my favorite car has been through hell and back and has had many variations of looks over the years. here's an abridged timeline, of what i'm still able to remember.
chassis has between 330k and 350k miles, TMU as the odometer hadn't functioned in a very long time. i bought it at 230k miles in 2011, and put 80k miles on it in two and a half years.
the only original parts to the car are the four doors and the dashboard. that is (almost) not an exaggeration.
s50b30us/e30m3 susp on GC coilovers/Koni red dampers/Recaro SR seats.
body and paint suck, but i still am impressed at how well this car photographs. single stage red paint, FTW.
Dec, 2007 - i found it at the wrecking yard i used to work at in high school. it was destined for the crusher. my boss sold it to a member on this forum.
July, 2011 - i ended up with the same car, as luck would have it, now sporting a hella sik M50tu swap and half ass e36 5 lug conversion, generally hacked together and rough around every possible edge.
Sept, 2011 - installed some e38 style 5s and ran it like this for a long time.
March, 2012 - found a super nice pair of fenders and hood (18 year old me was an idiot); at the same time, installed e30m3 f/r seats.
June, 2012 - had my closest friend help me detail it and paint the trim. this was arguably my absolute most favorite rendition of this car. looked so damn good.
August, 2012 - some dumb bitch backed into me down town and, as you guessed it, killed my nice RH fender and hood. bought a beater '89 coupe for $300 and stole the front end parts. eh.
October, 2012 - trying out my creative side with my (new to me, at the time) Canon 40D - that was a total game changer for me.
March, 2013 - M50tu finally leaked/burned enough oil where it didn't make sense keeping it on the road anymore. scored a 130k mile S50B30US from "Dirtsquirt" and stuffed it in the car. this is when my life started going downhill. i received roughly 10 tickets in 12 month's time..............
August, 2013 - did car show stuff with my friends all summer long. one of the best time periods of my life. little did i know how much i would reflect on those times.
Jan, 2014 - some fucking idiot ran me off the road (i'm not posting that picture) and fucked the car up pretty good. it was at this point that i was ready to move on..........but of course, i couldn't do that. put it back together as best i could and kept driving it.
May, 2014 - bought my first e30m3 and decided to cut the red thing up.
October, 2014 - well, you guessed it. stupid red thing is still alive, e30m3 went away instead. emotional attachment is a funny thing.
March, 2015 - cracked the oil pan (the only time i've ever done this, FWIW) and decided to pull the engine to reseal a few things i was too lazy to do, two years prior. the engine ended up finding its way into my silver 330is (a very smart decision, as you will find out, as you read further). car sat in the back of my lot for over a year while i tried deciding what i was going to do.
May, 2016 - installed a "rebuilt' S52, that i acquired from someone off Bimmerforums. barely made it to and from E30 Picnic 2016, and one way to work that following Monday (roughly 400 miles), before the main chain guide started to fail (i didn't even think about it being chain guide until i had the engine out in 2018), along with a bunch of other irritating issues. pissed me off too bad to even consider doing anything other than beating it like it owed me lunch money, from time to time. i'm glad that engine didn't go in my silver e30. it would have 100% been parted out. decided to make it look even more like a pile of shit. this was my second favorite iteration of the car, just because i literally did not care *at all* about it, at this point.
Jan, 2017 - hit a horrid pothole in SE Portland and bent the LR trailing arm (seriously, never seen anything quite like it). shoved it in my storage unit for about a year while i had fun with other junk. tried some DS1 wheels again for a bit, since they had burnout worthy tires...other than that, was not a fan.
November, 2017 - acquired a full e30m3 rear end and overhauled the entire rear suspension, axles, bushings, bearings, 40% 3.73 limited-slip, staggered M-System wheels. got to go slide around for about an hour before the woodruff key sheared on the front trigger wheel. took about two weeks, but i realized what the problem was in my sleep. 3am, flew down to the shop, grabbed the front balancer wheel, and sure as shit, the idiot who "rEbUiLt" this engine, never torqued the "jesus nut" down, allowing the wheel to work itself back and forth.
February, 2018 - bought a new, OE front panel and an mtechnic 1 trunk spoiler, had them painted and installed.
June, 2018 - gave notice at my old building and decided to part my ultra beater '95 M3 out and quickly stuff the S50 in the car to get it going again. started on a Saturday at 11am, had the engine out of the car by 3pm, went and visited a friend for a couple hours, came back and swapped parts over to the new engine, had it in the car and running by 11 that night. best decision i've made in years. decided i would put my 17" RS212 on - an idea i regret, in retrospect.
August, 2018 - drove it and my former Z3 M-coupe all summer long. it's kind of fun to compare the similarities and differences between the two cars. same same, but not at all. i was terrible at taking pics during this time period. here's one from my mentee and close friend, with his red '88 535is.
October, 2018 - 4 October, 1988, was when this car was built - so, to celebrate, i went and did countless burnouts, and then took some awful pictures up at Mt. Tabor.
March, 2019 - moved into my current building and got a few things buttoned up on the old girl that had been really bothering me for a while. daily drove it basically all spring and summer long.
