Proud new owner of a 91' 325i - looking for some tips

[gtocchini]

Hey everyone,

Happy to say I am the proud new owner of a 91' 325i convertible.
It is not my first go around in the e30 world, I also owned a 91 318is (which i miss very much) and I have 2011 1m (but that is strictly a weekender at this point lol.

Anyway, this new (to me) 325i is burgundy red, with the brown top (which was replaced in 2013). It's a 2nd owner car, 1st owner was a bmw enthusiast and sold it to his good friend (which is who i purchased from). She said she garaged the car every night (unless she was on a trip) and the paint looks it.
Had all the service records for the life of the car.
Car is entirely stock.

The car is basically going to be my daily, and also my Fiance's and I beach/city cruiser :)


The couple things I would like to take care of on the car:

Front bottom & rear spoiler - Not sure if I want to go OEM, or maybe something a little more on the sport side - recommendations?

I would like to do a basic intake/exhaust upgrade - something that adds a little better airflow for the car, add a little torque/hp, and has a nice, but not too loud sound - Recommendations? (also aside from intake/exhaust is there something else I should do during this upgrade)

It has been some years since I have dug into all this stuff when I had my 318is. So any help, tips, recommendations would be absolutely amazing.

All the best
Giancarlo

[325isman]

Keep it stock and I would love to see pictures.

[Sonny]

Did you get shafted and convinced to buy an auto again to ? Welcome to the club.

[gtocchini]

The 318is was a 5sp, 1m is obviously a manual lol.
This actually is an auto (unfortunately) but the car was so clean, I couldn’t pass it up. Plus as it’s a cruiser car, might need other people to drive it..

[Sonny]

Proud new owner of a 91' 325i - looking for some tips

The 318is was a 5sp, 1m is obviously a manual lol.

This actually is an auto (unfortunately) but the car was so clean, I couldn’t pass it up. Plus as it’s a cruiser car, might need other people to drive it..

First things first buy Bentley Manual

2nd replace timing belt

3rd Tranny and Differential fluid

4th all vbelts


Enjoy.

Car is SOLID? Show us some pics , we would love to see it !

[Stanley Rockafella]

3rd Tranny and Driveshaft fluid

[gtocchini]

Oh forgot, it has 112,000 miles on it.

Also, will upload some pics as soon as i get home and to my computer!

[325e '87]

Ive never driven an automatic e30 but I’m pretty sure that any light mods you want to try to get more power wont be worth your money unless you put a 5 speed in her.

Leave it stock. Power gains happen with head work and tuning. Bolt on stuff might get you 10 horsepower, from what i have read around here.

[jgilber0]

It’s $1,500 in parts to do the 5-speed swap properly. Labor at my local shop was 18 hours at $75 an hour $1,350.

I will never go back to an automatic. It pulls so much better now.

[gtocchini]

It’s $1,500 in parts to do the 5-speed swap properly. Labor at my local shop was 18 hours at $75 an hour $1,350.

I will never go back to an automatic. It pulls so much better now.

Yes I see this in the very near future.
Do you have any tips for getting started on this. Did you buy the transmission yourself? Where do I like to find the parts. Thanks

[jgilber0]

Yes I see this in the very near future.
Do you have any tips for getting started on this. Did you buy the transmission yourself? Where do I like to find the parts. Thanks

I got the transmission, flywheel, and rebuilt driveshaft with a new guibo locally on Craigslist, Sachs clutch and pressure plate were bought new from ECS on sale, master and slave cylinders and reverse light switch were aftermarket new parts from BavAuto (now out of business), pedals and shift boot came from eBay, shifter came from a local e30 friend, clutch switch, rev light wiring, and hydraulic lines were OEM BMW from the dealer. Plus a few more bits and pieces from Amazon.

Buy new, rebuilt, or at least tested parts if you can, it’s too much work to be doing it twice.