My new old e30 project in aus

I finally found a cheap e30, have been looking for 8 months and I think all the waiting and looking paid off. I got what i think was a bargain for $1200AUD

I only wanted a shell but as a bonus i got a complete running car!
it is an 88 320i manual, with elec sunroof, has 15s and four new tyres, drives and rides very solidly. i love the roof mounted warning lights

has spot of rust on one rear window and a ding on other side, ill fix these asap.

the car is going to be slowly built to have some fun in some club events and will become more hardcore in time, original plans were sr20 but i am gonna leave the engine as it is now and have some fun while it runs, might just change the timing belt first

here are initial pics,
the pic of wires is the first stage of weight reduction, removed dead old school alarm and car phone kit, it is faster already!

Nice little car Go with an S50 for the swap

this is a budget racer for now, if i swap for anything it will be a sr20det, endless cheap power.

got all the interior out today, no rust so all looks good

debating on how to remove the sound deadening

I live in aus as well what state are you in? it should be a good project car

yea i agree go with the SR20... millions of cheap parts and plentry of help from previous swaps. . you guys should write in the australian forum section on the site 2 not many people do

im in brisbane
didn't even know there was an aus section!

gonna have a go at aircon removal tomorrow and install car alarm
might have a look at the timing belt too if easily done, the last thing i want do is snap one on an otherwise good engine

heres a link to the aus section
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=85
try and alert other people you know about it cuz there arn't many who post within it and wat alarm system are u installing, i'm at uni and at our college car park we keep having cars broken into, nothing stollen really just kids breaking windows so i'm looking for a new alarm with the microwave sensor that givens warning beeps when people are within a certain distance

im just putting in the one from my old car, every alarm is just a remote controlled kill switch, all brands are only as good as the install, if you are near your car at uni, one with a radio pager will do the job nicely

sr20 in an e30? That sounds pretty cool, has it been done before? I'd like to see it.

it has been done heaps,
can even get pre made mounts here pretty easily!
here is one:
http://www.eurocca.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21347

the sr20 swap is pretty popular in aus and new zealand more so because we can get our hands on the jap spec parts easily from all the ricers who import them and right them off

ok i have the car to a point now where i know exactly what is wrong with it

body is rust free from any critical parts, some surface rust bubble, there is "holy" rust spot under one the rear coupe windows and other side needs some panel beating and surface rust removal

the m20b20 seems strong, (well as strong as one can feel),
i swapped the dizzy cap and rotor from a 735 at a wreckers,
removed thermostat for now, this way i know coolant is flowing,
nil tailpipe smoke,
all the coolant came out clean and inside the engine looks good
so no head issues hopefully,
has fresh oil and coolant for now

power steering rack and pump seem good - bonus

at a minimum it needs an engine mount and at least one rear shocky mount before it could be driven hard, yet to really investigate under car bushes but they appear ok.

IMO if you want a nissan/toyota/honda/whatever. you should have bought one.

no i want bmw build quality and handling, and cheap infinite power

purist smurist

if it was to be a road car i would be M powered but this is a racer on a budget

yea i agree wid crimespree cuz i want the same down the track when i finish uni. . . the awsome looks and built quality of the e30 with the cheap and also reliable power from a jap. . . it's a good combination

after much pondering the car will be following a CSL/GT3 styling direction
-
-a basic interior will remain, thinking alcantara dash and console if feasible -and a niceish but light interior, i can't bring myself to butcher the car
-carpet will go back in but all sound deadening will be removed
-ac and stereo will remain deleted
-cage will go in eventually and will be engineered for 2 seats
-plan to road register in a couple of years
-suspension will be hardcore but wont be an issue as i will never be regularly road driven

boot stripped
25kgs (55lbs) of sound deadening in boot alone

mate sounds like a good plan. . . make sure to keep us all up to date

will do,
i am back to work monday, next holidays are 10 weeks away so progress will definitely slow for a while

Ok - so I'm intrigued. E30's are well known for being light in the rear end and
consequently they can drift when cornering under power, right? Wouldn't a big
mumma motor make that problem even worse?!

depends if you look at it as a problem or not

the sr20 is a 4 cylinder so it is relatively light and can be mounted near firewall for good centre of gravity. i wouldnt go with a huge turbo on the sr20 just a nice well matched turbo with a boost management to deliver a nice linear powerband.

anyways the m20 seems solid (I just finished compression test) for now so ill get everything else sorted before i swap the donk!

blower motor removal and refit was fun!

weekends progress:
-found a rusted out panel from blocked sunroof drain, strangely only the inner side rusted out and the outer panel is pretty much 100%

glad to see your doin the job properly looks good

yeah i hate dodgy-ness
I will get the interior done bit by bit, it is a long job and ill then look at applying a final coat of alpine white over the top, ill weld in a new panel in the rusted out section