325iRod 135 Report post Posted December 22, 2021 23 minutes ago, Sammo said: Thank you - I saw that - are 4 door / 2 door roof cuts / sunroofs interchangeable? I'm not sure on that one, someone will know. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gaz 1060 Report post Posted December 22, 2021 Moon roof 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted December 22, 2021 15 minutes ago, Gaz said: Moon roof Glass don't rust! 3 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1071 Report post Posted December 23, 2021 16 hours ago, Sammo said: Glass don't rust! I bet Fiat could do it... 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted December 28, 2021 (edited) Waiting on Fed Ex to deliver my car parts so kept myself busy for an hour or so taking to 33 years of filth with a wire brush, some degreaser and Aerospace 303 to get the M20 looking presentable until I get round to restoring the manifold / valve cover / AFM / brake-booster properly next year. Was supposed to be a much more thorough job but decided in the heat that an 80% effort was good enough! Edited December 28, 2021 by Sammo 9 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3317 Report post Posted December 28, 2021 (edited) On 12/12/2021 at 1:01 PM, Palazzo said: Enjoy, they can be a real mission in the wet, I’ve slid around at 15km/h. An older BMW mechanic told me once that they used to get regularly damaged on mechanics test drives in the rain, so only the foreman was allowed to take them out. that's more to do about a lack of skill from the mechanics test driving the cars, than any failing of the car. And perhaps QC from the foreman - making sure that an e30 is returned post-service feeling as it ought to. If you're talking late-90's on, most of the apprentices wouldn't have RWD experience. In the same way that more e30's are going to the great wrecking yard in the sky each year - often due to the ruthless combination of a damp road, and little-to-no RWD skill behind the wheel. Add cheap tyres, and worn-out suspension, and there'll be tears before bedtime. If you're sliding - without serious intent - at just 15 km/h in an e30, there's something wrong with your car, your're on a skid pan, or there's a diesel spill beneath you. They were the car all others in the class were judged by when new, and if they were that wayward, people realising a few extra bucks from the stockmarket in the 80's (pre-crash) would have bought something safer. EDIT: sorry, deleted reposts. D'oh! Edited December 28, 2021 by Olaf culled reposts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted December 29, 2021 (edited) @E28E30 @Cammsport Modified reverse RDS with custom text (can have anything up to 8 characters) arrived today from Estonia in a week 😎 Very very happy - unit itself is mint including display and actually sounds pretty good - I also have option of adding amplifier too with optional RCA pre-outs. Genuine plug and play (installed after a long liquid lunch). Was about $700 landed so not cheap but hard to go past for the stock look and modern functionality - looks much better than the Blaupunkt SQR46 IMO which gets mixed reviews. FullSizeRender.mov Edited December 29, 2021 by Sammo 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E28E30 335 Report post Posted December 29, 2021 That’s awesome @Sammo, looks factory well done! Does your E30 have the HiFi speakers? Mine has with the dealer-installed Sony head unit (removable) and a separate amp/something sitting under the dash on top of I think the ECU. Where did you route the bluetooth microphone to, or does it just do Bluetooth music, which is awesome! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted December 29, 2021 11 minutes ago, E28E30 said: That’s awesome @Sammo, looks factory well done! Does your E30 have the HiFi speakers? Mine has with the dealer-installed Sony head unit (removable) and a separate amp/something sitting under the dash on top of I think the ECU. Where did you route the bluetooth microphone to, or does it just do Bluetooth music, which is awesome! Yet to route the microphone - not sure what front speakers I have, but has some old dusty 6x9's in rear tray (rectangular cutouts so assuming did have the hifi speaker when new). 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E28E30 335 Report post Posted December 29, 2021 I think the “HiFi” or whatever it was called back then came with tweeters in the door mirror housing? Might help identify? Most of the few MT2s I have seen seem to have this option. But you literally plugged it into the cables at the back? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted December 29, 2021 16 minutes ago, E28E30 said: I think the “HiFi” or whatever it was called back then came with tweeters in the door mirror housing? Might help identify? Most of the few MT2s I have seen seem to have this option. But you literally plugged it into the cables at the back? Yeah, I have tweeters 👍 was plug and play - came with a quad lock that plugged right in 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted December 29, 2021 I'm here all day for the Estonia shout outs Awesome touch, love the old school look with all the functionality you need. