My SA 325i

echothreezero · Nov 5, 2006

I don't think I've ever posted a ride thread on here, and seeing as I've been a member for awhile now thought I may as well. I only read and contribute to the e30/e21 forum as that is where my interest lies, so those of you who are regulars here probably recognise my username, for the rest of you - hi.

My first e30 was a mint 1989 Euro ex Japan 320i that I lowered, converted to manual and tidied up real nice, but I wanted more. I wanted more power, I wanted, leather, I wanted a sunroof, I wanted cruise control, so...

In June I picked up this:

I then went through the process of stripping out the 320 in preparation for sale (remove springs and sounds basically) and began modding the 325. I sold the 320 in August for very close to what I was asking and finally had a chance to polish the 325 and put up some pics.

Original Specs when purchased: 1990 325i imported from South Africa

195000kms
Auto
Leather interior (BMW Recaros)
Cruise control
Longrange fuel tank
Sunroof
Sump guard
Front and rear sway bars

Maintenance sinced owned:

Cambelt, waterpump, camshaft seal.
Flush and replace coolant.
2x oil change (because I cracked the sump and had to do it again after the sump was repaired)
new plugs
new motor mounts
new gearbox mounts
new power steering rack
new tierod end LHS
new front wheel bearing LHS
new brake pads and machined rotors
dyed black parcel tray
a couple of days cutting and polishing to remove massive paint damage on bonnet (successfully)
replace countless bulbs and fix various little things like jerky windscreen wipers etc. Someone had got a vivid and blacked out the seatbelt warning light on the check panel!!!!!

Mods to date:

Manual conversion - Getrag 260 5spd with Luk Clutch and z3 1.9 shortshift
remove gay unsheilded pod filter and replace with stock airbox and k&n panel
Motorsport Bilstein shocks with supa low springs of unknown brand - blue but not dobis. sump guard is 85mm off the ground. Lowest chassis or suspension component is 110mm.
Alpine MP3 head unit powering JVC 6.5" rear two-ways and into Rebranded Caliber CA475+ 4ch amp
Infinity 6000CS front splits on two channels. Pioneer 12" TS-w306C single voice coil sub (600W RMS) on two bridged channels in custom ported box tuned to 38Hz.
Dynatron D7800 alarm dual immobilisers, keyless entry, and "presence sensor" (So i dont have to push the button to disarm the immobilisers - it knows the keys are in the car).
Blacked tails and front and side repeaters
17" momo rims running Dunlop SP 9000 DSST run-flats
Red instrument needles

Mods to come:

Euro plate
Exhaust
Body kit - probably mtech two sides and rear skirt, mtech I or II rear spoiler and is front lip - as these come available.
Paint - I want to go a deep black of some sort. I have priced this and it's definately a go once I have all the kit and get a few dollars together - I'm thinking mid to late next year.
This motor is getting on a bit so I don't want to spend alot on it. I'm going to maintain it until it gets tired or breaks and then I'll re-engine. No specific plans as of yet, but I'd like around 200HP if possible.

Anyway - enough of that - here are the pics.

Interior - yes it is actually that mint...

echothreezero · Nov 5, 2006

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Doughnut · Nov 13, 2006

nice picture shoot, i like how the rear bumper hides the "sexy" spare wheel well, dont you like the manual 5 speeds?

echothreezero · Nov 13, 2006

The rear bumper is like this on all post 1988 (facelift) cars with the plastic bumpers.

I LOVE my 5 speed manual. If you look under "mods to date" you'll see that it has a 5spd. I bought it auto and that was when the interior pictures were taken. I'm a hobby-mechanic and converted it to manual myself which has the added benefit of me knowing exactly how well the job was done, I was able to have the flywheel machined to my taste, install a new clutch and a short-shifter from a z3 1.9 etc.

Its a a project in motion - next up is a new exhaust system followed by body kit and paint as funds allow.

