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Kept Alive - 1991 325i 2-door

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    Kept Alive - 1991 325i 2-door

    Many words are contained herein, feel free not to read them!




    Greetings, fellow humans. I have enjoyed this glorious forum for many years, it has been an invaluable and entertaining resource.

    

Pictured below are my first two E30’s


    ^this started it all, learned manual trans in it the day I bought it.


    ^owned less than a year, passed on to a friend


    Now the owner of my 4th E30; the first an Alpine '91 318is, second another alpine '91 318is, third a Schwarz '90 325i 4-door and finally this Calypso 1991 325i 2-door (the only car I currently own)


    Produced November 5th of 1990 this 325i car came equipped as such:

    Transmission AUT

    CALYPSOROT METALLIC (252)
    
Upholstery (0295)

    S209A Differential lock 25%

    S240A Leather steering wheel

    S286A BMW LA wheel BMW Styling

    S401A Lift-up-and-slide-back sunroof, electric
    S410A Window lifts, electric, front
    S530A Air conditioning
    
S540A Cruise control
    
S556A Outdoor temperature indicator
    
S675A Sound System




    This is what I saw online:









    I found the car rather by chance at a small used car lot near Denver, Colorado just minutes from my childhood home, and totally fell for it.. while browsing the interwebs at my residence in Florida. This was clearly a problem, so I called the little dealership, bought the car remotely, and arranged a transport company the following day- which solved the problem.



    5 days later the car arrived, two miles away, so just as the sun set I hopped on the old ten speed and went to the drivers location. It was very dark at this point; being on a small island off the coast of Florida, this is what I saw on the truck:





    The driver unloaded the car, I threw my bike in the trunk, and after a couple signatures I was on my way..
 Greeted, of course, by coolant level warnings, high operating temperatures and a very very worn out front end. I was psyched!
    Took it home, parked in the driveway and then realized something.. the windows/sunroof were not functioning, and it occurred to me in that moment that when the dealership across the country told me they had a little trouble with the windows, they meant they couldn’t put them up. So the car spent at least the entire journey from Colorado to Florida, with the windows down 100%.
    I exchanged the associated fuse and closed the windows, comfortably sealing in a large quantity of dust/dirt. 

I had to take some photos, get a better look, so I grabbed a flashlight and




    

Then, my concerns for later rust discovery were relieved slightly when I saw





    Leading to the discovery that the car spent many years in California (verified by records in car), later in its life going back and forth to and from Colorado, and after suffering a healthy dose of hail damage, the original owner who cared for the car properly, passed it on to auction. Damage was never addressed, fortunately leaving a very original car. It received Toyota Camry maintenance after that.. But, was never modified whatsoever. Owned by multiple women, actually, if my facts are correct.





    The following day I took a first look in sunlight














    Not so bad, really. Satisfied with my purchase at this point, I decided to rip off the chrome fender covers and find out what I was dealing with, clearly it could have been an issue. After doing so, I washed the car thoroughly (3 full scrub/rinse cycles) and was left with this




    (Dash is actually cracked in small places)



    Then checked oil and coolant and took a short ride to remind myself of the issues at large, and nearly overheated before arriving back home- at which point the car went directly into the garage so I could asses the further.




    ^middle of 15 mile test trip



    
It was literally the dirtiest engine bay I had ever seen, I had to begin tearing into it, which to me means pulling the engine harness aside, removing the intake manifold, all hoses, etc. It really was that filthy, I couldn’t tell what was leaking, and everything smelled funny.

    BUT first, I had to detail her to the best of my ability. (knowing shed be down for a while, I wanted a closer look at everything)





    Annnnd then, I took everything apart.



    Getting started^

    At this stage I took my sweet time cleaning and inspecting everything- literally a couple months, before reassembly with all new hoses & coolant. I used that mean-time opportunity to make plans for the car and sell what I daily drove at the time. 

Back up and running, no more overheating issues or funny smells- in fact, not even any oil leaks.















    Then, the car was invited to a sleep over at the in-laws house, with a climate-controlled garage, 1/4 mile away. It was time for a real interior cleaning, so out came all seats, some plastics, and rear door panels.






    Seats during cleaning, in person the difference was night and day.


    All seats and panels were cleaned thoroughly this way, then protected. The carpet was vacuumed multiple times, and steam-cleaned in place. Results below:





    Then everything sat with moisture absorption devices everywhere, so it could dry properly. After that, it was reassembled.






    At this point, I was ready to take the car to be registered and receive its very own license plate. Its first 30+ mile journey was underway, and it was no longer possible to ignore the absolutely terribly winter tires left on the car from CO, in addition to the front wheel bearings eating themselves alive. The car made it just fine, low speeds were maintained, and it started raining plenty on the way home. The journey was a success, and it was time for me to leave her in safe place while I traveled north to Ohio for some time.
    
Being that E30’s have feelings, I put on a set of 14” weaves with new tires before leaving.


