'88 E30 325iX Touring 'Crazy Ludwig'

[Coolguy]

Mind you, this is a rough translation from my post in Dutch:

To make a long story short:

I've always been fascinated by cars.
Everything with wheels that makes loud noise pleases me.
Because of my studies and other interests during my youth years I've never learned the practical/technical side to dealing with cars.

After a career switch last year I finally had the necessary time to realize an old dream: taking a car mechanic course.
I still eagerly go to class.

A funcar is an expensive thing and I only earn a normal pay.
The idea of getting an oldtimer as 'project car' was obvious to me. Most of the cars I'm in love with are old and Japanese... With one notable exception: the BMW E30.
My uncle is a real BMW-nut . I still remember he had pretty much every model of the E30: 318 sedan, 325i coupe, 320 touring etc. when I was a kid.

The shape and form of these cars stuck in my head. That and I have a love for the 'square' and angular car design that's very 80's.

I can't keep track of how many cars I went to check out.
The Accord, CRX, 300ZX, RX7, Celica, Supra and many more.
Unfortunately all of these cars were in the final phase of rot & rust on the chassis.

After a long time mucking about I saw an ad that had been floating around for quite some time (in relative term that is - adds for correctly priced oldtimers in good nick get sold on the very same day here): an '88 BMW E30 325iX.
But why was this car still for sale after a few weeks?
Was the rust cancer terminal? Was the engine past its life? Other flaws?

I hoped the reason buyers left it aside was because of the 'X'-suffix. Because RWD is for men, FWD for women and AWD is for... for who exactly? Or so the tale goes...

So: I called and arranged a meeting the very same day - with an extra pair of eyes (my cousin), I headed off to see the car.

The car sure as hell wasn't showroom ready; 'nuff said.
But the most important thing: the car drove well and the engine purred like an angry kitten.
The deal was closed and after a few days, the car found its way to me.

Here's the first crappy picture that was used in the ad:



I already ordered some things and the first thing I did was basic maintenance. (day per day update in the next posts)

[Coolguy]

So I did a maintenance today and the 325iX revealed some good and less good points.

Done today:

-Changed fluids: engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, power steering, washers
-Changed bonnet gas spring
-Greased wheel nuts
-Cleaned brake discs with lots of sweat, breake cleaner and a steel brush
-Changed spark plugs with ANG5A ones
-Changed air filter with K&N filter - Bosch one was in poor nick
-Changed oil filter

Priority problems:

RUST!!

-Left and right front wing are rot on the inside -> need to be changed
-Left and right front 'jacking points' rotten - hole in the driver and passenger floor making it a Flintstones car -> needs to be cut out and replaced

Less urgent but vital to the cars mechanical health:

-The clutch is a bit sticky. When you press the clutch - there's about a 1 to 1.5 second delay before the engine RPM drops/gets fully declutched.

I think I'll try and replace the gearbox oil here and if that doesn't fix it, maybe one of the clutch cylinders is nearing the end of its life.

-Rear visco diff is 'sweating' a bit


Non-priority:

-Complete strip and rebuild of the interior trim. The previous owner has at one point stripped and rebuilt the interior with missing screws and clips everywhere giving a very shabbily constructed feeling. It's dirty, torn plastic, screws in places where there weren't any - it's a nightmare!

-Is the left front door original or not? The weirdest feature I've ever seen: the door has 2 (both working) locks. Is it original or not?

-Need new rear seats - torn up.
-Seatbelts need new tensioners
-Window handle left rear broken off
-Passenger handle right front broken off
-Sun roof is stuck closed
-Sun roof handle broken off
-Clock centre dash missing
-Boot: left and right side pannel fixings broken off
-Paint gone left rear sill behind
-Paint chip on roof
-Right headlight slightly cracked
-Right fog light not working
-Radio doesn't work - no connection to aerial
-Front brake discs protectors chipped and rotting away

Hmmmm, that's quite a list.

But I shall prevail in the end!

Also find enough loose change so far to buy a well earned beer.

[Topblag]

The most important things with these is the transfer box and suspension. Your list above is full of easy things to fix, believe me, messing around with broken transfer boxes is not fun. At least you should be able to get parts ok, where's over here, it's difficult.

Good luck with it

[Coolguy]

Update:

First, I checked the rear interior beneath the battery and carpet to see if everything was still ok there.
I was pleasantly surprised that no rust has been found.



I also found some lost treasures:



At the front, things weren't looking up.
After the front wings were removed, this is what I found:

Front right:



Front left:




The damage at the front left isn't that bad but the right side is in much worse condition.
Anybody here who has suggestions before I make my first attempt at car cutting, welding and bodywork?

I've learned the basics of welding but cutting out and replacing parts on a car is new to me.

