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I believe I have your E30
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polyrhythmic



Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:20 pm    Post subject: I believe I have your E30 Reply with quote

I believe I have your E30
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/84_318i/84_e30.html

I recently moved to the Seattle area about a month ago and I've been looking for the perfect car since my arrival...
I began to notice that there are fantastic deals in this area on high-milage well-maintained european cars. I'd always wanted to buy German and I knew what my next choice would be...
Last Saturday, I ran across a BMW on Craigslist being sold by a student who didn't have the time or money to deal with it, despite it being in fantastic condition, and I knew I had to have it as soon as I drove it...
So since then I've been scouring the net for the best information for my E30 so I can take care of it right, from the start. Naturally, I ran across UnofficialBMW. And naturally, I started looking for all the hot E30s.
...and then I saw the VIN. Your VIN is my VIN
Is it possible I have your car? the odometer claims 183,000 mi? It's in awesome shape and just passed emissions with flying colors.
You, whoever it is who posted that page with the E30 - I couldn't figure it out from the website - if you have any information or tips on my new baby I'm about to embark upon a number of things to put her in tip-top shape, so feel free to say hi. And if you're in the area, any good mechanics or suppliers you could reference would be awesome.

I know I'm rambling but I know someone else around here has to understand falling for an E30. I'm going to head out to the car wash and detail her, I've been working all week. Look forward to talking to y'all more...
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idanity



Joined: 21 May 2005
Posts: 3097
Location: N.W.U.S.A.

PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

im confused...

your saying your VIN is a copy of someones..? or you bought that car.. Question
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Quincy56



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 2634
Location: San Marcos, CA

PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 5:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

He owns the car that was posted on that link and is trying to find the owner that posted it on unofficialbmw.com.
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idanity



Joined: 21 May 2005
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Location: N.W.U.S.A.

PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Surprised k
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k1hb



Joined: 20 Nov 2002
Posts: 1239
Location: boston

PostPosted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 3:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

he could also lookup the plate!: 08B EZA, Wash.

either way: it is a VIN VIN deal.

urp


Fred
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wazzu70



Joined: 26 Jul 2005
Posts: 838
Location: Issaquah, WA

PostPosted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are in the perfect area for e30s. Dale the owner of this site lives in Seattle and obviously is very knowledgable in these cars. If you want to learn more you can always help him out on a race weekend. Its a great way to learn about these cars. Also the local BMW club is a great source of helpful people. www.bmwpugetsound.com

Good luck with your car and if you have any questions just post them up or look through the search to see if someone else has had a similar problem!
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1984 BMW 325e
1991 BMW 325i
1976 Honda CB400F Super Sport
"The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten"
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dale



Joined: 22 Aug 1999
Posts: 3087
Location: Seattle, WA USA

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 1:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,
If you own the car with the VIN from that link, you own my old '84 318i.
Should have a 3.91 LSD diff. Baltic blau exterior, tan leather interior, power windows, power door locks.
I rebuilt all the suspension components in 1994, traded it in on a '89 325i in May of 1995.
I learned a ton about E30s working on that car and I'd love to see it again, just for old times sake.

Email me at dale@unofficialbmw.com and we'll meet up. I'm in West Seattle.

Dale

My first BMW, and first E30:

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peerless



Joined: 12 Nov 2003
Posts: 1721
Location: Orange County, Ca

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thats pretty awesome, a brand new person to the board pics up the board creators original first E30.

Hows that for a small world Smile
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robert1700



Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 1398
Location: Seattle

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 6:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wow, hey I am in Seattle too, Also just got back from New York about an hour ago. I must say that in NY I saw very very few cars from the 80's.
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spooky, huh? And, if you're going to get an E30, it couldn't have been maintained by anyone better!
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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polyrhythmic



Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:50 pm    Post subject: wow I have been busy hello all Reply with quote

Good to meet you all, my name is Charles.

Sounds like your car Dale, I'm sure, I'll take a pic of the VIN when I am taking the pics. And email you soon after this, many thanks.

Damn I thought the suspension had been switched, I could feel the 3.91 pull (and the RPM #s match up for what I read online) and it feels like an LSD, but I haven't done all the fluids yet - broke! - so I haven't pushed her very hard. In amazing shape.... more things work now than when I bought her, and with about $150 it'll have everything I need, I've been so busy with full-time work and looking for another job I haven't had time to do anything, I never manage to remember to take pictures before dark. Maybe on Fri night cause I know I'm not going to want to head anywhere in traffic...

Anyway I'm very excited to have my E30 and I love it I've been driving her everywhere (325 miles so far).

