Hey guys, this thread is gonna be for documenting the rebirth of my first car, a 1986 325es. A brief history.
Purchased the car in 2010 during my senior year of high school. Engine had been freshly rebuilt and the car's exterior and interior were both minty.
Due to inexperience and bad tires I ended up giving it a good whack in the face during one particularly slick morning in Irvine.
I'd known nothing about cars when I first bought the thing, at this point I had been performing all maintenance myself. Breaking down the engine and putting it all back together. I was attached and felt guilty for wrecking the old girl. So I taught myself some basic body work and got her to this. Which is how she stayed for a couple years
I had an incident where a clasp broke and the fan clutch chewed a hole in a cooling line. The car overheated and I thought I was quick enough getting off the road. Apparently not. About 8 months later the car gave a mighty fart of white smoke and refused to start. Closer inspection revealed the engine head had cracked (naturally this occurred right after I rebuilt the suspension). Being in the middle of the semester and with money being tight I had no time or space for a project and I couldn't get by without a car. So the e30 was tucked away for another year. I knew I wanted to bring it back to life and better than it was before. I'd invested too much time and money to abandon her now and a new engine was always in the works. So now that things are more stable for me I bit the bullet, pulled some strings, and got the car down to SD from back home and shoved it in my backyard (with the landlord's approval even!).
I went back and forth on which engine to go with. S5x was out of my price range for now. I started leaning towards an m30b35 but wasn't thrilled by the prospect of such a thirsty car. Well I ended up finding a m20b25 out of a 1991 325i with 120K on it that looked really clean and so thats where I ended up. I could use some advice on converting an early model eta to a late model i engine. So far I have the engine, harness, ecu, and airflow sensor.
Due to college student budget restrictions... Plans so far are just to put in new straight core support, rebuild the engine a bit and get my car back on the road. Reseal, shiny new bits, and minor head work is all I'm considering for upgrading the engine. As well as some minor touch ups.
Long term plans include 15x8 (7?) OZ alpina type wheels, and full mtech 1 body powered by m54b30 for daily glory.
Until then she waits patiently for further tear down!
Update 10-18
A lot and yet little has happened. I finally tore the new b25 down to the block. When suddenly, a wild fail appeared!
Thankfully the guy who sold me the engine is setting me up with a fresh bottom end. I sent the head to be cleaned and pressure tested, and disassembled. Going to replace the valve guides and freshen other odds and ends. So fresh! (Apologies for random upside down pic)
Then it was time to remove the old nasty.
Victory!
Amazing whats hidden under all that dirt and grime.
Accumulating a giant list of parts and acquiring the funds for the big engine dump. Recently finished prepping body for the new core support, so soon gonna be installing new one with snazzy new removability! Also did this for fun this week.
Purchased the car in 2010 during my senior year of high school. Engine had been freshly rebuilt and the car's exterior and interior were both minty.
Due to inexperience and bad tires I ended up giving it a good whack in the face during one particularly slick morning in Irvine.
I'd known nothing about cars when I first bought the thing, at this point I had been performing all maintenance myself. Breaking down the engine and putting it all back together. I was attached and felt guilty for wrecking the old girl. So I taught myself some basic body work and got her to this. Which is how she stayed for a couple years
I had an incident where a clasp broke and the fan clutch chewed a hole in a cooling line. The car overheated and I thought I was quick enough getting off the road. Apparently not. About 8 months later the car gave a mighty fart of white smoke and refused to start. Closer inspection revealed the engine head had cracked (naturally this occurred right after I rebuilt the suspension). Being in the middle of the semester and with money being tight I had no time or space for a project and I couldn't get by without a car. So the e30 was tucked away for another year. I knew I wanted to bring it back to life and better than it was before. I'd invested too much time and money to abandon her now and a new engine was always in the works. So now that things are more stable for me I bit the bullet, pulled some strings, and got the car down to SD from back home and shoved it in my backyard (with the landlord's approval even!).
I went back and forth on which engine to go with. S5x was out of my price range for now. I started leaning towards an m30b35 but wasn't thrilled by the prospect of such a thirsty car. Well I ended up finding a m20b25 out of a 1991 325i with 120K on it that looked really clean and so thats where I ended up. I could use some advice on converting an early model eta to a late model i engine. So far I have the engine, harness, ecu, and airflow sensor.
Due to college student budget restrictions... Plans so far are just to put in new straight core support, rebuild the engine a bit and get my car back on the road. Reseal, shiny new bits, and minor head work is all I'm considering for upgrading the engine. As well as some minor touch ups.
Long term plans include 15x8 (7?) OZ alpina type wheels, and full mtech 1 body powered by m54b30 for daily glory.
Until then she waits patiently for further tear down!
Update 10-18
A lot and yet little has happened. I finally tore the new b25 down to the block. When suddenly, a wild fail appeared!
Thankfully the guy who sold me the engine is setting me up with a fresh bottom end. I sent the head to be cleaned and pressure tested, and disassembled. Going to replace the valve guides and freshen other odds and ends. So fresh! (Apologies for random upside down pic)
Then it was time to remove the old nasty.
Victory!
Amazing whats hidden under all that dirt and grime.
Accumulating a giant list of parts and acquiring the funds for the big engine dump. Recently finished prepping body for the new core support, so soon gonna be installing new one with snazzy new removability! Also did this for fun this week.
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