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