[Coolguy]

So I ran the VIN on my car and this is what came up:

Model description: 325IX
Market: Europa
Type: AG95
E-Code: E30 (5)
Chassis: touring
Steering: links
Doors: 5
Engine: M20 - 2,50l (141kW)
Drive: Allrad
Transmission: manuell
Body Color: Royalblau Metallic (198)
Upholstery: (0270)
Production date: 02.07.1988


Code Sonderausstattung Optional Equipment
S200A Entfall Katalysator Diesel particle filter
S301A Diebstahlwarnanlage Alarm systems
S400A Schiebehebedach handbetätigt Slide/tilt sunroof, manual
S481A Sportsitz Sports seat
S556A Aussentemperaturanzeige Outdoor temperature indicator
S675A Sound System Sound System
S681A Dachantenne Roof antenna
S687A Radiovorbereitung Radio preparation
L811A LänderausfÃahrung Belgien National version Belgium

Today was a day of more nasty surprises.

The first task of the day was removing the outside trim to assess the car for more rust..



The first problem I encountered was a rust screw at the end of the trim that refuses to budge.
Despite lots of WD40, I only succeeded in destroying the screw head and it's still stick there.



Here's the perp:



Any suggestions here?

Some surface rust on the rear tailgate also got removed and treated:



At the rear back, scraping some peeling paint away showed the following problem:



Having a rust hole next to the rear shock doesn't seem very safe or reassuring.



At the moment, I have no idea how to repair this so until then I've lightly sanded the area and treated it with rust convertor until the problem can be adressed.



And how does that hole under the front passengers feet look like? Well...



that's how it looks like
It's a Flintstones car!

Beaten by 2 unbudging trim screws and due to a gathering storm overhead, I had to ghetto-rig the trim back to the car so I could get it back into the garage.



Oh well, it'll hold for now.

En the final problem off the day is that all lights work except for the dashboard lighting.

What problems will tomorrow bring? We'll see...
I really need a genious idea now to remove that rear trim screw.
I'd hate to damage the trim if I just tore it off with brute force.

[Cloggy Saint]

Good luck, that's borderline scrap!

[Topblag]

I think you may have more rot to find. How's the bulkhead and inner rear arches ?

[pacerpete]

Good luck, that's borderline scrap!

Looks pretty normal to me. Most E30s, no matter how 'pretty' have got dark rusty secrets hidden and festering

[Coolguy]

As far as I can tell, the bulkhead's fine.
So are the rear inner arches.

[Neilios]

All old vehicles need welding, keep up the good work.

[Coolguy]

Have a look at this project touring, yours is mint in comparison! Should give you some tips/inspiration

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=203847

I feel all better now.
No time to tackle the problem right now but I have a day off next monday which I'll use to prep the car for the cutting. (removing the interior)

[Speedtouch]

To remove that trim screw, I would use a hacksaw blade, which should fit in between the sill and the trim.

A sharp blade should be able to cut through the screw fairly quickly.

Then, having removed the trim, you could either unscrew the remainder with Mole-grips if enough protrudes or MIG-weld a nut onto it - the heat would help loosen it.

[G-Bear]

Have a look at this project touring, yours is mint in comparison! Should give you some tips/inspiration

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=203847

Phew... Like a lot of people on here with a Touring build thread; I thought that link was going to take us to mine!

Welcome Coolguy. Good to see you getting stuck in. Don't let the rust deter you, but be prepared for more rust. Might be worthwhile peeling open the sides of the roof lining and having a look up in there.

Have a good scroll through build threads on here in the Members section, will help in keeping you on point.

Some included here.... http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... storations

[Coolguy]

Time for another update after a fiddly day filled with curses.

- Is this really original? I still doubt it.



And then it was time to start stripping the interior to get to that rust.

There goes the first seat.



The trunk is starting to contain a nice collection of assorted parts.



And the work goes on.



Cables everywhere!
The left box looks like an aftermarket audio part the last owner put in.



Motronic ahead!



Cracked dash with a missing piece. But did this car have a clock or mini-computer there?



And there goes the steering wheel. It helps disconnecting the signal & wiper trees.
I also started labeling the loos cables here before I lost track.



The isolation is affixed to the firewall in some places by extra stubborn plastic clips.

Here comes the sun! Got the sunroof unstuck.
Opens and works in both ways again.



The battlefield. The car is really filthy inside and the interior could use a once-over with an extractor after all of this is over.



So I got beneath the car and found oil everywhere in various places:



The covers of the front wheel driveshafts are also moist with oil.







No idea what this piece does but I pushes a hole in it with my finger.



The end of the day is nearing and I still haven't gotten the floor carpets and isolation out! For the isolation, I'll cut close to the heater so I don't have to remove the heater as well or else it all has to come out.

