Tech1 325i sport

[noble-tech1]

Need help guys ive got as above with a stack full of receipts since new, from what i can see a full service history. Also in that stack comes the Daily Mails Motor Review printed in 1988, which has a picture of my car for the review on the 325i sport.

Sooo.... basically i have the real deal but its not in great condition, to get it back to mint it needs the head rebuilding, heater matrix and quite a few tit bits doing.

My question is do i break it which i dont really like the sound of, or do i sell/swap, i need to sort out a car asap???

[whipsey]

rescue it mate where are you based?

[capri_rob]

Mechanicals is a piece of p1$$ and cheap - head and heater matrix won't break the bank too badly - bodywork will - whats the shell like ?

[steve_k]

are you any good with spanner's? any good at welding?

the head rebuild you can do yourself if you have a look at the giude in the wiki & follow it word for word (i did one earlier in the year & got it spot on).

get some pic's up of the other bit's that need doing & your location & you might get a few offer's of help.

providing the car don't look like swiss cheese then anything is possible.

[djk]

Shell condition, shell condition shell condition - everything else is easily and relatively inexpensively put right. A head swap shouldn't be reason enough to start breaking up a car of this provenance - sounds like a car that deserves rescuing whatever. IIRC there is another ex-press fleet tech1 sport on the zone, I seem to remember the guy who owns it was looking for its 'sister' car - yours may very well be it.

Mods - can you move this to E30 chat?

[pnd]

[quote="djk"]Shell condition, shell condition shell condition - everything else is easily and relatively inexpensively put right.
NO it isn't these cars cost thousands to get right when they are in less than a1 condition I know rust is often the final nail in the coffin but lets be realistic about fixing costs please. Not worth scrapping just for a cracked head though.

[steve_k]

Shell condition, shell condition shell condition - everything else is easily and relatively inexpensively put right. A head swap shouldn't be reason enough to start breaking up a car of this provenance - sounds like a car that deserves rescuing whatever. IIRC there is another ex-press fleet tech1 sport on the zone, I seem to remember the guy who owns it was looking for its 'sister' car - yours may very well be it.

Mods - can you move this to E30 chat?

+1 on this as my old tech 1 that i sold a while back was in a pretty poor state as it needed new sills, 1 front wing & 2 new back arches & a head rebuild,

the body parts came from beevers & were sprayed & fitted by me & a mate & the head rebuild i did myself.

at the end of the day how much does the car mean to you & do you have a budget big enough to get it sorted & back to it's former glory?

if you want to keep the car then crack on with it as from what you have said i wouldn't be scrapping it based on that but putting it aside & getting it sorted.

if you need any help or advise then post up & some one will be able to help you out.

[djk]

Shell condition, shell condition shell condition - everything else is easily and relatively inexpensively put right.

NO it isn't these cars cost thousands to get right when they are in less than a1 condition I know rust is often the final nail in the coffin but lets be realistic about fixing costs please. Not worth scrapping just for a cracked head though.

Notice the word 'relatively' - compared to other cars e30s are cheap to put right mechanically. I wouldn't suggest anyone took on a resto thinking it would be inexpensive - just that some cars are bigger money pits than others! The availability of parts is one of the main bonuses of e30 ownership - the only other 25+ year old cars with similar availability are MGBs and Minis etc, where parts are being remanufactured to cater for demand.

[noble-tech1]

Well my budget is pretty poor at the moment i lost my licence and my job went with it! The car is a little rusty but i did get a mate to put it up on ramps at his garage when i bought it to check because i was told it needed some welding but he coulldnt find anything. Im in southampton, i only know of a couple of peeps in the area.

Cheers for the help everyone its probably worth saying the car is original other than leather seats and for some reason beknown to me it has 14" bbs instead of the 15" in the pic? Do you think there would be much interest if i put it up on the forum i wouldnt want to break it but at the same time i dont want to do myself out of money!

[noble-tech1]

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2771/beemer001.jpg
http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/9629/beemer002.jpg
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8161/beemer003.jpg
http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/7990/image003bv.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2564/image004wv.jpg

Heres a few pics if the work just some randoms i had on my phone, what you think?

[steve_k]

well from what can be seen in the pic's the car don't look to bad but only you know what lurks beneath.

& i'm sure those side skirts are reiger items i mighte be wrong though.

when you get a chance try to get some photo's up of the work that need's doing & people can give you a honest opinion.

[noble-tech1]

Theres nothing you would be able to see through pics, its the kinda things that would bother you once owned for a while if that makes sense. ideal project for me if i had money i could get it looking mint in a few days

[steve_k]

i know what you mean fella as i'm in the same boat as you.

just keep plugging away at it & you'll get there in time.
let's put it this way if you take your time & try & get it sorted one bit at a time you'll end up with a car that look's exactly how you want it to not some rushed bodge job (yes i've done that to lol).

[Topblag]

I'm in the midst of restoring a Tech II sport. It's simple really - get EVERYTHING off it, get a price from the bodyshop, identify what remains to be replaced and see what it comes to. For me I'm going to break even against current values and I'll have a cracking sport to slide around in, which will make money each year that goes by.

Doesn't include my time though, but it's a labour of love !!

[noble-tech1]

i got no worries about breaking even i got this car for a very good price im more worried about breaking the bank or even the car, i love e30's but no time or funds to make this all good so what i mite do is put it up for sale or swaps for something i can drive now as i get my licence back friday. can anyone give me an idea of what this would be worth?

[Nay]

I'd keep it.

Buy a drivable smoker untill you have both a license and a job again. As the funding starts to roll back in, put a bit away each month into your project.

My project is going into the stupid figure... but if I can put £500 a month (or most months!) away into it then in a few years it will be a pearler

[dano0]

save it save it save it

put it in the garage till your a bit more flush and then do it then.
these will only go up in value in the future
think of it as an investment

[RM2186]

Agreed, save it, it looks no worse than mine and last years MOT cost £670 including all the structural welding I needed

[MillwallSE14]

Save it, even if you need to store it till youre a bit better off.
you will be rewarded with the finished product, could be turned into a lovely classic