My 325i se

[chatstar123]

Picked this car up at the end of last year and finally got round to putting some photos up. It's a very clean example that I plan to drive in the summer only and will keep it original (ish).

[Cloggy Saint]

That looks like a very nice example.

[martauto]

Thats really worth keeping as original as poss,cool car you have there mate.
Mart.

[ah]

From where I'm sitting That looks the nuts.when you say ish I hope in my opinion ,your not going to make big changes as it looks the biss as it is.

[chatstar123]

I've got some genuine staggered Alpina wheels to put on and it was already lowered when I bought it but everything else will most likely stay as is.

[shedrool83]

I like that.

[MickoE30]

Lovely.

Do you know what the suspension set up is / how much it is lowered by?

It sits perfect.

[brettski]

Did you buy this from Burton on Trent?

[chatstar123]

Not sure how much its lowered by but I had a quick look the other day and it has H&r springs and shocks. It's in a lock up but next time I go up there I'll have a proper look.

I bought it from Leicester.

[BHadley]

That does look just right in my eyes, very nice example geez

[chatstar123]

Had a look at the suspension set-up and appears to be H&r cup kit part number 31003-1

[SeanOB]

phwoarrr, that does look good!

[chatstar123]

Got the alpinas on today so took a picture outside and went for a spin as it was dry today.

[martauto]

Looks even better with the new wheels if its possible to do.lol



Mart.

[pipeuy]

Insanely clean car! Makes me miss my Diamond Schwarz car. Any plans for it?

[chatstar123]

Thanks, I'm very happy with it. The next step for me is to go over it with a fine toothed comb and fix all the little issue that I will no doubt find. Only change I may make is performance exhaust but I am undecided at the moment

[ah]

I'm a big Oem fan but those Alpinas seriouly set that car off !

[chatstar123]

Got a bit carried away today. Started doing the cambelt then next thing I knew had the head off. Now I'm thinking of changing the piston rings and con rod bearings so I will have no engine worries for a few years!

[DanThe]

Nice unmolsted example
A complete refurb of the head will be a good job done on its own

[Brianmoooore]

I'm with DanThe on this one. After a quick look through the thread, I didn't see what mileage it has on it, but as long as it hasn't be seriously abused, I'd expect everything in that bottom end to still be within factory tolerances. It was on a 200,000+ mile example I stripped down once. Can't see in the pic., but I'd expect the cross hatch honing marks still to be visible on the bores.
Take the head to a good machine shop and they'll probably recommend new exhaust valve guides, refacing of the inlet and exhaust valve seats, plus a light recut of the valve seats in the head and a light skim of the deck.
Take the exhaust manifold along as well, have them check that for flatness, and have them skim it if needed. Fit new exhaust studs, plus copper coated nuts, and you're good to go.
Put it all back together with new stretch head bolts, new cam belt and idler, new water pump, new thermostat, check that the coolant bleed screw works, check the hoses are all good (especially the small one from the back of the head to the heater (it lives a hard life)), remove the large hex drain plug on the exhaust side of the block, at the front, (just hidden by the towel), fill the cooling system with water, and flush out the lock cooling jacket.
Replace the plug, fill the system carefully with coolant, then fire it up, having first read up on the possibility of an air lock and what to do about it.

[chatstar123]

After having a sleep on it I decided against the bottom end refurb. Bores looked fine and doesn't burn any oil or make funny noises. Mileage is 168000 but seems to have been well looked after. I will do as you suggest and get the head and manifold looked at. I got carried away because as I stripped away for cambelt removal I found various hoses that needed replacing and things like the plastic cover on the camshaft sprocket cracked, couple of snapped bolts etc so I kept going. Plus my missus was out for the day so thought I'd spend as much time on the car as possible. Thanks for the advice. Is there an easy way to remove the big bolt on the crankshaft pulley? Can I get away with a big crowbar in the fly wheel teeth or is it too tight for that? I'm sure I found a thread somewhere on here an someone used the starter motor with a breaker bar on the bolt but not sure I fancy that.

[Brianmoooore]

Why do you want to remove that bolt if you're not stripping the bottom end?

[chatstar123]

I was going to change the oil seal.

[Cypriotgeeza]

Nice! Nothing like a good refurb to freshen the old girl up!

Always drives alot nicer afterwards too!

Keep us posted with the updates mate

[Brianmoooore]

I was going to change the oil seal.

Not known for giving trouble. The only time they leak is when the piston rings are worn/broken and/or the crankcase ventilation system is blocked, but if you insist, the accepted method of undoing the bolt, in the absence of a big rattle gun, is to put a wooden block on the inner chassis rail, a ring spanner on the bolt NOT lying on the block, then engage the starter motor. There will be a big bang, and hopefully the bolt will loosen.

[chatstar123]

Thanks, will do. I drove reasonably well before but wanted to change some parts for peace of mind. Glad I did because a couple of hoses weren't going to last much longer and the thermostat housing was slowly corroding at the lower hose connection points. I'm looking forward to getting out in the summer.

Cheers Brian. I don't know if the seal is leaking but there's a lot of oil around most of which is coming from the rocker cover gasket and those rubber bungs. I was thinking of changing everything accessible while I'm balls deep. Might give that one a miss though if that's the accepted method.

[SeanOB]

Great plan!
Another one worth adding to the list while you are in there is the camshaft seal and o-ring. Seems to be more likely to be leaky than the crank one. I changed the metal carrier for the seal as well.

couple useful pics over here https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showth ... p?t=351942

[chatstar123]

Thanks Sean. I've got these, I'd initially bought the seal only but now have the oring as well. Should be going back together this weekend. Fingers crossed no issues!

[chatstar123]

Got the car MOT'd this week so back on the road. No pictures of the car but a pic of 1 of the reasons I haven't driven it for a year enjoying the car.

[martauto]

You cant start them young enough

Mart.

[chatstar123]

I just hope i can keep it going long enough so that he can drive it one day.