Southerner Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Well ive recently sold my ex lancer 4g63t project as i live away from home and cannot see it being completed anytime soon so thought i should buy a car that had some potential. Was looking round at e30's for awhile and set myself really wanting a 2 door coupe version, 320i or a 325i, which had to be manual. Went a drove a 320 that was pretty rough so kept waiting for a nice tidy one to get. Saw a nice 325i 2 door driving round dunedin and then really wanted my own, a week later the exact car showed was for sale. So here it is, 1986 BMW E30 325i Its a manual 325i, with a lsd in the back, tidy interior, lowered slightly, custom headers with a 2.5inch straight through exhaust which sounds awesome. Now from doing some research on the vin plate i found out that it used to be an automatic but the conversion must of been done extremely well. Also think it may be an msport as it has all the good bits like a lsd etc, and it has msport colours around the gearstick and handbrake boots, it also has AC Schnitzer side strips along the front doors, can anyone help me find out how to tell? And how hard is it to tighten up the rear diff? Ive jacked it up and it only spins one wheel with the other wheel not turning at all. It is stamped LSD and sometimes gets 2 marks going if its in the wet or on gravel. Let me know what you all think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT-E30 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 it's not a motorsport(M325i). Motorsports have black headliner, mtec kit, and factory recaros and they never came auto. and they're worth upwards for 7k usually for a rough one...your doesnt have any of that. if you spin one wheel and the other doesnt go with it chances are it isin't a lsd or the lsd is fucked Check the sunroof cradle for rust and the boot under the battery tray and the same place on opposite side. and the sills...especially at the back guards and front near the subframe mounts. m20's are great motors...can throw endless abuse at them...mine has 300 000kms and I give it no mercy and it has never failed on me Handbrake gator, side mouldings, and FUGLY E46 M3 side/fender kideys are all knock off shit from the shengwah province of china probably. Will add more if I think of it. They benifit from new shock new springs and all new bushes...fun cars when theyre freshened up!! and can be tail happy when needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT-E30 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I also have quite afew parts and need some. mix of facelift and pre facelift bits. if you visit chch occasionally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT-E30 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 also if its hard to get to oil filter with those headers you can use a oil filter out of a 318i, Engines m10... or m42...think its a m10 that works with m20. theyre a smaller filter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 Cheers for all that! Yea ive checked most of it for rust, the only place seems to be the lip on the back gaurds where some mud has caused it to go a wee bit rusty, other than that its pretty sound. The diff its pretty shagged i think, could just need a tighten up? Do you know if they are hard to do? I agree with the ugky M3 grills, it came like that and arnt easily removed so will be ther for awhile. Im probally gona get some better suspension for it soon, already handles pretty good. The motor is pretty decent and takes the little bit of abuse ive thrown at it so far, needs a new clutch soon though. I think im pretty right for parts at the moment, but will keep it in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT-E30 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 unsure about the diff.. I paid thru the nose to buy a rebuilt one off someone moving to aussie and just whacked it in haha.. if you do get it out to be done add some shims or whatever. mines factory spec...and it wouldnt hurt to have it tighter, it'd still be civil after tightening. the LSD units wear out pre maturely if you run the wrong diff oil. has to be certain grade...and LSD oil obviously. Ive got redline shockproof and its the right velocity once warmed up but the right grade ELF stuff is also reccomended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorburnville Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 rebuilding the lsd isn't all that hard. Getting the parts is the more tricky part. New clutches and dog ear plates are quite pricey If it really is an lsd I can supply you with some part numbers and directions. I think you might have an open diff though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner Posted April 18, 2012 Author Share Posted April 18, 2012 Yea im starting to think that aswell, it is marked LSD on it though, ill take a photo tomorow, is there any other way i can tell without actually pulling it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 comment re the 'bullet-proof' nature of the M20. the key caveat must be that the cooling system will not withstand abuse. you need to flush and replace with *apropriate* coolant for the block. If I recall correctly, the service interval on the cooling system is 2 years. parts are readily available for these, there are a ton of on-line parts vendors around the interweb. I've had really good service and pricing from http://www.fcpgroton.com (if you're not in good with a local parts specialist down here). if you're going to keep this for a while, you should consider the Bentley workshop manual for it. they make the Haynes manuals look like comics, and save you a ton of time in working your way through opinion-pieces on the internet on how to fix your e30. new bushes in the shifter linkages tighten up the gate, and bring you back to a really satisfying 'snick' from gear to gear. it's not necessary to go as far as a short-shift kit if these are just taken care of as a maintenance item, rather than a mod. It's over ten years since I sold mine (e30 325i touring), so the memory's getting hazy now. I did do a few items such as Pagid slotted rotors with Pagid fast-road