My 91 325i track car

[kts]

It took a long time for me to find this car. I had wanted a white 2 door plastic bumper E30 for a track car for a very long time but could never find one in my area. I looked at a lot of other E30s in the area but never could find a car to settle on.

Then in December 2010 Levent posted a link to a car that someone he knew in NJ was trying to sell. White. 2 door. E30. Why it even already had the black Team Dynamics wheels with the tires I would have used already on them! It even already had all of the parts to turn it into a Spec E30 car already installed as well. Had I died and gone to heaven?

I quickly contacted the owner and a few short days later I was the new proud owner of the car.

The specs of the car that the previous owner posted:

Produced 1/21/91
Alpinweiss 2, 5 speed manual with LSD, 195K chassis miles, 140k engine miles.

This car has had the engine replaced, all the bushings, the gas tank (I think all E30s on the east coast need a new one) full front end, see the list below.

Suspension improvements:

Spec E30 suspension (HR Race springs and Bilstein sport front struts and rear shocks)
Suspension Techniques Spec E30 legal sway bars Front 22mm, Rear 19mm
New front control arms, swaybar links, full new tierods, 96-99 M3 front control arm bushings.
Ground Control Spec E30 legal Caster – Camber plates.
AKG rear trailing arm bushings, rear subframe bushings and differential mount (75D polyurethane).

Brakes:

OEM spec Brembo brake rotors, DOT stainless brake lines, PBR ultimate pads.

Engine:

Replacement engine from 140K 1990 325is. Injectors cleaned and flow tested. New water pump , radiator, low temp thermostat, and hoses. AC and mechanical fan removed. Electric high flow, Dual speed pusher fan temp controlled from radiator with manual control from dash.
New timing belt and front and rear seals. Engine compartment repainted.

Fuel:
Brand new gas tank and all rubber fuel lines replaced. Fuel filter relocated to front.
Brand new battery.

Drivetrain:

New Sachs clutch kit. Flywheel resurfaced. New center bearing and Guibo. Understeer.com OEM component short shift kit. All shifter bushings replaced.
AKG engine and transmission mounts (75D bolt through)


Wheels and tires:

Team Dynamics Pro Race, Spec E30 approved, matte black wheels ( 13.2 lbs each) and Kumho Ecsta XS 205/50 ZR 15 tires.

Comfort and appearance:

Momo Mod. 78 suede steering wheel (resistor pack used in airbag circuit so airbag could be reinstalled if wanted).
Black vinyl E30 sport seats (driver and passenger).
Carpets, console and rear seat still installed, no bar or cage installed.
Fully street legal and inspected thru 3/2012.
No radio or AC (aluminum radio delete panel installed)
More than 100 lbs. of weight removed.
Car was repainted at some point and exterior is in "nice" condition, bumper mouldings were replaced with euro spec and sidemarkers deleted.

It's fun as hell and loud as hell on the inside from all the bushings and I love it. The car is a blast to drive. The drive home was interesting, in the cold rain I learned that wow Kumho XSes suck. I made it home and the next morning it started to snow.



I had to wait almost a month to register the car which was torture since the car kept calling me to go drive it, but by waiting until 2011 the car was 20 years old and I could register is as Historic in MD which means no inspection or emissions, and registration is a lot cheaper.

A few pics from the previous owner:

[kts]

Soon after I picked up the car I bought a set of Bimmerworld studs for the car since they were on sale for the holidays. Ugh. I wish I had stuck with the Vorshlag studs I put on my E36. The allen hex in the studs were not uniform in size and made for a hard install and after handling both the Vorshlag units just look and feel like better quality studs.

I also picked up a few Euro bits:







And then installed them:





And of course picked up the obligatory ZHP shift knob.

[kts]

So it's supposed to be a track car, but I keep trying to find ways to make it look better. I need help, I know.

The car doesn't have any of the stereo still installed, and while it's been fun listening to the engine when I drive it, I kinda would like to have a stereo. I removed the "radio delete" plate on the dash and took a look at the horror behind it:



There is a mix of original wiring, random butt splices, raw wires, and more fun. I think I'll take this to a professional and let them deal with it some day.

I found a beige trim piece for the passenger door handle at a junkyard and swapped over the black one that was on the car. I've seen every other beige car have this little trim piece in black, I was shocked to find it in beige, and now it's on my car.



I also picked up original black side molding for the car to replace the white stuff that was on the car. No one seems to have any idea what the stuff currently on my car is, and I think the black trim needs to be on there to make it look like a proper E30.

Side molding now:



What it will look like after:

[kts]

Track day:



After a busy year of travel and working on a Lemons car I finally got to take the E30 to the track. Someone at the SCCA thought my Lemons track experience counted for actual track experience (HA!) and put me in the intermediate run group, but in the end I guess the joke was on me since I didn't kill anyone, had a great time, and got a heck of a lot faster.

