Impressions of a 1987 BMW E30 - Inside & Out [7 Years in the Making - Addendum Pt. 1]
After 100s of pages of rust, dirt, dust and generally unpleasant photos of this car it is now time to let it shine in its current condition. It isn't finished and not perfect by far but when cleaned up and detailed (~50% of my standard program) it's quite presentable. So here some impressions without much text to interfere.
Some 'artwork':
And different location:
BMW E30 320i 12/87 - 'Delphin-Metallic'
Feel free to drop questions and comments below. Part 2 with the 'todo' leftovers will follow.
Looks fantastic!!
But you'll need to have a word with your mechanic - the steering wheel is on the wrong side. Not sure if you noticed.
Now that you mention it...:). Truth be told I hadn't even noticed your E39 is RHD. Thanks for the compliment! Visually I still have to paint the rear apron, it's supposed to be in car color on the top half and black on the lower half. Only visible on the second pic. Some dents and scratches also need to be taken care of but for now I'm happy it runs reliably and all electrical and mechanical issues are resolved.
i love those wheels!!!! My e30 is almost done with the wrap job (that wasn't the best but for first time and free!) so im looking at some new wheels!
Thanks! Would prefer some with a bit more offset but that said it is one of the few era specific 4 lug 7,5x17 rims called Borbet C. Amazingly the comfort and suspension characteristics is very good with these rather large/low profile tires. Handling, stability and cornering is pretty epic with these on the E30. I've never seen another E30 with these wheels in 17", there are lots of 15/16" around.
The 17" looks badass, but I don't want to give up the ride comfort of my stock bottlecaps. I do, after all, live in NYC. Pothole King per capita.
Im thinking about running 15", but I have a hard time putting money to rims and rubber when what I really want is a turbo. But my rear spins out on stock tires already. :(
Yeah, understandable but then again we're talking about a 55 vs. 45/40 profile in terms of 15" vs. 17". I'm actually surprised how well the Dunlops I have on it now tackle all the speed bumps and pot holes here so either way you should be fine. The main, stab and wishbone bearings and dampers take most of the beatings. If you haven't replaced the suspension yet do it! I did it for the first time on my 3rd E30 replacing everything in one go and believe me you don't know how an E30 drives until you've replaced the suspension (goes for pretty much all BMWs). Well worth beyond a turbo :).
Oh and the rear will always spin courtesy of the rear trailing arms - that's the point! :D
what suspension would you recommend that won't break the bank? I need to lift the covers off the dampers and see if they are stock or have been replaced. The ride is much better than my last car, a 2002 saab. It's hard to have a reference point.
There are 3 things you should replace and you'll notice a huge difference, two of them are a pain in the ass to replace. 1) rear trailing arms bearings (4x, 2x per side), bearings cost less than $30 but replacing them is a lot of work. 2) strut bearings (4x) front and rear less than $100, go for any reference supplier (Lemfoerder, Meyle, equivalent) just stay away from Febi/Bilstein they're useless. 3) Front wishbones including lower control arm bushings and stab control arms should run below $300 and well worth the invest. Springs I'd go for Eibach any time of the day, alternatively red H&Rs 35mm or less they're below $80 most of the time (good used ones are fine). Biggest ticket item the shocks, I run Bilstein M-Suspension ones and had them for 150k mls+ they're still as good as new, even used ones are around $350+ so try to find a good deal on those - they make the ride quality.
Stay away from polyurethane bushings/bearings and springs lowering more than 40mm - they ruin the ride and don't provide any real life benefit.
In total you're looking at ~$500 without or ~$800+ with dampers. From my own experience I can say do it all at once or wait to do it all at once :).
Without the rear control arms you're done in less than 4hrs with some help. The rear control arm bushings add a good 8 hrs mainly because of disassembly and the tedious task of removing and installing the bushings out of and into the control arms. Once they're in they last for 200k mls.