One year after I bought it, my e30 lives again. This time, with a newer and healthier heart. My car started as a neglected, ticking 325is and is slowly becoming something I can enjoy on the road and (soon) track.
When I picked it up:
The worst and, luckily, only rust spot:
What the interior looked like when I bought it... It was a lot worse than it looks. Those seat covers were nasty and the interior smelled like fish (literally):
It had a blown head gasket. Thought getting the head redone would fix it... It did not. It turns out more was wrong with the engine. It ticked loudly and I didn't feel like investigating further as school was approaching. Maybe now it was time for a new engine.
It sat for ~8 months while I finished school & traveled during the summer. Beginning in August 2015, things started getting fun. And expensive. I was finally ready to fix it. I was looking at m52s with Tippey764 when he came across someone selling an s52 for $1,000 posted only 30 minutes prior. Needless to say I bought it the next day.
Uh oh:
Easiest way to swap an engine:
Bye:
Out with the old and in with the new ('98 e36 m3 rack):
DIY Hurst Shifter:
A few months after the process started, and all thanks to my good friend Tippey764, I had a running, driving e30.
Ooh, Shiny (fancy photo cred to Tippey764):
How it sits now:
More to come! I'm just getting started.
Future To-Do's:
When I picked it up:
The worst and, luckily, only rust spot:
What the interior looked like when I bought it... It was a lot worse than it looks. Those seat covers were nasty and the interior smelled like fish (literally):
It had a blown head gasket. Thought getting the head redone would fix it... It did not. It turns out more was wrong with the engine. It ticked loudly and I didn't feel like investigating further as school was approaching. Maybe now it was time for a new engine.
It sat for ~8 months while I finished school & traveled during the summer. Beginning in August 2015, things started getting fun. And expensive. I was finally ready to fix it. I was looking at m52s with Tippey764 when he came across someone selling an s52 for $1,000 posted only 30 minutes prior. Needless to say I bought it the next day.
Uh oh:
Easiest way to swap an engine:
Bye:
Out with the old and in with the new ('98 e36 m3 rack):
DIY Hurst Shifter:
A few months after the process started, and all thanks to my good friend Tippey764, I had a running, driving e30.
Ooh, Shiny (fancy photo cred to Tippey764):
How it sits now:
More to come! I'm just getting started.
Future To-Do's:
- e30 m3 springs + swaybars powder-coated and installed (with Bilstein Touring struts for now)
- iS lip & plastic bumpers color-matched and installed
- Fix random power drain from the K4 Relay (low beams)
- Fix interior lighting
- Rewire window switches (one is backwards...)
- 15x8 4-lug Wheels & 225/45r15 Tires
- Big Brake Kit (To go with my e32 MC & 944 Booster)
- The list goes on...
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