10/88 "330is" and friends... "junk thread"

[MrBurgundy]

225/50/15, they're an 8" wheel. fills the wheel well out nicely, i think. not a ton of affordable tires in that size, though. the Toyo R1R is probably the best bang for the buck.

Yeah the 15x8 vs the 15x7 makes a big difference.. The 4x100s I believe are limited to the 7 inch wide ones :c

[e30austin]

Yeah the 15x8 vs the 15x7 makes a big difference.. The 4x100s I believe are limited to the 7 inch wide ones :c

for sure. on my stock e30m3 15x7 wheels, i went with the Yokohama Advan Fleva, in 205/50/15. excellent tire.

[e30austin]

really haven't done much to the red car since the last real update, but this can be the "collective junk" thread for all my trash... chronologically, this is the best i can remember.

bought a dead e91 328i and after throwing a goddamn bank at it (it literally needed EVERYTHING), i had a daily driver again. i've put almost 50k miles on it since purchase, and despite hating almost everything about the e9x chassis, it's been a surprisingly good car.
fun fact: n52s regularly need the timing chain service for two different reasons: the crank hub is a press fit and NOT keyed to the crank, and over time, the hub will slip; secondly, because the VANOS hubs are secured with hollow aluminum hardware (!!!!!).... but the engine is non-interference. get the updated non-hollow hardware, install a new timing chain set and put it right back together!


after killing a set of tires in front of my old shop... heh heh



bought my mentor's 2002 from his estate, at the end of 2021. to answer the questions i'll inevitably get, it started out as a '72, Fjord Blue, carbureted 2002, that was rear ended in the late 70s/early 80s. per the legend of the story, it was converted to a pickup in Tijuana, MX, utilizing components from several different cars - a tail panel from a late 2002, quarters are 2002 from the body line down, a power rear window from a 70s Chevrolet Caprice wagon, taillights from a 70s Chevrolet Luv. not entirely sure what the tail gate is off of. whoever did the conversion, did a really good job. everything was really well thought out.


here it is after fixing the damage, washing it and generally getting it sorted, after sitting for several years.

bought a euro converted '88 535i from an old friend, who was pretty down on his luck. had been sitting for many, many years. even more fun, he lost the key and the wheels were turned at a 45 degree angle. sure was great getting it out of that narrow garage. Dinan stage 3 car. got it road worthy and presentable and sold it.






bought an '01 S54 M-roadster from a client. another Dinan stage 3 car (i have a type, i guess) featured in Bimmer magazine, May, 2008.





had a few cool projects for clients before closing the shop in 2022. "travis816" bought an s52 powered e30m3 out of SoCal, that had been off the road for many, many years, and needed lots of sorting. Travis was a great client and a really good sport about the whole thing - it needed way more than either of us anticipated. from what we could tell, it had been lightly crashed in the early 2000s. from there, someone pulled the S14/G265, front strut housings, then a shop in San Diego took it and installed an S52, but never had it on the road. it needed literally everything from sitting. it's a great car now.




here's an s14 powered e30 pickup for my long time friend, Stan, aka "Jurgen1602". the s14 used to live in his Baur 325e, that we put back to stock and sold.





(best exterior picture i had, i'll see if i can dig up more)

loaded up the 2002 with my tool cart and moved out of my giant shop, to my temporary one while i figured out what i was doing with my life (note: still don't know).


but... couldn't leave without killing a set of tires first. my farewell present to the neighbors.


took a day job around this point so there really wasn't much to report for a while. went to Oktoberfest at Griot's Garage, hosted by "JZM3", aka slowprogress, aka John Z and his lady, Chloe.


installed a set of Dinan Fikse FM5 (flat face) on my e28m5.




2002 got the Recaros from the red car and a carpet kit.



finished my last 24v conversion, an s52 in a really nice '89 325is with MT2 kit. former owner was a member here... current owner is a great friend and an excellent steward of the car (who also suffers from a rare wheel addiction, more on that in a later post)




few pics with it and my m3.




installed a few things on the car this thread was originally focused on. e30m3 single piece shift knob + boot, a nice set of OE anthracite floor mats, e30m3 back seat, and of course, the confetti SRDs went back in.




took the M-roadster out for a nice long drive. sure love that thing. Dinan exhaust for an S54 is truly the best pair.




met up with an old friend and his Dinan stage 3 e30m3 w/ 2.5l stroker.


boobs


fixed the air conditioner on the M5 and went to San Fran for the day. went to the beach the next weekend. wish i fixed that many years ago.


out in the gorge for the afternoon with my lady. the M-roadster is her favorite of my junk piles.


went to Pacific Waterland, a VW show... M5 got spotted.



my friend, Eric, "4DAFUN", and i, went to the last CCA event of 2023. another local 2.5l stroker e30m3.


drove the 2002 a lot last year, after finally working out 90% of the bugs and trusting it for longer drives. met a long time friend for lunch. his 2002Tii has been his daily driver since November, 1974.


detailed said 2002Tii. Malaga really pops in the sun.


beaters 'r' us.


"MortyCrock" and i took our 2002s up to Alki Beach for the annual 02/02 gathering. Morgan's 2002 is a '74 with a 10.5:1 pistons, Stahl header, Schrick 292 cam, Weber 45 DCOE carbs, among a few other things, that i helped put together a few years ago.







new owner of my mentor's shop got ahold of me and offered me the sign that hung on the side of the building for 40 years. very grateful for that. love preserving history like this.


i quit my job a couple months ago and am currently on a cross country road trip. while on the road, the universe decided it was time for me to meet AWDBOB from Bimmer Daddy and moatilliatta. Zach was kind enough to let a stranger (me and the dog) wander through his shop, which was super awesome. if any of you happen to be in the Louisville area, go check it out!!! and, if you're really fortunate, he'll make you a super delicious cup of coffee with his new super fancy coffee maker.


that's it for now, see you all in another 3 years.

