Alright, so I figured I should start a little project thread now that I am actually starting to do things. Also, I think it will be nice to have a place to document everything I have done and am planning on doing to this car. I'm going to try to keep the events as chronologically accurate as possible. The earlier stuff will be more clumped together and less accurate as I am playing catch-up...
So, to start out I think a little introduction is in order.
I bought the car off of Bishop in May of 2011. It's a 1990 325i, I bought it with somewhere in the neighborhood of 225,xxx miles. According to Carfax, it's a 3 owner car. From what Bishop told me, it was first owned by an older lady who then sold it to a shop where Bishop picked it up and from there, me. It's never been in an accident, it has always been a Colorado car and is rust free.
Mods:
So, that's how I received it. Here's a couple pictures from the first week I had it.
This is where my chapter of the story for this E30 begins. It's gonna be a long one, folks.
Also, I made a dedicated Photobucket account for this, so if you're looking for certain pictures they can be found in there.
June 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
I was working a low paying job and getting ready for college that summer so I didn't have much to put into the E30. That didn't stop me from having fun, though!
Had a little meet with 325ix and Hypere30 at Lookout Mountain in Colorado.
The shift boot and e-brake boot I received with car were alittle past due so I hit up Matt-B, before he disappeared, and snagged a set of plaid boots. Wish I could get more of this material for other things...
Before:
After:
July 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
I was able to snag a Thule Rack with bike and ski/snowboard attachments for 20 bucks from the local yard!
I finally placed an order with EJ Night for a Race Skids plate. I decided it would be best to do an oil change and install the plate at the same time...turned out to be a massive headache. I quickly found out that the drain plug hole was stripped. After some research it became apparent I need to helicoil the hole so I ordered a kit online. As careful as I was, it tapped crooked and the drain plug wouldn't seal properly. Time for plan B! After even more research I decided to go with a Fumoto Oil drain valve and just RTV the bejeebus out of it.
Out for the count...
The goods.
Skid plate!
Clearance with the Fumoto Valve.
August 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
College time finally came around so I packed up the E30, taped it up a tad and headed out to start a new chapter in life. Besides the 650 mile trip, not much happened to the E30 that month.
In Albuquerque for the night.
On the road again...
In Las Cruces.
Met my stock twin in NM...
September 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Not much happened in this month. Too focused on school and parties and shit.
October 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Again, not much happened. I washed it, got a europlate and some stickers for the fairing :D
November 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
A decent amount happened throughout this month. I picked up a delrin shift knob for an incredible price and I am loving it to this day...
Also, picked up some more stickers to make my fairing even more trendy. Props to archie for the hooker sticker! Love it!
Onto the big stuff. As much as I wanted to do everything I could on this car myself. I had to hire out my clutch because I wasn't nearly equipped enough for it and a parking lot isn't the roomiest place to have a car out of service for a couple days. Mad props to Wh33lhop, though...he's a boss.
Anyways, I hired a local guy who has done an LS1 swap in an E30 (http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=160030), real stand up guy.
I went with a Sachs clutch and a SS Clutch Line from Blunt. I think all of my parts so far, and for as far as possible, will be from Blunt. <3
Mr. Ray workin'.
December 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Well, a year until the world ends. Again, pretty lackluster month. Got some snow in NM so I was obligated to go out and drift around in the big stadium parking lot.
Brought her back to Colorado for Christmas. Drove through a Colorado winter with no problem whatsoever. LSD FTW!
January 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Spent the majority of January in Colorado. Installed a euro plate filler I got from Suspense and an i lip that I got from LJ851 (awesome dude).
February 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
February didn't see much action, just a tire rotation...
Next to my friend's XJ.
I love parking next to massive trucks...
March 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
3/21/12 234,961 Miles
Spring break was interesting, to say the least... I went with some friends to Los Alamos because I was short on cash. Anyways, on the drive up there, right before Albuquerque the car started vibrating like crazy. Pulled over in an R.E.I. parking lot and couldn't see anything, it didn't help that my stomach felt like it was gonna rip itself apart. So, we decided to push on to Los Alamos, we get there and pop the hood and I wiggle the fan a little and boom, there goes the waterpump. We got so lucky. My spring break ended up consisting of drinking and a waterpump/timing belt job...
