Now that I'm 400 miles away from my pride and joy, I'm bored enough to put together a build thread chronicling my experiences and travels with it. A couple weeks back I was relocated for a 6-month gig at a plant just outside Cleveland, and decided that's where I draw the line as far as where I'll bring my e30. I left it with my family near Philly until I return in July, and of course for occasional visits which I can update in this thread.
I picked up this car 2 years ago, February 4th 2011. In January of that year I lost my 2008 GTI to a snow accident, which luckily was caused by someone else and that car protected me well. It was probably on the edge of being totaled but I actually had it on the market and was actively looking for an E30. I had wanted one since 2006 but only at that point was it becoming legitimately possible and not unreasonable to downgrade to a much cheaper car. I didn't argue with insurance and they paid me a very good value for the VW. Within a couple weeks I came across a white four door '91. They are all equipped with 5-speed and this one was a basic variant slicktop vinyl and the only option was the 4.10LSD. I would rather a coupe, yes, but honestly I like the additional understated-ness of the four doors, my GTI was a 2-door and I was ready for a break from "letting people in the back," and no one can deny that as far as non-enthusiast owners, the likelihood of a four door being relatively beat up and neglected is much lesser than with the coupes. While black is my favorite color and I enjoy taking immaculate care of glossy black paint, I had that for 3 years with the VW and was actually looking for a white E30, figuring that the immaculate paint I enjoy would be extremely hard to find on a 20-year-old car.
Anyways, here are the photos the seller shared with me, I came across the ad on Craigslist central NJ.
I hadn't looked at any cars in the flesh, only talked online with a few sellers of average cars, contemplating how to deal with slight rust etc. This car was a breath of fresh air, and I fell in love. Everything felt like new, the garage-kept freshness really came through, down to the working side mirror adjuster.
Non-glamorous picture from when I went to check it out:
138k miles, the seller was the 2nd owner, having bought from a "NYC lawyer" - in 1992! He (my PO) was probably around 40, and explained that he tried to keep the car forever but wanted a (then just coming on market) F01 5er and had no space for the E30 anymore. He worked at SiriusXM and naturally, the only modification aside from H4 headlights was an Alpine fancy touch-screen pop-up head unit with all the bells and whistles - IVA-D310 with Sirius box and nav/traffic box along with DVD player and (as confirmed later) a halfway decent installation. Non-premium speakers sucked but I couldn't complain, the guy added nothing to the asking price for this $2-3k stereo. It's outdated now but I kept it despite how much I hate it in my interior because it's pretty nice.
This PO was extremely organized with a spreadsheet of all expenses back to 1993. That combined with just how clean and straight the car was really sold me on it. I actually nearly lost the buy, when the seller told me someone staked a first claim but looked at it after me and said he wanted it after I committed to asking price. To put his mind at ease I offered +500 and he took it. Even at that, I'm still happy with what I paid, especially with how the market is these days.
Towards the end of my years at school I worked at the local BMW dealership for an outside detailing business that handled their cars in their nicely equipped lower-level detail center. Loved doing that despite the occasional crap-tastic customer car (think beat to shit X3's and E46s trashed by toddlers etc), got to see and take the plastic wrap off of all the newest cars and put my sweat into protecting them from typical just-get-it-out-the-door dealership detailing mentality. It probably made my OCD worse, but was great for my black GTI :)
Here's one of a few pics I have of crazy cars I got to touch or maneuver around the dealership:
Immediately I removed the pinstripes from the E30. Unfortunately PO likely had them freshened up for selling, I could tell there were 2 distinct layers.
The car was never in an accident worth reporting, only a fender bender that was repairable (slide hammer remnants visible inside the front right fender nose end) and the rear bumper oddity (PO claimed the dealership painted it, claimed the waviness was normal). Still, it definitely was resprayed partially, I'm thinking to stave off oxidation. The car moved with PO from NJ to southern California for a few years and then central Texas, confirmed by carfax, before returning back to NJ in the late 90s. I wanted to buff it but never got the chance and partially wanted to not be so obsessed with the paint yet.
