Lachs Silver 1988 325 Sedan

[cheffy30]

dang toby...
i better step up my game...
you're pushin me!

sent from hell.

[mike.bmw]

The S. Drives have been terrific so far. Certainly a substantial upgrade from the rubber that was on there. They do a nice job in the rain which was important for me here in Seattle. They have a fairly stiff sidewall so turn-in bite and road feel are greatly improved. I was cross shopping these with the Dunlop Direzza DZ102 and folks here on the forum + the team at Tirerack urged me to go with the S. Drive for their superior wet (and cold) traction over the Dunlop.
No rubbing at all on H&R OE Sport springs/Bilstein B6

Exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks!

[TFJR]

J a n u a r y - update

Three weeks of paternity leave was amazing. Nice to be home, create a loving bond with my daughter and tackle some E30 projects during nap time.

Installed a refreshed, late model driveshaft from Driveline Services of Portland. The last one had notchy U-Joints. This feels so much nicer!


I deeply scrubbed the interior trunk mat. I first used my shop vac for a good 20 minutes getting up anything I could. This was the result. Note the nasty stains.





Following that, I pulled the panel out of the car and let it sit with interior fabric cleaner. I took a bristle hair brush to it in a cross hatch pattern pretty aggressively.

Finally, I took the mat to a local self wash (Car Wash Palace in Greenwood) and spent $10 using the hot, high pressure soap setting. This really did the trick! The discharge from the mat was absolutely disgusting. I then re-vacuumed the carpet and let it dry naturally in the sun after absorbing what I could with several microfiber drying towels.






About 18 months ago, I bought a set of used, iS side skirts from a forum member in Bend, OR. I had a fellow auto enthusiast friend hold onto them for me up until this past August when I finally had time to collect them. I remember the seller had noted he had sprayed them with Plastidip to "protect" them. Sadly he sprayed very thin coats of the Plastidip and it was a total bitch to remove. I have never bought a part that was previously Plastidipped that was actually done correctly. Overall, I hate the stuff. I used WD-40, Goo Gone Citrus spray, magic erasers and old kitchen sponges to get that crap off. Overall took about 3.5 hours between both the side skirts to clean up.







50/50:


Finished:






Side story, the side skirts were meant to come with the front pieces, which weren't with my friend when I got them. I ordered them through Blunttech + all OE hardware after my trip to Bend this summer.



The skirts, along with the side mirrors will be painted next month. In 2019, I plan to find a like new/new front valence to have painted & take care of the rust in the rear valence.

Attended the end of year, BMW CCA Lunch meet at XXX Rootbeer in Issaquah. I'm usually not a sticker/decal kind of guy but I thought this looked right at home on the E30.




Other happenings/projects with the car:

• Ordred brand new upper & lower sport seat foam + bolsters through Blunttech for the new, OE 0269 anthracite fabric I have. Powdercoating a sport seat frame rail/base
• Ordered a new, non OE blower motor & resistor through Blunttech. Current one sounds HORRID
• Ordered a new, OE trunk seal through Blunttech
• New, Bosch ignition coil through Blunttech
• Still chasing down this moderate/heavy throttle cut out issue. It's very annoying!

Happy 2019 everyone!

[e30_troy]

Love all the work you're putting into this. And that interior is awesome. Also, your photos inspired me to learn about the evolution of E30 3rd brake lights today

[TFJR]

Love all the work you're putting into this. And that interior is awesome. Also, your photos inspired me to learn about the evolution of E30 3rd brake lights today

Thanks! It's been a mountain of work to get this car right and it's all about finishing the small details on it to make it the car I want it to be. I'm a bit frustrated with it at the moment, which is par for the course in E30 ownership from my experience.

I received the new blower motor from Blunttech but sadly it is for an A/C equipped car and won't work. I got the right one en-route from FCP Euro. That will hopefully fix my blower motor issues. It's gotten so loud I can barely speak over it. I curbed it and am not driving it until it is fixed. On full blast it also smells like there is exhaust fumes coming into the cabin. I also think I might have an exhaust leak that has developed.

I am getting rid of the newly installed Condor 70a trans mounts. They've added a stupid amount of NVH into the cabin. I DO NOT recommend them. I'm also going back to my stock exhaust. The Scorpion unit sounds nice but I want to quiet the car down. My frustrations are probably coming out in writing. I'm sending the car up north to Anacortes to figure out the random cut-out issue I have on WOT and figure out why my idle wanders a bit when warm. e30Josh here on the forum will hopefully button it all up and I'll be in better spirits about the car.

