E30 daily driver refresh builds and project cars forum. I swapped the brake rotors, pads, tie rods, control arms, and all the gaskets for the engine along with a new water pump, timing belt, distributor, distributor rotor, ignition wires, and plugs to completely refresh my old bmw daily driver. We take pride in being makers and being surrounded by makers. It was back in 1993 when i last owned an e30, a 1985 318i with only 38k miles. What needs to be changed soon is the automatic transmission. One day, out of the blue, he found a great deal on a bmw e30, something hed always wanted to. Ive been trying to sell off some parts to recoup some of my cost, and one of the first things to go was the window regulators. I was daily driving my old g35 and got tired of it so i was going to drive the e30 a few days. They are a joy to drive when maintained properly and in spite of around a million of them being produced, they are more rare to see today than the coveted 02. The vintage daily driver building a playful worldwide vintage car community.
A sloppy shifter detracts from your driving pleasure. With excellent taste if you ask me, he turned to the e28 535i, famed for its reliable, if not efficient, m30 powerplant. Aaaaand now im a fanboy consider supporting shooting cars in exchange for some sweet merchandise. The marketplace for those who daily drive their vintage cars. What started out as a pretty much run down and ready to be parted out bmw e30 sedan turned out into the. As you have probably figured out by now, i have a problem with cars. The 10 best classic cars to drive daily petrolicious. Styling was taut, the thin pillars and low beltline creating an expansive greenhouse. As his daily driver, though, hes been forced to make calculated moves, stockpiling.
Bmw e30 325i daily driver ls swap page 2 yellow bullet forums. If youre doing the last one, can we borrow some money. A guide to help decide which m3 e30, e36, e46, or e90is right for you. Ive read that much like miatas, e30s are a true drivers car and have super balanced handling, not to mention rwd. Guys higgs pristine s50powered 1989 bmw e30 doesnt belong in a box. May 22, 2014 i prefer the softer lines to the e30s. At first, i wanted to restore the car to clean bonestock, keeping the car usable as a daily driver. Then, he decided to do some mods on his daily driver a vw polo.
If you want to bring back that factory crisp shifter, these kits will do that for you. From silvers coliovers and bbs wheels to air suspension and 2 piece forged wheels, this. Everything on the car is more or less new though so im not worried at all. This is an excellent setup for dualduty bimmers that are used as a daily driver plus occasional autocross andor driving schools. This build was commissioned to us by a great guy and his wife, who are both ballet dancers and perform in nyc. With the e30 becoming a bit of a collectors item, the e36 3series has. The ride stays compliant for daily use, and becomes more composed during serious performance driving.
I bought the car around 2001 and intended to use it as a daily driver and occasional trackday car, says byrd. I was procrastinating starting the build october last year. Ian, as a motorsport engineering graduate and longtime daily e30 driver brought a mass of experience to the project and will had an engine crane and a 4x4 for transporting the engine and box. Nov 22, 2016 lotus is building an entrylevel car for daily use. Jan 10, 2017 another category of driver is looking for cars that can be driven to track maybe even used as a daily driver too. People push moderate power on stock bottom ends with no issues for years. Nov 22, 2016 this was, without a doubt, some of the most fun ive had behind the wheel of a car. Even in the rain, it was a blast to push from corner to. Guy saw it as a chance to crack on and build the e30 as hed intended, to get it ready for the event. If youve never gotten to watch people building a roll cage, find a way to do so. I should know, i also own a beautiful bone stock malaga 73. But as i improved the cars performance, handling, and responsiveness for track days and autocross, i had so much fun that i started building a track car that could also be.
Just looking at it, you would swear it had less than 50k miles inside and out. Sep 18, 2014 when you want to have fun with it, just push it harder along a twisty road to let the chassis qualities really shine, or go to an empty parking lot and hoon like a little kid who just got his drivers license definitely one of the best classic cars to drive daily. Lovely to drive now and ready for some gentle wafting about. This was, without a doubt, some of the most fun ive had behind the wheel of a car. Even with less experience 6 months is an insane amount of time. Byrons e30 build could best be defined as a slow burn. I could be wrong, but i believe he built joshs irish44j cage for his e30 as well.
