The E30

My first BMW was a 1987 325is that I bought sight-unseen from a shirtless man with a mullet. How did I know he was a shirtless man with a mullet if it was sight-unseen? In the auction he had a picture of himself standing proudly next to the car, mullet flowing in the wind. Needless to say, buying a car from a shirtless man with a mullet was a mistake. Even though the brakes didn't work and it leaked gas onto the exhaust with every right turn it gave me 15,000 miles before I declared it unsafe. It's linear torque curve, connected feel, and rear wheel drive hooked me on BMW. That lead to the M Coupe and the 2004 Sport Wagon. Like all marques, with each new generation BMW's became heavier, complicated, and more disconnected. I was dismayed that BMW was loosing it's way (not that I could afford an new one anyway). Last summer we needed money for our wedding and decided to sell the Sport Wagon. With it I decided to sell my daily driver Honda Civic and go back to the BMW with the qualities that defined the Ultimate Driving Machine - The E30.

E30 is BMW code for the second generation 3 series, made from 1984 to 1992. The 325 model features an inline 6 cylinder engine, rear wheel drive, and a driver oriented cockpit. Its boxy body provides excellent visibility and retro style in today's world. It's lightweight and has many features that were decades ahead their time. The ergonomics are perfect; the steering, shifter, closely spaced pedals for heel-toe shifting, switches - everything fits like a glove. It'll cruise on rails well into triple digit speeds, but gets close to 30mpg if driven conservatively.

The BMW E30

My search began on Craig's List. My budget was $2900, what I sold the Civic for. I found an '89 325i with 195,000 miles with enough cash left over to address some problems. The seller had rebuilt the head, replaced all of the cooling rubber, install a high performance coil, injectors, and ignition wires. It was pretty clean, but still in much need of work. The good: plastic bumpers, manual, rebuilt head, clean paint, projector headlights, mechanically inclined previous owner. The bad: soft brake pedal, overheating, erratic idle, Check Engine light, multiple warnings in overhead check panel, Brake Lining light, missing front lip, cracked driver's seat, jammed sunroof, "i" trim instead of sporty "is" trim, whinny diff, bottle cap wheels, pealing clear coat on the roof, sloppy shifter, faded emblems, cracked bumper trim, gas leak and smell, and many other things.

The E30 When I Got It

My goal for the car is a clean daily driver. I also wanted to add a few tasteful options that improved the sporty look and feel. This bringing it up to "is" trim, which included a limited slip diff, lip and trunk spoilers, sportier wheels, and suspension. My rules were everything needed to be as close to OEM and time period as possible, but cheap. The great thing about E30's are parts can be sourced for pennies on the dollar if you know where to look and keep a watch on Craig's List. Here's my build progress from last September until now.

Stainless Steel Brake Lines and New (Used) Master Cylinder

(didn't fix the soft brake pedal)

New Fuel Filter and Lines

(the dry rotted ones were leaking)

Replace Throttle Body Gaskets and Vacuum Lines

(didn't fix the erratic idle)

New Throttle Position Switch

(the old one was filled with gasoline)

Reposition Air Flow Meter Brush to Fresh Part of Electrode Strip

(didn't fix the erratic idle)

New Idle Control Valve

(didn't fix erratic idle)

New Grounding Strap

(didn't fix erratic idle)

New ECU Coolant Temp Sensor

(finally fixed erratic idle!!)

New Crank Position Sensor

(a broken wire clip caused the fan belt to saw through sensor wire leaving me stranded)

Replace Whinny Diff with Limited Slip Diff, New Seals & Gasket

(every car should have an LSD and it's quieter)

Replace Fan Clutch

(fixed the Overheating)

Rebuilt Drive Shaft

(bad U-Joint)

New Flex Disc

(old one was badly cracked)

New Transmission Output Shaft Seal and Shift Selector Seal

(old ones leaked transmission fluid like a civ)

Rebuilt Shift Bushings, Z3 1.9 Short Shifter

(the old shifter felt like a spoon in a bowl of spaghetti)

Repaint and Install Junkyard Sourced "is" Trunk Lid Spoiler

("is" trim upgrade, it caught on fire while I was repainting it)

Repaint and Install Junkyard Sourced Rear Bumper Trim

(the old trim was cracked)

New (Used) Emblems

Color-Matched Tinted Glass Mirrors

("is" trim upgrade, old ones were faded)

Install Euro-spec "Smiley" Projector Headlights w/ Yellow Laminx

(euro look and performance)

Repaint Front Valence, Front Bumper, Install New "is" Front Lip, & Splitter

(front splitter was missing completely, "is" trim upgrade)

Replace 4 Spoke Steering Wheel with M Tech I Steering Wheel

(smaller diameter, "is" trim upgrade)

Cover Cracked Dash w/ Suede Cover

(more cracks than the Grand Canyon)

Replace Mirror with Map Light Mirror

(OEM luxury option)

Used OEM E21 Cloth Recaro Sport Seat

(original driver's seat was cracked)

Replace Stock Shifter with Leather Illuminated M Coupe Shifter & Suede ///M Stitched Boots

(had it laying around)

Homemade Cup Holder

(constructed from PVC pipe couplings)

BBS RGR 17" Wheels & New Dunlop Rubber

(my favorite wheel of all time, bought the tires new for $300 from sketchy Ukrainians behind Safeway)

Replace Stock Suspension w/ H&R Sport Springs, Drop Hats, Bilstein Sport Shocks, Shock Mounts

(old suspension was worn out, ride height too high)

Replace All Four Wheels Bearings, Rebuild Brake Calipers, Used Master Cylinder #2, New Pads and Front Rotors

(trying to fix soft brake pedal, noisy wheel bearing - didn't fix the soft pedal)

Z3 2.7 Lock to Lock Steering Rack & Modified Steering Linkage

(the old lock exploded, raining power steering fluid down my neck. 2.7 lock to lock = much quicker steering)

Replace Control Arms, M3 Offset Bushings, Tie Rods, Sway Bar Links, Sway Bar Bushings

(the old stuff bushings were trashed)

Replace Subframe and Trailing Arm Bushings

(the old ones were worn out)

Replace Rear Axles with JunkYard Sourced Ones

(the old ones were bad)

If you are still reading, that's enough. There's more that I have missed, but you get the point. I had no idea how much work it would take to bring it back to life, but it was worth it. With the new wheel bearings I get close to 30mpg and will get significantly more with a taller final drive. Every drive home from work is a joy. The world is my race track, but the car is so slow I can enjoy challenging myself responsibly. It's a momentum car that rewards good lines and little or no braking, which suits it because the brakes don't work that great anyway! With snow tires it does great in the snow. I took it into the mountains a few times this winter snowboarding.

Fun in the Snow

Photoshoot

I'm pretty sure I could make my money back or even squeeze a profit if I ever sold it. I've found a few notes on my windshield asking me if I want to sell. The deficiency list includes the persistent soft brake pedal, jammed sunroof, pealing clear coat, installing the other Recaro sport seat, non-functioning A/C, crappy stereo, and a few oil leaks. I plan on getting as many miles as possible out of the stock M20 motor as possible, then swapping in a late 90's M3 S52 motor.