1990 SA 325i

[JayCee 26]

Hey guys,

Am going to start a journal here on the progression off my 5th bmw e30.

So Basically I sold my 325i last year and downgraded to a 318i coupe,

I had since wanted to get back into a 6 cyl again as the 325i drives so nice,

I had a 1989 South African 325i with all the extras so that was a must have again.

I managed to find this 1990 sa 325i on trademe,

I got it for quite a steal, from torbay.

Delphin Grey Metallic,

The aircon blows cold

Leather recaros,

Long range gas tank,

On Board Computer,

Working cruise control etc..

Still to confirm weather this is running a 4.1 open or a lsd like my last one.

Will be a slow progression on this as i am just an apprentice plumber, so im far from the big bucks at this stage

Will update when i can,

And try add a few pics to make it interesting,

First few pics will most likely be taken from my galaxy phone,

So excuse the quality.

Edited February 25, 2013 by JayCeeE30

[JayCee 26]

Here are a few pics after i cleaned it.

Only thing i've done here is put in a dashmat.

When i unlocked the glovebox i found a VTNZ wof checklist from 2012,

It only failed on the handbrake needing adjustment,

And focus one headlight. I will be taking her to vtnz for the next wof in May.

I discovered in the boot that the spare wheel is in immaculate condition,

I am certain it has the original tyre since factory and is an excellent example of the "bottle caps"

[JayCee 26]

Today I recieved my new rims,

They are bbs rs replicas.

16"x9" 20 offset,

A bit of guard work and spacers are needed,

Am keeping an eye on the project thread "good things take time, e30" as E30BMW1989 is fitting the same rims in silver to his car.

Yes these are red ! But they had no silvers in 16x9 so i will be hitting up my partners step dad at Ellerslie Collision Repairs to respray the centres!

At the moment i am thinking Gloss black weaves with gold bolts and getting the lips polished by arrow wheels.

Am thinking of stretching on 205/40/16 falkens also!

I am thinking that coilovers and some serious guard rolling is needed for these rims!

Today i also picked up a nice example of an M Tech II steering wheel from APT

Will be replacing the Mtech I steering wheel currently in car and will be selling it

[JayCee 26]

All that has been done recently is replace the cigarette lighter with one with the icon on it, fussy i know :L

Put on all 4 door hand interior surrounds and also a window wiper, These were missing when i bought the car.

Next thing this weekend is to order my new heavy duty century battery ( at trade price ) to power the sound system/small night club that will be eventually installed at a later date, soundstream i am thinking. Also because the guy whom sold me the car gave me a dud battery :\

Have bought window tint voucher @ carfoile but am deciding weather i tint it or not ? help guys?

Am planning on spraying grille black even though half of you guys will despise me for it! but hey its not done yet, Bumper coat the bumpers and get the plastics looking good.

Also i will be attempting to black out the roof for the 2nd time, using duplicolour vinyl and fabric paint! I used this also on my rear parcel tray as it was basically white!

Any opinions and tips would be appreciated guys

Until next time,

Jordan

[Etwenty1 45]

Any opinions and tips would be appreciated guys

Have you shone a torch in the sunroof slot to see if you have rust in there? If so you may want to take your roof liner out and fix the cage before you bother re-colouring it.

Edited February 25, 2013 by etwenty1

[JayCee 26]

Any opinions and tips would be appreciated guys

Have you shone a torch in the sunroof slot to see if you have rust in there? If so you may want to take your roof liner out and fix the cage before you bother re-colouring it.

Yup i sure have, Learnt the hardway on my first e30, sunroof cavity was rooted,

The only rust on this car that i can see is surface near the doors, Apparently its a SA thing, The bonnet has a lil rust too from a stone chip, am getting colour code paint and cutting rust out, and sealing it, unless i am to get a replacement panel.

My partners stepfather owns a paint shop so respraying panels will be readily available

[JayCee 26]

This weekend I will be Putting Smiley headlights on,

Replacing the broken ariel,

Putting a plastic cover behind the drivers side headlight, (from my other e30)

And putting a plastic over near the windscreen to cover all the cables, also from my other e30.

I have recieved quote to paint the rims,

$70 per wheel, Awaiting quote on the lip polishing still.

Will be selling the lower lip as i will be buying another genuine is lip, Sold my last one to raise money in time for this car but now i want one again!

Will update some pics this weekend

[viettt 1]

looking good! keep it up!

[328bema 18]

Pretty clean looking e30 bro looks good!

[JayCee 26]

looking good! keep it up!

Nothing in comparrison to the condition of yours! cheers for the support bro, il try update this regularly

Pretty clean looking e30 bro looks good!

Thanks mate! Hopefully i make the right mods to it, so i dont take away that classic look, but i also want that aggressive stance

[JayCee 26]

So tonight i have been buying a whole lot of crap for my e30 really.

German flag badge ( i really like these for some reason )

52 led rear brake light, the standard ones just dont do it for me

europlate look number plate surrounds

bbs centrecap stickers for the rims

Mtech emblem on way for tech I wheel which is getting replaced by the tech II

^^ got to love ebay

next week im ordering a new light bar for obc

have clear indicators to swap over when i do the smiley lights too

Edited February 26, 2013 by JayCeeE30

[JayCee 26]

So not too much has been done to the e30.

My europlate look surrounds arrived, Look pretty sweet from affar

I swapped in some smiley lights, i prefer these, others may prefer ellipsods,

Have the yellow highbeam film on, as they came off my coupe. What do you guys reckon? keep or remove yellow film?

I put in clear indicators, fronts and sides

And i removed the rear brake light and replaced it with a 52 led light bar from ledworld.

I installed my tech II steering wheel, looks pretty sweet!

