E30 Zone

This is my first E30, its a 1987 325e despite what the badges say. it has 167000Mls or101000Kms, im the 3rd owner and it was originally a USA car. Wipers are still on the wrong side but thats about it... Need to fix the windows but thats all the faults on it. Car is in bloody good nick isnt it?

The first few pics are of the engine bay when I first got it. Now after about 10 de-greasings and a bit of a steam clean it looks like the following few pics. The car originaly had a pin stripe but it was cracked and broken so that was quickly removed, Then I had to give it a buff and a swirl remove. It will do for now until I have time to paint it. The bottle tops however are abit shabby and they need a good painting.

Looks nice

Just need to get shot of those bumpers

Very smart! That eta manifold is very different.Can you see if the wiring loom waas swapped for the LHD/RHD conversion? Wipers are tricky,LHD mounts on a single stud in the scuttle that is not quite in the correct place,so you need to create all three mounts,plus one for the linkage on the r/h side,it's a dash out job to do it neatly!Plus you need a different motor,support,linkage,wiper arms and scuttle vents.

the US models are interesting. Have you noticed the grille around the headlights are different from our euro ones.

Yeah if its a dash out job I might leave the wipers as they are. Doesnt impare vision in the rain anyway.. Yeah I did notice the grill and lights.. The lights are halogen and not a fixed beam, Bonus.
Anyone know if the eta manifold is any good? Seems much bigger the 325I manifold... Will swap the top of the motor over to the 325I stuff later to get a 327I.

Mike

So did a few things today.
First was to install new gear shift gator,
Repair gutter rash on bottle tops, and while I had the wheels off the car paint the calipers. (couldnt help myself)
Ugly torn old gaitor

New Ebay Item

Things you need. Bucket of soapy water, 100,240,1000 grit sand paper, Scotch brite, file and a screw driver






Already for painting tomorrow

Old unpainted

Brilliant shiny red

Nice work Wheels look like new

Ok so after getting them all repaired and cleaned yesterday today they got prepared, rubbed down and panted. Ive taken many shots along the way and if there is enough interest I will do a detailed how to for you guys, Never know you do the work and save yourself the money.... Anyway

All masked up



I have sealed them with a 1k primer


Once the primer has flashed off I apply the base coat


Now time for some clear


Back in the garage ready to go back on the car



And while they were drying I painted my jack


Now I have to wait for my wheel sticker to come via ebay. Then every thing is complete.

Mike

Great workmanship

Will look really nice when complete

Excellent work! Keep the photos and the info coming! Love the number plate, too (Very Fast 323 - shame it's not VF 325!)

a quick (and free!!!!) fix for those US bumpers is to ''tuck'' them. basically the US law stipulates that cars must survive a 5mph crash without deformation (although they probabaly say ''without defromarizationing'' ) so to conform to this your bumpers are mounted with two oil shock absorbers.

if you look under the rear bumper you can see them, take a drill and drill a small hole (5mm) in the shock absorber (use saftey glasses as they are slightly under pressure and oil will come out of the hole you drill) the front is a little harder and you need to remove the bumper to see the shocks. once the holes are drilled then put a towel on the bumper (to stop scuffing)and drive slowly against a wall - and hey presto your bumpers will disappear never to return!!

wheels look great, jury is out on the calipers!!

And my god the cold start injector on those things looks realy ugly!!!

FYI those US lights are the same as older Datsun/Toyota pickups and are easy to find if you blow a light bulb

enjoy it and keep the pics comin!!

mrlee

mrLEE30..

Yeah I hate the bumpers tooo, however my G/F uses the car as a daily driver for now. So the bumpers will have to stay for now lol...
The calipers I know there not to everyones taste but owell. To be honest you probably cant see them behind the bottle tops..

Todays jobs are... Bleed the brakes, clean the sunroof drains and fix about 6 very small dents.... Then it will be factory strait... Not bad for a 22 year old car to have 6 very small parking dents and never been painted.

So today I fitted the bottle tops.
Look at the old one against the new painted item.. What a difference. Crusty Vs Shiny


Pulled apart the boot and gave it a good wash in there, Degreased all the boot trims and checked for leaks... (need a new boot seal) A bit of water but not a bit of rust.
Then I gave it a wash and glaze..



I also gave the plastic a rejuvenation. Some one on here asked how you do it, well I took a photo.


Thats it..
Took the best part of 5 hours but

I used to see this car all the time when i was living in Sydney. I knew it was US import because of the bumpers. Couldnt beleive that someone actually imported an E30 325e and converted it to RHD?!?!

I'd leave it as it is. As strange as they look, they certainly are different, especially in our part of the world

Good work man. Did the calapers come off. Canot emadgion doing them in situe but... Any how nice work and thanks.

schmick325 Cool my car is notorious. You know im in 2 minds what to do about the bumpers... Keep them on or get some chromies..... Or maybe put a kit on it? Dunno yet...

LeonNewton I left the calipers on as I never intended to do it.. Had the wheels of and I spyed the caliper paint on the shelf and before you know it I was scrubbing the calipers with degreaser, thinners, carby cleaner, prepsol and carwash. Rest assured they are clean. However I did mask them up. When I do a pad change I will pull them of then and give them another go.

Huum. Canot be added taking calapers off as canot be added bleeding brakes. Just dun a fluid change. May look at this.

Yeah used to see it around the north shore, around St.Ives area

Don't put chrome wheels on it!!

As bad as chrome wheels are, they look worse on an E30!

