boogle2's '88 iX Restoration/Turbo Cherry Pop

[boogle2]

Hey Guys,

Just joined r3v and picked up my first e30. Its an 88iX, seems to be in decent shape. It is my third bmw, as I already own a 2011 335i, and an E39 M5.

I hope to put some blood sweat and tears into this car getting it restored and in perfect working order, and then I would like to install a MS setup, tune it to run decently, and then move on to a turbo setup complete with driveshaft upgrade. Aiming for about 300awhp, which I have read is doable with the upgraded shaft, and no hard launching to destroy the front diff. She has about 230,000 kms on her, but I will be rebuilding the entire block anyways.

I have already sourced the intermediate shaft bearings and a new oil pump. This will be my first foray into engine building, so I hope to gain a decent amount of knowledge here, and hopefully share some while I am at it.

Just purchased, in driveway. Notice tire leak (tire size to small to seal against bead)

Dirty Interior

Up on stands in my brothers garage getting used temporary rubber while I work on the rest of the car

Shipped from Edmonton to Calgary

Transfer Case has a decent leak on the input shaft I believe. Will be rebuilt in the coming weeks. If I am successful, DIY to follow


Driver door handle was snapped, and all locks are seized. Rebuild kits ordered and locks being taken out. And no matter what people say, it is possible to remove the locks on doors without the holes, I just used needle-nose and went up through the big hole in the bottom.



Drivers window doesnt move, but I can hear it trying. Also found this when I was doing the lock...any idea what this is?



Battery is completely toast, so I changed it. Do all E30's have the vent box in the bottom of the batter tray? Mine is missing... Also, what do you think of the level of rust in the tray?




Thats it for now! Items on the list include:

- Finish rebuilding locks
- driver window fix
- timing belt/water pump
- head gasket/head bolts (old hex style change out)
- plugs, oil, diff fluid, brake bleed
- tcase rebuild (have all seals and curil k2 ready to go)
- O2 sensor
- ICV cleaning
- electric sunroof fix (its currently binding on close)
- new alternator/PS pump
- A/C R134 conversion
- hood release latch fix
- complete rim/body restoration
- acquire parts for turbo

Let me know what you guys think.

Rob

[litu]

Nice, even more ix are comming this forum, cool :)

[nomansland92]

What is the production date, that looks more like a 89 to me

[boogle2]

I should have mentioned it has updated bumpers. Production date is 09/1987.


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[nomansland92]

As far as I ever understood all 88s were 2 door, sport package, and 5spd. After September it may be considered a 89, it's worth looking into

[litu]

What is the production date, that looks more like a 89 to me

I have also facelift=plastic bumpers/big back lights and it is 00.00.1988 model

[nomansland92]

I bet I know why, your not in the US that's why, that really had me confused at first haha

Anyway looks like a great car and good luck with the build!

[6A LDY]

yeah all us 88's were loaded out with 5spd, sport interior, 2 door, metal bumpers (direct swap to plastic though), and it seems like most 88's were lachsilber.

Congrats on the ix and good luck with everything. Take lots of pictures!

[fight4life28]

We have almost the same looking ix, Mines 89 but I don't have the rear head rest though. Nice looking car for sure...what are you lowered on also?

[boogle2]

The PO said the only previous mods were a Z3 SSK (which I can feel - completely sloppy now though with tons of play and will need to get rebuilt) and had sport springs / bilstein shocks. To be honest, I have never done much suspension work, and I dont know much about aftermarket. Does bilstein sell the whole spring and shock kit? I can take pictures if you want.

Finally got the window regulator out tonight. Man that seemed like a pain. You really have to contort the thing till it feels like its going to break. Separated the motor and plugged it into the door electrical connector and no go. Not sure if I want to attempt a rebuild or just order a new one. Anyone know the cheapest place? Pelican lists them as NLA...?

[Bimmer_man]

Dude that's a nice ix. Is it diamond schwarz with grey interior?

[boogle2]

Dude that's a nice ix. Is it diamond schwarz with grey interior?

Thank you. And yes, that's exactly what it is.

[Bimmer_man]

Dude that's exactly what I have but mine is a 91.sweet.im happy to see what my car could look like. Love the car and the ideas man. Keep up the good work.

[boogle2]

wire problem

So I pulled the front drivers window motor, and tested it plugged in to the rear door, and it works. I also checked for voltage at the front driver door, and it switches to +/- 12V. However, front driver door resistance across the plug poles is infinite while the rear door is something like 36 ohms. Does this mean I have a bad connector and/or stripped plug somewhere?

[6A LDY]

If it reads infinite resistance, it means that you have an open circuit between the two nodes of the plug. So there must be a break in the circuit somewhere between the two, maybe a cut wire or loose fitting.

also you can still have a voltage reading without have a complete circuit