Unfortunately, a couple weeks into owning it I did attempt to pressure wash under the hood. Typically with modern BMWs we would go to town and do a great job, never worrying about anything. I was carefuly to avoid wiring and really only hit the frame rails, strut towers, and the core support, but as soon as I pulled out of the wash bay the starter sounded off. By the next day it was dead. I was a noob to this car, and went through the trouble of replacing the alternator before realizing the starter was what died. Not wanting to attempt that task quite yet, I paid someone else to do it. Oh well.
First photo on a trailer shows the window shadowlining and the newly acquired iS lip, both of which I did with signing vinyl:
Signing vinyl is great for non-permanent blacking out. It has held up just as well as paint over the last 2 years, and when I want to paint the lip white I can just peel it off and go. The window trim has a couple cut lines that are visible up close but only barely. Plus, signing vinyl is very cheap ($10-20 worth did the trim and lip).
Next up on my agenda was window tint. I know some people hate this, especially with an older car like the E30. I am a big proponent of tint for protection of the interior and cooler temps in summer, as well as privacy. Don't worry, I got over my era of 15-20% and went 35% on the BMW:
Car Pretty in northeast Philadelphia has done more cars for me, family, and friends than I can count. They do a great job, at the best price, while you wait (no need to drop off which I like).
In early March 2011, while trolling the classifieds as usual, I came across an S50 swap package within driving distance down in Maryland. Engine and trans with harness, all accessories, iX/E32 booster and E32 master cylinder, mounts, a few new seals, and driveshaft. The price was good so I asked my dad if he minded my storing all this in the garage until graduation when I can do the swap. He said go for it so I borrowed a truck and made the trip to pick up the motor. Thinking back on it, I now recognize the relative scarcity of M42 cars and this would have been a great one to refresh and keep that way. I was anxious at the idea of the S50 E30 though so I went ahead with it anyway.
Here it lurked for a few months:
[/url]
while I was distracted by this:
and occasionally this:
yes, even nearly bone stock, this car attracted a little attention. You can see I also added Euro non-smiley ellipsoids, a clean set had come up. I painted the surrounds black and went with the inexpensive DDM 55w HID setup, in their 4500K temperature (I forget the exact number they use, but it's the stock-white option with as little blue as possible which I prefer so as to look OEM and get the most output). Love them, money well spent. One headlight struggles to ignite while cold if the engine is running. Same behavior as a buddy of mine with an E36. Have to fire the headlights then start the engine for trouble-free operation. Not the best but I can live with that.
Once I graduated I dove into the swap. Of course, I was not ready, and wound up delayed many times over due to wanting this or that part to be new or finding out the parts I didn't have.
For example, this is one of many orders placed with Pelican or Blunt:
Initially I was confidently saying it could be done in a couple weeks at most. Ended up taking about 6 weeks, and I had it driving with open headers only 2 days before DAS came to pick the car up. Oh yeah, I took a job that involved relocations for 2 years, and my first assignment was Portland, Oregon. At least there was no wintry nightmare to worry about right?
Luckily my good friend was in a position to loan me this bad boy for runs to parts stores etc:
Baby M42 in there, sorta, and also a 1991 (K bike).
The main specifics of my particular swap, at initial installation:
S50 w/ZF
E28 motor mounts, E21 trans mounts
M3 flywheel, DXD stage 1 clutch & pressure plate, M3 slave cylinder
A/C and P/S not installed
KAMotors intake
eBay 2-piece headers (which fit like a charm)
E32 brake booster & master cylinder, 2002 remote reservoir
nando-modified wiring harness, spliced connector for no messy adapter
M42 radiator, SPAL 16" slim fan mounted as a puller
I did the usual basic "re-seal," along with new exhaust studs, water pump & t-stat with aluminum housing. I sent the valve cover out to be blasted and powdercoated black.
