325i..... love it....!! (UPDATED)

[Nay]

Well, just joined the 325i club

Picked her up today, drove it, drove it some more... and then went for a very nice drive from 2am for about 45mins on some of jerseys beautiful driving roads.

She needs some work, but an awesome car for 750! Those questions will no doubt come up as i want to make her a treat before i start the projects and plans! (well the normal stuff!).

Will get pics up as i haven't even drove her during the suinlight hours yet, so pics wouldn't be amazing.

She's a pretty normal one... 1988, Diamond Shwartz, 2 door, sport interior (houndstooth i believe, very nice nick), 14" BBS, some springs of some sort and a nasty side sweep exhaust.. but thats gonna be fixed soon. She goes well, definately a 20 year old car and no-way near as nice to drive as my 320i, but power....

Now, the bad parts...
Needs a new wing or two and bonnet (all could be sanded and fillered and sprayed... looking to sort this out over winter.

Needs a good look over service, oils, consumables, etc.

Need to do something about the viscous fan, as it gets jammed. Any ideas? Heard you could get electric fans, and put them on the front of the rad??

Think i may have a small leek into the passanger side footwell.... hmmm.

Has a boot leak, and has collected a large sum of water in the hole under the battery.... need to source out the cause of the leek, then maybe a new rear valance, as i think i have a little hole..


It is a project tho, and the motor so far is a good'un. Apart from the viscous fan and the well used gearbox. Makes a tappyish noise, could this be the tappets?

So much more power........ manual......

So i'm happy!!!!!

[Nay]

Oh ye! The best part....

i'm 20 years old. For a 320i auto, i've been paying £387 per year for insurance. For this car i'm paying £387 per year... and online the best quote i found was roughly £1,250 !

Again, soo happy!

Although my 320i has to go My 320i is in such better nick, so smooth. Was thinking about trasferring everything over, but its really not worth it. And my 320i is a moor door, so i couldn't swap over the mint interior.

[e30bmlover]

congrats mate... you finally have a m20 worth having! i am addicted to the sound, on the way back from work this morning i had both passenger and driver front windows down so i hear the note at 5k through the gears... addictive isnt the word.
soon you will find yourself cleaning your air filter out with an air line like i did tonight(made a difference, shes a K+N panel) and swapping injector rails over at work... well i do anyway!
have fun with it... but respect it!! the moment you lose respect for it it will bite you on the ass.

[darkchild]

Oh ye! The best part....

i'm 20 years old. For a 320i auto, i've been paying £387 per year for insurance. For this car i'm paying £387 per year... and online the best quote i found was roughly £1,250 !

IIRC there's only one insurance group between them (320i is group 14, 325i is group 15 I think).

Enjoy doing her up!

[hubble]

Congrats on the purchase. I'm sure you'll have plenty of work ahead of you, most of which you'll enjoy.

by the way I'm sure it's a group 16. That's what mine is anyway

[darkchild]

by the way I'm sure it's a group 16. That's what mine is anyway

You're probably right. I know they're very close on insurance groups and the 325i normally isn't any more costly to cover.

[BruceVeedub]

welcome to the 325 club - addictive isn't the word for the noise (although I have been unable to drive for the past two weeks so it's killing me!)

[gooner1]

Well done Nay, the first thing i would be doing is the cambelt change. The rest can wait.

[rebelcruiser]

well done mate you will love the 325i have you got any pics

320i is group 14 and 325i is group 16 insurance

[Nay]

Well done Nay, the first thing i would be doing is the cambelt change. The rest can wait.

I think the cambelts pretty solid on this one by the way she drives! I think its begining to go on my 320i and i can feel a difference to drive...whereas i have no similar things going on in this car. How do i actually check though, would be very handy to know!

[gooner1]

Well done Nay, the first thing i would be doing is the cambelt change. The rest can wait.

I think the cambelts pretty solid on this one by the way she drives! I think its begining to go on my 320i and i can feel a difference to drive...whereas i have no similar things going on in this car. How do i actually check though, would be very handy to know!

Only way to check is to replace it. Unless i knew the seller very well, and had all parts receipts, then i would change it as a matter of urgency.
It,s not worth risking the alternative Nay, plus it really is a satisfying job
to do. Though, my heart ws in my mouth when i first started the car after doing it.

[Nay]

Is there no characteristics of a bad belt? Is it just "that time again"?

[gooner1]

Is there no characteristics of a bad belt? Is it just "that time again"?

Think so mate, there may well be a way of checking the belt, but then there are all the bits that go with it, i.e tensioners, waterpump etc , etc..

