** Acme [Akagi] bought a pink estate car - E30 325i project log! **

[Akagi]

It was yeah and I think I last spoke to the guy in 2017 (first spoke in 2015) so I know it was alive until at least '17/18 but haven't a clue now and yeah, no record on DVLA anymore suggests it may not be alive...I mean, if I really cared I'd trawl e30zone / ask the guy but I'm not that fussed.

No record can also mean it has a different reg now.
Most recently deceased cars will just come up as untaxed MOT expired.

 

[Akagi]

Maybe we should start an E30 lost/found thread

I fear that would result in unhappy news being delivered for the most part!

 

[Akagi]

Figured out why tightening the PAS belt hadn't stopped my PAS belt squeal...

It was both belts. So now tightened the alternator belt as well. No more belt slip.

Went for a nice long drive after making sure everything was in check, it does drive nicely, I should take it out more often!

It is now officially over 30 years old!

 

[Akagi]

I can't remember what I have said in here already, but my boot pockets have been filling up with water for months and I keep having to drain them. Finally bit the bullet and gave BMW £72 for a new boot seal.

Scrubbed up the seal lip and sprayed it with Jenolite rust converter first, then put the new seal on. Hopefully that finally sorts the issue.

I am nearly ready to take the car to a bodyshop and have the respray and other bits done, just need to sell the V70R first. Have had plenty of timewasters sadly, but hopefully it goes soon. It is a good and honest car!

I have AVO Race monotube coilovers to go on the E30, and 15x7 BBS Mahles which are being refurbished in Porsche Titan silver with polished lips.

The bodywork I have decided, after much deliberation, to have re-sprayed in the original Brillantrot red colour. And I may have some 80's themed stripes added as well.

I did a quick Photoshop mockup of what I am envisioning. It isn't my best work!

Spoiler

 

[Akagi]

Need to fiddle with the decals. Those ones aren't chunky enough.

 

[Akagi]

Well i can always edit a few other ideas. I like the Hartge/BBS style chunky ones too.

 

[Akagi]

Here are some pics of the aforementioned faffing with the boot seal. Scrubbed and sprayed the lip:







New seal fitted:



I also took care of the rusty corner on my drivers door which I'd been allowing to fester for way too long, before it actually killed the corner of the door... I did of course scuff it up and paint it with rust converter paint after.





Unfortunately I was still getting water in the boot with the new boot seal, so I sat in the boot, in the rain, with a torch, to see where the water was coming in from. It took about 20 minutes before this started to happen...







The poxy vent flaps behind the rear bumper, right down inside the boot pockets (would be hidden from view if I had all my boot trims installed) have a little rubber seal around them which has failed! I bought a bunch of them from the dealership so I can give some to a few mates who have water ingress issues.



Also posted the info on the E30 messageboards and Facebook groups, and I'm being lauded as some kind of celebrity now because the issue has plagued so many people for so long... You can't sit in the boot of a saloon or a convertible with a torch in the rain, but you can in an estate... And I just so happened to be sufficiently fed up, and just so happened to have the boot trims all removed anyway.

Moving on!

I bought some wheels which came up for a good price on Faceballs.

15x7 ET20 front and 15x8 ET20 rear ROTA OS Mesh. They are carbon copy replicas of JDM SSR Reverse Mesh alloys. I know ROTA wheels are often treated with scepticism when it comes to their quality, but I've never had an issue. Basketweave style wheels are pretty strong, and they are made using the same manufacturing process as the OEM BBS RZ, as well as the BBS Mahle I have in storage, and the Melbers I had for a spell as well.



The tyres are getting binned because they are too small, and I decided to dig deep(ish) and get some semi-slick Nankang NS2-R's to go on them, since I don't do many miles in the old girl, and when I do go out it is for spirited drives on warm dry days.



A ROTA + Nankang combo on an old BMW... How original.
Coming to an illegal drift meet in a supermarket car-park near you.
...Or maybe not.

 

[Akagi]

Dwifthoss

Pardon?

 

[Akagi]

Well the seller of the NS-2R's decided to inform me a full WEEK after I placed the order that he doesn't have them, and refunded me... -sigh-

I've now got some AD08R's.

Talking to my guy about welding some rear camber and toe adjustment plates onto the rear subframe for me, because E30's have no adjustment on the rear, and the natural camber would be something like 3.5 degrees negative on the back when lowered on coilovers, so the tyres would get ruined in no time.

Unfortunately that involves dropping the rear subframe out again.

Will probably get him to stick the coilovers in while he's at it to save me some time, and then align it all up for me.

 

[Akagi]

From what I've heard, Rotas are fine these days. I think there were some question marks over quality in the early days.

I personally don't have an issue with them, but I know they have a certain reputation.

I once smacked a ROTA RKR into a curb so hard that the tyre de-beaded and the wishbone and other suspension components bent so that the wheel was pushed into the footwell.

The wheel itself was fine. Took the tyre off, cleaned up the bead, re-mounted it, jobs a goodun.

 

[Akagi]

Got the rear camber adjuster kit from Lithuania, looks decent quality, needs to be for the price!