I have a few pics from throughout the swap:
Before shot:
About ready to start pulling:
Dropped the entire drivetrain at the same time, I was searching for a taller ratio than the 4.10 to mate up with the ZF gearbox out of the M3.
Painted the engine navy blue just to be a little different but not too crazy:
Getting it in there I should have taken more photos, but here it is as I began buttoning it up:
Hood closes!
I did my research and learned that the E36 M3 OE rear end was either 3.15 or 3.23. Others existed iirc but these were most common. I decided that with the lighter weight of the E30, I would be comfortable to go with a taller ratio. Also gas prices were and continue to be a nuisance and I may as well have decent highway manners. Winding a car out above 3k rpm for cruising just doesn't compute with my brain, I tend to feel like I'm overworking the engine.
Happily, a 2.93LSD came up in the classifieds west of my home location and I met up with the seller for a highway handoff of that beastly unit. He even gave me an E30 M3 t-shirt which I still have.
I made a mess of opening up the diff in the driveway, naturally, and changed the cover gasket. I painted the cover silver and the housing black, and filled her up with Swepco gear oil. I heard great things about it and was planning on using it to refresh the Zf310, but of course at this point that was moot.
The diff went in a bit more easily than getting it out, but still tough with just a standard floor jack. My axles looked good to go so I just bolted everything up.
I saved the damn driveshaft for the end, this was one aspect I knew I couldn't tackle myself without massive frustration. I detailed a technician at the dealer's E36 in exchange for him separating the d/s and installing the new CSB with the carrier backwards. I bought a brand new guibo and hardware, and installing that was a relative breeze.
At the dealership for a once over and to share with my buddies in the service bay:
I'll have more photos from underneath it later.
Shortly thereafter it was time to move to Oregon. I actually missed the driver, my dad snapped some pics for me:
that's where I'll leave it for today. it's going to be awhile to get everything into this thread lol. I'll have to search around for my obligatory start-up video, but I recall that I missed the actual first firing. Plenty more to come, with phase 2 - Portland, Or.
I picked up this car 2 years ago, February 4th 2011. In January of that year I lost my 2008 GTI to a snow accident, which luckily was caused by someone else and that car protected me well. It was probably on the edge of being totaled but I actually had it on the market and was actively looking for an E30. I had wanted one since 2006 but only at that point was it becoming legitimately possible and not unreasonable to downgrade to a much cheaper car. I didn't argue with insurance and they paid me a very good value for the VW. Within a couple weeks I came across a white four door '91. They are all equipped with 5-speed and this one was a basic variant slicktop vinyl and the only option was the 4.10LSD. I would rather a coupe, yes, but honestly I like the additional understated-ness of the four doors, my GTI was a 2-door and I was ready for a break from "letting people in the back," and no one can deny that as far as non-enthusiast owners, the likelihood of a four door being relatively beat up and neglected is much lesser than with the coupes. While black is my favorite color and I enjoy taking immaculate care of glossy black paint, I had that for 3 years with the VW and was actually looking for a white E30, figuring that the immaculate paint I enjoy would be extremely hard to find on a 20-year-old car.
Anyways, here are the photos the seller shared with me, I came across the ad on Craigslist central NJ.
I hadn't looked at any cars in the flesh, only talked online with a few sellers of average cars, contemplating how to deal with slight rust etc. This car was a breath of fresh air, and I fell in love. Everything felt like new, the garage-kept freshness really came through, down to the working side mirror adjuster.
