by "TXCarGuy" (driversjournal)
Published 01/14/2017 at 17:19
by "TXCarGuy" (driversjournal)
Published 01/14/2017 at 17:19
No Tags
STARS: 16
I found the somewhat “holy-grail” of BMW’s sitting at an auction looking pretty sad, and it instantly caught my attention. An alpine white E30 with writing all over the windows. I immediately made the drive to the dealer where the car was sitting and checked it out. At first glance, it looked a little rough. After closer inspection, I saw a golden nugget sitting in front of me. Sure, the window said “bad brakes” and “do not drive” and there were some dash lights on, but cosmetically the car was pretty nice for being 27 years old and it had a box full of original books/manuals, extra parts, wiring diagrams and an oil light reset tool. I did some quick math and came up with a number that I wanted to pay and what I thought I could sell it for, and headed back to the office in anticipation of the auction the next day.
To make a long story short, I was the winning bidder and the old E30 was mine! Luckily for me most of the guys in the car business had no idea what the car was so I didn’t have much competition. I went back to my office, grabbed my truck and dolly and towed it back. Let the fun begin!
Car Stats
1988 BMW 325is
ODO reads 155k but is not working
Alpine white on dark tan interior
Purchased for $2970
Issues
Buying an old car like this you really never know what you are going to get. After getting the car back to my shop I started to go through it to make a list of parts to order. The brakes were completely inop, some oil leaks, all fluids were in desperate need of replacement, guibo disc is shot, center driveshaft bearing is done, spark plugs and wires are old and worn, all the belts are shot, A/C isn’t working. the car is not getting up to temperature, there is some nasty rattling coming from front end when going over bumps, trans and engine mounts are toast and a myriad of other little issues. It may sound like a lot but overall, I was pretty happy with the condition of the car and everything it needs is easy fix stuff.
I started by getting the braking system in working order. I started with bleeding the brakes, only to find that the brake fluid looked and smelled like raw sewage and had a ton of air in it. Because parts are really cheap for this car, I went ahead and replaced all four calipers, brake lines, rotors/pads and wear sensors. Bled the system for half an hour to ensure that all the nasty stuff was out and voila, we have brakes.
Looking at the suspension, the lower control arm bushings were in desperate need to replacement so I installed a new set and that took care of the suspension rattle over bumps. While underneath the car, I dropped the driveshaft and installed a new guibo disc and center driveshaft support bearing. Installed new transmission mount and engine mounts. Drained the oil, transmission and differential fluid (they all came out looking like tar) and filled with Redline fluids.
Going up top the engine, I replaced the fan clutch assembly (these are a common fail point on these cars) and the thermostat (it was stuck open), and flushed the cooling system. There was a timing belt change sticker on the top of the engine, so I didn’t bother with that or water pump. Changed out all three belts up front, flushed power steering, changed the plugs and wires, got it aligned and did a deep clean pressure wash of the undercarriage and took it for a drive. Car was coming together nicely at this point and was driving excellent.
On the inside, I pulled out the ABS relay and took it apart to find that there was a fusible link that had blown. I soldered an outboard 3 amp fuse on to the relay and reinstalled, and no more ABS light. I pulled the instrument cluster and ordered a new set of odometer gears from eBay. Took apart the speedo, replaced the gears and reinstalled.
I then assessed the A/C situation. The car had never been converted to R134 and was still on the old R12 system. I shot the system with some R134 and found that the high side pressure was right on but low side was 0, so there was a blockage somewhere. I ordered a drier, condenser, expansion valve and an R134A conversion kit. The drier was toast but the real issue was the expansion valve. It was completely clogged with some nasty looking stuff. After pulled the side of the dash apart to get to it, I flushed the system with some A/C cleaner, installed the new valve, installed the R134 kit, installed new drier and condenser and gave the system a charge. Started car up and waited patiently. After about two minutes, it started to blow cold. Success!
I then got some door dings popped out by my paintless dent guy, had the whole car clayed, lightly wet sanded, buffed and waxed. the tint was purple and probably original so I had that stripped and redone. Got the leather seats conditioned and looking as good as possible. I then drove the car for a couple weeks with nice weather and enjoyed every minute of it – I plan on doing a write up/review of the car sometime soon. After putting about 700 miles on it, I listed it for sale on craigslist, eBay and CarGurus. Instantly started getting calls and emails on it, and had a few serious parties within a week. I ended up working out a deal with an older E30 enthusiast in North Carolina, after he had a PPI done at the local BMW dealer, arranged shipping and waved at the car as it was hauled away.
Below is the breakdown of all of my costs on this mini-restoration as I plan on providing for all of these write ups. Keep in mind that labor is not included as I’m doing most of the stuff myself and I get parts wholesale or at dealer cost. I learned a ton about the E30 and it really makes me think about owning one – I think I’ll wait until the M3’s come down a bit, if they ever do.