pads. Huge improvement in braking. the e30's are very sensitive to brake rotor quality - cheap shitty ones can provide front end vibrations akin to out-of-balance wheels. I also recall Synthetic gearbox oil making a useful improvement to shift quality, too. hosted on flickr, copyright me re being a motorsport - I don't think the Motorsport option was around in 1985, at least as a package. It's old enough that it doesn't matter - it's now down to what you do to it to improve it. consider *not* totally slamming it, it's a brilliant package and will work brilliantly with good shocks, slightly stiffer and lower sport springs, and attention to all the bushings/rod ends etc in the suspension. +1 on deleting those e46 M3 chengschwan thingies too. hope that helps, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85_z31 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Nice E30 Looks like your typical "Bimmersport Forum car" It was a few years since i sold mine, but it definitly drove a lot better once i replaced the slow as fuck steering rack with one from a newer 3 Series. Awesome car mate, I miss mine a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yea thanks for all that helpfull info. I have done a coolant flush already, as i didnt trust the stuff that was in it for winter. Ive done research on the shift link bushes and that will be the problem so ill hopefully do it these holidays when i have abit of time. On the suspension front, i actually brought 3 other bmws off my old man for bugger all. One is a mintish 320 with a 325 motor which i am going to build up as a track car and ill post up pics in a few weeks of it. Between the 3 cars i brought, i got one set of H&R springs and a set of eibach springs, which im pretty stoked about. So might combine them with some nice shocks. I brought a m20b20 motor for its conrods the other day and scraped the block so the the conrods cost me nothing. Im going to build up a stroked motor in the track car im hoping so if anyone has advice on that id be keen to hear it. Took it for a decent run the other weekend along the top road to portobello in dunedin, had some serious brake fade towards the end of it the i was quite worried about so the brakes will be looked at in both the cars, and the track car will get steering from a newer 3 series and no e46 hidious chrome things which are unfortunately on mine. Its also not a msport, just has a lsd in it, which im planning on doing these holidays aswell. Pics will be included next update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 oh, another thing. my fuel pump relay and DME relay were giving me the shits. car ran better and more reliably after replacing these items. car used to not start when hot (intermittently), which was solved by the fuel pump relay. other random thing was like a sneeze - car would do like a cross between a sneeze and a hiccup - at around 2800-3800rpm - regardless of under acceleration or cruising... (very disconcerting for passengers at 80mph on the motorway), and worst of all it was intermittent and I was unable to repeat it reliably. I worked my way around the Bentley manual and localised this as a possible issue, and managed to track one down at a local motorfactors (I was in London), and it was a 5 min replacement, issue resolved. quick (newer) rack and stroker build sounds like an excellent idea. Which rack will you use? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 my car hasnt had any of those symptoms as of yet, but if it starts playing up ill use those ideas. One thing it does do, when its cold and you first start it up, it surges between 500 and 1700ish revs? But once its warmed up, which i do anyway, it goes away? Im pretty sure this is the idle control valve? And for the steering rack im gona track down a e36 3 series one, but heard that z3 ones also work and have even better lock? There is quite alot of info on the 3 series convertions, including writeups, so ill probally just use one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProZac Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Smart looking car dude, I've always had a soft spot for these. With the possible exception of the guard vents.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Yea im getting the gaurd vent comment alot haha it is right through the gaurd though, which means i cant just rip them off. One day ill remove them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Here is my long term project, 320i with a msport 2.5 motor in it. Has an auto box behind it though so tracking down a gearbox and pedal box. Plan to stroke it out using 320i conrods and crank out of 525e i think. Already have the conrods which cost me nothing. Just fitting a facelift bumper onto it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
- i5oogt - Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 ive got a complete manual e34 525i (with an M20 engine) for wrecking if you cant find a gearbox down your way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerner Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 ill keep that in mind, however i could be keen on the crank if your stripping it down that much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
- i5oogt - Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 im yet to get the motor going, the car has super screwy electrics so starting it hasn't happened yet. The old owner showed me a receipt for nearly $3k worth of engine rebuild so im guessing it is probably better than the one in my current driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT-E30 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Southerner ... see if you can find a whole 525e motor..there was one cheap on trademe in the south island awhile back, then you can use the entire bottom end block rods pistons..then just slap a 885(325i) head or 323 head and you have a 2.7.. 325i heads flow best... 323i have a better cam I THINK the 525e/325i head combo is tried and tested. it's also what BMW S.A. used in their 325is (factory M3 5 stud hubs and 2.7L engine) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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