For my last session the instructor signed off on me to go out on the track solo, thus the white stripe on the blue.



One of the instructors felt that my engine felt a little tired compared to the Spec E30 he used to race. Not sure if that was just my slow driving or the engine is actually tired (I hope not!) bit I went ahead and picked up a compression tester and will be testing that soon.

Besides the compression test I have a few more projects to do:

- E36 steering rack. I picked one up from a local guy for a great price so I will give it a shot once I clean it up. As a bonus he threw in some other bits and one of the tie rods is brand new and I can put on my E36.



I just started to clean it, wow it is covered in crap.

- Replace blower motor. The current one sounds like I have unleashed 2 tiny squirrels in armor who are duking it out with tiny little swords inside my HVAC whenever I turn it above 2. I'm going to give a junkyard replacement a go first since new motors are $$$.

- Replace wiper transmission/connector rod. I hear this job sucks but I need to do it eventually. Coming back from the track in the rain my passenger side wiper gave out on me. I tightened it and it's good for now (along w some Rain X) but on both sides the splines are totally worn down and I need to replace the connector rod and the wiper arms. Again, probably junkyard units in good shape.

- Replace the steering wheel. The Momo wheel's suede is worn, something I really noticed when looking at new Sparco wheels this weekend that feel like an angel's behind. I ended up picking up a new Sparco wheel and will probably install it tonight.

- Race seats, mounts, harnesses, and a roll bar. As much as I don't want to spend the money I need to. The stock seats are too loose and my helmet hits the roof of the car. Looking at Sparco Evo 2 Plus since I need the extra height along with VAC mounts and G-Force 5 point harnesses. Still looking into a roll bar, I will probably go with the Kirk bar.

[Lof8]

Congrats. Thats pretty cool that you found the exact starting point you were hoping for. What group did you run with that let you go solo at the first event?

The e36 rack is a super nice change. Good luck with everything!

[hpde30]

great story and event better looking setup. I'm kinda local so maybe we'll run into each other at an event in the near future.

[kts]

Congrats. Thats pretty cool that you found the exact starting point you were hoping for. What group did you run with that let you go solo at the first event?

Yea I was shocked that this car existed and I was able to get it. It had been for sale for months with no interest and it was exactly what I wanted! So happy I lucked into purchasing it since it saved me a lot of time and money.

I signed up for Novice, but they moved me into Intermediate to help balance out the run groups. I had spend ~3 hours driving the same track at our Lemons event so I knew the track, although my line wasn't the best since it was hard to learn the line @ Lemons with 80+ cars out on the track and fighting for the same line.

The e36 rack is a super nice change. Good luck with everything!

I'm looking forward to seeing the change. I would have liked a Z3 rack but the price for this E36 rack couldn't be beat and will be a big improvement over the current rack.

great story and event better looking setup. I'm kinda local so maybe we'll run into each other at an event in the near future.

Thanks! Do you make it down to Summit Point at all? That's the closest track to me. I'm going to try to make it up to NJMP and I hear there is a new track near Reading PA that I am also going to try to check out next season.

[wannaBMthree]

Nice Story, Great Find! Definitely meant to be.

[325ix]

What car did the side molding come from? It doesn't just look like white E30 trim.

[kts]

What car did the side molding come from? It doesn't just look like white E30 trim.

I have no idea. They were on the car when I bought it. It's definitely not just painted E30 trim, it's a totally different design.

I've done a lot of Google searching to see if I could figure out what they came off of but no answers. It looks close to some European E30s I found photos of online but most of those photos were small and it's just too hard to make an accurate decision to what it actually is.

[drutt23]

It kinda looks like E36 trim. Hard to tell at that angle. I'd have to see it close up and probably a direct side shot. But if my memory serves me correctly, it does look kinda like the trim on my E36.

[kts]

It kinda looks like E36 trim. Hard to tell at that angle. I'd have to see it close up and probably a direct side shot. But if my memory serves me correctly, it does look kinda like the trim on my E36.

I'll have to get a better shot of the trim. It's pretty flush with the body.

Looks a lot different then the trim that is on my E36.

[hpde30]

Thanks! Do you make it down to Summit Point at all? That's the closest track to me. I'm going to try to make it up to NJMP and I hear there is a new track near Reading PA that I am also going to try to check out next season.

I'm going down to Shenandoah with Trackdaze at the beginning of October. www.trackdaze.com for more info. I'm at NJMP a lot though, I have 8 days scheduled there from now till the season is over, lol.

I heard about that new one being built. Liberty Bell I think its called. Looks great on paper, hopefully it comes to fruition.

[325ix]

Well, if you find out, definitely let us know. Maybe the PO knows? I would love to do this on my car.

[OhioriderAaron]

Great thread so far, and nice job with the changes you've done! :up: