E30 Zone

Hey guys and girls,

i am just starting to make some mods on my 1984 320i and would love to hear some advice from you folks. As i look around this site i see some beautiful lookin e30's and can see that a whole lot of heart and soul goes into them. i have recently bought my first e30 and what can i say....i love it and its in great condition. But now the time has come to have a little tinker and would love to hear your views and opinions on what to do? The car is matalic burgandy in colour with gold pinstrip down the side, full cream leather interior with original car phone, still working! at the moment it has 14" bottletops and chrome bumbers as she is pre face lift. The chrome is deffinatly staying as i would like to keep that retro look. As for the wheels am not to sure, there in great nick but they do look a little dated these days, was thinkin 17"alpinas and it has to be lowered which goes without saying, but how much do ya think? Love some advice folks as am new to e30 ownership and i promise what ever i do to my e30 i wont let you lot down!

Cheers
Dom

ps...cheers eko for hosting my pics

Pics

hi mate,i like the sound of the met burgundy (probably calypso red)with cream leather i also like the sound of the 17" alpinas as in my opinion no other wheel suits the e30 better.i found a 60/40 drop works best for me but with 12000 zone members youd probably get 12000 different opinions,do what you want most as youll never please all the people all the time here

16" splitties
-80mm
m-tech 2

I would go for some thing like this but with m tech 1 kit on it. The borbet A's are retro



ED

WOW Thats L..L..L..LUSH!!!

CabbyThompo wrote: WOW Thats L..L..L..LUSH!!!

I love that car so much that I am making my cab look like it.

ED

that is pure sex

eko wrote:Pics

My opinion-

Remove the stripe,lower about 40mm all round and get a set of Alpinas(proper ones),Mtec 1 rear and a nice little chin spoiler!

Stick a turbo on there! you know ya wanna!!

thanks for hosting my pics!

i never seen a phone in an e30 before!!!

do you have to pay for calls on it??

that could be a new mod to mine (bring back the 80's charm!!)

I can make SOS calls only, could come in very handy one day!

Drop it in the weeds, keep EVERYTHING standard and slam on some 15" BBS RS's... nice!

If you want to keep it retro stay away from the 17" Alpina reps and put some 15" BBs and drop the suspension 60/40

Hi there ... I know the feeling very well.
Before


and after


Think you get the idea .....

G

Hi there, this is what I did to my car which was totally standard when I got it....

BEFORE


AFTER


Has transformed the car, well worth the effort.

I just fitted this front spoiler to mine, had to mod it to fit, I think its from an e21.




ED

hi there, the alpina rims do look the dogs danglies on the e30 but as one gent has alredy said do the 60/40 with the lowering kit made the mistake of dropping mine 60mm all round and now rubbs when ive got two people in the back and the sump crusher speed bumps are a complete nightmare will be changing my rears for 40s soon. hope this helps colcabman

Here we go-had a wee play....

Lowered 60mm at front,
BBS RS with colour coded centres

Smoked indicators front/rear

All chrome "smoked"

Pinstripe removed

very nice retro all the way i also done the smoked indicator lenses and repeaters look ten times better, nice touch with the wheels hope to post pics of my motor soon, colcabman

320Touring wrote:Here we go-had a wee play....

Lowered 60mm at front,
BBS RS with colour coded centres

Smoked indicators front/rear

All chrome "smoked"

Pinstripe removed

that looks wicked

cheers for ya time man, i think the wheels look good, smoked lenses, not to keen on think i would rather go for clear, i defo wanna keep the chrome.....but those wheels look sweet!

best
dom

is that phone O.E.M.!? executive!

GDBN wrote:Hi there ... I know the feeling very well.
Before


and after


Think you get the idea .....

G

Exactly, add some bbs (15's) and most is done !!

Your car looks lush fella, the colour os both class and rare to see !

Jose

what do u lot think about the new ATS CUP 7x15's? Thinkin thay might look oldskool, and they look easy to keep kleen!

love em mate
theyre cool as fook

gonna be getting a set in a few weeks to go on the mrs 318Is

Daz

ed lets see sum pics of that bumper wen done

hey guys,
please keep ya ideas coming, so far all have been very helpful! one question tho, to lower the car do i need shocks and springs or just springs?

If you are going to lower it more than 45mm or so, you should really replace the shocks as well, other wise there will be too much travel - and it will be an MOT failure as well.

Heres an idea for you




ED

hey theo,
thanks for the advice am not sure if i am going to lower the car more that 45 yet, am having meeting with my machanic later this week so will let you know my decission.

cheers

dom

16s and a reasonable drop will change the way you look at your car every time you go to use it without spoiling ride quality and useability. a window de-chrome will finish off the outside nicely. budget a bag.

interior wise i'd suggest changing those comfort seats for sport seats and having them trimmed to match the door cards. this should give you an arm rest in the rear seat and far more comfort up front. it'll change your driving experience totally. while the interior is out you have a brilliant opportunity to run some power and signal cables all neatly... budget another bag.

tunes - a sub or two firing through your ski-hatch, some 5 1/4s in the back and 6 1/2s in door builds that your seat trimmer can trim while he's doing the seats will transform your in-cabin experience. 2 amps should run things - a 4 channel for your speakers and another for bass duties. some time spent sourcing 2nd hand kit will save you loads over the cost of new stuff and installation is down to time so long as you're reasonably useful with your hands. budget a third bag.

those 3 are for starters but should keep you busy and out of pocket for a few weeks....

now it looks great to the world, sounds great to you and holds you in place during spirited cornering...

paul

Paul....

Cheers man, sounds like you have had a good think, i appreciate it alot. One question for you, i was going to keep all the chrome around the glass, but now am 2 minds, how would one go about dechroming, is it a case of buying new trim or is there another way?

best
dom

i've though about this for myself and my motors that i've had over the years. my motors have to look good to my eye both inside and out, be comfortable and have decent tunes to entertain me. anything else is a bonus.

de-chromed motors appear to have been done quite a few ways on here alone - spray paint black while in place, black tape while in place, buy bmw 'shadowline' trim and fit being the main 3. some masking tape, brown paper and a can of satin black seems to be the preferred option.

paul