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

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: So here it is.... an E30 M3 for me!
    Posted: 21 Feb 2015 at 10:38pm
Originally posted by bss325i bss325i wrote:

Well, what can i say?! Have always wanted an E30 M3 but for one reason or another i've not bought one until now.
Kind of missed the boat when sensible priced ones were the norm so fast forward to now and the opportunity of one came up as the long term owner (more on that later) had laid the car up for some time and had finally decided to part with it.

Built in Feb 1987 and oddly first registered as an original UK car in Jan 1988 supplied by MLG Chiswick in London as a completely basic spec car.


S300A Emergency spare wheel
L812A NATIONAL VERSION GREAT BRITAIN
S850A Additional Export tank filling
S853A Language version English
S860A Additional turn indicator lamp

So that means non sunroof and manual windows, coupled with the non metalic Alpine white paint makes it all most "motorsport light weight" drivers spec!

Possible goes some way to explain why it remained unsold for nearly a year?

The car has remained a London car all its life as the original owner from Harlesden in North London sold it when it was 5 months old to the guy i bought it from who came from Fulham, SW London so its virtually a one owner car, all most unheard of with E30 M3's and pretty incredible that he owed it for 27 years!

Mileage is 174k which is high'ish for one of these but for what i have planned for the car it does not matter... more on that later.

So - some pics!





It is pretty rough around the edges to be honest but most importantly of all is its not a troweled up shiny snotter like quite a few E30 M3's are now and its honest with what looks to be all original paint.
Being a non sunroof car means one less potential rust area to worry about and after a look over the car on the ramp and dropping the knee roll and glove box, the bulk head look to be ok.


The scuttle is solid but has these bubble which will grow a bit when ground back.




As you can see the engine bay is very scabby and unsightly but it would not take much effort to improve this for the time being.



No big fist holes in the inner rear arches which is nice and surprisingly both the boot and interior remain damp free, no condensating up, no mould or anything and it has been outside for sometime!



The worst bits! Clearly the square lifting pads have succumbed to tin worm at some point and some craftsman has patched them up no doubt for a MOT. Nasty!

Hence my wanted ad for donor front floor sections.


Oddly, the front seats have been replaced. The original trim is Country "houndstooth" but the fronts are now a pair of Uberkaro RHD seats from a cabrio.

Maybe there were some bucket type seats at some point and the current pair were chucked in to replace them at some point?

Other non original items include the 16" BBS black centred wheels from a Ceccotto edition M3 and some Bilstein B8 shocks and eibach springs. Bonus!

There also looks to be a recent replacement genuine rear silencer and front calipers.

So where does that leave me?

Obviously the car needs a bare shell resto and the long term plan is to do just that but i do not want to steam staight into that without actually enjoying the car and forming a bond with it, something that needs to happen for spending thousands of pound and hours turning it into something that will last.

So, the plan is to make it safe, reliable and get it through an MOT so i can use it as a daily, yes that's right a daily as well as get a bit of track time.

I need to pull my finger out as well because i am off to the Ring with this in 8 weeks! 8O 

Soooo, after a mooch round it again today the list of things to do to get it usable are,

New pads and discs
All new handbrake hardware
Braided brake hose kit
Drop links all round
Rear axle bushes
A pair of wish bones
Rear top mounts
A pair of track rods
Replace all fuel hoses
Replace both belts
Inspection 2 including all fluids
Refurb injectors
New battery
Weld front floors
New oil cooler pipes as they are crusty and the last thing i want is it dumping all its oil on Track at the ring as thats not cheap!

Hopefully most of this will be done in the next week or two.

So there it is, a scabby but solid, virtually one owner UK M3 and all for the price of a "nice" 325i Sport! :D
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Ian Conuel View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ian Conuel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2015 at 11:18pm
Nice find, looking forward to seeing the progress you make. Thanks for sharing.
1998 z3m coupe

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote thepits Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Feb 2015 at 3:51pm

Well done, everyone should have one [I know I miss mine] :) - Enjoy, and after the restoration just make sure she is a daily drive and not a garage queen!!!


p.s. she's non-original as someone has added the black trim to the bumpers - lol, I know bl00dy purist!  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bfastjohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Feb 2015 at 4:10pm
Great project.

