E30 318iS - a work in progress.... Updated 02-06-12

[gurj247]

Hi everyone,

Thought I would join in and post some images of the E30 318iS that I jointly own with my mate.

We have owned it for approx 6 years now and have done a fair bit of work to it, although apart from a couple of things you won't see much of the work that has been done.

Here's a picture of what it looked like when we bought it.


Since then we have done the following:
New suspension (shocks and springs)
Strut Brace
Induction Kit
Custom Chip
17 Inch Avez A's Wheels
15 Inch bbs Wheels
Short Shifter
Eiback Anti Roll Bars (front and rear)
Big Break Kit
HID lights
Custom Exhaust
318iS front lip Spoiler
Braided brake lines
Bushes changed

It was also put on a rolling road back sometime in 2008 and came back with figure of 147 BHP before the custom chip went in, which we didn’t think was too bad for a near 20 year old car”¦

Below is a picture of what it pretty much looks like now....

[oomz1975]

Looks alot smarter than when you first got it.

[BEERBOY123]

Get the 15" BBS back on, in my humble opinion...
Otherwise superb. Is that a Tech 1 rear spoiler?

[polsta]

Get the 15" BBS back on, in my humble opinion...

+1 , i think them wheels look too big,and at the wheels are more or less all you see, your eyes draw to them and makes the car look like "background" , dont think them wheels suit the color of the car, if it were silver/grey/white, they may look better

[Kos]

the Azevs suit it

[adit]

Get the 15" BBS back on, in my humble opinion...
Otherwise superb. Is that a Tech 1 rear spoiler?

+ 1

no, it's a standard "heckspoiler" BB

[magpie]

buy your mate out !

[gurj247]

Thanks for the comments guys,

All I can really say about the wheels is "Each to thier own", I personally love the Avez Wheels so they will be staying

As it happens the car is currently on 15'' BBS wheels, but thats only because its winter. In the summer the Avez's will return.

Eventually the rear spolier will dissappear, I much perfer the spoilerless look.

@magpie, I might well buy him out one day, but for now it works for both of us. The car is occasionally used on a track hence all the performace / handling mods. Its even been to Germany on the Nurburgring and done some laps.

[tonybtonyb]

Loving the Azev A

[cee]

What drop suspension did you get?

[Alpina99]

A very nice looking car,
(Love the Azev's)

[gurj247]

What drop suspension did you get?

I think the drop on the back is 40mm, can't be 100% sure it was done some 5 years ago.

A very nice looking car,
(Love the Azev's)

Thanks, I like them so much i went and bought another set.
The price was just too good to turn down, just need to fit them and make 100% sure they are the correct off-set

[gurj247]

Some History.... for those interested...

The car was first registered on 27th March 1990, and was an early e30 318 iS and had a build date of 9th March 1990”¦ talk about a quick registration”¦

This is what the car looked like when we bought it (picture from the advert).


Spec list for the car


It took me about a month to actually go and see the car myself due to various other commitments, but the car itself was great.

I then took the car from my friend for a while, to use as a daily driver and that’s when things started to go wrong... well not so much wrong, I was merely highlighting any weaknesses the car had so that they could be resolved prior to taking the car onto a track. I think over the space of about 6-8 weeks the car developed a huge list of issues, i can't honestly remember the number of things that went / were on their way out in that period of time, but the bill from the mechanic was rather large, we changed brakes, suspension, bushes, oils, fluids but to name a few things... the car was running really well, the engine was fantastic as was the handling”¦. Then the real test came up”¦

The car then went to Germany and the Nurburgring, sadly I could not make it but was told that the car performed admirably, but was informed that it needed further work”¦ and so it began, we purchased some 17 inch Alloys (Azev A’s, mainly because we loved the look tbh) then, eibach Anti-roll bar kit, Willwood Big Brake Kit, Z3 Short Shifter Kit, and sure there were some more things, (oh yeah Strut brace, induction kit), but I can’t remember at the moment. All of these Mods certainly helped and then to top it all off we took the car to Hounslow Tyres, for some rubber and ended up ordering a Custom Exhaust, the only criteria being that it needed to add power to the car”¦.

[gurj247]

Nothing major was then done to the car for a number of years apart from maintenance, it subsequently went to Germany again, but with me as well this time around. Below are a selection of pictures from over the years.

At the Nurburgring




In the woods inside the Nurburgring”¦





On the roads around the Nurburgring




At the Guest house we Stayed at



Just some General Pictures back in the UK







In late Jan 2012 some little f**kers tried to nick the car, seeing it as an easy target I guess with it being an OLD car.
Thankfully the alarm did its job, but not until after they had made a right mess of the driver’s door. GRRRRRRRR


The car was then no longer used and then parked up for about 4 months with my friend (as he had space for it), to say it looked sorry for itself is an understatement, but now it is finally back on the road, back with me and now lives in my garage.


