The spec e30 family has another mouth to feed....

#1

Just brought home the donor car. I know, I know, I swore up and down I would not build a car. I took my oath on buying a built and sorted car that I could just get in an drive. Somewhere along the line I just reversed field on the idea of building. It somehow became important to have it done my way, right, wrong, or indifferent. There are many beautiful cars out there, but none of them felt exactly right.

Anyway, she’s a 1989 325i Coupe. Nice and and straight chassis and zero rust. Engine is very strong and trans seems good. Does have some slop somewhere in the driveline. The interior is little beat up but will likely look better laying on my garage floor.

Any words of wisdom appreciated…

#2

Sweet! Nice purchase and good luck with the build!

#3

“Any words of wisdom would be appreciated…”

Continue ignoring words of wisdom. :wink:

#4

Gasman wrote:

[quote]“Any words of wisdom would be appreciated…”

Continue ignoring words of wisdom. ;)[/quote]

now That is funny!

#5

mougl1 wrote:

[quote]Just brought home the donor car. I know, I know, I swore up and down I would not build a car. I took my oath on buying a built and sorted car that I could just get in an drive. Somewhere along the line I just reversed field on the idea of building. It somehow became important to have it done my way, right, wrong, or indifferent. There are many beautiful cars out there, but none of them felt exactly right.

Anyway, she’s a 1989 325i Coupe. Nice and and straight chassis and zero rust. Engine is very strong and trans seems good. Does have some slop somewhere in the driveline. The interior is little beat up but will likely look better laying on my garage floor.

Any words of wisdom appreciated…[/quote]

Congrats and welcome to the FL family! :silly:

We went through the same thought process and everyone told us to buy a built car - it’ll be cheaper, it’ll be easier - but we wanted to do it ourselves. Sick or not, it was half the fun…(and the bonus is you’ll lose 5lbs each weekend you spend working on the car in your sweltering garage. If only it was true). Doing it yourself will definitely make it feel “just right”.

Glad you found something you were happy with… do you think you’ll have it at least track worthy for the October event? Hit Sebring in one of the DE groups or TT?

#6

For now, that’s the goal. I already have the interior out and it goes to the cage builder
next week. It may not be 100% spec e30 legal come October, but may be close. Will keep everybody posted.

#7

Welcome.

Where are you located? Who is doing the cage?

I built my own car too simply because I did not have the cash to go buy a complete car. As I saved a little, I spent a little on the build. It took a year.

Advice. If you have cash, sell this car for a profit and buy a complet car. Sasha’s 43 car/trailer looks to be a decent deal… Gasman’s 4 car is the prettiest one available. Otherwise,enjoy the build.

Don

#8

don - i am in miami. I started with the intent of buying a complete car but I methodically, and perhaps sadistically, convinced myself to build instead. I’ve made my bed, no we’ll see if I can sleep in it.

#9

Any update on your car? What is your expected finish/debut date?

#10

Andy - congrats on the purchase. We have 2 cars - bought one built and built one. It is a lot of fun and we got ready to race from an ebay purchase to the track in 2 months - takes a not of coordination with cage builder/etc. and a lot of weekends busting your a## on suspension, safety equipment, etc. but it can be done. I’m glad we did the build and I am sure you will not regret doing it. You will save a few $ but not as much as you think. Look forward to seeing you at the track.

Ed

#11

Andy:

Congrats on the purchase and keeps us up-to-date on your build.

Carter

#12

Update - Cage is done!! (finally) It took over four months but the result was worth the wait. I will post some pics soon. Working on cage painting now, seat install and window net. Will keep you posted!

#13

Awesome!
Great to hear about the progress! We’ll be looking forward to seeing you out on the track sooner than later :slight_smile: Any thought on when you might bring it out for some fun and a little testing?
Post up some photos when you get a chance.

#14

John and Nat - Cage paint is done, seat is in, seat belts are in and window net is done! I checked out the pictures you guys posted and really like the center net and steering wheel you have. Do you happen to remember where they came from? Brand and model would be greatly appreciated. I will get some pics up soon.

#15

mougl1 wrote:

Hmmm… the steering wheel is a Luisi brand - we bought it from Bimmerworld (both times… :dry: ) but when I search their site now, it doesn’t look like they’re currently selling that wheel any longer. A little internet searching will probably turn up another source for you…

The center net is another issue… it has no tag or identifying mark on it - so no help there. And if I had to do it again, I might go with a different option because the front strap wasn’t long enough to reach the firewall where we wanted to mount it, so we ended up having to make an extension with some heavy duty steel cable.

Happy building!

#16

OK - Damn the marriage, full speed ahead. Much to the dismay of my incredibly understanding wife, the car is nearly done. Center net, steering wheel, fire extinguisher, kill switch, timing belt, water pump and stickers are all now done. Only things left are the suspension (which will be done this week), exhaust (also this week), brakes and guages. I am right on schedule for Homestead so I hope to see you all out there.

#17

exciting times, the last phases of a build. good luck and looking forward to meeting you and seeing your car at Homestead.

#18

We are looking forward to seeing you out there Andy.

#19

exciting times, the last phases of a build. good luck and looking forward to meeting you and seeing your car at Homestead.

#20

Great to hear the progress! Sounds like you’ve been busy :slight_smile:
We’re looking forward to welcoming another SpecE30 to the Florida fold.
Hopefully we’ll be able to find garage spaces for all four cars near one another at Homestead.