A warm welcome to my 10th e30(And the first one here on r3v)
He has been deemed "Fritz" for many reasons.
Polaris Metallic 1983 320i. Originally an m20b20 manual car with no options whatsoever. Now sporting a haggardly wired stereo system and an aftermarket glass moonroof. The story on this car that I've gathered from previous owners is that it was bought by a US serviceman while stationed in Germany and was imported into the US around 1994 at the end of his deployment. It was then driven for a few years(and apparently every Northern Winter) and eventually put into storage in Ohio. It stayed in storage until 2013 when it was purchased by a friend in Louisville. He drove it around for a bit with the m20b20 until it was swapped out for a "built" m20b25. This engine met its demise before too long and it was torn down to swap in an m52b28. During this time it also received an e36 m3 front/z3 rear 5-lug swap. Neither of which were fully completed.
Fast-forward to the day I took the 2 hour trip North to Louisville.
First impressions: Pretty rusty in the fenders and floor pans. A lot of the undercoating is gone and surface rust is present throughout. At this point, the car has been off the road about 2 years and stored in a Harbor Freight garage tent thing. Any moisture that was introduced had nowhere to go but into the car's exposed metal. Luckily, the euro bumpers are in fair condition, albeit dull. It has a Genuine Pfeba front spoiler and wing in good health. Paint is mostly there and matching, but very weathered. Interior is messy, but shows signs of being in decent shape under the trash and spare parts. All modifications done on this car were done very haphazardly. Sits on $200 eBay coilovers with blown e30 top mounts. It is missing the pedal assembly. The wiring harness is hacked and melted together. Lots of wires are cut and capped. The CSB is mounted upside-down. There are two sets of e-brake cables just hanging under the car. It's a hot mess.
At this point, I'm tempted to get back in my truck and make the trek home with an empty trailer. But much like my girlfriend's reaction to a stray dog, something tells me it needs a second chance. So we eventually come to an agreement and load it up.
What have I done...?
Now before I get into any repair work or modifications, keep in mind this wont be a "visually satisfying" restoration like some other members have done. This is a low-budget resurrection fueled by the car's necessities to be streetable.
I'm fortunate enough to have a good friend only a mile away that is willing to lend me a spot to work on it indoors, since my single car garage is occupied by my '87 IS. So I ended up pulling the engine/trans back out, removing all of the fuel and brake lines, and the entire front suspension. Bought a new set of e36 m3 control arms, steel braided brake lines, ZF transmission detent bushing kit, new master cylinder and slave, z4 shifter, oil pan gasket, rethreaded e30 coolant temp sensor, a z4 manual steering rack and new tie rod ends, and a new starter.
Fancy moonroof
Engine coming out
Melted harness. Ended up cutting the same wires out of a spare auto harness I have and soldering them in.
Didn't know these came with two oil pan gaskets installed...
A healthy coat of POR-15 goes onto rusty areas after some wire-wheeling
Old tie rod end nuts were stripped, so I resorted to cutting them off
Z4 manual rack installed and linkage shortened
Custom caster-increasing FCABs
New arms and Condor FCABs
Trans detents in progress
Suspension back on and a 17x8 et20 M-System fitment test. Swapped the e30 top mounts for a set of camber plates I had from an old e30 also.
So this is where we are now. Still need to bolt on the starter, modify the headers to fit the e30 body and the o2 sensors, drain and fill the trans, find some exhaust manifold studs/nuts, and do a little clean-up before putting the engine back in. Then it's on to the rear of the car where some things need to be addressed.
He has been deemed "Fritz" for many reasons.
Polaris Metallic 1983 320i. Originally an m20b20 manual car with no options whatsoever. Now sporting a haggardly wired stereo system and an aftermarket glass moonroof. The story on this car that I've gathered from previous owners is that it was bought by a US serviceman while stationed in Germany and was imported into the US around 1994 at the end of his deployment. It was then driven for a few years(and apparently every Northern Winter) and eventually put into storage in Ohio. It stayed in storage until 2013 when it was purchased by a friend in Louisville. He drove it around for a bit with the m20b20 until it was swapped out for a "built" m20b25. This engine met its demise before too long and it was torn down to swap in an m52b28. During this time it also received an e36 m3 front/z3 rear 5-lug swap. Neither of which were fully completed.
Fast-forward to the day I took the 2 hour trip North to Louisville.
First impressions: Pretty rusty in the fenders and floor pans. A lot of the undercoating is gone and surface rust is present throughout. At this point, the car has been off the road about 2 years and stored in a Harbor Freight garage tent thing. Any moisture that was introduced had nowhere to go but into the car's exposed metal. Luckily, the euro bumpers are in fair condition, albeit dull. It has a Genuine Pfeba front spoiler and wing in good health. Paint is mostly there and matching, but very weathered. Interior is messy, but shows signs of being in decent shape under the trash and spare parts. All modifications done on this car were done very haphazardly. Sits on $200 eBay coilovers with blown e30 top mounts. It is missing the pedal assembly. The wiring harness is hacked and melted together. Lots of wires are cut and capped. The CSB is mounted upside-down. There are two sets of e-brake cables just hanging under the car. It's a hot mess.
At this point, I'm tempted to get back in my truck and make the trek home with an empty trailer. But much like my girlfriend's reaction to a stray dog, something tells me it needs a second chance. So we eventually come to an agreement and load it up.
What have I done...?
Now before I get into any repair work or modifications, keep in mind this wont be a "visually satisfying" restoration like some other members have done. This is a low-budget resurrection fueled by the car's necessities to be streetable.
I'm fortunate enough to have a good friend only a mile away that is willing to lend me a spot to work on it indoors, since my single car garage is occupied by my '87 IS. So I ended up pulling the engine/trans back out, removing all of the fuel and brake lines, and the entire front suspension. Bought a new set of e36 m3 control arms, steel braided brake lines, ZF transmission detent bushing kit, new master cylinder and slave, z4 shifter, oil pan gasket, rethreaded e30 coolant temp sensor, a z4 manual steering rack and new tie rod ends, and a new starter.
Fancy moonroof
Engine coming out
Melted harness. Ended up cutting the same wires out of a spare auto harness I have and soldering them in.
Didn't know these came with two oil pan gaskets installed...
A healthy coat of POR-15 goes onto rusty areas after some wire-wheeling
Old tie rod end nuts were stripped, so I resorted to cutting them off
Z4 manual rack installed and linkage shortened
Custom caster-increasing FCABs
New arms and Condor FCABs
Trans detents in progress
Suspension back on and a 17x8 et20 M-System fitment test. Swapped the e30 top mounts for a set of camber plates I had from an old e30 also.
So this is where we are now. Still need to bolt on the starter, modify the headers to fit the e30 body and the o2 sensors, drain and fill the trans, find some exhaust manifold studs/nuts, and do a little clean-up before putting the engine back in. Then it's on to the rear of the car where some things need to be addressed.
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