BMW E30 325i Sport :-)

[pony]

Right I thought was about time I finally had a thread about BMW E30 325i Sport.

I have always loved the BMW E30 3 Series since I was about 8 I had always wanted E30 325i. I can even remember at primary school drawing pictures of the E30 interior!!!! I think this took after because my old man had BMW E30 320i Saloon New from BMW Park Lane he bought second hand from Goodmayes, Ilford (B599 YHV) Diamond Black with chequered type interior I forget the name of the interior with check control, digital clock, rev counter, 6 tape holder, BMW Manual Gearbox looked the business!!!!

I was originally going to get BMW E30 325i in 2006 when my first car Seat Ibiza 1.0 litre P Registration the piston hit spark plug. But in the end I bought 2000 E46 323Ci Coupe with 80k mileage from my old man for £7k.

So the E30 dream was on hold till June 2010.

I bought this in June 2010 on a complete whim. This was the first E30 I looked at and I wasn't even looking for one I got so fed up of looking for another BMW I wanted. I didn't get a pre-purchase inspection (which in hindsight I should have done).

I bought this from Andrew Dale of Manager of the BMW Car Club at the time.

Anyway enough of that time for the vital specification.

BMW E30 325i Sport
BMW Manual Gearbox
Production Date 23/07/1987
Registration Date 06/11/1987

This was delivered to GB on 27/07/1987 when I enquired with BMW Park Lane Classic.

Colour Lachssilber Metallic (203)
Upholstery Anthrazit (0211)

The vehicle was sold when New by BMW L&C Tunbridge Wells.

The options when New:
209. Limited Slip Differential (25%)
215. Power steering depending on engine speed
288. Light Alloy Wheels
300. Zentral Verriegelung elektrisch (Central Locking I think)
311. Elektrischer Beifahrerspiegel (Electric Sunroof I think)
333. M TECHNIC SPORTPAKET
339. Satin Chrome
350. Waermeschutzglas Gruen Rundum (What is this option?)
401. Sliding/Vent Roof Electric
481. Sports Seats Front Driver and Front Passenger
497. Centre Armrest in Rear
562. Map Reading Light
704. M Sport Suspension
708. M-Sport Leather Steering Wheel II (This seems odd as I had M Tech I steering wheel?)
812. England Version
850. Add Fuel Tank Filling for Export


I am the 12th owner. There are 11 former keepers according to the log book.
The current mileage is 167000 mileage.

I will be updating this thread in stages to bring up to date so please bear with me.

Thanks very much.

[pony]

[jimbom30cab]

is that it.....

one pic of the car

get uploading boy !!

[pacerpete]

is that it.....

one pic of the car

get uploading boy !!

Don't encourage him Jim !

[pony]

I'll get some more later when I update the thread there is a lot to write.

[jimbom30cab]

great, I love a rot box tech1 thread, getting bored of reading my own

[pony]

July 2010
I was driving the E30 everyday. Yeah it made a good sound. I was taking it really easy around corners etc because I knew that E30 325i can be tail happy so I was taking it easy getting used to it. So in Summary it sounded nice. However, it just didn't feel as nice to drive as my 2 Owner from New 2000 BMW E46 323Ci Coupe with BMW Manual Gearbox. I was expecting it to feel similar but with the retro 80s styling.

The brakes didn't feel anywhere near as good.
The interior looked and felt tired.
And the stability in the motorway it just didn't feel that stable when hitting speeds that would get into trouble.

I did get stopped by the old bill as they say in EastEnders in the Sport within the week of buying it. I remember with PRIDE saying "yeah its mine". Lol.

[pony]

I went on holiday in July 2010 and while I was on holiday I requested BMW Cooper Banstead to do a BMW Approved Used Car Check on the E30 325i Sport to just check things over. Purely of peace of mind. I was expecting a few things wrong. Anyway this is what they found.

BMW Approved Used Car Check by BMW Cooper Banstead












This is by BMW Cooper Banstead a parts estimate

[Gert_8]

Lovely looking car Pone!

[pony]

This is a quick summary of the work carried out under the previous owner Andrew Dale (Manager of the BMW Car Club).

This was published in the club magazine in 3 parts.

Part 1




PS Notice the BMW Cronk number plates. As far as I understand Cronk were the predessor to BMW Cooper Banstead and BMW Vines of Redhill.


Part 2





Part 3

[pony]

If anyone cannot read the articles let me know and I get clearer photographs

[pony]

BMW On Board Computer

Andrew Dale retrofitted OBC
This is his guide. Barry BSS325i had a quick look and this is wired incorrectly and needs doing properly. The readings used to be ok but are now all whack.

Anyway this is how Andrew Dale wired it




Running Issues
Apparently this had running issues.
Andrew Dale made some attempt at rectifying this using this guide he wrote.