Look forward to seeing the updates.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Feb 2015 at 8:59pm
Thanks for the comments.

The black bumper tape is standard for all E30 M3's except for black Sport Evo's which had red tape.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alan Jones Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Feb 2015 at 1:04pm
Great find, if you are taking lots of pictures, maybe you could do a progress report for the magazine.

Just a thought
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bayerische Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Feb 2015 at 12:09am
Well done,

I'm glad this car has found a good home, it couldn't be in better hands. Looking forward to the restoration.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote thepits Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Feb 2015 at 4:28pm
Originally posted by BSS. BSS. wrote:

Thanks for the comments.

The black bumper tape is standard for all E30 M3's except for black Sport Evo's which had red tape.

Ah, yes, on rechecking you are of course correct Embarrassed - which is obviously why I got told off for putting Red tape on my Black 1987 Shocked 

[well there was no point on putting Black on her was there? LOL]


Enjoy the restoration, and then the [daily] driving experience Clap

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote thepits Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Feb 2015 at 4:40pm

OT [sorry]

my M3 reg, but no longer my black, original, 1987 M3

But still a nice restoration/upgrade


p.s.

I'm still waiting for the drive Confused 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardbaxter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Feb 2015 at 5:37pm
 Good find, and enjoy to the maximumBig smile
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2015 at 7:27pm
Thanks for the comments guys. :)



Yesterday saw the start of work on the car to get it back on the road for the first time in 5 years!!

Replaced all the discs, pads, parking brake shoes and fittings, new goodrige braided hoses and bled through with ATE super blue fluid, front pads were these...





BMW Motorsport group N front pads which are pagid RS. These coupled with the braided hoses and super blue fluid should be ample enough for light track use and the impending ring trip.



Ample pile of parts. Coolant, Engine, box and diff oils changed as well as all filters and spark plugs, replaced all the fuel hoses as well.
Going through the car checking various things has been quite surprising as several things I thought that would be either not working or trouble removing have been ok. Even the washer jets were clear!
All the metal brake pipes came undone ok and were not badly corroded with the ones on the trailing arms and above the rear axle being replacements. All were liberally coated in waxoil.



The electric cooling fan i expected to be seized as this is quite common but it was free and also a replacement as its the later plastic type one. Both speeds also worked so the resisitor is fine, another common thing to fail in old age.




So after all the brake and servicing work followed by some checks it was run up to temp, fan cutting in and maintaining perfect temp just below half way on the gauge it was time to take it for a run! A short 3 mile jouney to the local petrol station to start to bed the pads in and see how the car ran and again pleasantly surprised to find that no knocks squeaks or rattles, or steering pull.
Engine pulled well with no hesitation or misfires, idles bang on as well.

Chuffed to say the least!

It certainly feels strong for a 195 car which has got me curious but until I've done the valve clearances later this week and oil pressure and compression tests I'm not going to push it.

On to less important things but annoying details none the less!



The car also had a very nice conditon all in one leather "mushroom" type knob fitted which must be a replacement as its far to nice to be the original 174k mile one. Only thing that was letting it down was the BMW roundel so that had to go!



Much better!

Whilst clearing out some rubbish from the car this was found, fitting for a car of this period! :)





This offensive looking stereo and digital clock with screen bleed were letting the side down so they had to be sorted!



A few 6 button OBC's were cannibalised to make a good working one and a slightly less offensive looking stereo but with the all important aux in was fitted for the time being untill a "proper" period system is fitted.





These 27 year old pioneer speakers had seen better days so were skipped and replaced with some more recent pioneers again as a temp install.

I decided to take the car home on trade plates to put some more miles on it and have now done about 50 odd miles and so far so good thankfully! Everything works as it should, even the Si board with the only issue being the coolant warning light on the check control panel so a new sensor will be needed.

And now the money shot!



Crispy bulk head action! I'm not too bothered about this as when my front foot well sections arrive from California my tame welder will sorting this as well as doing the front floor repairs.

