[JonOhh]

Howdy fine folks,

I figured I'd create a thread tracking the progress of the restoration of my second (project car) 330i 6MT, ZSP that I picked up early this year for $1500. I do not plan to restore it fully- rather, I am selling it to a friend of mine who is interested in getting his hands dirty on a car for the first time and is going to complete the restoration. I'll be sure to get him on these forums at some point so he can do the updates as well, and get to know this helpful community. I am going to sell the car to him sometime in the near future (within the next year), but obviously, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon




So, after a quick inspection upon first getting the car:

The interior is absolutely disgusting. Absolutely horrible. I've seen abused, not taken care of e30s that are cleaner inside. All of the original Tan carpets were stained black with dirt and grime, the paint is coming off the majority of the interior surfaces, the seats look as if they've been spray painted, the center split armrest (cool) is cracked, and the leather is worn badly, the steering wheel looks like its 100 years old, and the wooden trim has fallen off of the shifter. There are cigarette burn marks all around- some on the seats, some on the headliner... but thankfully they don't stick out too bad.

The car was listed as $1500 OBO, and unfortunately, the transaction happened whenever I was away at school ( I arranged it over the phone but the payment and pickup happened back home in Mississippi, while I was in Tuscaloosa. I do somewhat wish I had offered about $1200 for it, because it really is rough.

The known mechanical issue preventing it from driving at the moment is apparently the pilot bearing, but I have my doubts. The primary issue from my tinkering is that the clutch pedal will not disengage the clutch- rather, the pedal gets hard but nothing moves in the bellhousing. The slave and master cylinders have seemingly been replaced by DURALAST parts, and there is air in the lines, but once the air is compressed in the lines, the clutch gets rock hard. It seems to me that the slave cylinder is at the end of its travel, or the throwout bearing is somehow stuck. Regardless, the behavior is that no movement of the slave cylinder is happening. I need to get under the car to find out.


The previous owner also did not reset the service reminders. It currently shows -33,000mi for Oil. I can confirm that the oil is much cleaner than any 30k oil ever looks, so I believe it was changed but not reset. This goes for pretty much every reminder. Brakes, Cabin air filter, Oil, Emissions Inspection, Vehicle inspection, and so on.

The previous owner apparently replaced the water pump, thermostat, and oil filter housing gasket. There is oily shit in the coolant res from when the OFHG blew, so that needs to be dealt with as well.


That is about all that I noticed at first- though there is much more to come in future posts.

[NGEE]

I wish you luck - happy to see an oldie but goodie get some TLC. But if getting hands dirty is the goal, that car is a tough choice. A clean 06 330i can be had for $5k. If it just had high miles and some wrenching to do, it might make sense, but I've redone interiors and it's an expensive process. I guess that's the chance you take when buying sight-unseen.

You should have bought mine when it was up lol: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1866661. I'm giving the car away as soon as the coilovers come back from refurbishing.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by JonOhh

Howdy fine folks,

I figured I'd create a thread tracking the progress of the restoration of my second (project car) 330i 6MT, ZSP that I picked up early this year for $1500. I do not plan to restore it fully- rather, I am selling it to a friend of mine who is interested in getting his hands dirty on a car for the first time and is going to complete the restoration. I'll be sure to get him on these forums at some point so he can do the updates as well, and get to know this helpful community. I am going to sell the car to him sometime in the near future (within the next year), but obviously, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon

So, after a quick inspection upon first getting the car:

The interior is absolutely disgusting. Absolutely horrible. I've seen abused, not taken care of e30s that are cleaner inside. All of the original Tan carpets were stained black with dirt and grime, the paint is coming off the majority of the interior surfaces, the seats look as if they've been spray painted, the center split armrest (cool) is cracked, and the leather is worn badly, the steering wheel looks like its 100 years old, and the wooden trim has fallen off of the shifter. There are cigarette burn marks all around- some on the seats, some on the headliner... but thankfully they don't stick out too bad.

The car was listed as $1500 OBO, and unfortunately, the transaction happened whenever I was away at school ( I arranged it over the phone but the payment and pickup happened back home in Mississippi, while I was in Tuscaloosa. I do somewhat wish I had offered about $1200 for it, because it really is rough.

The known mechanical issue preventing it from driving at the moment is apparently the pilot bearing, but I have my doubts. The primary issue from my tinkering is that the clutch pedal will not disengage the clutch- rather, the pedal gets hard but nothing moves in the bellhousing. The slave and master cylinders have seemingly been replaced by DURALAST parts, and there is air in the lines, but once the air is compressed in the lines, the clutch gets rock hard. It seems to me that the slave cylinder is at the end of its travel, or the throwout bearing is somehow stuck. Regardless, the behavior is that no movement of the slave cylinder is happening. I need to get under the car to find out.


The previous owner also did not reset the service reminders. It currently shows -33,000mi for Oil. I can confirm that the oil is much cleaner than any 30k oil ever looks, so I believe it was changed but not reset. This goes for pretty much every reminder. Brakes, Cabin air filter, Oil, Emissions Inspection, Vehicle inspection, and so on.

The previous owner apparently replaced the water pump, thermostat, and oil filter housing gasket. There is oily shit in the coolant res from when the OFHG blew, so that needs to be dealt with as well.


That is about all that I noticed at first- though there is much more to come in future posts.

More evidence that unsophisticated owners should stay away from BMWs.

[alpinec1984]

I would probably sell mine for 5k and the interior is close to mint. Except for the soft touch paint parts the durability is incredible so I would look for a wreck being parted and buy the whole interior

[Bmw1939]

Much like Sauron's ring which wanted to be found, every lost BMW wants to be found by a good owner. It will love you for it.

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by Bmw1939

Much like Sauron's ring which wanted to be found, every lost BMW wants to be found by a good owner. It will love you for it.

Sure, and like Sauron's ring it progressively corrupts the bearer's mind (and wallet) like a drug addiction. Throw that car into the pit of Mount Doom and move on. Your wallet will love you for it.

[Bmw1939]

Originally Posted by NGEE

Sure, and like Sauron's ring it progressively corrupts the bearer's mind (and wallet) like a drug addiction. Throw that car into the pit of Mount Doom and move on. Your wallet will love you for it.

Lol. You might be right.