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  4. The One That Didn't Get Away [100K Mile E30 325is]

The One That Didn't Get Away [100K Mile E30 325is]

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Members BMWs
257 Posts 19 Posters 1 Views 1 Watching
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  • jc43089J
    jc43089J
    jc43089
    wrote on last edited by
    #3

    Looks nice.  The window switches in an e30 are full current switches so they get burned from arcing.  They can be taken apart and cleaned to fix them.  Start there, it's easy and free.

    2/94 325i Sedan, Arctic Gray: UUC LTW FW, EVO 3 and DSSR, +.020 Maxsil pistons, ASC delete, Eibach shocks/springs, 16" contour reps 238k
    3/93 325i Coupe, Schwarz 2, Sketchy stance action, ebay turbo, 300k
    '89 325i Vert, Alpine White: 5spd swapped, sold.

    '04 Toyota Sienna: 24V to 24V swap in progress

    '05 Volvo V70R, 6spd.  200k
    '85 Toyota LandCruiser: Lifted, gas hog. 205k
    '99 Nissan Maxima: 5spd, Rusty but trusty winter beater. 252k RIP.

    1 Reply Last reply
    1
    • suspencefulS
      suspencefulS
      suspenceful
      wrote on last edited by
      #4

      Can't wait to check this out in person. Excited to see where both of your E30s take you.

      🎬 YouTube channel (60K+ subs): youtube.com/jakespence135
      📷 Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/jakespence
      🏁 Shop BMW merchandise: bimmerstreet.com

      1 Reply Last reply
      1
      • B
        B
        B C
        wrote on last edited by
        #5

        E36 window switches are a great upgrade for tactile feel

        1 Reply Last reply
        1
        • RekpointR
          RekpointR
          Rekpoint
          wrote on last edited by
          #6

          B C said:

          E36 window switches are a great upgrade for tactile feel

          I think I have some if you want

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • JdesignJ
            JdesignJ
            Jdesign
            wrote on last edited by
            #7

            Congrats on this wonderful addition!

            SumBunny.jpg

            https://www.instagram.com/_jdesigner_/                                          http://nevertoolow.tumblr.com/

            🥳SOLD BMW E24 633CSI - BMW M30B32                                          🧪SOLD HCH  ES9 - 1.3 LDA
            👽BMW E30 325IC - Toyota 1JZ-GTE                                                     ⏰ HONDA EF9 CIVIC SI - JDM B18C5
            ☠️BMW E36 318i - Ford 5.0 FE302                                                         🚴‍♂️ GT-Labomba - 26x2.75 Freeride
            🤹‍♀️SOLD BMW E36/7 Z3 - BMW M54B25                                                🧓SOLD BMW E10 2002 - BMW M10M05

            1 Reply Last reply
            1
            • KaiserRollsK
              KaiserRollsK
              KaiserRolls
              wrote on last edited by
              #8

              BaT bound

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • SteelBlueS
                SteelBlueS
                SteelBlue
                wrote on last edited by
                #9

                KaiserRolls said:

                BaT bound 

                Definitely thought about it, but not sure I will see another in this good of condition for the price.

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • KaiserRollsK
                  KaiserRollsK
                  KaiserRolls
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #10

                  SteelBlue said:

                  Definitely thought about it, but not sure I will see another in this good of condition for the price.

                  Few days in and you’re already attached. RIP

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • SteelBlueS
                    SteelBlueS
                    SteelBlue
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #11

                    KaiserRolls said:

                    Few days in and you’re already attached. RIP

                    I've wanted an (running and driving)E30 for quite some time.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • KaiserRollsK
                      KaiserRollsK
                      KaiserRolls
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #12

                      SteelBlue said:

                      I've wanted an (running and driving)E30 for quite some time.

                      This is how it starts

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      3
                      • SteelBlueS
                        SteelBlueS
                        SteelBlue
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #13

                        Cleaning/detailing has begun.

                        Rented a carpet cleaner to take care of the gross carpet. Initial thought of mold/mildew was incorrect(thankfully). Think someone spilled something on the carpet/just dirty in general. Shop doesn't have hot water right now, so I snagged some near boiling hot water from the Kwik Trip just down the road. Carpet look pretty good minus a couple spots that are still dirty a bit. But, I have new floor mats that will cover most of the still problem areas. Water that came out of the machine was pure brown. 

                        With the seats out, did a full leather conditioning. I really like the Griots Garage products so I chose their Leather Care. I'm sure theres other possible better options out there, but for how readily available their products are and how well it performs, I really like them. Returned some good shine, leather feels supple, and took care of the dry cracking areas. Pulled the steering wheel cover off and did the same. Mtech 1 is in great condition.

                        IMG6126.JPG

                        58769335253B1970C6B-C518-447C-96D2-ADCABB09CCF6.JPG

                        IMG6133.JPG

                        58769338615B5397B70-FB54-4645-BC18-C939D8CFC2D9.JPG

                        IMG6132.JPG

                        I washed and claybared the whole car this afternoon. Decent enough day for it, fair amount of overcast so not a ton of direct sunlight. I'm partial to Meguiars products for exterior detailing. Again, possible better stuff out there, but for my level of detailing and intended outcome, fits the bill.