Non-glamorous picture from when I went to check it out:
138k miles, the seller was the 2nd owner, having bought from a "NYC lawyer" - in 1992! He (my PO) was probably around 40, and explained that he tried to keep the car forever but wanted a (then just coming on market) F01 5er and had no space for the E30 anymore. He worked at SiriusXM and naturally, the only modification aside from H4 headlights was an Alpine fancy touch-screen pop-up head unit with all the bells and whistles - IVA-D310 with Sirius box and nav/traffic box along with DVD player and (as confirmed later) a halfway decent installation. Non-premium speakers sucked but I couldn't complain, the guy added nothing to the asking price for this $2-3k stereo. It's outdated now but I kept it despite how much I hate it in my interior because it's pretty nice.
This PO was extremely organized with a spreadsheet of all expenses back to 1993. That combined with just how clean and straight the car was really sold me on it. I actually nearly lost the buy, when the seller told me someone staked a first claim but looked at it after me and said he wanted it after I committed to asking price. To put his mind at ease I offered +500 and he took it. Even at that, I'm still happy with what I paid, especially with how the market is these days.
Towards the end of my years at school I worked at the local BMW dealership for an outside detailing business that handled their cars in their nicely equipped lower-level detail center. Loved doing that despite the occasional crap-tastic customer car (think beat to shit X3's and E46s trashed by toddlers etc), got to see and take the plastic wrap off of all the newest cars and put my sweat into protecting them from typical just-get-it-out-the-door dealership detailing mentality. It probably made my OCD worse, but was great for my black GTI :)
Here's one of a few pics I have of crazy cars I got to touch or maneuver around the dealership:
Immediately I removed the pinstripes from the E30. Unfortunately PO likely had them freshened up for selling, I could tell there were 2 distinct layers.
The car was never in an accident worth reporting, only a fender bender that was repairable (slide hammer remnants visible inside the front right fender nose end) and the rear bumper oddity (PO claimed the dealership painted it, claimed the waviness was normal). Still, it definitely was resprayed partially, I'm thinking to stave off oxidation. The car moved with PO from NJ to southern California for a few years and then central Texas, confirmed by carfax, before returning back to NJ in the late 90s. I wanted to buff it but never got the chance and partially wanted to not be so obsessed with the paint yet.
Unfortunately, a couple weeks into owning it I did attempt to pressure wash under the hood. Typically with modern BMWs we would go to town and do a great job, never worrying about anything. I was carefuly to avoid wiring and really only hit the frame rails, strut towers, and the core support, but as soon as I pulled out of the wash bay the starter sounded off. By the next day it was dead. I was a noob to this car, and went through the trouble of replacing the alternator before realizing the starter was what died. Not wanting to attempt that task quite yet, I paid someone else to do it. Oh well.
First photo on a trailer shows the window shadowlining and the newly acquired iS lip, both of which I did with signing vinyl:
Signing vinyl is great for non-permanent blacking out. It has held up just as well as paint over the last 2 years, and when I want to paint the lip white I can just peel it off and go. The window trim has a couple cut lines that are visible up close but only barely. Plus, signing vinyl is very cheap ($10-20 worth did the trim and lip).
Next up on my agenda was window tint. I know some people hate this, especially with an older car like the E30. I am a big proponent of tint for protection of the interior and cooler temps in summer, as well as privacy. Don't worry, I got over my era of 15-20% and went 35% on the BMW:
Car Pretty in northeast Philadelphia has done more cars for me, family, and friends than I can count. They do a great job, at the best price, while you wait (no need to drop off which I like).
In early March 2011, while trolling the classifieds as usual, I came across an S50 swap package within driving distance down in Maryland. Engine and trans with harness, all accessories, iX/E32 booster and E32 master cylinder, mounts, a few new seals, and driveshaft. The price was good so I asked my dad if he minded my storing all this in the garage until graduation when I can do the swap. He said go for it so I borrowed a truck and made the trip to pick up the motor. Thinking back on it, I now recognize the relative scarcity of M42 cars and this would have been a great one to refresh and keep that way. I was anxious at the idea of the S50 E30 though so I went ahead with it anyway.
