ROUND 4! 88 Lachsilber / Cardinal IX coupe

[bradnic]

Just ordered the following new parts (all OEM of course..)

- hood
- L&R front fenders
- trunk
- front windshield (still need to order seal and hardware for it)
- sunroof gasket
- IS lip

Black sport seats are here. I have a replacement for the driver's top bolster but not the bottom which has tape on it.

Spent the morning going over the entire underbody. Will post pics shortly. I have a lot of work to do, but fortunately I have an excellent parts car.

[nespo_e30is]

Brad no doubt man! My mom just emailed me all the docs so I will forward over shortly. The plate filler is black OEM unit, but it isn't the euro, its the US-spec version. If you want no problem, pm me address and it will go out this weekend.

[bradnic]

ahhh shes beautiful! should've hit me up while u were here. I'm 15mins (right over the bridge) from Newark!

ha I thought about PMing you but the trip was a real whirlwind.. only had time for a GPS visit and a slice before heading out of town. Pretty sure I'll be back in the next few months though. definitely want to connect in person!

Beyond happy this car is in Brad's hands now to be cared for. All weekend my family has been morning the loss and it will be like that for a bit. Happy to follow this thread/build.

glad you're following the progress Nunzio! thanks for such an amazing transaction. it was great to meet your family, and I know you'll be happy with the direction I'm taking here.

Brad let me know, I was cleaning out the garage and found the black filler for the late-model E30. I only have an early model now ;) - as you know!

Def interested in that plate filler yes - and the records binder we talked about.... And don't be stingy with your coupe pics dude. that is one gorgeous car.

[nespo_e30is]

Beyond happy this car is in Brad's hands now to be cared for. All weekend my family has been morning the loss and it will be like that for a bit. Happy to follow this thread/build.

Brad let me know, I was cleaning out the garage and found the black filler for the late-model E30. I only have an early model now ;) - as you know!

[audiquattrot]

ahhh shes beautiful! should've hit me up while u were here. I'm 15mins (right over the bridge) from Newark!

[bradnic]

new OEM bits sittin in the garage waiting. need to order fenders, hood and deck lid. ironically I think these parts are in worse shape on the white car lol. no comparison on the floor pans and rockers though. ugh.

[bradnic]

Delivery pics

My bud Chad and I flew out to Newark via Laguardia and Uber this past Saturday (thanks American for the cancelled flight).. Made it back to Chicago that same evening.

Seller was Nunzio, long time friend of Levent's at GPS. Car was serviced there last 7 years. Following pics are mostly his.

Nunzio's sister was the principal driver. bro, mom, sis and her beau all came out for the sale. what a terrific family - they really love this car! hugs all around too :-) You can see the glare in the windshield - lots of pitting. All the window glass is original. Front windshield will probably be swapped out if I can find original glass. Note also the projector headlights - GPS retrofitted them. Most likely will be going bosch euro smiley with mishimoto xenons. Have that setup on our vert and absolutely love it.


Absolutely amazed at how clean the car is, especially the wheels. LF wheel is bent unfortunately but that's an easy replacement.


Detail on the driver fender rust. it's definitely a goner. Damage on pass side too though not as severe. Fenders were also rusted near the front of both wheel wells.


unmolested engine bay. unbelievable smooth and quiet idle!! very pleased about that. rust on the TB brackets is depressing though lol. gonna swap the TB out when I do the 5 speed swap.


Rust spot on the narrow strip above the bumper is surface only thank goodness. front panel is nice and straight. Just needs localized de-rust and an IS lip. Front of hood is pretty much a goner though - back side of front edge is rusted thoroughly, and there are some big rust bubbles on the top front edge as well.


interior showing heated front seats and dash. everything works except the temp gauge which stays low. will try swapping the sender first. leather is just perfect with no cracks - amazing. dash pad is cracked of course. I have a spare. Definitely putting in sport seats and swapping out that butt hole ugly airbag wheel.


