My Euro Swapped 325es (13+ year project)

[2mAn]

Glad that drive home when smooth Max. Funny that after all this time just having a M20B25 is a huge improvement haha

soooo anything new?

[CubbyChowder]

I saw this E30 through Donut Media at some point and started following you on IG. This thing has a lot of character, it was cool to stumble across this thread just now and read through it and see how long of a journey it's been. I bet having it back on the road feeling better than ever is super gratifying!

[WestCoastEta]

Thanks! My 540i is broken at the moment so I've been driving the E30 around town for errands, and so far no major issues; though I do have a few things to sort out - the heater isn't blowing hot and the motor only works on full blast.

But more importantly, I got a new set of wheels. Going to dial in the ride height before posting them here, but they're 16x8 BMW wheels that AREN'T Style 5s.

[WestCoastEta]

New shoes. 16x8 Style 4s from an E38 with 215/45s with 18mm adapters front/20mm rear



Also copped a new knob & boot. I think this combo fits the interior a lot better than the last one



Slowly getting everything dialed in. I took the car in for an alignment and it drives 100x better. It sits slightly higher on the 215/45s, and it's just enough extra clearance to not scrape on everything.

So far I haven't had any more issues with reliability. Next order of business is to make it look nicer - PDR, painting the airdam... also more aesthetic Euro mods I've been saving for a rainy day 😎

[2mAn]

Those look so good!

[WestCoastEta]

So it turns out I didn't fix the engine dying issue lol



After a few months of smooth sailing the issue came back. Sometimes the car runs, sometimes it doesn't. Doesn't matter how many wires I jiggle, whether the car is cold or hot, if it's been sitting for weeks or midway through a drive. So in the interest of not driving myself completely insane, I decided to take it to the pros at Leichtbau, who many of you know as Byron & Khalil. After a few days they finally came up with the culprit: a faulty immobilizer relay somewhere under the dash. I'm not sure if this was an aftermarket immobilizer or what, but they just bypassed it and it's been great since then.

A few weeks later I decided my car wasn't broken enough, so I decided to ruin the fuel tank by misplacing a jackstand while adjusting my ride height 🥴 Long story short, the tank dented directly under the fuel pump, severing the hose between the pump and the pickup tube. So I had to swap the tank and diy fix the pump. Not the most fun project, but gotta love a nice before & after.



I realized after this that I've touched almost everything on this car by now, which is a cool feeling since I had no clue how to work on cars when I first bought it.

The last update for now is this dope Hella heckblende that I found on a Japanese auction site, still in its original packaging. There's something really satisfying about unboxing a NOS part from the 80s.

[2mAn]

Amazing. So glad you stuck with it... just imagine, some day you will make another dumb decision to get the car painted... it will be months of stress and then suddenly you will have a mint car and wont know what to do with yourself

[E30SPDFRK]

I was scared at first when I started reading the post lol, it's been working fine since we saw it?

[WestCoastEta]

I was scared at first when I started reading the post lol, it's been working fine since we saw it?

Oh yeah haha other than the gas tank incident it's been great, no issues!

Amazing. So glad you stuck with it... just imagine, some day you will make another dumb decision to get the car painted... it will be months of stress and then suddenly you will have a mint car and wont know what to do with yourself

I go back and forth on whether I'd ever want it to be mint. I don't think I'd be able to enjoy it as much if it didn't have the spirit of a shitbox. Plus I recently bought another 30+ year old BMW that I'm focused on keeping mint for the time being 😬

[Chilezen]

I go back and forth on whether I'd ever want it to be mint. I don't think I'd be able to enjoy it as much if it didn't have the spirit of a shitbox.

Not having to worry about a scratch or ding here and there has a priceless satisfaction to it

[Il Duce]

Awesome build! This your car in the Donut garage?!

[WestCoastEta]

Thanks! And yeah lol I was midway through changing my fuel tank there

[Il Duce]

Thanks! And yeah lol I was midway through changing my fuel tank there

Amazing haha. Big fan of the channel. Hope your car shows up on an episode someday!