So here it is.... an E30 M3 for me! Now sold.

[M3Jim]

Well done, looks like a bargain! Didn't realise you worked at ML, just down the road from me.

[anothere21323i]

Thanks!

No the ravaglia/Ceccotto wheel colour is not going to stay. Most likely go silver but I might go nagaro centred.

I've got a set of original E30 M3 7x15 stud BBSs if you wanted to have a correct looking set of spares Barry.

[macas]

Fantastic buy!

Will you be adding some more "options" to it like your sport(air con,heated seats etc)or leaving it totally as it came from the factory?

[bss325i]

Thanks guys. Yes been at ML about 18 months now and it's not a bad place to work!

Tony, macas, I've no inclination to keep the car completely OEM so I'll pass on the wheels thanks.

Already got all the hardware to fit 13 button OBC and the LHD specific loom and a compete cruise control kit are coming from the same guy in the states that's sending the rot free front floor sections and these additions will most likely not be the only ones.

If it were a low mileage cream puff then it would be a different story.

[jonesy318]

Looks good mate, If youre fitting a 13 button obc are you going to be getting rid of that 6 button one?
If so id be keen to have it..

[Mitchen]

Went out in this today! What a beast! My first M3 experience! The power is awesome, and he hasnt even done anything to it yet!

[Willeh]

Where is the line for passenger rides and who do I need to throat-punch to get to the front? Sweet car, especially for that price.

[bss325i]

Thanks guys. Regards the 6 button OBC, it may be for sale at some point.

So this week a had the mirrors painted up as the visually astute will have noticed that one mirror was black and the other was tatty, a bit like the rest of the car!



Turns out they are heated and also the washer jets and drivers door lock. I guess the "winter pack" was standard on UK spec E30 M3's as its not on the spec sheet from BMW and I doubt its been retro fitted.

Either way bonus!





So yesterday I whipped the cam cover off for a peek and to check the valve clearances which were all within spec at .28mm or .30mm. It also appeared to be pretty clean in there and from what I can gather its had a timing chain job done on it.



Cam sprockets looked to be in good shape and I removed and inspected the top guide rail which had barely any ware which again goes some way to back up the chain replacement. It's also got an S50 tensioner fitted.



So after that it was time for it's first MOT test since jan 2009, having only covered 300 odd miles since then!

It passed with a couple of advisories, for an engine oil leak which appears to be lower sump gasket and corrosion within a prescribed area which was the poorly repaired front floor sections.



So it's taxed, mot'd and back on the road for the first time in 5 years. A B road blast was the well over due so I enjoyed what these cars are all about this morning!

[Kedge]

Good stuff Barry, nice little bonus regarding the timing chain to!

[B7]

It will be looking a little bit better by end of play Tuesday as it's sat on my drive awaiting a quick make over. Nothing OTT but just to put a shine back on it and lose the shitty grime it's gathered over the years of standing about.

Just driven it back from Barry's and it do drive nice.

[Strugs]

Nice.. Very nice!

[jimbom30cab]

Looking forward to seeing this after Trev's magic

[87mtech27]

The more I look at this the more I like it, the black on white looks wicked.

[Demlotcrew]

Bazza, those sprockets don't look like they were replaced and the upper guide never wears, not even on high mileage engines.

Wonder if it fell foul to the ML timing chain 'maintenance' schedule?

[DanThe]

You can see there is some wear but it doesnt look bad at all, maybe the invoice is in a filing cabinet somewhere?

[e30topless]

Donk looks nice and clean in there ! all she needs is a carbon air box and Alpha N ..

BTW Bazza I have these in stock

[bss325i]

Andrew, the cam sprockets would not have been replaced during a chain job unless they were worn.

I am told it had a chain job way back in the Barney/Tony Halse days of ML but am trying to verify this.

Understand its the tensioning rails that wear the most but lookig at the vertical guide and the upper one with barely any, the cleanliness of the engine for the mileage would suggest it's been apart.

