View Full Version : Project: Bimmer Rebuild
idealsociety
03-30-2008, 11:58 AM
so i picked up an 86 e30, a 325es with the 2.7L eta motor and a 5 speed, mechanically it aint bad, but bodywise, she needs alot of lovin. im gonna post the pics of the work i do as i try to get it back into the shape a beautiful bmw should be in!
heres how she sits as of this morning.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE032-3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE034-1.jpg
you can see where the major rust areas are, around the bottom of the front fender/door area and below the passenger side tail light, where its actually rusted through to the trunk. the spoiler on these are rubber, and the paint split all over and pulled the rubber with it, leaving it cracked. i started sanding this down this weekend but ran out of time. next things to do are dig up some good front fenders and start in on the door/rocker panels.
the interior is in good shape though, and has full working power options.
all in all for 650$ i cant complain, its got 188k on her and runs. plus, its a BMW :thumbup:
all i could have ever wanted!
:worthy: My own BMW!
idealsociety
03-30-2008, 12:01 PM
the fresh wheels/tires are courtesy of poorscheg60. i now owe him my firstborn child and a lifelong subscription to pvdub.
Die Frau
03-30-2008, 12:04 PM
Sweet, keep the updates coming.
ShowCar
03-30-2008, 12:26 PM
Sweet, keep the updates coming.
What he said :thumbup:
yea, but that thing needs to be slammed :thumbup: are you gonna put an is head on?
idealsociety
03-30-2008, 05:20 PM
from what ive learned to do an IS head swap id have to do pistons also, since the IS pistons have valve reliefs on them and the eta's dont.
if anything ill just try to keep an eye out for an e36 m3 motor or something to swap in.
oh, i didnt know that. but ive heard that somehow getting a eta block to work with an is head makes big power :). hehe lol, im a retard. an m3 motor would be awesome tho.
John2.0T
03-30-2008, 06:33 PM
Good luck!
E30's are one of my favorite BMW's... gorgeous cars!
Good luck!
E30's are one of my favorite BMW's... gorgeous cars! x3000000000000!:thumbup:
idealsociety
03-30-2008, 07:20 PM
oh, i didnt know that. but ive heard that somehow getting a eta block to work with an is head makes big power :). hehe lol, im a retard. an m3 motor would be awesome tho.
yeah using the eta block and crank, IS pistons and head, i think you bore a little over and you basically get a 2.8L stroker that can rev like the 2.5L
EWAustin
03-30-2008, 08:44 PM
www.bmw2002.com is your friend. LOTS of cool stuff there.
The ETA motor is good for boost...
dtmracerx
03-30-2008, 09:27 PM
Congrats on the E30. I'm new to the forums but I've been an E30-ist for many years. (currently on BMW #4)
The rust does look a bit bad, but for a car that age it could be worse. My $600 '89 has a completely rusted out rear section...hopefully yours is better than that!
If you are at all interested in an M50b25 swap let me know, as I have an E36 sedan that I scavange parts off of.
cheers!
Gabe J
idealsociety
03-31-2008, 04:45 PM
yeah its not too bad, jsut one side is rusted through.
i might yet do an IS head swap (turns out you only need the pistons if you dont want the drop in compression to 8.8:1 or so) and then boost it.
but otherwise i could be quite interested in an m50 :)
just curious, how quick is it right now with the stock eta?
idealsociety
03-31-2008, 05:39 PM
i dont know numbers, but the butt dyno says prolly around 15's. she pulls hard off the line with the LSD and torque the thing makes, not alot of power up top though where imused to driving (damn high revving mazda motors have spoiled me)
yeah they make 121chp stock according to manufacturer numbers, which isnt alot, but i do know theyve got a lot of torque. i wonder what it would cost to do an is head swap.
idealsociety
03-31-2008, 06:10 PM
not sure, i think i might go over to 101 auto salvage and take a look at the 325i they had there again, pull the valvecover and make sure the valves arent popped, might leave with some goodies :)
poorscheg60
04-02-2008, 06:49 AM
when did you put the bimmer on a 4x4 chassis? J/k, that thing really needs to be dumped though.
Are you going to tell us the overall plan or what?
idealsociety
04-02-2008, 04:16 PM
jsut clean it up, drop it down, and paint it black :)
id like to keep this one simple, once the body work is done, maybe worry more about a motor swap then, unless its current one pukes lol
Topher
04-02-2008, 04:26 PM
You should see EWAustin's before and after of his E30. Amazing job!
idealsociety
05-08-2008, 06:52 PM
jsut got my ireland engineering drop springs in today, should have some installed pics before the weekend is over :)
EWAustin
05-08-2008, 10:46 PM
IE3's? Great springs, and a gorgeous drop. :happydance:
You should see EWAustin's before and after of his E30. Amazing job!
This is SLK's e30 now....
shaneco13
05-08-2008, 11:40 PM
not too bad I say. good luck with it... should be fun!
idealsociety
05-10-2008, 08:51 AM
got the fronts done last night, still need to get the rear springs in. just a quit bit, im running a smaller than stock diameter tire till i can buy some new ones, so once i do, the little extra gap thats there now should fill up pretty nicely. i do still need some bigger wheel spacers however, especially on the back.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE_050.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE_052.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE_053.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE_054.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE_055.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE_059.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/IMAGE_058.jpg
more pics once the rears are in.
wow, very nice! :thumbup: makes a huge difference!
oh, BTW, are you going to swap the bumpers for the later ones?
idealsociety
05-10-2008, 10:13 AM
im not sure yet, although i like the rear ends especially of the later years, i really like the front valence that comes with the es/is on early models.
idealsociety
06-21-2008, 08:41 PM
put the rear springs in today at poorscheg60's after having to listen to him bag on me for being raked all the time :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/corenershotlow.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/sideshotlow.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/idealsociety/The%20Bimmer/sideshotlowered.jpg
makes alot of ride difference, she takes corners way better now. also got the trunk off and put a layer of flat black to tide her over till the real repaint. need to get the new fenders on and keep lookin for a good shape drivers side door, the skin is peeling away from the rest at the bottom.
all in all, its slow work, but its getting better!
poorscheg60
06-21-2008, 08:44 PM
looks much better
Gertrude86
06-23-2008, 03:59 PM
bangin'!
TurboMeTroy
06-25-2008, 01:06 PM
This is my old car, and I saw it at the show too...First things first - slammed. :)
That was my plan. This was my 14th E30, and one of my favs...fun car. Great MPG too... I think I have the correct trim piece (pass side), I think I gave Max two for the driver's side! Let me know if you want it! (Per me finding it...)
Looks good so far! Oh, I say keep the bumpers...I like the ES front...but hey..
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