I purchased my first car and BMW on December 3rd, 2014 after driving my mom's Hyundai Tucson for the past 3-4 years. I paid $1,000 for a cosmetically beat-up but mechanically fine E30. I plan to return it to it's stock condition before doing any mods. Everything will be done by my dad, uncle, and myself.
What I'm planning to do first:
- Fix MotoMeter speedo/odometer
- Remove all dents from body
- New Calypso paint
- New convertible top
- Replace ripped rear seat
- New rotors/pads
- New tires on stock bottle caps
- New clutch
- Replace 6-button OBC with Euro clock
Here is a timeline with my past and current progress:
November 29 2014
Spotted E30 for the first time on my way to Yosemite. Saved the phone number and contacted owner the next day.
December 2 2014
Cousin and mechanic friend test drive E30 since the car was in Santa Rosa and I live in San Francisco. They said it drove fine and had a straight body. Also it recently had a tune-up.
December 3 2014
I decide to buy the car so I make the 1-hour drive to Santa Rosa. I got down to $1,000 from a $1,200 asking price. It's already smogged and registered for the following year. The tires on it were extremely bald so I parked the car a few blocks away at a cousins home.
December 5 2014
Found a hood with no dents and some ugly wheels with decent tire tread on them for $200 total in Sacramento.
December 6 2014
Installed ugly newer wheels/tires.
December 10 2014
Disassembled gauge cluster and cleaned/reconnected connections. Nothing was fixed upon re-installation. I ended up cracking the plastic face so I need to find a new one now.
December 15 2014
Put the E30 on my insurance.
December 16 2014
Ordered new breather hose and ZHP M shift knob
December 17 2014 - December 29 2014
No progress. Was in Mexico for vacation and got the flu when I came back home.
December 30 2014
Installed new ZHP M knob.
December 31 2014
Installed new breather hose. Old one was cracking. I'll replace all of the hoses eventually.
January 1 2015
Stripped interior, vacuumed, and shampooed carpets. Cleaned interior.
January 2 2015
Began bodywork on driver's side.
Video
January 3 2015
More bodywork.
Video
January 5 2015
More bodywork.
January 10 2015
Removed front grill, front bumper, front headlight assembly, and taillights. I'm re-painting the grills and removing rust from headlight assembly. And more bodywork got done.
January 11 2015
Picked up a used passenger side fender that is in way better condition than the one that was on the car.
January 13 2015
Installed better condition passenger fender and began bodywork on the passenger side.
Since my car is in Santa Rosa at my parents and I live in San Francisco, I can only work on the car on weekends. Expect new updates this weekend. The body should be getting finished up for paint and I might be buying a M-Tech I steering wheel and maybe a new top if my money is right.
What I'm planning to do first:
- Fix MotoMeter speedo/odometer
- Remove all dents from body
- New Calypso paint
- New convertible top
- Replace ripped rear seat
- New rotors/pads
- New tires on stock bottle caps
- New clutch
- Replace 6-button OBC with Euro clock
Here is a timeline with my past and current progress:
November 29 2014
Spotted E30 for the first time on my way to Yosemite. Saved the phone number and contacted owner the next day.
December 2 2014
Cousin and mechanic friend test drive E30 since the car was in Santa Rosa and I live in San Francisco. They said it drove fine and had a straight body. Also it recently had a tune-up.
December 3 2014
I decide to buy the car so I make the 1-hour drive to Santa Rosa. I got down to $1,000 from a $1,200 asking price. It's already smogged and registered for the following year. The tires on it were extremely bald so I parked the car a few blocks away at a cousins home.
December 5 2014
Found a hood with no dents and some ugly wheels with decent tire tread on them for $200 total in Sacramento.
December 6 2014
Installed ugly newer wheels/tires.
December 10 2014
Disassembled gauge cluster and cleaned/reconnected connections. Nothing was fixed upon re-installation. I ended up cracking the plastic face so I need to find a new one now.
December 15 2014
Put the E30 on my insurance.
December 16 2014
Ordered new breather hose and ZHP M shift knob
December 17 2014 - December 29 2014
No progress. Was in Mexico for vacation and got the flu when I came back home.
December 30 2014
Installed new ZHP M knob.
December 31 2014
Installed new breather hose. Old one was cracking. I'll replace all of the hoses eventually.
January 1 2015
Stripped interior, vacuumed, and shampooed carpets. Cleaned interior.
January 2 2015
Began bodywork on driver's side.
Video
January 3 2015
More bodywork.
Video
January 5 2015
More bodywork.
January 10 2015
Removed front grill, front bumper, front headlight assembly, and taillights. I'm re-painting the grills and removing rust from headlight assembly. And more bodywork got done.
January 11 2015
Picked up a used passenger side fender that is in way better condition than the one that was on the car.
January 13 2015
Installed better condition passenger fender and began bodywork on the passenger side.
Since my car is in Santa Rosa at my parents and I live in San Francisco, I can only work on the car on weekends. Expect new updates this weekend. The body should be getting finished up for paint and I might be buying a M-Tech I steering wheel and maybe a new top if my money is right.
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