My e30 325i sport project

[SUMPCRACKER]

Im not putting the car down,and I have said that I hope its not a ringer.
Some of the points you have made are quite likely.

But if you saw that car for the first time what would you think?

[Jindmahi]

WoW...lol

[initial_g]

yeh its probs just been facelifted ive had lads in at our place wanting full facelifts doing on there fiestas one lad had a h plate fiesta rst facelifted to a mk5 it needed

bootlid
backpanel
inner lamp sections
rear quarters
doors
front wings
bonnet
front panel
sills
wheel arch spats
all lights ect

cost him 2.5k
but he payed it and had it done

[Jindmahi]

Its all about the dosh!!!!

[Nath325i]

Yeah as you said it was probably feasable to do that 12 years ago. Theres no rust on the outside just the inside, 12 years is plenty of time for rust to set in. Will def be all sealed inside and out this time around.

[Nath325i]

Took the bodykit, headlining and front wings off of the car today, not good news for me found loads more rot behind the front arches and evidence of o/s/f impact damage so this shell is beyond economical repair. Shame really i like the car/colour. Not sure what to do next Thinking i could reshell the car with all the bits or buy a lower spec car and swap the parts to. Could also sell the car in parts to make my money back and put it towards another car will have to think about it.
Heres basically what i found earlier

crack up by the b post once i cleaned it up


crack on the a post


from inside the car


down by the o/s/f chassis


around the o/s/f strut after i cleaned it up


(waits for the told ya so comments lol)

[initial_g]

had some bad accident repair there m8, cut ur losses and reshell, it find a nice tidy 316 auto thatl be cheap, usually owned by older people and wont have had a hard life, strip it bare, nice repaint in the same colour as yours, give it a good waxoil undernieth and rebuild with your bits

[m4xos]

sounds like a plan to me!!

[SUMPCRACKER]

Find a pre facelift car cheap-320 auto? then swap all parts and numbers,get the shell painted dolphin grey/black.
End result - straight 325i sport tec 1, in a desirable color, with sport logbook worth 4K.
(swapping the numbers doesn't make it a ringer unless the shell is stolen).

[Nath325i]

Thanks for the input guys, decided gonna strip the car and reshell it back to a tech 1 sport didnt realise it was legal to reshall a car wiht another one if it wasnt stolen thanks for that info. As for colour dolphin grey is prob my fav sport colour but i liked the green will have to think about that a bit more hehe

[initial_g]

nah we reshelled a rs turbo to concourse spec used a 35k 1300 shell, swapped numbers ect

[bss325i]

Its a bit of a grey area but at as said, as long as no stolen shells/parts are used.

Plenty of mk1 and 2 Escort RS models that now have 1.1/1.3 shells!

[jbh]

its not exactly legal but as said if its not a stolen shell your using go for it.. we were stripping a supposed 323 today which had obviously a 320 at some point in its life... even the scuttle had been cut and shut which looked OK until you got a look around it and it hadn't even been welded just a bit of filler

[Nath325i]

Sounds lovely.... lol well was thinking of removing the numbers on the scuttle and re stamping them with my id. I know its mot entirly right but it will be easier than welding and jigging my current shell gotta draw a line somewhere. As i said its a shame really cause it wasa nice motor back in 98 but some goon obviously got hold of ti at somepoint and has abused it . Still not to bummed just a minor inconvenience

[SUMPCRACKER]

The color is your choice but it will be worth half as much if its not a factory color.

[m4xos]

The color is your choice but it will be worth half as much if its not a factory color.

TRUE!!

