Allow myself to introduce...myself

[JPTas]

Hi guys,

I've been lurking around the zone for a while now, and thought it appropriate to introduce myself somewhat now that I've started asking questions!!

I'm in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia driving one of only 4 E30 325is in the state - a far cry from the proliferation of 325i sports you have in the UK! I'm an e30 nut and am starting to get a little more adventurous with the DIY now that I'm on my second. It's the car that I plan to keep and perfect for a very long time...

So far I've fitted Eibach sports coils, Bilstein dampers, Alpina style 16" wheels, and done a bit of a clean up. Gradually replacing a lot of cosmetic things to make it look schmich.

A few pics below, but again, it's nothing special for a lot of you! For me though, it's a dream car, and one that I had been searching for for over 3 years.

Cheers,

James.

[shedrool83]

Welcome mate,nice car

[touringandy]

welcome to the zone there tasty seats them fella

[dom-1984-320i]

welcome mate. car looks very nice, as said above..... tasty seats indeed!

[fuzzy]

welcome friend

[Frenchy]

Hello,as said before lovely looking car.

[DanThe]

What make are the wheels? Look slightly odd with the big nut centre caps

[Fal_325i]

Welcome to the zone, awesome seats you got there, what are they?

[HairyScreech]

i like those wheels, what are they?

[snoops]

welcome to the zone! the wheels look like alpinas with different centre caps? and the interior is very nice!

[greentouring]

Welcome to the zone, mate. Nice E30 and like others have pointed out, great interior!

[touringandy]

the wheels look like 16"alpinas with azev caps or bortbet caps poss

[gra325i]

welcome JP, very tidy little "30" you got there, keep up the good work

[JPTas]

Thanks guys,

Somewhat surprised so many comments on the interior - that's the bit I like least about the car!! Need to re-trim the door cards in full vinyl with the stitched lines as I think they look a lot nicer.

The seats are just the BMW sports seats re-trimmed by the previous owner - I do think they look quite good though, and extremely supportive.

The wheels are made by RG, though not quite sure who that is. Dead ringer for the Alpina wheels apart from the centre cap, which I think is kind of cool with a BMW roundel - bit different. The big nut is sort of BBS style, but I don't know where they came from as I bought them on a previous E30. Love the look and recently had the wheels refurbished and resprayed which made a huge difference.

Can I ask, do the door pockets and interior handles tend to yellow in the northern hemisphere? Mine are obviously the silber grey colour, but the pocket is quite discoloured as is the handle around the edges. Just wondered if this is purely an age thing or something to do with our sun etc like the notorious cracked dashboards (the one in the pic was sourced from the UK!)

[gareth]

i think i have the same wheels on mine, though with flat centre caps. they're just 4mm (ish) thick aluminium plate, held on with one screw, about 50mm off centre.

very very close to the 7J16 alpinas. nice and light too

[bmwowner]

welcome matey

[Pal318is]

Welcome to the Zone James....

I can't see the pic's of your car at work, as the pc is sh1te So will have a look when I get home...

Pal

[e30bmlover]

welcome mate.

[jonny320is]

Welcome mate,

Tidy car, 325is you say, is that the 2.5 engine or the 2.7 like 325is they got in south africa?

[DanThe]

very very close to the 7J16 alpinas. nice and light too

They are lighter than the gens gareth. I weighed one of mine at 7kg

I still need one btw

[gareth]

very very close to the 7J16 alpinas. nice and light too

They are lighter than the gens gareth. I weighed one of mine at 7kg

I still need one btw

still? damn!!!!

if it's of any use to you, you're welcome to my damaged one. some wheel refurbushers can do amazing things. are you coming to the pod on sunday?

didn't realise they're lighter though, sweet!

[DanThe]

Nice one

Yeah, someone posted that a 15" BBS weighs 7.5kg which I believe is the same weight as a 16" Alpina

[Falkster]

Welcome mate!!

[andye30nut]

welcome to the zone

[JPTas]

some wheel refurbushers can do amazing things.

Second that. Ran out of talent in the wet with these wheels on my old 318i coupe - smashed a good portion off the front right by using the edge of the footpath on a corner. Had it rebuilt and you'd never know.

Australian 325is is essentially a 325i 2 door with some extra bells and whistles. M-Tech kit and the like. South Africa seem to have gotten some nice 'special' beemers that no-one else got...

Thanks for the warm welcome. Continues to bamboozle me just how many E30s there are in the UK and elsewhere. Spare parts galore I bet!

[gareth]

Spare parts galore I bet!

most breakers yards will have one or two in at a time!