tequilashots
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- Joined
- Jun 13, 2005
- Messages
- 30
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Back in the archive posts, I have basically informed my new 're'-acquisition of a family 1985 e30 coupe, which is under my custody. After being in suspended animation for 2 years in a workshop (with much neglect), I have basically towed the car back to the workshop my old folks' regular workshop, which is m1 segambut. It was a suprising visit as the workshop is still there, and the uncle pomen still remembers one of the unique LHD e30 he serviced before even though it was not sent there for nearly a decade. I have basically serviced and fixed all the 'wajib' things, radiator, coolant, hoses, and coming back home nearly RM2900 poorer. Was it worth it ? Let's just give it a shot. Driving a LHD car in KL requires.. hmm, a lot of preserverance and attention. Since your driving position is on reverse, you tend to feel very awkward on the road. The first thing you'll notice is that the gear lever is on your right, and shifting these gears could be tricky. Lucky for me as I was a Daytona game junkie I don't have much trouble shifting those gears. And oh yeah, paying the road toll is also a bit challenging as you really have to stretch your arms to pay the collector and that does not include collecting the reminder payment balance. The 2.7 6 cylinder engine is a bit rough to drive. Realizing it has not been driven for 2 years, I wouldn't expect a sheer driving pleasure in the beginning. Nevertheless, the 6 potter punch is never lost and I have rediscovered why the 6 cylinder serves as a BMW benchmark in their automative history. After 50-100 kms later ( my tripmeter is act broken ) , I have noticed a significant improvement in terms of performance. The engine felt smoother and the gearchange of the getrag gearbox was spot on. The risk of driving the car in an expired roadtax and insurance was definitely worth it. Now for the downside of it. Since it's a 25 year old car, you would expect a lot of things not working. The first observation is the missing panel under the dash, a cracked on the passenger dash, defunct meters, and a detached back seat panel. Other than that the condition is tip top and fully functionable. The sheer driving pleasure reduces as soon the meter hit 55 mph ( roughly 100 km/h ) and the steering just wobbles violently. I presume is the balancing and the allignment, and thus that would be taken care later. Back to the question, was it worth it ? Historically and periodically it would take a lot of pains restoring this car back to action, and some more maintaining it, but it's definitely worth every cent. Now what I would like to do is several things : 1. Reacquisition of geran and insurance. Would this car qualify for a classic road tax ? 2. My windows on the passenger side won't shut fully . Consequently during heavy rains seeps of water would creep inside. 3. Defunct metering . I've realized there's a DIY on this, but is changing the battery behind the meters would solve the problem ? 4. I know there should be some more but then it's up to more senior E30 owners to assist me and perhaps the community on this. Anyhow, if you have read to this point, thanks for reading . Will post some pics later .. And oh yes, do inform if there's any TT session ... Gracias !