So the next step is to start to sort out the car”¦
1. Get the MOT sorted out.
2. Replace the doors (with ones I have already purchased)
3. Sort out the locks on the car using the lock repair kit I bought.
4. Trial fit the second set of Azev Alloys that I bought
5. Much more”¦.

[oomz1975]

Those Azevs look nice, can't wait to get my 16s on.

[magpie]

revival time

[gurj247]

Those Azevs look nice, can't wait to get my 16s on.

Yeah man do it.... but then again i might in the not to distant fruture have a set of 17's for sale... owning two sets of 17's might be considered greedy

revival time

Oh hell yeah!!!

Gives me something to do, can't wait for the Queens Jubilee, the whole week off work, so the lil iS will be getting some needed tlc.

[gurj247]

Get the 15" BBS back on, in my humble opinion...

+1 , i think them wheels look too big,and at the wheels are more or less all you see, your eyes draw to them and makes the car look like "background" , dont think them wheels suit the color of the car, if it were silver/grey/white, they may look better

Just for you two

Some bbs loving...

[gurj247]

So the next step is to start to sort out the car”¦
1. Get the MOT sorted out.
2. Replace the doors (with ones I have already purchased)
3. Sort out the locks on the car using the lock repair kit I bought.
4. Trial fit the second set of Azev Alloys that I bought
5. Much more”¦.

Small update on my list
Step 1 - Complete. The car got a new MOT yesterday. Sadly it did not fly through and needed some welding doing on the sills, but now that’s been done I can look forward to another year of motoring in the lil iS

Once back home I then began to give it a little clean as it was covered in dust (live on a new housing estate and lots of building going on so lots of dust) So I took it to a jet wash and gave it a good scrub for the last time, as from now on I will be washing it myself. This highlighted a lot of light surface scratches on the bodywork which I’m not too happy about which really do stand out in the sun .

[gurj247]

Small update...

So the next step is to start to sort out the car”¦
1. Get the MOT sorted out.
2. Replace the doors (with ones I have already purchased)
3. Sort out the locks on the car using the lock repair kit I bought.
4. Trial fit the second set of Azev Alloys that I bought
5. Much more”¦.

1. Car now has 12 Months MOT, happy days
2. Plan is to try and fit the replacement doors this coming week
3. As above
4. As above


So I thought I should put together a list of things that I missed from my original list above after looking over the car yesterday”¦

5. Fog light blanking plates - Need
6. Fit new stereo & rear speakers - already have these
7. passenger side full beam light - Need
8. Fit battery Isolator (added protection) - already have this but need to fit it (Cheers Yat).
9. Replace Rear bumper in Black (but will need to fix the dent in the rear passenger side first before I replace it).
10. Engine bay clean (I have some CD2 I think it’s called, so will try that).
11. Rust on drivers rear arch (New Item)
12. Wash and Detail the Car...

Thats it for now, and shall keep you all updated with progress as it happens....

On a lighter note i thought I would add some photo's that I found...

some more from Germany - Nurburgring :smt003 :smt003 :smt003



Rear Exhaust Welded (not very well ) but it stops the rattle noise it was making


A picture of my 2nd Set of Azev alloys

[gurj247]

So the work has now started....

As the Mrs was out i thought i would start with clearing and cleaning out the boot, clean the Boot Shut (think thats right) and other odds and sods..

So what happened...

Door Cards off all doors....


dreaded rust
Thankfully looks like just surface rust in the boot, any reccomendations on how to resolve it? What process? Products?



Parts that were stripped...
Door Cards - All Boot Carpets - Rear Lights - Spare Wheel

[gurj247]

So with me having the week off work, I made a start on the E30, today I fitted a Battery Isolator.



I also began a little bit of a clean, cleaning under the bonnet.
It really needed it.

Before...


After...


I also had a go at the exhaust which made a big difference..

Before...


After...

[gurj247]

So I did some further work on the 318iS

Over the course of the day the doors were changed over for an other set with the help of a friend (John, big thanks).

I do however have two problems:
1. The electrics in the passenger door do not work
2. The new doors really shows up how dull my paintwork currently is (thankfully mate has offered to help me tidy it up, with us eventually machine polishing the car)

I then gave it a little clean, it was washed, then clayed, then washed again, then paint cleaner was used, then topped off with a quick detail (didn't have time for polish and wax).

I then thought i would take some pictures of the car.