Here is the current state (pics to come soon):

ENGINE:
Has been idling high since I bought her... I read somewhere there was a recall about that slash/ its a common problem... but rpms tend to stay above 750 and usually 1000+... I had to get new tabs 3 days after I made the purchase and THANK GOODNESS passed with flying colors - you should have seen how excited the old asian guy was - but idled at 1027 RPM during the idle test. Recently has been idling higher, 1200-1500, after being driven for a while. I hear clicks sometimes - valves? - but I read there's easy fixes for that too. Would love it if someone here (Dale?) would listen to it, it would probably be a lot quicker than me and I'd probably learn something.
Pulls hard, dad says the ppm results from the test mean there's no oil blowing past the seals (he's a combustion specialist), is very consistent, generally sounds good. Pretty sure parts of the exhaust have been replaced. - Oh, the previous owner didn't know much about its service record, but seems to have maintained much of it with a family friend. However, said that last time they had to pass emissions (2 yrs. ago August) they went through all the sensors, etc. and everything was fine except they had to replace the MAF.
Starts quickly, revs itself on start up to about 3000 rpm. No idea about that.
Duct Tape is the fastener of choice in a few spots. I haven't inspected this quickly as I can't afford to fix it for a few more days so I don't really want to know. Some things I did note were some ignition wires, the fuse box cover, part of the fog lights I think...

TRANSMISSION
Shift linkage is loose, of course, but the clutch is grippy. I hear a short-shift kit for around $50 is the way to go, so I'm waiting. Synchros in good shape (but I double clutch so they'll last forever anyway). Definitely in good enough shape to be fun.

BRAKES
Just put on new pads. Previous owner wore front right pad down to the metal pretty seriously, drove it home and parked it and it was the first thing I did. The right rotor is badly grooved, it's on the list. Left rotor is great. Brake lining sensor is missing. Emergency brake needs to be adusted, I don't think it pulls the right side at all.

HVAC
Heater core is in the trunk. No, this is not a cool mod, it is broken, but car came that way. I figure I have a month or so before I need to deal with that. A/C turns on, but isn't cold, I imagine it needs a recharge. Otherwise (ha!), everything about the system works fine. It even has foot vents for the passengers? I've never owned a BMW...

(And SO FAR, no leaks!!)

STEREO
Arrived with Rockford Fosgate 2-way 5 1/4" 's in the rear shelf, and older 5 1/4" JVCs in the trunk. Loose in the trunk, with slightly rusty grills and torn inner paper cones, I imagine they got replaced by the RFs when Best Buy installed those and the Pioneer head unit... Asked the previous owner and he said 'I don't think it has front speakers'. Well, I took off the front grilles and found a 3" (?!??!) laying loose in the hole in the right side, hooked up to a wire from an older install. (And nothing in the left side but random wires.)
Well since I'd been doing some research I knew the fronts were supposed to be 5 1/4 so I installed the JVCs in the front with the speaker wire, head unit weird long L tools, and grilles that came in the trunk. I ran my own wiring because the existing is a rats nest. I even read online wiring diagrams and trust me they don't all match up. During this install I found several wires hanging around in the dash and speaker holes whose leads hang free and I can't decipher where they came from. There have been at least 2 previous aftermarket systems installed in this car and there are multiple wires run, some for subwoofers and +12 for an amp. I assume (and it looks like) the best buy guys did what I did and ran their own stuff rather than try to trace everything. I know this because I semi-detailed the car and took out the back seat, which brings me to the...

INTERIOR
A few tears in the leather, needs to be cleaned and conditioned (I have no experience in that yet), smells ok, black stains here and there in the carpet, found pennies from the 70s under the seats, doors and panels a bit dingy, has tan Infiniti floor mats in the front and none in the back. Seatbelts are dirty, don't know how but want to clean those. Weird hydraulic seat system is out of order. Sunroof handle works but falls off a lot. Top of dash is cracked under the VIN plate but the plate and some velcro strips are holding it together. The bottom of the dash is cracked in several places and I had to duct tape it just so I could drive home without getting my foot stuck with the clutch in. The glove box latch (that fails on all e30s) did the usual and failed a few days after I bought it. That's ok, the back of the -box was already busted (hinge rusted stiff) so I just removed the glove box and drivers underdash when I did the stereo, and left them in the trunk. Now I can hear the JVCs really well and thanks to a weird Pioneer adjusting system to compensate for their weaknesses, they sound ok. There's no rechargeable flashlight. That would've been cool.

ELECTRONICS
All gauges work -- now! The temp gauge didn't when I bought it, previous owner said it would come back to life occasionally when going over bumps. Started working last weekend, hasn't stopped yet. Fog light lenses are brittle and useless. Bulbs are dead. They look ok though because the covers are on them. Inside fog switch seems worn anyway. 3 out of 4 headlight lenses have been replaced, 4th looks darker if you look close. Opening passenger door does not turn on inside lights on 'door' setting however, only driver's door works for that. Seatbelt warning has been disabled. Otherwise, everything works!!!