Doughnut · Nov 14, 2006

lol, is the short-shifter from the z3 just as much fun to use as the old original 5spd, with tall first gear, as in "does it rev out in 1st gear like the original boxes that came in thses old girls" and did the z3 box mate easily to the engine?, did you get it brand new, AND how much did it set you back. also, are you aware of your model being able to house a Nissan rb-25 turbo, there was one advertised on ebay awhile ago although it had no picture of the engine bay, the question is, would that motor actually fit, sorry 4 long post.

thanks

echothreezero · Nov 14, 2006

The gearbox is a getrag 260 box for e30 m20 (6 cyl). In other words the standard 5 spd for an e30. The z3 component is only the actual shifter linkage and lever. The fulcrum on the shift lever is higher on the z3 which makes for a shorter throw (ie you can change gears much quicker as it is just a "click" between gears, not a big throw.)

The gear ratios are the same. Being a South African car designed for long-haul driving, even though it was auto it still has the 3.64 diff the manual's came out with so first gear is not too short, but I find that I can get around just fine using only 2nd to 5th. 1st gear is good for burnouts and skids and that's about it.

5th gear is an overdrive 0.81 ratio which means at 100km/h (60) I am at 2500 RPM which is about right.

As far as engine swaps go there are lots of options. A couple of members of my local club have Nissan rb25det conversions, but we also have 3 sr20det conversions and a member who is thinking of a Toyota 2JZE conversion. All these motors fit.

I also know of 2 or 3 mazda 12a and 12b rotary conversions over here.

When it comes time for engine swap I'll be looking more along the lines of either an s50 conversion or an m52 turbo. Just because I like to prove to all my mates in blown jappas that my beamer can keep up. At the moment it is definately the slowest car in my circle of friends who all drive 200-300hp+ turbo jappas. But I've never been a conformist, so e30 it is...

selavia · Nov 14, 2006

Do you mean 2JZG-E motor? 2JZG-E fits in an e30?!!???! what about the 2JZGT-E? or the even more ridiculous 2JZGTT-E? Wow. That would be incredible.

Tom · Nov 14, 2006

That's pure sexiness. [eek]

echothreezero · Nov 14, 2006

selavia said:

That's his plan. Whether it works or not is yet to be seen.

Of course it will fit. There is an e30 in europe with an m70 in it! and plenty of m60/62 e30's around.

M70 e30:

What a beast.

Thanks.

McNally · Nov 14, 2006

hm where did you get those tail lights might i ask?

echothreezero · Nov 15, 2006

A friend and member in my local club does them using a semi-transparent paint and an airbrush followed by a clear coat - they look like they have been manufactured like that. He can also do them all-red instead of black, and any shade of black. Link to advert Obviously free postage only applies within NZ and it is a swap-service for those prices. ie you send him your old lights and he sends you them back tinted.

The front indicators and side repeaters have been done the same way. All light up the correct colour and quite distinctly when on.

In NZ technically that is illegal, but as they look as though they are manufactured that way, and the light when on is still visible for the minimum distance required under our WOF (vehicle Warrant of Fitness) rules its OK. For a vehicle of this age I am required to get 2 WOF checks a year at a cost of around NZ$40 a time which is no great expense.

A WOF check involves checking the vehicle is safe and up to standard and not sporting any illegal modifications (of which my car has a few, but all well disguised) etc. Most countries have a similar checking system so I'm sure you know what I am talking about.

Doughnut · Nov 16, 2006

ok, that M70 e30 is sooooooo f*cking cool, how in the frickin' hell did he fit that!!?? and im thinking that servicing that girl would be a bitch and a half, you'd have to pull the motor back out to do simple things like spark plugs :S but all the same, bloody cool car.
Putting a different motor in would deleat the 50/50 weight ratio!!

echothreezero · Nov 16, 2006

Doughnut said:

Yeah it would. Some of that can be helped by increasing the castor angle and he maybe using castor/camber plates on the car (although I can't see them). But would still be nose heavy.

