My 4 door Lemans Blau build - pic heavy- UPDATE

[sweet6e30]

hey all, Ive been lurking for a while making little posts and haven't really introduced myself.
So heres a little bit about my shitbox given a new life.
Did everything myself :

1988 325i berline royal metalic blau (open diff :( ) diving board special

When i got the car it was in rough shape:
waterpump was quite talkative and was about to seize and actually did as i was driving one day
T belt was cracked
brakes were shot
3/4 wheel bearings were finished
intermittant christmas tree light action happening
usual noise valve components
rust on the roof, 4 doors,floor and fenders,
3/4 cracked springs

The GOODS :
its an E30 :) with a complete second low milage motor installed by BMW ( got all receipts from PO)
The frame is straight and rustless and NEVER accidented
The Rockers have been completly replaced and are NEW
New Gas tank
Im no stranger to rebuilds as i have completly rebuilt my s13 which was in worse shape than my bimmer
So of course some parts had to be bought and replaced, and some places needed some love and repair yikes
T belt/w pump/belts
various gaskets/ hoses
4 wheel bearings rears were a Bitch
All new suspension components
Oem sachs Clutch/ Rear main seal
All New Shifter linkage kit
New fuel filler neck
rear axle
center drive shaft bearing
pretty much all the wear n tear parts replaced

So here it is just after i put some spankin new ESM wheels on and 6000k HID's










as you can see its got some rust BUT not for long

[sweet6e30]

I started finding parts here and there for a plastic bumper conversion
and at the time had no idea that because mine was an 88 i would really have no issues. My origional oem metal front valence was completly mangled so i made my own idea of having an early ES valence with plastic bumpers and ix wheel flares and skirts. A little different but none the less unique. i was lucky to pick up a rear replica valence from a guy who had one and didn't want it. a great freebie.

[Killacortes]

dope color even if its on db's :up:

[sweet6e30]

picked up a few things along the way too:

m tec steering wheel mint from Germany and a real M cluster





I made myself a 3 guage bezel panel from aluminum ( it bends and cuts nicely ) and painted black it is properly anchored behing the ash tray to the center console so its really solid. I used a set of autometer sport comp II guages : oil press,w temp, and volt, i figured those were really the three main concerns with these cars or rather the roots of potential problems. I used a set of angle rings to give it a little more . The whole thing took a while to make but i think turned out pretty dam nice.

Also installed a full raclo Rz short shifter and all new shifter bushings, rod and bits, and a new boot for added sex. ( the shifter is correctly installed, its forward cause its in gear)






Thanks to california and e bay i managed to score a complete set of mint black door cards for cheaaap

[sweet6e30]

here was some battle scars along the way
ZIMMERMAN SHIT

i wouldn't be a real owner of an E30 if this didn't happen, drifting arond in winter and pulled an oil pan special! so new oil pump was installed cause it got destroyed, when the original pan was obliterated. So i managed to find another used oil pan but it needed some love. Fired up the Tig.




the oil pan is a true war hero!

[sweet6e30]

Eventually I got the body sorted out. So on a long weekend I killed it right after work starting friday, and finishing on Sunday, a couple of friends helped out prepping and painting.
I wanted a paint that pops and something just a little different.
So my painter and i came up with a variation of Lemans Blue. There is a Mercedez ingredient in there( sorry its top secret) muhaa!

I replaced all 4 doors with a set that had no rust at all ( gold at the scrapper)
got a brand new hood and brand new fenders







THE OLD SHIT


Prepped all the new stuff to get painted and cleared on the insides








A COMPLETE SEALER

[sweet6e30]

[sweet6e30]

STARTED TO FIT THE IX FLARES AND SKIRTS AND BUMPERS ETC..

[DREWHALL]

Looks good, love the color.

[sweet6e30]

ADDED SOME EURO GRILLS THAT CAME ALREADY WITH EYELIDS, SMOKED TURN SIGNALS, I HAD TO ORDER A SET OF 4 NEW DOOR HANDLES.











THATS WHAT AN EARLY ES VALENCE LOOKS LIKE WITH PLASTICE BUMPERS ( I HAD TO TRIM THE VALENCE A BIT, AND PICK UP SOME FOGS
i THINK I AM GOING TO GIVE THE CHROME TRIM A SHADOWLINE TREATMENT

[sweet6e30]

Eventually i noticed that the headgasket was sweating a bit, so The motor needed a headgasket job. i figured it was a good oportunity to clean up a lot under the hood. I was thinking about boosting it as i love turbo cars ( my s13) but it was a bit outta budget, so i thought id keep the M20 Na

picked up some more parts: a spare i intake manifold with freshly rebuilt injectors a rail, ( what a find on ebay ) :)
got some paint and thought about a few schemes

[sweet6e30]

I hit the PELICAN for some parts, credit card took a bit of beating as i figure i might as well just replace everything to do with the top end.

[Harry's E30]

love the color nicely done

[sweet6e30]

Took a trip to Canadian tire, I looky looky what i found for 20 bux.




im gonna make a bracket and wire them up to the Oem fog switch.

[sweet6e30]

So I started to take the head off