(my very good friend, "89r3wind" and his s50 powered '89)
March, 2020 - COVID came and surprised all of us and left me dead in the water, work wise. thought it would be a good time to do a ton of maintenance i had been neglecting for a long time and install the e30m3 front susp i had been hoarding for a while, did all the brakes and power steering hoses, etc etc etc... sold the M-Systems and reinstalled the e38 style 5s. installed an e30m3 instrument cluster and a gauge pod setup. i'd had the parts to do both for a very long time, but never had the interest. had the brake booster rebuilt, too.
June, 2020 - fuel tank finally rusted all the way through, so i installed a new one, changed all the fuel hoses, and figured, since i was there, i would replace the RMS, clutch kit and reseal the transmission. for the FIRST TIME since my initial purchase, it does not leak a drop of anything - still not sure how i feel about this. drove the living piss out of it all summer long, countless burnouts were had. only took one picture that day. i was in a very bad mood and just wanted to get the job done and over with. took my dog and went for a few drives. she really, really does not like this car (or the e30m3).
Dec, 2020 - sold the replacement shell (an extremely nice '88 325i) because i couldn't bring myself to ruin an insanely nice, original car with another dumb engine swap. bought e30m3 #2 and robbed the Confetti Recaros and the Italvolanti wheel, decided i'd install a few neato parts on this thing, just because.
and that's about it. if i find a presentable enough e30m3 rolling chassis (that isn't beat to shit, or ridiculously priced for a rolling shell), i will move everything over to that and have a "lightweight style" fun beater (minimal interior, which would make a good pair to my rapidly approaching faux Sport Evolution clone e30m3. the current body is plagued with previous damage and mild cancer issues, from spending its first 3-5 years in the NE region. at this point, it just doesn't really make sense for me to repair it, financially or otherwise. i will just drive it until it's no longer road worthy (which could be a pretty long time, since it doesn't see a lot of miles each year, anymore) and figure out my next plan from there.
i haven't looked at some of these pictures since i took them, many years ago, and i'd be lying if i said i didn't get somewhat emotional or sentimental while going through them. this is, by and large, the longest relationship i have ever had with anything. it's outlasted multiple relationships, countless pets, various friendships, been with me through multiple moves (usually been my only functional car, and you guessed it, became my work truck), countless interactions with law enforcement (fun fact: 18 out of 19 moving violations i've received were all in this car), a few exploded transmissions (19 year old me was a bit of a masochist), among lots of other stuff, both good and bad. i'm glad i still have it.
thanks for looking.
chassis has between 330k and 350k miles, TMU as the odometer hadn't functioned in a very long time. i bought it at 230k miles in 2011, and put 80k miles on it in two and a half years.
the only original parts to the car are the four doors and the dashboard. that is (almost) not an exaggeration.
s50b30us/e30m3 susp on GC coilovers/Koni red dampers/Recaro SR seats.
body and paint suck, but i still am impressed at how well this car photographs. single stage red paint, FTW.
Dec, 2007 - i found it at the wrecking yard i used to work at in high school. it was destined for the crusher. my boss sold it to a member on this forum.
July, 2011 - i ended up with the same car, as luck would have it, now sporting a hella sik M50tu swap and half ass e36 5 lug conversion, generally hacked together and rough around every possible edge.
Sept, 2011 - installed some e38 style 5s and ran it like this for a long time.
March, 2012 - found a super nice pair of fenders and hood (18 year old me was an idiot); at the same time, installed e30m3 f/r seats.
June, 2012 - had my closest friend help me detail it and paint the trim. this was arguably my absolute most favorite rendition of this car. looked so damn good.
August, 2012 - some dumb bitch backed into me down town and, as you guessed it, killed my nice RH fender and hood. bought a beater '89 coupe for $300 and stole the front end parts. eh.
October, 2012 - trying out my creative side with my (new to me, at the time) Canon 40D - that was a total game changer for me.
March, 2013 - M50tu finally leaked/burned enough oil where it didn't make sense keeping it on the road anymore. scored a 130k mile S50B30US from "Dirtsquirt" and stuffed it in the car. this is when my life started going downhill. i received roughly 10 tickets in 12 month's time..............
August, 2013 - did car show stuff with my friends all summer long. one of the best time periods of my life. little did i know how much i would reflect on those times.
Jan, 2014 - some fucking idiot ran me off the road (i'm not posting that picture) and fucked the car up pretty good. it was at this point that i was ready to move on..........but of course, i couldn't do that. put it back together as best i could and kept driving it.
May, 2014 - bought my first e30m3 and decided to cut the red thing up.
October, 2014 - well, you guessed it. stupid red thing is still alive, e30m3 went away instead. emotional attachment is a funny thing.
March, 2015 - cracked the oil pan (the only time i've ever done this, FWIW) and decided to pull the engine to reseal a few things i was too lazy to do, two years prior. the engine ended up finding its way into my silver 330is (a very smart decision, as you will find out, as you read further). car sat in the back of my lot for over a year while i tried deciding what i was going to do.