Next weekend i will probably be getting some spray paint, to repaint the plastic grilles including the chrome kidney grille.

Am taking my bbs reps up to the other halfs house to discuss paint with her stepfather and maybe see how much to colour code my bumpers, leaving the trim black though.

I have to remove the rear bumper as it has a bend in it and im swapping it with one from my coupe, Its starting to look pretty sad now!

I need to purchase a torx 50 - 55 for the bumper bolts and im thinking i will be removing the tow bar and selling it, Anyone know how easy/hard this is?

I am saving up for some 205/45/16 Falkens, They are about $180 a piece! but Can get more stretch from them.

That is all i can think of atm,

Will update you guys next week!

Jordan

Edited March 1, 2013 by JayCeeE30

[dubman 39]

rear tow bar removal depends on how well it was fitted

t55 torx to remove rear bumper, then just normal sockets etc to remove tow bar bracket and support. remove your boot carpet and rubber bungs above the rear rails (where the tow bar support goes into the body)

Do you have spare OEM bumper mounts? When you remove the tow bar, you need the stock bumper mounts to re-attach he bumper.

also look at xxx/45/16 profiles for wheel, kumho has ku31? in similar sizing? just a thought

[JayCee 26]

rear tow bar removal depends on how well it was fitted

t55 torx to remove rear bumper, then just normal sockets etc to remove tow bar bracket and support. remove your boot carpet and rubber bungs above the rear rails (where the tow bar support goes into the body)

Do you have spare OEM bumper mounts? When you remove the tow bar, you need the stock bumper mounts to re-attach he bumper.

also look at xxx/45/16 profiles for wheel, kumho has ku31? in similar sizing? just a thought

Jesus, sounds pretty hardcore, do you reckon its worth the hasstle? or should i just black out the tow bar and if any bastard rear ends me itl stop a lil impact haha,

And oh yeah i just checked my trademe watchlist, It is 205/45/16

I will have a look at kumho thanks mate! Only reason im looking at falken is apparently you can legally have more stretch according to tyre/wheel sizing guide, But il have a look at kumhos, I wouldnt mind saving a bit of coin to put towards my manual conversion

[Lucan 196]

My sedan looked nearly identical when I first got it.

SA, Delphin, blue leather, all the SA extras...Except manual.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

t55 torx to remove rear bumper, then just normal sockets etc to remove tow bar bracket and support.

sometimes its an inverse-hex 10mm rather than the torx ones. but the inverse-hex 10mm will take out both types, provided the torx type bolt isn't rusted in tight etc

[JayCee 26]

My sedan looked nearly identical when I first got it.

SA, Delphin, blue leather, all the SA extras...Except manual.

Did you get ur leather rehupolstured in black?

Haha yeah i will get mine converted, read your thread like a milli times, lets hope mine looks like yours when its done haha so jealous of lpc

[JayCee 26]

sometimes its an inverse-hex 10mm rather than the torx ones. but the inverse-hex 10mm will take out both types, provided the torx type bolt isn't rusted in tight etc

Im pretty sure theyre torx, i want just the allan key ones haha, way less of a stuff around. Need to get a torx bit from repco or somewhere?

[DarinD 8]

Looking good. Jealous of the steering wheel haha. Tow bar removal isn't as hard as it sounds. Takes about half an hour. Just make sure you get stock bumper mounts like dubman said.

[JayCee 26]

Looking good. Jealous of the steering wheel haha. Tow bar removal isn't as hard as it sounds. Takes about half an hour. Just make sure you get stock bumper mounts like dubman said.

Cheers mate, thinking of getting it releathered

And okay cheers might attempt it in a couple of weeks,

Il ask ray if he has stock mounts available

[JayCee 26]

Hi guys,

Been very busy with work lately,

no major mods again but i have added some nice roof racks that i purchased from scott e30 last year,

And i have shown my support to the bimmer community and purchased a bimmersport sticker

I have slowly pushed aside some funds to paint all 4 bbs reps, so will try get them painted in the next few weeks !

I get my full licence back in May,

Have decided i will treat myself to a full bmw service at team mcmillan and get a vtnz wof.

But this is 2 months away

Will update when i can,

let me know what you think, like/dislike, ideas, im open

[JayCee 26]

So i bought a few bits and bobs for my e30,

I have bought a replacement led bar for my obc,

I managed to source me another is lip! After regretfully selling mine in an effort to raise funds for this project! now i have the car i need the lip

I have my german flag badge for the front grille,

All i need this week is to get some duplicolour bumper coat and respray my grilles,

I am going to replace the back bumper when i get the torx key.

After these little bits it will be a few weeks till i have any new news,

Had to pay a few bills this week so rim painting is on hold for a few weeks.

Then it will be save save save for 205/45/16 falkens which works out to be $716 for a set of 4 ! :/

I will try flick my coupe for 1.5k-2k since i have the work van now,

That will pay for my adjusties! still got the cert to think about,

need 5mm spacers on front. rolled gaurds

and then we can think about a 5spd 260.

I want the visuals to be mostly done before i convert, project shall be done before my 21st in october,

Booking my tints voucher soon @ carfoile and i want to get some eurotips after i get a vtnz wof in may.

Slow progress but will be worth it!

[JayCee 26]

Hope to make it look sweeter than my 325i i sold in august last year

[Ace Of Spades 51]

What adjusties if you don't mind my asking..?

Also any performance mods in mind??

[JayCee 26]

What adjusties if you don't mind my asking..?

Also any performance mods in mind??

Im thinking bc golds mate but nothing definate atm.

And not really, probably just a stroker 2.8 kit nothing extreme,

would love a big f**k off turbo but i think after this is done il be saving for a house