Dream come true- E30M3 Content Inside

[AWDBOB]

Fantastic.. congratulations

Thank you!

Congrats Bob! I still remember the thrill I had when I first brought mine home...

Thanks, Joe! It really is quite the thrill- a stressful but rewarding experience. The car is getting sent back to PA where my Father is going to do some clean up while I buy a house and get some more garage space (and because he's bored and loves these cars as much as we all do but won't purchase one).

So updates will be slow at first until I have time to fly home, refresh the drivetrain and drive it back to Indiana to start the restoration process.

[IronJoe]

Congrats Bob! I still remember the thrill I had when I first brought mine home...

[Alpina]

Fantastic.. congratulations

[AWDBOB]

Your car came with Natur interior but the other seats look much darker. They look like they've been recovered with a tan vinyl.

Those are convertible seats, and the seat on the left (which looks like the drivers seat) in the picture looks like the right upper bolster was covered over damaged foam. Not the most quality job, but if they're cheap enough they still might be worth while picking up. The colour is certainly not the same.

I thought these vert seats were natur like the m seats but I had a funny feeling about it and I really think they're a different shade. They'd look close, but next to my back seat they'd look totally off. I saw that about the drivers bolster iXguido.

I was looking for vert seats to throw in for the time being but I have spare sports seats I'm just going to throw in when the time comes to restore the M3 seats. Figured I'd try to make it look "correct" for the mean time but I don't think that's gonna happen now.

Thanks gents.

[iXguido]

Those are convertible seats, and the seat on the left (which looks like the drivers seat) in the picture looks like the right upper bolster was covered over damaged foam. Not the most quality job, but if they're cheap enough they still might be worth while picking up. The colour is certainly not the same.

[reelizmpro]

Your car came with Natur interior but the other seats look much darker. They look like they've been recovered with a tan vinyl.

[AWDBOB]

Gents,

This is my interior. There are some nice seats for sale semi-locally. Are they the same color as my interior? They look darker but I don't know if that is just because mine are faded. Forgive me for not embedding, I'm on my mobile

My interior: https://flic.kr/p/QisBLJ

The seats: https://flic.kr/p/PU1U5M

[AWDBOB]

Ah, too bad. The market is faster/more fierce closer to the hub (especially north side) but there's a lot of options at least. Hopefully something comes along.

There is a DIY garage on the east side of town (Lawrence), if that helps at all. Besides fighting Fishers traffic, it shouldn't be too bad to get to.

Sounds good. We did a head swap (with new HG of course) in 4 hours on the hot race car in the paddock in July, although a S14 may be more involved than M20 (not sure) and obviously more careful operation with it.

Excellent. You are not too far away to drop down for cruise-in's at Reggie's Motorwerks when it gets warmer (he has a BMW-focused enthusiast shop and CCA Director).

I'm hoping something comes along soon! The thought of having a nice, tall external two bay with a lift in it plays through my mind several times a day.

I saw that DIY garage in Lawrence! Such a cool idea. I am going to keep that as an option, although the down time from removing the head and sending it out for rebuild makes that option tricky. You are right though, it's not bad to get to at all.

I have done quite a few head gaskets jobs in various cars, but for some reason, the price tag of the S14 scares me, although it's a pretty straight forward 4cyl head gasket job from what I can otherwise tell.

What I really just need is a space to work. I don't feel comfortable just doing a HG on it and not addressing everything else while I'm in there (OCD comes first), which makes me not want to start anything until I really have the space to tear into it.

I cannot wait to actually get out and drive an e30 again (what will probably be the iS first)! The iS really only needs a timing belt before I can start driving it. Perhaps I should knock that out this weekend and start cruising it to get back in the sprit/start attending the cruises at least. I built ground controls for it, an adjustable subframe, have a 3.73 LSD for it, a 5sp swap, etc, all just waiting to go on.

Reggies actually showed up on the M3s carfax a few times! Looks like it was taken there for a valve adjustment last year.

Would love to come check this thing out as I am also in the Indianapolis area! Looks great! Indiana does have some random finds out there

Absolutely! Indiana is interesting- where I am located it is still backwoodsey to where the best way to find a car is to drive around on a Saturday, as half of these folks don't have the internet or any thought of getting it. There's a white e21 and a yellow e28 with alpina wheels down the road from me that I'm waiting to buy until I have the space. Both just sitting in driveway and a yard, respectively.