May, 2016 - installed a "rebuilt' S52, that i acquired from someone off Bimmerforums. barely made it to and from E30 Picnic 2016, and one way to work that following Monday (roughly 400 miles), before the main chain guide started to fail (i didn't even think about it being chain guide until i had the engine out in 2018), along with a bunch of other irritating issues. pissed me off too bad to even consider doing anything other than beating it like it owed me lunch money, from time to time. i'm glad that engine didn't go in my silver e30. it would have 100% been parted out. decided to make it look even more like a pile of shit. this was my second favorite iteration of the car, just because i literally did not care *at all* about it, at this point.
Jan, 2017 - hit a horrid pothole in SE Portland and bent the LR trailing arm (seriously, never seen anything quite like it). shoved it in my storage unit for about a year while i had fun with other junk. tried some DS1 wheels again for a bit, since they had burnout worthy tires...other than that, was not a fan.
November, 2017 - acquired a full e30m3 rear end and overhauled the entire rear suspension, axles, bushings, bearings, 40% 3.73 limited-slip, staggered M-System wheels. got to go slide around for about an hour before the woodruff key sheared on the front trigger wheel. took about two weeks, but i realized what the problem was in my sleep. 3am, flew down to the shop, grabbed the front balancer wheel, and sure as shit, the idiot who "rEbUiLt" this engine, never torqued the "jesus nut" down, allowing the wheel to work itself back and forth.
February, 2018 - bought a new, OE front panel and an mtechnic 1 trunk spoiler, had them painted and installed.
June, 2018 - gave notice at my old building and decided to part my ultra beater '95 M3 out and quickly stuff the S50 in the car to get it going again. started on a Saturday at 11am, had the engine out of the car by 3pm, went and visited a friend for a couple hours, came back and swapped parts over to the new engine, had it in the car and running by 11 that night. best decision i've made in years. decided i would put my 17" RS212 on - an idea i regret, in retrospect.
August, 2018 - drove it and my former Z3 M-coupe all summer long. it's kind of fun to compare the similarities and differences between the two cars. same same, but not at all. i was terrible at taking pics during this time period. here's one from my mentee and close friend, with his red '88 535is.
October, 2018 - 4 October, 1988, was when this car was built - so, to celebrate, i went and did countless burnouts, and then took some awful pictures up at Mt. Tabor.
March, 2019 - moved into my current building and got a few things buttoned up on the old girl that had been really bothering me for a while. daily drove it basically all spring and summer long.
(my very good friend, "89r3wind" and his s50 powered '89)
March, 2020 - COVID came and surprised all of us and left me dead in the water, work wise. thought it would be a good time to do a ton of maintenance i had been neglecting for a long time and install the e30m3 front susp i had been hoarding for a while, did all the brakes and power steering hoses, etc etc etc... sold the M-Systems and reinstalled the e38 style 5s. installed an e30m3 instrument cluster and a gauge pod setup. i'd had the parts to do both for a very long time, but never had the interest. had the brake booster rebuilt, too.
June, 2020 - fuel tank finally rusted all the way through, so i installed a new one, changed all the fuel hoses, and figured, since i was there, i would replace the RMS, clutch kit and reseal the transmission. for the FIRST TIME since my initial purchase, it does not leak a drop of anything - still not sure how i feel about this. drove the living piss out of it all summer long, countless burnouts were had. only took one picture that day. i was in a very bad mood and just wanted to get the job done and over with. took my dog and went for a few drives. she really, really does not like this car (or the e30m3).
Dec, 2020 - sold the replacement shell (an extremely nice '88 325i) because i couldn't bring myself to ruin an insanely nice, original car with another dumb engine swap. bought e30m3 #2 and robbed the Confetti Recaros and the Italvolanti wheel, decided i'd install a few neato parts on this thing, just because.
and that's about it. if i find a presentable enough e30m3 rolling chassis (that isn't beat to shit, or ridiculously priced for a rolling shell), i will move everything over to that and have a "lightweight style" fun beater (minimal interior, which would make a good pair to my rapidly approaching faux Sport Evolution clone e30m3. the current body is plagued with previous damage and mild cancer issues, from spending its first 3-5 years in the NE region. at this point, it just doesn't really make sense for me to repair it, financially or otherwise. i will just drive it until it's no longer road worthy (which could be a pretty long time, since it doesn't see a lot of miles each year, anymore) and figure out my next plan from there.
i haven't looked at some of these pictures since i took them, many years ago, and i'd be lying if i said i didn't get somewhat emotional or sentimental while going through them. this is, by and large, the longest relationship i have ever had with anything. it's outlasted multiple relationships, countless pets, various friendships, been with me through multiple moves (usually been my only functional car, and you guessed it, became my work truck), countless interactions with law enforcement (fun fact: 18 out of 19 moving violations i've received were all in this car), a few exploded transmissions (19 year old me was a bit of a masochist), among lots of other stuff, both good and bad. i'm glad i still have it.
thanks for looking.
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