1989 325i 24V Sedan Refurbishment

[89_325i]

Finally got a day to start stripping the car. Got most of the interior removed, the glass, and the doors.

Very lucky to find no extra rot, apart from what I already knew. I know, the carpet isn't out yet so don't hold my breath. Shell is in surprisingly good shape. Dash has one crack I hope to repair as soon as I get it out of the car. Then it will sit for however long it takes me to get the shell finished.




One spot I was worried about was behind the breather cover, I've seen guys find a nightmare there. Mine is solid as far as I can tell. Cover is gone, it broke off.

[89_325i]

I wanted to move this thread to the project forum so its in the right place. I'll post general updates here and use my thread in the 24V forum for anything M50 related, but that side of the build is very straight-forward.


I fully expect this to take 4-5 years minimum due to the time and capital required, but I have to start sometime. Car has been in my garage now for over 3 years.

History on the car. I'm not sure when it came to Newfoundland but definitely late in life, as the drivers side rocker and the bottoms of both fenders are GONE but thats about it. A past owner (not the guy I bought it from) says the M20 hydrolocked and exploded so he attempted an M50 swap. This is where I feel really bad for him. The breaker he got the non-vanos enigne from also supplied a harness and ECU. The harness had a 413 ecu attached, and the corresponding Vanos harness. I can't imagine the frustration as this guy tried to get this car to run. It just wasn't going to happen. The breaker must have just pulled an E36 325i Vanos harness and ecu off the shelf to go with the engine without knowing the difference. He had the proper engine mounts and the trans mount for the e30 trans, and looks like he must have modded the shift rod because the shifter is upright in the car and seems like it works. So mechanically the car seems pretty complete.

I now have a 403 ecu I got a good deal on, and I'll get an engine harness eventually but I dont really need one for a long while yet.

The first pic is where I left it in August, I stripped the bumpers down to get the brackets. My plan is to attach the rotisserie to the bumper shocks. I figure they can handle the load of a stripped shell, and I'll likely be getting new shocks later anyway. If thats a bad plan please let me know.

Next on the hit list will be to strip the interior while I wait for a buddies shop crane to free up so I can borrow it. He's putting a turbo diesel in his Defender.

Anyhow bumper skins look good, inner bumpers in good shape. Anyone have any luck restoring the trim pieces? Mine are showing their age, but have no damage, so I might have a go at cleaning them up.

Last pic is some new metal. Still waiting on a couple pieces. These are all new from the BMW dealer, the guy gave me a great deal. This lot was cheaper than getting aftermarket from the US. I bought the front valance because mine's been hit in a couple spots. I don't think I'd ever be able to get it 100% straight. Bought the speaker panel because it was like $10, just in case any rust crept into the bottom of it.