E30 Build Thread

[loneStar22]

i used to be on this forum as a kid, i was about 15 or 16 when i got my first e30. since then ive owned a stanced galant that was totalled. i have a stanced b5 s4 and also a under constrution e90. i finally found a clean e30 that i wanted and picked it up. through all the cars and forums ive been on ive never done a proper build thread. this will be the first. from beginning to end.

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs191.snc3/19837_306492921206_501691206_4042227_3341886_n.jpg

first picture ever taken, saw it at a dealership. couldnt let someone else have it. i wasnt even thinking of buying a car before i saw it.

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs498.ash1/27202_328742256206_501691206_4117454_3380347_n.jpg
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs432.snc3/24890_332574151206_501691206_4126573_7427889_n.jpg

ive been installing headunits in my friends cars and my own for years but i decided i didnt want to deal with the cars 20 year old wiring and left it to a pro

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs452.ash1/24890_332574761206_501691206_4126575_1146590_n.jpg

cant tell in the pic but this was the first time i washed it. see if it would look any different. it didnt, needs paint

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs469.snc3/25726_350122216206_501691206_4175084_2670121_n.jpg

welcomed in to the orange tow hook mafia. need to repaint the grills and get new foglights

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs469.ash1/25726_350124456206_501691206_4175105_6740679_n.jpg



uhh illestttttt

[Revhard05]

eighty nine?

[loneStar22]

89 is correct.

my buddy scott picked up his E30 today. 86 325

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs469.ash1/25726_350397351206_501691206_4176635_177257_n.jpg

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs469.ash1/25726_350857991206_501691206_4179179_6963306_n.jpg

[Rickysbmw320i]

subscribed

[loneStar22]

if anyones ever gotten an alignment at my shop theyve gotten it from the guy that owns that car

parts purchased this weekend for my car

ecodes
DDM tuning hids 55w 6000k
shift boot/e brake boot
euro plate filler
ground controls
h&r race (for the e90)
random odds and ends to complete the restoration


i should be getting bombarded with parts in 4 to 5 business days.. cant wait for install day.

today we plan to lower scotts e30. will post pics if we get it done

[Effin' Euro]

is this a copy n paste from another forum? unless you're what...17 now? :)

[BMWerke]

lmao

[Zic]

Lols :rofl

[loneStar22]

its on r3vlimited yes

but no im not seventeen

[sugmag]

not gonna lie, I'm pretty jealous of your stable of cars and parts. They look good though, keep it up

[loneStar22]

my apartment complex is definetily not happy with my stable. especially since only the e30 wont wake u up when it starts

[610EURO]

ive been installing headunits in my friends cars and my own for years but i decided i didnt want to deal with the cars 20 year old wiring and left it to a pro


installing a headunit in an e30 is just like any other car :confused


random odds and ends to complete the restoration


shit, you must work fast .. already completing the restoration and we didnt even get to see it start ?

[loneStar22]

installing a headunit in an e30 is just like any other car :confused



shit, you must work fast .. already completing the restoration and we didnt even get to see it start ?

not when theres no easy way (harness). and the speaker wires have a common ground (something ive never dealt with before.


compared to my buddy scotts e30 my front suspension is trash in my e30. u can move the steering wheel about an inch and the car doesnt track either way. it drives straight but thats the only good thing about it. so in about a week or so im doing new tie rods, LCA w/ bushings and such. cant wait for that new steering wheel feel on those fresh ground controls.

also ive decided. my first wheel choice was oz futuras. but shit im a college student with a car note. im just not in the position to have baller wheels on this car. so yes, ill be rockin reps. but u better believe it will look good. **** to burst anyones bubble but yeah. new pics of the e90 coming soon once its its lowered

[BeemerBuyer]

Your gonna keep the fedex man busy!

I can't wait to see where you go with it.

[loneStar22]

ahhhh sessyyyy!
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs469.snc3/25726_355453666206_501691206_4192181_2850255_n.jpg





et check

just seein what +15 looks like. i think im gonna go lower with the offsetsss
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs469.snc3/25726_355263196206_501691206_4191692_6693821_n.jpg

[loneStar22]

installed the ecodes tonite with the hids. very happy with it, just makes it more like my e90. now i need to make the shifter tighter and get a matching knob and theyll feel just alike. which is my goal as far as feel of the car goes.

[Byron]

Progressing quickly! Now hurry up and slam it lol.

[00bmw323]

needs a drop!

[loneStar22]

ground controls are coming in today!!!!!

[loneStar22]

was taking the car apart today to install an ipod controller. took off the knee cushion thing below the gauge cluster and found a rats nest. took the center console out and found rat poop. FUCK.

im in for more than i wanted to do installing this ipod, i cant just install it and put it back together knowing there may be dead rats somewhere in there. this explains my random electrical issues. now im probably going to end up taking the dash apart to find out whats going on in here. gross
:mad

[skip535i]

I'm interested to see where you go with this.... Have fun!

[WhiteStripes]

Damn, sucks about the rats. Definitely cant wait to see the GC's on it though.

[DopeAsFuuu]

damn. that sucks. Doing it right the first time FTW

[loneStar22]

hmm so its been about a week since my nasty discovery last friday. the car has pretty much sat in the same spot since then simply because i havent had a day off of work since then. weathers getting nice and hopefully it will be tomorrow so i can vacuum it out and get it all back together as a plan to drive it next week. the e90 is finally slammed so all my attention can goto my e30.

next plan is my quest for lows, my front shocks are blown (i can get the front wheels off the ground. easy) i dont think it would be a good idea to put coils on them at ALL. so monday im buying some stock shocks at work and throwing on the ground controls on monday. hey byron can i get as low as u were in the beginning on stock housings?

