1988 325is Alpineweiss II

[e30austin]

1987/1988 325i had the fuel rail with feed at the rear of the cylinder head and return at the FPR (front of the engine, obviously). 1989 and later had feed and return at the front of the cylinder head.

[mbonanni]

1988 325is Alpineweiss II

isn't this fuel hose supposed to run under the intake manifold, up the back of the engine and then to the fuel rail? I've never seen it run like this... I'm not sure it's an issue at all, but mine has little clips that directs the hose that direction.

I believe you are correct on this. Something seemed off when I was taking out the fuel rail, I actually don't think I have ever seen this orientation fuel rail. I've only seen the nipple under the FPR by Cylinder 1.

[jeenyus]

These are referring to model years.

Taurus is really dark. Cardinal, when new and not sun faded, is really vibrant.

alright. I just am having my mind melt right now cause I've said tarus since forever. Even in my COC it says tarus...

[jeenyus]

isn't this fuel hose supposed to run under the intake manifold, up the back of the engine and then to the fuel rail? I've never seen it run like this... I'm not sure it's an issue at all, but mine has little clips that directs the hose that direction.

[e30austin]

aren't those production dates though? That means an 88 made in late 87 could easily have tarus vs cardinal. I've seen cardinal and it's much brighter than tarus.

These are referring to model years.

Taurus is really dark. Cardinal, when new and not sun faded, is really vibrant.

[jeenyus]

That is 100% Cardinal red. It was the only interior offered in 1988, in red.

For reference...

0162 "Cherry" red (1984 spec)
0208 "Taurus" red (1985-1987)
0256 "Cardinal" red (1987-1989)
0324 "Crimson" red (1990+)

aren't those production dates though? That means an 88 made in late 87 could easily have tarus vs cardinal. I've seen cardinal and it's much brighter than tarus.

[mbonanni]

If the rust was in more detrimental spots I would be worried, but from what I have found so far I'm not.

The trailer itself was nice, it has a breaking system that helps save the trailer if something happens, but it seemed a bit long/heavy for what it needs to be. Loading was easy and it has the tie downs included. The Durango we used has a tow hitch that was a bit low and put the whole front of the trailer really low to the ground, maybe 2" of clearance. We just kept it at 55mph or below like the trailer asks for and we went 30 or so miles no problem.

[Melon]

OH dang!

Not too bad on the rust, seems to be in the usual spots. Looks like a great start. Engine looks pretty good, just clean the injectors and replace the timing belt.

Question:
How was towing with the U-haul trailer?
I'm planning on renting one this summer to take my car to TN. (~1400 miles round trip)

[mbonanni]

1988 325is Alpineweiss II

Good news, went to the DMV and got the registration paid for last Friday for $151! I knew this car hasn't been registered in over 10 years so I was expecting to pay a bit more, I believe the out of state title helped. Aside from that I got a little bit done today, I was mostly focused on looking over the car.

Ordered a few things:
Fan clutch removal tool
Timing belt kit + associated bits
Waterpump + gaskets etc
Injectors
Radiator drain plug
Thermostat + gasket
Diff, tranny, engine oil

Did a small assessment of the head/timing stuff on the motor. I was told by the PO that he had done the timing belt, and even though it looks in good condition I'll never really know just by looking at it so I'll be ordering all new parts for peace of mind. Under the valve cover was pretty dirty, nice to see a brand new timing cover gasket though!





I'll be sending these injectors to Blake (Bimmer_Baron) for a rebuild as they desperately need it. Four of the pintle caps/o-rings got stuck in the intake when removing the fuel rail, yikes. The two that remained were extremely gunked up and dirty.





Some small rust spots from living life outside of California, nothing scary.











Someone decided they wanted to use this car to tow something at one point, not sure if this works but it will be getting removed when I have the chance. Also got that sunroof deflector shield of, I hate these things - look at all the dirt trapped under it.





It started to pour as I removed the sunroof deflector, so I packed up the tools and went inside after.



Got a little steamer yesterday so I will be steaming up the seats over the next couple of weeks until I can find all the cardinal interior bits I need.

Pic of the daily as it sits everyday. Once this white car is on the road I plan to have a bit of fun with this one.

[88M3racer]

Looks very clean. Nice start.

[e30austin]

That is 100% Cardinal red. It was the only interior offered in 1988, in red.

For reference...

0162 "Cherry" red (1984 spec)
0208 "Taurus" red (1985-1987)
0256 "Cardinal" red (1987-1989)
0324 "Crimson" red (1990+)

[mbonanni]

I’ve looked at pictures of both and I thiinnkk maybe its the sun? I have a feeling people have been calling their tarusrot cardinal and vice versa which cause tons of people posting pictures online and now its impossible to tell based off a simple search. At this point I just want to believe that cardinal was the only red interior in ‘88. Haha

[jeenyus]

My 88 looks more like this one and I could have sworn it was TaurusRot. It's much darker than cardinal. Maybe 30 years will just do that to cardinal red?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wuoy1bmT7NCQy8pD8

[mbonanni]

Looks like a clean example, looking forward to what the future has in store for that car.I thought all IS cars came with basketweaves, but I guess it was an option?

I thought "is" models came with basketweaves as well, however that was not an issue to me. I really want to do some kind of open five spoke wheel on this one.

Great find and with that mileage....perfect

Cardinal and alpine. perfect combination.

The car is definitely one of the cleaner e30's I have had. One or two out of seven e30's I've had that has clean paint. There are a few rust spots I need to examine and address as well as two or three small dings that some PDR could fix, but overall very pleased with the condition.

That interior is gorgeous.

Thanks! The carpet and door cards are very fresh and minty. I will post some pictures of the seats tonight. I just finished taking all the covers off in preparation to steam the foam and restore/repair and problem areas with the leather.

looks pretty damn good! I'm not particularly a fan of anything red on cars (other than monochrome red interiors on 70s american cars) but this looks great! Are your plans just to restore?

I don't care much for a bright red, however I'm sucker for a nice deep dark red so I am going to try and treat the leather in a way to give me that appearance.

As for my plans I think I am going to go the OEM+ build route. I already have most of the parts for a five speed so that will be in order. I plan to pull the motor and go through all the gaskets and maintenance items, annndd I was throwing the idea around of doing a 2.8 stroker with m52 crank, 130mm eta rods, and these 325i pistons if theyre the correct short skirt model. I need to do a bit more research on that, however it does not seem like too difficult of a motor to build.

[Melon]

That interior is gorgeous.