325 touring in Brilliant Red -Picture update 10/3/13

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AlfieN
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Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:15 pm

hello all

yesterday i finally purchased a car i have been lusting after for a little while.

i always wanted an e30 touring in red, and after a good tax rebate i was finally in a position to find one.

this came up on gumtree, and when i looked the advert had been posted literally 2 minutes beforIehand.
some would say it was fate :D

i went to view it, and when i saw it i fell in love.
i made an offer and the owner accepted!


rundown of the spec as i purchased it:
325 touring in brilliant red
sport leather recaros and black leather interior
lowered (dont know how much just yet)
alpina rep wheels
Mtec bumpers
full scorpion stainless exhaust
not a lot of rust
325 sport LSD

of course, i picked it up cheaply so there are some niggles which i will be sorting out over the next few weeks:
small oil leak from the top rocker cover bolt
lsd doesnt seem to be in great condition
nasty brightly painted rocker cover / inlet manifold
nasty white dials / blue LED illumination
no interior lights work
brake check light comes up when started up
slight misfire when started up

i will post some better pictures this weekend, as well as updating as i go

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Last edited by AlfieN on Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:06 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Sex should be like drifting...
Fast, dangerous, and loud enough that neighbours complain!
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dirtee-herbert
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Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:19 pm

this looks very nice mate. im pretty jealous :D
Sanchez
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Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:20 pm

looks like a good base.

Nice one. :cool:
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jimbom30cab
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Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:26 pm

nice car that, i bet you dye the carpets black to match the interior.

Great seats :)
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NickSuzy
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 4:54 am

I do like a red touring, rare as rocking horse sh1t in Australia though. Means I will just have to keep dreaming on having one.
jmc330i
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:04 am

Nice car 8) Usual zone response though of remove the eyebrows and black kidneys IMO.

The brake check light will come on every time the ignition is turned on and will go out after you brake if both bulbs are working.

NickSuzy wrote:I do like a red touring, rare as rocking horse sh1t in Australia though. Means I will just have to keep dreaming on having one.
If your weather is as sunny as we are led to believe, a brilliant red E30 will turn pink within a week. Mine is bad enough over here 8O lol
James
'91 325i Sport
'93 318i touring 16v
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AlfieN
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:10 am

So the check light is normal then?
That's one worry off my mind. like I said, I am new to BMWs :D

I am in two minds about the front end. I like the black kidneys so they will be staying, but I am unsure wether I like the eyebrows or not. I'll leave them on for now, but they are easy enough to remove if I change my mind.

Luckily the paint is still in fairly good nick, although if it is sunny this weekend I will get the poor boys colour restoring compound and polishes and waxes on it to try and bring it up some more.

Dying the carpet is a nice idea, is it fairly easy to do?
Anyone else tried it?

In other news, I've already started spending money on the car :)
As you can see from the pictures the tail lights have been tinted red by the previous owner. However, the indicators now flash a reddish orange.
Last night I purchased some Orange LED indicator bulbs to replace the standard ones with, as these should shine through orange again. It worked on my punto when I tinted the rears all red, so fingers crossed should do the same on this.
Sex should be like drifting...
Fast, dangerous, and loud enough that neighbours complain!
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Chris_B86
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:41 am

Very jealous, pretty much exactly what I want for my daily
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1990 E30 325i Sport Sterling Silber
1999 E36 323i Sport Touring Techno Violet
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AlfieN
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 12:23 pm

Initially I was after an e28 520i, but this came up within budget and I had to have it!
Sex should be like drifting...
Fast, dangerous, and loud enough that neighbours complain!
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dirtee-herbert
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 12:31 pm

AlfieN wrote:In other news, I've already started spending money on the car :)
As you can see from the pictures the tail lights have been tinted red by the previous owner. However, the indicators now flash a reddish orange.
Last night I purchased some Orange LED indicator bulbs to replace the standard ones with, as these should shine through orange again. It worked on my punto when I tinted the rears all red, so fingers crossed should do the same on this.
I have read on other threds that you will get better results using a green bulb with a red tint. this combination should make the light flash orange. :)
Splondike
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 12:33 pm

As said that looks like a decent car. I will keep an eye out for this as you are local :)
Mark.
G-Bear
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 2:10 pm

Great find. I'd love to get black leather sports seats in my touring but have to spend my money on it in other areas first.

Keep the updates coming.
eko
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 2:52 pm

Look forward to seeing what you do to it :cool:
Last edited by eko on Wed Mar 06, 2013 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tonybtonyb
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Tue Mar 05, 2013 11:30 pm

Very nice :cool:
They don't make bm's like this anymore!..They should.
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oomz1975
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Wed Mar 06, 2013 8:04 pm

Looks nice & solid, look out for the side pods for the mtec kit to finish off the exterior.
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AlfieN
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Thu Mar 07, 2013 9:25 am

I am gonna keep a look out for some, I get the feeling they're gonna be pretty hard to come by.
Is it the saloon ones I need, or are they all the same?

