Alpine White 325i

[jamlid]

Hi all,

So after a lot of looking, I've finally picked up my first e30 (and first BMW!) and I'm over the moon!

So my history is basically in mk2 Golfs mainly. Ventured either side of the mk2 but didn't get on too well.. I've been driving a 2001 Polo for a couple of years, which has been great! Reliable, soooo cheap to run and comfortable! Now that I'm not using a car for commuting and before I get tied down to a mortgage, etc. I thought I'd go for something a bit more fun!

So the car.. It's a 1991 325i, 110k on the clock and it is IMMACULATE! The only rust I've found so far is a tiny bit of surface rust on both sills where two pieces join together? Should be really easy to sort that out. The car has been garaged it's whole life and owned by a lady doctor for most of it so the service history is incredibly extensive!

The car has PAS, Electric windows, mirrors, sunroof and ABS. I didn't even know you could get ABS on an e30 til he showed me.

Anyway, here are the pictures:












I have a few problems that need addressing and could do with some advice:

The right side bulb on the clocks has gone. I've been told it's really easy to replace?

The speedo cable or the cogs in the speedo are abnormally loud

Drivers seat doesn't pull forward. Seller reckons it's possibly a snapped cable.. any suggestions/where to get replacement cable?

I can hear what sounds like an air whooshing noise coming from the rear of the car. It does have pop-out windows.. are the seals prone to going on these?

It needs a full service.. What's recommended for engine, gearbox and diff oil?

What's involved in a diff service? Just replacing the oil? Is it difficult to do?


Thanks

[jamlid]

Oh! A few extra questions.. In the photo of the dash/heater controls, etc. there's a little symbol and it looks like it's telling me NOT to have the heater controls in that position? Is that right? Why?

Also I've found I can only get hot air to come out of the windscreen vents and not the main blowers.. Any ideas?

[Duke137]

Lovely looking car! you need to take some time and look in the e30 wiki (tab at the top of the forum page) as the majority of your question answers are in there

[B7]

I saw this for sale, Think Blitz posted it. A very nice car. Should remain as such as well.

When you say the seat doesn't move forward, you mean slide on it's runners or tilt forward to let people i the back? If it's the latter it will probably be a cable. if its' the former then it'll just need some greasing up and working loose.

[jamlid]

Thanks The seat won't tilt forward to let people in the back. I can't seem to find anything on that issue in the Wiki. Would I need a new cable direct from BMW?

[polsta]

looks nice this !!!

remove the seat back via the screws at the bottom and have a look and youl see the cable/whats not working, also hold the seat sides of the top half,and see if it lifts a bit to either side,as sometimes the bracket can snap, not a hard fix

[Topblag]

Never heard of noisy clocks before, that's a new one. Changing the clocks is easy, probably a wiki article around getting them out. Much easier with the steering wheels out and easy to change the mileage to match the mileage of your car if you find a man who can.

[MattTheHat325]

Regards the symbol by the heater controls, you'll notice the windscreen demist above it. It's just telling you which position the sliders need to be in, in order to demist the screen. And the little circles either side of it are telling you to crank the heat and fan dials up to max

[The_Diddler]

Nice looking car, i bet your over the moon, i would be

I'm pretty sure that cars J xxx SRX were all registered to BMW UK directly when new, don't know why, i'm sure somebody will be along who knows for sure.

Have fun with it, and your in the right place for any advise you'll need too, welcome.

[capri_rob]

I'm pretty sure that cars J xxx SRX were all registered to BMW UK directly when new, don't know why, i'm sure somebody will be along who knows for sure.

Pretty sure you're right mate - several press cars had GRX prefixes - My touring carried a GRX prefix when it was new but had a plate change for some reason.

[jamlid]

That's interesting!! Ill look into that a bit more.

Thanks for the advice on the seat. With the loud speedo, ill try disconnecting the speedo and see how it sounds. Must tackle the more important issues first!

I've also noticed the clutch feels really heavy and getting into gear isn't as easy as I'd like. Having never driven one of these before, I'm not sure what to expect with the servo assisted clutch..

[SteSE]

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=234919

[jamlid]

Haha, that's the one! Totally worth the travelling to pick this up.

[jamlid]

So I gave it a good clean inside and out, blackened the plastics and tyres, then took it to get a new cambelt and water pump.
 

 

 

 

 

[mani]

Perfect example of a white coupe mate nice one .

[Alex]

Looks like a proper Chariot this one

get them nasty aero wipers off

[jamlid]

Thanks Alex, I like the aeros though! Maybe not original but they do a damn good job of wiping!

So I've had the last few days off work so got a few jobs done. Took the rocker cover off and painted it black. Didn't turn out too well as I should have sanded the raised areas to be perfectly smooth first. Ended up having to sand it loads after painting to remove the paint that worked its way into the grooves. I'll re-do this at some point.



Also replaced the blue temp sensor which was a pain in the arse! Couldn't get any sockets to fit over the plug, plus the injector wiring unit thing was in the way. Got there eventually!


My driver's side seat wouldn't tilt forward either. Expected to find a snapped cable but it was just a bit slack. I removed it, then tightened it up by twisting it a couple of times then putting it back on. Works perfectly!




I also noticed today that over a certain RPM, the engine is a lot louder, tappier and not very nice sounding..er. I'm not sure if that's just the noisy injectors working harder? Click below for a video:



Also washed, clayed and waxed the car. The paint was heavily contaminated and had a lot of little brown spots on that looked like rust. Glad they came off with a bit of elbow grease! Also went over the bottom of the doors and the wheels with Iron-X, then gave them a coat of poorboys wheel sealant. Great stuff!

Unfortunately no photos since all that (yet)


Plans coming up are.. coilovers - Ordered them today.. Also ordering a new steering giubo as I believe that may be the cause of some issues I'm having. Getting a set of inlet and TB gaskets for when I strip it all down to paint, etc.

I also need to investigate the TPS as I tested it today and it doesn't seem to be working properly! It would explain why it won't read my fault codes when I perform the "stomp test"

[bhups]

I owned this car briefly!

[jamlid]

Oh right! When? Know anything interesting about it? The service history is crazy

[jamlid]

So some more work done on the engine bay..



Also painted the TB, AFM and some brackets. Cleaned out the TPS while it was off and drilled a hole. I still don't think the TPS is working properly though.

Manifold out..



Parts drying in the sun. Fitting new inlet gaskets and TB gasket too.







I also painted the brake servo after wire brushing it, gave the fuel rail a lick of paint too.. but ended up somehow getting paint all over my windscreen and a bit on the paint.. clay bar sorted that out though

So far, this car is a joy to work on!

[jamlid]

So I went to a vintage car show in Wortley today. Great day out! Spotted this beauty and had a chat with the owner. It lives in one of those car bubbles through the Winter months and is stunning!






I took a few snaps of mine while I was there:











And one with another e30

[bhups]

Looks lovely mate.

[tonybtonyb]

Looks lovely

[jamlid]

Thanks! Anyone know how I can get that yellow-ish film off the bay/strut turrets? Supposedly they used a special solvent in the dealers when new..