E30 design faults...

[Cypriotgeeza]

Dumb cardboard panel under the steering wheel.

+1!!!! Specially when driving...hit a pothole..down comes panel onto your legs giving you a mini heart attack when you cant brake haha

[BEERBOY123]

Dumb cardboard panel under the steering wheel.

+1!!!! Specially when driving...hit a pothole..down comes panel onto your legs giving you a mini heart attack when you cant brake haha

Not just me coasting to rest with the handbrake then!

Bloody dangerous!

[adit]

if the pedal board was fixed properly, it wouldn't fall down
it has SIX fixings. it is (or at least, should be) secured with three screws at the front, one underneath, one at the bottom left (on the steering column) and at the bottom right, above the acc. pedal

[nickso]

Being a bit harsh on a car that was designed in the very early eighties aren't we? Compare it to some of the other turds on offer and it's likely streets ahead.

Every car has it's foibles but the E30 has few major ones. At least it's a piece of pish to work on.

[Ranchero]

if the pedal board was fixed properly, it wouldn't fall down
it has SIX fixings. it is (or at least, should be) secured with three screws at the front, one underneath, one at the bottom left (on the steering column) and at the bottom right, above the acc. pedal

Mine is actually fixed in place with all requisite fixings. It's just that when I remove it to work on something it conceals, it makes me think of something the Blue Peter team have knocked up out of a cornflake box and sticky back plastic.

Same goes for the handbrake panel for that matter. Cheap and nasty.

[DanThe]

I love do love the fact that BEERBOYS usual attempt to cause friction on the zone hasnt worked

Not this time, just interested in little foibles to be aware of. Wonder what was wrong with the RHD conversion as mentioned on here? Seems a good job to me?

Offset pedals and the stupid crank arm mechanism for the brakes, and a separate resevoir for the clutch fluid, handbrake on te wrong side of the centre console.

A rhd one isn't horrible or anything, but try a lhd car and everything feels much more natural, including having a footrest on the wheel well which means the pedals don't all have to be shoved over.

I agree with the pedal position offset but once your feet are there and get used to being over slightly its fine, the only other option is a modified transmission tunnel or no clutch foot rest which was never going to happen.
Id rather have a LHD handbrake trim than a LHD wiper setup which you get with a lot of later cars!

[breakermart]

yeah my worst experiance with an e30 was with the cardboard trim above the pedals, it fell down wile i was flying along and needed to slow for a roundabout. had to kick the living hell out of it as it got wedged. my foot was killing me after. think my ar*e hole chewed a new hole into my seat. needless to say it never got fitted after as it was thrown out the window and i felt i could then relax again.

[Blitz]

No car is perfect. You can pick faults with any car especially when they are old.

[capri_rob]

if the pedal board was fixed properly, it wouldn't fall down
it has SIX fixings. it is (or at least, should be) secured with three screws at the front, one underneath, one at the bottom left (on the steering column) and at the bottom right, above the acc. pedal

Adi have you got/can you get a pic of all the correct fixing types and exactly where they mount to - such a common problem and realoem isnt clear - would be a useful addition to the Wiki

Mine has a plastic clip at the bottom of the steering column that it slots into, a metal clip on the bulkhead above the accellerator pedal that it pushes into and the 3 x dash plastic plugs

I understand there is some sort of plug/screw that goes into the steering column surround too but didnt know there is another one above the accellerator pedal ?

[adit]

Adi have you got/can you get a pic of all the correct fixing types and exactly where they mount to - such a common problem and realoem isnt clear - would be a useful addition to the Wiki

Mine has a plastic clip at the bottom of the steering column that it slots into, a metal clip on the bulkhead above the accellerator pedal that it pushes into and the 3 x dash plastic plugs

I understand there is some sort of plug/screw that goes into the steering column surround too but didnt know there is another one above the accellerator pedal ?

Hi Rob
the one you mention above the accelerator pedal is the one i was referring to.
yes, there is a plastic screw (similar to the front three, but with a larger head) which fits halfway down the board, into the steering column
(one free with with every set of Alpinas )

[capri_rob]

Not forgot Adi - cashflow is still tight but they are on my list - I'm working on it

[HJG-E30]

yeah my worst experiance with an e30 was with the cardboard trim above the pedals, it fell down wile i was flying along and needed to slow for a roundabout. had to kick the living hell out of it as it got wedged. my foot was killing me after. think my ar*e hole chewed a new hole into my seat. needless to say it never got fitted after as it was thrown out the window and i felt i could then relax again.

This really made me laugh!! Because 5 minutes after I picked mine up this happened to me!

Another design fault.... Dim dashboard lights. And yes all my bulbs work and I have adjusted the rotating headlight pull-switch to full brightness

[Speedtouch]

Another slight niggle I used to find with mine were moss growing in the sunroof felt seal, or polish would get trapped in it if you polished the roof.

Also it would allow a fair bit of wind noise in (sometimes you could hear it vibrate), even with the sunroof shut.

That, and fading red paint.

[E30316]

Chromie rear bumper bolts 2 in the boot fine 2 behind rear valance in the line of fire from 20+ years of mud and salt not good.

[breakermart]

Chromie rear bumper bolts 2 in the boot fine 2 behind rear valance in the line of fire from 20+ years of mud and salt not good.

yeah 2 plastic caps wouldnt have killed bmw's budget would it