[zwill23]

Love the pick up truck content, the 2002 cleaned up really nice. You have an awful lot of high quality junk to occupy your time, enjoy the road trip!

P.S. I'm still running the deka 60s in my turbo M20 that I believeee came off your M5!

[DEV0 E30]

I freaking love your stable. A man of culture.

When did the M5 become green? I love this, I know that they all came black here (and most / all elsewhere?) but that green is classy as hell.

[e30austin]

Love the pick up truck content, the 2002 cleaned up really nice. You have an awful lot of high quality junk to occupy your time, enjoy the road trip!

P.S. I'm still running the deka 60s in my turbo M20 that I believeee came off your M5!

thank you. glad those are working out well for you!

[e30austin]

I freaking love your stable. A man of culture.

When did the M5 become green? I love this, I know that they all came black here (and most / all elsewhere?) but that green is classy as hell.

much obliged, sir. M5 got painted in the early 90s, around the time the e31 came out. read this for more info, if you care.

https://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=144259

[AWDBOB]

10/10 update - that e30 pickup looks better than 94.6% of the other ones I've seen

[e30austin]

10/10 update - that e30 pickup looks better than 94.6% of the other ones I've seen

it's definitely one of the best looking ones. it uses a VW MK1 Caddy rear window/cab section, which, were i to ever build one, i would do it that way.

oddly enough, it started out as a sedan... someone converted it to a coupe when the pickup conversion happened. pretty wild.

[e30austin]

time for another update.

circling back to the car this thread belonged to. once i got home and rebuilt the engine in my M3, next was to fix a bunch of little stuff on this. i went to storage to get this, and after sitting for five months without a battery charger, it fired right up and was puking fuel from under the manifold... so, i changed all the fuel hoses with genuine BMW hose. problem solved.
fixed the oil temperature gauge that was wacky at best. when i installed the e30 m3 cluster and wired up the oil temperature gauge, i used the Turner adapter that replaces the factory oil level sender. it's anodized and isn't a great source of ground on it's own, so i ran a separate ground strap to the frame rail. problem solved.
replaced all the broken connectors at the brake fluid and coolant level sensors, added a resistor to the oil level light and grounded it and for the first time EVER, the majority of the lights are off (except for the check engine light and ABS, which i've given up caring on). shockingly, the car is still fairly leak free, which is pretty cool. drove it for a few weeks before taking it back to storage.




rebuilt the engine in Morgan's golf yellow '74 2002. when he bought the car, it had been sitting for 30 years and the engine was locked up tight. he bought one from a local guy that had a bunch of unfounded claims, which i really never believed. got it in the car and it never ran very well. turned out to have two dead holes and two holes that were barely dead. pulled it apart, found the head cracked all down the cam line and the pistons were trashed. ended up turning into a complete rebuild, and with a bunch of miscommunication from the machine shop and used parts suppliers, it eventually got done and runs very very well. he sure was a good sport about the whole job.






toyed with selling the M-roadster because i just didn't drive it very much and it served it's purpose for the three years i owned it. posted it for sale for what i thought was a realistic price and it sold instantly. a few parting shots...





did some work on my old truck, an '88 Silverado 3500 (454), purchased new by a friend of my grandpa's. for reasons unbeknownst to me, he parked it in 2000 when the fuel pump died, at 39,000 miles and it sat there until my grandpa convinced him to let it go in 2009. we changed the pump, hoses, serviced all the fluids and belts and he drove it here and there for a few years. i bought it from him a couple years ago and seldom ever use it, but it was such a nice truck, it didn't make sense to let it go. it now has 55k miles. 100% stock, down to the original (working) AM/FM stereo and cassette deck.


been collecting old Snap-on stuff for the last few years. i put together a set to keep in my trunk for road trips and stuff, just in case... they really don't make em like they used to.


casually been hunting for an e39 m5 for a little while, to replace the e91. i randomly stumbled upon a fella who owned two, and he just happened to be in the town i was passing through that day. he had a Lemans Blue on black '02, and an Orient Blue on tan '03. once i saw the Lemans, it was game over. 141k miles, very honest and unmolested, save for a muffler delete and an H&R cup kit.







the next day, i jumped in it and drove it to Louisville to visit some friends for Thanksgiving. driving a car you know literally nothing about 2000 miles was a little dodgy. hit about three hours worth of ice passing through eastern Missouri/southern Illinois on Michelin Pilot Sports. nervous was an understatement, but it did great. shipped it home and will drive the e91 back to Portland.



thanks for reading, everyone.

[AWDBOB]

z3m exchange for e39m is quite a good one IMO. The older I get, the more I hate to see stuff I have not get used. Always a solid move to turn something that doesn’t get driven into something that does

[e30austin]

z3m exchange for e39m is quite a good one IMO. The older I get, the more I hate to see stuff I have not get used. Always a solid move to turn something that doesn’t get driven into something that does

i would have to agree, wholeheartedly!!! it's the perfect daily driver to me, where the M-roadster never really was, mostly because i couldn't take the dog with me (or haul much more than a bag or two of groceries).