Hello. My name is Dan, and today I doomsday prepped

[straight6pwr]

gilber33 said:

So you will be down to just the V50 as far as car hobbying goes? 

It's an interesting sentiment to read as I have the option of picking up another "fun" car in the spring if I want to. But I have a constant internal debate if I want to spend the time, energy, and dollars maintaining three cars of my own. I think it helps puts things into perspective hearing it from other car people that you don't need a car hoard to be a car enthusiast and there are more important things in life besides cars. 

yeah, just the v50 for now. but the lady's vehicle is due for an upgrade soon, and i've helped sway her to something more enthusiast friendly, such as a wrangler, yota FJ, etc. 

i certainly believe a hoard is not needed to enjoy cars, but i also would probably have a hoard if the resources were available.

[straight6pwr]

For sale prep things are happening. Hope to have it for sale in two weeks. 

[YoungCR]

Washing the carpet or touching up the die? You ended up with a great sized garage.

[straight6pwr]

YoungCR said:

Washing the carpet or touching up the die? You ended up with a great sized garage.

yup the 2.5 is nice for a little e30! 

and touching up the dye, yes. but everything is out because the car is getting the original carpets (dyed black) put back in. the aftermarket carpet is not up to the quality of the rest of the car, IMO. 

she is also getting new front strut mounts, new tires, oil change, and fixing little odds and ends like the fan wiring, ignition cylinder, trim touch up, etc. 

i need to get a reliable SUV and the market is insane right now so hopefully the e30 market can match it. *fingers crossed

[m42b32]

Its definitely a sellers market for clean E30's right now. Are you planning to list locally or going the BaT/similar route?

[straight6pwr]

i think BaT is detrimental to enthusiasts and i wont support it. 

it will be listed locally, forums and reluctantly Facebook.

[KaiserRolls]

Reluctantly is an understatement

[m42b32]

KaiserRolls said:

Reluctantly is an understatement 

seriously.... 

"trade for two saturn sl one with rod knock and the other was on fire but its not too bad a xbox 360 had the red ring of death but my buddy said he fixed it and ill promote you on my instagram and tiktok id want cash on top for all that tho"

[straight6pwr]

m42b32 said:

seriously.... 

"trade for two saturn sl one with rod knock and the other was on fire but its not too bad a xbox 360 had the red ring of death but my buddy said he fixed it and ill promote you on my instagram and tiktok id want cash on top for all that tho" 

LOL

its so true i cant tell if you copy/pasted that or just made it up.

[SteelBlue]

straight6pwr said:

i think BaT is detrimental to enthusiasts and i wont support it. 

it will be listed locally, forums and reluctantly Facebook. 

I think Doug DeMuro had to, either legally or general business sake, changed how he promoted his site, Cars and Bids. I remember seeing some videos that in the beginning he claimed you would “get the most money” for your car. Which is objectively false but also conveys a message that if you buy on this site you are paying the most for it.

Not that they already weren’t, but cars have been commodified via sites like Bat and C&B.

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

LOL

its so true i cant tell if you copy/pasted that or just made it up. 

I definitely lost quite a few brain cells typing that haha

[straight6pwr]

I had saved my original carpet since the aftermarket one wasnt a homerun. i dyed them to black from gray with SEM product. turned out great, carpet still nice and soft. the color is darker than the camera makes it out to be. 

pics of clean rust free floor pan for reference

the car had a bit of a squeak squeak from the front of the engine, diagnosed it as bad bearings. replaced the idler pulley and the tensioner pulley. sadly the radiator had to come out for clearance to remove the idler bolt which is like 6" long

i had some binding of my front coilover springs, causing creaks and spring binding sounds as well as some bump steer. the top pillow-ball style bearings were a little worse for wear and i also discovered that this vintage of coilovers do not have the upgraded bearing style top spring mounts so i upgraded and replaced. 

note the old top mount is all greasy because i pumped a bunch of grease in the bearing when confirming my diagnosis

[straight6pwr]

when i did my shifter rebuild i never bought the rubber boot, but now i have to finish that up. 

i realized that in my adventures to replace sticking injectors i never did the fuel filter (duh moment) so I quick swapped in a new one

look at that beautiful unrusty chassis.

i also finalized my electric fan wiring, after 5 years.

temporary test setup removed. 

the test setup worked except i believe the temp switch from the radiator kicks the fan on too late, temperature wise. I'm not sure if its because its the coolest part of the radiator, or the fact that the 24v swap in the e30 is slightly undercooled with the e30 radiator size, but it made me uncomfortable. so, i wired the relay to just turn the fan on with the ignition. BMW relay holder and relay used, mounted by the + power block in the engine bay. 

lastly, the interior. when i did the custom dye job with SEM products I certainly was wary of the longevity. It obviously came out looking nice, but would it be tough enough for a car that gets driven a lot? Here are some photos of the current condition, 4 years and 20k miles later. 

passenger seat is nearly perfect. 

passenger bolster

drivers seat is a little more used, here is the worst of the condition on the outside bolster. you can just start to see the original color of the bolster show through.

back seat looks great except any dirt smudges which did not come out with a gentle wash. 

 

drivers door card is good except where my foot apparently hits the map pocket quite often and has rubbed some of the coating off. 

the great part about using the SEM spray is that i can just hit the bad spots with another coat and voila its perfect again.

[m42b32]

I think your interior is going to look fantastic with black carpet, I'm impressed how well the seat dye held up too!

[The Full Banana]

You’ve done a wonderful job with this car. For my taste, it’s nearing non-M3 e30 perfection.

[straight6pwr]

The Full Banana said:

You’ve done a wonderful job with this car. For my taste, it’s nearing non-M3 e30 perfection. 

thanks mate! curious what else you'd do for your perfection.

[Jdesign]

straight6pwr said:

thanks mate! curious what else you'd do for your perfection. 

keep it.

[straight6pwr]

interior back together including new ZHP shift knob

valve cover gasket replaced, car washed, trim touched up, engine bay detailed, door jambs detailed, trunk carpet shampood

new tires are getting mounted tomorrow. should be able to get pictures this weekend and post the ad

[Jdesign]

What are you going to ask for it?

[straight6pwr]

Jdesign said:

What are you going to ask for it? 

I've been waffling a lot about that. Prices of other cars being sold range from "yeah, that checks out" to mind-boggling. The market it crazy now, which is the only reason I'm selling - the cost of regular used cars is bullshit! 

took pictures last night at dusk because the light was great. Just organizing them now, organizing my extra parts and writing the ad