Car Cost: $2,970.00
Parts: $592.35
Labor: $350.00
Shipping: $750.00
Advertising: $10.00
Total Cost: $4,672.35
Sales Price: $9,250.00
Net Profit: $4,577.65
"Tazio, Count Fouroff" (tazio0625)
01/14/2017 at 17:30, STARS: 0
Sweeeet! Thanks for the writeup and congratulations on the successful transaction.
It’s terrific that the little car ended up getting a new lease on life as well as safe passage to a good home :)
"TXCarGuy" (driversjournal)
01/14/2017 at 17:34, STARS: 1
No problem! This one was definitely worthy of a second lease on life. I plan on doing a writeup like this on some cool car every couple weeks as time allows, so stay tuned.
"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
01/14/2017 at 17:40, STARS: 3
The E30 has aged so well inside and out. While I certainly appreciate airbags and think they are necessary, steering wheels looked better before them.
"Steve in Manhattan" (blogenfreude01)
01/14/2017 at 17:42, STARS: 0
This is great ... I so miss having a car and working on it. And those inserts covering the opening where the window crank used to be - takes me back.
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
01/14/2017 at 17:49, STARS: 5
People are paying $9k for a non restored E30? Jesus fucking Christ. I should have held on to the running, manual, factory LSD equiped, one owner E30 I bought for $1,100 a few years ago.
"TXCarGuy" (driversjournal)
01/14/2017 at 18:00, STARS: 1
Yeah, its nuts. I remember buying these all the time years ago for a grand. Funny thing is that car will probably be worth double that in another 10-15 years.
"itranthelasttimeiparkedit" (itranthelasttimeiparkedit)
01/14/2017 at 18:35, STARS: 1
and the e30 airbag wheel is the ugliest ever:
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
01/14/2017 at 20:26, STARS: 0
It’s actually pretty cheap lol, they would sell for 15k in France. 325is are highly desirable.
"JasonG0705" (jasong0705)
01/14/2017 at 20:43, STARS: 1
Awesome work! I have such a soft spot for E30's...especially the ‘is’.
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
01/14/2017 at 21:02, STARS: 0
There is a “running” one with front end damage on my local CL for $900. Then there is a fully restored one with an OBDI conversion amd an S52 motor swap for $20k. Only other one is track prepped with a built engine for $16k. I like these cars but it’s not like they’re rare. A lot of the E30s around me got the ricer treatment a few years ago when you pick them up for cheap. Pretty funny considering hiw expensive they are now. It’s the same deal with old Honda motos. Kids are paying 3-5k for CB350s because someone painted the tank and slapped a set of clubmans on it. I have to find the beat to hell ones to use as project bikes. Goddamn hipsters. Although I could probably sell my $1k CL450 for $4k now that it looks pretty with a $7 paint job.
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
01/14/2017 at 21:10, STARS: 0
No, no, I’m talking specifically about 325is... Tons of E30s in running condition are for sale for 1000$ in France... But 325is, man, that’s a whole other thing. This one is at 30000$.
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/1068843457.htm?ca=6_s
For 9250$, it’s like he sold it for nothing...
Regular E30s sell for nothing otherwise and there are tons available.
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/1077588557.htm?ca=6_s
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/1077439359.htm?ca=6_s
https://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/1077226833.htm?ca=6_s
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
01/14/2017 at 22:57, STARS: 0
I know you were talking about the “is”. They aren’t that rare here. There are five for sale on my local craigslist and I’m in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. The $15k+ ones are heavily modified (built up or swapped engines). $8-9k seems to be the going rate for well cared for models. The regular E30s are going for around $3-5k which is still insane.
"Adrian" (adriangc)
01/15/2017 at 01:27, STARS: 0
I am so unbelievably jealous of your skills. Nice work.
How many hours would you say you put into this?
"TXCarGuy" (driversjournal)
01/15/2017 at 10:50, STARS: 0
Thank you for the compliment, but really all the stuff I did is pretty easy and all DIY stuff if you’ve got the time and tools. I would estimate I personally had 20 hours of labor in it, and some of the stuff I farmed out (window tint, detail, etc.) and had help with stuff like bleeding the brakes.
"Adrian" (adriangc)
01/15/2017 at 19:59, STARS: 0
That’s good to hear - means there’s hope for me haha.
You’re making a solid hourly wage on that, then too. Nice find and thanks for posting this.
"KFN" (kfn)
02/08/2017 at 00:15, STARS: 0
Truly inspiring, not to mention my favorite form of recycling. One day I would love to do this with an E30 wagon/IX/S14.