newbie

Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:31 pm

afternoon, i have been hanging around on here for a while now.
i picked up a e reg 320i 4 door about 6 months ago,in royal blue for a paltry 150quid. one owner 73k on it in perfect condition. it had been sitting in a garage for over 12 year.there is not a drop of rust anywhere, so i am putting it back on the road. its getting a complete interior strip and clean to start with and possibly a seat up grade as want a bit more support than the standard seats can give. this is my first bmw so i will probably have loads of stupid questions you have all heard before but bare with me. nice site by the way the amount of info is incredible. cheers scott

Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:34 pm

320i more door is a very under-rated E30.

If it's been sat for so long,please swap the cambelt soon!

Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:39 pm

daimlerman wrote:If it's been sat for so long,please swap the cambelt soon!

And the rest of the engine, needs 500 more CC.

On a serous note, I'd hope OP does a full service though, especially if he is stripping the interior out (and checking properly for rust).

Welcome though fella, enjoy it and get a thread full of pics up!

Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:41 pm

welcome !! there more than likley will be rust, if you choose to find it !

the 2 types of e30 seats are comfort, and sport, sport speats do give good support and comfort and lots of watch to ajust them for lots of different "feels" to the drive/how you sit

Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:48 pm

Regarding the 320i,much derided here because it is little quicker than a 318i,but almost as thirsty as a 325i,if the UK treasury in the '80's had not imposed limits regarding company car taxation,the 318i would never have been imported....leaving the range as 316i,320i and 325i....so the 320i would have made much more sense.

as a 'starter' classic car,a good condition,low miles,low owner count 320i makes a very good buy.And can be made into a very effective 'Q' car by using bits from a rusted out 525e.....

Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:50 pm

Welcome to nut house! love to see some pictures.

Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:55 pm

one of my friends has worked at a bmw dealership for 20 odd years, so he is going to go through all the mechanicals and get it all up to scratch again.

Sat Jan 05, 2013 5:13 pm

spiderman wrote:one of my friends has worked at a bmw dealership for 20 odd years, so he is going to go through all the mechanicals and get it all up to scratch again.

You're a lucky boy!

Sat Jan 05, 2013 6:23 pm

Welcome and congrats! Be sure to have a gander at the Wiki, as there's a mine of info buried in there on all aspects of your E30, and if you're still in doubt don't be afraid to ask

Sun Jan 06, 2013 3:09 pm

thanks for the welcome, i have been reading through the wiki bit for a while and there is a lot of stuff i can do to this so i am looking forward to modding it.i am also fortunate to have a friend who has his own business building race engines etc, so there has been a conversation about building a better engine for it.

Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:44 pm

No need to build a better engine for it - there's plenty around sitting under the bonnet of scrap E36 328s!

Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:27 pm

i dont know if my limited mechanical skills would stretch to an engine swap, this is my first attempt at any kind of tinkering on a car!

Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:39 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:No need to build a better engine for it - there's plenty around sitting under the bonnet of scrap E36 328s!

love it

what's your location ? i'd check it over for you if your not miles away.

Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:56 pm

i am in perth in scotland.

Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:54 pm

The 320i may only have similar performance to a 318i, however it does have that gorgeous, smooth 6 cylinder engine, and in my book that counts for a lot!

Good luck with your restoration/mods, i'm sure you will find this site invaluable. I am also a newbie to this site, however i have owned a few more modern BMW's before my E30, and this site has provided me with a wealth of information.

From a fellow low mileage 320i owner