From Little 4 to Big 4 (E30 M3 content)

[Sarx]

Alrighty folks, herein starts the M3 restoration. Its a 1990 Diamantschwarz M3 sitting at 173k miles - rust free (relatively), clean title, CA vehicle. The PO was a BMW mechanic (and generally cool guy) who owned the car for the past decade/100k miles. Lots of goodies and general history of the car: The engine was rebuilt at one point and a Korman forged stroker crank and short rods were installed, increasing the displacement to roughly 2.4L. Suspension was upgraded with Bilsteins shocks/eibach springs, eibach stress/sway bars. Exhaust is supersprint and it screams! The gray leather interior was beat to shit - but thankfully intact. I've done projects in the past and missing interior is expensive to replace in speciality cars. Rims were also a bonus - E28 M5 rims. Some bad things: Currently, the engine has chain rattle and the PO said that the engine felt tired (this was the first E30 M3 I saw up close, let alone S14 - no idea how it should have felt myself). The shifter was not only sloppy but completely limp, clutch was toast.

You've caught the disease.

May I ask how much you payed for the M3?

I talked with the PO and got the car for $7,700

sounds like your financial stability took an upward turn since buying an e30, if first you were searching for beaters and now you scooped up an M3!

normally it's the other way around.. i'm broke! :drink:

I hear you. I'm a car enthusiast - at the time I was sitting on a few classic Mustangs. All are sold and gone now, unfortunately. My budget is going to get tight soon, I work near minimum wage and I am a college student :drink:

Thats awesome!!! I have the best of both worlds. S14 motor in an IS chassis. I think more pics are required though!

Thanks grt! I saw your build thread. You've got some balls. May your S14 reach half a million. - Also, where did your guy get that carbon fiber plenum?


Here are pictures of what I started with - some of these are iPhone pics, bear with me:







Note the S14 sitting next to the car - this is the extra motor I bought (covered in next post)




It's a shame. These were heated seats.


Missing A-Pillar covers. Little did I know how hard these are to find...


Note the Red Evo belts. These are original BMW belts


Typical tear


Poor little tired engine

[Sarx]

Thanks for all the replies - I am very fortunate to have both E30s. They are my favorite of the E30s sold in the states. Let's start with the 318is (briefly, I swear!) I went through everything in the car and fixed it as I went: Euro grills, smileys, original mtech II spoiler, Ronal/ACT 15", converted my gray cloth interior to a black leather interior, mess under the intake, dropped it 2" (Tokicos, don't you judge me), and a whole mess of other stuff. Z3 rack will go in by Friday - mine committed suicide. I ended with a car I am really proud of, but now my focus is elsewhere. Here are some shots of my 318is during its revival.












I'll start with the M3 tonight.

[fronton]

Nice scoop of the best two e30s!

[evandael]

sounds like your financial stability took an upward turn since buying an e30, if first you were searching for beaters and now you scooped up an M3!

normally it's the other way around.. i'm broke! :drink:

[MattAvino]

You've caught the disease.

May I ask how much you payed for the M3?

[dashboardmonkey]

Lucky bastard

[ButtJuice]

Wow, nice set you have there. I'm so jealous!

[grt]

Thats awesome!!! I have the best of both worlds. S14 motor in an IS chassis. I think more pics are required though!

[Sarx]

*UPDATED 318IS PHOTOS 10/22

Nearly a year ago my love affair with E30s started. I have owned quite a number of cars (more than two dozen), but nothing struck me like the E30 - the perfect clash of modernization with all the class of an older car. They were much better drivers than the 240zs and classic muscle cars I owned previously.

I was first introduced to E30s on my birthday last year at a New Year's party. I remember talking to this guy at this party about cars - I was on the hunt for a new daily driver, and he recommended E30s. I laughed him off. A Bimmer? Let alone an old Bimmer? Nah, I didn't want to have to pay for speciality tools, parts, etc... But the idea stuck with me. I researched it more and I soon liked the prospect of an E30 - you guys know the general reasons. I was especially enamored by the 318is (DOHC + timing chain FTW) but was immediately turned off by how rare they seemed to be.

February rolled around and I became desperate for a car. My budget was low, and only wrecked/ghetto E30s were within my reach - I was pretty turned off. I found a 2003 Ford Focus with low miles and the right amount of pedals, and I decided I would buy it. After the test drive went well I went to the bank. I was still upset that I wasn't getting an E30 and so I checked craigslist one last time - Bam! A 1991 318is was posted just 5 minutes prior to my search. It was $1,000, in mechanically sound condition, but interior/paint was shot. I called the guy immediately and begged him to hold onto the car until the next morning, which he agreed. Around 10pm that night, I get a call from him - he really needed me to come down that night. I grabbed a grumpy girlfriend and drove 2.5 hours south and found myself with a gorgeous 318is - straight body and mechanically sound as promised - perfect starting point for a project. $900 later the title was signed over and finally made it home around 3am. This thread isn't about that particular car, but I can post more pictures of it upon request. I put a lot of time, love, and of course money into the car. Here are before and after pictures (plates were swapped because old ones were in bad shape):

Before (and During):


















After:


















Wait... What's that parked next to me?




Yep, it's big brother. I picked this up in similar luck with the 318is. I religiously typed in 'E30' into SF Bay craigslist every day for a few months - just seeing what was out there. Two days before my 5 week vacation I found a 1990 DS M3 in my price range. I emailed the seller and told him I am an E30 enthusiast with cash in hand. He called me immediately and the rest is history. I lusted for this car the entire time I was gone - it was painful.