In summer '09 i woke up one morning and decided i needed rear drive in my life. I always loved the e30 but it wasn't necessarily the top of my shopping list. I was more interested in e21's and 2002's if i'm honest, but after a quick peruse on the bay i came across a white 325i 2 door with 12 months ticket and a very low current bid, despite having only a couple of hours left to run.
I ended up winning the auction and £535 later my name was on the log book.
To call it a basket case isn't fair but it was no minter. However, it had a good history, was straight and original and seemed a pretty honest motor.
Aside from the fundamentals however, he needed a lot of work due to the following:
leading edge of bonnet rotten
leading edge of bootlid rotten
spoiler missing and holes covered with black duct tape
surface rust on sills, front and rear valance and rear arches
a hole either side of the scuttle below the screen
leaking shocks
pretty much every bush shot
no rubber left in CSB
guibo shot
perished tyres
no sunroof motor
knackered wiper motor
rear top mounts sounded like a flock of pigeons in the boot
not to mention a tired blue comfort interior complete with cobwebs everywhere and the manifold gasket, well, i didn't even realise they had integral heat shields until i bought a new one!
despite all this however, the drive home put a huge smile on my face. I couldn't believe that such an old knackered car could feel so good to drive. He sat comfortably at 85 on the motorway and raised the eyebrows of my mate who gave me a lift to get it as he struggled to pull away in his octavia VRS
Ok so i'm probably boring you now so to cut it short, as it stands today:
new boot and spoiler
new bonnet
All welding done
full respray in original alpine white 2 includint door shuts and boot shut etc
new wishbones, WB bushes, anti-roll bar bushes, e30 front top mounts, e46 rears with z3 plates, new CSB, new guibo, new manifold gasket, new cambelt and water pump, new drive belt, Bilstein B8's, weitec 60mm springs, 15mm drop hats, Fritz Bits stainless 6 branch and full stainless system, new discs, pads and stainless braided hoses, tech 1 wheel, M 'stumpy' gear knob, half black leather dark check M3 seats and doorcards. Aside from suspension and exhaust everything else was bought from cotswold.
Before any of this happened he was treated to a full inspection 2 at an indy and has since had his oil change and is readily awaiting his inspection 1.
So heres some pics for you guys, don't hate, its my 1st BMW and has been a really enjoyable learning curves getting to kno this car. He now feels like my right hand man rather than my car.
Pics start from before the paintjob, during and afterwards. I apologise in advance as there are loads of them and most are taken with an iPhone so quality leaves something to be desired.
i chucked the BSX's on as i got them for 400 notes with brand new tyres! Which he needed desperatley!
I had to change this as i rand over a lamb the week before it went in the bodyshop!
Future plans include doing the rear end bushes and an LSD, and maybe a 2.7/8 build of some 2 valve per cylinder description. I've got a list of jobs as long arm still to do, thinking of returning the sills to black etc and the interior still needs finishing but i'm getting there
[/img]