Here it lurked for a few months:
[/url]
while I was distracted by this:
and occasionally this:
yes, even nearly bone stock, this car attracted a little attention. You can see I also added Euro non-smiley ellipsoids, a clean set had come up. I painted the surrounds black and went with the inexpensive DDM 55w HID setup, in their 4500K temperature (I forget the exact number they use, but it's the stock-white option with as little blue as possible which I prefer so as to look OEM and get the most output). Love them, money well spent. One headlight struggles to ignite while cold if the engine is running. Same behavior as a buddy of mine with an E36. Have to fire the headlights then start the engine for trouble-free operation. Not the best but I can live with that.
Once I graduated I dove into the swap. Of course, I was not ready, and wound up delayed many times over due to wanting this or that part to be new or finding out the parts I didn't have.
For example, this is one of many orders placed with Pelican or Blunt:
Initially I was confidently saying it could be done in a couple weeks at most. Ended up taking about 6 weeks, and I had it driving with open headers only 2 days before DAS came to pick the car up. Oh yeah, I took a job that involved relocations for 2 years, and my first assignment was Portland, Oregon. At least there was no wintry nightmare to worry about right?
Luckily my good friend was in a position to loan me this bad boy for runs to parts stores etc:
Baby M42 in there, sorta, and also a 1991 (K bike).
The main specifics of my particular swap, at initial installation:
S50 w/ZF
E28 motor mounts, E21 trans mounts
M3 flywheel, DXD stage 1 clutch & pressure plate, M3 slave cylinder
A/C and P/S not installed
KAMotors intake
eBay 2-piece headers (which fit like a charm)
E32 brake booster & master cylinder, 2002 remote reservoir
nando-modified wiring harness, spliced connector for no messy adapter
M42 radiator, SPAL 16" slim fan mounted as a puller
I did the usual basic "re-seal," along with new exhaust studs, water pump & t-stat with aluminum housing. I sent the valve cover out to be blasted and powdercoated black.
I have a few pics from throughout the swap:
Before shot:
About ready to start pulling:
Dropped the entire drivetrain at the same time, I was searching for a taller ratio than the 4.10 to mate up with the ZF gearbox out of the M3.
Painted the engine navy blue just to be a little different but not too crazy:
Getting it in there I should have taken more photos, but here it is as I began buttoning it up:
Hood closes!
I did my research and learned that the E36 M3 OE rear end was either 3.15 or 3.23. Others existed iirc but these were most common. I decided that with the lighter weight of the E30, I would be comfortable to go with a taller ratio. Also gas prices were and continue to be a nuisance and I may as well have decent highway manners. Winding a car out above 3k rpm for cruising just doesn't compute with my brain, I tend to feel like I'm overworking the engine.
Happily, a 2.93LSD came up in the classifieds west of my home location and I met up with the seller for a highway handoff of that beastly unit. He even gave me an E30 M3 t-shirt which I still have.
I made a mess of opening up the diff in the driveway, naturally, and changed the cover gasket. I painted the cover silver and the housing black, and filled her up with Swepco gear oil. I heard great things about it and was planning on using it to refresh the Zf310, but of course at this point that was moot.
The diff went in a bit more easily than getting it out, but still tough with just a standard floor jack. My axles looked good to go so I just bolted everything up.
I saved the damn driveshaft for the end, this was one aspect I knew I couldn't tackle myself without massive frustration. I detailed a technician at the dealer's E36 in exchange for him separating the d/s and installing the new CSB with the carrier backwards. I bought a brand new guibo and hardware, and installing that was a relative breeze.
At the dealership for a once over and to share with my buddies in the service bay:
I'll have more photos from underneath it later.
Shortly thereafter it was time to move to Oregon. I actually missed the driver, my dad snapped some pics for me:
that's where I'll leave it for today. it's going to be awhile to get everything into this thread lol. I'll have to search around for my obligatory start-up video, but I recall that I missed the actual first firing. Plenty more to come, with phase 2 - Portland, Or.
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