Progress will probably be pretty slow as I can only update at weekends at the moment, due to the fact that the car is back in Medway, and I rent a house in Hamstreet during the week.
This may all change when I get the touring insured though :)
Sex should be like drifting...
Fast, dangerous, and loud enough that neighbours complain!
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Chris_B86
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Thu Mar 07, 2013 9:30 am

Let me know if you get bored and want to sell it :)
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1990 E30 325i Sport Sterling Silber
1999 E36 323i Sport Touring Techno Violet
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AlfieN
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Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:00 pm

If I do decide to sell it I want to tidy it up first as there are lots of little niggles that need attention :)
Sex should be like drifting...
Fast, dangerous, and loud enough that neighbours complain!
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Chris_B86
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Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:03 pm

Just save the time and effort and sell it to me haha
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1990 E30 325i Sport Sterling Silber
1999 E36 323i Sport Touring Techno Violet
mani
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Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:07 am

That looks lovely mate nice one
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AlfieN
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Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:34 am

Right.
Had a look this weekend, took lots of photos and wrote out a nice list of niggles to sort.

Completely forgot to take my LED indicator bulbs home though (doh!) so that job didn't get done.
Will give it a go this weekend.

Found out that it actually doesn't have a shimmed LSD diff like I was told when buying, it is just a welded. I will keep it for potential future use, but for now I am on the lookout for a 3.64 or 3.46 open mid case diff to drop the revs at motorway speed, until such a time where I can afford an LSD.

Enough of the talk, here are some better pictures.
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Here is the tragically awful nasty brightly painted engine bay...
The inlet mani will probably get painted VHT silver or black, the AFM setup again in VHT black, and maybe something more interesting but subtle for the rocket cover.
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The worst of the rust (from what I've found so far)
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Interior now.
Generally it's in very good nick, just little odds and ends that need sorting. The worst bit being the wear on the sport seat. However, I am in talks with a local re-upholsterers about getting some replacement panels done.
Other than that it is just niggles such as it could do with a good con. cigarette lighter, needs a new rear ashtray and rear door sill trim on the drivers side etc.
Also I am thinking of selling the steering wheel as its a bit big, ideally I want a smaller one to gain that little bit extra leg room (I am 6ft6 and 21st after all!)

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Boot area now.
The side panels have the mtec stripes on, are these rare?
However one of the handles is snapped. :(
They look like they are replaceable though, so I have a nice list of handles and trim bits and clips to get from a breakers.
Also have a nasty rip in one side part :/
Im not sure if it's repairable but if not i'll see about replacing it.
Also all needs a good clean to get rid of the scrapes and marks, any suggestions?

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Now onto the part that worries me the most.
The exhaust seems to have had the mother of all bodges to mount it.
This is the only major bodge I've found so far. Hopefully it doesnt get worse from here.
I noticed the exhaust bouncing about, so got down to have a look.
The backbox doesn't look to have had any mounts on it, so somebody has welded a new bracket on (very, very badly) to the box, and the other end to the spare wheel well, using a dodgy bent bolt :eek: :eek:
Anyway. Box end, the weld bad broken causing bounciness.
Will be taking it down the exhaust centre soon and getting a different box and decent brackets I think.
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That's all for now, more update as and when they happen.
Last edited by AlfieN on Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
Sex should be like drifting...
Fast, dangerous, and loud enough that neighbours complain!
G-Bear
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Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:11 am

Thats welded bracket to the spare wheel well looks nasty.. I'd get that ground off rust treated and undersealed. Get a pair of proper exhaust brackets. Even from the dealers they're about £15 ish (I think) each.

Looking good though. I'd have a good inspection of the rear panel though for rust... Get the carpets out in the boot and have a good prod where it meets the floor pan..
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AlfieN
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Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:15 am

Have had a look for rust inside, I think there's two badly patched squares to the sides of the spare wheel well but they will be cut out.
Also some along the bottom edge of the boot hatch too but from what I read that was to be expected.

There is some water ingress too, will do some more investigating this weekend
Sex should be like drifting...
Fast, dangerous, and loud enough that neighbours complain!
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AlfieN
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Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:08 pm

Also, regarding the rear side panels I have with the mtec stripes; are these quite rare, and should I consider trying to rejuvenate them with new clips and handles and a clean up etc, or should I just replace them?
Sex should be like drifting...
Fast, dangerous, and loud enough that neighbours complain!
Cloggy Saint
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Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:27 pm

AlfieN wrote:Also, regarding the rear side panels I have with the mtec stripes; are these quite rare, and should I consider trying to rejuvenate them with new clips and handles and a clean up etc, or should I just replace them?
Extremely rare, I suspect you have the only set!
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Cloggy Saint
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Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:27 pm

AlfieN wrote:Also, regarding the rear side panels I have with the mtec stripes; are these quite rare, and should I consider trying to rejuvenate them with new clips and handles and a clean up etc, or should I just replace them?
Extremely rare, I suspect you have the only set! Those panels should be the same material as the boot-liner, they've been "re-trimmed" at some stage.
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