Dustin Wark | 1991 318is

[wark]

My long wait has come to satisfying end, in the form of an extremely clean (444,000 miles!!!) 1991 318is. For the past 2 or three years I have been trying to sell my previous car and pick up an e30 that I could enjoy driving and modding. As of two-ish weeks ago I was able to FINALLY sell my car and a week after that I came across this car for sale in LA.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=366772

http://i.imgur.com/dyAS7Ni.png

It was nearly everything I was looking for (sans the M42, but that wasn't a huge deal). Luckily a good friend of mine had recently moved down to LA so I shot him a text to see if he could go check it out and potentially make the deal if everything looked good. Everything checked out and my friend was even able to drive the car up to Boise, ID for me. Couple days later I boarded a flight to Boise from Portland to go pick it up. I spent the weekend visiting friends and getting a feel for the car before heading home the next morning.




There was even a Jalopnik article written about the car, which was a pretty neat find, post-purchase.

http://jalopnik.com/for-4-900-this-bimmer-has-miles-to-go-before-it-sleep-1489879360

[ST1G]

Dustin, welcome to r3v, two years ago. The car is incredibly clean for having the amount of miles that it does.

Can't wait to see what you do with it.

[FreedomM3]

Look perfect minus the bell bottom lip, flip it upside down if your going to keep it! Look forward to updates.

[wark]

UPDATE | 9.30.15 - 446,381











Once I had the car back in Portland the fun began. There was a small list of things right away I know needed to be taken care of. In fact, before I even made it to pick up the car I had a list of parts on order.

Parts ordered:
-OEM IS front lip
-OEM IS side skirts
-OEM euro grilles
-Hella smoked ellipsoids
-OEM rear euro license plate filler
-OEM Mtech II steering wheel with trip-color stitching
-OEM euro clock
-OEM ZHP shift knob.

I figured these fixed some of the more glaring "issues" with the car and would quench my thirst for more, at least for a little while. The ZHP knob was the first to arrive and I replaced the ugly old knob first thing.









A full Mtech II kit is the ultimate goal for the exterior, so I picked up a pair of these replica (to be replaced if I ever come across a legit set) Mtech badges while they are still available.

[word is bond]

Looks great. You can order the3-stripe shift emblem for the zhp knob from the dealer. I swapped one in, and painted the aluminum ring with SEM trim black, so it looks a bit more period correct.
Funny to read the comments on Jalopnik from a few years ago. "5k is collector car money in the e30world," definitely doesn't apply any more (if it even did back in 2013).

[Slowgan]

Very clean! I have been trying to sell my e36 and get an e30 for a while now. Looking forward to see how this turns out!

[FreedomM3]

Man that thing is CLEAN for the miles. I like the updated pics. Who ever owned it prior must have loved that car dearly.

[wark]

UPDATE | 10.3.15 - 446,587

My Mtech 2 wheel arrived and the install was relatively painless, expect a missing washer. I was able to find a replacement at a local hardware store and got the wheel on. It was fun to drive before, but it is heaven now. Between the new wheel and shift knob, my hands are always on brand new leather now.

Before:




After:

[Wschnitz]

Glad your replacing the vulva lip lol.

[wark]

Glad your replacing the vulva lip lol.

I hate looking at it everyday when I come out to my car. The IS lip can't some soon enough.

[crxtone]

In for this. I loved the vw.. can't imagine what this build will turn out to be!

[Neil1138]

I like where this is going.

[dpmit94]

Always good to see another local e30. Super clean!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using Tapatalk

[ahrensNW]

Always jealous of older guys with e30s. Upgrades come way faster.

[AllydNYC]

Clean car. Awesome that the FS post was on Jalopnik. I love that site!