Look at dat, making all dem Jeeps jelly.
April 2012..................................................Mil Unknown
I finally decide to fix the stupid outdoor temp sensor with one of George Graves' sensors. I got tired of the F...
Before:
Don't you lie to me!!!
After:
Close call...
May 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
May marks the start of summer and that means roadtrip back to the good old CO. Packed EVERYTHING in to the E30 and booked it back to Colorado at 3 in the morning.
Home!
The load...
Sad day :(
I was driving down my neighborhood road and a deer jumped out and I swerved and hit something. Yeah I technically shouldn't have swerved but this was better than hitting a deer...
It busted up my europlate and bent my valence :(
I also picked up, what I thought, was a set of 16x8.5 square Salad Shooters...turned out they were 9.5's so I brought em back :( too aggressive for me.
Spotted my first F30, had to park next to it...
Attended a little meet.
I also got started on my E36 Window Switch retrofit. It's all ready to hook up except for the window lock switch. Still need to figure that out.
How the center console started.
Switch shrouds installed.
June 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
June started with a massive hail storm leading to flooding in our basement. Luckily, the E30 wasn't damaged too much. Two small dents in the roof and a chip in one of the door moulding. West German iron FTW!
The start of it.
Make shift protection...
6/7/12 237,701 Miles
Got new tires installed on the b-caps. Went with 205/60R14 Falken Ziex ZE-512's. They're a little bubbly, but whatever. I kinda want to put them on some weaves, I feel the extra of width would make them look much better. Also had the front end aligned since it was pulling to the left after my off road endeavour...
Squeaky clean spare :D
That's about it for June. This is the exact spot where I first saw it in May of 2011...
July 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Repainted my bike rack a nice hipstery green and got a new pedobear sticker...watch out, children!
.
That's all for now, currently have it out of commision to replace the radiator and ignition stuff. I'll update tonight.
So, to start out I think a little introduction is in order.
I bought the car off of Bishop in May of 2011. It's a 1990 325i, I bought it with somewhere in the neighborhood of 225,xxx miles. According to Carfax, it's a 3 owner car. From what Bishop told me, it was first owned by an older lady who then sold it to a shop where Bishop picked it up and from there, me. It's never been in an accident, it has always been a Colorado car and is rust free.
Mods:
- Ground Control Coilovers with adjustable Koni Shocks (Spring Rates - 450f 700r)
- 3.73 LSD
- MarkD Chip (91 Octane, 6900 RPM, 14# Injectors)
- 55W 4500k HID's
- Silence Motor Mounts
- Blue-Leather Sport Seats
- Kenwood KDC-X693 Headunit
- Premium Sound
So, that's how I received it. Here's a couple pictures from the first week I had it.
This is where my chapter of the story for this E30 begins. It's gonna be a long one, folks.
Also, I made a dedicated Photobucket account for this, so if you're looking for certain pictures they can be found in there.
June 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
I was working a low paying job and getting ready for college that summer so I didn't have much to put into the E30. That didn't stop me from having fun, though!
Had a little meet with 325ix and Hypere30 at Lookout Mountain in Colorado.
The shift boot and e-brake boot I received with car were alittle past due so I hit up Matt-B, before he disappeared, and snagged a set of plaid boots. Wish I could get more of this material for other things...
Before:
After:
July 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
I was able to snag a Thule Rack with bike and ski/snowboard attachments for 20 bucks from the local yard!
I finally placed an order with EJ Night for a Race Skids plate. I decided it would be best to do an oil change and install the plate at the same time...turned out to be a massive headache. I quickly found out that the drain plug hole was stripped. After some research it became apparent I need to helicoil the hole so I ordered a kit online. As careful as I was, it tapped crooked and the drain plug wouldn't seal properly. Time for plan B! After even more research I decided to go with a Fumoto Oil drain valve and just RTV the bejeebus out of it.
Out for the count...
The goods.
Skid plate!
Clearance with the Fumoto Valve.