[skipunda]

The color is your choice but it will be worth half as much if its not a factory color.

amen to that, unless it's a white tech 1 ;)

[Nath325i]

Know what you mean guys id just like something a little more indervidual . Still gotta gut my current car and find a tidy prefacelift car before i even have to worry about colour hehe

[initial_g]

how about diablo red of the peugeots or suzuki (candy blue) not actuly a candy colour, its of the gsxr's, both are different, and look stnning in sunlight

[Nath325i]

how about diablo red of the peugeots or suzuki (candy blue) not actuly a candy colour, its of the gsxr's, both are different, and look stnning in sunlight

That suzuki candy blue is a stunning colour! not sure it would look right on an E30 though

[jbh]

and find a tidy prefacelift car before i even have to worry about colour hehe

took me nearly 18 month to find what i would class as a good one. but when i managed to get it the bonus was it was already a tech1 sport which meant i didn't have to play with numbers keep an eye out as they do come up and if you go to view one check it over right as i bought one which ended out just as bad as my original car

[Nath325i]

and find a tidy prefacelift car before i even have to worry about colour hehe

took me nearly 18 month to find what i would class as a good one. but when i managed to get it the bonus was it was already a tech1 sport which meant i didn't have to play with numbers keep an eye out as they do come up and if you go to view one check it over right as i bought one which ended out just as bad as my original car

Yeah thats gonna be the problem i think especially finding a reasonably priced one did find a 318 auto earlier which "looked" clean with 80k miles on it but not ready to go buy another one yet

[Nath325i]

A quick couple of questions chaps. Are a 320 and a 325 i wiring loom the same? started to remove mine today and its been bodges together more times than id like lol also do sports share the same axle as lesser models with disc rear brakes? deciding wether to drop my rear axle or just the diff.

[jbh]

if you need a prefacelift 325i loom ive got a complete one sitting out.

i would drop the rear axle even if you don't use them if your donor car has a disc rear end you could sell them to get some cash back

[m4xos]

take everything mate just in case,
once youve got rid on the car, i always wish i had taken a bit off that you hadnt bothered with!!!

[Nath325i]

thx for the replies guys. How much are you looking for that loom jbh? i found no less than 2 different alarms wired in when i started to tidy mine up today and it doesnt look to clever under the bonnet either and does it have the plugs for the obd on it?

[jbh]

pm sent

[Nath325i]

Hiya guys i may have found a preface lift doner its a 325i auto but doesnt appear to have a sunroof . Whats your opinions? should i hold out and try to get one with a sunroof?

[initial_g]

have it w/out sunroof, one less place to rust

[Sanchez]

have it w/out sunroof, one less place to rust

+1

stiffer body as well.

[Nath325i]

Actually never thought of it like that a very valid point hehe. Reason i asked the question is that ive not seen a sport without a sunroof and wanted to build the car back to how it should be. Can honestly say though im not bothered by a sunroof.

[Nath325i]

JUst a lil quick update, Got the engine, box, diff, prop and exhaust off saturday not bad for 4 hours work lol.









Also im led to believe i have a 2.7 bottom end. Mine has bmw 1278921 (16E87) on the side of it. I was told it has a 2.7 bottom end but never bought it on that principle can anyone confirm this with those numbers?

[bss325i]

Actually never thought of it like that a very valid point hehe. Reason i asked the question is that ive not seen a sport without a sunroof and wanted to build the car back to how it should be. Can honestly say though im not bothered by a sunroof.

Some sports didnt have a sunroof. Its rare but some dont. Its mainly tech 1's without.

I've probably seen 2 or three tech 2 sports without.

[Nath325i]

Finally a bit of progression on the shell front. After a few months looking for a prefacel lift doner went to look at this one today and decided to add it to the fleet. Pulled all the carpets back and its solid! only bits that have even seen a welder are the front jacking points which have been deleted and repaired properly before.






Has a recently rebuilt 323 lump in it 1200 miles ago and a folder full of history to go with it.

[Nath325i]

finally moved into my bigger accomodations yesturday, took hours to get it all there and lifting a fully dressed b25 lump into the back of an ldv convoy with my mate was not one of my better ideas . Also picked up the 323 today so can finally start making some real progression with this