Whoa there, buddy... that's a ways off. I don't have the funding just yet. Maybe in another half to a year.
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! Congratulations on the successful rebuild and upgrade of your suspension. I beg to differ with your assessment: your car drives BETTER than new. Congratulations again! Today, I begin the same work on my new 1991 318i Quattroporte. If there is a major earthquake in the SF Bay Area in the next few days and I cease to post to this website ... the events may be correlated.
lol 318i Quattroporte? Let me guess; 4-door 318i with a fantastic Italian engine? Good luck with that project. Earthquakes is one reason I would never live in California. Hurricanes is the reason I'd never move to Florida. Unfortunately, these two would be the only places I would move. I don't know how the car rode when it was new, honestly, so I can't really say it rides as good as new or better, but it definitely feels spot on with what some newer cars I've been in feel like, only a lot less bouncy. Next step: E30 sport seats, and I've got myself a home-brew 325es.
No, the normal massive M42 engine, but it has the same body configuration (ie 4 doors) as the Maserati Quattroporte, so I figure I should be technically correct when describing my car. There is a small chance I will blow a front tire at a critical turn on Laguna Seca and bite the big one. The chances of me dying in an earthquake are much smaller than this. When you live here, you realize earthquakes are highly over rated. ... now rust: that's a scary thought.
Sorry, I couldn't think of anything witty for my 2-door coupe, as opposed to your Quattroporte Bimmer. You win... I don't dread the earthquakes because of the death factor, I dread it because of the "how much will I have to pay to fix this or that" factor; property damage. That does occur, no?
Yeah, everything sounds bettter in Italian. Note that your BrilliantRot becomes a Testarossa. Much better. In all these years I have never incurred property damage. It does affect your behavior a little though, things like how you don't sleep with your rock collection on a shelf above your pillow in case there is a Big One.
Hello Botond! Happy New Year! I know I am 12 days late here! I have not posted in a couple weeks. Anyway, Your E30 looks awesome! Yes you are on your way to a 325es. A number of years ago I had a neighbor with a black on white 325es. It was a pretty cool car. I don't think I have seen any other e30s with a white interior other than the rare cabio m-techs. So either my memory is wrong or it truly was a rare interior. A couple weeks ago I bought H&R sway bars for my 318i"S" to go along with the H&R sport springs, bilstein shocks, and 325 brakes. They are suppose to arrive tomorrow. I am very excited to get them on. Brian A you convinced me to get these. I bought new hardware as well. And yes I know tighten every thing down with the weight of the car on it's wheels not jack stands. GR
Looks like Brian has inspired lots of others - he's what made me finally pull the trigger, though I was thinking about it for quite some time. I've never seen the white interior on an E30 before... never. His was white? And it was an es??? Perhaps he had it swapped, or custom upholstered? I think I'm going to reach es status by the end of the week when my sport seats arrive. All the features that matter are now up to es spec, and the only thing missing that's not important at all is the 13-button OBC. I think I've exceeded es status, actually, because the suspension is better (not only is it new, it's lower and firmer), the seats that I bought are immaculate, as opposed to the rather-worn seats you get in es's nowadays, and I have a chip in mine. So, I guess that makes it... a 325es SE? I'm really hoping to convert it to a 330is or 332is soon... but a 325i (M50) will do too.
You will like. Swaybars are supposed to be the gizmos that adjust understeer/oversteer. On my 325i convertible, I have stock BMW springs (I am waiting the 100 years it will take for my Bilstein HDs to wear out before I change springs and shocks) and Eibach 20mm/16mm adjustable swaybars. I was amazed at how substantially just the roll bars reduce body roll. I dig it. Oh, oh. I didn't know that. Actually, I don't think it matters, although the BMW spec to set the control arm bushings is to glue them in place with some fancy-schmancy BMW part numbered glue, which needed the car to be jacked down within 30 minutes of installing the control arms. I checked at the local BMW dealership; even they don't use the glue nor do the jack-down-in-30-minutes thing. You did it first, so you inspired me. Oh, do it, do it, do it!
