My E30 Project

[zammie]

Good evening folks,I am thinking on embarking on a great, exciting and scary journey into BMWland - treading down the path of restoring an E30. I'm no petrolhead but I've done some homework on this forum and also Wiki (hehe) on what's what regarding my current dream car, the E30.Why E30? Cos its classic looking, lines are easy on the eye, and it's a BMW. Also, the buy-in price for the project is acceptable for me lah.Regarding my project: I'm looking for a decent 320i or 325i 2 door model (1987 onwards) that I can restore to full working condition and put in a few mods. I'm not a purist so I won't bother insisting on finding original paint and rims but I'm looking to retain the vintage look of the car. So, without blabbing much further, I have some questions for the sifus on this forum - questions I couldn't quite get the answers to so far. I appreciate everyone's help and opinion!Here we go:1) How long can the body of the E30 generally last? For example, can I expect to drive a '87 unit for another 5 years without finding a hole in the carriage floor? Is acid bath and repaint recommended?2) When is it necessary to rebuild the engine and is that more practical than doing a transplant?3) Is it possible to get used M3 engines in Malaysia? Is it possible to order one locally?4) Which newer BMW engines are most easily transplanted into the E30 if I want more power?5) Is it possible to get a new original / OEM dashboard and centre console (I'm guessing not..)?Thanks in advance everyone! Have a good long weekend!! :hello:

 

[ejfong]

looking forward to replies to ur questions too from fellow sifus here
good hunting

 

[wave]

looking too

i'm looking for an E30 too....

those info would be a great help..
plus my other Qs are:

is it expensive to maintain an E30??

and what are the things i should look for when buying an E30 e.g what things that usually break down , need repairs and my attention...

 

[Zoggee]

some poisos perhaps....

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25248

 

[teejay]

LEt me offer you some advise and hope you take it very seriously as i probably wont repeat it. Read the replies in red

1) How long can the body of the E30 generally last? For example, can I expect to drive a '87 unit for another 5 years without finding a hole in the carriage floor? Is acid bath and repaint recommended?
-last forever if maintain properly from the start
-most pre 88 unit suffer from bad rust in the floorboards, mine has gone for a complete change using original floorboards from a donor car cost 4k
acid bath dont exist here, repaint possible ,quality paintjob cost 4k

2) When is it necessary to rebuild the engine and is that more practical than doing a transplant?
-your guess as good as mine, m20 rebuild from blueprinting to internal n essential parts new, cost about 8k or so i heard
-transplant to another same family engine possible but again, essential parts must be changed to avoid unneccesary repairs in the future cost 4k-8k

3) Is it possible to get used M3 engines in Malaysia? Is it possible to order one locally?\
-yes anything possible, cost of halfcut 15k-20k, another 5k-8k for labour and minor parts

4) Which newer BMW engines are most easily transplanted into the E30 if I want more power?
-m44,m50,m52 easy
-m30,m60,m70,m88, s30,s32,s36,s38, can be done but not so easy, all you need is money

5) Is it possible to get a new original / OEM dashboard and centre console (I'm guessing not..)?
-possible, have the money?? 1k used , 2.5k brand new


there are lots more to learn, suggest you spend time reading all of the past topics to get more info as all of your future question will have already been answered and debated upon, plus the fact the other older older older otai have input, nowadays there wont be much proper input.

 

[virtualmystic]

I have just purchased 2 (yes TWO) E30's. One 1987 2.5 litre auto and another 1986 2.0 manual version. My friend and I have been looking for corrosion (rust) in the obvious places but have so far found NONE! The parts are cheap. A gearbox mount costs RM30 each (you'll need 2). Even the dashboard is still available brand new or second hand. There is/was someone on this forum selling one in good condition for RM1200.
Stock condition ones are harder to find. I found one in Taiping but was too late to purchase it. 1 owner for the first 23 years then changed hands to 2nd owner for 8 months. Almost stock standard! The ones I bought are about 90-95 percent stock standard too. All trims intact. Good luck on your project. Mine is starting today. restoration and repair. No mods.

 

[zammie]

Thanks everyone for the advice so far.Double thanks to Teejay for the additional advice over PM earlier!

Virtualmystic - hope you will be keeping us posted on your unique double e30 restoration project! Very interested to follow your 'journey'...

Ha ha, you said you will restore both to original for now. Let's see what happens later, maybe one becomes the pristine 'angel' car and the other the heavily modded 'devil' car, haha!

 

[pussy]

come to a e30 and all 3 series Tea Time Teh Tarik session that will be done on Next Month...

venue, date & location will be advised soon..

there you can meet the all 3 series kaki's...

 

[virtualmystic]

Project will be posted on my blog at virtualmystic.wordpress.com. see you all there

 

[hotfoo36]

Thanks for 2 big sifu teejay & pussy advise and invitation for TT.

Hello to virtualmystic & zammie, happy journey in restoring your lovely E30, I'm sure it will be a very good experience and learn a lot. I'm starting off mine too during this recession time cause much more free time now, but not a fast one as I'll try to do all myself, and minimize the help from my mechanic.

virtualmystic, no rust at all on both of your E30? That's too good but quite impossible. Did you observe the rust from outside of the car under carriage or from the inside of the car under the floor big carpet? Mine cannot find any rust from outside but after I open up the big carpet, there is a few rust spots around the front passenger & driver side foot area and arches. Not sure about the firewall area as I not yet dismantle my dashboard.

Good Luck!

 

[virtualmystic]

On dismantling the 2.0 litre manual E30 I found some rust in the wheel well areas. The most serious but not fatal is one spot just forward of the right forward jacking point excatly at the wheel arch. Thinking of cutting away the cancerous part and replacing with steel weld.

 

[hotfoo36]

Oh I see, thinking of the same way for me as well. Mine is a E30 320i manual as well, but 05/83 production.

 

[zammie]

Thanks and good luck guys! I'm still at the sourcing stage - saw a couple of cars so far. Nothing confirmed yet.

Btw, is the E30 a good car to get some hands-on experience on the engine? Am wondering if it is possible to get into that cos its nice to be able to make minor repairs to your own car rather than just pay someone to do everything... feel closer to the car too

 

[virtualmystic]

Yes the E30 is a pretty basic car without being too basic. The important thing when buying is to look for rust, check all the electrical system and the engine/transmission. Worse case scenario, get a good chassis, engines can always be worked on if not too far gone. If you're interested I could lend you the Haynes manual for you to copy.