An oil pressure test will be done at some point this week as well and I'm going to take a peek at the big ends and mains before the ring trip.

Steve, drop me a pm with details please as it is something I do want for the turd.

[Demlotcrew]

Actually and this is something I have not yet shared, but in regards to the two tension rails they are not so easy to diagnose for wear, why? well the chain is a roller chain, it needs to cut groves in to the guides before the rollers start to make contact and take up the load and thus the two side guides unless cracking and falling to pieces can be used again with a new chain without issue and generally result in quieter engines as modern oils are so good the guides don't 'bed' in for a long while causing a whine from the chain links running over the fresh uncut guides especially apparent with S50 tensioners.

So an untrained eye could open an S14 and see the guides have groves in them and automatically conclude they are worn and need replacing, but actually many can go again.

Also, S50 tensioners have an oil hole which in all instances is not used, I will probably drill my guides when I do the 2.7l, I know the chain is lubricated from the bottom guide, but still its a waste not to have the oil coming out the upper half of the guide.

[DanThe]

Id have expected them to have a groove in them from new if that was the case?

[Demlotcrew]

Many do Dan, just BMW decided not to on the S14.

Porsche and Honda guides.

[DanThe]

What you usually find is that by the time the chain has worn a groove the engine will have done over 100k miles and the plastic will have become very brittle from all the heat cycles

[Demlotcrew]

Thats the thing, back in the day the chains were cutting their own groves very very quickly! I recently did an engine which had only done 10k max after getting new guides and the links had cut deep enough for the rollers to take up the load. It would explain why the guides do not continue to wear and just break up as you said. Although the S14 guides are not faced with plastic, its some sort of rubber type composition.

[B7]

Delivering the old turd back to him tonight. I'll let you guys see it before he does

As stated, it had been sitting about for some time. It was pretty dire as these typical shots show:













So fist off was a pressure wash to sort out the urgent areas. Using a fairly strong TFR mix, the drive went white! The paint was so dead it literally was coming of as watered down dust.



The shite was blasted away which left us with:







I then hit it with the clay bar and that went white also and picked up shed loads of contaminate!



Followed by a quick machine polish and a wax with AG SRP. As Barry says it's going to get the works and as we know polishing a turd is hard work so it really was a quick tidy up to make it a nicer car to use and easier to wash down on a weekly basis. As I was going round I touched in any obvious scratches and chips to take your eye away from them. But overall I reckon it was well worth it. Lets see what he thinks tonight. I does finally have a good shine which is what was aimed for.











I love white but it's a bastard to photograph!

[faissalo]

[Demlotcrew]

Looks good Trev, what TFR do you use?

[B7]

I buy it by the 25 litre drum Andrew. To be honest I never seem to be able to buy the same type twice. I always go for a concentrate. This batch is a touch lame compared to the last which was fucking vicious!! It would literally strip the skin off your hands.

[pacerpete]

Paedotastic !

[bmandy68]

Looking good lads,keep up the good work .

[bss325i]

Managed to see this just before it got dark and what can I say? It looks like a different car!

Obviously if you look close there a issues but it's a damn site better than it was and looks tidy enough until it gets a bare shell resto.

Thanks Trev!

[Jon_Bmw]

Jealous.

On the bucket list.

[e30topless]

I buy it by the 25 litre drum Andrew. To be honest I never seem to be able to buy the same type twice. I always go for a concentrate.

Give these a try Trev, their super green is seriously amazing and harmless to paint,
http://www.jennychem.com/

Nice work ! who says you can't polish a turd

[Willeh]

Could I be cheeky and ask how much it cost all-in, and how long it took?

[B7]

Could I be cheeky and ask how much it cost all-in, and how long it took?

It was squeezed in as a favour on mates rates. I spent just over a day on it.

[bss325i]

While the sun was out I popped out to a spot up the road from work on the Ashdown Forrest to take a few snaps.

[Mitchen]

******* amazing! I'm so jealous of this!