I am planning on removing and selling (if they are sell-able in their current condition) certain items from my E30 325e 4-door sedan. The goal of deleting these items are to:
- help fund a mechanical and light cosmetic restoration of the car to turn it from a weekend/short trip car to a reliable daily. I do not plan to do a total restoration on this car as it will require way too much time and money (visually, my car looks like a beater car). Also, being an auto 325e, I doubt anyone would care to see one in all original condition. My car is also missing little bells and whistles like the spare toolkit and spare tire, which I don't plan on adding back since I'm a miser when it comes to bells and whistles.
- reduce complexity and number of things to take out while working on the car. Since these are now 30+ year old BMWs, we'll always wrenching on them
- reduce the weight of the car by a little bit, but not too much. I'd say if I can get it to 2600-2700 lbs, this would make the car a bit more tossable but not make it so light that it would suck to drive in heavy wind.
- keep the car presentable and a enjoyable daily driveable/weekend car despite being simpler. I want to maintain the basic functionality that keeps the car tolerable as a daily driver: power steering, AC, and heat.
Here is what I plan on deleting from my car and my reason for doing so
Check control panel and associated wiring: this is really just a set of idiot lights. I am more focused on the four big gauges (tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge, and temp gauge) working correctly since those give the most critical information in terms of how the car is running.
Radio, amplifier, and speakers and associated wiring: radio is working, but the sound is only coming out of a 2 speakers. I figure it's easier/cheaper to get rid of all this stuff than blow time/money trying to fix it. All of the sound equipment in the car is factory. I just use a portable speaker in the car for music. Will replace radio with delete plate.
6-button OBC: pretty much useless these days as my iPhone pretty much replaces this thing and has much more functionality. Will replace OBC with delete plate.
Evap canister and associated hoses: adds complexity and is another source of air leaks. They don't do emissions tests on cars as old as the E30 where I live and cops probably won't notice that it's gone
The "bitch tube": another emissions nanny, from what I read it gunks up the intake manifold with nasty fumes. An engine needs to pollute like a man needs to fart.
ABS and associated wiring: ABS is not working on my car and I don't want to spend money fixing it. I do not drive a car this old hard at all, especially with being an Eta. I also keep a good distance from the car in front of me.
The part of the center console that houses the rear ashtray and goes on top of the parking brake: not exactly sure if there's a shorter name for this individual piece, but the way I see it, it just takes up space. I also took an inspiration from the E21 and 2002 interior as they did not have this piece.
Want your guys opinion on my proposed delete. In the end its my car and I'll do whatever I want with it regardless of what anyone on the internet tells me, but I'd like some opinions just to check myself before I wreck myself. I plan on doing this delete slowly and in steps, starting with the stuff that's easiest to remove first. So feel free to chime in with your thoughts folks
- help fund a mechanical and light cosmetic restoration of the car to turn it from a weekend/short trip car to a reliable daily. I do not plan to do a total restoration on this car as it will require way too much time and money (visually, my car looks like a beater car). Also, being an auto 325e, I doubt anyone would care to see one in all original condition. My car is also missing little bells and whistles like the spare toolkit and spare tire, which I don't plan on adding back since I'm a miser when it comes to bells and whistles.
- reduce complexity and number of things to take out while working on the car. Since these are now 30+ year old BMWs, we'll always wrenching on them
- reduce the weight of the car by a little bit, but not too much. I'd say if I can get it to 2600-2700 lbs, this would make the car a bit more tossable but not make it so light that it would suck to drive in heavy wind.
- keep the car presentable and a enjoyable daily driveable/weekend car despite being simpler. I want to maintain the basic functionality that keeps the car tolerable as a daily driver: power steering, AC, and heat.
Here is what I plan on deleting from my car and my reason for doing so
Check control panel and associated wiring: this is really just a set of idiot lights. I am more focused on the four big gauges (tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge, and temp gauge) working correctly since those give the most critical information in terms of how the car is running.
Radio, amplifier, and speakers and associated wiring: radio is working, but the sound is only coming out of a 2 speakers. I figure it's easier/cheaper to get rid of all this stuff than blow time/money trying to fix it. All of the sound equipment in the car is factory. I just use a portable speaker in the car for music. Will replace radio with delete plate.
6-button OBC: pretty much useless these days as my iPhone pretty much replaces this thing and has much more functionality. Will replace OBC with delete plate.
Evap canister and associated hoses: adds complexity and is another source of air leaks. They don't do emissions tests on cars as old as the E30 where I live and cops probably won't notice that it's gone
The "bitch tube": another emissions nanny, from what I read it gunks up the intake manifold with nasty fumes. An engine needs to pollute like a man needs to fart.
ABS and associated wiring: ABS is not working on my car and I don't want to spend money fixing it. I do not drive a car this old hard at all, especially with being an Eta. I also keep a good distance from the car in front of me.
The part of the center console that houses the rear ashtray and goes on top of the parking brake: not exactly sure if there's a shorter name for this individual piece, but the way I see it, it just takes up space. I also took an inspiration from the E21 and 2002 interior as they did not have this piece.
Want your guys opinion on my proposed delete. In the end its my car and I'll do whatever I want with it regardless of what anyone on the internet tells me, but I'd like some opinions just to check myself before I wreck myself. I plan on doing this delete slowly and in steps, starting with the stuff that's easiest to remove first. So feel free to chime in with your thoughts folks
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