What part of NSW are you from? I know a couple of girls from waggawagga I met in Bargara when I was over there for a holiday.

Doughnut · Nov 17, 2006

echothreezero said:

Im from a small town called Gerringong, bout 1.5 hours south from Sydney, ive been to WaggaWagga a couple of times, i doubt id know ur girls man.

peace

Doughnut · Nov 22, 2006

Are your skirts all plastic, or have you painted over the stock chrome?

Tom said:

sean100473 · Nov 25, 2006

Sweet ride man!

echothreezero · Mar 12, 2008

Doughnut said:

Long delay before reply [:I]

All plastic. The car is a facelift model - all the bumpers are plastic from factory and then the factory plastic body kit pieces clip on/over the bumpers/ factory mouldings.

echothreezero · Mar 12, 2008

Update:
Springs were replaced with H&R sports 35mm drop.
Black tails were dropped and replaced with "all-red" tails.
I bent my Momos on NZ's lovely roads and replaced them with 17" BBS RC reps with Dunlop Sport Maxx 205/45/17's
Euro Plate is done.
I blacked out the kidney grill and replaced the home-job shadowline trim with some from BMW.
Exhaust is done - stock headers and twin down pipe into single 2.5" through coby resonator and into DTM-style stainless rear muffler.
Body kit is done - BMW original Mtech II 4-door kit.
Paint is still on the list and I've more or less made the decision to go supercharged.

Sorry if I've posted these before - just finishing my "project thread" off.

Doughnut · Mar 13, 2008

echothreezero said:

Woah, DUDE!
That was the most noobie question i asked anyways, I know your bimmer is facelift, at the time i typed that question a just had no idea about the e30 bmw, or any bmw for that matter...
Your car is coming along sweet, any pics of super charging bits and pieces? I thought of a charged m20 is badass!
Peace.

echothreezero · Oct 22, 2008

Early xmas prezzies for myself:

Details:

Had my rear Bilstein Sports reconditioned, internal bumpstops shortened, and revalved to suit my lowered setup.

Purchased brand new Bilstein Sports for the front and had them revalved and the internal bumpstops shortened.

New Powerflex CA bushes (purple urethane)
New Powerflex sway bar bushes (purple urethane front and rear)
New OEM strut top bearing mounts (the old ones had sagged by almost 10mm which means the car will now be a touch higher (about 5mm after the new ones settle.)

Got home late last night, but couldn't wait to throw these in anyway. Ripped into the job and discovered that my front spring seats were different sizes - wtf? Must not have noticed when I first put the H&R's in as I did them one side at a time and this time I pulled everything off at once so I could de-grease and paint everything before it went back on. So that meant a mad mission in fading daylight out to my parents place to nab a strut off my wrecked 320i to get matching spring pad. I've never worked so fast - 30 mins to jack up the car, remove the strut, and get out of there.

Anyway, long story short I was test driving the car around midnight - didn't get a chance to go for a long drive (too tired, was still up for work at 6.30 this morning) but I live on the worst sealed road in NZ - potholed, lumpy, off-camber, broken-up chip, slumps, humps, manhole covers sticking up, weird changes of grade, narrow bridges, etc. Normally its a 80km/h run and I'd lose half of my fillings. Last night was a different story. The car soaked up all of this, and handled like a different vehicle. 100km/h felt like I was crawling.

Shocks are sooo much stiffer. Used to press down on a corner and get a nice couple of inches of movement. Can only get the car to move about half an inch to an inch now. Should make my springs work a little less.

Will definitely be taking it for a proper spin after work today.

So all up I spent: ($NZ)

Shocks: $1392.87 incl. freight both ways
Tophat mounts: $243.84 incl freight
Bushes: $288.50 incl. freight
New fasteners (self locking nuts): $4.70

So Grand Total= $1929.91.

And worth every penny.

My SA 325i

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