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted December 29, 2021 7 hours ago, Vass said: I'm here all day for the Estonia shout outs Awesome touch, love the old school look with all the functionality you need. Yeah it’s pretty sweet - the guy also threw in a block of beautiful Estonian chocolate 😎 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted December 30, 2021 7 hours ago, Sammo said: Yeah it’s pretty sweet - the guy also threw in a block of beautiful Estonian chocolate 😎 Ooooohh jelly. Some Kalev goodness? 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted December 30, 2021 55 minutes ago, Vass said: Ooooohh jelly. Some Kalev goodness? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted January 2, 2022 (edited) Took her out for my first sustained seat time - a good 3-4 hours exploring the Whitford / Pohutakawa Coast / Clevedon / Kawakawa Bay / Kaiua. Was an absolute blast, aside from choosing the hottest day of summer so far and my AC not working - nothing the windows couldn't handle to be fair. Looking forward to doing this fantastic drive again after I've fully serviced her plus a full suspension refresh. Edited January 2, 2022 by Sammo 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Navin 180 Report post Posted January 2, 2022 Remember doing that same drive after installing a 4.1 LSD diff into my old 325i E30...roads like that really makes you appreciate the E30 chassis. Car looks fantastic! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted January 2, 2022 47 minutes ago, Navin said: Remember doing that same drive after installing a 4.1 LSD diff into my old 325i E30...roads like that really makes you appreciate the E30 chassis. Car looks fantastic! 4.10 must be pretty aggressive! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted January 2, 2022 On 12/22/2021 at 2:14 PM, Sammo said: Thank you - I saw that - are 4 door / 2 door roof cuts / sunroofs interchangeable? Will take out headliner for a proper look later in summer and go from there... the sunroof panel is, as is the cassette. if you are doing a full roof swap, then yes the sheet metal part number with BMW is the same, obviously B pillars are welded in a different place. If you pull off the A and C pillar trims you will see where the roof was welded on. i think you need you unstitch the rear sear back and parcel shelf to do it the way BMW would, but been a while since i looked closely. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted January 7, 2022 Did a little refurb on my Mtech 1 wheel - disassembled and re-dyed the original (good condition but faded) leather and centre section with Colour Lock Leather Fresh which came up fantastic - retained original texture but evened out wear and colour fading etc. Finished off crispy OEM roundel and ///M colour badge - looks great for only $100 or so spent. I do like the Tech 1 wheel but Will be keen to trade up to a 370mm Mtech 2 in near future however as I believe that is what was originally optioned on the car (although not sure why someone would swap out on a Tech 2 M325i?) 3 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted January 9, 2022 My FCP order finally arrived with all my fresh badges etc - installed new M badges / boot Roundel / 325i letters and new front grilles - so much better. Also did my first polish on it with CarPro Fixer - fantastic one stage product - decent cutting power but leaves a glossy finish. Took some decent clear coat scratches out despite being just a hand job 😬 Finished with some CarPro Hydro2 - Plenty of room for improvement but definitely looking ‘good enough’ for now. Drivers door desperately needs some paintless dent removal to tide me over till I get half the car painted post rust work later in 2022. Looking forward to moving back to our house in Feb where I’ll have a dedicated space to really get cracking with this car - will be buying a decent DA polisher and doing a 2 stage paint correction ASAP amongst a million other things 🤣 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted January 9, 2022 48 minutes ago, Sammo said: Wow, that is looking spectacularly good !! A credit to your efforts & car sir. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E28E30 335 Report post Posted January 9, 2022 You’re not hanging around are you @Sammo Sam? Looks awesome, such goodness. Great to see it getting the love. I have to cut and polish my GP, will research your products. Lifting it to perfection one step at a time! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sammo 2544 Report post Posted January 9, 2022 1 hour ago, E28E30 said: You’re not hanging around are you @Sammo Sam? Looks awesome, such goodness. Great to see it getting the love. I have to cut and polish my GP, will research your products. Lifting it to perfection one step at a time! Thanks mate! It definitely is good enough to look great in for photos now but still be some time before it’s at the level I want it (roof / boot and drivers door have plenty of defects). I really rate everything Carpro does - for a minor correction I would suggestion Fixer as a one step polish (remove minor swirls and scratches while leaving a great finish). For heavier scratches / a two stage correction I’m going to be trying out their Clear Cut compound and Essence to finish (highly glossy finishing polish with some SiO2 sealant in it). 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E28E30 335 Report post Posted January 9, 2022 Thanks Sam @Sammo it isn’t too bad, just needs a tidy up, making a few cosmetic improvements etc to sell sometime soon 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites