James' Calypso Red Coupe 325i - Track/B-Road Machine/Daily

Fri May 08, 2009 8:30 pm

Hey there peeps, I've had this car for a couple of months so now it is time to introduce myself and bring you up to speed. I originally bought it with the intention of stripping it and turning it into a track car but being so busy with my work didn't get a chance to start straight away. In that time I used the car as a daily and 2 months on have enjoyed it so much that I have decided it is too good an example to rip apart. The plan now is to make all of the planned chassis modifications etc for track but keep an interior in the car so that I can use it all the time.

I bought and collected a totally original and unmolested 1990 325i (E30) Manual Coupe in Calypso Red. It had done 101000miles from new with full sevice history (main dealer up until 10 months ago), every tax disc and MOT from new and fully serviced. It is a really solid shell with only light surface rust to the rear arches which I will sort out and none anywhere else. I was thinking of using a MK2 Golf as a base for this project but have had 7 over the years and think I'll have more fun on the circuit with a RWD car. I am a big fan of E30s having owned one before so a manual coupe fitted the bill.

So here she is (sorry for the crappy iPhone pics)... The plan was very much to get my hands dirty and enjoy learning a thing or two about prepping my own car but unfortunately my work commitments have stood in the way of that!.

I got the train from Sevenoaks to Wolverhampton via London on a Saturday morning and drove her 160 miles back. She didn't miss a beat and was such a smooth drive. I am so happy with it! Having covered another 50 or so miles in it on Sunday and enjoyed it so much I was left thinking that this car is actually too good to strip and track as planned.

Oh and she has a name.

One of my good friends locally bought a white E30 325i this time last year with the same intention ('McCarthy' on here). His is now pretty much ready and about to hit the track for the first time. For some random reason he decided to call his Thelma which has been the name we have run with for the last 12 months. I have now been told in no uncertain terms that my car has to be called Louise so there you have it...look out for Thelma and Louise at a track near you soon.

Louise, welcome to the forum...

James. B)

Fri May 08, 2009 8:32 pm

Ok so I ordered a few bits last week courtesy of Darren and Rob at G-Werks with their usual excellent service. My main priority is the chassis first so I can get her on a track day asap. I have investigated coilovers for the E30 but decided against it. Instead I have opted for an H&R cup kit which comes very highly recommended and some H&R anti-roll bars which ought to really sort things out. No more wafting along and wallowing around corners! I will be fitting some OEM E30 M3 bushes ,top mounts and new droplinks at the same time so we'll see how she handles... B)

Style-wise I really want this car to be slick yet subtle so have sourced a set of Hartge 16" one piece wheels (which are one of my favs). It's ironic as I have owned 3 sets of these over the years but never at the same time as an E30, the car they were actually made for.

Will get some pics up shortly...

James.

Fri May 08, 2009 8:36 pm

Ok a bit of an update. I had a moment of madness last week when I decided it would be a good idea to sell the E30 but it is too good an example to sell so soon and good honest cheap fun so I am moving on to the next stage. I have been too busy to start working on the car over the last couple of months since buying it (the main reason I was going to sell) so in that time have just been using it. I have covered around 2000 miles in two months and it hasn't missed a beat so I am really pleased with the purchase. Having enjoyed it sooooo much I decided that the car was too good to strip and cage so am going to make all the chassis tweaks as planned but maintain an interior as I am going to use the car as my daily also. This means I can get the full benefit of the car and save some money over the Summer not running this and another.

Two weeks ago I fitted a complete black and grey interior from an MTECII 'Sport' model to give more support with its much larger bolsters than the comfort spec ones. I also fitted a deeper genuine 318is chin spoiler too. My interior was beige and the new interior is black and grey. Fortunately a friend of mine (McCarthy) has just stripped his to build a track car so I was able to grab all his grey interior bits including the full carpet which I fitted along with the interior. A hell of a job but well worth it as it has transformed the interior of the car from an old man's cruiser into a far more supportive and modern feeling sports interior. Being the 'sport' seats there is also far more adjustment which has enabled me to get the fronts much lower in the car than the 'comfort' spec originals. It now feels a much better place to be sitting lower in the car. B)

So here goes, out with the beige...

Found this stamp under the carpet too which was cool...

And in with the grey Sport interior...

So below are some fresh shots of the car from when I had my moment of madness and was going to sell. The first time it had been cleaned since buying it which is unheard of for me

. Sport interior with the complete carpet/shelf etc from my mates car installed and the new 318is lip spoiler at the front.

I have also sourced a set of original Hartge wheels for the car which are 7.5x16" monoblocks ET25. I ordered some 215/40/16 Toyo T1-Rs over the weekend which should be here this week. I know they're not the original size but will in my opinion suit the the look and stance I am going for a little better so we'll see...