Just keep it clean and drive it i reckon

Car looks really fresh and clean. Shame about the clown who done the RHD conversion, check out the 4 door centre console ! What are the chances that he changed the carpet/car loom and door mirrors ?

schmick325
No I mean chrome bumpers not wheels,, The old guy lived in Hornsby

Pacerpete you hit the nail on the head

Yeah the 4 door console is annoying me.... The mirrors are anoying me too but strangley the loom dont really make any difference... I need a 2 door console and some mirrors

m_jermyn wrote: I also gave the plastic a rejuvenation. Some one on here asked how you do it, well I took a photo.


Thats it..
Took the best part of 5 hours

is that a heat gun?

skipunda wrote:

m_jermyn wrote: I also gave the plastic a rejuvenation. Some one on here asked how you do it, well I took a photo.


Thats it..
Took the best part of 5 hours

is that a heat gun?

Yes, yes it is, i have been known to use a blow-torch in the past on a mates F*RD KA, shame the thing didn't go up

what a bloody good idea that is. best tip i've picked up so far

So today I did a little tinkering.. It was raining so it meant I really couldnt do to much with the car...
Anyway the car is in MPH and here in oz we use KPH so recently I bought a KPH speedo with broken odometer. My intentions are to fix the odometer gears and use the KPH speedo and swap out the ETA Rev counter for a 7000rpm unit out of a 323i.

After reading through this forum I have come to realize the rechargeable batteries in the cluster are about dead after 20 odd years.

While I had it all apart why not change the batteries.


Then I came across a thread from e30 tech http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51635 about doing a carbon fiber makeover for the cluster... Did a little reaserch and boy they want alot for those carbon fiber inserts....

I will make my own then. So I ordered the stuff I need and its on the way... Anyway I can still get started.

First step is to take the cover off the cluster... I used various flat screwdrivers and a heat gun.


Now its time to make a templet for the carbon fiber insert.



And thats it for today... Will update when my goodies arrive..

Mike

Keep the updates coming! I want to see what you need and how to switch the direction of the windshield wipers. I also have an American car and am just curious.

m_jermyn wrote:....and some mirrors

The mirror mounting brackets are different LHD/RHD,easy way,of course,is to pick up some RHD mirrors,and a man of your talents will soon be able to paint them body colour...do check the wire colours on the mirror harnesses,though,took me hours to spot that the LHD ones have the wires in a different order!Car is looking great,well done!

These beauties came today... Tech 2 steering wheel to replace the bus size steering wheel. And some chrome cluster bezels for the speedo and tacho.

Steering wheel need to be retrimmed so it will be awhile before its on.


And I whent and got keyless entry.


I can repair and paint a car but im no electrician... This is going to take me all day to figure out..


For those who have done this where is the best place to put the antenna?

Mike

Luxorbeige rightness! I hated the colour of mine when I bought it a year ago, now I wouldn't change it for the world - it's a bit different, understated somehow.

Never seen pics of the rear 'diving board' bumpers in such detail before - they are hideous aren't they! Nice old bus though. Are you going to get the power god intended out of that eta lump?

djk wrote:Luxorbeige rightness! I hated the colour of mine when I bought it a year ago, now I wouldn't change it for the world - it's a bit different, understated somehow.

Never seen pics of the rear 'diving board' bumpers in such detail before - they are hideous aren't they! Nice old bus though. Are you going to get the power god intended out of that eta lump?

Oh yes these diving boards are indeed hideous. I fully intend to throw them in the skip.... Im just not sure what I should replace them with at this stage.

And yes the eta will be graced with the top end of a 325I and a nice cam too, however this will have to wait a little bit as the E30 is the G/Fs daily driver until she gets a new car.

Mike

Ok so now I can enter and exit my E30 without a key. Needless to say im am very pleased with my efforts.

I hate electrics, I understand them but when I have niggling problems it does my head in. Coupled with the fact I was working in off and on again showers of rain, it was a recipe for a temper tanrum.

All up it took me about 1.5 hours and I didnt even follow the wiring diagram because I dont understand them. The only problem I had was blowing of fuses. I wired it directly off the battery and on to the boot lock. Dead easy and I dont even know what im doing.

A super happy Mike

So been doing little bits and pieces to the car this last week....
I got some BMW stickers for the wheels.



Also I picked up this beauty... Needs a new rubber surround as the one thats on it has a few scuffs.. Only noticeable up close however... Will put this one when I find a suitable front one to match...

m_jermyn wrote:So been doing little bits and pieces to the car this last week....
I got some BMW stickers for the wheels.



Also I picked up this beauty... Needs a new rubber surround as the one thats on it has a few scuffs.. Only noticeable up close however... Will put this one when I find a suitable front one to match...

Get some new wheel bolts on there - those rusty ones look out of place now. Keep up the good work.



Taylor.

Wheels look lovely now, a very minty car.

except the bars lol

Today my father and I adjusted the tappets on the E30, Now they were not particularly noisy buT I wanted to do it anyway...
I also did it because I wanted to see beneath the cam cover..

This is what I found...

LOOK CLOSELY AT THE CAM JOURNALS I COUNT 7



IF THAT PIC IS TO DARK HOW MANY CAN YOU COUNT NOW? 4 or 7?



Single valve springs



Now I am surprised... All the reaserch I have done says the Eta head has 4 cam journals not 7... From my understanding the Super Eta head is the same as the 885 head with 7 cam journals.. However it still retains the shitty cam and single valve springs...

Should I be jumping with joy?

Anyway Here is the spark pugs I pulled out



Do these look alright to you guys?

Mike