I found this late model two door locally here in Seattle, WA via an E30 FaceBook group. The previous owner had posted the car for sale on December 26th for half an hour, before quickly taking the entire for sale ad down. He was selling to attain a good friends parents E28, however the owner of the E28 decided they weren't ready to sell. I stayed in touch with the previous owner and would periodically check back in with him every few days. I'm glad I stayed in touch with him as the car sounded promising, and the car was located less than 2 miles from my place!
On January 14th, I purchased the car and have been focusing on making it a solid, reliable daily driver. According to the CarFax I paid for, the car has very few previous owners, all in the Pacific Northwest and a heck of a lot of chassis miles. I didn't believe the functioning odometer when I bought it, but the CarFax report backs up this beauty has 380K miles! Clearly the car was well kept and maintained for the vast majority of these miles. I'm unsure if the motor is original to the car or not. It runs very smoothly after a recent maintenance update.
Some details:
Production Date: 1989-04-11
Type 325i (USA)
Series E30 (3 series)
Body Type LIM
Steering Left Hand Drive
Engine M20
Displacement 2.50
Power 170hp
Drive Heck
Transmission Automatic
Color Bronzit Beige Metallic (139)
Upholstery (166)
Comfort & Interior Equipment:
S410A Window Lifts Electric Front
S530A Air Conditioning
S540A Cruise Control
S556A Outdoor Temperature Indicator
Wheels
S286A BMW LA Wheel BMW Styling
S925A VERSANDSHUTZPAKET
The car is stock with the exception of Bilstein B6 HD's at all four corners, a so-so Clarion HU, aftermarket rear deck lid speakers, and the 15" Ronal LS wheels from my sedan. The car came on a set of 15" nogaro silver euroweaves that are now on my sedan.
Cons:
High chassis miles, but the paint and body is very nice as well as the drivetrain and interior. Nearly rust free
Cracked dash (have a perfect dash for it)
RF fender was crunched, since replaced
Maintenance Update
I want to use this car daily while also restoring some of it's short comings. Here is a list of whats been accomplished in the past month:
After it's first bath a few weeks ago:
After the slew of maintenance, wheel swap, fender, trim and lip install
I've also pieced together a set of five, 14" basketweave wheels with center caps. The set was a bit rough and have been cleaning them up by hand. If I can't get them to my standards I'll get them powdercoated. For rubber I got an unrealdeal off Discount Tire Direct for a set of Goodyear Ultra Grip Winters.
Purchased OE Euro Grilles locally
Freshly repainted bronzit side mirrors in the mail from a member in LA
Pieces I'm still looking for: Drivers side window seal, radiator shroud, RF plastic bumper guide, Engine bay undertray/splash panel.
Almost pieced together a full 5 speed swap for it! Installing that, E46 M3 rear strut mounts and OE M3 Springs all around and it should be pretty much all set! Thanks for reading
On January 14th, I purchased the car and have been focusing on making it a solid, reliable daily driver. According to the CarFax I paid for, the car has very few previous owners, all in the Pacific Northwest and a heck of a lot of chassis miles. I didn't believe the functioning odometer when I bought it, but the CarFax report backs up this beauty has 380K miles! Clearly the car was well kept and maintained for the vast majority of these miles. I'm unsure if the motor is original to the car or not. It runs very smoothly after a recent maintenance update.
Some details:
Production Date: 1989-04-11
Type 325i (USA)
Series E30 (3 series)
Body Type LIM
Steering Left Hand Drive
Engine M20
Displacement 2.50
Power 170hp
Drive Heck
Transmission Automatic
Color Bronzit Beige Metallic (139)
Upholstery (166)
Comfort & Interior Equipment:
S410A Window Lifts Electric Front
S530A Air Conditioning
S540A Cruise Control
S556A Outdoor Temperature Indicator
Wheels
S286A BMW LA Wheel BMW Styling
S925A VERSANDSHUTZPAKET
The car is stock with the exception of Bilstein B6 HD's at all four corners, a so-so Clarion HU, aftermarket rear deck lid speakers, and the 15" Ronal LS wheels from my sedan. The car came on a set of 15" nogaro silver euroweaves that are now on my sedan.
Cons:
High chassis miles, but the paint and body is very nice as well as the drivetrain and interior. Nearly rust free
Cracked dash (have a perfect dash for it)
RF fender was crunched, since replaced
Maintenance Update
I want to use this car daily while also restoring some of it's short comings. Here is a list of whats been accomplished in the past month:
- Timing Belt (Continental)
- Timing Belt Tensioner
- Cam Seals
- Water Pump
- Thermostat
- Distributor Cap
- Distributor Rotor
- Bosch Ignition Coil
- Spark Plugs
- Fuel & Air Filter
- Valve Cover Gasket
- Valve Adjustment
- Oil Change - Mobil 1 15w-50
- OEM Oil Filter
- MTC Magnetic Drain Plug
- Coolant Flush with OE BMW Blue Coolant
- Automatic Transmission Fluid Flush
- New Interior Door Switch Installed
- Replaced clips and hardware for under dash kick panel
- A-Pillar Blank Purchased & Installed (Have factory premium audio tweeters I need to install)
- 3 Spoke sport steering wheel
- Used, matching Bronzit front fender installed
- Used, matching Bronzit gas door installed
- OEM "i" Front Valence Lip installed with new OEM clips
- OEM Fog Lights Installed (were missing from the car. Need to replace glass)
- Used, excellent condition Hirschmann antenna installed
- Factory shadowline trim for the passenger side sail trim. Have all shadowline ready for the car
After it's first bath a few weeks ago:
After the slew of maintenance, wheel swap, fender, trim and lip install
I've also pieced together a set of five, 14" basketweave wheels with center caps. The set was a bit rough and have been cleaning them up by hand. If I can't get them to my standards I'll get them powdercoated. For rubber I got an unrealdeal off Discount Tire Direct for a set of Goodyear Ultra Grip Winters.
Purchased OE Euro Grilles locally
Freshly repainted bronzit side mirrors in the mail from a member in LA
Pieces I'm still looking for: Drivers side window seal, radiator shroud, RF plastic bumper guide, Engine bay undertray/splash panel.
Almost pieced together a full 5 speed swap for it! Installing that, E46 M3 rear strut mounts and OE M3 Springs all around and it should be pretty much all set! Thanks for reading
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