Lowered

DAMN… Lowered 1.5 inches and windows blacked out.

Well months have passed and I finally got around to installing my lowering springs and shocks. This setup not only makes it look sick, but really improves the handling of the car.
I started with the rear. The operation went real smooth. The only tricky part was lowering the differential in unison as the shocks were removed.














Here is a height comparison of the new and old springs.













New springs and shocks look a lot cleaner too.

The front was a real pain in the ass. A lot more stuff to get out of the way: Sway bar, Brake calipers, Brake rotors, Steering tie-rod and finally the Control arm. The tie-rods and control arm wouldn’t budge. I finally took out a sledge hammer and beat the hell out of it. Finally they gave way.

I was on a mission to get the front finished so I didn’t stop to take any pictures, or eat for that matter. This is the front already installed.

Plastic Bumpers

I thought the Dashboard was going to be a difficult task. I tell you what; it was cake in comparison. Not that the bumpers were hard to swap out, but matching the paint would prove to be almost impossible. After about three attempts I finally got the right shade of white. Not only did I repaint the bumpers, I took this opportunity to repaint all the black trim including the grill, mirrors, some vents, door handles, etc. I also did away with the square fog lamps. I think I’ll install some round rally style Hellas.
Switching the bumpers might not be a radical change, but it really takes about 5 years off the car’s age bringing it into the 90’s.







Dismantled Front.

Wet-sanding the final paint.

Painting the lower valances. They were too dirty to get completely clean.

Some Comparisons (click to enlarge). Notice how much tighter the bumpers are to the cars body.

Dashboard Installation

Well it took hours upon hours, but I finally managed to swap out an almost perfect instrument panel for the old faded cracked up one. It really makes the interior look new. This also gave me a chance to switch out the many panel lights that did not work, along with removing 15 lbs of archaic cell phone equipment. With all the consoles removed, I figured I better replace the stereo and speakers while I’m at it.

Old Dash, showing its age.

Everything is GONE!

Holding an endless amount of wires. Wondering if I'll ever be able to put this thing back together.......

Ahhhh Yeah!!!

Perfect Fit (Even if I still need a glovebox)

Junkyard Trip

This morning Jeff and I took a trip to the local junkyard to pick up some parts. What we found was Bimmer heaven. All kinds of old BMWs just waiting to donate their parts before headed off to the crusher. I picked up a crack free dash and parts to do the plastic bumper swap.


Here is Jeff removing the last piece (a bumper shock) needed for replacing the bumpers. That little blue Bimmer was quite the donor, got all kinds of good stuff out of it.








Here I am holding a nice dashboard.








Plastic bumpers that will get sprayed white.

New dash all cleaned up and ready for installation…it’s going to be hell.

So So Clean...

All cleaned up with new Emblems. Any remnants of Donna Frye or Green Peace are long gone.

Looking a lot better, but still a long way to go.

New Car!

A week ago my buddy Dex packed up and headed East chasing a dream. What he left behind was his wife’s 1986 BMW 325. Known throughout the BMW community as an E30. Dex owed me a bit of cash and had decided not to take the Bimmer. So for 385 bucks I found myself the proud new owner of an E30.

The overall condition of the car is fair. It has a 2.7 Liter Inline 6 with 121 hp and 170 lb/ft of torque with a 5 speed manual. This engine is the “e” or efficient engine. Tons of torque at low revs, good on gas, but not much else. However, it is crazy fun to drive.

Over the next few months and possible years I plan on restoring this car to all it’s glory. I am going to do so on a budget. This is a second car and third vehicle for myself. The last thing I need to do is drop a ton of cash into something without a return in sight. With that said, I plan on restoring this E30 with trips to the junk yard, shopping on eBay, online forums and a lot of elbow grease.

The following is my initial “To Do List”:
Detail the Car
Replace Emblems
Replace Cracked Dash
Replace Ugly “Diving Board” Bumpers with newer Plastics
Repaint all Black Trim
Get a Stereo that works
Lower the car 1.5 inches using stiffer Springs and new Shocks
Replace the CPU for more power
Get some new Wheels and Tires

And much, much later down the line replace the engine and transmission with those from an M3.

The adventure begins…