August 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
College time finally came around so I packed up the E30, taped it up a tad and headed out to start a new chapter in life. Besides the 650 mile trip, not much happened to the E30 that month.
In Albuquerque for the night.
On the road again...
In Las Cruces.
Met my stock twin in NM...
September 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Not much happened in this month. Too focused on school and parties and shit.
October 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Again, not much happened. I washed it, got a europlate and some stickers for the fairing :D
November 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
A decent amount happened throughout this month. I picked up a delrin shift knob for an incredible price and I am loving it to this day...
Also, picked up some more stickers to make my fairing even more trendy. Props to archie for the hooker sticker! Love it!
Onto the big stuff. As much as I wanted to do everything I could on this car myself. I had to hire out my clutch because I wasn't nearly equipped enough for it and a parking lot isn't the roomiest place to have a car out of service for a couple days. Mad props to Wh33lhop, though...he's a boss.
Anyways, I hired a local guy who has done an LS1 swap in an E30 (http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=160030), real stand up guy.
I went with a Sachs clutch and a SS Clutch Line from Blunt. I think all of my parts so far, and for as far as possible, will be from Blunt. <3
Mr. Ray workin'.
December 2011..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Well, a year until the world ends. Again, pretty lackluster month. Got some snow in NM so I was obligated to go out and drift around in the big stadium parking lot.
Brought her back to Colorado for Christmas. Drove through a Colorado winter with no problem whatsoever. LSD FTW!
January 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Spent the majority of January in Colorado. Installed a euro plate filler I got from Suspense and an i lip that I got from LJ851 (awesome dude).
February 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
February didn't see much action, just a tire rotation...
Next to my friend's XJ.
I love parking next to massive trucks...
March 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
3/21/12 234,961 Miles
Spring break was interesting, to say the least... I went with some friends to Los Alamos because I was short on cash. Anyways, on the drive up there, right before Albuquerque the car started vibrating like crazy. Pulled over in an R.E.I. parking lot and couldn't see anything, it didn't help that my stomach felt like it was gonna rip itself apart. So, we decided to push on to Los Alamos, we get there and pop the hood and I wiggle the fan a little and boom, there goes the waterpump. We got so lucky. My spring break ended up consisting of drinking and a waterpump/timing belt job...
Look at dat, making all dem Jeeps jelly.
April 2012..................................................Mil Unknown
I finally decide to fix the stupid outdoor temp sensor with one of George Graves' sensors. I got tired of the F...
Before:
Don't you lie to me!!!
After:
Close call...
May 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
May marks the start of summer and that means roadtrip back to the good old CO. Packed EVERYTHING in to the E30 and booked it back to Colorado at 3 in the morning.
Home!
The load...
Sad day :(
I was driving down my neighborhood road and a deer jumped out and I swerved and hit something. Yeah I technically shouldn't have swerved but this was better than hitting a deer...
It busted up my europlate and bent my valence :(
I also picked up, what I thought, was a set of 16x8.5 square Salad Shooters...turned out they were 9.5's so I brought em back :( too aggressive for me.
Spotted my first F30, had to park next to it...
Attended a little meet.
I also got started on my E36 Window Switch retrofit. It's all ready to hook up except for the window lock switch. Still need to figure that out.
How the center console started.
Switch shrouds installed.
June 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
June started with a massive hail storm leading to flooding in our basement. Luckily, the E30 wasn't damaged too much. Two small dents in the roof and a chip in one of the door moulding. West German iron FTW!
The start of it.
Make shift protection...
6/7/12 237,701 Miles
Got new tires installed on the b-caps. Went with 205/60R14 Falken Ziex ZE-512's. They're a little bubbly, but whatever. I kinda want to put them on some weaves, I feel the extra of width would make them look much better. Also had the front end aligned since it was pulling to the left after my off road endeavour...
Squeaky clean spare :D
That's about it for June. This is the exact spot where I first saw it in May of 2011...
July 2012..................................................Mileage: Unknown
Repainted my bike rack a nice hipstery green and got a new pedobear sticker...watch out, children!
.That's all for now, currently have it out of commision to replace the radiator and ignition stuff. I'll update tonight.
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