MOT tomorrow!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote davebrindlee36m3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2015 at 8:42pm
Great job, can i ask were you purchased the emblem for gear knob ?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MHunt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 2015 at 12:54pm
Great to see an enthusiastic new owner hard at work saving one of these cars.  Well done and keep us informed.
 
Dave - part numbers of various emblems can be found here.  I recently recreated an E34 M5 gearknob for way less than half the price of a new one by getting an odk one recovered, and purchasing the emblem only from BMW.  Even though the emblem was for a non illuminated knob I managed to get illumination wo work by removing the adhesive pad and carefully scratching off the paint in the relevant areas.
 
 
and here is the M3 version
 
 
the roundel is an OEM option - I never knew that (!)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote davebrindlee36m3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 2015 at 6:24pm
Thanks Matthew, i was looking for a 5 speed emblem with the tri colour stripes for my 1994 e36 m3, it is oval shape, the one on the link looks round ? Any help would be appreciated.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MHunt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Mar 2015 at 8:48am
Dave.  The I've typed what I think is the part number into the vehicle search and E36 M3 seems to come up.
 
 
For the sake of a tenner I would probably take a chance.  it worked for me on the E34 M5.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Mar 2015 at 1:40pm
Just insured it. £204 fully comp for me and the Mrs with agreed valuation of £15k and cat C/D salvage retention! Very Happy

Limited to 7000 miles though but as use other cars throughout the year I won't even get near that.

MOT is now booked for Saturday.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote davebrindlee36m3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Mar 2015 at 2:09pm
Sounds cheap, who have you insured it with ?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Mar 2015 at 2:17pm
Footman James, car club member ship discount!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote davebrindlee36m3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Mar 2015 at 2:28pm
I will try them in may, for 7k miles it seems a bargain. Clap
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote davebrindlee36m3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Mar 2015 at 2:40pm
Matthew that part number 25111 221 613 is showing as the latest style emblem with the M in the middle for the e36 m3.. 25111 221 612 is listed on e30 325 ix and 25111 220 954 is the e30 m3. the e36 emblem is slightly oval and the e30 is round. According to my man at local bmw the tri stripe emblem for the e36 is NLA. ?Cry
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MHunt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Mar 2015 at 4:10pm
My mistake, Dave.  I would try 25111 221 612 for the sake of a tenner.  I bought one recently and it is slightly oval - I expect you could make that work.  best of luck.
 
Sorry to the OP for disturbing a great thread.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Mar 2015 at 8:25pm
Thanks guys.

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!


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Mar 2015 at 9:21pm
I left the car with a mate the last couple of days to see if he could tidy it up a bit and make it more presentable untill it gets a bare shell resto.

Taken from a another forum.

Originally posted by B7 B7 wrote:

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

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 sh*te 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 b*st*rd to photograph!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Paul.R Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Mar 2015 at 10:02pm
Very nice Barry.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alan Jones Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Mar 2015 at 10:59am
You can now see the results of all your hard labour

Very nice it is too
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Mar 2015 at 6:58pm
Thanks guys.

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.

















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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bayerische Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Mar 2015 at 1:42pm
Very nice, she has cleaned up well. Enjoy the upcoming road trip.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote thepits Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Mar 2015 at 3:27pm

very nice indeed :)

But please get rid of those sh1tty screwed on number plates :(

I always used Velcro [how else was I meant to adhere the show-plates] but sticky will do.

Screws? UGH!  

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardbaxter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Mar 2015 at 4:25pm
What an enjoyable thread, thanks for sharing your journey so far... This kind of post always generates a lot of interest, always nice to see something saved and improved...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BSS. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Mar 2015 at 4:29pm
It happens to still have its original supplying dealer number plate on the rear and this is how they were mounted when fitted new. Now wirh a car like this I'm not that strict on keeping it as it left the factory but I do like to keep my older Bmw's looking that way so no modern show plates stuck on.

I have reproduction coppies made of the original supplying dealer in the correct wide font by pukar designs and they are screwed on as per OEM.
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