So this last weekend I flew up to Portland, OR to pick up my very first E30. After looking on Craigslist for about 6 months for just the right one, I came across this one: a '91 Granitsilber 325i with 117k miles on it. My aunt was gracious enough to pick it up for me and garage it while I was away at school.
Here is what it looked like the day she picked it up:
I took it into a shop for an inspection and oil service to make sure it was good to make the ~1,150 mile journey back to my house in SoCal.
It passed with a clean bill of health. I had them change the brake fluid, though, as the pedal was loose and the inspection results said the brake fluid had high levels of copper in it. I figured an extra $70 bucks and I wouldn't need to bleed the brakes when I got home so that got done.
Now for the car's namesake: the previous owner is from Canada (hence the quebec sticker lol) and drove the car there during summers. That and it had this obnoxiously loud and sensitive 90s-era aftermarket alarm that would chirp and squawk at every opportunity. So it followed that an annoying bird from Canada would be called a goose. The paint color added the gray part.
Before I left, I disconnected the siren from the alarm system and vacuumed out the trunk and cabin. I discovered then that there were two leaks in the trunk lid. One came from poorly sealed spoiler bolts and the other from a grommet-less antenna hole. I kept the car mostly indoors during Portland's seemingly endless rains and made a note to fix those things later.
In the mean time, I rustoleum-ed some of the tools in the toolkit that had rusted along with the jack and tire iron.
So I neglected to take any photos on the drive back, but I took the 5 down to San Francisco, stayed the night there and took the 101 down to socal via Santa Cruz. There was some scenic parts, but nowhere near the 1/PCH which is a breathtaking drive.
I finally got home and made a trip to get some soap, clay bars, wax, sealant caulk, carpet shampoo, leather conditioner, and some wrinkle black.
I took the trunk off its hinges so I could get at those spoiler bolts easily:
Then I took out the seats
And all the carpets including the trunk liners
Evidence of rust from that antenna hole leak:
More Evidence (that I didn't sand/paint over):
Seats back in after conditioning and after the carpet had dried:
Some Glamour Shots after the Wash/Wax:
Planned for the future: Replacing that antenna grommet, finding a new front lip, timing belt, coolant flush, accessory belts, valve adjustment, painting the VC Gasket and intake, general engine bay cleanup, new wheels, bilstein sports with H&R races, maybe sway bars, New bushings and such, Lukebox install, and finally a 5speed swap.
Big things planned!
Here is what it looked like the day she picked it up:
I took it into a shop for an inspection and oil service to make sure it was good to make the ~1,150 mile journey back to my house in SoCal.
It passed with a clean bill of health. I had them change the brake fluid, though, as the pedal was loose and the inspection results said the brake fluid had high levels of copper in it. I figured an extra $70 bucks and I wouldn't need to bleed the brakes when I got home so that got done.
Now for the car's namesake: the previous owner is from Canada (hence the quebec sticker lol) and drove the car there during summers. That and it had this obnoxiously loud and sensitive 90s-era aftermarket alarm that would chirp and squawk at every opportunity. So it followed that an annoying bird from Canada would be called a goose. The paint color added the gray part.
Before I left, I disconnected the siren from the alarm system and vacuumed out the trunk and cabin. I discovered then that there were two leaks in the trunk lid. One came from poorly sealed spoiler bolts and the other from a grommet-less antenna hole. I kept the car mostly indoors during Portland's seemingly endless rains and made a note to fix those things later.
In the mean time, I rustoleum-ed some of the tools in the toolkit that had rusted along with the jack and tire iron.
So I neglected to take any photos on the drive back, but I took the 5 down to San Francisco, stayed the night there and took the 101 down to socal via Santa Cruz. There was some scenic parts, but nowhere near the 1/PCH which is a breathtaking drive.
I finally got home and made a trip to get some soap, clay bars, wax, sealant caulk, carpet shampoo, leather conditioner, and some wrinkle black.
I took the trunk off its hinges so I could get at those spoiler bolts easily:
Then I took out the seats
And all the carpets including the trunk liners
Evidence of rust from that antenna hole leak:
More Evidence (that I didn't sand/paint over):
Seats back in after conditioning and after the carpet had dried:
Some Glamour Shots after the Wash/Wax:
Planned for the future: Replacing that antenna grommet, finding a new front lip, timing belt, coolant flush, accessory belts, valve adjustment, painting the VC Gasket and intake, general engine bay cleanup, new wheels, bilstein sports with H&R races, maybe sway bars, New bushings and such, Lukebox install, and finally a 5speed swap.
Big things planned!
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