Eh? I thought you did it first? I could've sworn... it wasn't more than a few weeks ago I did it, and I remember you talking about it a bit longer than that? Seriously, MUCH easier said than done, unfortunately. I don't have cash for labor. I could buy an engine, but it would just be some eBay engine with no service records. Besides, I really want a unique conversion, and S50/52 or M50 is hardly unique. I wanted an M30 conversion, but I'm told it's more work due to having to make custom mounts or something like that. Hell, if I had enough cash for an S50 swap, I might as well do an LS1 swap ... Honestly though, if someone here was willing to help me put it in, I'd buy an engine and tranny within a few weeks. Unfortunately, I don't have that extra grand or two for labor. I am literally in pain about this; I want a very unique car, or at least one that's not just your regular 325e. It pains me to have a slightly less-than-average engine in such a fantastic machine, especially now that I'm putting a bit of work into "restoring" it. I always had this weird fantasy of creating a custom Bimmer, kind of like making a 4-door E46 M3, or something like that. It's too bad everything's 'bout money. If Paul was willing and would take payments, then I'd gladly buy an engine and tranny down where he lives and drive down there and work on it with him. I'd learn a lot, and would gladly pay him a bit more than a regular mechanic if he allowed weekly or bi-weekly payments... *hint hint*
That is no doubt technically correct. I researched what I was going to do in October, ordered stuff in November, took delivery in December, began surgery at noon on December 31 and finished Saturday January 3. You?: You ordered, received and installed within 48 hours all in December. I wish I could do that.
Ah, technically incorrect. It was more like a week. Sorry it took me less time; Bilstein Sports with H&R Sport springs are probably the most common combo I've seen on E30s and EVERYONE who I read about that had them were 110% satisfied, so what to buy was a no-brainer. If it makes you feel any better, I lost 2-3 days when I drove over 70 miles to the shop and forgot my wheel lock key, and had to hitch a ride with Chris home and send back the key with him so I could take a brutal train ride back to where my car was the following Monday.
Stuffing an M30 into an E30 is a really big pita, and compared to the relative ease for an M50 conversion, doesn't make that much sense these days. M30's are huge & heavy, (blowing the balance of an E30), and M50's deliver roughly the same hp stock as an M30 for a lot less weight. Add in what power you can get from tweaks, plus the dual cams & vanos, etc. etc, an M50/S52 is a better way to go, imho. Unique.. hmmm.... how 'bout a new stock eta or 'i' motor w/ a supercharger or turbo?
Where am I going to get a new eta or i motor? I can't do it to the existing; it would cost way too much. It would need a total rebuild and then the cost of the turbo or supercharger setup. For that money, I could get a full S52 swap with transmission or if I'm lucky, an S38. Wwwwwhhhhyyyyyy? Nooo!! How about if I just watched? lol I guess I'll ditch the unique idea. I could settle for a sleeper status M50 and probably just rebuild it for a like new engine.
Well if he brings me everything I need and hands me enough money to take a couple of days off I'll have it done in 2 days (or so.)
An s38, hope you have deep pockets if anything goes wrong! "Funkmasta" on R3Vlimited.com is making mounts to put an M30 in an E30. I'm currently trying to source a 24v motor as well, most likely an M50 or M52 just to get it done on the cheap for now. The M20 has a burnt up exhaust valve on cylinder number 5 and is down 25% on compression compared to the others, still runs pretty good though. An OBD-I M52 with S52 cams, injectors, software, and bigger MAF will net around 200-205 whp on a good motor. More than enough for an E30 in my opinion. Although OBD-I s52 with Sunbelt cams would be nice!
Brian: The H&R sway bars come with the bushings already on them. They are some fancy rubber and Teflon concoction so they don't squeak. So I guess I won't worry about the glue. They are 22mm up front and 18 mm in the back. So with only 2,360 lbs to control, I am expecting a pretty flat ride through the corners. Anyone, should I be worried about the "tabs" on the rear trailing arms with these new stiffer sway bars? I think Turner Motorsport makes a reinforcer, but it needs to be wielded on. Botond Yea I know that white interior doesn't quite make sense, but for some reason that is what I remember. Some of the M-Tech cabrios did come with a white interior, so they do exist. The es cars also came with the big front spoiler that came on the 87 325is. I like they way they look with the large bumpers. At some point I want to get euro chrome bumpers and a Hartge front spoiler. GR