Fri May 08, 2009 8:43 pm

Ok so now the slightly interesting update is out the way here is the build up to the good bit. ;)

I have unfortunately been too busy with my work as mentioned, to get my hands dirty on the car hence why I came close to selling it. Even so, I want to see this through so for me it’s an exciting week. I dropped the E30 off with the guys at Alltech Garage (Alldub Tuning) in Tunbridge Wells.

www.alltechgarage.com

They have recently prepared their own E36 M3 and E30 318is track cars which I have seen in action at Brands on top of all the other Veedub stuff they get up to. They're a top bunch of guys and know their stuff so I have entrusted them with taking on the work. Going to collect it in the morning...

”¢ New expansion tank (as current one is knackered).
”¢ New Cambelt (it’s nearly due but given this will be getting tracked I don’t want to risk it).
”¢ H&R Cup full suspension kit (60mm front and 40mm rear drop)
”¢ H&R Anti-Roll Bars
”¢ New Droplinks
”¢ New Lower Arms
”¢ E30 M3 Eccentric bushes
”¢ Powerflex bushes replacing others removed
”¢ Solid aluminium steering guibo (for a sharper steering feel)
”¢ Up-rated brake pads for track

This is what I have supplied and requested. This car will feel completely different when I pick it up, I can’t wait...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roll on tomorrow morning...whoop whoop!!!

James.

Fri May 08, 2009 8:45 pm

I also got up early on Thursday to take the Hartges to 'Spit&Polish' for refurbishing. I'm getting the guys to do the centre caps too so removed the old perished badges and set about clearing the 20 year old adhesive with some of my Girlfriends nail varnish remover. :ph34r:

Softened it up nicely...

And clear...

Hoping to collect them along with the car from Alltech Garage on tomorrow. In the meantime I have another task. As you can see the original badges are screwed and they are absolutely unavailable anywhere having ceased production about 10 years ago. I am a Designer by trade and have many contacts within print and production so am going to try and reproduce these as best I can for myself. If the end result is good enough I'll produce more to provide for the other BMW enthusiasts in a similar position to myself. I've got a few ideas of how to achieve this so watch this space...

ROLL ON SATURDAY... B)

Fri May 08, 2009 8:47 pm

Ok so that is the mega historic first posting done to bring us up to speed. I hope you like where I am going with my car and will update the thread as it develops.

James.

Fri May 08, 2009 8:54 pm

word of note the H&R cupkit will slam the car its more like a 60/60 drop

The springs are heroic

Fri May 08, 2009 9:07 pm

Keep the updates coming, looks very nice so far

Sat May 09, 2009 1:37 pm

Enjoyable reading there fella. Please continue spending and posting for our collective amusement.

Calypso is one of my favourite colours for an E30. Unusual for a 325i not to have a boot spoiler, and looks the all better without one.

Cheers
Toby

Sun May 10, 2009 12:21 pm

Fantastic! Looking forward to seeing more on this one...!

Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:14 am

Ok so a bit of an update chaps. Darren and Rob at G-Werks resolved the ride height issue by contacting H&R and getting them to dispatch the correct springs. It turns out we were supplied the wrong kit which was for a Convertible with it's extra weight hence why it was so jacked up at the rear. The only difference between the two kits is the rear springs so the car went back into Alltech Garge for round two.

Here are some pics from round one when all the front chassis modes were done. All new bushes, droplinks, lower arms, H&R Cup suspension and H&R Anti-roll bars.

So round two...

- Fitting of the correct lowered and uprated springs (H&R 40mm rear)
- Goodridge brake lines
- Uprated brake pads
- 3.73 Limited slip diff
- Fully polybushing the rear subframe
- Custom fabricated brackets welded to rear axle allowing for rear camber adjustment
- Perished rear exhaust section replaced with another

The guys did an amazing job on the car. Once removed the whole rear subframe was dismantled, de-rusted, re-sprayed, polybushed and re-built it. At the same time the brake lines were upgraded, calipers rubbed back and re-painted black and a full service including all belts and cambelt done too. A seriously thorough job and what a difference it has made!

Dismantled, refurbed with replacement LSD...awaiting bushes from Powerflex...

Finally they arrive! Rebuilt...

Unfortunately we were seriously let down by Powerflex supplying the bushes which took twice as long as promised. As a result I missed my slot at the body shop so had to take the car to Le Mans unfinished. This wasn't the end of the world as it was a great opportunity to give the car a run and see how she had been transformed. With a few days to go I decided in Le Mans tradition to treat the car to a few stickers. I decided to go with a Retro race/hill climb look and feel so ordered some 50cm white door roundels and some driver and co-driver names to complement the race look.

So wheels on and the correct ride height with stickers for Le Mans... B)

Seeing as I missed the bodyshop I decided to spend an afternoon on the car getting the paint as best I could in the time as I hadn't yet waxed it since buying the car (because I intended to get it all painted). Given more time I would have done more but only had the afternoon so went with the following...

