaro SR2 seats on Planted Seat brackets.


VERY happy with this.


oh yea, I also bought this!


Got a lot more coming, but thats all for now... sort of

[Il Duce]

Heck yeah! Welcome back - that didn't take long and I see the car has a 3rd pedal which your red one did not... What's on the agenda for this one?
Edit: Just saw the 2nd post. Nice upgrades!!

[MrBurgundy]

Heck yeah! Welcome back - that didn't take long and I see the car has a 3rd pedal which your red one did not... What's on the agenda for this one?
Edit: Just saw the 2nd post. Nice upgrades!!

The plan with this car is to sell it within 2 months

[roguetoaster]

Ahem, 4 months, something tricky will invariably break and that'll be the death knell as he's waiting for parts. Although on an E30, I'm not sure what that might be.

Glad you're back with an E30 Simon, but it hardly qualifies as a boat.

[MrBurgundy]

Our only moderator has an e30 again.

Great success

[82eye]

already jealous.

[econti]

Cut the muffler off. Be the hero that teenage you would've looked up to

[OSAH racing]

Racing buckets, sticky rubber on non-OEM wheels and you said comes with some goodies. What engine is in it or what engine is planned? This one's going to be a build of some kind. I am amused like a parent waiting for you to introduce me to the one you're going to keep. For now, you're just dating this one.

[McGyver]

Awesome plate and welcome back to the fold! This will be cool to watch play out.

[amcp]

Is this another track build or just something to toy with?

[2mAn]

What's on the agenda for this one?

Needs more low and I need to finish converting the interior from Tan to Black. Beyond that I just wanted something I can drive and take the kiddo with me, when she is down.

I need to NOT make this a project so I can focus on the car that IS a project... I've already driven this E30 more than the Elan!...

roguetoaster & MrBurgundy when this is still here in 2026 you will need to make a donation to the charity of my choosing


82eye Thank you

Cut the muffler off. Be the hero that teenage you would've looked up to

Im definitely 'older & wider' as my FIRST E30, a 1986 325es I removed the cat added a resonator and muffler in their place. This time around, Im doing the opposite. Removed a resonator and added a cat. Theres a Supersprint muffler in one of the pics that should be making its way to this car. Its not a quiet car now, but it is less stinky.

Racing buckets, sticky rubber on non-OEM wheels and you said comes with some goodies. What engine is in it or what engine is planned? This one's going to be a build of some kind. I am amused like a parent waiting for you to introduce me to the one you're going to keep. For now, you're just dating this one.

The Recaros are reclining, but hold you wonderfully well and the lowered position is nice even though Im not a tall boi ... I had dropped hints all over, but this car was for sale by another R3V member. It actually had a 2.9L M20 built by Bimmerheads and loads of other goodies, but my buddy beat me to it and now its 'just' a 2.7i. This car is essentially rekindling my first E30 and giving it another go ...~15 years later.

Awesome plate and welcome back to the fold! This will be cool to watch play out.

Thank you! 1986 was the transition year in CA from the blue/yellow plates to the Sunset plate. Sunset plate is a personal favorite and will be one of those subtle nods to the IYKYK crowd as a plate starting with a 2 would be correct for that timeframe also.

[2mAn]

After I had done enough and felt she deserved a bath I realized just how filthy the car was, but she responded well and looks better after her bath... then I lost a sidemarker

[reelizmpro]

Here's a mid 90's pic of my 85 325e (right) and 87 325eS (left)
When my mom bought the 85 325e in late 1984, it came with sunset plates. It later became my first car so the plate brings back a lot of memories and I had to have one for my 85 323i. I originally thought it was 85 to 87 but it seems that it was available earlier. Here's what I found...

"The DMV is correct in that this plate debuted in 1982. However, it did not replace the blue plate as standard issue; it was an optional plate costing an extra five dollars. This remained so for most of its life until January 1987. By this time, legislation required reflective license plate surfacing, and the blue plate was discontinued.

For a short ten-month period in 1987, the Golden State plate became the standard, only to be wholly replaced later that year by the new reflector-coated white plate, essentially a re-color of the blue plate with a blank background and block “California” lettering."

[AWDBOB]

Have you been hiding this from us for 3mo or did you buy it from whoever bought it in May?

I won’t spoil your secret