Kyu's E30 318i Project Thread

[qube 3570]

Hi everyone,

Last weekend I picked up a 1989 318i Coupe.

Some details:

Its a Japanese import thats done 190ks

Cosmoschwarz Metallic

Few spots of rust but nothing structural I think

Automatic gearbox

M40b18 engine

ripped cloth interior

multiple cracks on dash

lowered on springs and aftermarket 15" wheels

Plans:

Basically I want to make this car looking as close to stock as possible, tidy it up and make sure its in good mechanical order.

Engine oil and filter change,

Investigate the tappet noise (the most important)

and if the engine checks out okay, then I will do a manual conversion on it pretty soon

if engine seems to be nearing death then I may consider doing a swap for something like an m50 or m52b25/28 maybe??

then comes the suspension work

and finally the cosmetic stuff like sorting out the rust and paintwork, changing the wheels, etc etc

Overall pretty rough, but I bought it with the intention of fixing it up slowly so I will try to update this page as often as possible with progress and possible questions and I would appreciate it if those who are more experienced with E30s can chip in ideas and thoughts.

Photos:

Need to get some new BMW badges... very important!!

So I was sitting at home and decided Im going to do some light cosmetic work on the car:

fix up the faded plastic bits

before:

after:

got some great results and attacked a few other places on the car..

The product I used was something called "Back to black" lol.. i posted about it before but I will take another photo and upload a photo for those who want to try it out. its cheap as chips and basically restores the "blackness" to faded areas..

Let me know what you guys think!

keen to hear thoughts and opinions

[qube 3570]

got pretty annoyed about the numberplate holder/surround thingy so quickly took that off

repositioned the front plates too, and took some quick photos

(yes.. it has one smiley headlight.. dont ask my why.. and stupid exhaust tip, need to take this off soon)

[Michael. 2313]

Nice, quick fixes to those black plastic body trims always make a difference, but do note it wont last, a couple of weeks in the sun/rain it will start loosing the looking and start fading again.

IMO, you need to paint them all with stain black spray paint or similar to get a long lasting look.

[qube 3570]

Yep, will be focusing on bodywork soon but not urgently.

Want to take my time and get the important things done right from the beginning.

[Lucan 196]

Saw this on Trademe, looks like you go it for a good price!

Tech 2 rear bumper too, score.

Didn't you lose your license though?

[qube 3570]

My license was suspended for 28 days which has now passed..

And yep, tech 2 rear is nice. Not in the best condition but it's still there none the less