Newbie here

#1

Greetings. I’m a newbie & just joined here. Just took the first-step plunge. After months of input (hesitation, & vacillation), bought a sight-unseen 1990 325i sedan, 140,000+ mi. off ebay for cheap.

I’m currently a NASA HPDE 4 particpant (with my 350Z), and decided since I’m headed for racing as next step, I’ll keep my Z intact & get into racing at a reasonable investment level. I considered 944spec & spec Miata, but bimmers have always been held in more esteem by me.
I’m a member of Ohio/Indiana NASA. 2 hours from BeaveRun; 4 hrs from Mid-Ohio; 5 hrs from Summit Point. I live in a small town in West Virgina and very few bimmers around. Nearest dealership Pittsburgh, about 1.5 hrs away.

Car exterior & interior rough, but engine seems to run fine. There is a substantial oil leak, though. There is also a vibration at around 55 mph that disappears at 65 mph. Hopefully just an alignment issue or something minor. Should I put it on a frame machine?

I’m not much of a mechanic, so the car is going to a BMW service tech for a diagnostic look at the engine and vibration. Hopefully, I may be capable of doing some of whatever it needs & save some $$. Want to get all engine stuff done 1st, I think.
Next will be tearing out the interior,then roll cage custom install by a specialty shop. Suspension stuff after that. Does this sound like correct order?

Not sure given my schedule it will be ready for beginning of season 2007, but we’ll see.

I’ve been reading the posts here & got tons of great info, including costs. I may be bugging you guys with some obviously stupid questions that will demonstrate awesome ignorance, so get ready.
Here are the first few:

  1. Given age & mileage, should I automatically replace control & trailing arms or just the ball joints & bushings? What else do you consider mandatory replacement suspension wise? (I know to get the H&R springs & Bilstein shocks).
  2. What things should be done/replaced regardless of condition? I’m thinking of stuff like which bushings, gaskets, maybe 02 sensor, etc.
  3. Need LSD diff. Any ideas on how to locate one cheaply? I’ve searched internet & only coming up with expensive re-builds. Very few E30s in my neck of the woods either on road or in junk yards.
  4. What brand camber plates & where’s a good place to buy?
  5. Anyone racing on stock wheels to save money until funding permits?

Sorry about long 1st post,

Tom

#2

Hi Tom and welcome ! Good to hear that another SpecE30 car is being built. Your plan of attack sounds about right.
You, or your mechanic, can check if control arms (joints) are still good or not. I am not sure if anyone sells just ‘joints’, but usually whole control arm is replaced. Also check control arm bushing and replace as necessary. Most people here change those anyways, from stock rubber to poly. Some run offset bushings (which affects caster).
As for trailing arms they are not wear item per se, check them to ensure that they are not bent or otherwise deformed – if they are ok just replace trailing arm bushings.
As for “stuff to replace right off the bet� I wouldn’t replace stuff that really doesn’t need replacing. If suspension rubber bushings are all warn out I would change them then - you will have to change sway bar bushings (different size) swaybars, control arm bushings, engine mounts, tranny mounts, flex disc, trailing arm bushings, subframe bushings, rear shoch mount bushings and diff bushing. Again before replacing those parts check to see if you really need to replace them.
However I would definitely replace timing belt and water pump – timing belt should be replaced every 4 years or 60k miles, however as a percussion, I replace it every 40k miles on my daily driver (and on race cars in some other classes some people replaced them after one season….). Water pump can be changed every other belt change.
For diff ebay, craigslist.org, local junkyards, or various e30 forums can be good sources for locating diff. Also might try your local shops as well. You can get used LSD diff for about $300 - $400 (use this as a ball park figure though). If you will have it shipped plan for paying for about 90lb of freight. For your car I think it’s a 3.73:1 LSD diff.
For camber plates do a search on this board for them – there should be couple of threads about it.

HTH,
Igor

#3

Welcome to the fun. I’ve just gone through much of this myself. I’m sure we’ll meet at Summit or BR. :slight_smile:
The E30 is generally a pretty simple car to work on, even for those with limited skills. With guidance here and on the BMW boards, you can do a lot of the work yourself and save a lot of money. I order most of my standard parts from Pelican Parts. The only downside is it takes about a week to cross the country.
What was said above is right on. Do the timing belt and water pump NOW. While it’s at the shop, you may want to get the valves adjusted. That’s a time consuming PITA a newbie probably won’t enjoy. I’d also plan on replacing the cam, crank and aux shaft seals on the front of the engine, as this is the source of a lot of oil leaks. Have a look at the cap and rotor; they aren’t cheap, so a lot of people avoid replacing them. Get rid of the clutch fan when you have the timing belt done. Gutting the interior is fun; just make sure you have a way to get rid of all the seats and big crap you won’t need. I took all of mine to the local junkyard. Buy a Bentley manual. Without it, you won’t figure out how to remove the sunroof (BTDT). We have 2 cars running stock wheels and really have no complaints. I think they will be fine through our rookie seasons. They do bend easily, so check them for roundness. This may, in fact, be the source of your vibration problems. LSD’s aren’t terribly hard to find but will run you about $300 from what I’m seeing. We occasionally score them at the U-Pull-It yards around here for under $100 but it’s a hit-n-miss proposition. I wouldn’t put that as a priority yet, just keep your eyes open for one.
This is a great bunch of guys who aren’t afraid to share their knowledge. Search the board, but don’t be afraid to ask a question if you can’t find an answer. Also, as Carter says repeatedly, print off a copy of the rules and tape them to the car while you work on it. Saves a huge amount of time and mistakes from happening.

#4

The guys above gave you good advice.One thing that I didn’t see is to make sure you reinforce the sway bar tabs on the trailing arms before you mount the spec bar. The increased stiffness will eventually tear the tab and repairing it is way harder than preventing it.
Ditto on the timing belt
These engines ooze oil but there are several usual culprits.
One is the oil filter housing, the thermostat that opens to allow the oil into the cooler leaks
My car has the oil drain tube o-ring leaking and that makes a big mess. (look on drivers side under the intake for the vertical 1" diameter tube and look where it fits into the block)

#5

Yep, Igor covered just about everything. I just wanted to reiterate that the engine mounts should definitely be replaced to keep the motor in place. Also, whether they need to be replaced or not I’d definitely recommend replacing ALL suspension bushings just to tighten things up & keep things from moving around.

#6

Thanx for the welcome & great advice! I’m anxious to get started.
Tom

#7

welcome and good luck with the build!

#8

Tom:

Welcome to Spec E30. I look forward to seeing you at the track.

As David said, print the Rules, go by them closely, and you’ll be fine. Basically, don’t change anything from stock, unless it’s specifically mentioned in the Rules.

You might also consider looking at a built car to get a good perspective on what to do. Take pictures and take notes.

Carter