'89 lachssilber 318i touring.. beginning build

[roguetoaster]

Hope the build is progressing! First thing I did with the new 318i touring I got was tear that sucker apart searching for rust. Found it along the rockers, in 3/4 wheel wells, and in one spot on the rear valence.

So, this is a sincere thanks to you for finding at least one new rust spot for touring owners to check, even on clean looking cars.

Also, if you're going to swap your M40 any time soon I could use a couple of parts from it.

[Heitzke]

Hope the build is progressing! First thing I did with the new 318i touring I got was tear that sucker apart searching for rust. Found it along the rockers, in 3/4 wheel wells, and in one spot on the rear valence.

So, this is a sincere thanks to you for finding at least one new rust spot for touring owners to check, even on clean looking cars.

Also, if you're going to swap your M40 any time soon I could use a couple of parts from it.

Hey! Sorry I missed this. It's been a.. very distracting fall when it comes to more E30 progress. This is actually a good push to get some updates in here.

What sort of stuff are you looking for on the M40? Swap is fairly actively in the works now, I need to find a g260 (partially since I don't really trust this 240). You can text me what you're needing from it too.

[Heitzke]

So this is what i've been up to, there's a lot hah.

First things:

This car is rusty, that's ok, cause:


(this is not a nitrous bottle lol)

Started welding in patches in the back. Sort of looks like shit, but that's why you use seam sealer right? I've cut out a long section along the passenger floor, and have punched out the rust spots in the passenger/driver toe box area.

I really do think the driver frame rail is ok. I'm just going to hit it hard with a wheel and POR15 it all.

The rear brake lines are all a little sketchy, so going to do the Chasebays rear hardline conversion. It just makes life easier IMO.

Looks like the carpet is all going to be ok :


Got really busy with work between these pics, and ended up going ahead and expediting some other plans. Partially cause relationship issues, but you know, shit happens:



So then this happened:

(this is with the immediate addition of a factory hard top. Holla craigslist deal)

It obviously has some visual issues, but that's ok. It's a '90 that my dad used to commute in for a few years. Still only has 107k on it. It's naturally the sort of gutless 1.6, but it's adequate and fun.

The bad part of this is now I have two cars. 0 air-conditions hah. It was factory optioned to not have a/c, p/s or abs. It's pretty hardcore, but it's great fun.

The right rear quarter is dented, and was previous fixed with bondo, so I have to take care of that but then kelly green is happening:



I had some 15x7 panasports that I worked to refinish and replace the 14x6 panasports the miata already had. So here's the Touring been a good big brother.



Miata tire upgrade:


Freshened panasports and shorty antenna:


Then I made a little investment into not dying from Blackbird Fabworx:

[Heitzke]

Ok! Now for some E30 content:

I stalk copart a lot, and ended up with this little guy: https://www.copart.com/lot/32516716/...sWon%2F&flag=1

NOTE: for those looking to buy on copart, remember that with all the associated fees, your cheap car becomes much less cheap. I won at $200, and with fees/tax included I paid 598 for the car

Mileage was a little higher than desired (beggars can't be choosers though). For $600 who really gives a shit? Took a gamble, drove down there and after turning over a 5-6 times it hit and came to life. The car lot was ~35min away from home, so I very carefully limped it home.

Anyway, it's a pretty well-optioned '91. I ran the VIN and it said it was LSD optioned but unfortunately jacked it up and tested it, and appears to actually be open.

Good things are that the car ran well, adequate power, and has FUNCTIONING A/C. That's the thing I was looking for (as well as maybe the motor).

All cleaned up:




So that plans when I get back to Nashville:

- compression test the m20 to test swap viability (car runs hot when it idles for 15-20min, but stays stable when driving).
- pull drivetrain & refresh the M20. No idea on belt age, etc, but appears to have been maintained
- I picked up a spare front/rear subframe to do the welded reinforcements, but I'll likely steal the rear setup from the parts car as it's a medium case and totally clean.

I think the factory a/c swap is too much to take on right now, but I'll try to place all the components when I swap (assuming the motor seems ok) but get it hooked up another time, maybe before next summer.

Now i'm looking to black friday pricing to go ahead and order:

- subframe/trailing arm reinforcements
- poly suspension bushings
- allll the brake lines

This way when I have the car up on stands doing the floor work, I can drop the rear subframe out, and replace it with a refinished subframe/trailing arm combo and replace the rusty rear brake lines at the same time.

Then when it ends up being swap time, I'll pull the M40 drivetrain, replace the front subframe with a completed piece, and drop in a completed m20/g260 in its place.

This way I think i'll feel more comfortable with the state of the car, as it'll have new brake lines, be water tight again, and have a freshened factory motor. Once it's back to being a GOOD factory-ish vehicle, THEN I can start to think about suspension work.

Ultimately the plans are to settle into a comfortable OEM+ style build, and make it a capable all-arounder type vehicle for now. The miata is always going to be impossibly hardcore for daily use, so I can make that car into something more track-oriented without sweating it or feeling like I'm taking away from a much nicer car like the E30.

[bobaflesh]

Beautiful touring, I have been wanting one for a long time. Might import one from Hungary next summer, since i have family there.

[roguetoaster]

Hey! Sorry I missed this. It's been a.. very distracting fall when it comes to more E30 progress. This is actually a good push to get some updates in here.

What sort of stuff are you looking for on the M40? Swap is fairly actively in the works now, I need to find a g260 (partially since I don't really trust this 240). You can text me what you're needing from it too.

No worries, I've been working on the new 318i touring myself, picked up a 318ti to drive in winter, and am so close to painting the 2002 I'd be disappointed if I didn't get it done.

On the touring front it looks like the cam in that engine may be out of spec to the point that it will always be noisy, even with the fresh lifters installed. Also got the headliner done, trim repainted, and the few spots of rust fixed up. Put in the new Continental TR7412UB-OR, which is a great unit, but I found out that this car had no rear speakers, factory wiring, or the rather important mounting point for the speakers.

If you want to sell the whole M40 there may be some interest on my end, especially if it's really cheap. The part I'm really after is the plug wire organizer.

Glad you're still working away on your wagon!

[Heitzke]

No worries, I've been working on the new 318i touring myself, picked up a 318ti to drive in winter, and am so close to painting the 2002 I'd be disappointed if I didn't get it done.

On the touring front it looks like the cam in that engine may be out of spec to the point that it will always be noisy, even with the fresh lifters installed. Also got the headliner done, trim repainted, and the few spots of rust fixed up. Put in the new Continental TR7412UB-OR, which is a great unit, but I found out that this car had no rear speakers, factory wiring, or the rather important mounting point for the speakers.

If you want to sell the whole M40 there may be some interest on my end, especially if it's really cheap. The part I'm really after is the plug wire organizer.

Glad you're still working away on your wagon!

Oh man that Continental unit looks awesome. I wish I would have known about that one. I'm reasonably happy with the Alpine, it's just a *touch* too modern for the interior imo.

Super strange that you don't have rear speakers. Looks like PO of this car cut up the rear speaker pods to accommodate larger speakers that were pretty deep. Are your side/rear decks just full carpet?

We can definitely work something out on the whole M40. Need to refresh this M20 a little bit but I imagine I'll be wrapped up come nicer weather. I don't imagine anyone is going to fight you over an old M40 haha