Why do I keep doing this? This time it's because my son will be driving in another 18mos and well... a father/son fixer upper seemed like a good idea. He needs some incentive to save money to buy something. If that something just happened to be in the driveway... that's incentive, right?
OK, so... the good... 75k original mile '89 325is 5sp in hellrot with ST sways, spec E30 suspension, lightweight flywheel, Miller MAF conversion and the AC blows cold. It's got a decent radio and nice aftermarket seats, extra set of Kosei K1s. No rust that I could find. New exhaust. Runs and handles great.
The not so good... salvage certificate (insurance buy back), needs some bodywork on the quarter panel, rear bumper is toast, the tail light on that side is busted and needs a driver's front fender. The tap on the rear is what caused the title but it's cosmetic damage. It rolls straight and it didn't buckle the trunk or door.
All the parts to repair it are inside it - bumper, tail light... so I have to repair the corner, fender and paint it.
I must be nuts.
That sounds like a win to me also. Should work out well.
Unless they're maintenance pigs like an E36, you'll be fine.
WHERE'S THE PICS? WHERE'S THE PICS I SAY????
This thread is useless.
We must have pictures to judge.
Now post all the pics.
Haiku for pics.
Relax. I'll get pics up eventually.
If you ever decide to adopt a daughter, I think I would make a great choice. I will even help fix up my new ride! 
Thanks Dad!
Mr_Clutch42 wrote:
Unless they're maintenance pigs like an E36, you'll be fine.
compared to a Honda maybe...
Sounds like a great idea, I'd love to do the same with my children some day...
Duke
UltimaDork
6/21/14 8:40 p.m.
You'd have been crazy not to buy it, man.
75,000 miles is a crazy low number for an e30.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
Relax. I'll get pics up eventually.
Don't tell me what to do, just post the damn pictures man!
ryanty22 wrote:
Thats awesome. Adopt me
Are you, by any chance, a hot 20 something female "next porn star"?
If so, I could put you in a sweet salvage E30 in nothing flat!
Mr_Clutch42 wrote:
Unless they're maintenance pigs like an E36, you'll be fine.
E36s are dreams to work on compared to E30s... you just bought a broken one ;)
Deep breaths. You will get that thing running soon.
EastCoastMojo wrote:
If you ever decide to adopt a daughter, I think I would make a great choice. I will even help fix up my new ride! Thanks Dad!
Daughter positions have been eliminated. Concubine positions are available but subject to a first come, first served basis.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
E36s are dreams to work on compared to E30s...
Please expand upon this thought if you don't mind.
The_Jed
UltraDork
6/22/14 7:20 a.m.
There's a whole lot of awesome in that last picture!
Woody wrote:
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
E36s are dreams to work on compared to E30s...
Please expand upon this thought if you don't mind.
I am curious too. Every flat rate tech I know HATES working on E30's yet loves E36's. I have never had the latter so I don't know the difference.
Why E36 > E30 for working on:
The E30's front struts are integral to the knuckle so the ball joint and tie rod need to be popped to swap things like springs or dampers.
The hood opens the cool old BMW way... forward. So... the first step in most non-trivial maintenance is "remove hood". This isn't even hard - just a pain in the ass.
The trailing arms and subframe in the rear block easy access to rubber brake lines and a pile of other little things like that... basically because the design and assembly of the car pre-dated a high volume assembly line and some things are just annoying to access. The E36 is very accessible by comparison.
An E30 is still a far sight better than any FWD sideways setup.