                        Wanted to see what I could do about the paint. Good news is that I think it will come back great, just a lot of time needs to be spent doing so. Started on the trunk to just get an idea of what I was getting into. Meguiars Ultimate Compound and medium grade pad on my rotary wheel. First picture below was just my first initial pass to get an idea of cut amount and wheel speed. This red is kind of hard to photograph.

                        IMG6137.JPG

                        IMG6138.JPG

                        Pretty big difference right away.

                        IMG6139.JPGIMG6140.JPGIMG6141.JPG

                        After the compound pass.

                        IMG6142.JPG

                        IMG6143.JPG

                        IMG6144.JPG

                        After using the Meguiars Ultimate Polish. Decent, but could be better. Might try a coarser pad for the compound and some more speed to get some more cut. Trunk, roof, and hood are always the most difficult.

                        IMG6146.JPG

                        And then just a pass of the Ultimate Wax. You can see the difference between the trunk and the quarter.

                        IMG6150.JPG

                        Parked in the shop.

                        More work tomorrow, maybe can finish the whole car. Don't think I'll cut the front quarters or hood as it was repainted. I'll just do a light polish on it.

                        Should I put the smoked smileys on this car or leave the ellipsoids?

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        2
                        • B
                          B
                          B C
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #14

                          Stock headlights until it sees aftermarket wheels

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          2
                          • YoungCRY
                            YoungCRY
                            YoungCR
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #15

                            Looks great! I'd say keep the stock lights for now. It's good to see a clean, original car.

                            Chris Young
                            BMWCCA #458972
                            1986 528e/5  | 1994 530i/5 | 1995 540i/6 | 2013 X5 35d | 1998 C1500 Suburban | 1995 K2500 Suburban

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            1
                            • SteelBlueS
                              SteelBlueS
                              SteelBlue
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #16

                              B C said:

                              Stock headlights until it sees aftermarket wheels

                              IMG6153.JPG

                              😂

                              More paint correction. Found that compound was a little too abrasive for the sides as I faded a couple inches of my pinstripe on the driver side. Went with just the polish and it brought back the paint to level I was satisfied with. Single stage old paint is difficult to work with and I'm not comfortable pushing further for that extra 10% I want to achieve without possible wrecking the paint. New cars are much easier to work with paint wise.

                              Before look at the rear quarter:

                              IMG6151.JPG

                              IMG6152.JPG

                              After polishing:

                              IMG6157.JPG

                              IMG6156.JPG

                              Better, but as you can see, could be better. I don't know if this is just the quality of the paint or if I might need to go at it with a finer grain pad and some more speed.

                              I have used a rotary buffing wheel for the longest time. I bought a rotary for personal use after I stopped detailing cars for Bergstrom because it was what I was used to. They are not as forgiving and do not have any safety features built in. I bought a 6 inch DA from Harbor Freight during their parking lot sale today. For $60, this is really all you need to get good results from paint correcting. 8mm of travel, edge safety feature, and 2" smaller surface than my rotary are much better for my use.

                              I got the roof, driver side rear quarter and door done today, shit takes a long time.

                              Pictures out side.

                              IMG6159.JPG

                              IMG6158.JPG

                              IMG6160.JPG

                              IMG6161.JPG

                              IMG6154.JPG

                              IMG6155.JPG

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              1
                              • B
                                B
                                B C
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #17

                                Im sure pictures dont do it justice but it looks good and glossy from here 👍🏼

                                1790CC29-F665-4CD6-9BD2-7F1F60C404DD.jpeg.e38b98c108ec3c2672033635b6e186d0.jpeg

                                1 Reply Last reply
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                                • SteelBlueS
                                  SteelBlueS
                                  SteelBlue
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #18

                                  @B C this paint is really difficult to take pictures of.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • RekpointR
                                    RekpointR
                                    Rekpoint
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #19

                                    SteelBlue said:

                                    @B C this paint is really difficult to take pictures of.

                                    So. Whens the S52 swap coming? I have one for sale 🙄

                                    Clean S52 swapped E30s are pulling some hella numbers. Ask

                                    @wasnt m3

                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • wasnt m3W
                                      wasnt m3W
                                      wasnt m3
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #20

                                      Coming along nicely! You can always use some 1/4" tape to protect the stripe. If you want the stripe gone, oven cleaner works well without damaging the original paint of the car.

                                      m3sig-1.jpg

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      1
                                      • SteelBlueS
                                        SteelBlueS
                                        SteelBlue
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #21

                                        Rekpoint said:

                                        So. Whens the S52 swap coming? I have one for sale 🙄

                                        Clean S52 swapped E30s are pulling some hella numbers. Ask

                                        @wasnt m3

                                        This is going to stay M20 for the foreseeable future. 

                                        wasnt m3 said:

                                        Coming along nicely! You can always use some 1/4" tape to protect the stripe. If you want the stripe gone, oven cleaner works well without damaging the original paint of the car.

                                        Was considering covering it, but would have been a huge pain to cut down a bunch of large painters tape to cover. I love the stripe.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        1
                                        • straight6pwrS
                                          straight6pwrS
                                          straight6pwr
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #22

                                          you can use a full piece of painters tape, but you'll have to do two passes. 

                                          tape to the top of the stripe and only cut above it. remove the tape. tape to the bottom edge of the stripe and cut below it.

                                          Dan
                                          yajsYRL.jpg.e5f350b4dfe961d76ac8b32efce2e1a6.jpg

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          3

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