E30 325i Rag-Top

I'm not sure where in London you were living to not see gritted roads in 10 years, must have been either lucky or in the area of a council that had run out of money and couldn't afford to grit the roads. All of England gets cold enough for snow and ice and all areas get gritted - including the south. It's not just the gritting of the roads that are the issue, it's also the marine environment and salty sea air. Just look inside a heat pump from a Bach to see what I mean! But you are right, not every car in England is a rust bucket and the issues are greatly exaggerated.

Original post doesn't mention front bumper.. maybe why so 'cheap'?

Yeah, because a Porsche really is a useable four seater, where the M is really only a two-seater, oh wait, what...

Bit of a bumpity bump on this one, still looking. And I KNOW someone out there is replacing the centre section on their M3 as I saw the new one sitting in the parts warehouse waiting to go to the dealers... the old knackered one will suit me for bits and pieces!

No worries Bruce, it does look a bit rough, but it will do for now. Sorry, no spare oil cooler, I had to source mine. The cooler is the same as the 325i E30s so not too hard to find, it's the hoses that are different and hard to find. Has Shuey put a hole in yours whilst doing skids in your car while he was "looking after it" for you??

This was the advert...

From what I have been told the idea of the "spinning propeller" came in quite early in the companies history with some of the advertising they ran at the time, and that has become part of the story of the company, but the very first logo was based on the old company and the flag of Bavaria - the region of Germany that BMW was based in at the time. There is an old logo which even has lines around the outside which makes it look even more like a propeller spinning, just can't find a picture at the moment. BMW logo BMW roundel on a 1939 BMW motorcycle Flag of Bavaria The name-change to Bayerische Motoren Werke compelled management to devise a new logo for the company, therefore the famous BMW trademark is designed and patented at this time. However, they remained true to the imagery of the previous Rapp Motorenwerke emblem (which was designed by Karl's brother, Ottmar Rapp). Thus, both the old and the new logo were built up in the same way: the company name was placed in a black circle, which was once again given a pictorial form by placing a symbol within it. By analogy with this, the blue and white panels of the Bavarian national flag were placed at the center of the BMW logo. Not until the late 1920s was the logo lent a new interpretation as representing a rotating propeller.[5] The BMW Trademark, called a "roundel", was submitted for registration on the rolls of the Imperial Patent Office, and registered there with no. 221388 on 10 Dec 1917.

Invest half, spend half. Don't tell family or friends (too many begging letters). Property Investments to include commercial units, with one kept to run secret race team out of, and apartment at Hampton Downs (with garage). House renovation. Car spending to include X5 diesel tow wagon, E30 M3 race car (preferrably Conrod's but doubt he would ever sell) and full resto/modernisation of the 'vert.

Not sure that counts as an upgrade...

Jeesh, all of a sudden everyone is a critic! The recess in the lip is not a perfect rectangle shape and that is the reason the holes aren't in lovely neat lines... that and the fact that I did them all by hand with a cordless drill, which was a sh!t load of holes to drill without holding in the vice, so some of them wandered off a bit. Dan, I couldn't get the drill off of James, he was having far too much fun with it. The lip was really made from cheese and this is what the mouse in the bucket did to it....

^oh dear

Personally I would go on word-of-mouth or personal feelings after talking to a shop rather than whether they are members of a trade association.

I'd be surprised if that was leather, looks more like a vinyl material to me.

Fingers crossed Andrew, that's the same day I'm aiming for. Might be a few late nights before then..

Nice E30. Lot less to go wrong on an E30, that's for sure! What size were those original white five-spokes and have you still got them?

When I went to put the front lower lip back on over the oil-cooler I realised that there would be no air flow through the cooler, checking on my 325i it has extra cut outs in the front lip to allow air into the cooler. I don't want to use the lower lip off the 'vert, or buy another 325i front lip (as I will probably go to an E30 M3 front pretty soon) so needed another solution. Decided on a little bit of DIY with the cordless drill, looks a little bit rangi but should work reasonably well and was a cheap solution...

Yup option 338 is the one you're after and it's there. It's also got the M-Sport suspension 226 which is good as that is often removed from the spec.

Very cool project Ray, love your post above, it's the details like the arches that make all the difference.

Good work chaps, should generate lots of interest as it looks great with the variety of cars.

Too many people on too small a planet I'm afraid. Using up the resources faster than is sustainable.. will lead to more and more wars and disputes, over oil, water, food, space, etc. Only question is whether we will destroy ourselves before we destroy the planet? Just off to check my 12-gauge and stock up on tinned food and bottled water.

It's actually a new colour - Austin Yellow, not the old Pheonix Gold, but they are in the same ball park of the colour spectrum. It does look very good in the flesh, it was very over-cast when I took the photo on my phone so it's come out a bit dull. Physically swapping the engine over would not have been a problem Josh - even with the twin-turbos, however getting all the electronic gubbins to work would require a genius like you! I was thinking of putting the brakes onto the race car as they are proper 4-pot front 2-pot rears, but as the discs are bigger diameter than my rims there was a little bit of a clearance issue... bugger!

Press car from BMW AU, over here for the joint Aussie / Kiwi press launch of the new M3 / M4 last week. Just getting a quick polish up before it goes back.

How about you show us what you've been upto as well Andrew, I hear on the grapevine your car has had a few improvements done to it...?? No secrets here, just a lack of ability on the videos front. Managed to change the munted hose under the fuel rail as well, but it was a bit of a mission getting to the bottom hose clamp without having to take the air-box off again. Finally managed it with one of those flexible drive screwdriver extentions and a bit of twisting and pulling. Seems to run a little smoother now at idle, so might have had a small leak, but might just be my imagination!

I would only be after 5 bucks or so for it, I also have a multi-meter so can help check it that way as well. Only problem is I'm not around this week-end, away on business from Friday afternoon...

I've got a few 325i ECUs kicking around - is 173 the last 3 digits in the part number?