[pacerpete]

Unfortunately poor old pony read all the spiel and assumed Andrew Dale knew what he was doing and that he was buying a cream puff, he was WRONG ! and has the bills to prove it !

[Mitchen]

Facking ell.. I think if BMW done a used car check on 95% of E30's out there, they'd come up with a hefty list of repairs.

[pony]

Ok so when I got that list of things wrong I was a bit shocked.
I was using the E30 every day and growing in confidence with it getting some tail happy action (even with an open diff).
The plan was to buy all the parts myself New Genuine BMW Parts and use my BMW Car Club 10% discount to save some money.
Then to find somewhere suitable to do all this work.
Getting a quote was tricky and time consuming to some degree. I contacted various garages from Munich Legends, West 4 Autos (who mainly do VAGs and modern prestige vehicles but they haven't seen E30 in years), West 3 BMW (crap rude customer service wouldn't touch them with a barge pole), Neil MacDonald and a few others.

Update to follow.

[Gert_8]

Can't Pete or Barry do this for you?

[pony]

Can't Pete or Barry do this for you?

I am updating this thread in chronological order
Nearly everything is sorted ATM.

[pony]

Update

August 2010

Slave cylinder or master cylinder failed
So I got the master and slave cylinders both replaced. New Genuine BMW Parts from BMW Cooper Banstead.

New Genuine BMW Parts from BMW Cooper Banstead


Labour
This is local garage near me who mainly specialise in VAGs but do all prestige marques ie modern VW, Audis, BMWs, Mercedes-Benz. I not sure they know their old BMWs as well as some Zoners though.



October 2010
The BMW Approved Used Car Check revealed leaking boot and the boot was leaking all the time when ever was raining so I got this fixed.

New Genuine BMW Parts from BMW Cooper Banstead
2x rear light seals
1x rear boot seal


Labour



December 2010
All the issues identified from the BMW Approved Used Car check I was going to get the parts myself and outsource the work to someone with good reputation when I found someone suitable.

New Genuine BMW Parts from BMW Park Lane Battersea
1x Prop Donut / Article Disk and Bolts
1x Oil Cooler and Oil Tubes
1x O-Ring
1x Leather Gearknob & Emblem subsequently swapped for New Genuine BMW Illuminated Gear knob
4x M-Technic springs
1x Oil Filter
1x Air Filter
2x E46 Rear Top Mounts
1x E30 M3 Sport Evolution Steering Wheel








Just to add in Dec 2010 in the Reigate one way system an old guy didn't look in his blind spot and banged wheels with my E30. Cosmetic damage RR wheel arch has some damage. FR strut was little bit bent. Rear beam was slightly bent as tyre wear uneven though looks straight to naked eye. Wasn't happy and cost a fortune to put right as you will later see. I got these issues fixed in '14.

[pony]

Update


January 2011
BMW Approved Used Car Check said my lighter element was not working and my old one looks filthy. I bought a new one.

New Genuine BMW Part from BMW Park Lane Battersea
Lighter element




February 2011
New Genuine BMW Parts from BMW Cotswold Cheltenham using E30 Zone discount
6x Spark Plugs
1x Fuel Filter


I think round about this time I met BSS325i and PacerPete and he saw my E30 for a quick look regarding a quote. He advised me to replace one of the rubber hoses.

New Genuine BMW Part from BMW Park Lane Battersea
1x Hose
2x Hose clips
The BMW Car Club discount is handy.


Labour



April 2011
I had a quick interim BMW Oil Service @ 166600 mileage.
This would have been the first service under my ownership besides fixing issues that have occurred.

New Genuine BMW Oil Filter from BMW Park Lane Battersea

1x Engine Flush
1x Halfords Full Synthetic Oil 5 litres

Labour
I used some next man at industrial estate in Acton who did cheap price.



May 2011
The fan had hit the radiator and had caused a leak. Andrew Dale thought it was clever to leave the fan shroud in the boot and to have shagged engine mounts.
I had to get home on recovery truck.

New Genuine BMW Parts from BMW Park Lane Battersea
1x Radiator
1x Ventilator or Fan
1x Fan Frame


New Genuine BMW Parts from BMW Berry Chiswick
I also bought some engine mounts and stoppers for the E30 from BMW Berry Chiswick
2x rubber mounts
2x stoppers
The air filter and microfilter was for the BMW E46 323Ci Coupe.
The buffer strips were for the E30 but don't actually fit and I sold them.