[Byron]

This was all the way down with stock shocks in the front. Back was raised a bit.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x96/e30spdfrk/the%20318/DSCI0200edit.jpg

Honestly it won't matter if they are blown or new because theres almost no available travel, lol. I would bottom out the shocks on the little bumps in my driveway on that setup.

[Stephen]

^ yea, no travel there lol

[loneStar22]

is it driveable though?

for like a few weeks until i can shorten my housings?

[610EURO]

Byron are those 17's or 16's ? i tucked 195/50 on 16x8's with uncut strut housings. do you have GC camber plates ?

[loneStar22]

no i do not

[610EURO]

GC plates let you go lower in the front. they are not nearly as tall as the stock hats.

yes you can drive around with no suspension travel.

[Vegas13]

coming along nice!

[Byron]

is it driveable though?

for like a few weeks until i can shorten my housings?
Yeah its driveable. I drove for probably about a month like that while I was waiting for my shorter struts to come in. Having big tires helps, lol.

Byron are those 17's or 16's ? i tucked 195/50 on 16x8's with uncut strut housings. do you have GC camber plates ?
That pic is with 17's with 205/40's, no camberplates.

[dinanm3atl]

Honestly it won't matter if they are blown or new because theres almost no available travel, lol. I would bottom out the shocks on the little bumps in my driveway on that setup.

eek!

[loneStar22]

well got the ground controls on, and i am in no way happy with them on stock housings. for one the perch cannot go all the way down in the perch since there is no clearance for that. i dont know if i did something wrong or what but i have them as low as they can go without taking the perches out completely. on top of that i still have liek two finger gaps up front. i guess i was expecting more from this setup. what type of places do you guys goto to get your housings modified? i want i low as possible on a budget so i dont really want to have to by shortened konis. what other shocks are there out there that can be ran in a shortened housing?

ill post a pic of the new lows when i get home

[loneStar22]

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs388.snc3/23681_378188831206_501691206_4259023_6513559_n.jpg

[loneStar22]

photoshoot for the e90 coming today. keep an eye out

[Byron]

I'm running 325ix inserts in mine. Not the best choice but cheaper than Konis.

[HaaJeHaa]

New user from Norway;) Keep up the good work! Keep the pics flowing so I can get some inspiration for my next project. I want a loooow e30 with 16x9 keskins myself!

[loneStar22]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4500122149_bb6024d696_b.jpg

this is as low as she can go on ground controls and stock parts. the rear is not all the way down but the front is. struts are not bottoming out and the ride is actually better than my e90 right now. about a week after i lowered it i developed a rather weird issue.

the car has always had some second gear vibration when u first go into gear but i never thought much of it. well after a few nights ago it has turned into a large knocking sound u can feel below the center console. i think it may be my center bearing? idk but the car does not feel safe to be driving till its fixed. dammit!

[Bimmerteck]

If it sounds like a 5 year old locked in a trunk on acceleration than it's the center bearing, if it does it at high road speed it the Guibo.


Erik

[loneStar22]

after the center bearing is done i need someone local to help me out with modding the strut towers

[loneStar22]

so today im once again ribbing the interior apart looking for wiring issues. the rainy season is coming up and i want to have wipers that work even when im NOT jiggling the cruise control stalk. that an today im going to run the RCA wire for a sound system.

[loneStar22]

my buddy travis (tmoney on stanceworks) picked up an e30 for $800 bucks a few weeks back. its a 1985 325e. its in amazing condition. it didnt run, the guy didint know why. all it needed was a DME
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs557.ash1/32473_400955891206_501691206_4821260_210141_n.jpg
e30 werkshop
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs553.ash1/32263_401426676206_501691206_4836351_4176922_n.jpg

finally got the driveshaft issue solved. yet i thought i did. about 2 weeks after i replaced the center bearing and guibo disc the driveshaft shake came back even harder this time. while i was down there i noticed one of the tranny mounts was not connected. this probably caused the issue. i fixed it but the problem still came back 2 weeks after i was under the car. once i have the money im going back under the car replacing the motor mounts, tranny mounts, dif mounts, and full driveshaft. hopefully this will solve the problem. if i cant come up with the cash to do this ill just sell the car. because it really sucks having to baby this car everywhere.

spy my e30, now find scot rods
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs557.ash1/32473_400955906206_501691206_4821261_1221070_n.jpg

[DragginWagon]

im assuming you checked the universal joints? my SA22C rx7 had a really bad U-joint on the trans end and it caused an aweful vibration.
it would be a shame to sell such a nice e30 cuz of that.
oh and BTW. tell your buddy with the red 800 dollar e30 to give me that front lip! lol.

[Sterling_Archer]

always **** hearing about a bunch of little problems that add up to a car being a pain in the ass. hope everything works out for the best.

[Byron]

If the problem keeps coming back then It's most likely the u-joints in the driveshaft tearing the new parts apart. Driveshafts are easy enough to find, no need to sell the car because of such a little problem lol.

[loneStar22]

it has to be the ujoints, ive been too busy with the move to work on it but im about to remove the driveshaft again when i have time and check it out. i got under the car the other day and noticed my guibo bolts are hand tight. the guy who put my driveshaft on didnt tighten them all the way. wtf

[STANCED_OUT]

Have you replaced the the rubber flex disk connecting the transmission output shaft to the drive shaft? This is a common problem and sounds just like what your explaining.