e30 cabrio in Shorewood -- kinda a long post

[jc43089]

I forgot about the switch, mine is an 89 but mfg in 7/88 so not sure what it is.  The tag is not readable, I will have to spin it and count.  It was definitely too aggressive after a manual swap.

[BenDem]

Just sent you a PM.   I'm still on the fence about the manual swap.   If it wasn't a 'vert I'd do it in a heartbeat.  However, the slushbox isn't exactly out of character with relaxed nature of the car.  I think I can probably live with it for a while, and get the rest of the car *just right* first.

[Earl]

Are you just going to keep this as a clean weekend driver with subtle mods?

[BenDem]

The general idea is to keep it within the 'character' of the car as it was originally produced.  Lumps and all.

So, the diving boards stay, as does the 80's sound system.

I'd happily swap / add anything that was an 'option' by BMW when it was produced -- maybe a 5 manual swap. LSD, etc.

I also might do spring / damper mod -- as that's a simple thing to revert to 'stock'.

I've also got this idea for an engine montoring device that would work with a smartphone via bluetooth -- but that would be completely hidden from view and would only be to monitor how the car is running.

I'm not interested in 'perfect' either.   Instead, I'm going for 'approptiate patina' as the car ages.  I'm expecting the car will gain between 2-5k miles per year.

[YoungCR]

Very cool, I'm all for the originality and OEM+ mods.

[B C]

If it is of any comfort to you, I ran my car hard with the automatic on a regular basis and it held up just fine. The weak point on them is revving it while in neutral since the pressure buildup can dislodge a seal and cause you to lose Drive.

[jc43089]

As Snap said the 4hp22 is a solid transmission, a guy I work with has a '90 325i vert, which has 280+k on it (odo stopped before he bought it) the auto still worked great, he had the trans gone through when i built the engine and the guys said it looked decent inside, just put new seals in it and a kickdown cable I think.  Which reminds me, I put the engine in it over a year ago and he still hasn't finished putting the last bits together...

[BenDem]

I'm not sure you guys are making me feel better.

I was telling myself when the trans died, I'd do the 5 speed swap.  Now I'm going to have to wait another 100k miles ?

[jc43089]

More burnouts!  (revving in neutral will do it in real quick) 

"Sorry (wifes name) not sure what happened, trans seems fried"

[i_love_cars]

nice, did I see you on I-94 W last week during rush hour on Thursday or Friday? I gave a nod to a dude in a red 3.2.5 cabrio when we were right next to each other that looked just as clean as your example.

[BenDem]

Ha.  Yup, that was me!

(Nice 135, my favs of the 'new' BMWs )

[i_love_cars]

yes sir! My old boss had a couple of M3's including an '88 E30 that he just sold - to me the 135 is as close as possible in modern times to how that M3 felt. This thing is tiny for sure and reminds me of the older 3-series in that regard.

+1 for manual trans conversion    ditch your auto 

[Jdesign]

Yay another vert, Welcome to you sir!