Check with dealer sometimes parts with a commercial account can be cheaper than other places.

Good call, I will try to find a dealer connect out here.

How did you decide the head gasket is bad? s14 motors tend to get loose exhaust studs and you hear a ticking that goes away when you tighten things up. If you did a compression/leakdown test that would be a clear indicator of course. I bought an 87 325is from Indy a couple years ago that I should have kept. Gave it to my son as a graduation present from engineering school. He sold it in Oregon and bought an e36 M3.

Well for starters, the car builds an insane amount of pressure in the cooling system when cranked/ran.


Oh man, selling a 325iS for an E36 M3 feels wrong! There are some decent cars out this way!

If you get really jammed up there is a s14b23 for sale in Charlotte but its pricey.

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/pts/5935780802.html

Good look, thank you! All in all, that's really not a bad price for a rebuilt S14 if he's got paperwork. I'm going to stick it out with this car, it's just going to be a while before I get to it.

[tiger_e30]

If you get really jammed up there is a s14b23 for sale in Charlotte but its pricey.

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/pts/5935780802.html

[ahlem]

How did you decide the head gasket is bad? s14 motors tend to get loose exhaust studs and you hear a ticking that goes away when you tighten things up. If you did a compression/leakdown test that would be a clear indicator of course. I bought an 87 325is from Indy a couple years ago that I should have kept. Gave it to my son as a graduation present from engineering school. He sold it in Oregon and bought an e36 M3.

[M-technik-3]

Just learned that the timing components alone for an S14 are $1000......

My total order through Guten to rebuild 85% of my iS was like $950.

Let the fun begin, I guess.

Check with dealer sometimes parts with a commercial account can be cheaper than other places.

[jag09]

Would love to come check this thing out as I am also in the Indianapolis area! Looks great! Indiana does have some random finds out there

[rwh11385]

Ah, too bad. The market is faster/more fierce closer to the hub (especially north side) but there's a lot of options at least. Hopefully something comes along.

There is a DIY garage on the east side of town (Lawrence), if that helps at all. Besides fighting Fishers traffic, it shouldn't be too bad to get to.

Sounds good. We did a head swap (with new HG of course) in 4 hours on the hot race car in the paddock in July, although a S14 may be more involved than M20 (not sure) and obviously more careful operation with it.

Excellent. You are not too far away to drop down for cruise-in's at Reggie's Motorwerks when it gets warmer (he has a BMW-focused enthusiast shop and CCA Director).

[AWDBOB]

Dude, awesome and great random luck! Did you also successfully score a new place with a garage then (sounds like it)?


Speaking of LeMons... depending on where you at in town, I'm sure myself and another member of our team (gearheadE30) would be happy to lend a hand if you would oblige us with a drive when it was done. He used to work at a local BMW shop for several years and would be pretty useful.

I'd also really recommend joining the local CCA chapter if you haven't already - people would be very stoked about your recent acquisition. The chapter president has a M3 that looks similar, although 24v swapped.

Thanks, man!

And sadly, no, I didn't land another place yet :(. I've been head first in the housing market over the past few months, but everything that's come up is either a year out on foreclosure or overpriced and sitting. Waiting for the right place to pop up, but until then, I'm stuck at my current place. Looking to buy in Madison County (where I'm currently at).

The chassis I had for the LeMons build went to the scrap yard because my extra parking space was taken. I've since convinced my landlord to let me keep my iS outside until I can allocate said M3 (or find a place (or another garage)).

I don't have any wrenchin' buddies out here in hoosier-town, but I'm thinking I may need a hand with the head gasket on the S14.

I'm planning on joining the local CCA!

[rwh11385]

Dude, awesome and great random luck! Did you also successfully score a new place with a garage then (sounds like it)?

Sometimes life gives you lemons, and sometimes life presents you with an opportunity to buy the car of your dreams.

Speaking of LeMons... depending on where you at in town, I'm sure myself and another member of our team (gearheadE30) would be happy to lend a hand if you would oblige us with a drive when it was done. He used to work at a local BMW shop for several years and would be pretty useful.

I'd also really recommend joining the local CCA chapter if you haven't already - people would be very stoked about your recent acquisition. The chapter president has a M3 that looks similar, although 24v swapped.