These will still have the needed track mods brakes, suspension, cooling, diff, geo, tyresbut driveable on the road. He used the car as a daily driver for a few years, doing bits and pieces here and there as he saw fit. Home page ecs news bmw e30 3 series shifter rebuild kits. I was able to complete my first turbo e30 build in 3 weekends with full engine management and exhaust. Full tilt dirk deppens procharged v8swapped 1986 bmw e28 535i.
Was gonna go with a vdo but decided to go more modern. Surprisingly enough, the e30 makes a great daily driver, but if you live where it snows a lot. He enjoyed himself doing it, but not enough to quit his job at the bar. After todays buyers guide, you might wonder what it would be like to actually drive a bmw e30 m3 every day. Looking for 3series manuals, mods or service advice. Aug 5 e30 320i from japan is the perfect daily rob rutkowski. Spark plugs are an important part of your engine make sure that they are replaced every 10,000 miles. I didnt fix the bullet holes in the body but considered. Once again, everyones favourite car or should i say, the internets favourite car, the e30 bmw, gets some major lovin. Its been a busy few weeks with lspr and selling my daily driver and getting a new dailytow vehicle, but work has officially started on the e30. In this series, im going to be turbo charging my bmw 1990 325i which i had recently finished throwing together from. These are the original set not the new ones being sold, purchased from dealer in early 2012. So i am just shocked really that my stock spec 1989 325i build date 1088 remains a rock solid daily driver. Thanks to jeroen from speedhunters for kindly throwing this build my way.
Here is a quick beginners guide ive decided to write to help some of the guys who are looking for some guidance on what to do to their e30. I like when people take care of their cars, no matter what make or model. Theres a guy by the name of ozgur who has a stagerallyprepped e30 and builds cages. The e30 is a light car, you dont need gobs of torque for a fun track car. Back in the late 1980s my daily driver was a triumph herald. The valve cover seal replacement is an easy task, as shown in this technical article. Ive been trying to get a nice daily driver forever but my desire to modify and personalize cars tends to suck more money than i always plan to spend. With the help of guys neighbour, scott, the car went from a bright orange bare shell to slick black track.
Dec 18, 2019 lotus is building an entrylevel car for daily use. E30 addict bought this pristine example to be his wifes daily driver. Dec 21, 2018 20 best project cars to start a home build. While not as bad as some looking at you julien, i definitely have a problem. The valve covers on the bmw four and six cylinder engines are very prone to messy and annoying leaks. Arm bmw build some of the best e30 m3 competition cars, also supplied their. Bmw released the e30 3 series with a level of build quality and engineering that had once been the. The e30 is originally from arizona so so it has zero rust. Our resident classic car expert knows how to get the perfect e30. May 17, 2016 then, he decided to do some mods on his daily driver a vw polo. My goal for this car is to make a fun daily driver. Balance of an ls swapped e30 vs boosting the m20 r3vlimited. But he wasnt going to rush into anything, hed been waiting long enough to realise his e30 ambition so there was no need to charge in like a bull in the proverbial porcelain emporium.
Oct 31, 2019 about a year ago, fitment industries bought a 1991 bmw e30 318i. Pls no bullyjust a quick vid of the first steps to make alexs new 318is less bad, with plastic trim. What its like to live with bmws most unloved engine. If youve attended several of the major shows across the uk last year then theres a chance that youve seen guys e30 sitting pretty with its gloss black paint job, slammed over those retrocool gold wheels.