Nay, really was,nt / is,nt my intention to spoil the pleasure of your new toy mate, have you got no history with the car, or can you check with
P/O ?.

[Trise30rally]

Hello mate, there is nothing to tell you your belt is old, i do not know when the belt was last done on that engine i just know that the oil was done fairly recently and i only know that because the filter was so clean!

[motorsport325i]

any pics??

[leeparkes]

6 POT RIGHTNESS!
you wont look back

[Nay]

Hello mate, there is nothing to tell you your belt is old, i do not know when the belt was last done on that engine i just know that the oil was done fairly recently and i only know that because the filter was so clean!

No problem mate, the car needs a real good look over to be honest but seems to be running ok. I'm gonna do the standard stuff for safety if anything, belt, oils, spark plugs, have a good inspection to monitor that everything else is fine and then sort out this viscous fan and cooling issue.

But atm, nothing seems bad, gearbox is very "used" but well, they are 20 years old! Clutch is heavyish, but i take it thats becuase its a much stronger clutch, there is definately no slipping going on. Wobble in the wheel is pretty much sorted with a spare wheel put on in replacement of that aweful bottle top! A wheel balance and it should be completely gone, but its really not that bad now.

Just the vibration is the issue now, but thats becuase the vibration dampners gone as you said with the quickshift. Also this overheating, issue which is getting looked at, but at night on a good run there is no problem, but during the day she got very toasty..

Other than that, just needs some good TLC. Good starting car for a project and really needs a good engine overhaul to make sure everything is as smooth as.

Oh, and i'll speak to you about that scorpion back box at some point as the one on here needs to go soon...

[Nay]

6 POT RIGHTNESS!
you wont look back

Well, i had a six pot before, and now a bigger one. Not looking back anytime soon!

[Trise30rally]

There is nothing wrong with the gearbox mate, as i said to you it is the z3 quickshift that makes the gearchange notchy.

If you fit a standard shifter and refit the vibration dampener you will probably sort those 2 problems out.

[Morat]

The first sign of a worn cambelt is usually coasting to the side of the road with no power (or compression).
Nightmare
In 1999 it happened to me on the fast lane of the M20 @85. I now change the cambelt on every car I buy, immediately.

[Nay]

There is nothing wrong with the gearbox mate, as i said to you it is the z3 quickshift that makes the gearchange notchy.

If you fit a standard shifter and refit the vibration dampener you will probably sort those 2 problems out.

Maybe one day, but for now i'm ok.

[citizensnips]

who's the insurance quote of? i was idly getting various quotes the other day and they where stupid, i'll be damned if i'll pay more then i do for the tvr

[Nay]

AXA i think. Its through a brokers called rossbouroughs in Jersey. I believe our insurance is the same as the UK (as we have a brokers who just deals with insurance companies which i assume are mostly from the UK). After a talk with a mate who worked for them, apparently insurance is heavily dependant on your area code, so if you lived in center of london and didn't have on property parking your insurance would be nuts, whereas if you lived in a quite little country town it would be completely different (much cheaper). As I live in Jersey and you cant technically "rob" a car (due to the island's size ) and the lack of general problems (other than a normal crash) our postcodes/areacode is generally considered safer than other places so lowers our premium. Bit of a waffle, might not of explained it that well.

But either way mate, a TVR should be much more to insure, unless its a really old one. Good luck getting a quote pal!

[citizensnips]

cheers i'll have a shop around, the tvr's a 5 litre 98 chimeara, but due to being garaged and on a specialist insurer i only pay 400 pounds,

[Ziggy]

Another vote for doing the cambelt ASAP. Worth it just for the peace of mind & the opportunity to change the waterpump at the same time! Only takes a couple of hours...

[Nay]

Yup! Awaiting a response from the genuine parts department.

Also need to sort out the viscous fan, so i need to grab a list of things to get there as well! All worth it in the end.

Basically,

cambelt and everything related
viscous fan and everything related
Probably a new radiator
New sparkies and oils/fluids
Good all round service and check over
Tighting/Attaching the parts that weren't quite connected "properly" involving new parts to attach and secure cables/parts that are loosely connected. For instance; airbox, cables, rad, washer jet cables, OBC coolant cables, etc
And anything else found along the way should make a healthy runner

After that its moving onto the suspension/running gear with new all round shocks/springs, bushes, brake disks/pads, cables, bearings, LSD, etc and my 15" bbs's that need a bit of painting....

Then... moving onto new parts for the engine such as engine clean and new rocker/inlet manifold, LWFW, Intake, BTB 6-Branch manifold and scorpion exhaust, gear-linkage, etc, etc, etc....

Then... body and interior work!