Here's the ACS rear apron. If you reach behind the rear apron above the muffler your fingers go right through the lower tail panel lol. Deck lid was swapped out because original owner wanted to keep the ACS rear spoiler. Back edge of replacement lid is a bit bent / rough and color doesn't match rest of car (older AW probably, more of a creamy white). Note the license plate filler - not my favorite to be honest (I like the black ones a lot). Muffler looks ORIGINAL, unfortunately it's toast. I have a new cat back on the lachs IX which will be moving over.


old pic from the GPS garage showing the rear subframe removal. everything in back is refreshed. she rides a bit soft though - the billies may be starting to go. gonna swap the billie HDs and HR sports off the lachs IX since they have less than 2K miles on them.

[bradnic]

ha hey Anthony.. yeah I've got a keeper now I think.
car came with the 6 button display.. I'm doing a 13 button OBC swap - module, harness and display box. will do do the swap when I replace the dash

[audiquattrot]

was wondering what was going on with this car! congrats on the new ride....sounds like a much better platform to work on. Joel is the effin' man! E30 god imo. and 12-button OBC?

[bradnic]

Change in plans.. parting her out

Well I've got another IX coupe. Just got her back from NJ.

91 coupe, 2 owner car, 123k miles, 30k in last 7 years


silky smooth engine idle
AW2 / black with ski bag rear. interior is mint with no cracks or splits (but it's comfort seats, not sport seats)
some rust damage but very manageable - CLEAN FLOOR PANS.
original ACS rear apron (no ACS front panel or spoiler unfortunately)
premium sound
maintained by Joel and Levent at Gutenparts these last 7 years.

unfortunately it's an auto, but I've got a full 5 speed IX drivetrain in hand so this is a no brainer. Will be posting a separate build thread, but here's a brief description of current body condition:

- both lower rear sections of fenders rusted through. will replace with new OEM fenders
- front edge of hood rusted through and probably not repairable. will replace with a new hood
- front rad support has pretty severe rust. I have a new OEM replacement panel so I'm just gonna replace it.
- rear end of battery box bottom is rusted through in usual place
- rear tail panel under the ACS apron has rust damage near the battery box as well. pretty extensive above the muffler tips too. license plate light holes also have pretty bad rust damage, so I will be swapping out the rear tail panel on this car - already have the OEM replacement piece.
- some rust on bottom of outer rockers. nothing severe.
- sunroof panel has pretty severe rust underneath at sides

This is much more manageable than the lachsilber coupe.

Current plans for the car
- 2 replacement IX wheels, all new caps (already sourced)
- rust repairs as described above
- replace deck lid (current one not original, and a bit rough on lower edge. not sure it's worth repairing)
- black sport seats (already sourced through my bud)
- 5 speed swap asap from the lachs IX, and new clutch
- swap over full suspension and brakes from the lachs IX
- replace the compressor and re-do the 134a conversion.
- replace dash
- 12 button OBC swap
- MT1 steering wheel (i *hate* the airbag wheel with a passion).

Pics shortly.

[AWDBOB]

That car is so clean! I've been watching it as well.

[bradnic]

Some inspiration - http://www.ebay.com/itm/271774871061

present bid over $7k. Car has more miles than this one lol. but interior's been redone, wheels and paint as well. Don't see all that much done mechanically, so I think this bucket is in better shape that way.

UPDATE: this car sold for $10,500. http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-3-Series-ix-/271787803452

[bradnic]

Ha! thanks for the sub.

yeah it's a mess still. been working on our allroad and 318is and waiting on the sale of my replacement IX (read back a bit for the gory details). Plan is still to park it, strip her down and get the shell dipped. Will probably do most of the rust repair before that happens.

[marshallnoise]

Ok, you are in far worse shape than me. Subbed.

[bradnic]

that floor won't be too terrible if you have a welder. Just make the jackpoints out of multiple pieces instead of one pre-bent piece like that ebay listing and save yourself like $300.

Obviously seam seal and undercoat the hell out of it when you're finished. There is also a lot to say for a quality epoxy primer.

good advice thanks.. I have a very good welder, but need to build up my skills like many folks on this forum have done. I'm also lucky to have a good fried with an E30 parts car, so I'll be cutting out the floor pan sections I need out myself.

Will probably strip the shell and get her dipped before doing the repairs. Hate working on all this stuff with all the undercoating and cr@p in there..

Long road ahead...