Put the GAZ top mounts on the coilovers, got the bolts I need for the rear top mounts, checked all of the spherical bearings and one of the lower ones on the rear had some play so I ordered a replacement which was £19 posted...

Wheels and tyres are all sat in the boot of the car ready to go, I'll get my mate to mount them and balance them up for me at the same time...

0 toe and 2 degrees negative camber in the front, 0 toe and 1.5 degrees negative camber in the rear is what I'm going for I think.

0.8 toe IN on the front is the standard setup, 0.8 toe OUT on the front is the recommended setup for track use, so 0 toe is a bit of a compromise/middle ground between stability, tyre wear, and turn in.

Front caster I'll put slap bang in the middle (where it would be if I had top mounts without adjustable caster) it has already been increased a little by the E36 M3 offset front eccentric bushes.

 

[Akagi]

New suspension is in, and front disks pads and backplates.

Perty.



Unfortunately my new wheels, despite being 15x7 ET20 (and stock being 15x7 ET24) do not clear the calipers because of the spoke design... So we have ordered some 5MM spacers in the hope that fixes the issue... And some 10MM spacers in case it doesn't...

Either way thats a problem because the wheels will foul the arches. Ahhhhhhhh!!!

 

[Akagi]

The caliper looks real ropey in comparison now lol

I have new ones but I'm not going to put them on while the original ones are still fine.

The suspension arms, calipers, subframes, etc, are actually in very good shape. Just surface rust, no huge flakes coming off of them etc.

 

[Akagi]

Well my quick £250 labour only job has turned into a £600 parts and labour job so far!

Needed to get a big spacer for the front because with the 10MM it still fouled but this time it was the tyre on the spring, so I need to get a pair of narrower tyres now, probably £100~. Spacer was £50. Then £120 for the new front wheel bearings that fell apart...

Had to extend the rear evap lines because they wouldn't fit behind the coilover assembly (used to be just the shock in that location.



Then when setting her down to take some initial measurements before doing the subframe modification, found that the semi trailing arm on the drivers side is slightly bent, camber was 2 degrees higher than the other side.

Checked the service history and theres an alignment from 2011 in there, and it was out then as well. So the rear camber has been janky for likely over a decade...

So I have ordered a replacement second hand trailing arm, a new bearing to go in it, and new trailing arm bushes for it and the other side, that was another £100...

And then when you add on the new wheels and tyres and other bits and pieces, this takes me to well over £1K.

And it started because I decided I should replace a pair of old tyres......

At least I will have the suspension, old wheels, and giant spacers to sell when all said and done... Should be able to claw £350 back from that!

 

[Akagi]

It probably wouldn't do to be honest, be hard to tell without sitting it next to another one and getting a straight edge out.

I've ordered a new arm and bushes and bits now.

I have the car back "half done" and haven't yet paid for the work completed.

I am not going to be having the adjustable rear subframe part done, and I will fit the rest of the parts myself.

Got a fun conversation or three coming up where I refuse the majority of the bill due to damage to other parts of the car.

Hooray!

 

[Akagi]

Well this is going well. Successfully refused the bill and got it reduced so I can replace the parts that got damaged.

But the coilovers are no good, the front clearance is non existant so I cannot fit wheels with a reasonable offset, the rear doesn't go high enough, and I have my doubts about the spring rates being what I was told they are. So I am taking it all off and putting my old suspension back in.

Meaning this whole experience has been a massive waste of time and money, created stress, and caused damage.

Brilliant!

And to make matters worse, the replacement arm I ordered, is from an E30 made in the 18 months or so that you could get a disk brake and ABS rear with a 72MM wheel bearing, rather than a 75MM wheel bearing like the rest of them, so that is useless to me as well...

 

[Akagi]

Oh it wasn't a parts supplier, it was second hand. No parts supplier has them, no third party manufacturers them at all, and from BMW they are £450+, so used market is the only way to get hold of them.

 

[Akagi]

Finally got the ABS light to go out, the ABS isn't functional yet (need to test the ABS ECU and relays somewhen...) but because the system is completely standalone and the speedo reading is taken from a sensor on the differential, simply unplugging the ABS sensors means the ABS light comes on with ignition, and then clears...

I have installed the rear boot pocket vent gaskets to try and stop the water ingress, genuine BMW gaskets, it still lets water in. I'm glad they were cheap. I will seal them with black silicone. I wanted to avoid it, but its not the end of the world, its hidden, and it will work.

It is also letting water in from the tail light seals again (my second hand replacements are no longer keeping the rain out) so I need some new ones of those as well. They are £24 each. I guess thats not too awful.

I'll call BMW directly first though to see if they are any cheaper from them.

 

[Akagi]

I’m amazed you’re still going with this!

Dont be, its not going anywhere.

 

[Akagi]

@Acme Who are you insured with? Is it a classic car policy?

The broker I use are an old customer of mine called NeedToInsure.

https://www.needtoinsure.co.uk/

My car is on a Marketstudy Modified Classic scheme, and was previously on an ERS Modified Classic scheme, both through them.

Fully comp, 0 excess, Europe cover, agreed value, mods cover, parts cover.

They are very good at agreeing a good price with the insurer, but if you want all the bells and whistles, don't expect the price to compare with a confused.com special.