Gonna make her a beaut if everything goes to plan but theres a lot to do! Thats why i'm looking forward to journaling my project in the new Zone!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Oh ye! The best part....

i'm 20 years old. For a 320i auto, i've been paying £387 per year for insurance. For this car i'm paying £387 per year... and online the best quote i found was roughly £1,250 !

Again, soo happy!

Although my 320i has to go My 320i is in such better nick, so smooth. Was thinking about trasferring everything over, but its really not worth it. And my 320i is a moor door, so i couldn't swap over the mint interior.

Engines are easy to come by. Tidy shells are not.

Transfer the engine and running gear over. Oh and the brakes and suspension too.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Yup! Awaiting a response from the genuine parts department.

Also need to sort out the viscous fan, so i need to grab a list of things to get there as well! All worth it in the end.

Basically,

cambelt and everything related
viscous fan and everything related
Probably a new radiator
New sparkies and oils/fluids
Good all round service and check over
Tighting/Attaching the parts that weren't quite connected "properly" involving new parts to attach and secure cables/parts that are loosely connected. For instance; airbox, cables, rad, washer jet cables, OBC coolant cables, etc
And anything else found along the way should make a healthy runner

After that its moving onto the suspension/running gear with new all round shocks/springs, bushes, brake disks/pads, cables, bearings, LSD, etc and my 15" bbs's that need a bit of painting....

Then... moving onto new parts for the engine such as engine clean and new rocker/inlet manifold, LWFW, Intake, BTB 6-Branch manifold and scorpion exhaust, gear-linkage, etc, etc, etc....

Then... body and interior work!

Gonna make her a beaut if everything goes to plan but theres a lot to do! Thats why i'm looking forward to journaling my project in the new Zone!

Check the parts site with your main stealer. There may not be much/any difference.

I found my 320i to be much smoother than any b25 I've driven too.

[Trise30rally]

If you are only gonna get a couple of hundred quid for your 320i Nathan use it as a spares car, there are loads of bits on it you can use.

For one you can get the rad and viscous off it.

Plus if you are gonna fit a facelift rad you need to get the facelift crossover pipe from the front of the engine so you may as well do that at the same time you change your cambelt then you will have it all sorted.

You will save a fortune in the longrun!

[Nay]

Was thinking about it, but my 320i has scuttle panel tin worm, is a moredoor, and tbh would need similar amount of work. The only advantage of the 320i is less mechanical problems and the panels are in better nick. Basically i will need to spray (or get new) panels on the 325i as it has little dings and stracthes on the paintwork... no rust tho. It has rust, but only at the bottom of the rear valance where water from the boot seals is running down and getting trapped direcly under the battery (which is cupped in the valance i think) and was peeing out a little hole. Also go a slight leak into the passanger footwell, but dont think its rust... cant find any.

TBH tho i much prefer the 325i as it is a diamond shwartz 2 door with a nice sport interior. It had rust on the passanger front jacking point which was welded but nothing else has been found. I'd rather let someone else have the 320i as a nice example to have for someone who wants a good'un from the start. Its a great car, just a 320i auto...

[Nay]

If you are only gonna get a couple of hundred quid for your 320i Nathan use it as a spares car, there are loads of bits on it you can use.

For one you can get the rad and viscous off it.

Plus if you are gonna fit a facelift rad you need to get the facelift crossover pipe from the front of the engine so you may as well do that at the same time you change your cambelt then you will have it all sorted.

You will save a fortune in the longrun!

Trust me, i'm really really thinking of keeping it as a spares car, but i have nowhere to keep it. I cant just leave it in peices at a mates either... and i cant break it as people wont buy everything here in jersey coz of the postage issues...

We have a 320i cabby as a breaker and thats go what should be a pre-facelift rad and maybe viscous fan etc. But i dont know the condition of the parts.

[Trise30rally]

This is the problem though mate, you need a facelift rad, viscous, crossover pipe and hoses in order to get the job done properly.

The pre facelift rad simply does not fit in a facelift car.

The only other option is as i suggested and get an electric fan and get rid of the viscous completely.

This is the setup i used on my 325i when it had the m20 in it and it was fantastic, it never ever over heated and the engine revved much better.

[cheecho]

what u cant see is usually worse than what u can dude.your belt and cooling issue should be prioroty over anytin else as they could really kick u in the nuts!!smoothness...... drive and enjoy

[Felix79]

I was alway amazed how much more umph the 35 had over the 320, but when I drove my C2 I was just in absolote heaven!

Look forwards to pics

[ImysE30]

Congrats on the new purchase NayC
Look forward to the project and the pics