The dash also needs to get changed later on.

[Speedtouch]

The left box looks like an aftermarket audio part the last owner put in.

That will be the ABS control module.

[e30topless]

Time for another update after a fiddly day filled with curses.

- Is this really original? I still doubt it.

yes it's an alarm that was fitted by the factory, you may still have the small red light below the numberplate

Cracked dash with a missing piece. But did this car have a clock or mini-computer there?

I would say clock, the correct stalk isn't fitted for the OBC and I can't see the control box for the OBC above the ECU

[polsta]

That area with the rear shock hole and the rusted cover - you really want to be removing all the sealant from the whole arch wall , there will be plenty of areas of rust starting under the sealant

[Coolguy]

That will be the ABS control module.

Ah thanks. I guess it's been replaced then?
The box contained an 02/2012 date stamp.

yes it's an alarm that was fitted by the factory, you may still have the small red light below the numberplate

Yeah, it's still there under the rear number plate.

I would say clock, the correct stalk isn't fitted for the OBC and I can't see the control box for the OBC above the ECU

I'll see if I can scavenge one of those then in working order.

That area with the rear shock hole and the rusted cover - you really want to be removing all the sealant from the whole arch wall , there will be plenty of areas of rust starting under the sealant

What sealant do you mean exactly?

[Coolguy]

Due to the incessant downpour here and no room to move around in the garage - I can't continue stripping the interior

In the meanwhile, I cleaned out the Idle Control Valve with EGR-cleaner.
Quite a bit of oily goo came out and now the engine keeps running stable when neutral.



After having a closer look with my new torch, I found out the previous owner managed to break off one of the bolts attaching the right front shock...
So new shocks & springs in front also got added to my to do list now.

[Coolguy]

The sun is shining today - time to get to work!

First bad omen of the day:



And the culprit:



After lots of fiddling about, I got the better of the interior:



And it was dirty!





Front right:



Front left:





And then I started with shizzling away the plates to see if there was any more rust hidden underneath.

Right: found another small hole just left of the big gaping hole.




Left: the 'hole' here is barely coming through but it needs to be cut out anyway.





The bottom of the accelerator pedal is also quite crunchy:




These two 'caps' are also loose and heavily corroded on both sides.
Are these replaceable and can you permanently affix them?



Next to the rear bolt holding the seats in place there's also an area that's very crunchy around someting that looks like a sheared off bolt.

[Coolguy]

And yet more rust!

Rear hatch behind the numberplate plastic:








Oh shi- filler cap:





I don't want to get rust in the fuel system or tank!

And more problems/questions:



How the hell do you get the rear bench to fold forward?
The mechanisms seem to be heavily mutilated on both sides.

Is this ride height really stock?
Between the tire (195/60 while the standard care had size 200) and the spring cup there about 1 finger of space.



And I'd like to put 205 tires underneath it later on.



The most of the rust on the floor is just fly rust but there are still some serious problem areas that need to be dealt with

[Coolguy]

Anyone who has an answer to my last question pretty please?

And the oil leak on the front left drive shaft - could it be the oil seal bearing (don't know the exact English word for this) where it connect to the engine?

[Speedtouch]

The fact that you have non-standard alloy wheels fitted could count for the small gap between the tyre and the coil spring - check the ET (offset) on them and check to see if they match the standard wheel: stock offset for the 15x7 is 41mm (ET41). As these are no longer available, BMW specifies the standard 15x7 BBS cross-spoke wheels as replacements. Those are 24mm offset (ET24).

Yes, oil leaks on driveshafts are often down to a failed oil seal (O-ring) going into the gearbox/transfer box/diff.

[pacerpete]

Anyone who has an answer to my last question pretty please?

And the oil leak on the front left drive shaft - could it be the oil seal bearing (don't know the exact English word for this) where it connect to the engine?

That is NOT the driveshaft that looks 'sweaty' , that is the steering rack !

Best case scenario is that there is an engine oil leak dripping on the rack gaiter. Worst case is that the rack is leaking internally and it has filled the gaiter with oil Easy check is to remove the inner gaiter clip and slide the gaiter off the rack, if oil comes out , your rack is pooed There should be NO oil in the gaiter. If there is , it has leaked past the seals.

IX racks ,track rodsand most other front end components are IX specific

[Coolguy]

The forecast says the weather'll be good tomorrow so I'll check out the rack then.

As far as the wheel go - could I fit standard E30 wheels if I used wheel spacers to compensate for the different ET value of the iX wheels?

[pacerpete]

Standard E30 15 " BBS will fit an IX, without spacers.

[Coolguy]

The thing being that BBS alloys are pretty unaffordable here.

I was thinking about either the standard E30 bottlecap alloys or a set of Ronal LS.