In happier news, I bought a nice 1989 325i 2 door in Bronzit Beige on Monday! The car came on a gorgeous set of nogaro silver euroweaves that I'm selling to help fund the purchase of the car. The wheels are pending sold to a PNW R3V member.
I'll be doing a full timing belt service, water pump, thermostat, full ignition tune-up components, coolant and trans flush and enjoy the car. It has a lot of miles (380K!!) but runs wonderfully and has zero rust that I can find. It's a great driver I want to elevate and keep for a bit and eventually sell down the road. Already got a bronzit R/F fender for it, and an OE "i" lip. I think I've also got a line on some cheap fog lights. Another bonus is the blower motor works great, and so does everything else! I'll make another thread documenting my efforts with that one soon.

[TFJR]

Long Overdue Update

Hi R3V - I'm posting a long overdue update on the sedan. I got the car back from Don Jerko's Automotive Repair up north of me in Anacortes, WA yesterday. Josh (e30Josh) spent significant time diagnosing and mostly fixing the obnoxious cut-out issue the car was experiencing under full throttle. He also fixed and replaced a few other pieces on the car.

Great news, the issue is mostly fixed. Out of 25-30 pulls I did yesterday I was only able to get it to cut out once. The issue, Josh believes, stems from the engine harness and back pinning to the ECU. He had a lab scope hooked up and did a bunch diagnostic work. I'd highly recommend him to anyone in the Western WA area.

Other good news, the car feels very healthy & strong. This is the healthiest feeling M20 car I've ever driven.

I also received and installed the correct blower motor that was thankfully available through FCP.

I put the nogaro silver euroweaves on the sedan, and the bronzit now wears the Ronal LS setup. The 15" euroweaves in my opinion look perfect on the car.

I also sourced a few sets of 14" Basketweaves during the Seattle Snowpocalypse. Mounted, are a new set of Goodyear Winter Ultra Grips in a tall and narrow 185/70.

I love E30's, but I fear my time is coming to a close with these cars. Between a baby, a wife in her final stages of her dissertation and an absurdly overpriced city, its amounting to be too much all at once. I want to buy a house back in the Northern VA/DC area, and will likely be selling both E30's to put towards a down payment on our first home. A Porsche 911 will just have to wait.

The first pics are at Golden Gardens park in North Seattle taken a few months ago.










Snowpocalypse:




Winter Traction Ready:





Anacortes, WA - Cape Sante Lookout (3.24.19)






370mm MT2 Wheel FTW



Cheers all!

[2mAn]

The first pics are at Golden Gardens park in North Seattle taken a few months ago.






Cheers all!

That looks amazing.

[e30RS]

Wow. Is that the same car?! You did an incredible job.

[cheffy30]

what a gem!

sent from hell using Tapatalk

[mike.bmw]

I love E30's, but I fear my time is coming to a close with these cars. Between a baby, a wife in her final stages of her dissertation and an absurdly overpriced city, its amounting to be too much all at once. I want to buy a house back in the Northern VA/DC area, and will likely be selling both E30's to put towards a down payment on our first home. A Porsche 911 will just have to wait.

Don't sell both, you will regret it! :(

Bring the sedan to NOVA/DC, come out to a few BMW CCA events, and think on it. Either of your cars would fetch a premium in this area. ;D

[cheffy30]

Don't sell both, you will regret it! :(

Bring the sedan to NOVA/DC, come out to a few BMW CCA events, and think on it. Either of your cars would fetch a premium in this area. ;D

I'll get in line.

sent from hell using Tapatalk

[e30RS]

Plus one, those are mega.

[TFJR]

Sold

Yesterday, a very nice forum member flew out from Indiana with his wife & purchased the sedan. They're driving it back to its new home in Indiana over the next five days. Griffin and his wife Hayley were very nice people, and I feel a lot better about selling it to someone who is going to be giving it a loving home. They're also planning to attend "The Vingtage" in Asheville, NC in a few weeks. I hope some of you can see it in-person there!

I personally think its one of the nicer 4-doors here in the US and I know Griffin will take it to that next level.

I detailed the car for him before his arrival. I did a clay-bar, a single pass on all panels with Griots Garage One Step Sealant, and used P&S Bead Maker as a topper.











I'm going to miss E30 ownership. My wife and I plan to purchase a cheap, family friendly car to keep for the next 4-5 years. She has promised me that I can buy my 996/997 Porsche 911 after we purchase a house, hopefully in the next 5 years. She knows it was an emotional decision to sell this beautiful car and it was not an easy choice to make.
Cheers to this wonderful community.

[mike.bmw]

Congrats on the sale and finding owners that will do right by the car. Hope to see you around when you move to this area!

[e30RS]

Car looks fantastic, congrats on the sale. Good luck with the next stage and move.