325 sport starting problems and ruff tick over

[japcarkiller]

right. my sport has had a long road back to life. not far off now though.
she really doesn't want to start. turns over ok and will start if you keep at it, but it takes ages.once she started she runs soooooooooooooooooooo ruff.
lets say your trying to start her. at the point when a little gas would normally fire her up she cuts out. this happens about 10 times before she'll start.
once running is just soooooooooo lumpy. coughing and all that.the tick over is up and down to. as if some one is gently reving her.
i may be able to record the sound of her starting and ticking over if that helps with the diagnostics guys.
the exhaust fumes smell a bit rich as well.
any tips as to what this might be.
or does any body know of any good guides on getting e30 engines running sweet.if need be i'll strip her down again and start again. but really can't be arsed. so HELP ME HELP ME. need to get this back on the road before petrol hits Ԛ£4 a litre. lol

[E30BeemerLad]

i won't profess to be any sort of expert here but will just mention a few things to check over ok, I'm sure someone with a greater degree of knoweldge may be able to make better suggestions.

1- Throttle position sensor - under the throttle body check this is clean and there is a click when the throttle opens just a tiny amount
2- check all vacum hoses etc for good seals and no splits etc
3- have you had the inlet manifold off? if you can manage to get the car running then when running, spray wd40 around the manifold where it is bolted to the head, if this restores or alters the idle, then your gaskets may be shot or you have not mounted the inlet manifold properly.

just a few suggestions

Also just check over electrics, plug leads, caps, dizzy cap, coil, bad earth etc. Bettery leads properly tight on the terminals etc

[japcarkiller]

cheers for that. i dont think its the head as the gasket has just been done.
not impressed with the guys work tho.lets just say he aint getting paid for the job.