My Retro Resto - E30 325i Cab

Pate · 1 May 2012 at 22:37

Looks like a great car! Loving the retro shape.

Eliot · 1 May 2012 at 22:40

Drop a m3 3.2 in it.

Hatsoff to you though its a task alright but I've seen cars that need way more work than that should go well if you have the time.

Firestar_3x · 1 May 2012 at 22:50

InvaderGIR said:
worst comes to worst it is £500 wasted. I'd much rather waste £500 than £1200+ on a just as dodgy, but running version.

How much is the parts bill going to come to?

What happens if you throw £500 at it and it's still a shed?

task · 1 May 2012 at 22:53

This should be good to watch, glad I'm not the only mentalist that takes on a restoration

InvaderGIR · 1 May 2012 at 23:02

Firestar_3x said:
How much is the parts bill going to come to?

Not small, same would happen though if you got a runner, unless you spend 3k+ (and even then to be honest) there will be old worn parts needing replacing if you want a shiny tidy car.

Firestar_3x said:
What happens if you throw £500 at it and it's still a shed?

I own it, it'll always be a shed, even if it is a shiny one.

taske said:
This should be good to watch, glad I'm not the only mentalist that takes on a restoration

Why thank you.

As yet I'm not sure it'll be quite on par with some of your work, but I do hope it'll be far from a rotter by the time I'm done. I have no time limit on this though, aside from a couple of years but I'd like to have it ready for summer '13.

ZG002 · 1 May 2012 at 23:22

Interior is easy enough to fix really, Just need to find replacements, Once you have them it's a day at the most to swap everything over, As long as the shell is solid enough and you don't have to start welding in a lot of metal it's not too bad, I think your biggest task is the engine and actually finding replacement interior.

Just remember to give the brakes a good going over when you get it up a running

Hades · 1 May 2012 at 23:30

Love these. It's not quite as bad as the pics first make out, The interior can be swapped or retrimmed. If the rust is body panels rather than structural then it can be fixed (at a price obviously). The engine will need some work too.

It's probably not economically viable as it would be cheaper to simply buy one in better condition. But that's not the point. The point here is to restore it and I get that. I'm gradually doing similar to the car in my sig (nothing as major as this though).

Well done. Good luck

Firestar_3x · 1 May 2012 at 23:34

InvaderGIR said:
Not small, same would happen though if you got a runner, unless you spend 3k+ (and even then to be honest) there will be old worn parts needing replacing if you want a shiny tidy car.

I own it, it'll always be a shed, even if it is a shiny one.

Looking forward to the updates

Provided the shell is sound then you should end up with a good car with loads of new bits bolted on. Just seems like a slightly backwards way of doing things.

Iamzod · 1 May 2012 at 23:44

Bit odd that the car has mismatched headlights?

Hades · 1 May 2012 at 23:48

Iamzod said:
Bit odd that the car has mismatched headlights?

It's had a tap on one side/front I think. I'm guessing drivers side front as the bonnet and wing don't quite line up. But it's an old car and cars gather history as they get older. Different fog light and slightly newer indicator on that side too.

EDIT: I wouldn't be surprised if that's why the drivers wing has started rusting at the arch and the front lip either; it's probably an aftermarket wing which is thinner metal and not painted quite as well as it left the factory.

paradigm · 1 May 2012 at 23:49

I can't believe you weren't willing to put the money into a relatively tidy e36, but will pile buckets into that heap?

I'm not exactly a stranger to ploughing money into aging BMWs, but even I'd say no to that one!

I'm sure once it's finished it will be lovely, but it just seems too far gone for it to be a worthwhile investment.

Hades · 1 May 2012 at 23:54

That's not the point though. Buying and restoring a car like this is fun and so satisfying when you improve it.

paradigm · 1 May 2012 at 23:56

Hades said:
That's not the point though. Buying and restoring a car like this is fun and so satisfying when you improve it.

It kind of is the point when he already had a perfectly servicable e36 in need of restoration though.

I took a £1000 1992 E36 325i and made it as pristine as possible by ploughing the best part of £2000 into it, and it was in markedly better condition that that e30.

As "fun" as it is to restore a car to it's former glory, sometimes it's simply better to spend some of your restoration fund on buying a better base to begin with!

Hades · 1 May 2012 at 23:58

Yes I get that too, and that's what I did myself.

I wasn't aware he had another project on the go.

Well if he changed his mind then he could probably make a decent profit by breaking it.

paradigm · 2 May 2012 at 00:01

Hades said:
I wasn't aware he had another project on the go.

He doesn't. As he explained in the OP, he had an e36 that was in need of money spending on it to bring it back to it's former glory, which he then got rid of as he didn't want to spend the money on it.

As I said before, I fully understand the lust of having a project car to restore, but I just don't think the e30 325 cab in the OP is a great starting point, especially when compared to the e36 he deemed unworthy of investment.

Hades · 2 May 2012 at 00:03

I admit I'm guilty of not fully reading his opening post

In which case I agree if he sold the e36 due to the cost of restoring it, then this doesn't make so much sense.

Matt82 · 2 May 2012 at 06:45

InvaderGIR said:
Fix it.
Life would be boring without risks and threads like these wouldn't exist, count yourselves lucky that you get to experience such idiocy as mine without the hassle.

Ive got that 94 m3 remember which turned into a resto. Ive got a load of new parts to go on but no time to do it. Gonna be ace when its done tho

InvaderGIR · 2 May 2012 at 07:26

paradigm said:
He doesn't. As he explained in the OP, he had an e36 that was in need of money spending on it to bring it back to it's former glory, which he then got rid of as he didn't want to spend the money on it.

As I said before, I fully understand the lust of having a project car to restore, but I just don't think the e30 325 cab in the OP is a great starting point, especially when compared to the e36 he deemed unworthy of investment.

The e36 was my daily a year ago when I had barely any money spare and no garage to work in. Sorting it would have meant no car and big debt. I didn't deem it unworthy to repair it at all, I just didn't deem it worth my time and the financial trouble it could have landed me in to be worth it for me. It has since been kept on the road so I'd assume the new owner has sorted what needed doing.
This on the other hand is just some fun and gives me something to do in my spare time. Money won't be thrown at it either, it'll be trickled into it as I don't have to get back on the road for a good long while.

rjk · 2 May 2012 at 08:04

There was a thread on here linking to a PH thread a while back where a guy did up an old fiesta. This got people asking why he would plough money into it.

I would much sooner see a car like this used as a base for a good restoration job than an old fiesta. Hats off to the OP for giving it a go.
Looking forward to seeing how it turns out, I wouldnt have a clue where to start!

Tinders · 2 May 2012 at 09:04

I think thats a bargain for a E30,its a convertible, the 325i and best of all its a E30, make a good job of it and you have a very decent investment imo.

For the seats, try liquid leather, Wohoo on here has some tan mx5 seats and we did his with their kit, the difference was amazing.