- Wash
- Clay Bar
- Rinse
- Leather
- Meguiars (Ultimate Compound on with polisher/off by hand)
- Meguiars Tech Wax 2.0 (on with polisher/off by hand)

The results were amazing removing all swirls and giving a pretty impressive shine. Looked great so me and my co-driver Geoff packed the boot and got an early night ready for a 4:30am start the next day!

The car drove like an absolute dream on the way down there. Such a great cruiser on the motorway and then so nimble on the N138 B-Road which we drove for the last 80 miles or so. I was in a little convoy of friends made up of an E46 M3, TVR Sagaris, Honda S2000, Lotus Elise and a TVR T350. They all loved the E30 and were suprised how well it kept up.

So that's about it for now. The next steps are to get her into the body shop so she can look fantastic for the Summer and get a track day booked asap! Can't effing wait.

Apologies for all the iphone pics (rubbish) but you get the idea...

James.

Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:16 am

At last, a picture not taken on an iPhone!

Here's a shot from Le Mans...more to follow.

James.

Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:18 am

Other than driving and greatly enjoying the E30 there have been no real updates. It is however going into 'Unique Paint and Body' based in Northampton for some extensive bodywork to make it 100% again plus a few considered tweeks. It will be with them for as long as they need it as I'm off on holiday for 10 days...

...I've never looked forward to coming home from a holiday so much and I haven't even gone yet.

Should be fresh.

James.

P.S. Here's a few new shots to keep you going until I get it back. Pulled into an empty car park and snapped them a few weeks ago as I had a camera on me. The vinyls have now been removed in prep for paint but I have to say I really like the white number board, I think it really suits the car. I might put it back... :unsure

Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:20 am

Looks absolutely stunning! Very cool!

Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:06 am

Very nice car. Great colour.
I'd say it corners nicely now. The dop is perfect and the wheels are sweet.

Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:38 pm

Looking good fella top job and a fine read to with all the updates

Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:31 pm

Ok back from Holiday yesterday so hoping to collect the car this weekend. I'll get some shots up when I have collected the car so you can all see how she has improved. Will be 100% rust, scratch and parking dent free when I get her back...

James.

Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:40 pm

Very nice. But I thought the biege interior looked better. But its probably very hard to find beige sports seats.

Mon Aug 03, 2009 5:12 pm

nice progress, imo sport interior looks much better than the beige

car looks good

Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:37 pm

Any updates - wicked car

Sun Jan 03, 2010 1:38 am

Looks like a nice car pal keep it up

Sun Jan 03, 2010 9:54 am

nice motor ............ someone copied my name .grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr lol ..... mine is just about same reg as well mine is h225arr lol and same colour but ave changed the shadowline on mine .....

Sun Jan 03, 2010 10:48 am

Angry

Sun Jan 03, 2010 10:50 am

This looked too good to make into a track car ..especialy now how rare it is to find a solid genuine 325i 2 door.in a nice colour too.

Mon Jan 04, 2010 10:09 pm

Saw this parked up at Edition this year, looked smashin

Mon Jan 04, 2010 10:29 pm

Great stance

Sun Jan 10, 2010 1:22 am

Thanks for the comments guys. Absolutely loving the car but think I'm going to let someone else enjoy/look after it and get something more modern. I know that I'm going to regret it but it is now up for sale in the 'Cars for sale' section...

James.

Sun May 23, 2010 11:03 am

Wow I've just realised that this thread hasn't been updated for nearly a year! As you can see I saw sense and couldn't let her go. The car has benefited from an extensive body makeover so absolutely no rust on any of the arches or sills and a 70% respray. She's my daily so I've clocked up about 7000 miles in her over the last 12 months. I absolutely love driving her!

Having made the decision to make this a B-Road machine as opposed to a track car I have now created a syndicate with four friends and built an E36 M3 Evo track car for the job meaning the E30 can enjoy a spirited weekend drive as opposed to being punished on the track. I did however book a trackday back in March at Brands Hatch for which the M3 wasn't ready in time. I decided to take the E30 (instead of loose the money) for a one time track adventure to see how all the chassis work had really changed the car. I was so so impressed with it on the day. Absolutely faultless and a joy to drive. It's amazing what you can keep up with if you're comfortable driving your car well!

Enjoy...

James.

Sun May 23, 2010 1:05 pm

I love the colour, the wheels, stance, lack of spoiler! Pretty much a perfect e30 with all the mods done to her as well

Mon May 24, 2010 2:04 pm

Thanks Jozi, yep I love the colour, certainly a little different from the norm and was really pleased that the car didn't have a spoiler as I would have taken it off anyhow.

She certainly handles well now.

James.

Mon May 24, 2010 11:02 pm

I've always liked this car. Was even thinking about it today funily enough!

Wed Jun 02, 2010 8:48 pm

My Fiance and have just put an offer in on a house which will be a big jump for us so unfortunately I have to raise as much as I can to cover the cost of moving. Such a difficult decision but it is one of the few things I have that is worth something. It's got to go.

Now for sale in the classifieds...

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=171123

I hope you like it,

James.