new to the e34 community

[e30bulldog]

Hey guys just picked up my first e34 this last weekend in New Orleans. Its a 91 535ia with 180k on it. The car was sold with a smashed front clip. Therefore it was cheap. The seller was asking $500 and I paid $360. I was actually able to drive it home. It is going to need a new radiator, rad support, grill, fender, hood and bumper. I am really excited about fixing her. She will make a sweet daily. I also have turbo plans for the future.







Gene

[NbAmTwE]

Welcome to the community! The DIY section has some good reads and great links as well as our F.A.Q. thread. I have a 525i with the same color so I can appreciate yours. Best wishes on the restoration and that's the cheapest purchase price for an E34 I've ever seen, nice find!

[Sam Son]

Wow 360 bucks damn...and you drove it home? On the interstate? With that smashed front end? Congrats..I cant wait to see you bring that thing back to life

[e30bulldog]

Thanks,

this is not my first tango with a BMW my current car is an e30 with some pretty serious mods.

yeah I drove it 200 miles home. Got pretty good gas mileage too.

[Sam Son]

pics/info on the E30?

[e30bulldog]

Well I've owned the car for the past 7-8 years. 320k on the clock and still runs like new. 88 325is with GC coilovers koni D/As, IE 25mm sway bar, no rear bar, mark'd chip, long tube headers, and some other minor engine stuff. I wanna take the car out of commission as my DD so I can do some other maintenance on her and build a DSP engine with itb's w/ adjustable runners.

[zubbie]

E30 is sweet. The hot little sister of the E34

[auto da fe]

That's a nice E30. I've got a soft spot for those cars as well.

[jfj707]

If the E32 735ia radiator fits, I have one if you want it... I'd love for it to leave my garage.

[Binjammin]

Wow 360 bucks damn...and you drove it home? On the interstate? With that smashed front end? Congrats..I cant wait to see you bring that thing back to life

Looks about as bad as the bronzit parts car justin and I had. I drove that home, like 45 miles :Rofl

[e30bulldog]

Hey guys I ended up finding a brand new radiator for $135. Thanks for the help though

[e30bulldog]

this thread has not been updated in many months, but I will continue to update everyone about my new e34

new radiator support (it was blue)


And I got a new fender (picked it up locally)


rad support installed


and new radiator


I also picked up a hood at a pull a part and its not the greatest, I will sand it down to bare metal, prime and paint. While I was there I grabbed a new bumper shock, steering wheel, auto handle, grill, and headlight bezels.

So for the last few months I have been really broke. But in the last couple of months I've saved some money and made some time to work on the e34. I managed to finish the hood.



I found a bumper in pull-a-part (Birmingham, AL) for $25. I got around to painting it this weekend.



I figured my the paint was fucked, it had not seen an ounce of wax in its entire life. And from what I can tell about the interior its set outside in the hot sun everyday since 91. But a little polish and buffer and some magic the paint came back to life.


<a href="http://s510.photobucket.com/albums/s349/e30bulldog/e34%20535i/?action=view&amp;current=P1010679.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i510.photobucket.com/albums/s349/e30bulldog/e34%20535i/P1010679.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
And I found some sweet goodies on craigslist...



some staggard style 32's with tires (235/255) $400

The next step will be rebuilding the steering I found a pretty nice kit on ebay with upgrade ball joints for $200, and after that I will commence with my air conditioning upgrade/rebuild





Got the bumper mounted (kinda) Sunday. I got to find where I put that driver side mount.

[richinvan]

Wow. Just wow.

[1990525i]

dude that is nice white is the best, i have a white 90 525i i got for $500 needed a new head gasket, but its fixed, but nice work. how about the interior? and where is that bumper from? mine has black on the bottom but that all white one is sweet. nice wheels to

[e30bulldog]

dude that is nice white is the best, i have a white 90 525i i got for $500 needed a new head gasket, but its fixed, but nice work. how about the interior? and where is that bumper from? mine has black on the bottom but that all white one is sweet. nice wheels to

thanks alot, the interior is dove grey but its completely sun baked. I need to order some leather, vynal and microsuede to fix everything.

the bumper is from an early e34, I just painted the bottom white (I believe the late model e34's have body colored trim on the bottom) the grill, impact strips, and misc trim pieces will remain black to give the front some contrast.

subtle things like shadow line trim and, body colored trim (to an extent) will make any older car look newer.

my dad said that with the wheels, the car looks 15 years newer.

[1990525i]

any pics?

and yeah we basically have the same bumper its just mine has black, lol

look



but i see that you are missing the tow hook covers, that go next to the fog light, i need those to, do you have any idea were to get those?

[e30bulldog]

I don't have any pics of the interior right now, but I will keep updating this thread with progress. School is over for me this semester so I get to do some work on the car. But to give you an idea of the leather, think of hardwood floor that is the color of gray, rough and yes very hard. And not to mention discolored.

I managed to pick up the tow hook covers when I bought the bumper from the junk yard. Pull a part has great prices on little stuff like that.

[scribles30]

Nice work!

[e30bulldog]

Hey guys I have been busy at school recently but I have managed to make some time for the e34.

I finally tracked down the mount for the bumper and mounted it.



And I found these sweet drop springs and shocks/struts in pull a part. I only paid $100 for everything (including the hubs)



I also bought a complete front suspension rebuild kit. It came with 7 series upgraded ball joints, and m5 control arms (aluminum). The kit replaced the inner and outer tie rods, drag link, idler arm, control arms, thrust arms, and sway bar links. And trust me it needed every component.

The new stance is breathtaking form what it was before. BTW I just did the front, the rear will come tomorrow.

[T444E]

They have schools in MS?

[mpaganr34]

Clean man! The Style 32's look rad. That's quite the transformation.

[e30bulldog]

They have schools in MS?

Yeah just k-6

[janders211]

This is looking pretty good.
E30's are pretty competitive in out local autocross - I keep debating picking one up.

I also now know who took all the good e34 body parts from the bham pull-a-part

[e30bulldog]

This is looking pretty good.
E30's are pretty competitive in out local autocross - I keep debating picking one up.

I also now know who took all the good e34 body parts from the bham pull-a-part

oh come on I only took a bumper.

I have had the e30 since 03, and I bought it when they were cheap. Now a days e30's are expensive (at least for a nice one). e36's are on the cheap, and they make great autox cars. And yeah my e30 did very well last season, I ended up taking 1st overall for the year in my region.

[attack eagle]

They have schools in MS?

believe it or not, they do. How do you think i got so edjamakated?

Went to MC in Clinton, MS, as well as University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Yeah just k-6

thats not true. they had a high school in meridian...

but all the girls were barefoot and pregnant, and only took home ec classes.