[pony]

Update July 2011
166759 mileage

Labour for all the parts I bought in December 2010

Parts
4x New Bilstein B6 Sport Shock Absorbers
M3 Wishbone bushes eccentric
OSF Antirollbar link
Rocker cover gasket
6.0 litres antifreeze
BMW
Top Hose
Gearbox oil seal
Gearbox oil seal output
Gearbox knuckle
Gearbox lever bush
Gearbox mounts
Throttle body gasket
Foglight screws

Used
Boot plastic trim (which was missing)
Foglight frame

Miscellaneous bulbs
Miscellaneous clips

Semi synthetic gearbox oil
Rear tyres used
Tracking












Labour
Using a E30 specialist in the Zone PacerPete
4x New Genuine BMW M-Technic springs
4x New Bilstein B6 Sport shocks
Replace front wishbone bushes with eccentric M3 bushes
Replace OSF Antirollbar bar link
Remove rear bumper and realign
Replace oil cooler assembly and pipes
BMW Inspection I Service
Adjust belts
Replace engine mounts
Replace engine radiator/ fan / shroud
Replace coolant hose
Flush cooling system and refill with correct coolant mix
Strip engine throttle body and replace all gaskets ?, clean and adjust switch
Set CO % mixture
Replace fuel filter
Drain and refill gearbox oil
Replace gearbox mounts
Replace prop shaft donut
Replace all seals and worn linkage parts
Fit OSR suspension turret plastic trim (I think this was missing?)
Repair faulty coolant temperature gauge
Remove VAC panel and replace all blown bulbs
Investigate heater fan issues and replace all incorrect / blown fuses






Advisories

[macas]

What an informative thread,enjoyed that!!

Nice car pony

[pony]

More to come

[Gert_8]

Is this a thread of invoices paid by the last owner? When do we get to see some where you're splashing out?

More pics of car and work required, enough of the paperwork, already.

[pacerpete]

Is this a thread of invoices paid by the last owner? When do we get to see some where you're splashing out?

More pics of car and work required, enough of the paperwork, already.

This is all Ponys spending on a car that was allegedly a 'restored' cream puff !!!

[pony]

I should have some photographs of my old shocks and new shocks when Pacer fitted but I will have to see whether I have them.

[pony]

LOL Cream Puff who made that word up is so funny or is that mechanics lingo ????

[Gert_8]

How long have you owned this Pony (I can't be bothered to scroll through 8 pages of invoices) I recall some dates 2010/11....?

[Gert_8]

I see it - you bought in 2010! At your age I'd have been spending on the ladies.

[pony]

I see it - you bought in 2010! At your age I'd have been spending on the ladies.

I think June 2010

[pony]

Update Jan 2014 - May 2014

The E30 325i Sport had been undriven for 2-3 years and I want to get everything finished mechanically.

This was what was done by BSS325i.

Bosch Battery S4 from ECP






BMW Inspection II Service using New Genuine BMW Parts.
1x Oil Filter
1x Air Filter
2x BMW Manual Gearbox Oil (1litre bottles)
1x Fuel Filter
6x Spark Plugs
1x E30 Rocker Cover Gasket

These were bought from BMW Berry Chiswick.









Notice the BMW MLG of Chiswick number plates













Spider webs inside


Further parts from ECP included
ContiTech Cambelt Tensioner Kit
ContiTech Alternator Belt
ContiTech PAS Belt
Circoli Water Pump
Brake Fluid
Coolant
Castrol Engine Oil
PAS Fluid
Handbrake Cables
Powerflex Rear Bushes
(Rear beam bushes, Rear trailing arm bushes, Rear anti-roll bar bush, Rear diff bush)
Limited Slip-Differential 40% Lock 3.91 Fully Rebuilt and painted in BMW OEM colours by Gareth (to replace the open diff instead of the standard LSD 25% Lock 3.64 which are in Tech1s from New)

The all important BMW Limited-Slip Differential as described by BMW

[pony]

Close ups










New Genuine BMW Part



Waiting for recovery truck to go to BSS325i's workshop






At last recovery truck

[pony]

Parts
SH Rear Beam from PacerPete as the old one was slightly bent
SH FR Strut from PacerPete as the old one was slightly bent
Steering Lock Disc Lock
Goodridge Brake Hoses










MOT Passed at BMW Vines of Gatwick/Redhill











Road Tax

[bab-91]

I didn't know you had a Tech 1, Pony.

[pony]

New Genuine BMW Parts from BMW Park Lane Battersea
Pedal Rubbers (Brake & Clutch)
Fuse Box Lid
Illuminated M-Technic Gearknob
BMW Service Booklet
Horn button






PS Andrew Dale gave me the incorrect service booklet which is for a 1988 vehicle registered at BMW Stephen James.


Old parts being returned to BMW Park Lane Battersea





BMW Check Control and BMW On-Board Computer from the BMW Brochure





































BMW E30 M3 Sport Evolution Steering Wheel








BMW Cigarette Lighter Element






BMW M-Technic Front Grill Badge

[dusty23]

how much was the one piece illuminated out of interest?