I'm a few weeks into E30 ownership...so basically balls deep at this point and figured I should document the process. See my intro post here for a little more background:
This car had 4 previous loving owners as evidenced by its service history and great condition. Fortunately, it runs really well and almost everything actually works. But at nearly 30 years old that still leaves plenty of things that need attention. Rubber and plastics are the biggest culprits as oxygen and sunshine take their toll regardless of use.
Exterior:
Front lip spoiler is missing and a few clips need to be replaced
Broken driver's high beam lens
Minor crack in driver's fog light
Rear bumper strip cracked
A lot of little stone chips are rusting and need touch-up
Antenna works but clicks at top of travel
hood shock shot
AWOL Wheel caps
Old Bilsteins and Eibachs means it sits way too low and rides rough.
Last control arm replacement was 13 years ago so those and basically every bushing needs to be replaced
Interior:
Dash has a couple minor cracks
Seats have only minor rips but all of the shocks need to be replaced
Nakamichi head unit isn't terrible but OEM look is preferred.
Aftermarket cupholder is broken and janky to begin with.
Haven't spent much time to figure it out, but cruise control likely not working.
OBC date/time/temp works but don;t think trip functions do - need to research more.
infamous brake light check periodically comes on
flashlight missing
window switch circuit breaker is tattered.
Battery cover cracked.
So, that is where I started - and here is what I've done so far:
Replaced broken driver's high beam
Replaced rear bumper strip with new plastic
Replaced hood shock - now my hood stays up!
Installed wheel caps
Removed all of the tint. This is a shitty job. Side windows were pretty easy since accessible and basically just one giant piece. Rear window was two layers and a giant PITA:
Got a CM5908 off eBay and installed it over the weekend. Volume knob was not working so had to disassemble and clean potentiometer but we are back in business. I did a test run with some bullet connectors:
then soldered all of the factory harnesses back on other than the one in the dash that was missing. My car looked like a meth lab:
But now I am digging my OEM head unit - planning to integrate Bluetooth soon as well:
I ordered a non-working flashlight and a couple replacement batteries so this is up and running:
A new window switch circuit breaker and battery cover are on the way for installation this week. The next and really first big job is the suspension refresh. Once I get a little more ground clearance I'll get to the lip spoiler. Only other significant plans are an uncracked dash swap and fixing all of the stone chips.
I has a box:
H&R OE Springs are going to get me some ground clearance:
And Koni SAs should keep things comfortably under control:
Euroweaves have been sold off but here is basically how it sits today:
Control arms, tie rods, swaybar links, bushings, etc are on order. They cost me more than the springs and shocks! I expect to get all of that done by mid April.
I'm hoping to have this thing looking really clean and driving well by May.
This car had 4 previous loving owners as evidenced by its service history and great condition. Fortunately, it runs really well and almost everything actually works. But at nearly 30 years old that still leaves plenty of things that need attention. Rubber and plastics are the biggest culprits as oxygen and sunshine take their toll regardless of use.
Exterior:
Front lip spoiler is missing and a few clips need to be replaced
Broken driver's high beam lens
Minor crack in driver's fog light
Rear bumper strip cracked
A lot of little stone chips are rusting and need touch-up
Antenna works but clicks at top of travel
hood shock shot
AWOL Wheel caps
Old Bilsteins and Eibachs means it sits way too low and rides rough.
Last control arm replacement was 13 years ago so those and basically every bushing needs to be replaced
Interior:
Dash has a couple minor cracks
Seats have only minor rips but all of the shocks need to be replaced
Nakamichi head unit isn't terrible but OEM look is preferred.
Aftermarket cupholder is broken and janky to begin with.
Haven't spent much time to figure it out, but cruise control likely not working.
OBC date/time/temp works but don;t think trip functions do - need to research more.
infamous brake light check periodically comes on
flashlight missing
window switch circuit breaker is tattered.
Battery cover cracked.
So, that is where I started - and here is what I've done so far:
Replaced broken driver's high beam
Replaced rear bumper strip with new plastic
Replaced hood shock - now my hood stays up!
Installed wheel caps
Removed all of the tint. This is a shitty job. Side windows were pretty easy since accessible and basically just one giant piece. Rear window was two layers and a giant PITA:
Got a CM5908 off eBay and installed it over the weekend. Volume knob was not working so had to disassemble and clean potentiometer but we are back in business. I did a test run with some bullet connectors:
then soldered all of the factory harnesses back on other than the one in the dash that was missing. My car looked like a meth lab:
But now I am digging my OEM head unit - planning to integrate Bluetooth soon as well:
I ordered a non-working flashlight and a couple replacement batteries so this is up and running:
A new window switch circuit breaker and battery cover are on the way for installation this week. The next and really first big job is the suspension refresh. Once I get a little more ground clearance I'll get to the lip spoiler. Only other significant plans are an uncracked dash swap and fixing all of the stone chips.
I has a box:
H&R OE Springs are going to get me some ground clearance:
And Koni SAs should keep things comfortably under control:
Euroweaves have been sold off but here is basically how it sits today:
Control arms, tie rods, swaybar links, bushings, etc are on order. They cost me more than the springs and shocks! I expect to get all of that done by mid April.
I'm hoping to have this thing looking really clean and driving well by May.
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