So, ending my silence as the Vladinator has been taken down. I bought his M3 rep back in September. It is originally a 1987 325e.
Waited and aweful long time for Reliable to pick it up and ship it out here to the West Coast. Apparently, my fellow Seattle-lites don't ship cars from that other coast.
Very excited when that big orange truck finally rolled into my neigborhood!
My excitement was dimmed as I was baraged by a littany of problems. First, damage to the roof (dents front and back as if a bar fell across it). Not terrible but noticeable. A large chip in the front spoiler. Cracks in the rear spoiler. The roof dents and the front spolier damage were captured on the shipping manifest. So, this happened in the month it sat at Vlad's shop - apparently. Overall, the paint generally looks good, but the details are poor - paint drips, cracks at seams, slight misalignment of parts (front bumper and side skirts).. things enthusiasts notice.
Then on the first drive after a hot date, BOOM! The driver side rear tire blew in the middle of the 520 bridge. So, I limp across the bridge and try my darndest to jack up the car. Can't do it without damaging the sideskirt. Too low. That's my fault.
After getting it to a shop I discover both rear wheels are bent - barrels are not true. Note that these are wheels that Vlad sold me after the fact. Further, the differential was shot, probably because the center support bearing was broken in half. An inner tie rod was bent and the guibo was patheticly cracked and worn. All replaced.
Back in the garage the night it arrived:
But, this is not a thread about Vlad. It is a thread about what to do with what I got now. I've bought the car. It requires more work than I was led to believe - a lot. I could sell it and start over, but the extra money paid to Vlad is not recoverable unless I sucker someone else. As the economists say "sunk costs are sunk." So, I'm keeping it and making it right.
As Itzhak Perlman famously said
"Sometimes it is the artist's task to see how much music he can make with what he has."
I bought a rep because I wanted an e30 M3 that I can heavily modify and daily drive without the guilt of running down an increasingly rare classic car. So, that mission continues...
So, I'm about $2800 into repairs and replacements (replaced differential, tie rods, sway bar drop links, center support bearings, windshield wiper motor, new wheels and tires).
This is how it sits right now with 17x8 et38 BBS RX-II's I bought last night from RainierHooker - thanks man):
Immediate things to do: It's obvious the 5-lug set-up was done poorly at best. So, I have to redo some things.
New coilovers: I don't like cut springs. And, the struts look and feel a little tired. But, not that bad. So, I'm likely to replace the struts/springs real soon. I'm trying to choose between the Ground Control coilover kit or the BC Racing kit.
Replace front 5-lug with e36 M3 components: the front wheel is offcenter in the wheel well to the rear. From research, I've gathered that I need to ensure I have all the following suspension components.
After the supsension is fully sorted, I have an S52 in the garage that I'm going to drop in and eventually turbo once I'm confident that I've got no problems in the swap and funds have become available. Goal is sub-400whp. 350 would be great. Matches the power I like in a daily driver (and my other fav car FD RX-7 with LS1 swap).
By the way, the interior is tits. The stereo rocks. And, I love the Dodge Viper red that's it's shot with. Turns heads wherever it goes.
Waited and aweful long time for Reliable to pick it up and ship it out here to the West Coast. Apparently, my fellow Seattle-lites don't ship cars from that other coast.
Very excited when that big orange truck finally rolled into my neigborhood!
My excitement was dimmed as I was baraged by a littany of problems. First, damage to the roof (dents front and back as if a bar fell across it). Not terrible but noticeable. A large chip in the front spoiler. Cracks in the rear spoiler. The roof dents and the front spolier damage were captured on the shipping manifest. So, this happened in the month it sat at Vlad's shop - apparently. Overall, the paint generally looks good, but the details are poor - paint drips, cracks at seams, slight misalignment of parts (front bumper and side skirts).. things enthusiasts notice.
Then on the first drive after a hot date, BOOM! The driver side rear tire blew in the middle of the 520 bridge. So, I limp across the bridge and try my darndest to jack up the car. Can't do it without damaging the sideskirt. Too low. That's my fault.
After getting it to a shop I discover both rear wheels are bent - barrels are not true. Note that these are wheels that Vlad sold me after the fact. Further, the differential was shot, probably because the center support bearing was broken in half. An inner tie rod was bent and the guibo was patheticly cracked and worn. All replaced.
Back in the garage the night it arrived:
But, this is not a thread about Vlad. It is a thread about what to do with what I got now. I've bought the car. It requires more work than I was led to believe - a lot. I could sell it and start over, but the extra money paid to Vlad is not recoverable unless I sucker someone else. As the economists say "sunk costs are sunk." So, I'm keeping it and making it right.
As Itzhak Perlman famously said
"Sometimes it is the artist's task to see how much music he can make with what he has."
I bought a rep because I wanted an e30 M3 that I can heavily modify and daily drive without the guilt of running down an increasingly rare classic car. So, that mission continues...
So, I'm about $2800 into repairs and replacements (replaced differential, tie rods, sway bar drop links, center support bearings, windshield wiper motor, new wheels and tires).
This is how it sits right now with 17x8 et38 BBS RX-II's I bought last night from RainierHooker - thanks man):
Immediate things to do: It's obvious the 5-lug set-up was done poorly at best. So, I have to redo some things.
New coilovers: I don't like cut springs. And, the struts look and feel a little tired. But, not that bad. So, I'm likely to replace the struts/springs real soon. I'm trying to choose between the Ground Control coilover kit or the BC Racing kit.
Replace front 5-lug with e36 M3 components: the front wheel is offcenter in the wheel well to the rear. From research, I've gathered that I need to ensure I have all the following suspension components.
- Using e36 M3 96+ control arms (castor gaining)
- Using M3 offset bushings (castor gaining)
- Using e36 m3 knuckles (castor gaining)
- e36 m3 brake components, rotors, calipers etc
After the supsension is fully sorted, I have an S52 in the garage that I'm going to drop in and eventually turbo once I'm confident that I've got no problems in the swap and funds have become available. Goal is sub-400whp. 350 would be great. Matches the power I like in a daily driver (and my other fav car FD RX-7 with LS1 swap).
By the way, the interior is tits. The stereo rocks. And, I love the Dodge Viper red that's it's shot with. Turns heads wherever it goes.
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