My '86 build

[Est817]

Back in 2016 i was influenced into getting an 86' 325es by @2mAn. At that time I needed a car, and I've always wanted a BMW so it made sense. I bought the car at a great price, it was almost a steal.
Since then I've put a lot of work into it and unfortunately have had my time wasted by a mechanic who wasn't upfront with me about when my car would be ready to pick up. Finally after cornering the mechanic, he admitted that his assistant who was supposed to work on it only got in to the tear down stage and left for Mexico. Long story short i had it towed into my parents drive way and @2mAn had a friend @Yert315 who in my eyes performed a miracle seeing it took a serious mechanic to do this work. He slapped all the parts together like it was a Lego set.
The work and changes made:

New tires
885 Head Gasket and Assembly
New wiring Harness
New Gasket Kit
Rebuild Fuel Injectors
Throttle Body
New Door Handles (Car didn't have any on the inside)
270 Regrind Cam
ETA tear down and Timing Belt
2.7i Install
Radiator and New Hoses

Almost done with this project, how ever a few bumps at my job had me put it on hold for a bit. Overall I'm frustrated with not being able to drive and enjoy the car, until I sit in the driver seat and then I'm in love with it again.

I feel like it was worth the purchase and the time and patience invested in this car. Even in the final stretch, which is always the hardest.

[2mAn]

Holy sh!t... I never thought this would happen

[2mAn]

My '86 build

I will get some pics of this car here

[Est817]

I will get some pics of this car here

Took some time to wise up. Finally got pictures uploaded. except for that last blown up one hahaha

[Est817]

Update!!

Spoke with my mechanic. I'm going to now need a new fuel pump. I decided to take this job on my own because what kinda owner would I be. The car runs for about a solid 15 minutes before dying out. The mechanic has resolved the problem to the fuel pump, the relay, and the ecu. Now does anyone know if i need to swap out both fuel pumps or which one would need to be changed? how would I be able to tell? Again, this WILL be my first time doing a job like this. Any information or tips is greatly appreciated.

[2mAn]

Hmm that doesn't quite sound like a fuel pump...


Here are my pics. First drive straight up the street to the tire shop. Car sat for so long the tires were roasted. He eventually found first gear and stop trying to start the car in third


Now we have tires and taking the car down from East LA down the 110 to the South Bay

[2mAn]

My '86 build

so a sad update for this...



I had been helping OP and when he had the issues with the fuel pump he basically parked it as his Moms house in Harbor City. One thing led to another and the car got towed in December. By the time he found out, it was already over $1000 to get the car out. I did some digging and found out that they were doing to auction it on the 26th (today), so I took today off to try and help him get it out.



Upon arriving at the auction, it was clear that this car had some interest, but I was hopeful that the POS looking exterior, non-running motor and ES badge would have people looking at the other cars. I was wrong, there were definitely a few people interested.







When the yard was going around and starting cars, I was hopeful that it wouldnt start so they couldnt hear it running, but after a little stuggling to get the hood open, the car fired up right away. It blew some smoke, but it sounded good.... shit





Once the auction for the car started, it was a 3-way bidding war between myself and two others. It quickly got out of our budget and the hammer dropped with someone else winning the car. He seemed like a cool, younger guy so I decided to give him the scoop on what it actually has in it. He told me he worked for an E30 shop in Bellflower and he had the cowcatcher for it. I asked if hes on r3v and he said its "too busy" for him whatever that means. He said they sell cars through facebook, so Im not sure its the r3v facebook, socal e30 facebook or another facebook group, but you might see this pop back up for a lot more than he paid.

Hopefully this will finally get another solid E30 back on the road and the new owner can show it the love it deserves

[Codym42]

Wow, that's crazy. I can't believe they can tow it and auction it off in such a small time frame. That sucks.

[sileighty]

Damn that sucks. That's how I got my new car. It got towed, had a +$2k bill, and then it was auctioned off.