87' E30 vert build thread! Now with M50 Swap!!!
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Money spent so far:
55 - fan and clutch from forum member
15 - new odometer gears from Garagistic
250 - Carpet and Ellipsoids from forum member
162 - hood shock and clips, entire hose and clamp kit grille clips from Bavauto
115 - Reconditioned exhaust manifolds. New nuts, studs and gaskets.
100 - New lower shift boot and shift linkages from autohausaz.
80 - z3 shifter(sic)
too much
Hey guys, new to the e30 . mostly an e34 person so far, but i saw a deal i couldnt pass by and figured i could use a project

as it stands right now

paint is PERFECT. car is dirty because its been sitting under a tarp for a couple months due to it lacking a rear window. paint was redone about 4-5 years ago by bmw and the car is from texas.. so no body rust!

yes, these are e46 fender ducts. no I dont know why.

guy i bought it from said he was stripping interior out to restore the car. he threw out the carpet because it was shitty.... i cant find another carpet! anyone have one for sale?

no floorboard rust

trunk full o parts

exhaust off a ford lightning. no mufflers. dont ask.

parts that were in the back seat. none of the seats have holes. minor cracks.. could use some TLC

minor corrosion on the rear floorboard. i imagine this will just wash out.

checkin out my current car

bay shot... its really dirty but the engine started up fine when i replace the battery. 'fine' is defined as loud as fck due to one of the exhaust manifolds not being bolted to the cats. I get a check engine light but im hoping its either due to no pressure on the exhaust or due to there being no sensor on the coolant resivoir
http://i.imgur.com/fSnsC.jpg
worst part of the car. ill probably take as much of it off with a sander as i can then coat it with anti-rust paint.
http://i.imgur.com/Jhs5a.jpgHoping i can find some parts on these boards and get it running and looking good with your guys' help!
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Welcome to the e30 game!
I like the vents on the front quarters of the car, make it look exactly like an e46 m3

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Charles Dickens said:
Welcome to the e30 game!
I like the vents on the front quarters of the car, make it look exactly like an e46 m3

right?! noone will ever be able to tell the difference!



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cleaned up the car a bit today. put the headlights in. will eventually upgrade to ellipsoids / euro grille because it looks pretty derpy like this IMO.
also i vacuumed out theinterior and trunk. going to do sanding and rust control tomorrow.
Im thinking i may go with an electric radiator fan. does anyone have any suggestions?


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I want the rear seats!!!!
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im not parting it out!

but once i upgrade to black leather ill let you know lol
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Dont care!!!!
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Lol iight son.
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Looks like a fun project.
When was the timing belt done last? Might be a good idea to replace.
Spal electric fans are a common choice. http://store.bimmerworld.com/spal-electric-fans-p1160.aspx
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ill have to check it out. and yes i plan on doing the timing belt

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needs a little love, but its a good place to start! PM returned
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anyone else absolutely hate waiting for parts in the mail?

maybe i can work on my e34 sound system.
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today i got exhaust manifolds, gaskets, nuts, rods, a shift linkage kit, and a z3 short shifter!
this will be my first time doing shift linkage so wish me luck. i have lots to do tomorrow!
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got the new exhaust manifolds on, sounds like a truck now. much upgraded from sounding like a tractor or a jet engine.
tomorrow ill do all the hoses and put coolant in and it should be drivable. then i can find out of the headgasket is blown or not.
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Another update since i know you guys care oh so much. got the radiator fan installed today, i had to remove the radiator to get it on which i thought was odd.. i put the radiator fan back in and theres a little less than a half inch of clearance between the fan and the radiator!? is this normal?
also, ive noticed that if i rock the car really hard when it stops i hear something rattle inside the engine, im kinda scared to find out what it is, is this a symptom to anything? thanks!
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update. got the carpet today. fiddled with the dash and found out i gotta remove it and the heat blower in order to get it in, some people say you should cut around the console to get it in easy, but i dont want to do a half ass job. oh well, gives me time to look for a new dash anyways and get the carpet steam cleaned before i put it in.
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tits. got most of the interior in. some of it is just sitting there cause of me missing nuts bolts ect, so i gotta order some or pick some up somewhere.


New shift linkage is in, it shifts like a dream (i dont see why anyone would want a shorter shift than a 1.9 z3) but it still doesnt go into 2nd, just grinds. probably a synchro. oh well ill replace the tranny when i do an engine swap

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been wanting to do my headlights for a couple days now, but the humidity kept me from being able to paint anything.
finished today though! heres the process
What i started with

Teardown:

Finished!:

Close up:

its hard to see how good they look with my crappy phone camera. maybe ill post better pics eventually.
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blew the engine today!!! swap time.
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