MISC
When installing the front speakers, I found that unlike what I read on some forum, you can use aftermarket grilles with front speakers, you just have to move the hood release handle. Unfortunately, when I moved the handle back the old wire broke and now I need some serious pliers just to get the hood open. There's some sort of toolkit under my trunklid, but it's got no tools. And twice now, the corrosion on the battery has led my car not to start until I jiggle the negative wire... so I'm praying that doesn't happen again until I fix it.
I do have a full-size spare tire, jack, and lug wrench and 4.5 good tires. And the paint is decent except for a few spots and the roof. Sunroof doesn't leak.

Sorry for being so long-winded! I've been holding this all inside since I bought it...all this for $600!! (+ only $85/mo for insurance). Awesome. Besides, I'm sure you e30holics can understand.

What I don't know:
How can I refurbish my interior and HVAC system (cheaply)? What can be cleaned vs. replaced?
How can I clean my engine?
How do I decipher old wiring so I can rip out the useless junk?
Other than fluids and shift linkage, what should be my immediate maintenance concerns?
Where's the best place in Seattle area to get Redline fluid products?
What do I have to check on before I can Scandanavian Flick myself sideways? (I can't wait for snow! I've missed the north!)
Where do I find the elusive E30 center armrest w/cupholder?
And the rechargable flashlight?
Who wants to give a bartender / fine-dining-server / web&graphic designer / salesman some more work? Or if you know a get-paid-to-drive-your-e30 program.....
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polyrhythmic



Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:53 pm    Post subject: almost forgot Reply with quote

oh yeah, how many miles does this car really have???

[btw k1hb: VIN VIN, hahahahahaha. ]
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85-325e



Joined: 30 Jun 2002
Posts: 4712
Location: Southampton, NY

PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Charles...

First of all, try to see if you can get together with Dale and see if he'll take a look at his old baby. I'm sure he'd enjoy that too!

Quote:
What I don't know:
How can I refurbish my interior and HVAC system (cheaply)? What can be cleaned vs. replaced?
How can I clean my engine?
How do I decipher old wiring so I can rip out the useless junk?
Other than fluids and shift linkage, what should be my immediate maintenance concerns?
Where's the best place in Seattle area to get Redline fluid products?
What do I have to check on before I can Scandanavian Flick myself sideways? (I can't wait for snow! I've missed the north!)
Where do I find the elusive E30 center armrest w/cupholder?
And the rechargable flashlight?


The interior is a matter of conditioning and replacement... You can use saddlesoap to clean and condition the leater, but if they're REALLy trashed, start looking for replacements at junk yards and on eBay. You may have to save up for them, but they'll be worth it. The carpets... well, use some spot cleaner and you can even use an extractor machine on the carpets, but make sure you have a lot of fans ready to REALLY dry out the interior fast...

The A/C isn't cheap. It MAY be but I doubt it. It's probably your expansion valve, which is most likely clogged, or your compressor which isn't compressing. No matter what, by the time you buy parts, flush the system, reseal the system and recharge the system with freon, you're in it for at least a couple o hundred bucks.

I would think that you could wash anything that you had to wash. The seat belts... Just use diluted Simple Green and you should be able to wash the dirt out, but if you get an extractor, you can do those too.

Search up here for engine cleaning. It's been discussed a bunch.

You should get two things... the Bentley Manual which you can order from the top of this forum.. it's the E30 bible... You should probably also buy a CD set of the ETK on eBay. They're NOT expensive, and will give you the part numbers and explosions of every part in THAT specific car as it left the factory. If you get the complete set, usually abot $15 plus shipping, you'll also get the electrical diagrams and then you can match things up from there.

The shift linkage... usually the bushings are worn and there's a lot of extra play in the shift lever. I think the best shifter thing is the Z3 shifter, but search up here for that and they'll be tons of info. There's also an article by Dale in the Articles section on shifters in general, the differences, and conversion techniques...

I have no idea where Redline's sold in Seattle, but I'm sure there are a bunch of people up here that do.

Scandanavian Flick - Driving School!

The cup holder/armrests show up from time to time on eBay. So do the rechargeable flashlights. You can also join the BMWCCA and get a discount on parts from the dealer. Often, with the discount, they're just as good a deal as on eBay.

Use the search function on the site. It'll bring you to a lot of answers to your questions.

Now, if you DO hear of that "get-paid-to-drive-your-E30" program, shoot me a PM, OK???
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Cosmo - 1985 BMW 325e, Single Owner, 265,000+ ORIGINAL miles and still going strong! But now on the East Coast and the salt air corrosion is eating my beautiful car alive... Sad

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dale



Joined: 22 Aug 1999
Posts: 3087
Location: Seattle, WA USA

PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Re: miles, it had 228k when I sold it in 1995. I'll guess it has had 10k/year since then, for 340k miles

Redline, B&B Auto and Aurora Auto carry it.

More as I have time.
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Beamer Zombie



Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Posts: 24
Location: Virginia

PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 9:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
either way: it is a VIN VIN deal.


Punny guy!! Laughing
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