    (Registration run)





    3 months pass, plan in mind, it’s time to return 1,000 miles to the south and help this little E30 out proper. I shipped all the parts I needed to a residence in FL, and flew down.



    The goal for the car was to stabilize all systems, providing myself an entirely original and entirely functioning blank canvas. I wanted to experience this trim of E30 exactly as it was built, call it curiosity. A stock automatic 6-cyl car precisely as it came new is the only E30 I was unfamiliar with, oddly.



    With those goals in mind, this was the work to follow:
    
(BMW or other OEM quality parts only)


    • Timing Job incl. Belt, Tensioner, Pin, Spring, WP, Tstat, Cam Seals- the basics, full maintenance.

    • Oil/Coolant Change.
    
• Ignition System revival incl. new Dist Cap, Rotor, Wires, Spark Plugs and Ignition Coil.

    • Front End revival incl. CAB’s(ok these are solid, not stock), control arms, tie-rod ends, sway bar bushings, sway end-links, cleaned/sanded/painted strut assemblies, strut mounts, dust shields, new upper/lower spring pads, shocks, bump stop/bellows, ( FAG )Wheel Bearings & associated hardware all new.

    • Rear End attention incl. New Upper/Lower Spring Pads, Struts, Strut Mounts, Rear Sway end-links. TA Bushings, Subframe bushings, diff bushing all have life left.

    • Brakes- 4 ”Stoptech sport” blank Brake Rotors, Brake Pads.

    •Charge A/C, alignment, test drive 350 miles.




    This all, is what that looks like:



































    And done-





    Many test drives ensued afterwards, and the only non-functioning item on the car is the Aux. Fan for the Condenser. Otherwise, the A/C functions nicely. The car now drives very well, solid, responsive, no funny noises or smells. The odometer has always functioned with no lapse, and ticked over 165,000 actual miles as I performed the 350 miles test drive. As it turns out, even a 100% stock automatic 325i is a fun car to drive.



    Heres what she looks like presently:






    


So now I have a straight and original, loved-by-hail but rather reliable (thus far) 325i 2-door in Calypso (a big favorite) with a 4.1 LSD, and a very strong desire to assimilate a Getrag 260 into its body. Sweet. After first driving an E30 ten years ago now, I’m grateful to hold the same appreciation for such a simple machine.



    Though the work was performed with haste, the car has been subject to my ownership for nearly 10 months now, and suffered multiple periods of sleeping in a cool garage while my life was rather busy, and during that time my wife and I sold our business to move forward towards new goals and dreams. Through all manner of changes, decision making, stress, peace, etc.- the car has always been a soothing place to return to. Isn’t that what E30’s are for? They’re like service animals, just really big, right?





    Long term plans are classic OEM+ 


    •Hammer out minor issues
    
•Develop a preference for full suspension upgrade
    
•Getrag 260, Pedal Box, Etc. Maybe 3.73 Diff

    •Front Sport Seats

    •new Windshield

    •15” or 16” Wheels

    •new Trunk, Sunroof Panel, Fenders and possibly Hood to accompany the repaint in original 252. (Distant plan, I don’t mind exterior cosmetics in truth, but already have new sunroof panel and full hardware)

    Probably an exterior enhancement too, but who knows. I just want to clean her up and drive the hell out of her.



    Hope to update before the year is out with something significant, if anybody made it this far- thanks for checking it out!

    #2
    Strong work! Very thorough, coming out great
    '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

    Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

    Comment


      #3
      Loved the story. Keep up the good work.

      Comment


        #4
        Good story, I admire those able to colorfully paint the story of their vehicles.


        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
        BMWCCA #389756

        Comment


          #5
          Nice and clean! Love it!

          Comment


            #6
            Car is looking great!
            I do things.

            Comment


              #7
              What a great story! You did a nice job talking through the journey and cataloging all of your efforts and work with it so far.

              Excited to see where it goes. I too had an AT and converted to a manual. That was the best decision I've made to date with the car.

              Keep up the great work and the awesome progress on your Calypso! Cheers.
              1988 325 Lachs Sedan SOLD

              1989 325i Bronzit Beige 2 Door
              SOLD

              2018 Volkswagen Alltrack SE DSG
              Past:1988 325iS Lachs 5 Speed

              Comment


                #8
                Good stuff... when I got my current E30, I had the same desire to keep it relatively stock, though it was getting suspension and a 5 speed swap. Not going to lie, the auto/ stock suspension wasnt bad, but these cars are so great with suspension and that third pedal
                Simon
                Current Cars:
                -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

                Make R3V Great Again -2020

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thanks for the replies everyone! I’m greatly looking forward to that third pedal myself. My daily driver before this was a 6-speed Golf R, and I’ve driven/owned enough vehicles with man-pedals that this will only last so long. It’s been fun though, and the wife will have fun with it for now, too.

                  Comment

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