Bmw 3series e30 19831991 technical articles pelican. Surprisingly enough, the e30 makes a great daily driver. Bmw e30e36 turbos and superchargers 3series 19831999. Somehow though, dirk managed to pop the big six, and the downhill spiral began. I dont get much time after work to work on the e30, only somedays and mostly less than an hour. I need to put stock suspension on my daily driver nb so i can finally just go do. Import a e30 touring in lhd, and swap an ls3t56 into it. If you want something more modern than a 2002, the e30generation 3series will get the job. The e30 picnic presented by garagistic has evolved into the largest gathering of e30s on earth. V8swapped e30 m3 for sale chevy ls engined bmw 3series. Ive been toying around with flipping my current vehicle, a 2012 mazda 3, for a late 80s bmw e30. What i really love about this bmw 2002 is that it was originally purchased as a daily driver. Highest quality assurance standards with tuv and iso9001 certification.
With the e30 becoming a bit of a collectors item, the e36 3series has become the track. It was a black over parchment 4 door was my introduction to how great bmws are to live with and enjoy. If youre commuting more than 3045 minutes 1 way daily, and cant do any work by yourself, no no 20 year old car will. Bought a nice one and have had lots done to make it close to new, mechanically, as possible. Theres an e30 m3 track car, two e28 m5s one a daily driver, and even a heavily modified, supercharged firstgeneration acura nsx in there to cover just about every driving situation this side of two feet of snow. Bought it with 197k miles on it, now over 300k, no major problems yet. Its been a busy few weeks with lspr and selling my daily driver and getting a new daily tow vehicle, but work has officially started on the e30. I didnt really get a chance to give it a spring onceover this year yet short of an oil change so id like to sideline it for a week or two. At the beginning of the process,i had never driven on a track, and had mechanical experience. You could build an excellent v8swapped e30 m3 of your own just based on what the seller. Weve got you covered with a comprehensive series of articles designed to keep your e30 engine, suspension and body up to spec for years to come.
Then the e34 will be my daily for a while i maintain my e30. Mine is a daily right now while i do some work to my e34. Some of that skimping would pay off later, some of it would come back and haunt me. To take the mystery out of picking parts for your e30 suspension build, the following are some of the most common applications, with some suggestions for the best parts and settings for that kind of use. The guy who was supposed to be building my exhaust had a couple of things come up so i am. All e30s are invited, from garage queens to daily drivers like mine. Bmw 3series e30 19831991 technical articles pelican parts. Paint shows nicely with a few stone chips and two small dents, is lip, 14 bbs weaves. As beloved as the e30 is to many auto enthusiasts, at some point theyre going to become too old to cost effectively use as a daily driver.
That might have been it for this story, but then john decided he wanted more power than the polo could offer. His e30 project was well underway, and fittingly, dirk was in need of a daily driver. Seeking another enthusiast owner to daily drive this car and enjoy it for a very long time. The dream of having a project car lives on, and just about every gearhead has grown up surrounded by the cars they love from an early age. If you want a new car you can daily drive and take to the track, you.
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. Kevin didnt want to cut up a genuine e30 m3 to build the car that he wanted to build. And a shot of my skid plate from my previous e30 i realized i am not a fan of stance and stretched tires on a daily driven vehicle. As we have been going on adventures and experiencing amazing cars being ready to be presented, we wanted to share our very own pashis e36 daily drift car. This listing has been viewed 2423 times since it was created on dec 6, 20. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. It has been continuously on the road for over eight years and was preceded by a nearly identical 1989 325i that served ten years before being sold in running condition to a nonmechanical friend. Another category of driver is looking for cars that can be driven to track maybe even used as a daily driver too. Our mission is to help every automotive community member get to the finish line by helping them realize that vehicle maintenance, upgrading, enlightenment, and racing can. Well hopefully i will have the s52 pulled and ready for the e34 pan by this weekend, as well a modified booster re installed. Yep, he bent my cage and did some install work, though i welded a good bit of it myself which was a clone of the cage he built for his own e30 the shell that i gave to him.